For those tuned into more recent developments within the field of ufology, there is a clear recognition that the conversation has moved in some surprising directions. What began as an assumption that we were witnessing the presence of spacecraft being piloted by extraterrestrials has evolved into a much broader consideration that involves interdimensionality, potential cryptoterrestrials and ultraterrestrials, consciousness-control, the manipulation of space-time, and much more.

In many ways one could argue that what began as a conversation singularly about the potential visitation of visitors from some far-flung star system has evolved into a discussion about the nature of reality itself. The implications that arise from the so-called UFO Phenomenon really are that far-reaching and paradigm-stretching.

Interestingly though, this kind of deep-seated soul searching is not unique to the field of ufology. As it turns out, other fields of inquiry are experiencing similar upheavals. While the often categorized “soft” sciences of sociology and psychology are facing these challenges, the so-called “hard” sciences are certainly not immune either.

While the outer reaches of psychology, often termed parapsychology for that very reason, are trying to make sense of human capacities that apparently violate our notions of space-time altogether – here I speak of various categories of so-called ESP: telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, and psychokinesis, etc., physics is grappling with equally baffling notions such as retro-causation – where the future seemingly causes the past, or at least, where the arrow of time seems to operate equally well in both directions, contrary to everything we’ve understood about the nature of reality up until recently.

Tellingly, several astute observers, including pioneering researchers like Dean Radin of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, have noticed striking parallels emerging between these various fields of inquiry. Specifically, Radin and others have noted that the interconnected fabric of information that underlies the field of quantum mechanics bears remarkable similarity to the kind of fundamental structure that seemingly gives rise to phenomena plotted along the Psi spectrum.

The essential question that arises from these fascinating observations is this: what does this apparent crossover tell us about the nature of ultimate reality? Clearly what we’re seeing here is evidence of a level of reality that is more informational and symbolic in nature. And it is this substrate of reality that ultimately gives rise to what we consider the physical world: the realm of matter and energy.

In what way are human beings operating – usually unknowingly – at this informational layer, one that apparently exists beyond the constraints of space and time as as we have traditionally understood them, when we send messages to each other telepathically, or when CIA intelligence analysts employ the protocols of remote viewing to see into underground bases in the former Soviet Union?

Furthermore, in what way does this understanding of reality help to explain some of the more bizarre elements of the UFO Phenomenon? Here we speak of events such as when people are passed through solid objects, or when alien intelligences are apparently able to read the minds of abductees/contactees, and even see into their futures, or how an alien species is able to traverse the immense distances involved in interstellar travel with relative ease.

The convergence of the fields we’ve just identified: namely ufology, parapsychology and quantum physics, and the implications regarding the fundamental nature of reality that are arising as a result, is the subject matter of this, the 31st episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Not all that long ago it seems, the notion that our world may actually be a simulation, a massively and masterly orchestrated virtual reality, seemed a notion best left to science fiction writers. In fact, the idea didn’t even really gain traction until our own video game technology — rendered with high definition graphics cards, and powered by code bases that included full-on physics engines — grew to be so immersive and realistic, that people began extrapolating outwards, wondering if — one day — perhaps a technologically advanced enough civilization could actually render an entire universe, one so all encompassing that even the participants would be fooled into believing it was “real”.

Believe it or not, today, this notion is taken very seriously, by philosophers and physicists alike. And it’s not just because we’ve been inspired (and perhaps frightened?) by the remarkable increase in the reality and capacities of our own digital creations. No, even more central to the growth of this idea are hints that have been found – breadcrumbs found along the trail, if you will – by observations made on the quantum level of reality. The implications of these observations are truly mind-blowing. Indeed, these very revelations led world-renowned physicist Niels Bohr to famously say, “If quantum mechanics hasn’t profoundly shocked you, you haven’t understood it yet.” Ultimately, these astounding findings bring into question the very fabric of our our “reality”.

In modern plays on this notion of virtual reality, television shows like Westworld depict human beings entering into the simulation to tweak the inner workings of the AI-driven robots. Not surprisingly, many a UFO enthusiast has noticed how similar such scenes seem to be to the reported abductions of human beings by apparently alien intelligences, who likewise, reportedly make “alterations” on their own subjects. And perhaps even more tellingly, many of these experiencers report, after the fact, feeling that “the realm of the Others” – whether that be on board a supposed UFO craft or elsewhere, actually feels more “real” than our every day waking existence. Indeed near death experiencers report the very same kind of sentiment when comparing “there” to “here”.

And beyond the issue of contact and abduction experiences, the very way these “Others” – these evidently non-human intelligences – are able to — apparently — effortlessly violate our observed laws of physics while they make their rare appearances within our world, has led some to postulate that perhaps our world is a simulation, and they, the architects. How is it that they seemingly pass through solid walls like passing through air — often taking us along with them? And how do they pilot craft that seem immune to the very effects of gravity itself – almost as if they’re operating within bubbles of localized space-time?

When you add to the mix the long-standing historical appearances of these “Others”, who were often understood by pre-scientific societies to be — depending on the circumstance and the worldview – “angels” or “demons”, and sometimes even “gods”, the very creators themselves, and the situation becomes even more — depending on your point of view — intriguing, inspiring, or disturbing.

This confounding complexity leads us to pose some astronomically large questions, such as: what is the “reality” status of our perceived universe? To what degree do these “Others” exist in or beyond this universe? And what is truly central to existence itself? What role does matter, energy, and pure information play? And could it be that each of these are derivatives of capital “C” Consciousness itself: the ultimate engine of parallel “virtual” universes?

These truly mind-bending and potentially paradigm-crashing questions are the topic of this, the eighteenth episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.