The discussion highlights the rich lore of indigenous peoples regarding encounters with non-human intelligences, urging a reconsideration of human origins. Chilling tales of lights and cattle mutilations during a couple's anniversary trip spark conversations about extraterrestrial links. Personal accounts of a grandfather’s encounter with starmen illustrate advanced alien technology. A surreal snowy highway experience introduces an alien's fascination with Earth. Finally, UFO sightings near missile sites reveal intriguing connections between these encounters and indigenous perspectives.

Dive into the intriguing world where UFO phenomena challenge our understanding of reality. The discussion spans across disciplines, suggesting a reevaluation of constructs limiting our perceptions. Discover the hesitance of traditional scientists in exploring anomalies and the psychological dimensions linking UFOs to mental health. Explore transformative experiences reported by those encountering non-human intelligences, revealing profound shifts in spirituality and consciousness. This journey unifies ancient philosophies and modern science, advocating for a new lens on existence.

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.

Delve into the fascinating world of non-human intelligences through firsthand accounts from experiencers. Discover how perceptions of these encounters shift from fear to a more enlightened understanding, blending themes of science and spirituality. Explore the hybridization of human consciousness and the potential for cosmic evolution. Learn about humanity's place within a greater cosmic community and the training abductees undergo to enhance their mental abilities. Embrace the challenge of navigating new realities of intelligence and agency in this transformative exploration.

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.

Exploring the boundaries of consciousness and reality, the podcast delves into UFO encounters, out-of-body experiences, and the interconnectedness of human experiences. It challenges mainstream beliefs and discusses encounters with non-human intelligences, time slippages, and spiritual truths, offering a unique perspective on the nature of reality.

Author Whitley Strieber discusses his groundbreaking book 'Communion' and the impact of the depicted encounters with alien beings on popular culture. The podcast delves into the societal reactions to claims of alien contact, recent government disclosures about UFOs, ethical implications of group authority, and speculations about the future of humanity. Thought-provoking dialogues explore human evolution, synchronicities, and potential cataclysmic events.

Seeing the matter of UAP, or, as they have more traditionally been named: UFOs, unidentified flying objects, move through the halls of Congress, apparently towards some kind of official government disclosure, one might assume that what we’re dealing with is the rather clear cut matter of alien beings arising from elsewhere in our vast galaxy, visiting us in their sophisticated nuts and bolts spacecraft. Many assume this is the logical starting point based on what we think we know of the frontiers that are yet to be explored by our modern species. However, if one pays close attention one notices the peculiar matter of the fact that these beings are referred to in official government documentation, specifically the so-called Schumer amendment, as “non-human intelligence”. No mention of the term “extraterrestrial” or “alien” can be found. Many have speculated that this is because the nature of these beings is perhaps more exotic than our sci-fi tropes would have us believe. In truth, the exotic nature of this matter of the UFO Phenomenon goes far beyond simply the origin of the beings themselves. For if one spends any amount of time studying the nuances of this Phenomenon, it becomes clear that some very peculiar goings-on are seemingly baked-in to the entire enterprise. The term “high strangeness” has been coined to encapsulate the many aspects that are peculiar, mind-bending, and sometimes even apparently absurd. In fact, the ways experiences with this Phenomenon tend to stretch - in cognitively uncomfortable ways - our very notions of what we think even can happen in a rational universe, are so frequent, and so seemingly impossible, that many have wondered if this is telling us that our conventional model of reality is, simply put, just wrong altogether. If these incidents of high strangeness are “real”, then how can our model be sufficient to account for what can arise in our material universe? And to that point, in light of the bizarre nature of these experiences, is it even accurate to see the stage we traipse upon as a “material universe”, at all? In other words, does the very mind-bending nature of these experiences suggest that perhaps this is exactly where we should look for the locus of reality itself: in mind? And are these events arising from the machinations of our individual minds, a collective mind, or some combination of the two? These are the matters we’ll seek to explore in this, the 102nd episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Exploring the diverse encounters with extraterrestrial intelligences beyond common stereotypes like greys and reptilians. Embracing the complexity of alien beings and the need for a nuanced understanding of non-human entities. Delving into indigenous perspectives on alien encounters and the varied cataloging of encounters by Artie Sixkiller Clark.

In our modern, technologically sophisticated world, it is something of a wonder that a medium such as the podcast continues to thrive. When podcasts first began to emerge in the new era of mini audio devices known as iPods (which speaks, of course, to the origin of the name), many saw them as a nostalgic throwback to the era of radio plays, before even the advent of television. The fact that the podcast medium continues to hold its own, even well into the 2020s, suggests there is something deeply enduring about the experience of tuning into real human voices, in order to feel an authentic human connection. For me personally, it has been a profoundly rewarding experience to build that connection with a dedicated podcast audience that feels very much like a kind of extended family; a tribe, if you will. And as we make note of this, the 100th episode of Point of Convergence, I think it bears pausing for a moment to celebrate not only this milestone in the life of the podcast, but also the human journey we all share, one that draws each of us to this mysterious collection of topics centered around anomalous - and therefore extraordinary - experience. Truth be told, what you have primarily witnessed over these many episodes is my own indulgence of curiosity. For it is primarily questions, rather than answers, that have driven this quest; one centered around both hard and incontrovertible data,  but also an intuitive sense that the world we are all a part of is made up of so much more than what we’ve been led to believe in our conventional, reductionistically materialist society. To mark this turning over into the triple digits, I plan to make this episode partly a retrospective of sorts, one in which I take some time to look back at the meandering – but also synchronistically orchestrated – path that has brought us here to episode 100. What lessons have been learned along the way in exploring the so-called UFO Phenomenon and related topics? And how might some additional but associated notions – such as that of a hologram, or a “holomovement”, which we’ll delve into today – help shed further light not just on the anomalous, but also on the ultimate nature of reality itself? These are the particular questions we’ll seek to indulge in this, the 100th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.