More Vallee talking with Mike Damante.
As the study of the unexplained moves progressively into the future, Rice University held a convergence of these ideas at the Archives of the Impossible conference. Two of the biggest names there- Jacques Vallee and Whitley Strieber- have revolutionized the way UFOs are viewed in mainstream circles from science to overall stigma.
Strieber’s landmark experiencer account “Communion” became one of the biggest books of its kind of all-time, and the best-seller helped reintroduce the idea that studying the UFO phenomena goes beyond traditional sightings.
“I think that the nuts-and-bolts aspect is going to evolve dramatically if the government releases more of its information because there has already been a lot of work done on the materials for example that haven’t been directly released to the public, and when it is done, it is going to cause quite an advance in thinking,” Strieber said to punkrockandufos.com.
Looking to mythology, folklore, and paranormal elements of the unexplained were also explored by the most-respected name in UFO history-Vallee. Vallee, with his computer science background, helped legitimize these ideas back in 1969 with “Passport To Magonia: From Folklore to Flying Saucers.” Now, these ideas are once again becoming the norm when discussing consciousness, and paranormal experiences.
“I think it is more and more true, “Vallee said to punkrockandufos.com. ”We continue to see a mix of phenomena that sort of physical part could be interpreted scientifically, but there is a sort of flow of testimony from private citizens from all over the world in the same terms; that is what is striking. It is consistent with many traditional ideas of other forms of life and intelligences. I think that pattern is continuing, and it is important not to only concentrate on the technical data, but what is happening away from cities, the countryside, (and) all these cases that are difficult to get and analyze until you go there. And as you know, I continue to go there, and those are the cases you can find traces, multiple witnesses, but you have to gain their confidence of the people that are there. Again, this is the kind of mystery that has been around us for the longest time.”
With the stigma being removed, and more official governments dedicating time and resources to investigating UAPs, Strieber sees both sides of the paranormal – the hard data (Nimitz sightings, materials testing) and the experiencer aspect coming together.
“The nuts-and-bolts part isn’t going to go away; in fact, it is going to become bigger,” Strieber said. “The other side of it is, the more ambiguous part of it, the experiencer part of it, is going to become more focused because people with good, scientific, and intellectual tools are going to start to deal with it in a direct way. To bring the tools of science, and the academy to this process, and we are going to start to understand a little bit more about what happens to the experiencers, who they are and why this happens to them.”
-By MIKE DAMANTE
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