My People of the Year 2011

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel courtesy Wikipedia

 

OK, so I’m a bit late with this, but I am a firm believer in thinking before speaking or writing. That doesn’t mean I am always able to reflect before speaking, but it is a goal.

On the world stage, Angela Merkel is one of my People of the Year 2011. She is one strong woman and a role model for young women around the world. She was successful in holding the European Union and the Euro together against dreadful odds. Granted, it is possible that things could still crumble.  She is arguably the most powerful person in the world. She presided over the government that made the very intelligent decision to eliminate nuclear power from Germany. Truth be told, I may not agree with all her politics (slowed phase out of nuclear power, for instance) but her success is undeniable.

Related to Chancellor Merkel are the small scale ecological pioneers of Germany, another of my People of the Year 2011. Germany has become a leader in implementation of solar power despite being in a higher latitude (less sunshine) than more likely candidates.

http://www.zmescience.com/ecology/germany-cuts-solar-energy-feed-in-tariff-by-50-in-8-years/

The word ‘ecology‘ was coined in 1866 by the German biologist Ernst Haeckl. Germany is investing heavily in alternative energy sources and they are being embraced by many small entrepreneurs and private citizens. Twenty percent of Germany’s energy came from renewable sources in 2011 and that amount is scheduled to increase. Compare that to only 14.3% renewable in the US.

Freiberg Green City

Biodigester at german pig farm courtesy Reuters

My couple of the year 2011 are also my Americans of the year: Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Astronaut Mark Kelly. They represent what is best in America, both incredibly brave in their personal and public lives. Gabrielle Giffords was attacked by a crazed gunman in Tucson Arizon last January. Six other citizens were murdered at the same time. She has made a remarkable recovery from a gunshot to the brain.

Astronauts represent the most publicly brave persons imaginable. Since visiting Kennedy Space Center in Florida, more than ever before I am impressed by the enormous courage it takes to blast into the vast expanses of space in a relatively small metal vehicle.

As I write this I heard on the news that Arizona Congresswoman Giffords is resigning to work on her further recovery. Best wishes and a big thank you to her.

Congrsswoman Giffords and Astronaut Kelly courtesy Village Voice

Sadly now I must name my worst persons of the year. They are the officials at Tepco who presided over the Fukishima nuclear meltdown, the world’s single worst ecological disaster ever. Just thinking about this makes me sick. While these Tepco bigwigs did not cause the earthquake or the tsunami which followed, they were the folks that managed the nuclear plants, who decided to build nuclear power plants in an earthquake and tsunami zone and not maintain them properly, who obfuscated and lied about the severity of the problem. So now we have a radiation polluted Pacific Ocean, millions of sea creatures have died. More people will die as a result of this “accident” than were killed by the regimes of Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot combined. What ever happened to falling on the sword?

 

Sleep Talking Cat

Talkative Cat

Several nights ago, I was sleeping with cats on either side of my head, listening to Hemi-sync Supersleep (subliminal binaural beats under the sounds of ocean surf) repeated continuously after a healing yoga nidra track had played first. I had on headband earphones for comfort. I was dreaming about a class at a university that someone I know was taking on electricity. I was explaining to a man in the dream that she was not taking the basic class, which is in a large lecture hall with a couple hundred students, but a more involved and advanced class with only 3 people in it. He said enigmatically, “Electricity is the life spark (or life current) of the Universe.” Then suddenly I was in the electricity class as a subject of an experiment with electrodes on my head (possibly because I had earphones and a sleep mask on in the waking reality). I began to hear someone talking behind me in a strange language. I realized from within the dream that this speaking is not within the dream and I had better wake up fast. I was very alarmed. Who was speaking behind my head? Slowly I realized it was Sylvie the cat. I was very relieved. Stupidly, because I wanted to go back to sleep, I quieted her down. I should have listened and encouraged her, maybe recorded her.
This is the third time this has happened in some form. She seems to be a sleep talker. Odd thing is, she seems to be speaking a language she does not speak in her waking life. It is not little growls and purrs and meows. No, it is syllables with sounds she ordinarily can’t produce.
Sylvie is 15 1/2 years old now and very youthful. The first time it happened was a number of years ago, probably at least seven. Another cat, now deceased, was also there. I was in a state of sleep paralysis, aware of my surroundings but unable to move and vibrating pretty violently. Sylvie was on my chest, sitting with bent elbows talking into my face. I understood what she said at the time but could not remember later. Second time it happened was perhaps a year ago and I was wide awake in bed. I was flabbergasted. She was asleep then, speaking the same odd language she did recently.
I know that animals dream. Both she and other cats and dogs I have known have showed signs of it, legs twitching like they were running, perhaps mewing softly. This is different. She is definitely trying to articulate sounds which she is otherwise incapable. I have lived with many cats and three dogs over the course of my life and no other animal, save one dog, who kind of barked “mama” when coaxed, has ever spoken.
I’d like to record the syllables Sylvie speaks but it happens so seldom it would be hard to catch. I wonder if she is being possessed by a discarnate being. I’d like to hear from anyone with a similar experience.

Addendum: I recall receiving information in the past, retrieved through meditation that cats, specifically felis domesticus, led other existences during their copious sleep-time in our physical realm, so this is a possible explanation.

 

An Evening with Travis Walton

Travis Walton in Bordentown, NJ on 11/12/11

Twice a year for the past 25 years, Pat Marcattilio, affectionately known as “Dr. UFO” to his friends and ufological acquaintances, has put together a UFO Congress in South Jersey. This fall it was a three day event featuring several prominent figures in the paranormal world and celebrated the 50th Congress that Mr. Marcattilio has organized. Recently he has been ably aided in this endeavor by his daughter Karin.

Sadly I was unable to attend the entire event due to other commitments, but I have had a great abiding interest in Travis Walton and his amazing, well documented story of alien abduction, so I motored down the New Jersey Turnpike to exit 7 on Saturday night armed only with my trusty Canon and my burning curiosity. I was not disappointed.

For over two hours, Mr. Walton showed film clips, spoke earnestly of his experience and answered questions for the gathered assembly.  Although his experience happened thirty-six years ago it was plain to see that he became emotional while telling it. Being an experiencer I empathized with the abject fear he felt when faced with alien beings. Everyone with whom I spoke who saw the lecture was very moved by his sincerity. Even one person who is extremely skeptical about the subject of aliens was not only favorably impressed with Travis Walton, but also showed a new found fascination with the subject.

Briefly stated, Travis Walton was a member of a logging crew consisting of seven men on November 5, 1975 in Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, Arizona.  On their way out of the forest that evening they observed a glow in the sky they could not make out, so they drove closer expecting perhaps a hunters’ campfire gone out of control. As they got closer, they posited a crashed plane in a tree, but soon a saucer shaped aerial craft revealed itself. It appeared to be 20 feet off the ground hovering silently.

Walton described the craft: “I estimated the object to have an overall diameter of fifteen or twenty feet; it was eight or ten feet thick. The flattened disc had a shape like that of two gigantic pie-pans placed lip to lip, with a small round bowl turned upside down on the top. Barely visible at our angle of sight, the white dome peaked over the upper outline of the ship. We could see darker stripes of a dull silver sheen that divided the glowing areas into panel-like sections. The dim yellowish light given off by the surface had the luster of hot metal, fresh from a blast furnace.”

Curiosity overpowered prudent caution in the young Travis, then 22. He leapt from the truck and ran under the saucer to get a better look. Suddenly the craft began to hum with mixed mechanical pitches, Travis crouched down but was nonetheless hit with a blue green beam that knocked him senseless. In fear of their lives and because they believed Walton dead, the other six fled the scene but returned shortly to find no sign of Travis. He had disappeared.

The story of what happened to Travis Walton during his five day abduction should be read by you from his book, Fire in the Sky and not here in brief synopsis. There was a Hollywood movie of the same name which contains the basic elements of the story with some theatrical changes, so it can be interesting especially if you are aware of the inaccuracies in it.

One overarching fact should be mentioned, Walton and the logging crew took multiple lie detector tests and passed them with flying colors. It is therefore unimaginable that they all colluded in a lie. Anyone with a true interest in ufology would be remiss not to study this baffling case.

 

UFOs and the Evolution of Consciousness

Whitley Strieber waiting to begin his presentation.

You and I have spoken all these words,
But for the way we have to go words are no preparation.
I have one small drop of knowing in my soul.
Let it dissolve in your ocean!
~Rumi

On October 22, I attended a conference presented by FIONS and New Realities which took place at the Community Church of New York on East 35th Street. The featured speakers, in order of presentation, were Linda Moulton Howe, Whitley Strieber and Richard Dolan. The Master of Ceremonies was Alan Steinfeld of New Realities. FIONS stands for Friends of the Institute of Noetic Sciences which is a non-profit organization associated with IONS, founded by Apollo 14 Astronaut Edgar Mitchell and dedicated to the integration of science and consciousness.

As a multiple experiencer and consciousness researcher myself, I take every reasonable opportunity to interact with other serious persons of a similar description. I was happy to see a number of friends in attendance as well as several hundred other people (perhaps some future friends). The atmosphere was serious and urgent.

First to speak was Linda Moulton Howe of Earthfiles.com. She presented a fascinating lecture about her recent research which has led her to a concept which is at the same time logical and mind blowing: alien self-activating machines. In our own terrestrial scientific research, especially in the bio-medical field, there have been enormous strides made in the last 50 years in all kinds artificial body part replacements. On the other side of the equation, computers are getting smarter and smarter and more lifelike in their interactions with humans. Truly, many intelligent minds have pondered the implications of blurring the distinction between humans and artificial intelligences. Movies have been made for years about this phenomena and I remember “the Bionic Man” and “the Bionic Woman” TV shows from my youth.

Additionally, it has been posited for years that extraterrestrials wishing to traverse the vast expanses of space travelling many light years from star to star might send androids rather than biological beings to live aboard space ships. More recently I have heard the observation that some UFO craft appear to be behaving like actual living beings and morphing shapes.

So at this point I can segue into Linda Moulton Howe’s presentation. Several years ago several sets of related photographs were sent to her at Earthfiles. The subjects of these photos came to be known as dragonfly drone UFOs. She published the images and was criticized by some ufologists because they believed the photos to have been hoaxed by the senders (not Ms. Howe). Since then she has received information regarding the symbols on these craft, the similar symbols on a UFO in Rendlesham Forest by Jim Penniston, and how they relate to some crop circles. She has also received information from retired government insiders seeming to show that the symbols are a self activating software on the outside surface of a living metallic animal UFO. Merely by touching the symbols the machines can be activated, sometimes, it is reported, with disastrous results. She gave a compelling talk that was well received by the audience and I think she was sincere but because of government secrecy we have little direct access to what is known by deep secret sources. I saw some similar symbols during a forced out-of-body experience (possible abduction) two years ago.

Linda Moulton Howe

The beginning of Whitley Strieber‘s presentation touched upon how our human brains can be organically changed by simply thinking about the surreal and how aliens may be changing us. There are so many irreversible changes going on in our environment that we can never return to the world as it once was, so we must evolve to accommodate the changes or perish.

He talked about Dr. Paul Hill, a famous engineer with NACA (the predecessor of NASA) who had a groundbreaking UFO experience in July of 1952 in the company of other witnesses. His work in static field technology and his book Unconventional Flying Objects (Hampton Roads) were suppressed until after his death. Whitley went on to read some passages from his new non-fiction book Solving the Communion Enigma about the alien presence to be released in January which promises to be thought provoking.

The last speaker was Richard Dolan, an eminent historian and chronicler of UFO sightings with three excellent books to prove it. I have seen him do presentations at at least four other venues and he is always interesting and well thought out in his lectures. He looks at the UFO phenomena from the point of history. In 1947, President Harry Truman was aware that the nation was war weary and if the truth about UFO were revealed the world order would be challenged. Oil was also at the center of the issue because a UFO-type propulsion system would end the oil industry and allow for totally unrestricted travel. He has documents on his website that prove US jets chased UFOs.

Dolan says the secrecy and black budgets surrounding UFOs are unconstitutional and therefore illegal. The secret government agencies influenced the mainstream media, which in turn influenced the public to believe that the UFOs were the foolish inventions of overactive imaginations, which they are not. The Department of Defense controls much of the academic scientific community, making sure that government grants are not given for research to those who profess an interest in UFOs. Much of our history has been stolen from us in regards to this and other subjects. It becomes nearly impossible to know what is true and what is not because so much information is classified so deeply that even Congress can’t get at it.

Dolan also contends that there exists a “breakaway” civilization which operates on the trillion dollar black budget and that has (amongst other things like underground bunkers) much better technology than the civilian world, to wit in 1965 the NSA (then a totally secret agency) had computer speeds not seen in the public until after 2000.

He also feels disclosure is inevitable. It may be, but I think disclosure will be incremental as we are already witnessing. Certainly a mass sighting with multiple video capture, a Wikileaks type leak, a presidential deathbed confession or the like might force the hand of the secret keepers.

All in all I enjoyed the conference which may have better been titled UFOs and Government Secrecy!

Richard Dolan

 

Out of Body Exploration with William Buhlman

William Buhlman

During my life, I have had several spontaneous out of body experiences, many instances of sleep paralysis and vibratory sensations, and have often been “out of phase” with my body. Much of this has been very frightening to me, especially when I was a little child. As an adult I have worked to overcome this fear and this has resulted in a number of experiences in which I communicated with other non-physical beings. Please see: Bee Message for an example. But I could not initiate these experiences at will and I could not lose all fear, although going to the Monroe Institute has aided me greatly in my pursuit. I have been given access to others with similar experiences and techniques to lessen my apprehension.

So, of course, when I became aware that author William Buhlman was facilitating an Out of Body Intensive Workshop at TMI I knew I wanted to attend. I had read his two books Adventures Beyond the Body  and  The Secret of the Soul, both of which I recommend. So I attempted to reserve a space in the workshop, but alas, it was sold out with a waiting list. I was not to be deterred. I put myself on that list and took the ultimate leap of faith: I made non-refundable travel reservations. Then I visualized being a part of the group until <BINGO>a space opened up.

The other attendees were a very select group, but self selected. They were experiencers at various levels, some having had full-blown OBEs others having only been out of phase with their physical bodies and wondering what could possibly be going on. For forty years Bill Buhlman has been traveling out of body volitionally as opposed to spontaneously and practices everyday, but not every day yields an OBE. He gave us many techniques to generate OBEs that we practiced with great fervor in up to five sessions per day of approximately 45 minutes each. I experienced less fear during these sessions because I was intentionally moving my etheric or light body rather than having an experience by surprise.

Although Buhlman has constructed a sort of cosmology for himself based upon his many exploits out of body, he emphasized that we should not buy into the belief systems of others (even him) since with a bit of practice we could obtain direct experience. He believes that this direct experience will benefit us when our physical body dies and we are faced with choices.

For me the real sticking point is the point of individuation. Great sages have said we are all one. We are one with other humans, animals, plants, Earth and everything in the Universe. When we are out of body, travelling to other levels of being and consciousness how do we know if a being we meet is part of our higher self or in fact another entity still individuated on that level of consciousness? Buhlman says to create an intention in the form of a fairly strong demand and repeat it mentally if it does not become immediately clear. I used this strong repeated intention during one practice session to be able to see my etheric surroundings more clearly and to move up a level astrally. It worked!

More to come…

 

Ufology This Summer 2011: I’m Sad, Glad and Mad!

This summer has seen several big moments in the field of ufology. The first is a very sad occasion. On August 21st Budd Hopkins, 80, passed on after a long illness. He was a multi-talented artist who was known for his geometric paintings and sculpture. He was also an alien abduction researcher, giving compassionate attention to experiencers for many years though his Intruders Foundation. He wrote a number of excellent books including Missing Time and Intruders which substantiate the phenomenon of alien abduction through relating the experiences of ordinary individuals and finding patterns in them.  I was supposed to meet Mr. Hopkins several times at conferences and at his foundation meetings, but alas, to my great disappointment, this was not to be. Ufology has lost a valiant researcher. Rest in peace, Budd.

New York Times obituary.

On a different topic, (the glad part), ufology has made a wonderful advancement with the release of Break Thru Films documentary “Secret Access: UFOs on the Record” by filmmakers Ricki Stern and Annie Sudberg seen on the History Channel in a 2 hour special on August 25th. It is based upon Leslie Kean’s book, UFOs: Generals, Pilots and 344Government Officials Go On the Record and Ms. Kean is featured prominently in the presentation.  Leslie Kean has had a long history as a clear eyed researcher and investigative journalist who co-founded the Coalition for Freedom of Information (CFi) and was a producer with James Fox for the independent film I Know What I Saw. This documentary is a must see for anyone even vaguely interested in the subject of unexplained aerial phenomena. Its irrefutable evidence from sterling sources will turn anyone who is on the fence about the reality and importance of ufology into an advocate for more research into this paradigm shifting subject. In addition to the information also presented in the book, the film had some new data about the Phoenix Lights from NUFORC and a new research project, UFOtog, by special effects master Douglas Trumball.

Finally, I’m angry (mad) about the revelation that author and UFO researcher Philip Imbrogno has completely faked his credentials (bad). It was revealed by skeptic Lance Moody in his blog What the Hell Was That that Imbrogno’s degrees from MIT and elsewhere were entirely bogus. UFO researcher Don Ecker of Dark Matters Radio followed up by checking out his military bona fides. Imbrogno claimed he was a Green Beret in a select group executing missions in Cambodia during the Vietnam War. Ecker discovered it was a total fabrication.  This is a real shame because ufology is a study not given credence in all quarters because it is seen as a fringe topic. Any tinge of  dishonesty casts major doubt on any research on which the liar has worked. Furthermore it damages the entire field.

I will end this post on a bittersweet note sending my deepest sympathies and profoundest thanks to Leslie Kean who was both the personal companion of Budd Hopkins and the inspiration for this astounding groundbreaking documentary.

Please follow the links in this post if you want more information on the topics discussed herein.

Leslie Kean and Budd Hopkins

Thanks to les-repas-ufologiques.com

POSTSCRIPT: He says it better than I can.

Thoughts about the Budd Hopkins Memorial

by David Biedny on Tuesday, 11 October 2011 at 16:01

I wanted to briefly comment on the memorial held Saturday, October 8, 2011 for Budd Hopkins, at the 15th Street Friends Meeting House. The weather could not have been better, it was a clear, perfect day for this lovely affair celebrating the life and work of this wonderful man – one I’m proud to be able to call a true friend – and it primarily focused on his work in the art field, clearly demonstrating that Budd was really one of the most respected Abstract Expressionists of the famed New York School.

Leslie Kean started the proceedings with her cool, professional demeanor, even though it was obvious that she misses her partner, friend and love. Any of us would be blessed to have that kind of tenderness in our lives, and something that was plain to see was the depth of respect and love that these two people had for each other, it was both reassuring and inspiring.

His daughter showed slides of many of Budd’s artworks, which were bold, colorful and as direct as the man himself. Another thing that many spoke of was Budd’s sense of humor, and I can personally attest that he loved laughing like few others, and there was some really nice footage of Budd being, well, Budd.

Peter Robbins delivered an eloquent eulogy, describing working with Budd, and how much influence Budd had on his own way of thinking and dealing with others. Randy Nicherson played a video tribute to Budd, full of poignant, heartfelt scenes – there was another video compilation presented towards the end, done by Seth Keal and Charles Miller, with some really heartwarming footage of Budd dancing with his granddaughter. Another picture of Budd, his daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter clearly demonstrated the uncanny resemblance of Budd and his daughter’s daughter. He will live on in her.

David Jacobs spoke about Budd’s work in the field of abduction research, but what really came through was how much David loved Budd as a human being and close friend. That was also evident in the way that people spoke about Budd afterwards, small conversations overheard during the subsequent reception confirmed that there was not a bad thought about Budd anywhere near the event.

There are many more details – some interesting UFO folks were in attendance, but they were outnumbered by the artist friends, thankfully – but suffice it to say that any of us would be happy and fulfilled to have this much love manifest at our departures.

To those who would attack his research, and accuse him of being a flawed human, of not being 100% hardass about his dealings with alleged abduction victims and potential hoaxers – I personally witnessed the degree of comfort this brave man gave some very distraught people, folks who were scared, confused and who didn’t have anyone to turn to without being marginalized or ridiculed, and for that work alone, he should be celebrated and respected. If he was fooled by some unscrupulous folks, his decision to err on the side of kindness and compassion is perhaps a byproduct of his intensely powerful humanity and sincere desire to help others. Those who would vilify him would be well advised to check their own glass houses for hidden piles of large, rough stones.

Budd Hopkins was a great man, and I for one will miss him something urgent.

 

My favorite decks.

As a longtime reader of tarot cards I am the proud owner of many decks of cards: tarot cards, oracle decks (fortune telling cards that are not tarot), playing cards, and card games. This post is about my favorite tarot decks and is confined to the decks I actually own and use for readings. I am a collector, so I have many decks I enjoy looking at but don’t generally use for readings.

I am not a big fan of decks that are not fully illustrated; that is decks in which the numbered cards or pips do not have an actual depicted image of the author’s idea of the meaning of the card. Instead they have four pentacles or seven swords on them, much in the manner that the three of hearts is symbolized in the typical playing deck, though in the case of these tarot decks, usually more ornately. Some of the decks which are not fully illustrated have historical significance, such as the the Visconti-Sforza Tarot, Tarot of Marseilles, or the IJJ Swiss Deck. These are good additions to any collection, but they are not that evocative to me for readings. I have been extremely disappointed in the past when I’ve bought a deck based on attractive packaging or a whim only to find that the Minor Arcana were not fully illustrated.

The two decks that I use most often are the great standby, the Rider-Waite deck, and the Mary Hanson Roberts Deck. The Rider Waite deck originally published in December 1909, is the defining deck of the English language world. It is the deck to which all subsequent decks are compared. It is the brain child of Arthur Edward Waite and was beautifully illustrated by Pamela Coleman Smith, both of whom were members of the Order of the Golden Dawn.

Several years ago in 1990, Mary Hanson Roberts was the artist that did a recoloring of the Rider-Waite deck which is sold under the name the Universal Waite Tarot. Her own deck, The  Hanson Roberts Tarot has imagery based on Rider-Waite and is not at all frightening to the person being read. Almost all the images are very friendly and will put the querant at ease.

I also really like a newer deck called the World Spirit Tarot by Lauren O’Leary and Jesica Godino . It was put out in 2001 but it is not currently in print. The illustrations are from linoleum block prints and very attractive and evocative.

The Motherpeace Round Tarot by Vicki Noble and Karen Vogel is excellent to have on hand, and now that it is available in a smaller size, it is easier to manipulate the cards. It is a woman’s deck celebrating different cultures and ideas of community.

A couple of months ago I chanced upon a deck called the Guardians of Wisdom by Emy Ledbetter and Todd Hershey which is amazing for the insights it provides. It is literally a tarot deck but I use it for short questions mostly for myself and it has not disappointed. I have not used it for a Celtic Cross reading for fear it would provide too much information to digest all at once. The minor arcana use the suits of regular playing cards but are fully illustrated. Sadly it is out of print at the current moment.

Worth noting is that Motherpeace, Guardians of Wisdom and World Spirit are multicultural, multiracial decks, while the others are primarily Eurocentric.

This is by no means a comprehensive review. There are lots of terrific decks out there. I have lots of other beautiful decks that I really love. A place where I often go to look at tarot decks on the web is the Tarot Garden. The site is filled with information on hundreds of decks including their availability and whether they are fully illustrated or not.

 

I was a guest on The Kate Valentine Show!

On July 3, 2011, I was pleased to be the guest on Kate Valentine’s “Viewpoints”, which is archived at:

http://www.atlanticcoastufos.com/past_shows.html

or on iTunes:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-kate-valentine-ufo-show/id367295290

We discussed some interesting aspects of ufology including my own ideas about what alien intelligence might comprise.

Several weeks prior to this show, I taped another show with Kate and psychologist interested in the UFO phenomena  Oddly several copies of that show were lost at the studio, never again to resurface.

Kate Valentine is the host of two radio shows in the New York/New Jersey Metro area both of which deal with the paranormal and primarily but not exclusively UFOs. One is called “the Kate Valentine UFO Show” and is heard on Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. on WVNJ AM 1160 and is rebroadcast on Sundays at 4 p.m. The other show is called “Viewpoints” and is heard on Saturday nights at midnight on WNYM AM 970.

Kate is quite a remarkable lady with a decades long keen interest in unidentified aerial phenomena. She has interviewed some of the best and brightest in this field and I highly recommend anyone interested in ufology to check out her menu of past shows or listen in live. Both shows have a call-in feature so it is quite possible to ask questions about your sightings to individuals who are veterans in the area of ufology.

I know that Kate would herself love to have the opportunity to be a space tourist and I hope that wish will come true for her.

Here is a quote from her website:

~For my own part, I declare I know nothing whatever about it, but looking at the stars always makes me dream, as simply as I dream over the black dots representing towns and villages on a map. Why, I ask myself, shouldn’t the shining dots of the sky be as accessible as the black dots on the map of France? — Vincent van Gogh, 1889.

 

Alarming news that could be good…

CREDIT: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, V.M.J. Henriques (sunspot), NASA Apollo 17 (Earth)

On this blog I have posted two articles concerning how the last solar minimum was longer than usual:

http://fahrusha.wordpress.com/2009/06/18/spiritual-musings-on-the-current-solar-minimum/

http://fahrusha.wordpress.com/2009/10/07/still-not-many-sunspots/

Now we are in the midst of a solar awakening waxing toward a solar maximum in around the year 2013.

However, today the solar physics division of the American Astronomical Society announced that the  solar maximum following the one in 2013 is probably not going to be very active if it happens at all. It seems the Sun is going through a period of dormancy. If this turns out to be true, there is likely to be colder weather on Earth. This may act to combat the man-made global warming we have caused with our petrochemical excesses.

I am not a particularly religious person but I consider myself to be very spiritual. In the words of Robert Monroe, I certainly have experienced that “I am more than my physical body.” I can’t help thinking that it is possible that a power greater than me has had a hand in this and is saving humanity and the other life on this planet from the excesses of mankind. I do not know the identity of this power, if it is a deity or an advanced alien civilization one hundred thousand years ahead of our own that somehow has a vested interest in our survival. Maybe I am simply a romantic to consider such a notion but I have experienced first hand that there are other beings in our midst that are intangible to most of us in our 4D world.

Even if that turns out to be the case, long solar minimums are not without their downsides. Consider if you will the Maunder Minimum spanning from 1645 to 1715 which ushered in a mini-ice age. If the weather becomes sufficiently colder it will impact agricultural output and we all know what substantially less food would mean in a world already struggling with famine and overpopulation.

http://www.space.com/11960-fading-sunspots-slower-solar-activity-solar-cycle.html

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/solar-minima.html

 

Programming Your Dreams

Dreamcatcher photo by Fahrusha

Have you ever wanted to dream about a particular person or place or objective? Do you have a “heart’s desire”? I often work with people through guided imagery and creative visualization to attain their heart’s desire, be that a romantic mate or a new career or another of their life goals. The way imaging and visualization can work is truly magical.

However one thing I try to impress upon people looking for a romantic partner is not to put a face on that visualization. In other words, it is fine to work spiritually towards getting connected to a wonderful partner but it is an imposition on a particular individual to try to visualize them into your life. This is because if you do, you are then interfering with their life path and not considering that the powers that be may have someone even better in store for you.

However you may program a particular night’s dream to include an encounter with that person who has attracted your attention. The fact that you decided to dream of them on a particular night does not interfere with their autonomy. In fact, if you are at all a lucid dreamer and tend to remember your dreams, you may learn some important information about that individual and why a relationship with them would or would not be in your best interest. Recently I was helping a woman  to program her dreams.  She discovered through dreaming that the man with whom she was “in love” had certain personal habits that were loathsome to her. Though she was friendly with the man for over a year, she seldom saw him because he did not live near her and she had yet to engage in a physical relationship with him. When dreaming of him, he exhibited some repulsive behavior about which she had no idea, but the behavior subsequently was confirmed to be true by his former girlfriend. She realized sadly that an intimate relationship with him would never work out.

Programming your dreams is not limited to romantic encounters. It operates very well for working through a thorny problem in your life. Suppose there is an interpersonal problem at work, you can program your dream to find a solution to that problem. Suppose you need a certain amount of money to pay a bill that is due by the first of the month, you can program your dream to show you where you can seek that amount.

By now you may be wondering about the method I use for programming dreams. This is not a commercial blog. This is to say, no one has paid me to sponsor any products I write about, including the books I sometimes review. However there are three things that I do use to program dreams and I do recommend them. They are a Hemi-Sync CD, “Sweet Dreams” and Mountain Rose Herbs Dream Blend Herbal Tea, and galantamine, a dietary supplement. Though galantamine is a perfectly legal supplement to buy, I recommend that you consult your doctor to be sure that it is safe for you. The effect of galantamine tends to wear off with continual use, so I only use it (at most) around three consecutive nights a month. I use a 4 mg capsule of the brand called GalantaMind. This is not to be confused with a much stronger prescription drug used to treat Alzheimer’s disease marketed under various brand names. Here is a case where more is definitely not better. It is perfectly acceptable to try this technique without using galantamine if you prefer.

More information regarding galantamine, other supplements and dreaming can be found in the book Advanced Lucid Dreaming by Thomas Yuschak.

Ideally to program a dream you should be sleeping alone in a place with minimal disturbances. About an hour to hour and a half before retiring, brew a strong cup of Dream Blend Tea and take a capsule of galantamine (4 mg). Be sure you have a note pad or dream journal and writing implement next to your bed.

Directly before retiring, set up what ever audio system you need to hear the stereo Hemi-Sync “Sweet Dreams” audio. I use an i-Pod and ear phones. Once you get the hang of programming your dreams you may no longer need to listen to the guided visualization provided on the audio. You can then decide whether you want no audio at all or whether you prefer some of the Hemi-Sync Metamusic designed to take you to the dream state. Also before retiring you should decide about what you wish to dream and your objectives for that dream.

Then make yourself comfortable in your bed. It is best to lie flat on your back with a support under your neck and your spine in alignment. You should have sufficient covering to remain pleasantly warm during the night. Start up the audio and take deep relaxing breaths. Go to sleep and dream! 

When you wake be sure to take your time and write down your dream(s), even if it is not the dream you asked for. This method may take practice. Express gratitude for your dreams and ponder them. You may repeat this sequence for three nights in a row.

Rumi wrote:   Thankfulness brings you to the place where the Beloved lives.

 

Earth Day Update and Concerns

Remnants of Ancient Troy

It has been a while since I have written a post. I’ve been very busy with my life in general, but also very intensely concerned with the Earth and the ecological devastation that has taken place increasingly over the past year. I don’t like to write a post that is infused with hopeless negativity even if what I am writing about is true.

Last year we had the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a totally preventable man-made disaster, that was so destructive to other species and human livelihoods. It really made me furious and I could not write about it constructively, so I did not write about it at all. Instead I wrote some posts about energy solutions. I hope to continue to do this, but of course this is primarily a blog about the anomalous and the paranormal.

The Earth has also experienced a number of violent earthquakes around the world in many places such as Haiti, Chile and of course, Japan. I fear that the western coast of North America will not be spared. My heart goes out to all people and other creatures affected by these calamities. I am aware that earthquakes are a continuous phenomena across geologic time. It does seem to me that the severity and number of these quakes are increasing in recent years. A higher population density worldwide intensifies the destruction to humans. A theory concerning greater earthquake frequency to which I currently ascribe is that as glaciers and polar ice caps continue to melt due to (mostly man-made) global warming, the placement of water changes around the globe. There is, for instance, less water ice resting on the Himalayas and therefore a whole lot less weight holding them down, while there is perhaps more water, therefore more weight, in the South Pacific, especially around the equator. When this weight is redistributed in this manner, especially in a very geologically active area, such as the Ring of Fire, it may boost the number and severity of quakes on fault lines. The extent of the weight of water in this equation should not be underestimated. Think about how attentive one must be to water pressure when scuba diving only a relatively few feet down.

Now in addition to the devastation caused by the earthquakes and subsequent tsunamis, another man-made catastrophe has occurred. The nuclear reactors at Fukishima have been severely damaged by the quake and tsunami and are now in various states of partial meltdown. Unfortunately the reactors were unsafe from their inception. Nuclear energy is inherently unsafe due to human fallibility which is always present along with human greed which causes planners to cut corners, and because the spent fuel remains highly radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years and there is no where to put spent fuel that is safe.

Sadly, the situation is far from under control, though brave workers at the plant have repeatedly attempted to shut down the reactors at the cost of their own (workers) health. It is not the object of this blog to go into detail about the various radioactive substances still being manufactured and spewed forth from Fukishima and which are a hazard to all biological life on this planet. A smart consumer of information will be well advised to look into this on his or her own. An excellent starting place is Arnie Gunderson’s site Fairewinds Associates. I personally would like to see all nuclear facilities fazed out starting with reactors in large population areas, on or near geological faults or subject to violent weather extremes.

Of course we should all do what we can to help the victims of these multiple tragedies. One action we can take to prevent this tragedy being repeated, is to lobby our elected officials to shutdown nuclear power plants and withdraw tax subsidies to build new ones. Go ahead…write those letters…get off yer duffs and go out and demonstrate! Do something proactive instead of stewing in existential depression which is pointless.

 

Extraterrestrial News and A Paradigm Shift

New Solar System (image credit- Tim Pyle NASA)

This is a very exciting time for astronomers, amateur astronomers, astronomy buffs, ufologists and aware citizens of the world.

First and foremost this week a new solar system with six planets has been discovered along with an additional 1200 exo-planetary candidates by the NASA Kepler Spacecraft. Probably as I am writing this, the number will change in the upward direction. This information is being added to daily. The Kepler Spacecraft has been a wonderful success for NASA. I urge all my readers to click on my links to detailed information at NASA on this fascinating program and the mechanics of the Kepler Spacecraft.

The star with the newly found solar system, Kepler 11, is said to be Sun sized. The amazing thing here is that five of the six planets found around Kepler 11 are in very close orbits around Kepler 11 and all six are thought to be rocky objects like the Earth and Mars and the Moon. In the beginning of the discovery of exoplanets, almost all the planets discovered were gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn but much larger and closer in to their stars- not what would be considered to be hospitable to life as we know it. That all changed in Autumn 2010 with the discovery of a rocky planet only 20 light years away orbiting a red dwarf star, Gliese 581, in the so-called Goldilocks or habitable zone – a region where liquid water could exist on a planet’s surface.

So it begins to seem that habitable planets may be relatively common in our galaxy. This idea was considered to be foolish in scientific circles within very recent history. We add to this idea that the Universe is proving to be larger than anyone expected and appears to hold three times the number of stars many astronomers might have estimated only a year ago. We are poised at the brink of a paradigm shift comparable to or greater than the one Galileo started with his non Geocentric model of the solar system. (The earliest heliocentric model of the solar system was by Philolaus in the fifth century BC, but was not widely adopted. Philolaus was a Sun worshipper. Is the Sun a conscious being? I think so.) In short, our beloved Solar System appears to be one of trillions out there. There are probably millions of solar systems in our Milky Way Galaxy and there are billions of galaxies. There is no reason not to believe that many other galaxies have stars with solar systems. Similarly there is no reason not to postulate that many of these solar systems have rocky planets in the habitable zone with water on them.

Where there is water there is likely to be life. Meteorites have told us that the building blocks of life exist in space. Rudimentary life can exist in extremely harsh conditions. There are stars in this galaxy that are far older than the sun, and galaxies that are far older than the Milky Way. It does not require a big leap from these facts for us to expect to find advanced civilizations on some of these rocky, watery planets. If some of the civilizations out there are tens of thousands of years more advanced than ours, might they not be visiting our habitable rock with it’s cruel warlike dominant ape species we like to call “human beings”? It is indeed an exciting and frightening time to be alive!

 

Mammoth Prediction

Wooly Mammoth

When I was younger and more foolish I made a list of predictions for the coming year. It was in the late ’80s and my late great friend, Captain Haggerty was organizing a new year’s publicity event around his dog training business and asked me if I wanted to take part. He was making predictions about what would be happening in the dog fancier’s world and displaying some of his dogs. I was to bellydance for the cameras and make some predictions about what would happen in the world at large.

Most of my predictions did not transpire in that year, but in some permutation many of them became pivotal in future years.  Last week I noticed in the news that Japanese scientists were actively working on recreating a mammoth from genetic material retrieved from the Siberian permafrost. I had predicted just that in the late ’80s. It is claimed that the mammoth will be born of an elephant surrogate mom by the end of the decade. The elephant is the closest surviving relative of the mammoth.

Since the time I made that prediction, I have thought long and hard about the business of making predictions. I have noticed that predictions I’ve made often occur but seldom in the time frame I expected. Often people are looking for predictions about the personal lives of the rich and famous. I have no interest in that whatsoever.

I am concerned that in making a specific public prediction one can change the course of events. Simply put, if I write that Mr. X will be killed and a sizable group of individuals read that and think about it, does that make it more likely that Mr. X will perish? I suspect it will. It will affect the collective mind of humanity.

There is another reason I am not making a lot of predictions: my world view has become increasingly dark and I do not wish to infect others with my state of mind. I am not depressed, really, I’m actually fairly happy. It’s just that my “Weltanshauung” (world view) is very negative.

What I have to say next is going to sound very politically partisan but in actuality it is not. I was very hopeful about the world until the day after the 2000 US Presidential election. I was never very politically active previous to this time. I was and am an active environmentalist. Yes, I admit it I am a treehugger. After “W” was elected it seemed as though the whole world went to hell in so many ways, both related to the election and not related to it at all, and it has not recovered.

I will make only one prediction now, and it will be very general. The more you do to improve or save the environment, the happier your future will be; and conversely if you degrade the environment you can be sure the future will be awful for your old age and those that follow you.

Sometimes I wonder how people (are they really humans?) can be anti-environmental. I do understand a certain shortsightedness on the part of those who might lose their incomes as sanctions are put into place which would cause them to lose their jobs. There is a fairly simple answer for this. They should be retrained for green jobs. There is lots of money to be made in renewable energy, for example, and this is just the beginning.

It is a fantasy of mine that those who are politically active against the environment are reptilian alien shapeshifters who want the Earth to be turned into a hot awful wasteland so that they can immigrate their population from their wasted reptilian planet light years away and enslave the few remaining humans. In reality those belonging to the anti-environment group are probably simply greedy and rapacious sociopaths who don’t care a whit for anybody or anything beyond dying with the most toys.

 

Important Ecological Solutions

Here in the USA we could easily use the flatulance coming out of the mouths of politicians to power massive electrical plants. But seriously, we need more forward thinking ideas like those outlined in the following article. The answers are out there to save warm-blooded species on our planet (That includes us.) If we don’t we’ll all perish and take all the large mammals and many birds with us. Make no mistake the Earth will go on, without us. Witness the dinosaurs!  Congratulations to California and Wisconsin for leading the way in the USA to break our dependency on foreign oil and the noxious byproducts of fossil fuel. Thanks to NY Times and Frank DeMarco (see links in my blogroll). Using Waste, Swedish City Cuts Its Fossil Fuel Use

ELISABETH ROSENTHAL – The New York Times

Here is a positive story of what can be done when the will to overcome entrenched special interests is strong enough.

Kristianstad has already crossed a crucial threshold: the city and surrounding county, with a population of 80,000, essentially use no oil, natural gas or coal to heat homes and businesses, even during the long frigid winters. It is a complete reversal from 20 years ago, when all of their heat came from fossil fuels.  But this area in southern Sweden, best known as the home of Absolut vodka, has not generally substituted solar panels or wind turbines for the traditional fuels it has forsaken. Instead, as befits a region that is an epicenter of farming and food processing, it generates energy from a motley assortment of ingredients like potato peels, manure, used cooking oil, stale cookies and pig intestines. A hulking 10-year-old plant on the outskirts of Kristianstad uses a biological process to transform the detritus into biogas, a form of methane. That gas is burned to create heat and electricity, or is refined as a fuel for cars. Once the city fathers got into the habit of harnessing power locally, they saw fuel everywhere: Kristianstad also burns gas emanating from an old landfill and sewage ponds, as well as wood waste from flooring factories and tree prunings. Over the last five years, many European countries have increased their reliance on renewable energy, from wind farms to hydroelectric dams, because fossil fuels are expensive on the Continent and their overuse is, effectively, taxed by the European Union’s emissions trading system. But for many agricultural regions, a crucial component of the renewable energy mix has become gas extracted from biomass like farm and food waste. In Germany alone, about 5,000 biogas systems generate power, in many cases on individual farms. Kristianstad has gone further, harnessing biogas for an across-the-board regional energy makeover that has halved its fossil fuel use and reduced the city’s carbon dioxide emissions by one-quarter in the last decade. ‘It’s a much more secure energy supply – we didn’t want to buy oil anymore from the Middle East or Norway,” said Lennart Erfors, the engineer who is overseeing the transition in this colorful city of 18th-century row houses. ‘And it has created jobs in the energy sector.” In the United States, biogas systems are rare. There are now 151 biomass digesters in the country, most of them small and using only manure, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The E.P.A. estimated that installing such plants would be feasible at about 8,000 farms. So far in the United States, such projects have been limited by high initial costs, scant government financing and the lack of a business model. There is no supply network for moving manure to a centralized plant and no outlet to sell the biogas generated. Still, a number of states and companies are considering new investment. Last month, two California utilities, Southern California Gas and San Diego Gas & Electric, filed for permission with the state’s Public Utilities Commission to build plants in California to turn organic waste from farms and gas from water treatment plants into biogas that would feed into the state’s natural-gas pipelines after purification. Using biogas would help the utilities meet requirements in California and many other states to generate a portion of their power using renewable energy within the coming decade. Both natural gas and biogas create emissions when burned, but far less than coal and oil do. And unlike natural gas, which is pumped from deep underground, biogas counts as a renewable energy source: it is made from biological waste that in many cases would otherwise decompose in farm fields or landfills and yield no benefit at all, releasing heat-trapping methane into the atmosphere and contributing to global warming. This fall, emissaries from Wisconsin’s Bioenergy Initiative toured German biogas programs to help formulate a plan to develop the industry. ‘Biogas is Wisconsin’s opportunity fuel,” said Gary Radloff, the initiative’s Midwest policy director. Like Kristianstad, California and Wisconsin produce a bounty of waste from food processing and dairy farms but an inadequate supply of fossil fuel to meet their needs. Another plus is that biogas plants can devour vast quantities of manure that would otherwise pollute the air and could affect water supplies. In Kristianstad, old fossil fuel technologies coexist awkwardly alongside their biomass replacements. The type of tanker truck that used to deliver heating oil now delivers wood pellets, the major heating fuel in the city’s more remote areas. Across from a bustling Statoil gas station is a modest new commercial biogas pumping station owned by the renewables company Eon Energy. The start-up costs, covered by the city and through Swedish government grants, have been considerable: the centralized biomass heating system cost $144 million, including constructing a new incineration plant, laying networks of pipes, replacing furnaces and installing generators. But officials say the payback has already been significant: Kristianstad now spends about $3.2 million each year to heat its municipal buildings rather than the $7 million it would spend if it still relied on oil and electricity. It fuels its municipal cars, buses and trucks with biogas fuel, avoiding the need to purchase nearly half a million gallons of diesel or gas each year. The operations at the biogas and heating plants bring in cash, because farms and factories pay fees to dispose of their waste and the plants sell the heat, electricity and car fuel they generate. Converting to Renewables Articles in this series examine innovative attempts to reduce the world’s dependence on coal, oil and other carbon-intensive fuels, and the challenges faced. A blog about energy and the environment. Kristianstad’s energy makeover is rooted in oil price shocks of the 1980s, when the city could barely afford to heat its schools and hospitals. To save on fuel consumption, the city began laying heating pipes to form an underground heating grid – so-called district heating. Such systems use one or more central furnaces to heat water or produce steam that is fed into the network. It is far more efficient to pump heat into a system that can warm an entire city than to heat buildings individually with boilers. District heating systems can generate heat from any fuel source, and like New York City’s, Kristianstad’s initially relied on fossil fuel. But after Sweden became the first country to impose a tax on carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, in 1991, Kristianstad started looking for substitutes. By 1993, it was taking in and burning local wood wastes, and in 1999, it began relying on heat generated from the new biogas plant. Some buildings that are too remote to be connected to the district heating system have been fitted with individual furnaces that use tiny pellets that are also made from wood waste. Burning wood in this form is more efficient and produces less carbon dioxide than burning logs does; such heating has given birth to a booming pellet industry in northern Europe. Government subsidies underwrite purchases of pellet furnaces by homeowners and businesses; pellet-fueled heat costs half as much as oil, said Mr. Erfors, the engineer. Having dispensed with fossil fuels for heating, Kristianstad is moving on to other challenges. City planners hope that by 2020 total local emissions will be 40 percent lower than they were in 1990, and that running the city will require no fossil fuel and produce no emissions at all. Transportation now accounts for 60 percent of fossil fuel use, so city planners want drivers to use cars that run on local biogas, which municipal vehicles already do. That will require increasing production of the fuel. Kristianstad is looking into building satellite biogas plants for outlying areas and expanding its network of underground biogas pipes to allow the construction of more filling stations. At the moment, this is something of a chicken-and-egg problem: even though biogas fuel costs about 20 percent less than gasoline, consumers are reluctant to spend $32,000 (about $4,000 more than for a conventional car) on a biogas or dual-fuel car until they are certain that the network will keep growing. ‘A tank is enough to get you around the region for the day, but do you have to plan ahead,” Martin Risberg, a county engineer, said as he filled a biogas Volvo. Here is a great idea from the USA thanks to Scott and Julie Brusaw: http://solarroadways.com/main.html Check out their incredible and marvelous website! Lots of great ideas here on good uses for solar energy on the USA’s massive road system. Thanks to NHNE for bringing the solar roadways to my attention (and yours).

 

Recurring Dream TV Project

I spoke to Amy Kohn at length about her new project and it is indeed very  interesting. Here is her request:

Do you have a recurring dream? Do you often wonder what it means? If you have a recurring dream that is vivid, emotional, or perhaps even confusing and would like help understanding what it means, then we want to talk to you. Emmy Award winning television producer developing a new series about the analysis of dreams.  Contact us at 212-687-7716 or at madtwin@rocketmail.com. Please include your name, age, where you live, a description of the dream and how we can contact you. The more you can tell us the better!

 

An Unusual Celestial Transmission

Andromeda Galaxy courtesy of NASA

It is appropriate that this post is being written on the anniversary of the discovery of x-rays. I had to take some time after having this inspiration or transmission or message (I’m not sure how to name it), to percolate and distill the information I’ve received. This will probably be one of my odder posts.

I am very interested in astronomy, especially cosmology, since childhood and take every available opportunity to look through a telescope. In my last post I recounted a visit to Jenny Jump State Forest in New Jersey to look through their telescopes and hear a lecture. One of the celestial objects I was fortunate to see was the Andromeda Galaxy. A gentleman who was standing behind me pointedly said, “The photons currently hitting your retina travelled 20.9 million light years to reach you.” He said nothing else and I never saw his face. He was not the young man operating the telescope, who was also offering up some astronomical facts. He was probably an astronomy club member.

The statement struck me and stayed with me. I had pondered on several occasions, including that very night, the almost unimaginable, uncanny fact that the light generated by stars and galaxies was produced years ago to ages ago, but I never thought about that specific light as photons, individual discrete packages of light particles. The thought stirred something inside of me.

The following weeks on two succesive Thursdays I participated in specific meditations on light suggested by a meditation group member named Roxan L. (you know who you are ). These meditations did not have a celestial component, however after trying them several times a channel seemed to open in my mind. I received highly unusual information from a Source I could not identify as I lay in an altered state on my bed in the darkest wee hours of the morning.

Briefly stated, I was told that the photons traveling to Earth from distant stars and galaxies contained information that could be transmitted to the Earth and Her creatures.  Each light body radiates its own specific light, its own photons containing its unique information which can be subtly passed on to us. Specifically it seems that we humans can have our DNA worked upon by these photons and we can thereby evolve. It was further stated that this would become scientific fact in years from now. This proof  is quite some time ahead of us, perhaps not in our lifetimes. For now we must attempt to cut down on nighttime artificial light pollution and keep watching the stars at night. Our evolution and our collecting of subtle information is being slowed down by nighttime light pollution and this could become a serious issue for the health of the beings on this planet.

Up until now I knew that artificial lighting at night can cause problems with our Circadian rhythms and sleep patterns and thus make us fatter. I had no idea it could be hindering the evolution of our DNA. Well, dear reader, I specifically mentioned at the start of this post that it was a strange one.

Update: I just got shivers. I found this article directly after I posted this blogspot a few minutes ago. It deals with the information that can be contained in electrons and photons that can be transmitted to creatures through quantum entanglement. Please read it. Now I feel a lot less weird and somewhat vindicated. I did my meditation on a Thursday night in October. This research was published on November 3, 2010. Major synchronicity!

 

Stargazing Part 1

 

One of the reflecting telescopes at Jenny Jump State Forest. Photo by Gordon Bond

 

There is a wonderful dark sky location convenient to Metro NYC and Philadelphia, as well as Northern NJ, Eastern PA and Southern NY State. Within the Jenny Jump State Forest in Hope, NJ, the site is run by UACNJ, the United Astronomy Clubs of New Jersey. Every Saturday night they have a featured speaker with audio-visual extras inside a small museum/clubhouse and the fee is a donation. After the speaker is finished one can go outside and look at the skies. There are people on hand with telescopes and if the night is clear amazing things can be seen.

The evening I attended, the lecture was by an astronomy professor Lonny Bunis from Raritan Valley Community College, another time I spoke with an astronomy professor from NJIT, Dr. Dale Gary, who had discovered an exoplanet. I was very impressed! I also saw Jupiter and her four Galilean moons including a shadow cast on the surface of Jupiter by one of them. So for a portion of Jupiter there was an eclipse at that time. Jupiter has 63 known moons so these little lunar eclipses must be a common occurence. The comet Hartley 2, a nebula, Uranus, and the Andromeda Galaxy were other things I saw through the 16″ reflecting telescope. A club member ably manned and focused those sights in the telescope for visitors to see. Light from the Andromeda Galaxy takes two and a half billion light years to reach the Earth. Light from our Sun takes approximately 20 minutes to reach us. So everything that you see in the sky exists in the past. For all we know the Andromeda Galaxy is no longer there! I also saw three meteors careening through the night sky.

The environmental issue here is that we are losing the ability to see the stars because artificial lighting is polluting the night sky so it never really gets dark enough in most places to see these celestial marvels. Artificial lighting can be made less strong and so that its light reflects downward toward the Earth causing less light to escape upwards towards the sky.

The International Dark Sky Association works to combat light pollution.

 

A Great New Book and a Rebuttal of Agenda Driven Journalism

The book in question is UFOs, Generals, Pilots and Government Officials Go on the Record by Leslie Kean. It is a well researched and carefully written book by a serious and well respected investigative journalist with chapters written by first hand UFO observers in multiple witness cases who are also (as the title suggests) generals, pilots and government officials. Mostly the book does not champion a source of these craft which behave as though intelligently controlled and appear to be metallic, however several of the witnesses propose the ETH (extraterrestrial hypothesis) as the most likely scenario. Other ideas put forth (not in the book) are that the craft are crypto-terrestrial, demonic, inter-dimensional, or time traveling. I personally have no trouble thinking of them as possibly both inter-dimensional and extraterrestrial but that may be fodder for another article.

Leslie Kean’s book is now on the New York Times bestseller list as well it should be. I recommend purchasing the book as a holiday or birthday gift for your skeptical friends because it makes a rather air tight case that the phenomena is real. Ms. Kean is also a founder of the Coalition for Freedom of Information and has pressed forward for US government documents using the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) particularly around the 1965 Kecksburg incident in Pennsylvania.

The book goes on to explore the possible dangers to aviation that UFOs pose and makes a case for a serious UFO government agency to be established in the United States as such agencies have been established in other countries.

Ms. Kean has been interviewed on many mainstream news shows as well as UFO-interest radio shows and podcasts. I chanced to read James Oberg’s piece , an NBC reporter’s very biased critique of her book about a week ago and was stunned that he had the nerve to trot out the old debunker’s patently ridiculous statement that career pilots are no better observers of aerial phenomena than the average person. When anyone makes such an outrageous statement, for me, the argument is over. It defies imagination that he should expect anyone to believe him. I don’t think he believes that himself or he would be well advised not to travel by air. It can only be that he has another agenda, a reason that he wants the public to discount all reports of UFOs. It is the height of humano-centric hubris to steadfastly hold that there is no other intelligent life in our vast cosmos.  Is Mr. Oberg a disinformation agent? I don’t know, but he definitely has an agenda and that agenda is not to promote open minded inquiry. We must wonder why.

Today I came across a rebuttal of James Oberg by Leslie Kean herself and I reprint it here with the object that more readers will realize that Mr. Oberg is an agenda driven debunker:

SKEPTIC MISSES POINT BEHIND UFO BOOK
SOLID SIGHTINGS CITED IN UFOS¹; SERIOUS INVESTIGATION NEEDED
By Leslie Kean
MSNBC
September 7, 2010

http://nhne-pulse.org/ufo-leslie-kean-dismantles-ufo-critic-james-oberg/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38977500/

When I wrote my book about officially documented UFO reports, I fully
expected the skeptics to react. That¹s why I was careful to focus only on
the very best evidence from the most credible sources in “UFOs: Generals,
Pilots and Government Officials Go on the Record.” <http://bit.ly/cH72wg>
Since 95 percent of all sightings are eventually identified, the book is
concerned only with the remaining 5 percent — those UFO events that have
been thoroughly investigated, involve multiple witnesses and ample data, but
still cannot be explained.

That didn¹t stop James Oberg, a space analyst for NBC News, from complaining
that the book was based on a ³questionable foundation.²

…

STORY: UFO BOOK BASED ON QUESTIONABLE FOUNDATION
By James Oberg
MSNBC
August 27, 2010
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38852385/ns/technology_and_science-space

…

In the biographical note appended to his commentary, he notes that he spent
22 years at NASA¹s Mission Control and has written books about space policy
and exploration. But he neglects to inform readers of something UFO
researchers already know all too well: that he is a founding fellow of the
Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI, formerly CSICOP), a group whose aim is
to debunk UFOs and any other unexplained phenomena that challenge our
familiar ways of thinking.

For many years, Oberg, while retaining his stance as an objective student of
the UFO phenomenon, has been a consistently vocal skeptic. His long list of
articles dealing with UFOs date from the 1970s and are posted on his website
under the heading “space folklore,” which accurately sums up his attitude
towards the subject. He may be qualified to serve as an unbiased, expert
consultant on Russian or Chinese missile systems, but not on UFOs.

His objection to my many varied cases has to do with his notion that pilots
are poor observers. To buttress this idea, he quotes J. Allen Hynek
referring to questionable statistics compiled in the 1960s by Project Blue
Book. He also cites Russian researchers describing two events in 1982 when
pilot sightings were accurately identified as “military balloons” after the
fact.

This is not surprising, since the vast majority of sightings can be
explained, and this kind of identification is made all the time. However,
such solved sightings — whether made by pilots or anyone else — have
absolutely nothing to do with the cases presented in my book.

I wonder if Oberg gave “UFOs” a careful read. He spent many paragraphs
quoting me concerning a report on aviation cases by French researcher
Dominique Weinstein. The problem is, those are not my quotes. The chapter
from which he extracted them was written by Jean-Jacques Velasco, head of
the French government’s UFO agency for over 20 years, as is obvious in his
byline and narrative about French research.

Oberg gleefully proclaims that I have ³faithfully vouched for² the cases in
Weinstein’s list, but actually, I have respectfully allowed Velasco to write
his own chapter. (About half the chapters in my book were written by highly
credentialed authorities and expert witnesses.) If Oberg wants to discuss
the Weinstein study, he’ll have to contact Velasco.

Oberg¹s fixation on the question of the reliability of pilots as witnesses
is not raised by the generals and aviation experts I have interviewed –
officials who have studied pilot cases and interviewed pilot witnesses for
decades. As described in “UFOs,” French Air Force Maj. Gen. Denis Letty
initiated an extensive study of UFO data because competent pilots he knew
personally were confronted by the phenomenon. Chilean Gen. Ricardo Bermudez
was instrumental in the founding of his country’s official UFO investigative
agency in 1997 because of inexplicable sightings involving pilots.

Richard Haines, who has written more than 70 papers in leading scientific
journals and published more than 25 U.S. government reports for NASA, was
formerly chief of the space agency’s Space Human Factors Office and served
for 21 years as a retired senior aerospace scientist at NASA’s Ames Research
Center. Having studied pilot sightings and related aviation safety issues
for more than 30 years, and having personally interviewed hundreds of pilots
during that time, Haines has concluded that pilots are indeed excellent
witnesses, given their thorough training, expertise and hours of flying
time.

Haines is now chief scientist for the National Aviation Reporting Center on
Anomalous Phenomena. Sadly, most pilots never report their sightings, as he
points out in “UFOs.”

Most importantly, the aerial cases documented in “UFOs” — and many more on
the record elsewhere — involve multiple factors such as:

- Sightings of long duration, allowing for accurate voice transmissions and
the refinement of the initial identification.

- Multiple witnesses — co-pilot, crew, passengers, other aircraft in
different locations, and occasionally observers from the ground.

- Onboard radar and ground radar recording the presence of a physical
object, often corresponding exactly to the visual sighting.

- Direct physical effects on the aircraft, such as equipment malfunction.

As an example, Brig. Gen. Jose Periera of Brazil, commander of air force
operations until 2005, reports on an “array of UFOs” observed over his
country in 1986. Two pilots chased one of the objects for 30 minutes.
Numerous other pilots saw the objects. Radar recorded them. Six jets were
scrambled from two Brazilian air force bases to pursue them. Some of the
pilots made visual contact corresponding to radar registrations. Both
military and commercial pilots were involved. Onboard as well as ground
radar systems confirmed the presence of the objects.

³We have the correlation of independent readings from different sources,²
Periera writes. ³These data have nothing to do with human eyes. When, along
with the radar, a pilot’s pair of eyes sees that same thing, and then
another pilot’s, and so on, the incident has real credibility and stands on
a solid foundation.²

In 2007, airline captain Ray Bowyer saw two gigantic, bright yellow objects
suspended over the English Channel, which he observed carefully for 15
minutes. His passengers saw them, another pilot on a second aircraft was
also a witness, and an object was registered on radar.

In 1986, three Japan Airlines pilots watched a series of UFOs for 30
minutes, communicating with air traffic control while radar operators picked
up the objects in corresponding locations.

I could go on with many more examples, presented in detail in the book.
Oberg says pilots may misinterpret visual phenomena when forced to make a
split-second diagnosis before taking immediate action — very rare cases, I
would assume — and no one would disagree with that. But, just as was the
case with the solved Russian sightings I discussed earlier, this is entirely
beside the point with respect to my book, because the cases presented do not
involve such a scenario.

In addition, “UFOs: General, Pilots and Government Officials Go on the
Record” presents many other cases that do not involve pilots at all — but
often military personnel and police officers — including:

- The famous 1980 incident near RAF Bentwaters in Britain, involving the
landing of a UFO and objects sending beams of light to the ground.

- The 1981 “Trans-en-Provence” landing case in France, investigated by the
official French agency GEPAN.

- Belgian Maj. Gen. Wilfried De Brouwer’s report on the wave of sightings in
Belgium in 1989-90, which includes a spectacular photograph.

- The 1993 “Cosford Incident” involving a UFO over two Air Force bases in
Britain, investigated by the Ministry of Defense.

- The 1997 Phoenix Lights incident that former Arizona Gov. Fife Symington
described.

These are just a few of a host of cases with abundant data that don’t rely
on pilot observations — and which are still unsolved. It’s the aggregate of
cases, the accumulation of evidence and the long-running but unsuccessful
attempts of qualified experts to resolve them that establishes the reality
of a yet-unexplained physical phenomenon with extraordinary capabilities.

Oberg says that “if investigators are unable to find the explanation for a
particular UFO case, that doesn’t constitute proof that the case is
unexplainable.² Fair enough. Perhaps there is some prosaic explanation still
to be discovered. ThereŒs always that possibility, no matter how small.

But we remain in a state of ignorance concerning UFOs, leaving us with the
conclusion presented in the book: We need a systematic, scientific
investigation of the skies that actively looks for these mysterious and
elusive objects. In the meantime, all I ask is that devout skeptics like
Oberg read the entire book before raising objections that actually have no
bearing on the matter at hand.

On October 10, 2010 I have discovered a very good article by another paranormal blogger about this subject and the airport shutdowns by UFOs in China.

http://tucsoncitizen.com/paranormal/2010/10/09/leslie-kean-ufos-and-the-need-for-timely-and-responsible-ufo-reporting/

 

 

 

New Contest Photo

OK Folks, here it is- the second mystery photo contest! Where was this photo taken and who is in it? By who I mean the three people in the front. I’m not sure who the people in the rear are so I wouldn’t be able to moderate that answer in any case. The people in the photo are not eligible to win, in case you were wondering and neither is the person who took the photo, though she will be credited after the answer is revealed. All answers written in will be revealed when the contest has ended.  As in my previous contest, I will allow the winner to suggest the prize. (And no, a million U.S. Dollars is not a possibility! )

Oh yes, you can get half the answer, such as you can name the three people and not the event and location, or vice versa. Good luck and may the best human win!

Update!!! 09/16/10

The contest is over with the first prize winner being David Biedny, second prize goes to Ellen J. and honorable mention to Shelia K., Jill J. and Patricia.  David identified all the participants and the general venue, Ellen identified me and the specific venue. Shelia, Patricia and Jill all identified me. The second Dave (G.) who identified Jeff Peckman as disclosure dude was close (but no cigar ).

I wanted to give Mr. Biedny a box of the “Alien Cereal” that Jeff Peckman had in his hand, as a prize. Alas I could not find one for sale.

 

Basil Bristow Channels a Wonderful Message from Marvin

Our Beautiful Earth (all rights reserved)

Basil Bristow is a talented channeler from whom I regularly receive messages. Currently he is channeling a being named Marvin and Marvin has provided him and us a very meaningful message with which I thoroughly agree. I’d like to share it with you.

MARVIN-28

The health of the Earth is reflected in the health of your body – this is why it is vital that you do all that you can to keep the Earth healthy.

The health of your soul also is reflected in the health of your body – this is why it is vital to keep your soul healthy.

“But,” you ask, “How can I keep my soul healthy … let alone keeping the Earth healthy?”

You ask a very good question that deserves a very good answer.

You can keep your soul healthy by experiencing a healthy Earth.  By abusing the Earth in any way what-so-ever you abuse your soul – for your soul chose to abide on Earth to experience Earth.

Your soul and the Earth (remember, your body is of the Earth) are closely related; you are kin; you come from the same source.  Earth shares your experiences just as much as you share Earth’s experiences … when Earth experiences a hurricane, so does your body and soul; when you soul experiences the loss of a loved one, so does the Earth for in one way or another the Earth takes back the remains of that loved one.

Your soul gains health by spiritually honoring the Earth and the Earth maintains its health from your spirituality.

You cannot honor Earth by abusing it and Earth cannot honor your soul by being unable to sustain the body in which your soul abides.

Your very existence on Earth depends on how you treat the Earth … and, of course, Earth’s existence depends on you.  You and Earth are so closely aligned that you are one.

I offer you Universal peace and knowledge.

Marvin

http://www.basilbristow.com