owls and Anne Strieber

Now that it's finally springtime I've been riding my bike to town, I do this daily. There is a great big nest up in a cottonwood tree right where the bike lane along the highway crosses a creek and then veers off to its own bike trail.

This nest is home to a Great Horned Owl. I've been taking binoculars along with me on some days when I ride to town. I'll sit in the grass for a few minutes and focus on this amazing creature. Mostly all you can see is just it's cat-like head poking up above the huge nest. It's been wonderful to have this chance to see something so beautiful.

In the early evening of Tuesday April 30th I was riding my bike home from my little downtown. I had my iPod on shuffle and the sun was setting. As I approached this corner in the highway closest to the big nest one song faded off and I waited for the next one to start. Instead of music I heard Anne Strieber's voice.

"Hi subscribers, this is Anne Strieber..."

Anne is Whitley Strieber's wife and she has been hosting a series of special interviews where she talks with close encounter witnesses. What I was hearing was the very first in this series from January of 2010, and I was the guest.

Her voice came on just as I was slowing down to see if I could catch sight of the owl. The sun was setting and the closest spot for a view lined up exactly behind the big nest making for some dramatic backlighting. There was really only one good spot to get a view, it was a narrow opening along the scrubby bushes and aspen trees that lined the highway. From this one place I could see the owl's head and the silhouette of it's tufted "ears." There was literally a halo around the owl and I was staring directly into a shimmering aurora with an owl at it's center.

It was at this moment, as I was standing with my bike, that I realized this was the interview with me. I have a ton of stuff crammed onto my iPod, including a lot of audio interviews. I feel like I've downloaded most of Anne's subscriber series with the close encounter witnesses. The chances of this interview popping up at this moment was striking.

What I also realized was right at that moment Anne was having brain surgery to remove a (non-cancerous) tumor called a meningioma.

Before heading to town on my bike I had read this facebook message from her husband, Whitley:

Anne is in surgery now. There are probably about nine or ten hours to go. It is a very meticulous, exacting surgery. Pray for my wonderful girl!

So I saw an owl backlit by the setting sun while listening to Anne's voice introducing me while she was having a very serious operation on her brain.

This was an impressive cluster of points all in alignment at that moment; the sun, the owl, Anne's voice, Anne's surgery, plus me and my experiences. I am pretty sure this is a female owl sitting on her eggs. So I was looking at an image of motherhood in this same straight line.

Some of the mythology surrounding the owl is steeped in foreboding and death. But I felt none of that, the experience was delightful and inspiring.

Up until yesterday I had only seen one owl in that nest. While riding home last night I did the same thing, I stopped my bike at the break in the trees to look at the nest and I was delighted to see two owls. Both of them were looking right at me. One stayed low in the nest (I assume sitting on eggs) and the other one hopped from one branch to another. This second owl eventually flew to another tree.

The very first day I looked through my binoculars to get a better view of the owl, at the moment I initially focused on the owl's face—it winked at me!

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(more)

Also, in the summer of 2011 I had an experience of seeing an owl in an exact alignment with the full moon.

This same corner, where the bike path converges with the highway lines up with a bridge across a creek. This site has been the location of a series of blog posts. One with an old girlfriend and an owl (here). One with two owls crossing my path (here). And one with a deer (here).

Anne Strieber's journal as she waited to go into surgery (here)

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audio interview with Dr. Janet Elizabeth Colli

In June of 2011 I had the honor to sit in as the guest host for Whitley Strieber's on-line subscribers and interview Dr. Janet Elizabeth Colli. I had done my own interview with Dr. Colli just a month earlier. During the follow up interview we focus on one single issue, the event in the tent with Natascha from 2010. This all ties back into the yellow line on the map of southern Utah, the tent experience was the Eastern most of the three points on that line.

This conversation seems a little bit like a client and a therapist, where I ask for help and she shares her insights.

one-click audio download HERE

Thanks to Whitley for letting me post this 30-minute interview here on my site. His site is Unknown Country.

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Whitley Strieber talks with Randy Maugans

Whitley Strieber gets interviewed by Randy Maugans for a full hour on Off-Planet Radio.

This conversation reframes the entire spectrum of the paranormal. Whitley, as always, is profoundly eloquent as he addresses the big-picture from a deep personal persepctive. Humanity is being stretched, pushed, and pulled to evolve beyond our present concepts, outside of our traditional models, and forward towards something that he defines as divine.
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audio conversation with Whitley Strieber

Yes, him!

If anyone has made it to this site, there shouldn’t be any need to introduce Whitley Strieber.

Whitley said this when attempting to define the overall phenomenon: This might be what the force of evolution looks like when it is applied to a conscious mind. This quote might seem like a clever mind-puzzle, but it forms the foundation of his recent book, and this interview.

one-click audio download HERE

57 minutes long

His most recent book is titled SOLVING THE COMMUNION ENIGMA. During our conversation we attempt to articulate what it might mean to SOLVE this elusive enigma. In this book, and in the original COMMUNION from 25 years ago, there is a relentless kind of thoughtful questioning. It is both wide-ranging and deeply personal.

At the end of this podcast, I’ve included a short clip from an audio interview from 1987. Whitley was on a radio show with host Don Swaim talking about his new book at the time, COMMUNION. It’s been 25 years since that book exploded into the popular conciousness, and you can still hear that same thoughtful and questioning voice.

And sadly, one thing that we didn’t cover was his book THE KEY, perhaps the most important book of my life.

Here’s a link to his web-site, UNKNOWN COUNTRY.

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NOTE:

This was originally posted on Jan. 20th, but I moved it back up to the top of the list. This was a good interview, and I feel it should be appreciated.
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Mac Tonnies "interviews" Whitley Strieber

Mac on a road trip production for a documentary with the CBC

During one late night phone call, Mac Tonnies told me about a back and forth series of questions he asked Whitley Strieber. Years ago, in a long ago era of the internet, Whitley briefly maintained a simple on-line bulletin board system. His goal was to provide a forum to answer questions from his readers. Mac used this forum to connect with Whitley; this must have been sometime in the early 90's.

I just found the interview on Mac's website, it's still on-line, and it makes for bittersweet reading. The interview is posted HERE and it is in a readable print-ready PDF format below.

If I remember the conversation correctly, Mac sent in questions over a period of time (perhaps weeks), and then collected his questions and replies from the forum and ganged them all into one document, and this document created an "interview" of sorts. I clearly remember him explaining to me how impressed he was with the thoughtful quality and seriousness in the way Whitley answered those questions.

Mac wrote of Whitley: "I was impressed with the quickness and sincerity of his replies."
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Mac Interviews Whitley

intriguing UFO report in Utah (with audio link)

One of several cell phone photos from the event.

There is a very interesting audio report posted on Whitley Strieber's DREAMLAND. Linda Moulton Howe reports on a UFO experience in Utah. It is fascinating and scary, complete with missing time, multiple whitneses and three cars mysteriously relocated miles away.

The audio report linked HERE. Please note, this audio interview is no longer free, it is now part of the DREAMLAND membership files. The audio MP3 is dated Jan. 27th 2012.

Written report with photos HERE.

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 Follow up info / April 6th 2012 

There is more to this case than one might imagine. First, in the comment section it was noted that there was a UFO video on the Weather Channel that featured a glowing blue image in American Fork, near Salt Lake City Utah. (Linked HERE)

The event with the blue-lights over American Fork Utah took place the evening of Jan. 27th 2012.

The event reported by Linda Moulton Howe took place in the early morning hours of Dec. 13th, 2011.

This video of the blue-lights was immediately used as a way to "solve" the report from Linda Moulton Howe. But, another video appeared shortly afterwords. This is a follow-up showing an young man named Andrew Smith building a funny contraption in his garage. The "UFO" was constructed of gas filled black garbage bags and a ring of blue LED lights. 

Follow-up video linked HERE.

These videos are interesting because they show how these unrelated events can cloud a very intriguing report.

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Whitley Strieber and Larry Warren and Facebook

Well whadda y'know...

Here's what I found this morning on my facebook page. Two outspoken UFO experiencers share a similar date on the calendar. Never noticed this until right now. Click on the image above for a HI-rez view.

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compelled to sleep out under the stars

A map of the area near New Paltz, New York, known as the Shawangunks

At one point in my life I had dedicated myself to rock climbing, this happened while living in New York City. This little story took place in the summer of 1993, and at the time I was 31 (I am 49 as I write this).

I had a secret spot where I liked to sleep out under the stars. It was on top of a dramatic cliff system known as the Shawangunks. This was just a few miles outside of the town of New Paltz, (noted on the map with a RED marker) this is about 90 miles north of New York City. It was near the “hair-pin-turn” if you are at all familiar with the area. I would sneak into the woods and camp alone on the Mohonk Preserve, a protected private park. This is a perfectly lovely spot with a delightful wilderness feel.

The spot where I slept was out on a big expanse of lumpy white rock, this is the same rock formation that makes up the cliff system where all the climbing takes place. The rock itself is a hard, silica-cemented conglomerate of white quartz pebbles and sandstone. My sleeping spot was simply a shallow flat spot, exactly the size of my sleeping pad, and it was absolutely beautiful.

One night (I am quite certain it was a Friday) at about 11:30, I was in my little apartment in Greenwich Village. At that late hour, I was sort of “compelled” to get in my car and drive north to my little secret spot. It was an easy drive that late at night with minimal traffic. As I was on the FDR, I remember thinking to myself, “Wow, they're pushin’ pretty hard tonight.”

It was a 90 minute drive and I parked my car at around 1:AM. I took my sleeping bag and pad into the woods and went to sleep. I have no unusual memories at all. The next morning, I met with some of the local climbers and enjoyed a day of rock climbing.

Now, this “event” can easily be dismissed as just me wanting to get out of the crowded city and get an early start the next morning, I recognize that. Or, just me wanting to sleep outside under the stars in a pretty place; this is something I still do a lot in the summer.

All that said, I’m still confused about that little voice in my head that just kind of blurted out: “Wow, they're pushin’ pretty hard tonight.”

I had read Whitley Strieber’s COMMUNION a few years earlier, and he gave some details about his cabin, and I realized it was rather close to my secret spot, maybe just a few miles away. I only thought about this years later when UNKNOWN COUNTRY noted that Whitley’s cabin was quite close to those cliffs. When I read that, I had a sinking feeling. But why?

I have pin-pointed my secret sleeping spot exactly on a map (noted on the map with a YELLOW marker). I later learned that Whitley’s cabin was near the little town of Accord (noted on the map with a BLUE marker). The town is less than four miles from my sleeping spot. I don’t know the exact location of the cabin, but it could be as close as two miles from my sleeping spot.

I’ll add that some years later, I went up to that spot, but not to sleep. It was the middle of the day and I was visiting New Paltz. I was curious if I could even find it again on the big open expanse of white rock.

I walked straight to it, and on this one lone spot, someone had spray painted a pentagram in a circle. (it may have been an “A” in a circle, I can’t remember exactly). This bit of creepy graffiti was right exactly where I slept! Nothing else was noted anywhere on the huge area. Weird!

That’s it, overall it’s nothing all that eventful, but upon reflection some of the details sure feel strange to me.

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Whitley Strieber interviews Jeff Kripal

Whitley Strieber interviews Jeff Kripal about his book MUTANTS AND MYSTICS, linked HERE. This interview was only available (for free) for a few weeks. Presently, it requires a membership fee to listen.

This is a great companion to the conversation on this site.

Interview with Dr. Colli on DREAMLAND, hosted by yours truly!

Whitley Strieber's DREAMLAND just posted an audio interview for their subscribers scection, featuring Dr. Janet Elizebeth Colli interviewed by me. This was a half hour long conversation where I share the story of the tent and Dr. Colli does her best to make some sense out of it. We also talk a bout the role of the shaman in our society. In a way, this is a follow up to the audio conversation I had with Dr. Colli earlier in the spring.

Dr. Janet Eliabthe Colli, a clinical therapyst who explores the subtal realms with people trying to make sense of the contact experience.

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Below is an excerpt of the blurb from the UNKNOWN COUNTRY site:


A Close Encounter Witness Interviews a Psychologist (linked HERE)

Here, in a first on Unknowncountry or anywhere, a close encounter witness, Mike Clelland, talks frankly about his experiences, and the experience in general, with Janet Colli. So, if you've wondered how you might approach a psychologist with your story, listen and find out! You will also hear an absolutely riveting exchange between two very articulate people. This is the close encounter experience from deep within its hidden reality.

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.

more synchro-groovyness

I just did a short audio interview with Whitley Strieber about Mac Tonnies and his book THE CRYPTOTERRESTRIALS. It was a very nice chance to praised my friend.

At one point mid-way thru the interview, Whitley included a short audio clip from a radio interview with Mac done shortly before he died.. During the time that the clip was playing, I sat silently with my finger on a very relevant point in Mac's book. It was on page 25, and it is an open challenge to the UFO research community. I was planning to read this short excerpt aloud after the audio clip ended.

But - When Whitley spoke again, he immediately said: "And here is something from Mac's book..."

Where upon he read the EXACT quote that was under my index finger! A delightfully appropriate bit of synchro-groovyness!

Here is the quote:

"Am I a ufologist? I don't know. Maybe. If I am, I should probably qualify the 'U' word with 'theoretical.' There are theoretical physicists and literary theorists; why not theoretical ufologists?

The ufological 'community' suffers from creative anemia. It has a disheartening tendency to refute dissenting voices – even those within its own ranks – with tired screeds that unnecessarily polarize the debate..."

And here is the audio clip used on the interview:

conversation with Anne Strieber

There is a new audio interview on Whitley Strieber's DREAMLAND (with me), it's posted in the subscriber's section, dated 1/30/2010. I talk with Anne Strieber, Whitley's wife, for about 40 minutes.

I have been going to UFO conferences over the last few years, and I had the chance to talk with Anne at an event in Joshua Tree California in October of last year. We sat together for a short time, and I shared some of my experiences, and she had a lot of insights.

After the publication of COMMUNION in 1987, the Strieber's received over half a million letters where people would share their experiences. Anne claims to have read thru all of them, and in doing so, she has become a sort of data base for the extremely bizarre details that get reported by witnesses.

You will need to be a member of the DREAMLAND site to access this audio interview.

Here's an excerpt of what Anne wrote about the interview:

Subscriber Special: A Subscriber Close-Encounter Witness Tells His Story

... Anne Strieber talks with close encounter witness "Mike" about his current and ongoing encounter experiences. As our visitors focus more and more on people who are taking an active interest in them, the close encounter experience is changing. No longer does it involve only sudden appearances in the middle of the night to totally unprepared people, it also involves ongoing relationships with people who have been having encounters, often for years.
These people offer a whole new narrative of contact, and represent the first ongoing experience human beings have had with entities of unknown origin that is not being turned into mythology and superstition. Listen as Mike tells you of his life and his experiences in a calm and straightforward manner. He discusses synchronicities, missing time, seeing visitors as a child, and his personal struggle to get past denial and fear and make his encounters a part of his life of value to him, not simply something to be endured in fear and confusion.

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Also, early in the interview I mistakenly say 1973 when talking about the Orange Flash event, I should have said 1974.

Shortly there after I say that I received an email from Whitley where he says he is following my blog, I made a mistake, that email was in reference to following my twitter account. He did send me a note about my blog, but it was a different day. Sorry about that, I was nervous at the beginning, and I made some mistakes.
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Joshua Tree California

From L to R. Starfire Tor, William Henry, Anne Striber, Whitley Strieber and Brandon Scott (the Magician)

The Dreamland event in Joshua Tree just ended, and I'm writing this from a groovy little health food store just down the highway from the retreat center. It was really interesting, I've been awash in synchronicities (like THIS! check out the two stories back-to-back). Gotta let it all sink in before I write anything.

But, it was held in the funny complex of buildings built by Frank Lloyd Wright and his son in the late 40's. A weird mix of super-groovy low slung buildings suffering from a dusty sort of decay after 60 years of the desert sun.

more owl weirdness

my shamanic guru

Yesterday I had an onslaught of synchronicities involving an email exchange with a complete stranger. Lots of little threads that seem to connect up to everything.

Sharing this experience will require some patience, because there are a lot of details, and the story ends up being sorta long.

It started when I stumbled on a blog named, strangely enough, SYNCHRONICITY. The title seemed intriguing, and I scrolled down and read a posting titled The Owl and the Money Clip. The story was really curious, and well worth checking out. I figured I would leave a comment, partially to share my owl stories as a link to this blog (yes, an ego thing). I added a short comment, the thirteenth under that heading.

I read thru the other comments and this one catches my attention.

A woman named Stacey writes:

... a couple years ago I had the privilege to spend time in a giant owls "nest" for lack of a better word, with over thirty barn and horned owls watching me...it was one of the most profound moments of my life!

Over thirty owls? Now this perked my interest!

This seemed curious because I had included a written request at the end of a a recent blog posting on my latest owl sightings.

Just a few days ago I asked:

"My question to anyone out there: Has anyone ever seen adult owls in groups of three (or five)?"

So - I ask a question, and I get a whollp of an answer. I click on Stacey's little picture, and I get sent to her profile page, I click on her contact info, and fire off an email.

I write:

Stacey, I gotta ask about that story. Here's why I’m asking. For reasons unknown, I have been awash in owls this summer (and in the last few years) and its been really strange. I'll add that I have my own blog dedicated to my own paranormal and synchronistic events ... I wrote about seeing a big crew of owls on my blog, and it’s dedicated to synchronicity. I am intrigued!

Later that same day she replies:

How nice to hear from you. I went to your post and it was lovely. Owls are amazing and I have spent time with a few of them ... LOL! I have just posted my story about the owls on my blog. Check it out ... I'd love to hear your thoughts.

So, I go to her blog and read her owls story, and the text is written in a way that's overtly mysterious. Here's a short excerpt:

Above me, I heard a flutter. I looked up. A shadow flew. I felt I was being watched. I looked around for what it was. What was watching me? Then I saw it. A geisha faced owl staring down at me. We contemplated each other until another rustle distracted me. I slowly turned in a circle staring up into the canopy of trees, baring witness to several owls camouflaged in the leaves keeping a watchful eye. There were too many to count. I had stumbled upon a holy shrine and I was the initiate.

[read the entire posting here]

The short little story was filled with mythic images (some real, some metaphorical) of a black beetle, an altar, divine guidance, a holy shrine, a friend named Christian, the longing for a first kiss and a baptism in mysticism. Now, I’m REALLY intrigued!

Here's the final line of the short essay:

It is said that owls are guardians of the after life and their nocturnal nature is a symbol of inner knowing. People are often called to their power animals because they share a mutual energy. With the doors of perception opened, perhaps I had been brought to the owls as a reminder of my intuitive powers and to be shown I was already riding the wave, I had just lost sight of it.

Immediately, I added a comment to HER blog:

Stacey, you said you saw a lot of owls in one spot. My request ... Please, tell me more. For some reason, my life has been inundated with owls lately. I can't quite understand it. There is something SO mystical about an owl, that I can't help but try and see the event as some sort of premonition - or divine message.

I'll also add, there is a scary alien abduction movie (due out soon) that features a lot of owls in the trailer, followed up with "Those aren't owls!" (The Fourth Kind).

Within minutes, I got this directly in my email in-box:

Hi Mike ... Later that night Christian and I saw a "UFO"... I left that part of the story out ... I can't believe your comment ... that is hilarious! Maybe they are connected!

I reply instantaneously:

What?!?!? You saw a UFO - the same night as the OWLS?????

Okay - My Blog is all about my UFO experiences! And the owls are intertwined with my experiences ... I will add this email to my long list of odd coincidences...

Just so you know, this has been EXACTLY the kind of stuff that has been happening to me. Especially this funny email meeting. Up to my reply, there was NOTHING about UFOs in any of our correspondence.

Now - You kinda need to fill me in on the UFO sighting (Pleeeeease) - this is really interesting.

Then Stacey replies with a short narrative explaining her UFO sighting:

So funny! You are so surprised and excited I love it. Nothing shocks me. I believe in EVERYTHING.

So to add to the story ... (after seeing the owls) Well into the night and with the veils of perception solidly back in place, we left. I drove. We were back on the two-way highway when I saw what looked like a streetlight up ahead but as we approached it, I realized the light wasn’t attached to anything and then it flew over our heads.

“It landed back there,” Christian said as his head snapped back around and his eyes lit up like he had just seen a ghost.

“What was it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you want to stop?”

“Yeah.”

I stopped the car and backed into a vacant lot that was used for selling produce during the harvest season. It was pitch black and we were out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by olive groves. As we got out of the car Christian asked, “If they want to take us would you go?”

“Yes, as long as time stood still,” I said not sure if it were true.

We walked down the middle of the two-lane highway cloaked in darkness when we heard a loud rumble like a semi-truck heading straight for us. We looked at each and ran for our lives back to the car. As I opened my car door whatever-it-was flew over our heads and then vanished into thin air.

We got back in the car and drove away, gazing out into the night sky where it had been. We were silent, not knowing what we had just seen and thinking it was too fantastical to be named. Naming it, owned it and we weren’t ready to own it. As we got back on the Interstate Five, Christian put his hand on my shoulder. It felt familiar like it had been there my entire life. I felt supported and loved beyond a first kiss like we had been married for years. Christian fell asleep and I wondered how many dragons he’d slain that day.

So funny, I thought I was abducted the other night...it happens all the time.

My friend Marla (who interviews for Whitley Streiber on Unknowncountry) has great stories to tell ... she's tapped in.

I reply:

Okay - this is getting strange.

First - I am going to have a phone session with Marla Frees tomorrow! And you bring her up in this email!

On my blog, a few days ago, I posted an audio interview with an abductee (contactee? experiencer?) named Miriam and Marla calls in the background, you can hear her voice, I was on skype, and she called my land-line. I laughed and said, "Okay, this is another synchronicity"

Second - I wanna ask more about the UFO event, but email is a funny forum for that. I may bug you in the future. I'm having such intense deja vu that I am not sure what I'm trying to say. Did you ever post that text about Christian putting his hand on your shoulder anywhere on the net? I feel like I've read it before...

There are a lot of mythic details that make me so intrigued! Olive trees? Owls? Christian (a curious and fitting name), dragons slain, harvest season and time standing still.

Finally - You wrote - "So funny, I thought I was abducted the other night...it happens all the time." So - This happens all the time? But why isn't it in you blog?

At this point I’m wigging out, and Stacy takes it in stride, here’s her response:

That is great ...You are going to love Marla. I don't blog about all this "stuff" because my audience isn't there yet ... My friend Christian is a great guy who is also on the leading edge of all this stuff. How strange we have met through here ... and that you’re speaking with Marla tomorrow.

We sent a few more back-and-forth emails where I encourage (chide?) her to write about her UFO experiences. For some reason, it feels really important that she share these stories. She says she’s thought about it, and I read between the lines and I get the impression that there has been a lot of paranormal activity in her life.

This entire email exchange was just too interesting. There is a long laundry list of mythic plot points that fascinate me - Owls, UFO's, Marla Frees, abduction, Whitley Strieber and her overt religious symbolism.

And ultimately, I am simply amazed at the funny happenstance of me contacting her from a tiny reply you made on another blog that I had never seen before - until I stumbled on it yesterday morning. One more experience with the internet to make me believe (even more strongly) that it has a mystical power all it’s own.
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I encourage folks to read Stacey's blog ( staceyjwarner.blogspot.com ). I was pretty clear that I thought she should write more about her paranormal experiences. I hope my goading pays off!
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A list of relevant links:
Marla Frees web-site
My postings about Owls
Regan Lee writing about Owls
Chris Knowles writing about Owls

Please note, some of the dialog in the back-and-forth emails has been edited slightly for clarity.
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Okay, there's more. On Oct 6th Stacey wrote about these same experiences in her blog, Stacey's Respite. There is a little more to the story, and I'll let her tell it. Let me add that this whole event has be positively magical. The session with Marla was, well, overwhelming in it's intense divinity. (yes, I know that sounds corny, but it's true)

This story ain't over...

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Follow up on Oct 27th.

This morning, I saw that the website SYNCHRONICITY did a posting on this nutty owl story. And, (adding to the coincidences) Stacey and I both added comments (pretty much) simultaneously. When I saw the posting, she hadn't commented yet, and I promptly wrote a (long winded) comment, and when I posted it, she had already added hers!

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meeting Whitley Strieber

There are few personalities that can compare to Whitley Strieber. He is (for good or for bad) an intense dude! And he brings out strong opinions in other people.

I met him and he was nice to me.

I'll add that he's a big guy, over 6 feet tall and an impressive presence in a room. When I met him (at Chet Snow's SECRETS conference in 2007) he had on a suit and tie in a room full of flowery new-age people at a UFO conference, making him even more imposing.

He was standing in a line for coffee and I introduced myself. Without any niceties, I jumped right to the issue that was deeply troubling me. I spoke about how I was trying to come to terms with my own set of experiences, which seemed to point to a series of ongoing abductions.

I said, "Looking into this, I'm really - well - really freaked out."

Whitley said, "I should say so!"

Here's what he told me next:

"You know how when you look at a lake at that moment of a beautiful sunset, and the light is reflecting off the surface of the water. What you are seeing is the color of the sky, and the dazzling display of the sunset."

He made a melodramatic hand gesture to visually describe the flat surface of a lake out in front of him, and then he continued.

"But at the same time you may get a glimpse what's under the surface of the water, but you can only see a distorted refraction. I feel that's what's going on here. We see something that we can't quite perceive, it's hidden from us - and what we DO see is distorted and refracted. There is a LOT going on under the water."

That is as good a definition as I've ever heard about this entire mixed-up quandary.

dialogue with "John Smith"

I’ve been in contact with five people. I’ve met all of them within the last year. All are between 46 and 48. Each have some odd life experiences, and some are, well - VERY odd. 

Of the people I’ve met, one goes by the name "John Smith." He is a materials scientist using a pseudonym to protect his identity at his work place. He had been having ongoing strange experiences that he's feels are some kind of program of alien abduction.

About John, a little over a year ago he found a small painful lump in his toe. He had conscious memories of a team of small gray aliens implanting the tiny object. He went to a podiatrist and requested an x-ray and asking for an opinion as to how to proceed. The person he went to was Dr. Roger Leir, who has been researching these extremely strange items for over a decade.

The object was eventually surgically removed with Dr. Leir assisting in the operating room. The tiny object was examined and the results were utterly bizarre. The lab report came back stating that the item was “meteoric” and upon closer examination, it was shown to contain carbon nano-tubes. 

John Smith is a scientist involved in the study and development of carbon nano-tubes.

These implants are a very strange part of an already very strange phenomenon. These are treated as quite dubious by a lot of researchers. I cannot even attempt to prove or disprove the conclusions of Dr. Leir. If his research is to be taken as genuinely legitimate, then we are dealing with a very strange mystery.

          *       *       * 

Just a few days ago, I was replying to an email from “John Smith” and while I was typing my cell phone rang. I answered, and it was him. I was working at an office, and I went outside so I wouldn’t need to worry about being guarded while talking in a room with other people.

I stood in the parking lot, and we talked for almost an hour.

He was articulating stuff that I feel at a deep level. He was just saying it out-loud, in a matter of fact tone.

I can’t do what he does, just SAY stuff. Instead, I’ll wrap any statement I make with words like “maybe” and “perhaps.” I just don’t trust myself enough to blurt out what I’m feeling. I don’t believe it in any kind of logical way, so I can’t say it.

He gently chided me on that, and said, if you know it’s so you really need to declare that, you are doing yourself a disservice by avoiding your truth. Easier said than done, for me anyway.

John makes some claims that are extremely challenging for me to believe, but - at some level - I find it’s the same thing I’m feeling. This is hard to articulate.

John and I met in person at a recent UFO conference. We had a few very intense conversations. We re-met in May through an on-line chat forum on Whitley Strieber's DREAMLAND web-site. After that we shared a bunch of emails, and I’ve assembled some of that dialog below. I’ve done a minimal amount of editing, mostly I’ve deleted anything too personal, and rearranged the order for clarity.

Mike C wrote: We met and talked at the UFO conference in Nevada in February. I’ve had a strange bit of weirdness, I've been meeting people our age (you and I are almost exactly the same age) with UFO experiences - AND - taking part in a documentary - AND - a history of depression.

John Smith replied: Hi Mike, I remember you! I'm glad you are getting your story out. I m not surprised we are the same age. There was a large "crop" of people like us in the early '60s, apparently.

Mike: When I came home from the conference in Nevada, I was in a state of deep anxiety. a weird (and unexplainable) compulsion (yes, that's the right word) to come forward with my story. I felt compelled to do something, it felt important (hard to articulate these feelings). And, like two days after getting home to Idaho - I started a BLOG where I share my experiences and memories.

John: Glad you started a Blog. That sort of thing is what the aliens want us to do these days. Yes, the main goal is the dissemination of the knowledge of the presence of extraterrestrials on Earth. They want publicity.

Mike: You spoke about a "crop" of people born in the 1960's, the implication is that there is a program (run by "them") of genetic alterations, that started back then. I've met a series of folks (you included) that seem to fit that "crop" and the checklist of similar life experiences is TOO much to be mere coincidence.

John: Yes, I have too. I seem to feel a connection to everyone I meet who is a fellow member. I think it is important that we help each other.

Mike: I've met a series of folks (you included) that seem to fit that "crop" and the checklist of similar life experiences is TOO much to be mere coincidence.

John: Yes, I have too. I seem to feel a connection to everyone I meet who is a fellow member. I think it is important that we help each other.

(a DREAMLAND forum member asks) John, what is the vintage of this "crop" that you and Mike are talking about?

John: 1955-1965

Mike: Have you met a bunch of these folks (this "crop")? Are you finding any kinship?

John: Yes, definitely. I felt a bond with you, and with all of the other people in the "crop". In my opinion, we have been genetically altered by the aliens. I have some proof of this from my own experiences.

Mike: What are your thoughts about this "crop" that seems to be emerging - right now.

John: Our crop seemed to have the function of shaking up human society with unconventional ideas, and to change the fossilized status quo. We are (mostly) highly intelligent, creative, somewhat psychic, suspicious of authority, attracted to unconventional pursuits, and have a somewhat rebellious nature.

         (Okay, it sure feels like he’s describing me)

Mike: Recently, I had a conversation with another fellow that seems to match this crop, and he and I pondered how similar our stories were. He’s been very vocal about his experiences, and he’s been sharing them publicly.

He said, (and I'm paraphrasing from memory) "My girlfriend asks me what I want out of this, what do I want back from sharing these stories. It's not that I expect anything back, I feel like I have no control about coming forward - I simply HAVE to do it."

John: We are told, telepathically, to do it by them. It is a compulsion, put into our minds.

Mike: That is EXACTLY how I feel! And I don't understand why.

         (This is the heart of my quandary. I worry about my sanity because of this oppressive feeling)

John: As I said, they want publicity, at this stage of their agenda.

Mike: There are enormous stresses with this stuff, true enough. But, at the same time, I think society is evolving in a way that speaking about these issues is not as "marginalizing" as it might have been a decade ago.

John: Yes, I think you're right. The more intelligent people among us are starting to accept this.

Mike: That said, it can still be VERY challenging.

John: Yes. There is still the potential for career and relationship damage, ridicule, and ... harassment if one speaks publicly about this subject. It is political dynamite.

Mike: After starting the BLOG, the weirdness MULTIPLIED. I'm not kidding, it's like the internet is a giant amplifier of synchronicities.

John: I agree. What kind of weirdness have you experienced? That synchronicity thing is alien involvement, all the way.

Mike: Huge thanks for being open with this stuff. As silly as it sounds, my sanity may depend on it. It feels important to share this stuff.

You speak of your experiences with a vast amount of insight, and knowledge. It goes way beyond simply saying: "I have some faint memories." (and that's where I'm at, just some fuzzy memories)

John: Thanks, I still need to remember a lot more, consciously, though. I began to get more conscious memories after starting hypnosis sessions. Have you tried it yet? I get a lot of unconscious memories, though, where I know I know things about the aliens and the phenomenon, and stuff that they have taught me, but often do not have conscious memories to go with the knowledge.

Mike: I have attempted hypnosis with four different hypnotherapists, and nothing has emerged. Mostly, I feel utterly blocked. I feel like the DVD player when the image gets frozen and I can't use the clicker to get past that one frame (in particular dealing with the ORANGE FLASH story).

John: You probably know some things they do not want talked about yet. I am mostly blocked from conscious memories, but not completely. If you ever do remember anything, don't be surprised if some of it disturbs you at first.

(a DREAMLAND forum member asks) Do abductees have higher rates of depression?

John: Yes, definitely. It causes all kinds of personal problems when you have a secret life, so totally unlike your normal one, which you only remember bits and pieces of.

Whitley Strieber replies to the same question: [About abductees having higher rates of depression] They almost have to. I know that, by about 1993, I was very seriously contemplating suicide, not because of the abductions but because of the way society had responded, calling me a liar, laughing at me, etc.

Mike: The depression aspect of this phenomenon is a very real pattern (from my anecdotal observations, and personally). Have you dealt with any depression in your life? I'm genuinely curious.

John: Yes. I used to get depressed a lot, but not recently. I'm having a lot of fun these days.

(The DREAMLAND forum administrator asks) It strikes me that if they wanted implant information to come to light, they could do it totally anonymously via various methods. So I wonder if the exposure of the implant technology isn't the real goal, but rather trying to goad us to questioning who created them, what they are doing, or just the very existence of extra terrestrial life. Otherwise it would seem a pretty cumbersome way to convey technical knowledge. Thoughts?

Whitley Strieber replies: Their whole presence here seems, at least in part, to be about forcing us to face questions that we cannot bear and cannot answer. Burning questions that can't be put out! This greatly exercises the mind, for one thing.

Mike: Question to Whitley: I can't help but think (feel?) that the events surrounding "John" and his implant, you and Dr. Leir - were all somehow orchestrated. I mean, he sees a doctor about an implant in his foot, and Dr. Lear is a podiatrist doing implant research? Did this happen just so this story could come forward, in an intriguing way, with such tight fitting puzzle pieces. Does this make sense?

Whitley Strieber replies: The whole UFO-close encounter phenomenon is, to an extent, orchestrated, I think. It has a very 'on-stage' quality that induces intense questioning. What ARE these things in the sky? Why ARE people being abducted? What do implants do? Are they dangerous or not? It is intended to be this way, I feel sure.

(a DREAMLAND forum member asks) John, do you wish now that you'd left it in?

John: No, I was supposed to have it removed. They knew I would start an investigation, and wanted this information to come to light. They are entering a phase of their agenda where they want some publicity, so that those who are ready to accept them will know they are here.

          *       *       *

Let me add that I have a small straight razor like scar on the inside of my left nostril. It showed up about 2000 (I think) and I have no idea how I got it. That’s a story for another blog posting.

Saint Patrick's Day (with 13 links)

Masha Telna (above) and Lily Cole (below), two super models, both with vaguely terrifying eyes.

This morning I recognized a pair of dueling blog posts.

The only two blogs I care about are from Mac Tonnies & and Christopher Knowles, and they are both pictured on my sidebar, with links (as is Whitley Strieber). They both write in their separate blogs about how weird certain super-models can look. They understandably ponder if they might (in fact) be alien hybrids. Or, as Budd Hopkins would correct me, transgenic beings.

Christopher's vote:
Lily Cole...or Indrid Cold?

Mac's vote:
Masha Telna: alien-human hybrid?

- And -

There's more. Just so you know, I had a long phone chat with Mac on Sunday night. We talked about sychronicities, Cindy Gail, Whitley, The Secret Sun, Indrid Cold, Aeolus Kephas and all the weirdness surrounding OWLS.

And - today is St. Patrick's Day. I'll add that the Christopher Knowles was caught off guard during a recent podcast interview with Aeolus Kephas. When Aeolus cautiously asked Chris if his very curious memories of a scary Leprechaun at the foot of his bed might imply some sort of contact experience, there was an audible pause - and Chris replied with a shaky: "No."

[LINK to the fascinating podcast]

And - Mac and I had a long talk about how the synaptic fiber of the internet may be a new set of neurons, allowing and encouraging a alternative web of synchronistic happenings. (like this post) - and this!

And - Mac sent me a link to an amazing article about Whitley Strieber - by Aeolus Kephas.

And - Chris compared Lily Cole to: "the owl-human hybrid-demon-goddess Lilith"

And - Lilith is the name of Whitley's heroine vampire in LILITH'S DREAM.

And - Whitley openly states that his vampire novels are metaphors for his "visitor" contact.

And - Whitley spoke out on my blog about MY owl story.

And - Cindy Gail sent me a cute LEPRECHAUN email today - and the magical synchronicity surrounding HER appearance in my life is the stuff of providence.

AND - today is Cindy Gail's birthday!


A list of this morning's synchronic WEIRDNESS:
Super Models
Hybrids
Blogs (in threes)
Owls (in threes)
Indrid Cold
Leprechauns
Whitley Stieber
Aeolus Kephas
St. Paddy's Day
and - Cindy Gail!

(Gee Wizz - Did I miss anything?)

if only I could muster up my courage

Cindy Gail in 1967

I am trying to be brave, but it’s been oppressive and scary.

This blog was created in a flurry, and it was all about some deep need to share some of my nutty experiences to the world. Where this need is coming from? I wish I could answer that.

I know full well what my next post needs to be, and it requires bravery, or maybe the better way to say it, it requires abandonment.

I want to post a story about a 1974 UFO sighting. I saw something in my hometown in Michigan, but I’ve been stuck, unable to put it on this blog. Well, I didn’t really “see” anything beyond a very strange orange flash in the sky, but my friend told me he saw a UFO. It lasted just a second, it was silent and weirdly jarring. I arrived home almost two hours later than I should have, and the implications are disturbing. There is more to this story, but hopefully it’ll be the next post (above).

This event took place on a lovely autumn evening in the quiet suburbs of Detroit.

It was just a block from the house where I grew up, and I can point to the exact spot on the sidewalk. It was in front of a house I know well. This is where an elementary school class mate lived, and this home will forever be known as Cindy Gail's house. There is a sweet and emotional part of my childhood all wrapped up in this house. In 1967 I went to Mrs. Dunn’s kindergarten class and met Cindy Gail. I’ll add that she was my very first crush - ever. She had light red hair and freckles, and there was something so centered and calm about her. I remember her doing art projects, and they were always tidy and perfect, and I envied her sense of self.

Cindy moved away when we were both still in elementary school. We haven’t talked in close to 40 years, and I had no idea what happened to her.

Let’s fast forward to yesterday. I spent the day cross-country skiing in the foot hills of the Tetons. It was a glorious day, and I was with friends. But, the one thing that kept spinning in my mind was this oppressive need to post that story about the long-ago event on the sidewalk in front of Cindy Gail’s house. The implications of that night are a little bit scary, and I was wallowing in insecurities. Was I brave enough to share what happened? I didn’t know if I could go through with it.

As I skied I tried to visualize how I would post it on-line. I felt there needed to be some sort of visual graphic. Recently, I had used google-earth to pin point the exact spot in front of Cindy Gail's house. I obsessed over this image, with that little marker pin-pointing the spot on the sidewalk. I’ve spent a lot of time compulsively staring at that image, and all that it implied. I thought that this satellite view of my old neighborhood would work okay as a picture for this nerve-wracking post.

And I was planning to do it last night, if I could only muster up the courage.

After skiing I was tired and unmotivated. I stared at my computer, knowing what I needed to do, but it just felt so daunting. I can so clearly visualize that haunting spot in front of Cindy Gail house. I was stuck, unable to follow my heart.

My computer makes a quiet ping, and I check my e-mail, and two messages come in, side-by-side.

The first was - unbelievably - a facebook friend request from Cindy Gail.

What?

I stared at my computer in utter disbelief. Oh my God, was this really happening? I immediately replied to the request, and added this message:

Mike Clelland (March 12th, 2009) wrote at 10:29pm:
Cindy Gail? You did a "show & tell" in Mrs. Wyler’s first grade class showing how to fold a piece of paper, gently lick the fold, and then you could easily tare the paper in a nice straight line. Clean and perfect.

I still do this, and EVERY time I do - I think of you!

(NOTE: I realize now that this was actually Mrs. Zimmerman’s 2nd grade class)

At 10:33pm, this Message comes back:
Yes, that's me!! I think of you whenever I see cartoons! Are you still wearing Wonder Bread bags inside of your boots? I was so envious that your mom did that.

We talked back and forth via facebook - and I was absolutely overwhelmed. I even tried to tell her how utterly weird the coincidence was - that she contacted me - tonight of all nights.

It would be hard to describe how magical and wonderful this felt. It literally felt like there was sparkling “Disney Dust” (the cartoon stuff from Tinkerbell’s wand) swirling around me as I sat at the computer.

Okay, and to make things even weirder - the second e-mail right after Cindy’s, that came with the same little ping - was from the infamous UFO abductee Whitley Strieber. He was now following my updates on Twitter - and boy-o-boy, did I have something funny to share with him!

If my life is a path, and if I pay attention, I can sense it’s direction. This path is leading me somewhere. It feels like all the little clues that the universe is whispering to me are inching me toward one thing, that I share my extremely curious life events with the world. Yesterday, I was stuck on that path, unable to move forward, frozen and cowardly. Then at 10:27 PM, I was slapped in the head by a facebook friend request from the cutest girl in Mrs. Dunn’s kindergarten class!

Now I have the courage to post the next story.

_____________________________________________________

I’ve added this on Aug 6th, 2009.

Since we re-connected in March, I have been chatting (thru facebook) with Cindy Gail over the last few months. I talked with her last night, and a curious thing came up. It seems I remembered something wrong. I had assumed that Cindy had moved away from my hometown when she was in 2nd grade. She corrected me, she lived in that house on the corner (in the photo) until the end of 7th grade. That would have been the spring of 1975.

That means she was living right down the street from me when the orange flash event occurred. For some reason, this seems so strange. Maybe I just forgot, it was over 30 years ago. But we talked about the teachers in our elementary school, and it I remembered a lot of details, and as we talked I remembered some funny events involving her throughout my years in that neighborhood.

I realize now, that she may have been home, in her house just a short distance away from me on that autumn night in 1974.

- and -

If you've read this far, you simply must read about the curious reemergence (again, at a synchronistic moment via facefook) of Mike Lewis.

______________________________________________________

And - I've added this on Sept 2nd 2009.

I just got off the phone with Cindy Gail. She still visits her old next door neighbors (the couple are now in their mid-80's). She said they told her a story that they saw a glowing green UFO over her house! This would have been before 1977 (when they moved).

I begged Cindy to play the role of investigative reporter and dig up more on this very curious puzzle piece.

______________________________________________________

Note: the name Cindy Gail is a pseudonym.