This weekend I attended the UFO & ET Congress which is held semi-annually at a modest venue in Bordentown, New Jersey. The featured speaker was Travis Walton, the Arizona logger taken aboard an alien space craft November 5, 1975 and held for five harrowing days while a massive search was organized below.
Walton's ordeal was dramatized in the 1993 movie "Fire in the Sky" which was based on Walton's own book, "The Walton Experience" (1978). The book was republished in 1997 in an expanded format under the title of "Fire in the Sky: The Walton Experience" and is available on Amazon, as well as through Walton's website.
The Walton case is notable among abduction reports insofar as the saucer shaped alien craft reported to have taken Walton was clearly seen by six of Walton's coworkers. According to all reports, a beam of blue-green energy emanated from the craft and struck Walton as the ship was apparently powering up for take off. Believing Walton to be dead, the loggers left the scene in the hope of getting help or weapons. When they returned, Walton and the craft were gone.
In his presentation, Walton expressed the belief that he was essentially struck by accident during the powering up process. In the years since the incident, he stated that he had come to believe that he was taken aboard the craft because he was in need of medical attention. In response to questioning about the intent of ship's crew, Walton referred to the incident as an "ambulance call."
Walton corrected discrepancies between the film and the actual events of the case. Red herrings shown in the film, such as a UFO magazine on the seat of the logging truck and Walton's coworkers agreeing to "stick to the story" prior to meeting with law enforcement were dramatic devices intended to increase suspense. During the presentation, Walton was careful to set the record state on the actions of his fellow loggers who quite understandably felt themselves in no position to engage the alien spaceship unarmed.
Walton's ordeal was dramatized in the 1993 movie "Fire in the Sky" which was based on Walton's own book, "The Walton Experience" (1978). The book was republished in 1997 in an expanded format under the title of "Fire in the Sky: The Walton Experience" and is available on Amazon, as well as through Walton's website.
The Walton case is notable among abduction reports insofar as the saucer shaped alien craft reported to have taken Walton was clearly seen by six of Walton's coworkers. According to all reports, a beam of blue-green energy emanated from the craft and struck Walton as the ship was apparently powering up for take off. Believing Walton to be dead, the loggers left the scene in the hope of getting help or weapons. When they returned, Walton and the craft were gone.
In his presentation, Walton expressed the belief that he was essentially struck by accident during the powering up process. In the years since the incident, he stated that he had come to believe that he was taken aboard the craft because he was in need of medical attention. In response to questioning about the intent of ship's crew, Walton referred to the incident as an "ambulance call."
Walton corrected discrepancies between the film and the actual events of the case. Red herrings shown in the film, such as a UFO magazine on the seat of the logging truck and Walton's coworkers agreeing to "stick to the story" prior to meeting with law enforcement were dramatic devices intended to increase suspense. During the presentation, Walton was careful to set the record state on the actions of his fellow loggers who quite understandably felt themselves in no position to engage the alien spaceship unarmed.
While Walton may have been unconscious or sedated during much of the time he spent aboard the craft, the events he did recall and share were detailed and convincing and he was able to provide artist's renderings of the alien crew. More info may be available as well in Walton's book which is high on my reading list.
Overall, I found Walton's presentation to be a credible and articulate account of a truly amazing experience. I am pleased to have had the opportunity to hear him!
You can learn more about Walton, his experience and subsequent investigations in his book Fire in the Sky: The Walton Experience or through his website at Travis-Walton.com.
I started The Mystic Review 365 days (and 160 posts) ago on August 22nd, 2011 - the morning my 53rd birthday. The night before was a restless introspective night. At 2 AM I found myself still awake with no sense of winding down or tiring.
Looking for a diversion, I switched on the TV, and surfed the channels until I stopped at a public access TV program featuring Eckhart Tolle. I had never heard him.
I was, I think, quite possibly the only person in the entire US who had not. Surprising perhaps because spirituality was always such an important part of my life. I was never particularly attracted to 'New Age' however and that made Tolle new news to me that night.
Looking for a diversion, I switched on the TV, and surfed the channels until I stopped at a public access TV program featuring Eckhart Tolle. I had never heard him.
I was, I think, quite possibly the only person in the entire US who had not. Surprising perhaps because spirituality was always such an important part of my life. I was never particularly attracted to 'New Age' however and that made Tolle new news to me that night.
I had an religious affiliation but it wasn't really working. I had decided that maybe I should just give up on spirituality altogether - that it just might not be for me. But I was wrong and in that moment, hearing Tolle talk, I knew I was wrong.
My curiosity, the great saving grace of my life to date, was sparked. I wanted to know more. I felt a new cycle starting and the promise of new things on the horizon. I wanted to explore again and it seemed that it might be helpful to me, on a personal level, to keep track of what I found.
My curiosity, the great saving grace of my life to date, was sparked. I wanted to know more. I felt a new cycle starting and the promise of new things on the horizon. I wanted to explore again and it seemed that it might be helpful to me, on a personal level, to keep track of what I found.
My track history with journals is rarely good and I have always had problems with consistency across the board of my life experience. So it occurred to me that a commitment to share what I was learning with others through blogging might keep me on track. And so it has. I have covered a lot ground over the last year and taken some interesting turns. Best of all, I find my passion for what I am learning is growing rather than waning.
Have I progressed in spiritually since that sleepless night which seems so long ago? I'm not sure. My belief system has expanded but I have a long way to go, however, in terms of establishing a consistent spiritual practice. I have learned a thing or two, yes. But I am also acutely conscious of how much more there is to discover. And that's a good thing.
I am so looking forward to year two. And from the bottom of my heart, thank you, dear reader, for being there to share it!
The Susquehanna River August 13th, 2011 6:23 AM |
I got to the river just before the sun crested, compass in hand to observe the southeast sky but saw no sign of the Dog Star. According to various internet sources Sirius was due to return to Northern skies today. Ancient people were very precise in their observations of the heavens. The internet, it seems, is not. But that was alright. Seeing the sun rise over the mountains was worth getting up for.
There is a resonant energy to the world just before dawn and there was a time when I used to get up at five o'clock in the morning just to feel the hum. On the way home from the river today, I remembered that time. I remembered how I used to sit in the kitchen and drink black coffee and write straight through until sunrise. I lived in the city then but I could see the better part of eastern sky above the vacant lot outside my back door. I got early up to write and see the sun come up almost every morning. In many ways, that place was my first real home and I made the most of it.
There is a resonant energy to the world just before dawn and there was a time when I used to get up at five o'clock in the morning just to feel the hum. On the way home from the river today, I remembered that time. I remembered how I used to sit in the kitchen and drink black coffee and write straight through until sunrise. I lived in the city then but I could see the better part of eastern sky above the vacant lot outside my back door. I got early up to write and see the sun come up almost every morning. In many ways, that place was my first real home and I made the most of it.
On the way back from the river this morning, I thought that I could do that here, too, if I wanted. The old turn of the century houses are close together in my neighborhood but ours is on a small hill and I have full view of the sky over the roof tops and mountains from my east facing bedroom slash office. Rearranging the furniture was relatively easy and my desk now faces that window. I am going to get up early tomorrow and write. Maybe I will catch sunrise by the river another day. Sirius is back after all. And if I get the timing right, I should be able to catch it any morning I choose.
Update: Here in the new house, I have an office. And it came equipped with a big east facing window <3
Update: Here in the new house, I have an office. And it came equipped with a big east facing window <3
A friend sent me this video this evening which was interesting as I was reading Plato's account of Atlantis earlier in the day. This is not Atlantis of course but it follows a very similar time-line which I find compelling. I am absolutely fascinated by the mystery of the past. Somehow it all comes together in ways mainstream archaeology is just beginning to consider. I must do a review on Fingerprints of the Gods (the author of the book, Graham Hancock, is interviewed midway through this clip).
The History Channel does seem to get a bit off track in this presentation but some good points are made as well. I've included some background from the Smithsonian Magazine below, including additional photos:
"Six miles from Urfa, an ancient city in southeastern Turkey, Klaus Schmidt has made one of the most startling archaeological discoveries of our time: massive carved stones about 11,000 years old, crafted and arranged by prehistoric people who had not yet developed metal tools or even pottery. The megaliths predate Stonehenge by some 6,000 years. The place is called Gobekli Tepe, and Schmidt, a German archaeologist who has been working here more than a decade, is convinced it's the site of the world's oldest temple."
The History Channel does seem to get a bit off track in this presentation but some good points are made as well. I've included some background from the Smithsonian Magazine below, including additional photos:
"Six miles from Urfa, an ancient city in southeastern Turkey, Klaus Schmidt has made one of the most startling archaeological discoveries of our time: massive carved stones about 11,000 years old, crafted and arranged by prehistoric people who had not yet developed metal tools or even pottery. The megaliths predate Stonehenge by some 6,000 years. The place is called Gobekli Tepe, and Schmidt, a German archaeologist who has been working here more than a decade, is convinced it's the site of the world's oldest temple."
Today I listened to a fascinating lecture by Dr. Richard Gerber, MD called Exploring Vibrational Medicine and intend to order at least one of his books when funds allow. It was truly amazing to hear a physician talk about things like chakras and the etheric body and Dr. Gerber is very much a physician in this lecture. He moves quickly and covers a lot of ground. In the first half hour alone I took several pages of notes finding, surprisingly, that I actually remembered my old college shorthand.
Dr. Gerber defines vibrational medicine is a form of medicine based on the concept of diagnosis and treatment of illness based on energy. He discusses various models of medicine and reality, and what he refers to as multidimensional human anatomy such as the chakras. He also discusses vibrational medicine healing techniques, including psychic healing, flower essences and crystals.
Dr. Gerber defines vibrational medicine is a form of medicine based on the concept of diagnosis and treatment of illness based on energy. He discusses various models of medicine and reality, and what he refers to as multidimensional human anatomy such as the chakras. He also discusses vibrational medicine healing techniques, including psychic healing, flower essences and crystals.
As it is impossible to do a presentation like this justice in a single relatively short blog entry I want to devote this entry to the scientific theory behind vibrational medicine as presented by Dr. Gerber. A key point in understanding this theory is the contrast Dr. Gerber made between two very different scientific models as reflected in the practice of modern medicine. The first is referred to as the the Newtonian model, the second Einsteinian.
The Newtonian model, based on the work of Sir Isaac Newton, describes a largely mechanical reality. According to this model, which is reflected in Dr. Gerber's view in the training of most physicians, the heart may be conceptualized primarily as a pump, the lungs as a bellows, the kidneys as filters, the muscles as pulleys, etc. This view lends itself to problem solving that is largely mechanical in nature - the replacing parts with surgery, for example, or the utilization of targeted medication that creates specific chemical outcomes.
Do these measures save lives? Absolutely and Dr. Gerber is quick to point out the benefits of such Newtonian type advances in medicine such vaccines, chemotherapy, declotting agents, antihypertensive medication, organ transplant and cardiac surgery. He is also quite aware of the downside in terms of antibiotic resistance, side effects and surgical complications. In his estimation an energetic approach can provide effective modalities often overlooked or underestimated by mainstream medicine.
The energetic approach to medicine is, according to Dr. Gerber, also the Einsteinian or vibrational model which describes the universe as a series of interpenetrating energy fields. This is the realm of modern or quantum physics where matter as we perceive it does not strictly exist. Dr. Gerber explains this quite understandably, saying that Einstein's famous equation e=mc² (where e is energy, m is matter and c is the speed of light) shows that energy and matter are interconvertible and thereby two expressions of the same thing. High energy particle physics experiments bear this out, showing that at a micro microscopic or quantum level all matter exists as a form of frozen energy.
This is where, Dr. Gerber says, the Einsteinian model begins to predict a faster than light view of etheric energy. By plugging in a velocity greater than the speed of light to the e=mc² equation, physicists such as William Tiller of Stanford University, have postulated the concept of negative entropy, a state counter to traditional or positive entropy. Positive entropy may be loosely defined as a system's gradual decline into disorder which make negative entropy especially interesting.
Tiller's work showed that energy which travels faster than the speed of light demonstrates the unusual property of negative entropy or the tendency to become progressively more ordered or organized. According to Dr. Gerber this runs counter to the known laws of thermodynamics. It also has fascinating ramifications for those of us seeking a common ground between science and spirituality. May we consider negative entropy a force in an ordered universe?
Dr. Gerber goes on to discuss multiple scientific sources including Nobel prize winning physician Björn E W Nordenström, Albert Szant-Györgyi (discoverer of vitamin C), and Russian medical researcher Alexander Gurvich whose 1920s experiments with onion roots proposed the existence of the biophoton or endogenous light - a form of light emitted by an organism and able to pass through quartz (though not glass) to communicate with another like organism.
Dr Gerber discussed subsequent experiments by German biophysicist Fritz Popp which systematically proves the existence of biophotons. This experiment involved cultures placed in adjacent Petri dishes and was conducted with both glass and quartz (crystal dishes). Popp was able to prove a communication between cultures placed in the quartz dishes which did not occur between those placed in glass.
As it is known that ultraviolet light passes through quartz this indicates that cells were emitting photons of light in the ultraviolet spectrum. According to Dr. Gerber this research and others demonstrates that the body does not consist only of mechanical chemical and electrical systems but of light energy systems as well. And this is fundamental for an understanding not only of Dr. Gerber's work but for many alternative treatment modalities such as light and color therapy, as well more traditional applications such as acupuncture.
This song is commonly sung as a round in school music classes and choirs. It is a very old folk song however and to me it has always seemed both hopeful and sad. I sang it last night and today to a dear friend as he was failing. I share it here so that others might have something to sing as well.
In this wonderful full-length presentation on the extended mind and the nature of consciousness, Cambridge educated biochemist Dr. Rubert Sheldrake discusses the field-like state of the human or animal mind. Comparing the mind to cell phone or magnetic fields, Sheldrake shows how the mind exists in proximity to its physical source (the brain) but is not confined by it. Discussing his own extensive research concerning the phenomena of telepathy in people in animals, Sheldrake provides excellent objective evidence for the existence subtle energy. He also does a fantastic job of presenting scientific concepts in an interesting and engaging way!
Reflections on Winter
For awhile I switched from tarot
to playing cards.
Just regular old cards.
No pretty pictures.
No Colman-Smith.
No abstract art.
No rainbow colors.
Just numbers and suit,
black and red,
light and dark,
energy and associations.
And the associations are easy
with ordinary cards.
Spades are winter,
spades are dark.
The Queen, the twelfth card
of her suit,
a winter queen,
a time of year.
This is how you time a reading.
And I timed every reading out
to December,
to myself,
to that sharp and solitary queen.
Today is a turning point in time.
The air is cold and the wind is strong.
And wind is winter.
Air is spirit
and, if you're lucky, inspiration,
ideas, intellect and looking inward.
And I have been luckier in this regard
than in others.
Today, I stand outside
and it's a new month and a new year.
The yard is a monochrome of snow
and dormant garden.
There are crows calling to me from the trees -
loud and free and wild.
And the sky beyond the branches
isn't gray or silver
but really surprisingly blue.
Blue enough to get my attention.
Blue enough to anchor me
to this scene, this spot, this lonely season.
So I stand outside until my feet are cold
and I think that this is probably
what all the symbols point to.
Not where you've been,
not where you're going
but the absolute magnitude
of where you are.
Today I know exactly
where that is.
Today is Sunday,
early January.
Today is number one of seven.
Today is number one of twelve.
And one is creation and renewal.
One is power under pressure.
One is starting over,
moving forward.
One is a single point in time
to playing cards.
Just regular old cards.
No pretty pictures.
No Colman-Smith.
No abstract art.
No rainbow colors.
Just numbers and suit,
black and red,
light and dark,
energy and associations.
And the associations are easy
with ordinary cards.
Spades are winter,
spades are dark.
The Queen, the twelfth card
of her suit,
a winter queen,
a time of year.
This is how you time a reading.
And I timed every reading out
to December,
to myself,
to that sharp and solitary queen.
Today is a turning point in time.
The air is cold and the wind is strong.
And wind is winter.
Air is spirit
and, if you're lucky, inspiration,
ideas, intellect and looking inward.
And I have been luckier in this regard
than in others.
Today, I stand outside
and it's a new month and a new year.
The yard is a monochrome of snow
and dormant garden.
There are crows calling to me from the trees -
loud and free and wild.
And the sky beyond the branches
isn't gray or silver
but really surprisingly blue.
Blue enough to get my attention.
Blue enough to anchor me
to this scene, this spot, this lonely season.
So I stand outside until my feet are cold
and I think that this is probably
what all the symbols point to.
Not where you've been,
not where you're going
but the absolute magnitude
of where you are.
Today I know exactly
where that is.
Today is Sunday,
early January.
Today is number one of seven.
Today is number one of twelve.
And one is creation and renewal.
One is power under pressure.
One is starting over,
moving forward.
One is a single point in time
from which all others follow.
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