Alien Rhythms

Given the apparent mass diffusion of belief in UFOs—especially among the wealthy and the tech-savvy—these words from Jacques Vallee, penned in 1977, appear as staggeringly relevant:

Time and again in the history of civilizations, there arises some wonderful untruth around which magnificent energy crystallizes, and great deeds are done. Such a time has come again. It has become very important for large numbers of people to expect visitors from outer space.

As I was discussing Uri Geller’s abilities with British scholar Gordon Creighton, driving through the midst of London in the winter of 1973 – a winter plagued by strikes and the energy crisis – Creighton gave me a definition of myth that clarified the confusion of many approaches to the contemporary problems of UFOs. ‘People mistakenly believe,’ he said, ‘that a myth is an untruth. But myth is not that. A myth is that which is TRUER THAN TRUTH.’

It may not be true that flying saucers represent visits from outer space. But if large enough numbers believe it, then in some sense it will become truer than true , long enough for certain things to change irreversibly.

Some of the best informed sources of gossip in Washing- ton are convinced that UFOs will be increasingly prominent in coming years. There are persistent rumors that highly placed officials in the U.S. government have long had evidence that another form of intelligence was contacting us. The stage is set for another UMMO. A former aerospace engineer turned UFO lecturer even believes that at the occasion of the Bicentennial the government will announce that there is life on Mars, and that a meeting between U.S. representatives and extraterrestrials is imminent!

These people are going down an interesting path, one that Puharich has already traveled with enthusiasm. He predicts a mass landing. Ten years ago such statements would not have been taken seriously. But today they are eagerly listened to, evoking fear or passion in their audi- ences; tomorrow some higher officials may join the ranks of the believers. The UMMO affair, the case of AFFA, and the predictions of Mrs Keech (of When Prophecy Fails) have involved sincere people, holding responsible positions. Slowly a climate has been created in which a much larger number now participate in the myth-making. The belief is reinforced by successive waves of sightings. Skepticism is eroded. The cases are giving more and more evidence of the reality of the UFOs – but this evidence is so constructed as to elude classical analysis by scientists. Perhaps the UFOs are not behaving according to our laws of causality. Perhaps their time flows differently from ours. Perhaps their logic is a meta-logic.

[Given the mention of Uri Geller, we could not pass up the chance to draw attention to this Vortex Note-worthy reporting from The Jewish Chronicle: “Uri Geller: I’ll Use Telepathy to Stop Brexit”.]