Throughout the history of ufology, researchers have been attempting to make sense of both the technology and the nature of the intelligences behind the anomalous phenomena that have been observed and interacted with. Inevitably, those researchers have ended up looking to emerging human science and technology for potential understanding. And so, not surprisingly, leading conceptions of what the UFO Phenomenon represents have evolved over time as our own technology and models of reality have evolved.

The issue with this, however, is that we are often not accounting for how our modern conceptions are tied to the myth-making that human beings inevitably engage in in order to make sense of who we are, and indeed, what this (i.e. reality) is. And in that sense, of course, we are following in the footsteps of our ancestors who did the very same thing. To be alive is to engage in such narrative-framing. Looking backwards, we are often quick to belittle earlier myth-making attempts, accusing our ancestors of being naive, unscientific story-tellers, while simultaneously completely missing the fact that we too weave narratives about reality, also often based on notions we lack solid evidence for.

This is why the UFO Phenomenon emerges as the simultaneously intoxicating but confounding and discombobulating matter it is. Fascinatingly—and perhaps tellingly— it often seems to manifest in such a way as to poke holes in our latest myth. And in so-doing, it helps those within the societal structure—those with a keen and discerning eye, that is—to see our collective narrative as such, as myth.

Note here that myth doesn’t necessarily mean “untrue”, it just refers to a society’s collective sense of “the real”. The data arising from these ufological investigations so often confounds our consensus conceptions of reality that it’s fair to ask if that may indeed be one of the central purposes of the entire enigma. Before us, of course, were those who framed reality within a theological lens. In going through this very same process, they too ran into the very same conundrum, leading them to, like us, often exclude, ignore or explain away the elements that “didn’t play well” with the contemporary myth.

How are we to proceed with these considerations in mind? Is it a fool’s errand to chase a specter that seems to change its guise just when we think we’ve pinned it down? Or should we accept that this game of hide and seek involves stretching our very understanding of what’s possible? These are the simultaneously mystifying but mesmerizingly captivating matters we’ll seek to engage with in this, the 113th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Throughout the course of this podcast we’ve been weaving together topics often discussed in isolation; topics including UFOs, psychic phenomena, and near-death experiences, among others. Research into these topics not only shows that they overlap–in terms of who experiences them and how they are changed as a result–but they also all point to a particular kind of reality-scape: one composed of, for lack of a better term, Mind; mind expressed both individually and collectively, and everywhere in between.

Fascinatingly–and consequentially–these mindforms seem to interpenetrate, with porous boundaries that allow us both a temporary and meaningful sense of individuality, while also affording us the ability to tune into each other, and to the various non-human beings all around us, as well as into the very fabric of multidimensional reality itself, which is yet again a matter of mind; a mindscape, if you will.

While the data around these matters are overwhelming, old habits tend to die hard. Which is to say, even within ufology there has been a longstanding tendency to push the so-called “woo” aspects of the Phenomenon to the fringes; often leaving those who’ve actually had the experiences with the Phenomenon to discuss these anomalous events amongst themselves, while the “nuts ‘n boltsers” carry on discussing the supposed craft and the beings arriving from Alpha Centauri.

Part of the reasoning for the more nuts ‘n bolts crowd, of course, arises from a desire to see this topic make more of a dent in the mainstream, by forcing the government to come clean about what it knows about these otherworldly matters and the programs it has stood up to investigate such them. Needless to say, things for those folks have taken a bit of a left turn of late, because the details arising from those very government programs are suggesting the so-called “woo” is right at the heart of this entire matter.

Recent whistleblowers like Jacob Barber have emerged to not only confirm that the government, along with various defense contractors, haw been engaged in historic UFO recovery programs, but also that human beings seem to be able to both contact and even “summon” these vehicles through the power of mental intention alone. And so here we are yet again, at the intersection of Mind and Mind. Mind that allows for effortless interspecies communication, and mind to call and control the anomalous craft.

To say this is a shock to the system for modern Western civilization is an understatement of enormous proportions. After all, many Westerners still orient around the notion that mind is nothing more than a temporary epiphenomenon of material stuff. And yet, the point of convergence we’ve been exploring the last few years on this podcast suggests that model of reality is fully upside-down; having missed the forest for the proverbial trees.

This has major implications in a whole host of ways. But perhaps one of the most striking involves the fact that various non-human intelligences can - and indeed have been - interacting with humanity all along; sometimes in direct ways, and sometimes through mental influence alone. And considering the evidence arising suggests that while some of these intelligences have our best interests at heart, others do not, this ignorance on the part of modern society is highly consequential.

Furthermore, this process of distracting us away from the true nature of things - perhaps willfully imposed by both human and non-human forces - has not only made us easily manipulable, but it’s also kept us in the dark as to our true potential; a potential, again, that goes to the very heart of our true nature, and to the heart of reality itself. These are the pivotal matters that we’ll seek to explore in this, the 112th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Whenever we reach certain watershed moments within ufology, a whole new contingent of interested parties tend to enter the fray, after some new public revelation has convinced them that there really is a “there there’” after all. This happened en masse after a groundbreaking article was published in the New York Times in 2017. Another influx came after the Luis Elizondo and David Grusch revelations/allegations respectively.

One thing that each of these moments had in common, of course, is that they each had to do solely with the matter of UFOs and aliens - now rebranded UAP (unidentified anomalous phenomena) and NHI (non-human intelligence). In other words, the people tending to enter the conversation following these key inflection points, really had no idea what a gateway drug - if you will - that UFOs and aliens often end up proving to be.

The gateway leads, of course, as all of you who’ve been on this journey with me for some time now know - to deeper matters having to do with not only who they - these Others are - but who we are, and indeed to the nature of reality itself. That is to say, the High Strangeness that is part and parcel of this phenomenon is, as they say, a feature, not a bug. Some have even ventured so far as to say that the phenomena themselves are manifesting as they do precisely to force us into new ways of thinking about all that’s possible, and all that is.

Of course, for those looking with a keen eye, this venture into new models of reality is not confined to ufology. Yes, the bizarre, perplexing, and sometimes even absurd nature of the UFO Phenomenon does lead people down some peculiar avenues in order to make sense of it, but as it turns out, empirical research being done in distinct but converging fields of research - fields such as physics, astronomy and neuroscience - is leading investigators in those fields into similar trains of thought.

One notion that has arisen in light of the data that has been amassed by different researchers, across these different fields of inquiry, is that the “physical” reality we assume ourselves to be so comfortably placed within, may not actually be so “physical” after all. In fact, what has emerged over time is surprisingly compelling evidence suggesting that our waking state reality-scape may perhaps be better described as synthetic, and derived from a deeper structure altogether.

A simulation you say? Well, sort of, but maybe not in the way you often hear described in popular discourse. But what is the nature of the evidence pointing in this direction, and, if it’s as compelling as seems to be the case, what are the implications, not just for the matter of UAP and NHI, but for us, and for the context we find ourselves in; a context we’ve long taken for granted as settled, at least within Western civilization? These are precisely the matters we’ll seek to explore, in this, the 111th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

For those who have been involved in ufology for decades, the last few weeks have been particularly noteworthy. And that’s because what we’ve been seeing unfolding in our midst can best be described by a term reserved only for historical events involving a verifiable barrage of unidentified flying objects. The term in question is “flap”. And, without doubt, we have indeed been living through one of those moments. And of course, as many predicted would be the case, with almost everyone in the modern world walking around with a smartphone, the footage being captured during this modern-day flap has been, to say the least, abundant.

That being the case, plenty of controversy and difference of opinion has also been a-swarm, along with these apparently unidentified anomalous phenomena. And that’s because there is more than one perspective being floated to explain what is being observed. In addition to smartphones, the modern world has also equipped us with a new kind of aerial vehicle; a vehicle known, of course, as a “drone”. These are unmanned vehicles that, while at first suffering from pretty considerable limitations in terms of range and flight time, have become increasingly sophisticated over the last few years, to the point where future wars will eventually be fought with these kinds of vehicles dominating the skies.

While the conventional crowd will cry foul, suggesting this is not a flap at all, but merely a period of increased drone activity, some of the data being captured simply don’t support such a one-dimensional hypothesis. And that’s because the behavior of these vehicles has been reported - on numerous occasions - to be… well, anomalous. That is to say, while not every one of the aerial objects capturing attention - and stoking concern - seem better described as UAP, rather than drones, some definitely are. In fact, Lue Elizondo, who coined the term “the 5 observables” to define a UAP, has come out publicly stating that some of these objects are indeed displaying such behavior. And in that sense, they are therefore, by definition: UAP.

Of course, the behavior and plenitude of these objects in our skies alone does not explain why this particular flap is causing so much concern, and raising so much ire for an increasingly broad swath of our government, and our society at large. Even more concerning is the fact that these vehicles are operating - with apparent impunity - above the most secure, sensitive air bases and nuclear sites the United States possesses. Even, for instance, forcing the closing of the ufologically famous Wright-Patterson air force base in the process. And to the skeptics saying there’s nothing to see here but the standard hobby and commercial drones, Lue Elizondo, again, has aptly pointed out that: “You don’t close U.S. military air bases because there’s legally flying commercial drones in your airspace. That doesn’t make sense.”

So with all this said, what exactly is going on here? Let’s call out the elephant in the room and ask: are these vehicles, at least a portion of them, being operated by non-human intelligences? And does the scale of this operation suggest that we are, as we speak, experiencing what has come to be known as “catastrophic disclosure”? And if that is the case, this prompts a further question: why now? Is all of this anomalous activity tied to the convergence of daunting forces that seem to have humankind dancing at the precipice of self-destruction? These are precisely the matters we’ll seek to engage with in this, the 110th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

In recent times, considerable focus has been on the march towards some form of official UAP disclosure. Throughout that period, momentum has been arising from congressional attempts to surface information in light of intelligence gathered within various branches of the military and the intelligence community; that is to say, based on data and assessments from within “the government” itself.Based on this government-centric approach, one might come to the illusory conclusion that this is the only real source of information available; the main repository or “raw data”, if you will. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. While many assume the only way ufology will gain traction in the mainstream is if and when government makes some sort of official acknowledgement of the data they have amassed over the decades, myriad compelling and dara-rich reports already exist in the public at large.A key - but often underrepresented and under-discussed - component of that data available within the public domain, arises from people of indigenous descent. These peoples, often also referred to as First Nations, or more colloquially, within the United States, as “American Indians”, have a remarkably deep and diverse lore pertaining to these matters. And this lore not only touches on a plethora of encounters with non-human and non-conventionally human intelligences, over many generations, but it also speaks to a self-understanding of origins, related to these very so-called “star people”.Part of the challenge in having these reports considered as part of our ongoing data gathering efforts has been that these peoples, so often marginalized in the mainstream, have been reticent to share their accounts with the public at large. This is where Dr. Ardy Sixkiller Clarke’s legacy comes in. She is both a university professor and herself of Cherokee/Choctaw descent. And this has provided her unique access to these underrepresented peoples. Furthermore, Clarke has dedicated years of her life to visiting these various tribes, in both North and South America, and diligently recording their accounts for posterity’s sake.What’s fascinating about Clarke’s work is not just how vast a body of data it is, but also how incredibly diverse it is. Her work, perhaps more than any other researcher of recent memory, uncovers just how many different forms of non-human and - just as importantly - non-conventionally-human intelligences appear to be in our midst; even teasing the possibility that some of those non-conventional life forms have relationships (and perhaps even genetic links) with particular ethnicities amongst the present Earth population. And these are precisely the fascinating and consequential matters we’ll seek to engage with in this, the 109th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

In this episode, Darren/Exo explores how the matter of the UFO Phenomenon and converging fields of research collapse various constructs of the world, giving rise to a perspective that transcends current assumptions and expectations of "the real".

As we speak, both within ufology and within the segments of the political and public spheres that are beginning to wrestle with this enigmatic topic, we are seeing ongoing debate about how much the intelligences behind what we colloquially refer to as “the Phenomenon” should be framed as a threat–or at least a “potential threat”--or not. Some argue “better safe than sorry”, in lobbying for an approach that assumes this is a threat until proven otherwise.

As we delved into in the last episode of Point of Convergence, much of that particular argument leans on the notion that we have pretty much zero understanding as to the intent of these non-conventional others. But, as I pointed out in that episode, the wealth of experiencer testimony at our disposal would suggest otherwise, for within that extensive body of data we see consistent messages provided by these non-human others to the human beings who have interacted with them.

But even beyond this particular matter, which is already controversial because it ventures into questions around what kind of data should be considered “legitimate” and “trustworthy” or not, the lore we just referenced goes well beyond offering potential answers to the question of whether or not this amounts to a threat or not, even touching on ultimate matters such as the nature of reality, and even an alternate history regarding human origins.

What is perhaps most challenging of all to our secular, and still largely physicalist (that is to say reductionistic materialist) Western civilization, is notions that arise in the experiencer data that speak to what might best be called “spirituality”. This challenges our typical conceptions because most see this entire matter as involving technology and a potential clash of space-faring civilizations, not one delving into ultimate meaning and the evolution of souls. And yet, that is indeed where this body of data goes, which perhaps only adds fuel to the fire, in terms of why this lore is not taken as legitimate by the powers-that-be.

If experiencer lore stretches our expectations regarding what the UFO Phenomenon is even ultimately about, in what precise ways does it do so? And how do these elements in particular make our contemporary meaning-making machine uncomfortable? And how might the ignoring of those elements, simply because they are unexpected and inconvenient, potentially create a scenario where we miss the forest for the proverbial trees? These are precisely the issues we’ll seek to gain clarity around in this, the 107th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Even as our modern mainstream society begins to grapple with the notion that non-human intelligences of a sophisticated nature are in our midst, piloting remarkably unconventional, and beyond next-gen technological craft, there is still a key component of this cultural conversation that is missing: and that is the consideration of the testimony of those who’ve apparently already encountered these very intelligences. Now, if one were unfamiliar with experiencer lore, one might conclude that we have almost zero understanding as to the intent of these various non-human others. In fact, this is basically what some, otherwise well-meaning, pro-disclosure advocates, have publicly stated - that we have no idea as to why they’re here, or what they want.

But if and when one does pay attention to said experiencer lore, it quickly becomes evident that nothing could be further from the truth. Now, does that mean that we should take everything said in these circles at face value. Certainly not. We still want to apply standard witness credibility criteria to these statements. And we also want to look for the aspects of the testimony that represent the greatest consensus. But to ignore this testimony altogether is not only unwise - after all, wouldn’t we want to hear what has been reportedly said to those who’ve interacted with these beings? - but it’s also inaccurate/inauthentic, because it lets those new to the conversation believe that this is a complete unknown, which only adds to fear states that are already driving far too much of our contemporary societal dialogue.

When one does pay attention to experiencer testimony, it becomes clear that these beings have been speaking pretty pointedly to some very specific issues. One element that is brought up frequently is that we as a species have lost touch with our connection to the planet, and even more overarchingly, to the larger cosmic community of which we are all a part. Furthermore, not only is that disconnect unfortunate, but it is also highly consequential, because it is that misunderstanding that is giving rise to the very existential threats we are now facing as a collective.

But beyond even these clearly and regularly stated messages, part of the communication also frequently touches on how we’ve lost touch with our most essential nature: a nature that stretches beyond the parameters of this one individual lifetime. In fact, it’s made clear by many of these non-conventional beings that this loss of context is driving us into a kind of individual and collective madness, one where we let pursuits like materialism become the orienting principle of our lives, even when that dogged pursuit begins to devolve into disease in our collective consciousness, reflected in, among other things, ecological disaster and frayed human mental health.

Of course, much of this speaks to the notion of “journeys of souls” and even of “soul contracts”. And, if that’s the case, what does this say of the nature of these beings? Are they “spiritual” figures, or “biological ones”, just like us? Of course, that false dichotomy is at the very heart of our present conundrum. Just who are these beings? And how does their very nature, and even their technology, tend to collapse our present paradigm? And how does the potential of that very collapse serve as the seed for a new way of being; one that restores the relationships we’ve so deeply fallen out of alignment with? These are the ultimate matters, both technological and metaphysical in nature, that we’ll seek to engage with in this, the 106th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast. 

While modern ufology has been a component of our cultural zeitgeist for decades and decades now, during much of that time it has generally been seen as a matter for astrophysicists and aviation experts. While ground-breaking researchers such as Jacques Vallee, John Keel and J. Allen Hynek, as early as the 1970s, suggested the anomalous and highly strange nature of the data takes us well beyond that kind of conventional inquiry, even today, the mainstream still tends to think of UFOs (now monikered as UAP) and NHI - the fancy new name for what we use to call “aliens”, as involving interstellar travelers arriving at Earth in sophisticated spacecraft.

For many, especially in still physicalist-centric Western civilization, this kind of enterprise represents, at least in potentia, a new kind of contact, and a new possibility for communication that takes us beyond what we’ve been limited to amongst our own species over the millennia. But, here again, the data - when one actually looks squarely into them - take us well beyond that notion. And that’s because - contact - and specifically contact with apparently non-human and non-conventionally human intelligences - has supposedly already been happening. 

The varieties of contact technologies or modalities that have meditated this non-ordinary kind of communication include mediumship/channeling, shamanic journeying, CE-5/HICE, dreams, psychedelics, and even fever states.In other words, the issue seems to be not one of needing to wait for interstellar travelers to arrive to finally give us this opportunity, for it's been available to us all along, with some cultures and people groups being more privy to this fact than others. Interestingly, these various modalities of contact and communication also seem to be possible regardless of what would seem to be the expected language and even species-specific differences. And that’s because mind-to-mind communication, known in parapsychological circles as telepathy, seems to be the general rule rather than the exception in these endeavors, thus bypassing the need for translation of written and spoken languages altogether.

But of course, these startling revelations raise further questions: if the issue is not one of needing to wait for interstellar travelers to arrive via superliminal (that is, faster than light) travel, then how exactly is this contact and communication happening? Have they been here - in our so-called “physical” space – all along? Or does the nature of this contact suggest space, and for that matter, time, is simply not what we’ve long assumed? How is it that these various contact technologies are able to connect us with alternative forms of sophisticated sentience, and what do they have in common that makes them effective? These are the captivating and consequential matters we’ll seek to engage with in this, the 105th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Beginning with the revelations that arose in a now famous 2017 New York Times article titled “Glowing Auras and ‘Black Money’: The Pentagon’s Mysterious U.F.O. Program”, and further brought to light with the allegations made by former military insiders like Luis Elizondo and David Grusch, the general public is being slowly acclimated to a reality that those of us who are part of this community have long known to be the case: non-human intelligences and their technological marvels have been (and continue to be) in our very midst.

Still, for those of us who regularly dive deep into these murky (but often exhilarating) waters, we know that these revelations - as startling as they are to the average Joe and Jane on the street - are really just the beginning. And that’s because, simply put, there are numerous elements of human experience that simply don’t play well with the prevailing paradigm that rules in Western civilization - at least at present. These elements include out of body experiences, near death experiences, psi phenomena, synchronicity, contact with supposed deceased loved ones, and time slippages. And that’s just for starters.

Not only do these elements that have historically been forced to the fringes of polite conversation stretch the mainstream’s understanding of what’s possible, they also call into question the very maps we’ve so confidently crafted to make sense of what’s real altogether. For instance, when it comes to the matter of dealing with sophisticated, apparently non-human intelligences (ie. aliens), not only do we have the matter of the DoD allegedly housing the recovered craft and even the cadavers of non-human life forms - life forms that are decidedly biological, just like us -  also on the table are the credible accounts of a host of other kind of non-conventional encounters.

Truth be told, there is a considerable body of data pointing to encounters with beings that are better described as ethereal, though - importantly - no less “real”. These beings are described by people from different walks of life in such consistent ways that they seem to claim just as much “real” and independent existence as we do. Other life forms that people encounter are perhaps better described as quasi-physical, and still others seem to navigate between these different domains like we might move between different rooms of a house.

Furthermore, human beings sometimes find themselves acting outside of their own bodies - and even outside of this 3D “physical” construct altogether - interacting with alien beings of various sorts and sometimes even with their own supposedly deceased loved ones in the process. The beings encountered also seem capable of moving human consciousness in ways that sometimes include the physical body, and other times do not. In short, what’s being highlighted here is the untenable nature of the physicalist paradigm altogether.

But all this being the case, how are we to proceed? If our modern maps have been exposed as - at best - approximations reflecting only one tiny corner of a much more expansive territory, how are we to make our way forward? And how can we reconcile the seemingly illusory boundaries between the living and the dead, sleep and waking states, and physical and ethereal realms? This all amounts to some pretty ambitious inquiry. But these are exactly the matters that we’ll seek to engage with in this the 104th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.