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we know full well that the many of the other assumptions being applied are equally as either questionable, or fully outdated, in light of the decades–and many would argue, even centuries or even millennia-long–data at our disposal.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.

For those who look at the UFO Phenomenon as a primarily “nuts and bolts” enterprise, elements of this enigma that veer into the domains of the spiritual and the paranormal are often seen as superfluous to the main point of the exercise. From the point of view of traditional ufologists like this, the central point is that some kind of biologically-based alien intelligence is here, in our midst, buzzing in and around our skies – and apparently our most supposedly secure air space, for that matter – with impunity. From this perspective, the focus and the fascination lies in the sophisticated nature of the technology on display, and in the earthly presence of apparently bipedal alien life forms.

Interestingly, and, I would suggest, tellingly, researchers in the distinct field of hauntology have a similar tunnel-vision focus. For traditional hauntologists the assumption is often that deceased human beings are responsible for much of the paranormal experiences people report having. And when the dead are not responsible, the aim often turns towards the so-called “spirit realm”, where angels and demons reside.

For someone with only a cursory understanding of the two fields just described: namely ufology and hauntology, the assumption is largely that these are distinct and unrelated fields. The first has to do with extraterrestrials arriving from Zeta Reticuli, and the second has to do with ancestors who refuse to fade fully into the domain of the afterlife, and with spiritual entities who are meddling in the affairs of human beings, supposedly with the hopes of determining the ultimate destiny of human souls.

Again, this is how these matters appear to someone with only a shallow understanding of these two fields, with a correspondingly shallow understanding of the data arising in the literature of these two fields. For those who are intimately familiar with the full breadth of said data, however, the overlap between these two fields is startling. So much so, in fact, that those who really are attempting to look at these matters with objective eyes see that this is all part of some overarching category of inquiry. Why do mysterious balls of light – often referred to as “orbs” – often show up both in cases ascribed to ufology and hauntology? Why do UFOs and aliens sometimes appear right alongside deceased human beings? These overlapping data points seemingly demand we step back and look at this from a more overarching perspective.

Beyond these similarities, another fascinating and (for some) disturbing data point is shared by both ufology and hauntology. Here I speak of the so-called Hitchhiker Effect – where human beings seem to be “followed” by entities of various forms, after having had encounters of either ghosts and/or spirits, or aliens alongside sightings of UFOs. Startlingly, not only do these entities and phenomena follow people who’ve had such encounters, but they often are reported to “spread” – almost like a virus of some sort – into the lives of people who simply know the person initially “afflicted”. In other words, just knowing someone who’s had an anomalous encounter like the ones described above is enough to trigger a similar experience of the paranormal – even when the matter was never actually discussed by either party. And this hitchhiker phenomena can then carry on the lives of such individuals for months, even years.

These overlapping data points of course raise profound questions. Who then are these entities appearing in both ufology and hauntology? Have we mistook them for the wrong types merely because our categories are based more in folklore and wishful thinking than in reality? And what of us? Who are we? In other words, what are we really composed of that would allow such seemingly energetic life forms and phenomena to attach to us? And, ultimately, what do these revelations suggest in terms of an overarching metaphysical understanding of reality itself? These perplexing, astonishing and mind-bending matters are the focus of this, the 68th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Just as someone interested in matters such as the UFO Phenomenon and the so-called “paranormal” aspects of reality begins to conclude that these topics will always remain on the very fringes of both our collective radar and our collective curiosity, a startling piece of news comes to the fore, demonstrating that, as painstakingly slow as it may feel to those of us deeply invested in these matters, the collective imagination does eventually come around, finally entertaining and investigating these fascinating dimensions of reality.

Such news emerged with fresh, startling clarity in recent weeks with the publication of a trailblazing new book titled Skinwalkers at the Pentagon: An Insiders’ Account of the Secret Government UFO Program. The book, penned by James, Lacatski, Colm Kelleher, & George Knapp, details a truly ground-breaking program known as AAWSAP – the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program, that approached the topic of UAP – unidentified aerial phenomena – with a refreshingly broad lens, recognizing the uncanny but unmistakable connection between the UFO Phenomenon and what has come to be referred to as “high strangeness” or “the paranormal”.

It is one thing for a forward-thinking private think tank or some paradigm-challenging corner of academia to explore these matters. It is something else entirely for an official government body to do so. And yet, this is exactly the story we learn about in this book. The DIA – the Defense Intelligence Agency – steered 22 million dollars in tax-payer funds towards precisely this endeavor.

And, as is stated in the book, “AAWSAP personnel chose to launch the UAP program with as broad a scope as possible” and to “research paranormal phenomena that co-locate with UAPs and to examine psychic effects in UAP witnesses in addition to scrutinizing the core UAP technology itself.”

While this broad-reaching net was as ambitious as it was unorthodox, to say the least, ultimately the data it produced proved revelatory. And while the program seemingly opened up more new questions than it ever managed to answer, the findings are nevertheless essential, because they help to define the direction such research needs to take in the months and years to come.

It should not be surprising, however, that so many new questions emerged at the culmination of the AAWSAP program. Because, ultimately, these findings point towards the undeniable necessity to expand our current model of reality. But what were these revelations? And what do they hint towards in regards to the very fabric of what we call “the real”? These are precisely the matters we’ll seek to engage with in this, the 44th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

In 2017 the New York Times dropped a bombshell article detailing a secret government UFO program that included footage of newly categorized “UAP” – unidentified aerial phenomena. That article, published by a mainstream, industry-leading publication like the Times inspired other publications and news outlets all over the world to follow suit. The ensuing drama resulted in a new wave of public and political interest in the topic of UFOs that has vaulted this field to new heights in the public sphere.

Still, as groundbreaking as that article and its contents were, it turns out that numerous errors also squeaked through. In addition, the article opened up many intriguing questions that were never fully answered. At least, until now. This past week saw the publication of a trailblazing new book titled Skinwalkers at the Pentagon that is garnering considerable attention – for numerous reasons, not the least of which is because it sets the record straight on many of the details that the Times article ultimately got wrong.

But serving as much more than a correction of the historical record, this new book, penned by James Lacatski, Colm Kelleher, & George Knapp, sheds wholly new light on a secret program, titled the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (or AAWSAP), whose paradigm-changing findings were ultimately delivered to the DIA – the Defense Intelligence Agency, at the culmination of its research.

As it turns out, the program Lacatski and Kelleher spearheaded between 2008 and 2010 covered a broad swath of phenomena that included, but went well beyond sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena – aka UFOs. Other matters investigated included psychic effects, the colloquially deemed “hitchhiker phenomenon”, poltergeist activity, and the documented physiological effects on human beings of contact with these various mysterious phenomena.

No doubt the contents of this book will shock many. And without question, many from the mainstream – both scientists and journalists alike – will balk at much of this material, because it brings the question of the primacy of consciousness and controversial matters such as sophisticated, non-human intelligence into the fore.

But of course, this kind of material is perfectly suited to a podcast such as this one. And so this is precisely the terrain we plan to traverse in this, the 43rd episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

When we look back at the history of the topic collectively referred to as “high strangeness”, it’s clear that, for a long time, various phenomena were studied as distinct fields of inquiry. And often, so-called ghost-hunters, Bigfoot investigators, and UFO researchers were distinct groups of people, who kept to their “own lane”, so to speak.

As we’ve discussed previously on the Point of Convergence podcast, over time it has become clear that this is likely not the best way to approach these topics, because there appears to be a repeated overlap between them. For instance, a person who experiences one of these kinds of uncanny encounters is much more likely than an average random individual from the general population to experience other kinds as well.

Indeed, one of the most useful predictors of someone experiencing any form of high strangeness – whether that be a UFO sighting, contact with non-human intelligence, a near death experience, remote sensing, or an out of body experience – is that they’ve already experienced any of the phenomena from this list. That tells us that, clearly, some people seem “hard-wired” to perceive and experience a broader bandwidth of reality than the general population.

But uniquely “gifted” and “sensitive” individuals only represent one of the ways that we see overlap between these various kinds of contact modalities. Another fascinating data-point that has emerged from a cross-discipline study of various forms of high strangeness is that certain particular locations seem more prone than others to be host to such paranormal phenomena.

There are numerous examples of such places around the world: the Uinta Basin of Utah, Sedona, Arizona, New Zealand’s Kaikoura mountain range region, New York’s Hudson Valley, the Bermuda Triangle, and many more. Often these locations are not only known for just one particular kind of paranormal encounter, but several.

This has led some to postulate that such places may be paranormal thuways of some kind – where different realities can and do sometimes overlap and interact. This hypothesis suggests that it’s not necessarily that different entities and phenomena are related to each other per se, but that different entities are simply using the same interdimensional portals to gain access to our world.

Indeed, these otherworld gates, as we might call them, might not just be the bridge between two worlds, but a nexus point joining together not one but multiple other worlds and/or parallel realities. At least that’s one possibility. Another possibility is that what we observe in these porous “thin places” between worlds, is one singular phenomenon, that is able to disguise itself in many forms.

The existence of such portals is a mind-boggling notion, and yet the data certainly points in this direction. And it makes one wonder what might be possible if we could gain access to these throughways ourselves.

Are these locations the exit points for wormholes long ago established by non-human intelligences from elsewhere in our universe, or from a different universe entirely? And what does the existence of such portals suggest about ultimate reality? These and other fascinating questions and the topic of this, the 19th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.