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.

As our society begins to host dinner-table conversations around the reality of non-human intelligences co-occupying our space here on and around planet Earth, certain assumptions are inevitably being applied before even a single word is spoken. On previous episodes of this podcast we’ve discussed how the notion that these beings are extraterrestrials, that is to say – “space aliens” – has been one of the most frequent assumptions applied.

Even today, that continues to be the case, because the other origin hypotheses that had been floated; namely interdimensional, extradimensional/celestial, cryptoterrestrial, ultraterrestrial, extratempestrial, etc, are really only being bandied about within the dedicated ufological community. We (those who are part of that community, that is) know, of course, that it is the data themselves that lead people to these other possibilities; but Joe and Jane Public just are not there yet. They’re still parsing along the lines of the headline grabbing: “we’re not alone, and they’re here!”

As it turns out, though, that pre-assigned notion as to origins is just one of a whole host of assumptions regularly being applied to this matter of the UFO Phenomenon. And again, for those of us intimately familiar with this topic, we know full well that the many of the other assumptions being applied are equally as either questionable, or fully outdated, in light of the decades–and many would argue, even centuries or even millennia-long–data at our disposal.

While those who’ve been in this field the longest–the true “lifers”–if you will, are no doubt cheering the entrance of mainstream academia into the mix in recent years, I would caution that this segment of our society is bringing its own set of pre-existing assumptions to the table as well.

And, again, some of those assumptions just don’t play well with this data. And in our race for conventional recognition, we should be careful to not sell the process short, because academia, too, will have its understanding stretched (to say the very least) by the nature of this data.

This same is true for religious adherents of one form or another. The fact that this data does seem to include what we might call “spiritual overtones” often leads this religiously-affiliated segment of our civilization to the conclusion that this puts the UFO Phenomenon data firmly in their worldview camp, leading them to gleefully proclaim that this shows that they’ve been “right all along”. In both these cases (for those academically and/or religiously inclined), the problem arises in their assumption that the interpretive grid they have at their disposal is generally sufficient to make sense of this anomalous data, and that all they need to do now is slot various data points into various categories of pre-agreed meaning.

Simply put, that will not work. I tend to agree with Peter Levenda’s contention here, suggesting that what this data really asks us to do is consider our reality models from the perspective of the Phenomenon, and not the other way around. The question then becomes: as we do this, just how far afield will this take us? And what elements of our various pre-existing conceptual models will be left standing when we’re done?

And what alternatives might we tentatively put in their place? And these are precisely the issues we’ll seek to engage with in this, the 108th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

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.

When we take the time to look back at the history of the UFO phenomenon in popular culture, perhaps no book has had an impact greater than Whitley Strieber’s groundbreaking 1987 work Communion. This was a book that, on the one hand, caught the world by surprise, depicting shocking, discombobulating encounters with beings of a decidedly otherworldly nature, despite the fact that the experiences seemed to be happening – at least partially – very much in physical reality, and were experienced not just by Strieber, but also by his family and by guests to his cabin in upstate New York.

While shocking in its claims, one can easily make the argument that the reason the book had such an impact on popular culture is related to the fact that so many people resonated with the material within, and – even more pointedly – with the now iconic cover of the book, depicting what has since become known as the quintessential “grey alien”. The being depicted on the cover of Communion was not only provocative, but also – to many thousands of people around the world – strangely familiar. Of course, the question that inevitably arises from this fact is: why?

Were these memory fragments suggestive of a reality where untold numbers of human beings were being abducted in a similar manner to Strieber? And, if so, what did this mean of the nature of the apparently extensive enterprise these beings were in the midst of conducting? Perplexingly, while elements of the encounters seemed to be happening in something like an alternate state of consciousness or in an alternate, ethereal realm, other elements, involving medical examinations and the extraction of reproductive, genetic material, seemed suggestive of a much more “down to earth” purpose, perhaps involving the hybridization program that has become such a lynch pin of our contemporary understanding of the Phenomenon.

These questions were of paramount importance in 1987 when this book was first unleashed upon the world. Since then, the significance of the material has only become even more pressing – as many of the future visions experiencers like Strieber had then have seemingly come to pass, suggesting we are even closer to some consequential turning point in human history; a moment these beings spoke so pointedly about. Because, to be clear, the encounters did involve warnings; warnings that seem particularly prescient in light of how things have unfolded in human civilization since the time of Strieber’s initial encounters.

And, importantly, the messages have not stopped being communicated. Even during a recent series of conversations I had with Mike Masters, chief proponent of the so-called Extratempestrial Hypothesis – the notion that some of these beings are our very own descendants from some future point in humanity’s evolutionary trajectory – additional elements became clear, aided by synchronistic events suggesting these overarching intelligences are not only able to defy our understanding of physics, but sometimes even able to orchestrate an ordering of the very events of our lives.

But to what end? And in preparation for what? Who are these beings, and how are their efforts to not only interact with us, but to chart a new evolutionary path forward, related to the events arising in our midst even as we speak; events that threaten our very place on the planet as we have known it? These are just a few of the questions we’ll seek to engage with in this, the 103rd episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

When it comes to the intelligences behind the UFO Phenomenon, a certain group of repeating players tend to draw most of the attention. These commonly referenced groups include the greys, the nordics, the reptilians and the mantis types. And while there are a considerable number of accounts that do indeed refer to these particular beings, this can sometimes lead to the erroneous conclusion that they represent the sum total of the NHI we are dealing with.

The truth is, when one peruses the full breadth of the experiencer literature, it becomes clear that a plethora of alien beings are actually encountered. And even within the types that resemble the most commonly referenced, there seem to be numerous nuances in their appearance and behavior, only further complicating the picture, suggesting perhaps both species, subspecies, as well as factioning.

While it is a human tendency to prefer concise – that is to say “manageable” – answers, especially when it comes to an exploration of the unknown reaches of our knowledge, we should be careful not to reduce the complexity encountered in order to simply lighten “cognitive load”. I would suggest a more helpful response would be to embrace the rich diversity represented in the many types of non-human intelligences that we, on occasion, seem to cross paths with, even if this does require a significant upgrade in our understanding of the complexity of our cosmic environment.

To this point, in today’s episode we’re going to be making our third trek into the stellar work of Ardy “Sixkiller” Clarke, an academic of Native American descent who’s contributed greatly to our collective awareness of these various forms of non-human intelligence. Our collective knowledge of the variety and nature of these beings has been greatly aided through Clarke’s dedicated, tireless, and methodical cataloging of the many kinds of beings encountered specifically amongst people of indigenous descent.

Do certain kinds of apparently alien beings tend to interact with specific types of human people groups? And, if so, do these data points perhaps represent overarching patterns – providing hints even in regards to differing human origins? To that point, how should we make sense of the claims of descent from such beings, which are so often part of indigenous cultural lore?

It is the expansive and unique work of people like Ardy “Sixkiller” Clarke that helps us to begin to address just such questions. Just how wide-ranging are the alien types encountered? And where do these various types fall within the spectrum of consciousness development, respectively? These are just a few of the questions we’ll seek to engage with in this, the 101st episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

In the recent move towards a more mainstream consideration of the enigma colloquially known as the UFO Phenomenon, we are seeing increasing discussion around the alleged technology recovered. We are also seeing robust conversation arising around whether or not this anomalous technology may have made its way into the top-secret craft being developed and operated by the military industrial complex, by way of successful reverse engineering.

While such a move is a welcome sign for ufologists and those who are merely enthused about the topic alike, this development leaves out one absolutely fundamental component of the entire matter: that of the nature and intentions of the intelligences responsible for such technology. The fact that this obvious implication is not being discussed in the mainstream, perhaps hints at a deep, subconscious nervousness around what this may mean for our civilization’s own self-understanding.

When one adds to the mix the fact that, perhaps, all along, the reality of these various others – these NHI, as they are now referred to in official circles – has been staring us in the face, in the form of the very religious traditions we’ve embraced as our meaning-making models of the world, only adds to this strange sense that there’s something we as a modern civilization have almost willingly turned our gaze away from.

In today’s podcast we’ve going to take a deep dive into the surprisingly compelling notion that the beings, sometimes referred to as “gods”, and sometimes conflated as a single deity in monotheistic traditions, points almost squarely towards the very non-human intelligences said to be responsible for the mysteriously daunting behavior being increasingly recorded in our modern day.

What do our most revered spiritual traditions – when read in the correct context – say of these beings and their role in the seeding and subsequent development of humankind? And what might this mean for what’s happening even now, and where we are headed as a supposedly sophisticated, modern civilization? These are the most consequential matters we’ll seek to engage with in this, the 99th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Those familiar with ufological lore, and especially how it ties into our deep religious history, will tell you that UFOs have been around for as long as we have, and perhaps even longer. Indeed, it has long been acknowledged that the assumed non-human intelligences behind these manifestations may be responsible not only for the inspiration and direction of our most foundational meaning-making models – that is to say, our religious traditions – but also for our very origin as a species.

That being the case, some might find it a stretch to believe that the times we find ourselves in now are somehow unique when it comes to this enigmatic topic: Yes, they’re here, but they always have been, directing affairs mostly in shadow – à la something like Jacques Vallee’s control system hypothesis – so what would be different about now? – or so the thinking goes.

While that’s an understandable perspective to have, and while we should always be on the lookout for bias in our contemporary reading of history, there is indeed compelling evidence to suggest that what we’re seeing with this Phenomenon since the turn of the millennium – and especially over the last few years or so – is indeed worthy of note, suggesting that we may very well be heading towards some crescendo point, where our very relationship to this Phenomenon, and, for that matter, to reality itself, fundamentally changes.

The evidence for this notion arises not just in the increased activity of alien intelligences in our midst – though we have indeed seen a rise in reported accounts of sightings and engagements with the craft apparently piloted by these so-called NHI of late – but also via reports from experiencers, those uniquely tuned into these various alien groups, who have seen visions of imminent changes that speak to the coming of a foundationally different world.

While even these two data points – the increased sightings/interactions and sense from experiencers that something is coming – might not be enough to convince many, these are not the only elements we need to reckon with here. Just as important in this equation is the rising tide of challenges our civilization is presently facing; challenges so daunting that they threaten our very existence.

These matters include climate change, geopolitical conflict rife with ever more catastrophic weapons of mass destruction, and the sudden rise of artificial intelligence. All three of these are particularly troublesome because they are being met by a center of gravity of consciousness still driven by fear, scarcity and what our most ancient and enduring spiritual traditions – not to mention many of these Others – call “the illusion of separation”.

Those familiar with ufological lore will also know that the trajectory we’re presently on as a human, earth-based civilization, is precisely the one that these various non-human (and non-conventionally-human) intelligences have long warned us about. Their historic concern about our ever more technological focus, unmoored from an accompanying increase in our level of consciousness, is central to the messages delivered to humankind via the experiencers we’ve already discussed. Suddenly those warnings and prognostications, going back decades, seem strikingly prescient.

That said, we know that timing is particularly challenging to predict and parse out when it comes to these otherworldly admonitions. And thus, the question still remains: just how pressing are these issues, and just how close are we to some fundamental transformation of life as we have thus far known it? Furthermore, how might the very real march towards official disclosure we’ve seen of late be informed by all of this? These are the very thorny – yet crucial – matters we’ll seek to gain clarity around in this, the 98th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

While the notion of extraterrestrial life has long captivated the public imagination, certain expectations regarding how such life might interact with us have also proven problematic. Primarily that’s because, being the stubborn species we are, when data doesn’t conform to our expectations, we tend to either ignore it, explain it away, or assume it has been gathered incorrectly, or is even the result of fraudulent reporting. This issue has been paramount in the matter of the modern UFO Phenomenon, because many elements of the reports that have arisen from eye-witness testimony contain elements that stretch our expectations – often to the breaking point and beyond.

A term that has been put forward to explain the various elements that stretch our expectations of how sophisticated non-terrestrial intelligence would interact with us – even to the point of defying rational understanding altogether – is “high strangeness”. Here we see crossover into another domain, that of general paranormality. Now while we modern Westerners would like to keep these bodies of data completely separate – after all, why would extraterrestrials act in ways that are reminiscent of apparitions and poltergeist phenomena, or so the conventional thinking goes — the reality is that these two kinds of data seem to regularly co-arise in people’s experience. And that being the case, it would be unwise to let our pre-existing biases prevent us from seeing linkages that clearly exist in the raw data itself.

Speaking of crossover between domains that tend to be kept distinct in our modern notions of how reality works, we also see startling parallels between the UFO Phenomenon and humanity’s most ancient expressions of religion – collectively referred to as “Shamanism”. The most glaring similarities arise in the experience of reality people report in both Shamanistic journeys, and encounters with supposed “aliens” during contact experiences reported as part of the modern UFO Phenomenon. In both cases people report experiencing the encounter in a seemingly alternate realm or non-ordinary state of consciousness. The question then emerges, pertaining to the UFO Phenomenon, if these really are “space aliens” – that is, physical beings arising from some distant star system – then why would the encounters involve so much overlap with the visionquest encounters reported in Shamanism?

While one can certainly attempt to explain away these parallels in the bodies of data, a more open-minded, objective, and sincere perspective might very well land on the notion that these clues are telling us something fundamental about the nature of reality itself; something that seems to inevitably lead towards a reframing of what it means to be a sentient life form living in a supposedly “physical” universe, as defined under the dictates of scientific materialism. But what precisely is the nature of the overlap between domains/topics such as Shamanism and experiences that fall within the modern UFO Phenomenon, and where might the implications of these alignments lead us? These are the mind-stretching and paradigm-collapsing matters we’ll seek to delve more deeply into, in this, the 96th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Over the last 12 months or so, those associated with ufology have seen their excitement level around the matter of official disclosure reach a fevered pitch. Much of the optimism has been tied to the remarkable specificity of the language included in the Schumer amendment, which makes clear not only that sophisticated, non-human intelligences in our midst exist, but that various elements of the military industrial complex have constructed elaborate schemes to study this phenomenon while shielding this consequential reality not just from the American people, but also from Congress and the rest of government.

While much of that amendment was eventually gutted before being passed into law, in many ways the proverbial train has nevertheless left the station. There is just too much momentum heading into 2024 for this progress to reverse course. It may take longer than some within ufology would prefer, but this march towards an official acknowledgement of the reality of this phenomenon – and the various unconventional intelligences behind it – seems unstoppable at this point.

While this particular matter of when disclosure will actually happen has been front and center in the ufological dialogue over the last year, what has been discussed much less regularly is the matter of what will actually be disclosed. Many of us obsessed with this topic have been so focused on crossing this one particular threshold — yes, this is real, and yes, so are they – that we’ve spent far less time pondering what might be disclosed, or commented upon, beyond this initial civilization-changing acknowledgement.

Truth be told, this is precisely where the challenge really arises for the powers that be. And, frankly, that’s because they really have no clear understanding of where this all leads. Yes, it’s real. Yes, it’s been present in our midst – even if in stealthy manner – for perhaps as long as we’ve been around as a species. But as to its ultimate nature, and how it changes our understanding of fundamental reality, that’s a matter of ongoing contention and confusion – even for the insiders who’ve spent decades studying this, with the highest security clearances available.

For those who take the most overarching view – considering not just the more contemporary manifestation and interpretation of this Phenomenon, but also ways that deep human history seems to point to interactions stretching back millenia – even if described in terms and frames much less familiar and comfortable to modern ears – it’s clear that these other intelligences have not only been with us all along, likely shaping our development across time in the process, but likely were responsible for our very seeding upon this blue pearl of a planet to begin with.

In today’s episode we’ll be taking a deep dive into the ways one can make a very solid case for the notion that ancient encounters with so-called “gods” were ultimately part of the very same enterprise as the more modern UFO/UAP and alien abduction/hybridization enigma. How has framing, and a poor understanding of the different cultural contexts that have tried to make sense of these phenomena over time, obscured the underlying truth of these reality-shaking revelations? These are the very daring, daunting, and highly disruptive matters we’ll be exploring in this, the 95th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.