correspondence with people sharing their stories

One of the most powerful things that has happened since starting this blog is that people have been sharing their life experiences with me. Over the last few days, I've been corresponding with a person (who's name will remain private, for purposes here, I'll call him Sam), and the encounters he shares are astounding, and at the same time maddeningly typical. Below is my reply to him, edited slightly.

Sam,

I just read (and re-read) your messages to me. Let me say that EVERYTHING you've written, I've heard already, either first hand or in the literature.

And some of it fits into my own memories and experiences. The one thing that I feel SO strongly about is this underlying sense of mission, this is something that you and others have mentioned. I wallow in it, and it has created compulsive behavior in me. I don't know what to make of it. I recognize how delusional this might sound, but I have this deep and profound sense that SOMETHING is happening that is of monumental importance. And, I find that this "feeling" gets confirmed over and over and over by people who I interact with.

I have been reaching out a little bit, but more than that, people have been finding me. And the stories that emerge are SO similar. These shared stories create an undeniable pattern.

I struggle with trying to understand "my role here" and in doing so, it seems that I generate more people contacting me. Maybe that IS my role? I am perfectly baffled. I am deeply aware that each and every person who tells me their experiences are dealing with something that is profoundly personal. Somehow, the experiences seem tailored to them - and them alone.

Peace and strength to you my friend,
Mike C!

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NOTE:

I was clicking thru my blogger dashboard and I just found a way to see all my blog postings in a list. This one here is the one-hundred-and-twenty-third post. Yes, that's 123.

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Ida Kannenberg, a delightful Contactee

The UFO community has lost one of its true jewels. Ida Kannenberg died on May 17th of this year, she was 95 years old.

Of all the authors that have inspired me, Ida was the one who I went back to over and over as a way to hold onto some sort of framework for this phenomenon. She told of life events that included UFOs, visitations from human entities, telepathic messages and channeling.

She lobbied that much of what might be perceived as literal was in fact metaphoric and they mythic. She wrote (or channeled) about the profound difference between spirit and the soul, something that went beyond what we might assume a UFO contactee wouldn't try to tackle. Plus - She was funny and sassy, and it makes her books perfectly delightful.

She was close friends with Leo Sprinkle, and he gave me her email address an encouraged me to reach out to her. I corresponded briefly during the winter of 2006. She was very supportive, as well as sharing stories about her cats:

"Princess Fiona gets into every nook and cranny of the house and into mischief at the same time. Lord Spike is too fat to get into the same corners. Old cranky Tibbetts just sleeps in the guest bed and sulks. Hope you are having a good Christmas time and will keep in touch through the new year. --- Ida Kannenberg"

Luminosity back on-line

The extremely unsettling writings from Dan Mitchell are back on-line (click HERE). In April of this year he took down the blog in it's previous incarnation. The story he shared during that phase was saturated in haunting imagery and frightening implications. It read like something from Whitley Strieber or H.P. Lovecraft.

Here's his less than subtle disclaimer:
I present this blog as a work of fiction, but I have a penchant for sarcasm. I present myself as a intellectual function and nothing more.

Audio conversation with Chuck Weiss

I am deeply impressed with Chuck Weiss and his profound openness. He tells a story that might seem typical among the alien contact literature, but his calm and thoughtful analysis of his own experiences sets him apart in a way that makes me pay very close attention to his claims. His story might be almost impossible to believe, except for the fact that he presents the first-hand details in such a thoughtful tone.

One click download HERE.

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audio download / 2 hours long

NOTE: If the audio link is finicky, try refreshing this page. Or, to download directly to your hard-drive, simply click on the divShare logo (at the right) and then click on the big button labeled "Download"

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Topic discussed:

The abduction phenomenon, Cynthia Crawford, alien/human hybrids, Nazi scientists, seeing gray aliens materialize during a waking state, the circus appnosphere of UFO conferences, the awakening experience, the occult, ritual magik, Jim Keith, disinformation as an ongoing issue, profound dreams and the disturbing experiences of his father, a Holocaust survivor.


His site, Alien Abduction-The Blog, features the entire content of his book serialized in separate postings. Also featured are on-going essays about his experiences and insights.

An electronic version of the book can be downloaded for free on-line, right here.

His book, Abducted by Aliens: How I Learned to Cope With High Strangeness, Government Harassment, and My Mother (a true story) is highly recommended.

Tiny dots in a triangle on my left arm

Two small dots, easily viewed on my left arm.

Close up of the dots.

The location of the very faint third dot. In my youth, this one was just as prominent as the other two, creating a perfect little triangle. If this is a vaccine scar, someone please tell me!

A question I often get from researchers is: do I have any unusual marks or scars on your body?

At first I just answered no, and later I realized I have a scar on my nose (click HERE for more info). And recently I found an odd scratch on my torso (click HERE).

There are only two dots that remain distinct, the third has almost completely faded away. I can still see the third dot in certain light, but it is very indistinct. I drew in a red circle where it appears on my arm.

I realized that I have a funny triangle shaped set of three pock-marks below my wrist on my left arm. I have had these since (as best as I can recall) elementary school, and that means about 1974 or so. I just turned 48, so these marks have been on my arm for about 36 years (and that is a rough guess). As a boy, I would marvel at how perfection of the triangular shape. I have no memory of getting any sort of medical inoculation. If this is simply a vaccine scar, someone PLEASE tell me. I did a quick search for "vaccine scars" and "inoculation scars" and saw a lot of gruesome images, but none that even remotely matched what I have on my arm.

I took photos today, after shaving the hair off the small area. I put a little vegetable oil on the area to help see the dots and took macro photos with a digital point and shoot in the bright sunshine next to a window. I also increased the contrast on the digital photo (using photoshop) and this helped bring the image out a little more clearly. Please note, I included an un-altered photo at the end of this post, as well as a photoshop recreation as to how they appeared in my youth. The dots are all 3/8 inch apart from each other.

This is a photoshop recreation. This is how I remember it looked in my youth, I was fascinated by the curious symmetry of the dots.

The red lines show the location of the triangular dot pattern on my arm. The tiny dots themselves are difficult to see in this wide view.

Digital image without any contrast change. This is how the dots presently appear. You can see how the lower left dot has faded, but it still visible.

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ADDED TEXT June 2011:

There is a follow up to this post. This essay has been one of the most popular on this blog, here's a LINK where I speculate why that might be.

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Audio conversation with Walter Bosley

Walter Bosley has a history as a federal investigator for both the FBI and the Air Force office of special investigations. And now he’s writing and exploring extremely esoteric paranormal anomalies. Add to that a lifetime of weird phenomenon stating in his teens.

These divergent experiences make for a fascinating conversation.

one-click download HERE.

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Audio download / 1 hour 48 minutes

NOTE: If the audio link is finicky, try refreshing this page. Or, to download directly to your hard-drive, simply click on the divShare logo (at the right) and then click on the big button labeled "Download"

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Topics include the his life as a federal investigator, books and movies, active periods of high strangeness, Don Ecker, Greg Bishop, Disneyland, profound life changes, UFOs, mythology, the Goddess Athena, Close Encounters, 2001: A Space Odyssey, the doey-eyed believers, his mentor, remote viewing, crows, owls, the author Sesh Heri, ley lines, the alchemical process, Gibbs Williams, synchronicities, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and lots of personal experiences.

Walter has been busy lately, and he wrote a very impressive book about the esoteric and occult roots of Disneyland titled LATITUDE 33: KEY TO THE KINGDOM, An Encounter with Arcane Science and Engineering at Disneyland.

And he’s been on a slew of on-line radio shows, including: Binnall of America (a great overview of the Disneyland book), The Paracast more than once (here and here), Dark Matter Radio with Don Ecker and Radio Mysterterio.

I was careful not to overlap too much information from these shows, there was no reason for Walter to repeat the same stories again. If I had an agenda, it was to delve into the deeply personal experiences and try to make sense of how they impact the direction of his life.

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Also, today (August 20th 2010) would have been Mac Tonnies 35th birthday.

my role here

One simple and important question, alone on a sheet of paper.

Today I had a psychic reading with Anya Briggs set up for 11:AM, the appointment was made a few days ago due to a haunted feeling discontent. Something was off, and I felt adrift. At about 9:30 in the morning I realized that I should make a list of questions, so I got a clipboard and a clean white sheet of paper and wrote the one thing that had been really bugging me: my role here.

As soon as I wrote it, the phone rang. It was a person I had met at the Laughlin UFO conference in 2009, and I'll call him Joe. When we met I felt a very real kinship for him, we are both the exact same age and he was obviously very anxious (a lot like me). Just the other day I was reviewing a small notebook I had carried and found his email address, I had forgotten that I had written it down, but over the last year and a half I had often wondered about him, so I sent an email and asked how he was doing.

On the phone he filled me in on what has been happening since we met. He shared very scary set of experiences, involving horrifying virtual reality memories that were associated with out and out abduction events. It is a swirling nightmare of gray aliens, overt military influences and some sort of very scary training.

His stories were truly unnerving, and he shared even more during this long phone call. I listened attentively, and tried to make sense of his menacing experiences. Joe has a son and daughter, and they both share some of the same memories. And he tells of meeting 13 other people in his area that have almost the exact same set of memories.

His experiences were way beyond anything that I could relate to, so all I could do was simply listen, and offer some support and solace. We talked for over an hour, and at the end of the call he thanked me.

I was a little bit shook up by the intensity of the conversation and the obvious stress in Joe's life. But I feel like I was really good during the call. Minutes later, I was starting the session with Anya, and I had only one question written down: my role here.

I didn't need a psychic to tell me the significance of writing those words in a place of very real questioning, and then the phone ringing at that exact instant.

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Added shortly after the post above:

Here is a short excerpt from RED ICE CREATIONS, it is a snippet from an audio interview with Neil Kramer. I heard it shortly after posting this essay, and I thought it was very relevant.

approx 2 minutes

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audio conversation with Christopher Knowles

My first audio interview was posted over a year ago, and it featured the insights of Christopher Knowles. Now he's back and we go at it for almost two hours. This guy has an amazing blog with tons of cool ideas, but he also has a very real gift as a conversationalist.

The core topic of our dialogue is the blurring of UFOs and pop culture. We also explore the strange murmurings from the grand power structure and how it seems to be reflecting an anxiety directly related to some impending event. Both of us try and wrap our minds around some real-deal concepts at the edge of these already edgy ideas.

one-click download HERE

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audio download / 2 hours long

NOTE: If the audio link is finicky, try refreshing this page. Or, to download directly to your hard-drive, simply click on the divShare logo (at the right) and then click on the big button labeled "Download"

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From there we branch off to talk about the immense power of the creative process, the new age movement, the great Jack Kirby, the News that Churchill quashed a UFO report, Gene Roddenberry, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The New Age movement, The Da Vinci Code, Whitley Streiber and the cover of Communion, resonance, the Vatican and extraterrestrials, The Royal Society ET summit, Behold a Pale Horse, the total collapse of trust in the news media, Stephen Hawking, The Brookings Institute UFO report, Jules Verne, Jacques Vallee, the real threat alien possibility poses to the status quo, the constant drumbeat of space news and cosmic awareness, digital photography and the recent sightings epidemic, universal creation myths of sky gods, the Ancient Astronaut Theory and the religious right, the power of stories and much, much, much more.

Here is Chris, photographed with the nefarious (and Canadian) cigarette smoking man. The curious blurring is obviously due to electromagnetic interference from a parallel dimension.

I strongly implore you to listen to the podcast from last summer (click HERE). And, please check-out Chris Knowles' excellent blog, The Secret Sun. And his cool book too: OUR GODS WEAR SPANDEX.

Modern mythology, alternate history and pop-cult symbology.

audio conversation with Cynthia Crawford

Cynthia and a series of her other-worldy creations.

Cynthia has had a life of complex experiences involving non-human entities, including multiple abductions, examinations and miraculous healings. She speaks openly about her life experiences, and she boldly declares that she is an alien/human hybrid.

Cynthia is also a talented sculptor, creating three dimensional images of the many of entities she has encountered. She states that Star Beings work through her, putting their own frequency in the sculptures as a tool to awaken people to their own deeper truths. She has devoted her life to sharing the lessons she has learned from these beings in an effort to change the world for the better. See a gallery of her sculptures HERE.

one click DOWNLOAD

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I met Cynthia at a UFO conference in Laughlin Nevada, and I was perfectly amazed by the intensity of her story. Initially I found her claims almost impossible to take seriously, but after spending time with her I was impressed by her openness and her big hearted nature. It forced me to re-think my initial reaction of prejudice.

This conversation covers a lot of fringe topics and it culimnates with Cynthia giving me a psychic reading. She channeled from her guides, and the information was quite interesting.

There are several links on her homepage (ET Sculptor) where you can listen to audio interviews where Cynthia shares her life experiences. The narrative unfolds from these recorded interviews is utterly fascinating. I recommend listening to these interviews to better understand Cynthia and her complex story.

meeting a new friend

I met a woman under very curious circumstances at a UFO conference in 2006. When I first saw her, I was immediately struck by the way she held herself. She was handsome and confident, and a very hip dresser.

At another point during the conference, I ended up siting at the bar with a crowd of people, including Linda Moulton Howe. We were all trading stories, and it was a really pleasant time. I told the story about seeing a young woman on a subway in New York city in 1984. (this very curious story is linked HERE). The punch-line of this memory was involved seeing that young woman again, and the second event was exceedingly synchronistic. Linda asked me if I had ever seen her again.

I thought for a moment, and then said, “I think she is here, at this conference.”

I explained about seeing the handsome woman earlier in the day, and how if I added about 22 years, she would very closely match the girl from the subway. Everybody at the table told me that I simply MUST talk to her. So the next day I walked up to a complete stranger and started a conversation by asking if she had gotten on the uptown E-train at West 4th Street during the summer of 1984. She laughed and said no.

We had a pleasant conversation, but she was extremely guarded. Typical of me, I spoke a lot, but she wouldn’t tell me anything about herself.

Years later we met her again, at another conference. It was at a point where I was having a hard time trying to make sense of my own conflicted experiences. We sat outside, away from the crowd, and I tried to explain my dilemma. I was meeting people at the conference, many with stories that I found outrageous and unbelievable. I recognized my own harsh judgments, and at the same time my memories were equally unbelievable.

She calmly spoke to me, and what she said has become a sort of mission statement for me. She said that these people all have personal experiences that are just stories and nothing more. They might be outrageous or simple, and I should be very cautious about these feelings of judgment, because I simply can’t know if they are true or not. All I can do is listen, and know that these individuals are all on their own journey. If I close the door on something just because it challenges me, I might be missing a very important clue, maybe even to my own story.

She was calm as she spoke, but she was also stern in a way that forced me to look at myself, and my own prejudices.

the number 123 and the Laughlin UFO conference

A page from my notebook, complete with tiny cartoon of exit 123, and four cats. I wrote this down the morning after the event. Double click on the image for a HI-rez view.

Here are a few more curious anecdotes from the 2010 Laughlin conference. Both involve the number 123, something that I’ve been seeing a lot lately.

We drove from Sedona to the ugly casino on the night of February 20th. In the car with me was Natascha and Joseph Mark. We went north to Flagstaff, and then headed west, and the driving was sort of miserable because it was snowing sideways, and interstate 40 was a parade of huge trucks.

Exit 123 near the Nevada Arizona border.

As we got closer to the Nevada border, the weather eased up, and Joseph asked for a bathroom break, so I said I would pull off at the next exit. Well, the next exit was marked 123. We pulled into the lonely gas station, and there was a car parked next to us and Natascha noticed it first, but there were four cats in the car! For some reason, this struck me as so funny. The window was down just enough that I could put my hand in and pet them. We never saw the driver of the car, but there was a guy with a U-Haul truck who said that it was his wife’s car, and he didn’t seem at all bothered that I would stick my hand in her car.

Nothing beyond that - I just thought it was funny. (I’ll add that Natascha doesn’t think this story is nearly as funny as I do)
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Laughlin and the number 123

The Aquarius Casino on the dreary strip in Laughlin Nevada

Natascha and I shared a hotel room in the tacky Casino for the 2010 Laughlin UFO conference.

Here's one more weird story; in the middle of the night we were both jolted awake by a very loud pounding on the door. The way I remember it, it sounded like a big strong guy hit the door twice, as hard as he could. I was instantly awake and my heart was pounding.

My instantaneous thought was: IT'S THEM!

I rolled over and looked at the clock, and it was 1:23 AM. Let me add that I before rolling over that I knew what time it would be. I never got up to answer the door, I felt like I knew there was nobody there. I’ll also add that this hotel wasn’t filled with rowdy kids, in fact, we were in a section that didn’t allow children at all. And the clientele in Laughlin is mostly senior citizens. No good explanation about why anyone would pound on our door like that.

Okay, now let’s jump to the next morning.

I was in line at the Starbucks in the lobby, and right in front of me was Paola Harris, she saw me and said, “This is so weird, but Natascha was in my hotel room last night.”

I didn’t know what she meant, and I asked her to tell me more.

She explained that she was woken out of a sound sleep (she didn’t say what time) and she heard someone with a German accent say: “Paola!” Right away, she knew it was Natascha, who she had met previously in Barcelona. We both knew full well that Natascha wasn’t in her room, but it was an odd way to start the day.

Also, I heard from a few other people at the conference had subtle (but odd) experiences that same night.

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Mac Tonnies on Dreamland

I had the chance to praise Mac for almost an hour with Whitley Strieber, I was interviewed for his podcast DREAMLAND. I was deeply honored to talk about my friend and his amazing insights, the time was simply too short, there was a lot more I was eager to share.

This show is now on-line.

You can listen for free by clicking on the LISTEN NOW Dreamland icon in the upper right corner of the UNKNOWN-COUNTRY homepage.

We spoke about Mac's book, The Cryptoterrestrials, and how Whitley's own insights with the UFO phenomenon dovetailed closely with Mac's. It was sad to know that they never had the chance to share their ideas.

See this previous post (and it's curious synchronicity) for more info.

another street light event

During the time together in the Four Corners area in May, Natascha and I had an extremely intense conversation at a restaurant. We were both left kind of confused and overwhelmed by the magnitude of what we had talked about. After leaving the restaurant we were walking back to our Motel thru the quiet streets of Moab at night.

I remember saying something like: "Oh God, this is SO weird. Are we on the right path with all of this?"

And - right at that exact instant - the street light above us blinked off.

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sweat lodge and a curious scratch

Sketch book image of the very humble sweat lodge in Arizona. A simple structure made from arching re-bar, old blankets and canvas. In the foreground is a fire pit with collection of VERY hot rocks. Double click on the image for a hi-rez view.

part ONE of this story HERE

After the intensely scary events in the tent (story posted below) in Delores Colorado, Natascha and I were basically stuck in the four corners area with my Subaru in the shop. We had a rent-a-car and a few days of time. We went to the groovy coffee shop in Cortez and we used skype to contact Miriam Delicado and we asked her what we should do. She told us we needed to do a sweat lodge with a Navajo Shaman named Howard. So we drove to south west to Canyon De Chelly in Arizona.

Canyon De Chelly is on of the most beautiful and magical places on earth, and it’s all on Navajo land, so to enter into the bottom of the canyon requires a guide. We spent the day with wet feet in the cold muddy river with a wonderful guide named Francine. Afterwards we went to the Spider Rock Campground, a ramshackle establishment run by Howard. We were all set up to have the sweat the next morning, along with a few other folk at the campground.

Natascha, Howard and me (with a cat) early in the morning at the Canyon De Chelly Spider Rock campground.

I was curiously unaware of what I was getting myself into, it felt like I was proceeding without intention. It was more like I was being pulled toward the sweat lodge, rather than actively seeking it.

At some point that day I took my shirt off and I found a curious scratch that ran roughly from above my belly button up toward my left shoulder. (see sketch to the left) I had been in the tent in Delores Colorado that morning, and this would have been the first time I took my shirt off since the scary events the previous night.

Scratch isn’t quite the right term, if you looked at it closely it was actually some sort of rash. It wasn’t an abrasion, instead it was a bumpy length of tiny blisters in a long straight line. These were long rows of little bubbles of yellowish fluid right at the surface of my skin, each little blister was smaller than a grain of rice. It was weird, and I've never seen anything like it (on me or anyone else).

I’m color blind, and even I could see the thin red line. It looked like some allergic reaction, like someone took a pen full of poison ivy ink and drew a straight line on my chest.

It didn’t itch or feel bad, but it was certainly curious. It healed up slowly and cleanly over the next few weeks.

Did this red line happen the previous night in the tent in Delores? Was is associated with those terrifying memories? At the time both Natascha and I asked the same thing, and we we quick to dismiss those thoughts. It might have come from some desert cactus, but I did not do anything the previous few days with my shirt off. I have no memory of getting scratched by any plant, like a poison oak (a common tree in that area).

Now, over a month later I’m left questioning how I got that weird scratch and I don’t have an answer. Could it have happened that creepy night in Delores? Why didn’t I think to take a photo?

When I entered the lodge I wore a bathing suit, and my bare chest displayed that long red scratch. There were eight of us in the dark cramped shelter, with a pit in the center for the very hot rocks.

Howard lead a really impressive ceremony. It was mystical and playful all at the same time. I felt rooted in my own world, and simultaneously connected with something beautiful and ancient. The overriding theme was to surrender to the heat.

There were four separate sessions within the dark little lodge, each one getting progressively hotter. The final session was berserkly hot, and everyone inside was forced to lie down so as to breathe the cooler air near the dirt floor.

The whole thing lasted a few hours, and when it was over everyone was fatigued and quiet. I spent the rest of that very pleasant day drinking water and napping. Natascha took a long walk with Howard’s little dog.

The next day Natascha and I said good-bye to Howard in the morning, and slept in Valley of the Gods (in Utah) that night. And that - is another interesting story.

Myself and Natascha smiling above the Gooseneck Canyons in the Colorado River in the Four Corners area of southern Utah.