Arthur C. Clarke said that he's seen lots of UFOs

Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick during the production of 2001: A Space Odyssey

This post is accompanied by a very short audio clip (only 6 minutes) that features both Arthur C.Clarke and Dr. Leo Sprinkle. What does it mean that Clarke claims to have seen lots of UFOs?

6 minutes long / DOWNLOAD MP3

The video store on my main street is going out of business, and they are selling their entire inventory. That said, I now own a copy of 2001: A Space Odyssey. In the special features there is an interview with Arthur C. Clarke who wrote the short story that was the basis for the film and he also worked closely with Kubrick throughout the production as co-screenwriter.

The 16mm movie footage shows Clarke giving a short talk in a bland looking banquet room with a small gathering of people. Then he answers questions from the attendees. This took place in the months before the release of 2001, and Clarke admits he hasn't yet seen the finished film.

One question and answer near the end caught my attention.

Question: Can I be pedestrian and ask about the unidentified flying objects?

Clarke: Well can I be pedestrian and give a brief reply?

One, if you've never seen an unidentified flying object you are very unobservant.

Two, if you've seen as many as I have you won' t believe in them. (awkward laughter from the room)

Three, they have nothing to do with visitors from space.

Four, it is impossible to prove three. (hearty laughter from the room)

When he says: "...if you've seen as many as I have you won' t believe in them," I think he is trying to say he has moved beyond believing and into knowing. To me, this is very interesting.

He is admitting he's seen a lot of UFOs. This is highly unusual, and if someone like Budd Hopkins heard him say this, I am quite certain his eyebrows would raise. Most abduction researchers will jump to the conclusion that anyone with more than a few UFO sightings is quite probably an abductee. Personally, I'm not sure what to think.

The interesting thing is that people who have experienced a UFO abduction will quite often be totally focused on the subject of UFOs and the contact experience, and this seems to neatly define Arthur C. Clarke.

The audio download (linked HERE) also includes Dr. Leo Sprinkle sharing a story about meeting Clarke and having him tell about seeing a flying saucer the very night he and Kubrick agreed to do the movie 2001.

All this said, I actually don't know too much about Clarke (except that I read Rendezvous with Rama in high school) so if anyone can help me out here, I'd be grateful.
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Text and video added March 19th 2012:

I found a documentary I remember seeing in 1980. In the opening sequence, Clarke states that he has seen six very clear UFOs in the sky, he adds that he has seen others that weren't as impactful. This film looks into the mysteries surrounding witness reports. He was quite a rational skeptic, being cautious not to jump to extraordinary conclusions. The transcript below starts at the 15:15 time count.

Clarke: (after discussing the challenges of sighting reports) And that of course is the trouble with long range sightings, we can never be absolutely sure what they were, and even if it was a visitor form outer-space, we couldn't prove it.

For this reason I am no longer interested in UFO sightings.

But what does intrigue me, what is very mysterious, are the so called close encounters.

The documentary then goes on to dig into a series of entity experiences. I posted one of the witness reports previously because I was impressed by Mrs. Jesse Roestenburg's credibility (linked HERE), although it's a different interview. And the other story is deeply impressive if only for the witnesses beautiful Scottish accent.

audio conversation with Dr. Leo Sprinkle (with improved audio)

Leo Sprinkle photographed in Wyoming with Mac Tonnies.

Mac wrote: The blur is almost certainly the result of paranormal forces! ;-).

I love Leo Sprinkle! That's a simple statement of fact.

I did an audio interview with him almost a year ago, but there was an issue with the audio quality. Leo was on a phone line, and he sounded so quiet that it made his voice difficult to hear.

I used an application to improve the sound levels for this interview, and now it sounds a lot better. I am re-posting this podcast here.

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One-click audio down-load HERE.

two hours / one minute long

This is one of the most beautiful and moving interviews I've done, and I hope this improvement in sound will make it easier to listen to, the insights from Leo are really heartwarming.

The original post from Jan. 2011 and show notes are linked HERE.

Oh those numbers...

And, it's happened again. Check out the synchro-numero-weirdness when I revised this MP3 with the updated sound. It seems 1-2-3-4 is following me.

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secretaries to the “insiders”

Here's a curious pattern.

1. According to Leo Sprinkle, he worked as a therapist with a woman who claimed the alien abduction experience. She was also an assistant to Carl Sagen. She stated that Dr. Sagen had a lot more knowledge about the UFO phenomenon than he was letting on. The implication was that Dr. Sagan was being purposely deceptive when he was playing the role of public sceptic about the UFOs.

2. Werner von Braun, the former Nazi scientist that was at the helm of NASA during the Apollo years. In the final years of his life he had an assistant named Carol Rosen. She now claims direct contact with alien beings, and she is speaking out about her experiences.

3. Anne Eller claims to be an alien abductee, and she was a secretary for Allen J. Hynek during the final years of his life. Mrs. Eller stated that when Dr. Hynek was near his death, he communicated to her that he had a lot more information than he was letting on. She wrote a book about her experiences titled DRAGON IN THE SKY. After his death she claims she contacted the spirit of Dr. Hynek thru a medium, and she received the message that he was a "double agent" during his time as a UFO researcher.

4. A lesser example: There is a series of immensely popular channeled book titled CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD, authored by Neale Donald Walsch. He had a secretary that claims on-going UFO contact. Her name is Lisette Larkins, and she has written a series of books. One of them, TALKING TO EXTRATERRESTRIALS has a lot of channeled material.

QUESTION:
Can anyone think of any other similar examples?

I'm left thinking that ANYONE with an important insider role would probably have an alien abductee as their secretary!

audio conversation with Dr. Leo Sprinkle

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PLEASE NOTE:

The audio has been revised and improved. (as of Dec. 17, 2011)

Leo Sprinkle photographed in Wyoming with Mac Tonnies.

Mac wrote: The blur is almost certainly the result of paranormal forces! ;-)

I am perfectly honored to have shared two hours in recorded conversation with Dr. Leo Sprinkle. This man's biography reads like a checklist of every major event in the modern era of UFO research. He is now 80 years old and at the top of his game. And, after a half century of looking into the UFO phenomenon, he is still open minded and optimistic. I envy his child-like outlook in a realm full of deception and terrifying first hand accounts.

One-click download HERE.

2 hours and 1 minute long

During this interview Leo says: "The map ain't necessarily the territory." That short phrase sums up a lot of our conversation as well as my personal challenges around the UFO phenomenon.

Leo shares his own abduction memories (or in his case induction). And the interview culminates with Leo channeling from his guides as a way to help me better understand a recent experience of my own.

Let me also say that Leo and I look like each other. We are both tall, trim and bald. We both have unusually big eyes too. But, he talks in a calm composed way and I talk fast with frenetic mumbling.

His book SOUL SAMPLES is essential reading, and it gives you an insight into Leo's ideas and methods. Here's an essay about the book.

I also highly recommend this interview on THE PARACAST with David Biedny.

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curious time code on podcasts

I had an odd experience in the final days of February of this year. It started during the drive home from Lauglin Nevada, after spending a week at a UFO Conference. This was not a peaceful time for me, I was struggling and conflicted and trying to make sense of my memories. The dilemma of what to do next in my life was oppressive and real. During that week of being locked in a creepy casino, I confided in a lot of folks at the event and the consistent feedback I got was that I should talk more openly about my experiences.

I was dealing with these confusing emotions as I was driving my Subaru North out of Salt Lake City. As I approached the Idaho border and I was listening to my iPod, and the thing was set on shuffle, and instead of a song, THE PARACAST comes on. It was the two hour episode with Dr. Leo Sprinkle. Great, I was stuck in the car and could spend the time really listening. I had heard it before, and I though it was really interesting, so I made an effort to pay attention.

Leo is a sweet articulate guy, with a take on this subject that seems to mirror mine in a lot of ways. And, he even looks like me!

At one point in the discussion, Leo brings up my name, and lemme tell you - I was paying close attention at that point. He and the host, David Biedny, talk about my dilemma. Leo sums up my emotional state in a few brief sentences. And then David shares his insights, and he takes a few moments to articulate his feelings about my credibility.

During this drive I was trying to sort out a lot of emotional stuff in my head. It had become clear that I was going to need to start sharing my experiences with people. I had a plan to invite a couple of friends over and to let them in on all this stuff, I trust these two folks, and I wanted to gage their reaction. I though I could even play them this little excerpt from the PARACAST where my credibility gets praised.

So I pause the thing and make an effort to note the time on the iPod display where my name gets mentioned. Now, trying to do this and drive on a busy interstate isn’t easy, but I can see the time marker reads 1:23:45.

Okay, that’s a little odd. Anyway, it’s a very easy number to remember, and I plan on reviewing it at home, when I’m not driving 80 miles per hour. For the remaining few hours of the drive, this weird detail sort of bugs me.

When I get home, I immediately turn on my computer and make a frantic effort to find that episode where Leo mentions my case.

I’ve transcribed it below, and I’ve noted EXACTLY where the 1:23:45 fits into Leo’s comments.

* Paracast Jan. 18th 2009 *

David (host):
In my personal experiences, there are aspects of high strangeness that that have happened to me, in my experiences, that make me skeptical of my own experiences. Truly. And this has become a dilemma for me in my middle age. This has become a problem.

Leo (guest):
Same thing that Mike Clelland tells about himself, that he feels in a dilemma because on the one hand he knows he's had his experiences, (1:23:45) but on the other hand he cant reconcile that with what's going on around him and so it puts him in an awkward situation philosophically.

David:
Absolutely.

The synchronistic time fits right where Leo contemplates the two conflicting set of issues I’m dealing with. The relevant quote is: “...on the one hand he knows he’s had his experiences, (1:23:45) but on the other hand he can’t reconcile that...”

The curious time is exactly in between the the two contradictory sides of my present quandary. Weird.

Okay - I’m at the desk, looking at my transcript, and feeling like I’ve discovered a little clue in this bizarre issue.

I realize I was interviewed for an hour on another episode of THE PARACAST, and it’s in my iTunes library, so I scroll down to that, and I find the same time count of 1:23:45.

Here’s the excerpt below.

* Paracast Nov. 16th 2008 *

Mike C:
“I remember waking up and there was a bright light filling the room, and my first thought was that it was the light in the driveway was on. So I sat up in bed, and I have a small illustration of this posted, I sat up in bed and I looked out the window and I remember seeing (1:23:45) quite clearly, five, spindly, gray aliens with the big bald heads and the big black eyes standing outside my window.”

This event of seeing these images out my window has been another really heavy handed quandary for me. I really have a hard time believing in the truth of this memory. I shared this story with a fellow named Paul Davids during my time in Laughlin, and he was understandably fascinated. But I felt like I was leading him on, like I was lying by saying I saw this. It bothered me, the memory is SO weird, that it’s impossible to trust. During this entire process I have tried to be as honest as possible about how I present these memories, and this one in particular is so unbelievable that I’m awash in doubt.

And again, the curious moment of the time count shows up at a very relevant point. I said: “I remember seeing (1:23:45) quite clearly...”

How much weight should I give these elusive little synchronicities?

Yes, I recognize how flighty all this seems. There was a frantic sort of compulsion as I looked into all of this, and there doesn’t seem to be any real point here. I worry that I’m turning into a paranoid weirdo seeing mystical patterns in all these numbers.

The only thing I can think of is what Leo says about synchronicities, that it’s a message to stay on the path.

It feels like a little whispering voice telling me to pay attention.

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Text added June 29th 2010:

Another bit of synchro-groovyness HERE! That stretch of interstate north of Salt Lake City (and my iPod) seems to have more to tell me!

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