The New Paradigm
vol. I, Number 37

Dear Friends,

You may have noticed the title phrase has found its way from time to time into various editions of The New Paradigm, sometimes perhaps as a metaphor, or a light-hearted catch-all term for the prototypical "others" which the "new paradigm" discloses to, ah, "non-exist." Myself, I have never personally encountered (to my conscious "knowledge") an Alien from Outer Space; never observed an Unidentified Flying Object; so I should think I must stand about as unqualified (and qualified) as just about anybody to discourse upon them at length.

The thing that intrigues me about - what shall we call it? - "UFOlogy," regardless of what one decides to think about it, if anything, is the astonishing volume of first-hand reports that have been published over the course of the past half-century at least, and which arguably extend back through the centuries of recorded Human history. The reports and narrative accounts exist, and are available to the interested researcher in such overwhelming volume as to give pause to any but the most determined of skeptics. What the reports describe is a matter of some controversy, and open to considerable speculation; but they exist in such numbers, and their particulars agree in such detail, that they render the outlines of some sort of phenomenon that exhibits by now a highly recognizable pattern. The pattern includes objects seen in the sky in all parts of the world, which display the characteristics of maneuver in three-dimensional space under evidently purposeful, intelligent control, yet uncompromisingly unlike any "known" flying, ballistic or lighter-than-air object.

The majority of so-called "UFO" reports are either easily explained misperceptions, or are lacking in sufficient information to make possible an unambiguous determination of their nature. Yet there remain a distillate of sightings made by competent, unimpeachable witnesses, corroborated by other competent, unimpeachable witnesses, as well as by documented radar returns, photographs or other "hard evidence" which do not yield to simple, easily digested explanations. Such a case is related in Paul R. Hill's Unconventional Flying Objects: A Scientific Analysis, Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., Charlottesville, Virginia, 1995. The report is cited from Maj. Donald E. Keyhoe's Flying Saucers From Outer Space, Henry Holt and Co., New York, 1953, and was allegedly released to Keyhoe by Al Chop, U.S. Air Force UFO public relations officer.

The sighting was made by the crew of a USAF B-29 bomber cruising at 18,000 feet [5,486 m] altitude 100 miles [161 km] south of the Louisiana coast over the Gulf of Mexico just before dawn the morning of 6 December 1952. At 05:25 the Radar Operator, Lt. [named] observed a fast-moving target on his scope approaching from "twelve o'clock," straight ahead, at a speed he calculated to be 5,240 mph [8,433 km/h]. When he reported this finding to the Captain [also named] he was ordered to recalibrate his scope, which he did. Meanwhile, four new targets appeared on his scope, again approaching from "twelve o'clock," and upon the scopes of the Captain and the Navigator as well; followed by successive groups from the same direction. These too were clocked at in excess of 5,000 mph [8,047 km/h]; and from the waist blister of the bomber one of the crew [also named], and the Navigator, had visual sightings of three of the objects as they streaked past in blurs of blue light. Shortly thereafter, about 40 miles behind the bomber, five of the objects on the Captain's scope broke formation and fell in behind the bomber, slowing to match its speed. The group then changed course again, accelerated, and merged with an enormous target that had appeared on the scope. The large object then accelerated swiftly and disappeared; its velocity was calculated to be in excess of 9,000 mph [14,484 km/h].

Scholastic philosopher William of Ockham (ca. 1285 - ca. 1349) is known for the logical dictum, called "Ockham's razor," that "entities must not be unnecessarily multiplied;" implying that the simplest explanation for the known facts is preferable to more (unnecessarily) complex explanations. Accordingly, among rational Human Beings there is an understandable reluctance to leap to "Aliens from Outer Space" as an explanation for mysterious phenomena observed in the skys. One would naturally wish to avoid the "unnecessary multiplication of entities" as long as possible in dealing with such phenomena. If the report cited above were an isolated example, unaccompanied by any others like it, one might be able to dismiss it as something of a "fluke," a "collective hallucination" of the Captain and crew of an Air Force B-29. Or a prank, perhaps? Given the probable consequences of deliberately filing a fictitious conspiratorial report in the line of military duty, such a theory seems hardly worthy of consideration. Moreover, such thoroughly documented reports filed by trained and highly competent observers are relatively common; or at least there have accumulated a great many of them. Above is only one example among many; and, one suspects, one among a great many more which have not been disclosed to the public.

I have not been able to decide which is the more fascinating aspect of "UFOlogy," the reported phenomena themselves, or the response to them by "the Authorities." On the side of the phenomena, we have evidently solid, massive mechanical objects under intelligent, purposeful control, hurtling through the Earth's atmosphere at fantastic velocities, such as those measured above; making aerobatic maneuvers which must generate acceleration forces in excess of 100 g, or 100 times the acceleration due to gravity at the surface of the Earth; all with no, or very little, audible sound; often accompanied, particularly at night, with a plasma envelope of glowing light displaying every color of the visible spectrum; ...and so forth. There are reports of silently hovering craft; craft that make high-velocity right-angle turns; craft that vanish from sight literally in the blink of an eye. There are reports of "close encounters of the third kind," meaning encounters between Human residents of planet Earth and non-Human Beings of generally humanoid form, from God knows where: "Aliens from Outer Space." There are reports of abductions; voluntary and involuntary travels through space to other parts of the Earth, the Solar System, the Galaxy. And much, much more!

Like I said, a great deal of this phenomenology cannot be corroborated or verified; but there remains an unyielding residue that cannot be dismissed either, or explained away by any prosaic means. Naturally, the question most likely to come to just about any inquisitive mind would likely be along the lines of, "What's it all mean?" And would most likely be addressed to "the Authorities."

Trouble is, "the Authorities" for at least the past 50 years or so, all over the world, have contributed virtually no illumination whatsoever, and much deliberate misinformation, obfuscation and bold-faced lies, to an already murky and confusing picture. They have resolutely denied the existence of "UFOs;" and when confronted with evidence and corroborative testimony, have virtually tied the data and themselves into knots in order to evade a public admission that the least implausible explanation for the facts would have to be at least somewhat along the lines of "Aliens from Outer Space." My favorite to date is the following official remark from the 1,485-page "Condon Committee Report" on UFOs chaired by Dr. Edward Uhler Condon at the University of Colorado, released 15 November 1968, and quoted in Gary Kinder's Light Years: An Investigation into the Experiences of Eduard Meier, The Atlantic Monthly Press, New York, 1987, p. 174:

"This unusual sighting should therefore be assigned to the category of some almost certainly natural phenomenon which is so rare that it apparently has never been reported before or since."

Could this extreme secrecy and denial possibly be taking Ockham's razor to ridiculous, or even sublime, extremes? I think so. Timothy Good wrote a book a few years back that almost too exhaustively documents the extraordinary lengths to which "the Authorities" have gone to deny public access and credibility to the phenomena associated with "UFOs," all the while evidently working in a clandestine frenzy to appropriate "Alien Technology" for their own purposes. Above Top Secret: The Worldwide UFO Cover-Up, William Morrow, New York, 1988, documents in exhaustive detail the astounding cloak of secrecy that has for the past 50 years been draped over "UFOlogy" by "the Authorities" in every nation on Earth.

The picture that emerges in my mind is that the "Above-Top-Secret" "the Authorities" are so jealously guarding from public disclosure is not that entities from other realms (than Earth) are buzzing about with incomprehensibly dazzling technologies. That cannot be hidden; too many credible witnesses have seen, heard, touched, smelled, and possibly even tasted them. The "Above-Top-Secret" is that "the Authorities," with all their sophisticated analytical and intelligence-gathering capabilities, are no more able to understand, account for, or deal with the phenomena than is the so-called "ignorant peasant" confronted with a "flying saucer" landed in his rural cabbage patch. The situation evidently is that the entire Human Race find ourselves in the presence of a pattern of "unknown phenomena" that leaves us all in awe, "Authorities" and "peasants" alike. It is a circumstance in which "the Authorities" are rather flagrantly exposed as having no more genuine "authority" than you or I. That, as I see it, is the Big Secret about "UFOs."

Well you know, the "old paradigm" knee-jerk reflexive response to "the unknown" is always one of fear and hostility. The "old paradigm" simply has nothing else in its repertoire. Our entertaining fiction about "Aliens from Outer Space," for instance, reveals a great deal more about the "old paradigm" psychology of Humanity than it does about any so-called "Aliens." I have in mind motion pictures like the Alien series about a viciously predatory biological killing machine with virtually no other distinguishing characteristics; and the more recent Independence Day about a race of cosmic pirates who go about the universe plundering planets and leaving destruction in their wake. These are recent additions to a venerable line of fiction in the same tradition, all of which seem to me to render accurate portraits, not of so-called "Aliens from Outer Space," but of the "old paradigm" Human mentality.

Indeed, these fictional "Aliens" behave exactly as Humans have behaved throughout history, and would likely behave in a future in which "we" and not "they" were endowed with the superior technology "they" exhibit in "our" skys today. It is the behavior of the Caesars and the Roman Legions in relation to the pre-Christian Mediterranean peoples. It is the behavior of the Muslim armies a few centuries later in relation to the peoples of the same region. It is the behavior of the European Conquistadors in relation to the "New World" peoples after they had been "discovered;" and of the Empire Builders of the 19th century in relation to the "colored races" of all the world; and of the American Frontiersmen in the "winning of the West." It is the behavior of numerous commercial interests today in relation to many species of intelligent Beings on our own planet, in particular the Dolphins and Whales. All these horrifying fictional tales about "Aliens from Outer Space": we've already "been there, done that." And as usual, as we open our "new paradigm" sensibilities, we discover that after all, "they" are "us!"

So as I grope toward a "new paradigm" perspective on all of this, I find I can make, for whatever it's worth to you, the following observations:

1. The "Aliens from Outer Space" who have revealed themselves in the "sightings" and "close encounters" reports so far published do not seem to have a great deal in common with the predatory monsters our film industry have conjured up for our entertainment. Reports from witnesses disclose a mixed bag, and some of the "Aliens" have been maddeningly insensitive when it comes to poking and probing various "abductees;" and numerous cattle ranchers, particularly in the western U.S., have suffered significant losses to surgical procedures performed upon their animals, evidently by other than either Human veterinarians or coyotes. Also, "Alien" pilots have displayed a singular disregard for Earthly Aviation Regulations in relation to high-speed, low-level flight and the prohibited airspace above highly classified military installations. However, if hostility and conquest were on the "Alien agenda," as it inevitably would be on the "Human agenda" if the roles were reversed today, it should long since have been an accomplished fact.

2. Published reports seem to point to a rather motley collection of "Aliens from Outer Space," not to a single species with a single purpose. Little gray ones with big heads have been described, which figure prominently in the "abduction" literature; but there have also been tall skinny Beings, and Beings with an insect-like appearance, as well as Beings who look quite, but not entirely, Human. Some of these Beings have reportedly revealed messages of high, inspiring and coherent content to Humans with whom they have been in contact; while others have evidenced an interest in little beyond Human and animal reproductive organs. It would seem there are Presences here who may mean us well, and others who may not. Therefore I would think it prudent in any "close encounter of the third kind" to critically evaluate the behavior and the motives of an encountered "Alien," rather than accepting he, she, or it at face value as a Superior Being, or as a God. Had the 16th century Incas exercised such perspicacity when they first encountered "Visitors from the Sea" wearing burnished steel vests and wielding magical bang-sticks that could kill at a distance with a clap of thunder, perhaps they might have evaded conquest and the destruction of their civilization.

3. I submit that one way to determine whether any Entity - from Earth or "Elsewhere" - means us well or ill would be to answer the question, "Does a relationship with said Entity enhance or abridge our individual cosmic freedom / responsibility?" Any Entity proffering a variant of the formula, "Follow me, and I will solve all your problems for you;" or as it was allegedly put to Jesus of Nazareth, "All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." [Matthew 4:9] - I should take as motivated by less than "good intentions," and consequently one I would incline to steer clear of. But of course it all depends upon what you want. If what you're looking for is somebody to solve all your problems for you - well, you've already got that, it seems to me, in "the Authorities." How do you like it?

4. As I have repeatedly emphasized in these pages, the "new paradigm" discloses that all are ultimately One (1), without exception and without opposite. Therefore, if there are indeed "Aliens from Outer Space," "they" must be no less a part of the One Totality than "you" and "I." Our own history teaches us (if we are willing to learn) that our "old paradigm" presumptions of universal enmity, and our reflexive postures of "fight / flight," inevitably lead to repetitious self-destructive scenarios that have never, in all our history upon this planet, reaped anything but fear, "death," misery, and loss. As we enlarge our horizons and encounter Beings upon a larger game board than we have heretofore imagined, we may elect, if we wish, to repeat all our "old paradigm" scenarios yet again, upon a higher arc; but that is not our only option. We also have before us, right now, the possibility of awakening to a "higher reality;" to a realization that there is nothing, in this universe or any other, that is not at heart directly of the essence of what "we" are, and always have been, and will always be. In that sense, there is no such thing as an "Alien from Outer Space;" there is only I AM, the One Totality, the One Reality of Existing Being, in Which there is nothing to fear, and everything to love. That, and nothing less, is what I AM, YOU ARE, HE / SHE / SHIM / IT IS, now and forever; no matter what funny costumes we may for the moment be wearing.

5. As always: Is that so?

Love & Light,

-- Harmon
J. Harmon Grahn

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* See also the follow-on two-part essay, "CE-IV, Part I" and "CE-IV, Part II," respectively in tnp vol. III #1 and #2, 12/8/99; and "New Beginnings, Part III," tnp vol. IV #4, 1/1/01.