The first layer is the notion that sophisticated alien entities may be in our midst, supposedly piloting – or at least controlling, even if remotely – the strangely exotic craft that have been regularly spotted buzzing in and around our skies. That part of the conversation is finally being had – in at least some elements of the mainstream, though widespread acknowledgement of this fact is still a long way off.

Further inward from that surface layer of the proverbial onion is discussion regarding how these alien others seem to be both contacting and ongoingly interacting with human beings, as we speak, and most likely have been for as long as our species has been around to have such experiences.

Another layer deeper from that part of the narrative, which is already much more than the general public and the political and media mainstream are willing to even discuss, is a notion even more shocking: that being that some people are taking a proactive role – and are reaching out to these alien others; taking the front-foot, as it were, in the contact and communication process.

CE-5 – short for “close encounters of the 5th kind” is a term used to describe a certain form of this kind of interaction with alien others. CE-5 involves a series of general protocols designed to peacefully invite contact with sophisticated, non-human intelligence. A person may, for instance, communicate, via the aid of meditation and directed intention, a desire to see a craft – presumed by many, if not most, to be extraterrestrial in origin – to show itself in a particular place in the sky at a particular time.

Interestingly, while CE-5 is the most familiar form of proactive, human-initiated contact with apparently non-human, alien intelligence, it is not the only method that has, and is, being employed. Astral travel is another form of contact/communication/communion that is being used to reach out and bridge whatever divide separates us and “them”.

Of course, the fact that astral travel seems to – after the correct kind of training/preparation – be just as effective in achieving this close encounter contact as is CE-5, this only begs the question as to the nature of the divide that does actually separate us from them. Indeed, the fact that we seem to be able to travel, via consciousness, as it were, without “physically” going anywhere, and still not only contact these alien others, but even spend time aboard their in-orbit spacecraft, suggests that the nature of the contact (or at least, some if it) is perhaps not what many first assume it to be. And really, once you really think about it, it becomes clear that the implications here even call into question the very nature of what we call “reality”.

Without doubt these implications are as fascinating as they are mind-bending; and are – without question – as simultaneously bizarre as they are profound. And these are the very matters we’ll seek to delve deep into, in this, the 60th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Much of the world has only recently begun to come to grips with the growing evidence emerging in the public sphere suggesting that sophisticated, non-human intelligences are apparently in our midst, buzzing in and around our skies both day and night. This revelation takes the notion that aliens might exist – out there – in the great beyond of outer space, and brings the idea much closer to home. For some, it’s simply too close to home. Truth be told, many people just aren’t prepared to deal with the idea that extra-terrestrial or inter-dimensional beings are not only already here, but may have indeed been here as long – or longer – than we have.

Of course, for those of us more aware of the extensive body of data regarding the UFO Phenomenon, it’s clear that, not only are these intelligences piloting sophisticated craft in the skies above our heads, but they’re are also interacting directly – face to face and up close and personal – with human beings. And we’re not speaking simply of these Others once in a while introducing themselves in the broad light of day. No, they – some of them, anyway – are also conducting apparently clandestine missions to enter people’s homes, passing through solid walls like we might pass through a fine morning mist, and taking people back to their sophisticated craft, or elsewhere, such as some mysterious matrix-like reality that defies easy categorization based on our current understanding of reality.

Notice that I just said “some of them” are conducting these kinds of covert missions, often – it’s important to point out – without the apparent permission or often even knowledge of the people they are taking. I say “some of them” because, truth be told, not only is sophisticated non-human (i.e. alien) intelligence here, but it is here in the plural. And here I’m not referring simply to numbers of the same alien species. No, I’m referring to different alien species altogether. There are so many in fact that one quickly becomes overwhelmed by the sheer variety of alien types apparently in our midst: the short and tall greys, reptilians, mantids, human-like species such as the so-called Nordics and Tall Whites, and many more.

And it’s not just the variety of alien species that can be overwhelming. The kinds of experiences people have with these various Others also vary. Some people have decidedly positive, even spiritually transformative encounters with these Others, from the get-go, while other people have much more traumatic, frightening, and discombobulating experiences. Truth be told, even the positive encounters are usually disorienting in the extreme at first blush. One simply cannot overstate the degree of ontological shock that is involved here, as John Mack made clear in his research with alien contactees/abductees.

Even more complication arises in this already complex, convoluted discussion, when one takes into account how many people eventually grow to see their experiences differently once the initial ontological shock has – to some degree – worn off. Even more confusing, many abductees/contactees find that, at some point during an encounter with these Others, they realize they actually recognize these beings.

Sometimes this recognition tracks back to early childhood, meaning that, for some, these encounters have been ongoing for decades, often without the individual having any conscious memory of this contact. Even more discombobulatingly, for those of us trying to make sense of the contact totality, it becomes clear that some people find that they recognize these beings from some deep sense of a larger, multi-dimensional self that may even track over multiple lifetimes.

Clearly this is a complicated discussion; one that, arguably, cannot be even fully addressed without asking as many questions about who we truly are as who they truly are. Still, with all of this complexity in mind, what can we make of the jungle that is the territory of these Others? This is exactly what we’ll explore in this, the 33rd episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

For almost as long as human beings have been looking up and spotting strange aerial vehicles making astonishing maneuvers in our skies, people have been reporting a parallel experience that in most people’s minds, is even stranger. I speak of direct contact with the supposed intelligence controlling these advanced craft.

Sometimes the contact comes in the form of remote, telepathic communication – where human beings find themselves being communicated with by an apparently non-human intelligence not immediately present. Other times non-human entities seem to appear, in person as it were, wherever an experiencer is, making the event all the more concrete and ontologically disturbing.

Of course, the most — depending on your point of view — famous, or infamous, type of contact, is in the form most commonly referred to as “abduction”. This kind of event involves humans being taken — often reportedly against their will, and under a form of paralysis — and transported directly onboard UFOs — i.e. alien craft. The means of this transportation often involves bizarre elements such as levitation and the passing, seamlessly and effortlessly, through solid walls.

What is often termed “the Abduction Phenomenon” takes on an even stranger turn with the added consideration of an even more startling metric. Here I refer to the finding that many, if not most, of the people who have experienced such an event have come to realize, sometimes on their own, and sometimes with the aid of tools such as hypnotic regression, that these experiences are not isolated events, but actually part of a repeating pattern, often stretching well back into early childhood. Sometimes even a history stretching across generations of genetic lines emerge.

Even stranger than the revelation of this evidently alien intervention in the lives of reported thousands, if not millions, of people, right across the planet, is the reported nature of these contact events. These experiences are as utterly disorienting and paradigm-shattering as they can be ultimately illuminating and transformative. The sheer depth and richness of the experience has led author/experiencer, Whitley Strieber, to refer to the experience as “communion”. And, like Streiber, contactees/abductees are often left with artifacts, such as missing time and bodily implants, at the end of these uncannily bizarre episodes.

But make no mistake, while these experiences can ultimately play a deeply transformative role in the lives of experiencers, they are — perhaps of necessity, based on the reality-bending nature of the information being conveyed — also ontologically shocking, and often — at least initially — astoundingly traumatic. Perhaps there is no easy way to ease a human being into these kinds of revelations. They effectively pull the rug out from underneath a person, even if, what’s eventually put in its place, for many anyway, is something much richer and more inspiring.

To complicate matters further, the expanded understanding of both self-identity, and reality itself, often discovered in these visits to the realm of the Others, even brings into question our somewhat limited understanding as to the nature of free will, when a soul may have made participatory decisions about the nature of these interactions, even before birth into a human body.

The dual nature of these contact experiences: that are as soul-shakingly bewildering as they are ultimately illuminating and potentially deeply transformative, is the topic of this, the 14th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Amidst the ongoing surge of interest regarding reports of elusive UFOs/UAPs that are being seen by the military and civilians alike, many seem to have missed the fact that a movement has emerged over the last couple of decades, geared specifically towards taking the front foot in the relationship with these mysterious “Others”. CE-5, which is short for “close encounters of the fifth kind”, is all about human beings initiating contact and communication with these non-human intelligence(s). CE-5 seeks not only to bring about the appearance of strange – perhaps extraterrestrial – craft in our skies, but also to establish an ongoing relationship with these beings from “elsewhere”.

Are these extraterrestrials? Interdimensionals? Some combination of the two? Something else entirely? And how effective is CE-5 for its proponents? We’ll discuss these and related matters with our special guest, James Iandoli, a long-term CE-5 practitioner and the founder of Engaging the Phenomenon, who’s not only experienced many of his own astounding encounters with these Others, but who has also championed the CE-5 cause, helping to grow it into the thriving, global community it is today.