Point of Convergence

Anyone alive in the modern era is entitled to look at the startling conflux of transformational variables currently arising in our midst, and conclude that this is a time of truly unparalleled change; change so all-encompassing that it is virtually guaranteed that the world a decade from now will prove fundamentally different from the one we’re in now, and even more contrastingly different than the one any of us were born into. The UFO Phenomenon, an ever-present specter in our midst, is a key element in this transformational stew. At this point not only is new information coming to light on a yearly basis pertaining to this topic, but even on a monthly - and sometimes even weekly - basis. That is to say, while the modern UFO Phenomenon traces its origins back 80 years or so - existing mostly in the fringes of polite society for that entire time - we are now in an era where it feels like at any moment this reality of mysterious others and their bewitching tech will be fully “mainstreamed”. Of course, once we cross this threshold, a key collective moment of contemplation awaits us: one that presents overarchingly profound questions about not just who they are, but who we are. And at that point our entire civilization must endure a moment of deep, reflective reckoning; a reckoning that acknowledges that almost nothing we’ve confidently believed about our reality is quite what it has seemed. If nothing else, this dawning realization will help us see that we’ve been living in some version of the Truman Show - where what we’ve thought was real was more like a stage play. Even as we face this comprehensive re-contextualization around our origins and our place in the Cosmos, we are seeing our own civilization approach an apex moment, referred to some as the Singularity, where spiraling technological growth becomes not only irreversible, but so all-encompassing that it constitutionally changes what it means to be human. The sudden rise of artificial intelligence over the course of the last 12 months is front and center in this discussion. Of course, in addition to us approaching this moment of widespread acknowledgement of these Others in our midst, happening just as we approach an apparent technological point of no return, there is also the matter of the increased engagement by some of these Others with modern humanity. And of course this raises a couple of intriguing questions: 1.) Is the government shift towards disclosure happening because they recognize that if they don’t get “ahead of the curve” - in terms of embarking on some plan of controlled disclosure - that the matter will be taken out of their hands altogether, resulting in what some have called “catastrophic disclosure” - speaking to its potentially devastatingly destabilizing impact on human civilization? 2.) Are groups of these Others ramping up their engagement with humanity precisely because the point of no return we are presently approaching at break-neck speed is so consequential that they have determined that letting us pass that threshold of our own accord is simply not tenable - primarily because they perhaps see that - without intervention - that unaided crossing would inevitably ensure our own demise? These questions are simultaneously as profound as they are perplexing - arousing excitement in some, and trepidation in others, and they are precisely the matters we’ll be diving head on into, in this, the 93rd episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Philosopher Bernardo Kastrup challenges materialism and proposes analytic idealism as a new framework. Topics include the concept of 'the diamond', the historical prevalence of idealism, time travel, humanoid bodies and DNA, and expanding our worldview to understand the UFO phenomenon.

Philosopher Bernardo Kastrup shares his unique perspective on the intersection of hard sciences and metaphysics. He discusses their journey from working on a data acquisition system at CERN to embracing idealism as a philosophical model. The speaker recounts a childhood experience with a UFO-like object and reflects on their lack of curiosity at the time. The chapter delves into the distinction between our perceived reality and the actual nature of reality. Exploring the concept of synchronicity and its relation to Carl Jung's work.

For a long period of modern history the matter of the so-called UFO Phenomenon remained a topic cast to the fringes of discourse. While there has always been a committed community of people dedicated to getting to the bottom of this enduring, enigmatic mystery, that group has operated - for the most part - in the margins of polite society. And while the general public has long believed in the likely existence of extraterrestrial life in the cosmos – as have astrophysicists, for that matter – the subject of some of that sophisticated alien life already being in our midst has been a different matter altogether; one, for the most part, subjected to the conspiracy theory bin amongst the mainstream.That clear distinction between these two statements - that other life exists in the cosmos, and that some of that life is already visiting us - began to dissolve somewhat with the revelations brought forward by David Grusch; an insider who had come into contact with clear evidence not just of the presence of these “aliens” in our midst, but furthermore of contact, communication and even agreements being made between elements of the U.S. government and its military services and these factions of so-called non-human intelligence.For those subjected to the historic enterprise known as alien abduction, these revelations raised new and troubling questions about just how much human governments have not only known about this matter – despite their public denials – but may have been party to them. It is one thing to come to grips with the notion that sophisticated intelligences are able to take you from the comfort of your home with impunity. It is another matter altogether to learn that perhaps your own government has been privy to these activities; and that may have been part of an accord struck between these other intelligences and human governments.And yet, this is precisely what is on the table; not just as a result of the allegations brought forward by David Grusch, but also because of details that have been provided elsewhere, going into greater detail as to the nature of these accords as they pertain to the matter of abductions. In this week’s podcast we’re going to delve into once such account that purports to describe the nature of the cooperative aspect of these events; detailing how a deeply compartmented element of the U.S. air force was made aware of abductions via telepathic communication received by personnel who had been genetically altered to enhance their capacity to receive said messages from the faction of non-human intelligence who had made this accord. If true, the implications of this account are not only consequential, but, for many, they are also deeply disquieting. But of course such topics are not ones we shy away from on this podcast. Just how much have human governments – or segmented aspects of them – actually known about these historic abductions? And how exactly was intel passed from an alien faction to a group of human beings privy to this sweeping enterprise? These are precisely the matters we’ll be delving into in this, the 90th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast. 

Without question, 2023 has been a banner year in the decades-long endeavor to bring disclosure about the reality of the so-called UFO Phenomenon to public awareness. Ever since the mid 20th century there has been a dedicated push by a relatively small but growing contingent of die-hards to finally get the U.S. government to admit what it knows about these beings from “elsewhere”; beings who have apparently been at work in our civilization in very substantive albeit clandestine ways. Based on the political machinations that began churning soon after the dawn of the startling allegations brought forward by a former insider named David Grusch, that push seemed to finally be paying dividends. That said, of late the startling progress seen earlier in the summer seems to have slowed. So much so, in fact, that some have begun to wonder aloud, with chagrin, if perhaps the historic secrecy/disinformation machine – which has been pushing back in its own dedicated way ever since these revelations came to light – might once again be about to turn this apparently irreversible progress into yet another mirage. While on the one hand, such a feat seems more like wizardry – after all, how could these revelations not at the very least lead to a deep and broad congressional investigation? – it does indeed seem as if our society is carrying on with the same old, same old, in regards to what tends to garner public attention. Now that we’re just over a year away from a hotly contested federal election, perhaps not surprisingly the vast majority of public and media focus has turned to that epic showdown; one being seeded by near civil-war like stratifications within the national fabric. The question now arising is this: can this push for disclosure hope to gain enough steam, and make enough noise, to be heard amongst this rising national clamor leading up to an historic moment in late 2024? At least, that’s the question some are asking; chiefly those concerned this might all come down to a monumental run of bad luck around timing. From another point of view, however – one that I personally think is more robustly informed by the full scope of the matters in play here – these issues are not separable; and certainly not coincidental. I would argue that the what, when, and how of these matters again comes down – at least in part – to the clandestine actions of those mysterious actors; ones who seem to be both everywhere and everywhen, except for when you expressly go looking for them. Is this seeming overarching orchestration humbling to our collective sense of agency, and even to our species’ perspective on planetary sovereignty? Certainly. Does it suggest that disclosure – however one defines that term – simply isn’t something that humanity alone can muster up enough momentum to bring to bear – at least, not at our current stage of development? Yes, without question. I think history makes this matter crystal clear. Questions we should be asking include the following: What do they want in the midst of all of this? What is their overarching agenda? Is it singular or plural? Are they singular or plural? If they’ve shaped our history – to one degree or another – what do they intend for our future? And what role are they playing as the figures on the chessboard seemingly move about of their own volition? Considering the subject of disclosure from this much more panoptic vantage point is exactly the approach we will be taking in this particular discussion, as we aim to make sense of these intriguing yet imposing matters, in this, the 89th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

The modern so-called UFO Phenomenon stretches back to the mid-20th century. That means we have 75+ years of lore to draw from when reflecting on the subject matter in question. Of course, for the vast majority of that time this topic, colloquially referred to as “ufology”, has remained a somewhat “fringe” enterprise, discussed ad nauseam by enthusiasts of the notion of extraterrestrial intelligences visiting earth in sophisticated machines, but never gaining a truly legitimate foothold amongst the mainstream.That is, of course, up until recently. Since the advent of the revelations/allegations brought forward by a former insider named David Grusch, this topic has gained traction in the mainstream; at least, it has begun to. At this point, while decades-long ufologists have been shocked to see the kind of attention this topic has recently garnered in political circles, it’s still not truly penetrated the formidable iron gates of legacy mainstream media. Nevertheless, there are signs that this wall of impenetrability is perhaps beginning to crack and crumble. And without doubt, as more hearings are held, and more evidence is presented, along with a secondary wave of whistleblowers prepared to follow in David Grusch’s wake, that traction in the mainstream will eventually prove undeniable. And that will mark an inflection point for our civilization, as the conversation around this new reality we are collectively grappling with turns from “could it be?” to “how now shall we respond?” All that said, as we’ve watched this topic, and the questions it inevitably begs, begin to become a noticeable “something” for those who’ve long ignored it, there is an aspect of the conversation that is still largely missing from the society-wide dialogue. Here I speak of the aims/intentions/agendas of the beings in question. It’s as if we’re talking about them either in the past tense, or as a force that is unconscious, like water running down a mountain towards the ocean.But, of course, they are not just another aspect of nature running its course like water returning to the ocean via the impartial force of gravity. They are a parallel intelligence; walking beside us, with their own history, species-specific norms, and collective aims to bring to the mix. And only a much, much smaller subset of the community are asking the relevant questions that arise from this aspect of the situation. Questions such as: who are they, and what are their aims? Some throw their hands in the air here, assuming that the intentions and, for that matter, even basic nature of a non-human intelligence would be impenetrable to homo sapien sapiens. But of course, a long history of interaction between these others and a subset of humanity known as experiencers casts serious doubt on such assumptions. That history suggests not only that we can engage in open contact with these other beings, but that that communication often involves very specific details about their aims amongst us, and their intentions towards us. How consistent are these messages? And to what degree should we trust them? Many see these as waters too murky to navigate. But that’s precisely what we’ll endeavor to do in this, the 88th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Throughout much of the 20th century there existed a narrative that ran in parallel, but also somewhat in shadow and away from plain sight, to the march of history that we all learned about in school. This parallel narrative spoke of remarkable technological craft, seemingly centuries ahead of our own cutting-edge marvels, and included whispers of encounters with the pilots of said craft, who often both looked somewhat like us: humanoid, bipedal, etc, but also distinctly different, that is to say: “alien”, with huge, wrap around eyes and skin the color and texture of mushrooms. Within 20th century history, the period where we see these two parallel tracks most overlap, at least initially, was around the turn of what is commonly referred to as the atomic era. If you look at the history of the development and testing of atomic weapons, you will find these Others entering the fray, even if in ways that still didn’t make mention in mainstream news publications. Desert landscapes, mushroom clouds, and flying saucers; these all go hand in hand, when you consider these two parallel track of history. Towards the latter half of the 20th century, another key intersection occurred; one that saw these others (or perhaps, another group of “others” altogether), entering the fray to embark upon some kind of vast, but secretive genetic program; a program that saw human beings taken aboard apparent craft, and having their reproductive material taken, apparently in the service of the creation of hybrid beings: that is to say, a new creation of humanoid creature that was very much a cross between us, and them. These key historical developments have long been rumored about in the so-called backrooms of ufology. That said, they have historically been remarkably difficult to surface, for those who have endeavored to see these two parallel tracks considered as undeniably and inextricably connected to each other - which is to say, you cannot reconstruct the true history of the 20th century without seeing these two parallel tracks merged into one. This difficulty is largely attributable to the remarkable success of an official suppression and disinformation program that was operated by the government of the American people, against the American people, as well as others around the world, throughout much of the 20th century, and stretching on into the 21st. In light of events of the last several weeks and months, however, it’s now clear that this fight for legitimacy amongst the mainstream has taken a sharp turn. So much so, in fact, that those who’ve been investigating these matters for decades and decades have been left with their mouths agape; as they’ve seen these matters, seemingly overnight, being given true governmental attention, and on a bipartisan basis to boot. To be clear, the surprising pace of recent events – which has seen each of the main governmental bodies in the United States, in recent weeks, publicly take up the challenge of endeavoring to be transparent about this enigmatic part of our history – has left many wondering if something more than meets the eye might be in play here. After all, finally beginning to move towards transparency is one thing. But what we’re apparently seeing is arguably much more than that. To be clear, we’re now seeing legislation being crafted, by some of the most powerful politicians in the nation, around what is officially being deemed a “disclosure plan”. The question is: Why? And, just as, if not more importantly, why now? These are the very compelling and complex matters we’ll seek to engage with in this, the 87th episode, of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Throughout the history of humankind we’ve been pushing the boundaries of exploration, determined to map and – often eventually, populate – every nook and cranny of physical space we come across. This has meant we’ve ventured into every corner of the earth, even those sporting the most inhospitable of environmental conditions. When the modern-day UFO Phenomenon first exploded into public consciousness around the era of the 1940s through, not one, but a series of remarkable events, that orientation around frontier consciousness led almost everyone of the time – once it was clear these strange objects seen - designated UFOs – unidentified flying objects – were very unlikely to be of prosaic origin – to assume that these apparently intelligently controlled vehicles must be coming from the last of the frontiers we had yet to explore; namely: outer space - they greater expanse of the surrounding cosmos. This of course suggested the existence of extraterrestrials; beings who had evolved on entirely different planets in entirely different star systems in far flung corners of the Milky Way Galaxy or beyond. This sparked our imagination, leading us to imagine what they might look like, and how they might behave. Would they look anything like us? Would they follow our behavior patterns? Would they want to conquer and colonize us the same way we’d done with each other? As the 20th century marched on, many people around the planet began to report encounters with the very beings supposedly piloting these sophisticated vehicles. Interestingly, while modern science had long leaned towards extraterrestrial beings likely looking decidedly unlike us - because of their origin being tied to completely different evolutionary pressures in completely different home planet contexts, the reports arising from these encounters with “other-worldly beings” spoke to a remarkably humanoid form; and indeed on regular occasion, even a seemingly fully human form. Furthermore, even the types less human in appearance still matched the general morphology of other forms of life from Earth: including reptilian and insectoid, including mantis beings - bearing a striking resemblance to 9 foot tall praying mantis insects found right here on our home planet. Of course, this raises an obvious question: why? Why were these encountered forms flying in the face of our expectations around what extraterrestrial beings would likely look like – and, more importantly, what they would NOT look like? I would suggest to you that perhaps the issue lies in one of our earlier assumptions: that the next frontier to be explored is always spatial in nature. But what if these others were not coming from elsewhere, but from some as yet poorly understood non-spatial dimension? On that note, the notion of a multiverse opened up the interdimensional hypothesis to popular consideration. And that’s still in the running, suggesting these beings are arriving from planes of existence sitting in parallel to our physical existence. But there is another possibility that has long escaped the mainstream of our collective imagination around these beings; namely: time travel.  In other words, what if these beings are not so much coming from somewhere else, but rather some when else? When one stops to consider this possibility, not only does it hold its own – in terms of serving as a potential theoretical explanatory mechanism – but it also fits remarkably well with key components of the historical data, not just around the appearance and behavior of these various beings, but also with other key elements arising from the historical experiencer literature. This possibility that time is a key variable in the overarching phenomenon is a fascinating one, one that will be our focus in this, the 86th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.  

The year 2017 saw what appeared at the time to be a sea change in ufology when a key piece published in the New York Times made clear that the U.S. military had footage of aerial vehicles of unknown origin. In other words, not only were UFOs - now referred to as UAP - a “thing”, something those intimately familiar with the topic had long known to be the case, but the U.S. government, to some degree or another, was now publicly acknowledging this fact. Many within ufology assumed this was the turning point we’d all been waiting for; the historical event that would send this topic fully into hyperdrive, and not just in remote corners of the internet, but, more importantly, within the mainstream. In the end, that wasn’t what happened. The article made waves, to be sure, dragging the topic beyond X-files land, and tantalizingly closer to mainstream acceptance. Still, what many enthusiasts and researchers were left wondering was, why weren’t these revelations enough to really bring us past the threshold into widespread, conventional recognition of the validity of this topic? That question has lingered, largely in a static status, until this past week, when a new article by the same authors has brought to light startling allegations that take this topic well beyond the matter of strange lights in the sky. According to an article by Leslie Kean and Ralph Blumenthal, a former intelligence official turned whistleblower named David Grusch has alleged that elements of the U.S. military are in possession of “intact and partially intact craft of non-human origin.” Because Grusch has provided this information to Congress and the Intelligence Community inspector general, filing “a complaint alleging that he suffered illegal retaliation for his confidential disclosures,” and because officials have received these concerns as “credible” and “urgent”, once again we seem to be at the precipice of a word ufologists have been bandying about for decades: disclosure. True disclosure. Not hearsay. Not rumors; but true widespread acknowledgement by government officials and widespread acceptance by the populace of the world that not only are we not alone in the universe, but that various beings who represent vast, sophisticated intelligence are here, in our very midst, and, in a collective shock to the system, perhaps have been all along. As things stand right now, this is a dynamic situation, evolving daily as the story makes its way across the media landscape, inevitably landing anew in the awareness of untold numbers of the general public, and on the desks of government officials all around the world. But where do things stand, really? Is there no turning back at this point? Have we crossed the proverbial event horizon? Is the end result, while still rolling out as we speak, already a foregone conclusion? Put simply the question is this: will these remarkable recent events finally catapult us into a new era in human civilization, where we recognize we are part of a cosmic neighborhood teeming with life forms we’ve as of yet been largely unaware of? And, if so, what comes next? How will we be changed by these revelations? These are the very pressing and profound questions we’ll seek to find some clarity around on this, the 85th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Ever since the dawn of the modern UFO Phenomenon, a wide variety of terms have been used to describe people’s reactions to it. People have been fascinated, frustrated, shocked, perplexed, bewildered, frightened and inspired. And, because of the enigmatic nature of encounters with the beings associated with this Phenomenon, often several of these descriptors can and do apply for any given situation. As has been pointed out numerous times on this podcast and elsewhere, when one widens the historical scope, it is not a stretch to wonder – even postulate – if beings from more distant folklore may be part and parcel of this same enterprise. And this is true not just because these events that come to us from the depth of recorded human history involve encounters with apparently non-human entities, but also because the nature of the encounters often involve similar elements. That said, one could also argue that this might be an example of a brush simply applied too broadly. In other words, perhaps because of the very fact that these encounters across time do involve similar elements, we might be tempted to prematurely draw precise parallels where they perhaps do not exist. Were the creatures of faery lore the very same as our modern-day prototypical grey aliens? Or do we simply leap to this conclusion because they neither fit neatly within our tidy conventional zoological models? In the 20th century, reaching a fevered pitch sometime in the 1990s, word of human abductions by these supposed grey aliens slowly became part of our cultural zeitgeist. The narrative around these more recent encounters involved apparent genetic experimentation and even full-on hybridization programs. Again though, if we widen the scope once more, one could postulate that some of the apparently anomalous leaps in our species’ cognitive capacity throughout hominin history were also the fruit of similar genetic intervention and augmentation programs. People have also wondered aloud if the UFO Phenomenon marks the beginning of a new religious trend? Many postulated in the 20th century that visits by the space brothers - bearing an uncanny resemblance to ourselves - marked the beginning of a new frontier in spiritual discovery. But again, if we step back, adopting the 30,000 foot view, one can logically question if the very seed of religious belief and practice for our species, from our very earliest creeds on, were also the fruit, either directly or indirectly, of encounters with these same anomalous beings.Which leads us to some pressing questions: are these beings the same groups of entities interacting and shaping us over time? Or is our imagination simply so limited that we have inappropriately drawn parallels where they simply don’t exist - opening up the possibility that perhaps our ontological landscape is simply much more complex and diverse than we’ve yet been able to really fathom, let alone truly reckon with. While the history of anomalous encounters seemingly goes right back to the dawn of our civilization, more recent events raise a particularly pressing question: Does the apparent increase in our species’ interaction with some of these non-conventional beings in recent history - paired with what one could argue is a seeming march towards a cataclysmic collapse of our own making - suggest that, while interactions with non-conventional entities have existed across the breadth of human history, that they are now nearing some kind of culmination point - where, as some of the experiencer narrative would suggest -this results in a situation where everything and everyone is left completely different afterwards? And furthermore, is this coming apex inflecion point terminal, or transformational for our civilization, and perhaps even both? These are the daunting, challenging and awe-inspiring matters we’ll seek to engage with in this, the 84th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.