UFOS, ETS, AND CLOSE EXTRATERRESTRIAL
ENCOUNTERS: SOME PERSONAL EXPERIENCES, AND REFLECTIONS BY HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER
BEAR]; BETTY AND BARNEY HILL; DISCUSSION -- JUNE 12 2006 -- EXPANDED
REGULARLY AND CONSISTENTLY
"I was
the only one who spoke on the possibility that, in order to reach
their tech point, the ET culture[s] had to have achieved a careful balance
between individual creativity and collective endeavor -- and probably in a
non-violent context. Admittedly, that could be tagged a superimposition of
my own long-standing philosophical wishes -- but, frankly, it does make
sense."
--
Hunter Gray, at a closed and select meeting high up in the
Rockies,
attended by academics and scientists and others
especially attuned. The gathering is briefly discussed on this page.
NOTE BY HUNTER BEAR:
At this point -- Fall 2008 -- I am adding
these three up-date dimensions:
In 1994, after thirteen years of teaching at the
University of North Dakota, I took formal retirement -- at my rank of Full
Professor. I had also served as Departmental Chair of Indian Studies, Chair
of the Honors Program, and member of the Graduate Faculty. And, as always,
I had initiated a good number of successful social justice campaigns, both
within the University and the general Northern Plains region. It would be
an understatement to say that I was "controversial."
But then, I have always been That.
Two years after my retirement, Native students
asked me to chair an important session on American Indian educational
challenges at the annual "Indian Time Out" -- the week long Indian Days
program at UND. I was pleased to agree and, although a sadly
successful effort was made from somewhere to pressure two adult members from
participating in our session, we found apt substitutes -- and our panel was
a significant success from every standpoint. Attendance was excellent and
was characterized by many of my former students -- as well as by many new
faces. Questions and discussion were truly great.
At the conclusion, a young Sioux student came up
to the platform. He reached up and I reached down to shake hands. "I've
heard all about you," he said. adding "all good." And then he continued,
"You're the guy this University treated so damn badly -- and used the UFO
thing as an excuse."
I smiled, and agreed. "You got it right," I
said. We visited congenially for a few minutes and then I went down and
mingled cordially with the other many students who gathered to shake hands
and to wish me very well -- as I certainly did them.
In the spring of 2000, now in Idaho, I was contacted
by Shawn Casteel, an
established writer for the quite attractive journal, UFO Magazine. The
publication was interested in three very substantial pieces on university
academics active in the UFO/ET field -- and had chosen David Jacobs
[History] of
Temple University, John Mack [Psychiatry] of Harvard, and myself [recently
retired from
University of North Dakota.]. I gave him a very extensive interview on my
ET experiences and analyses and conclusions; sent background photos
regarding me including several from my Southern civil rights work; one of
myself painting my Native war drum at age seven; a photo of my oldest son,
John; news clippings; much more. We were extremely pleased with the result
which appeared in the September 2000 issue. It was a very good and full
roundup covering eight pages with side-bars, many photos [some in
color] -- including a fine shot of the syllabus from my great course,
UFOs,
ETs, and Close Encounters. Most importantly, my consistent position
regarding the friendly nature of ETs and ET visitation was accurately
stated with clarity -- and reiterated. He also did a good one on
Professor Jacobs -- and another writer, Richard Cutting, contributed a long
questions-and- answers piece with Dr. Mack.
In his prologue to the long piece involving me, Shawn Casteel wrote:
"Activists typically organize and rally for a particular political or social
agenda. And so it was for this North Dakota professor, who never dreamed
his experiences on the forefront of social activism would include
life-changing encounters with otherworldly beings."
And my final sentence in the long piece: "The [ET] people we met we liked.
This is something that you know. This wasn't something they had done to us."
And finally, a contemporary note on my battle with
the genetically-based
and frequently lethal disease, Systemic Lupus [SLE]. Relatively rare and
with no cure, this has an especial preference for men and women who are
Native American, African American, Chicano -- and for women in general. [It
doesn't seem interested in Anglo men.] It's obvious from our retrospective
medical detective work that it has waxed and waned at several points since I
was 25 years old. In the "old days" we had no idea what it was, I went to
no physicians, took no medicines, kept on working at full steam -- and
suppressed it for long periods. This most recent attack, which became
obvious in 2003, brought me very close to death three times. The several
physicians involved have been surprised at my survival -- and substantial
upsurge. It continues to remain a Challenge -- can be a tug-of-war -- but
we have it essentially under control and I fight to put it down Forever. As
we all consistently said as we organized the massive and historic Jackson
Movement in the Mississippi of the early 1960s, "WWW" -- We Will Win.
Nialetch / Onen
Hunter [Hunter Bear]
In the mountains of Eastern Idaho
IMPORTANT BOOK NOTE [CAPTURED] AUGUST 7 2007: [Hunter
Gray]
A fine book on the Betty and Barney Hill
case has just appeared this summer,
2007. Written by Betty's niece, Kathleen Marden, and Stanton T. Friedman,
MSc, noted nuclear physicist and veteran UFO researcher, it's titled,
CAPTURED: THE BETTY AND BARNEY HILL EXPERIENCE [The True Story Of The
World's First Documented Alien Abduction]. Published by New Page Books [A
Division of Career Press, Inc.], Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, it is 319
pages, thoroughly detailed and documented, with many photos, notes,
bibliography and index. It features a foreword by Dr. Bruce Maccabee and is
widely available at bookstores and Internet sales sources for $16.99 [U.S.].
Strongly recommended. [H.G.]
AND A BOOK NOTE FROM KATHY [12/16/07]:
Dear Hunter,
It was great to hear from you. I'm pleased to hear that you are
apparently well enough to keep up the fight for social justice in spite of
your Lupus. You sound full of vitality.
My book sales are doing pretty well. I am delighted to say that
Captured has reached number 1 on several short lists during the
fall. I remain busy doing presentations and book signings, while at the
same time, I am working on a novel. This one is a murder mystery. I've
decided to try a new genre. I'm enjoying the creative process.
I have a new web site at
. It is all about the book and
has some photos of Betty.
I want to wish you, Eldri and your family a very merry Christmas and
a happy and healthy 2008.
Best regards,
Kathy Marden
NOTE BY HUNTER BEAR:
[Kathy Marden is a good personal friend indeed, niece of
Betty Hill, and
executor of Betty's papers and related materials. She wrote in response to
my recent post, "Sun on the Water." But she also mentioned at length
current attacks by "professional" skeptics on her late aunt, a very dear
friend of ours in her own right, who, with her husband Barney, experienced a
close-up and friendly encounter with ETs at night in a remote section of New
Hampshire's White Mountains in 1961. Betty, an Anglo social worker, was
from a very old New England family; and Barney Hill, Afro-American, was
originally from Pennsylvania and a respected Federal employee. John Fuller
wrote a well documented best seller, The Interrupted Journey -- which was
the basis of a well known film, The UFO Incident, starring James Earl Jones
and Estelle Parsons.] H
We were certainly glad to hear from you. But we were quite distressed to
learn of the sniping attacks against Betty. We are not especially
surprised. "Cheap shots" are always the "tactical" weapon-of-choice by
mediocrities -- whatever their presumed academic background.
[I am sending a copy of this to Eldri and the Offspring -- and also to our
very good friends, Scott Colborn and Scott Jones.]
No one, with any semblance of open mind, who ever met or talked with
Betty -- and we are sure this was equally true with Barney who had passed
away before we appeared on the ET scene -- could ever have doubted her
tremendous honesty, absolutely pervasive sincerity, and her powerful
commitment. And that commitment, of course, embraced not only the reality
and extremely thoughtful comprehension of their great ET experience -- but
also their rich activities on behalf of social justice. I have always
appreciated the fact that they were always faithful and active Unitarians.
When my son, John, and I had that 1988 conscious ET/UFO experience -- first,
as you know, in darkened Wisconsin and then the up-close sighting in broad
daylight in western Illinois -- I immediately recalled that of Betty and
Barney. Although we had had no conscious interest in ET phenomena up to
that point, I had been aware of Betty and Barney because of the great
strength and depth of their interracial marriage. In short time, I
contacted Betty and our friendship grew rapidly and, from our perspective,
in enormously beneficial fashion. Our considerable correspondence began and
lasted for many years [those letters are in my closed collected papers at
the State Historical Society of Wisconsin and, along with other personal
correspondence on many topics, will be opened in 2010.] Eldri and I and
Josie visited Betty in New Hampshire on two occasions and I saw her again
when I spoke at the N.H. MUFON gathering late in 1994. And our great
correspondence continued long indeed after that. [Josie, I should add, has
always recalled those meetings with the greatest fondness. And, of course,
being Cat People, we remember that array of furry friends very well indeed!]
Betty was an extremely important and enduring force in getting John and I
[and our whole family] off to the best kind of start and the long term [to
this very moment and into our future] full comprehension and realization of
the very human meaning of our ET visitors. In time, we learned more -- but
have always been profoundly aware of the great role played by Betty [and
then others] in assisting us in our Climb Toward The Sun. We have always
been convinced of the rock-solid reality of the experiences of she and
Barney, and of our own, and those of many others. We continue to see the ET
visitors as friendly [though understandably cautious] with a primary focus
on sensitizing our humanity to the nearby presence of friendly ET life not
far from our own solar system.
In my current struggle with systemic lupus [genetic and frequently lethal],
we know I threw it off on my own 40 years ago and kept it at arm's length
until it emerged openly and full-blown three years or so ago. From 1988
until it struck very hard in 2003, I took not one aspirin. Even in the
midst of its still current onslaught, I have survived and kept fighting --
my inherent toughness reinforced, we are certain, by our ET legacy. The
doctors have been surprised at my resiliency -- and survival. Fairly early
on, we told my primary physician -- a young and devout Mormon -- about our
ET experiences. He listened carefully, never blinking an eye. On the
matter of the positive physiological changes engendered by our 1988 close
encounter, he remarked that every one of them was consistent with human
growth hormone. [We all knew, of course, that I had never taken that and,
frankly, we were hardly aware of its existence as a very latter day medical
substance.] He asked if this could be entered into my medical record and
both Eldri and I agreed immediately and affirmatively -- and so he wrote it
all out carefully with some detail. I should add that, even in the pits of
this Lupus, most of those positive physiological changes continued [I trim
my fingernails very frequently and my feet grew steadily to their just
attained length of Size 17!] Others of those changes have now been
re-emerging openly.
As the developing field of psychical research -- parapsychology --
recognized more than a century ago, no amount of hard, scientific evidence
can convince a "box-canyoned" skeptic. I have been a member of the American
Society for Psychical Research since the early '60s [because of my own
inherent experiences, healthy curiosity, and fine examples of such early
pioneers as William James and later Gardner Murphy and many others.]
The kind of evidence involved in the experiences of Betty and Barney and
many people is obviously incontrovertible. [When people contact me on the ET
topic, I always mention Betty and Barney in some detail and make reference
to the appropriate books and other works.] But Skeptics [and I am not
talking about careful researchers of any kind], are, it has always seemed to
us, to be motivated by generalized fear and/or career climbing. People, if
they will it, can often overcome fear. A career-oriented skeptic, though
he/she can do a certain amount of damage to others, will never get higher
than the lowest plateau. In both cases, fear and/or career, they are
destined to reside in a closed box canyon with the narrowest of horizons.
Betty and Barney climbed high -- recognized that our Universe is vast and
that they had "caught" a highly significant piece of it. And they went on
to influence, in the most thoughtfully altruistic traditions, a wide segment
of our own long suffering humanity.
They and their message will never die.
Take care, Kathy, and our very best. Please feel very free to share this
letter. Hunter
Thank-you very much for your kind words regarding Betty and Barney's
fine character and very real ET encounter. At this juncture, when sometimes
it seems that my life is consumed in a fight to defend Betty and Barney, I
appreciate the opportunity to read a letter of support. They were very
outstanding, caring and honest individuals whose primary goal was to improve
the human condition. To have to endure the latest pronouncements that they
were "suffering some kind of psychosis" or "on the make" or engaged in "sex
with aliens" is difficult indeed.
It is always a very good thing to hear from
you. Succinctly you covered the close-minded skeptics and their small world
pretty well. Anyone who has been at the leading edge of societal change has
always drawn fire from behind them. Gandhi was quoted as saying something
like it was better to be in the arena marred with sweat and blood and to
strive and fail and/or strive and succeed, as opposed to those who choose to
sit safely on the sidelines and offer jeers and criticism, while not being
involved themselves in much of anything. Apologies to Gandhi for the loosely
paraphrased text.
The late Col. Phillip Corso is going through
the same thing - the detractors really jumped him after he died, and recently
I heard a smug Canadian researcher appearing on "Coast-to-Coast AM" say that
Corso had all but been discounted by the top UFO researchers - I had to
chuckle over that statement of opinion-offered-as-fact.
Keep up your good work, Hunter. Thank you for
counting me as one of your friends. Right back at `cha.
All the best.
Walk in Beauty, Peace. Scott
Host of the "Exploring Unexplained Phenomena"
radio program, Saturdays 10 - 11:30 am Central Time, on KZUM 89.3 FM, Lincoln,
NE, and worldwide via .
Archived for listening and Pod-casting on
, with a link to a free pod-catcher
utility here: .
COMMENT BY HUNTER GRAY [EXCERPT FROM A
SYCAMORE CANYON DISCUSSION POST
6/12/06]
Among the most popular courses that I regularly
taught at University of
North Dakota -- during my many years there -- were Federal Indian Law,
Racism
and Hate Groups in America, and Community Organizing [with a special focus
involving Native Americans.] But there was another! In 1990, when I was
Chair of the Honors Program, students asked me to develop an elective course
on extraterrestrial phenomena. I did so [three semester hours credit] and,
in the fall semester of that year, it drew almost 200 students from a wide
variety of majors [most undergrads but some for grad credit] -- heavy from
the hard sciences and aerospace studies. I taught it three more times
[along with a couple of mini versions for the general community -- and also
as a special televised class [for credit]. It was always brimful and the
full semester shots continued to draw a couple of hundred each time -- and
continued to feature undergrad and grad credit. [I can say with pride that
all of my courses were consistently quite full.] We always spent some time
in the ET course on an examination of Earth as ETs might see It/Us and that
dimension early on gave the course the status of fulfilling one of the
Humanities requirements. At various points, it was sponsored by Honors and
Indian Studies and its final appearance was as Psych 494. [I retired as a
Full Prof at the end of the spring of '94.]
[Sent to the Sycamore list -- with the comment that, while I am not
especially congenial with mindless skeptics, I have no problem at all with
[circumspect] agnostics.
Thanks for your note, Bob. So I shall add just a bit more. I [and I am not
alone on this] do see ET visitation as a serious topic -- worthy of careful
study, research, reflection. Although there are people who may see it as
sinister, actively or potentially so, most of us who have been pretty
involved at various points [along with all of our other priorities] see it
as cautiously friendly. Again, I am not alone in seeing these visits --
which are not unusual -- and close and direct contacts with humans which are
rare [but not super-rare] -- as a very long term ET project designed to get
us [humanity] attuned to the idea of cosmic neighbors.
Some years ago, a closed and unpublicized three day meeting of about 30
people occurred high up in the rural Rocky Mountain country. The invitation
list was, frankly, select. Virtually every person there had a substantial
academic background -- many in the hard sciences -- and all had a
demonstrated record of cool and careful thinking generally, including with
respect to ET matters. Most knew a few of the others. The core purpose of
the meeting was to exchange perspectives, even make predictions. I was one
of those invited and I was present and active throughout. One interesting
figure was a retired Major General in the US Army whose forte had been
formally in Intelligence. The funding and sponsorship of this fascinating
affair were always rather vague but did have, at the point of fiscal
deliverance, a university connection.
I fell into a somewhat unique category: multi-faceted race relations and
activism, considerable background in multi-disciplinary university teaching
and some research, and an actual [with my son, Beba] hour and a half
first-hand encounter with ETs. There were a couple of other people who had
had comparable direct experiences.
The discussion was totally free-wheeling and sparky. [The only "outsiders"
were non-communicative servants.] At appropriate points, I presented my
essential view: Friendly, cautious visitors -- people similar to ourselves;
fairly rare and selective close-up encounters; very long-range education.
I made it quite clear, as did everyone else, that these Visitors were not
saviors, angels, devils, supernatural entities, or time travelers.
As far as I know, no comprehensive notes were taken. We all jotted down
things from time to time. I saw nothing being recorded.
In the end, there was not complete consensus. Some people felt there was
definitely a Federal cover-up; others saw the governments of the world as
being much in the dark -- maybe having only more reports at hand than, say,
lay people. By the time of this meeting, some governments -- such as
France, Belgium, Mexico, China, Russia and the Vatican -- were [and are]
officially sponsoring research into the ET phenomenon. [But the US and
Canada have never done this openly.]
Some discussed anti-gravity in space travel; others gave informed
speculation on possible ET origin points [e.g., Zeta Reticuli.]
No one saw the ETs as a sinister force. Some simply viewed them as
"non-threatening." Others, such as myself, saw friendly people [albeit very
cautious and wary.] Several of us felt that, as time passed and such
visitation waxed and waned and waxed again, ET appearances would become,
very carefully, more obvious and designed to be witnessed by many.
I was the only one who spoke on the possibility that, in order to reach
their tech point, the ET culture[s] had to have achieved a careful balance
between individual creativity and collective endeavor -- and probably in a
non-violent context. Admittedly, that could be tagged a superimposition of
my own long-standing philosophical wishes -- but, frankly, it does make
sense.
I appreciated the mountain view from my own excellent room. Food was truly
great. And I found the people, one and all, cordial and extremely
interesting.
Hunter speculates: "a very long term ET project designed to get us
[humanity] attuned to the idea of cosmic neighbors." Very ambitious, or
naive, applied to a globe full of beings that hasn't even got attuned to
those of their own kind who were born on a different patch of that
globe, go to a different church, are a different skin color, or enjoy
different sexual activity.
Well, Reber, while we're cordially speculating, I
don't think the ETs are
naive at all. From what I can gather, they are extremely cautious and
circumspect in dealing in and around our turbulent worldly turf -- and I
think they are very realistic:
First, they seem to know it's going to take a long time even with deliberate
speed. Secondly, and this "visitation" does seem to have systematically
begun when the world became embroiled in the Second World War [picking up
very noticeably following the onset of our nuclear age], they are well aware
that "we" could enter space in a statistically significant fashion [numbers
and distance] in the foreseeable future; and it makes very good sense to do
some -- [ambitious and effective] sensitivity work before we become the new
kids on the block. "Enlightened self interest" can work all sorts of
marvels in bringing the Creator's offspring together.
As something of a relevant aside, I don't think the ETs are involved in the
development of our various cultures. [For example, Native people and Natives
only built the great pyramids of Meso-America.]
Anyway, on this and many other human dimensions, I am optimistic. BTW, hope
you all are finally getting at least some good rain down in the Land of
Enchantment. We're getting even more hereabouts.
There's a novel by Doris Lessing (written, I think, after she moved to
the right) named Shikasta that deals with this in what I found to be a
really interesting way. The ET's go through much pain to deal with us
denizens of earth but it's important to them (for reasons that I don't
recall).
"BTW, hope you all are finally getting at least some good rain down in
the Land of Enchantment." Abso****inglutely not. In Albuquerque we, if
I correctly heard the weather report that I never pay much attention to,
are still not up to our first inch of rain this year. The yearly
average is about 9 inches. It didn't rain or snow much in most of 2005,
either. The air's so dry the windshield dries before you can get the
squeegee to it. The dry heat is evaporateing the rain showers before
they get to the ground. The globe is warming. Except in Idaho and
Colorado.
It is with glad heart to learn you're still
out there, sharing and teaching. I felt privileged to meet you at a
lecture in Lincoln, Nebraska, about the mid 1990s. Though the edges
of my memory have softened with time, once in a great while, in my
files I see and review, with pleasure, the handout from that
lecture. Again, thank you for the commentary, the thoughtful
remarks concerning yourself, your son, the experience you shared
with us from the podium.
The fate of civilization is determined by
the honor of a few good
men and by nothing else. If they are not there.... there is no hope.
RESPONSE BY HUNTER BEAR:
Dear Gary:
Thanks so very much for your kind comments -- a really nice
way to start the day. I always recall my Nebraska -- and other
-- appearances and talks with much fondness. And we can all be
much indebted to the intrepid Scott Colborn, and others such as
yourself as well, for keeping us aptly posted in the most
contemporary sense on the ET situation. I do remember meeting
you!
I have a hunch that when our Global Madness has subsided, ET
visitation will increase substantially -- and international
awareness of our cautiously friendly folks-from-afar will rise
accordingly -- and fast.
By all means, let us keep in close touch.
Our very best wishes to you, Hunter Gray [Hunter
Bear]
A MOST KIND LETTER FROM A FORMER UND
STUDENT: 4/22/07
Dear Professor Salter,
My name is Darin [E.], I'm a '96 graduate of UND. I
took your Indian Studies class for my education majors. I went to google
your name the other day and didn't leave my computer for about two
hours...just couldn't step away. My first intent was to find out more info
on the CBS Nightline incident(s). Now, I'm very happy I was sent
elsewhere. What you have done, to keep it general, has gotten my attention
now...I don't know where it will take me, but for now, I'm riding it. I
purchased your Jackson, Mississippi book and plan to read that...FYI-I do
not read alot at all, however, I have motivation to read this and learn. It
may be a "in the moment thing", but my pastor said, "never underestimate a
brief encounter." I also read about Cloudy, a small bio, and your battle
with Lupus...among other excerpts. I was at UND for five and half years,
and there are a few professors that really stick out to me, you would
be one of them. I could easily say that it was because of the Nightline
experience, but something deeper urges otherwise. I tend to believe that
some people just have "it!" A small word with a powerful punch. "It" could
mean so many things, but to truly be able to define it is impossible.
Anyways, I have a strong intuition that it wasn't just me remembering you,
but everyone around you...cause when you got it, you got it! Just a final
note, my girlfriend is a strong believer in the power of the mind...she
reads Deepak Chopra/Dr. Wayne Dyer et al. She loved how Cloudy was
substantially psychic! I'll chat later...keep fightin' the good fight!
Darin in Champlin, MN
COMMENT BY
HUNTER BEAR -- 4/22/07:
This is a very welcome letter to which I shall
respond today.
NOTE BY HUNTER BEAR:
Although my present circumstances hardly connote the
gentle "Mr Chips," I do receive regularly and much appreciate kind words
from former students and other friends over many decades. This came today.
When Darin refers to "CBS Nightline," I believe he is thinking about
"Visitors from the Unknown." This is a very well done presentation on the ET
encounters of Travis Walton and friends in Arizona, Officer Alan Godfrey of
England, and myself and John III [Beba] in Wisconsin and Illinois. This
aired initially and nationally on CBS prime time in May 1991 and was very
well received -- and it occasionally still plays. It's also been abroad.
A big plus for us all was/is that it is narrated by James Earl Jones.
This is a letter that I've sent to a
Native lady in Canada, with whom I had previous correspondence some
years ago. She had recently joined some sort of a e-mail discussion
list on UFO-related matters. As a result of her interaction with
some of those folks, she had become alarmed about her own
experiences. Thus I immediately wrote to her late last night,
responding to specific questions and giving my perspective. Her
response this morning indicates that she is much reassured indeed.
At her request, I am maintaining her name in confidence. Following
her initial note a bit earlier, I had given her our website page
http://hunterbear.org/betty_and_barney_hill_and_et_enc.htm
Dear X --
Am answering this on a
different computer in our home. It may have earlier mis-fired an
empy message to you.
I've read your letter
carefully, twice. I think the most important thing is that you are
doing very well with your Life. And I am sure you will keep right
on doing so.
I do know something about ET
matters and Close Encounters. I think the encounters are rare, but
not super-rare. I strongly feel they are part of a long-term
sensitization effort by the ETs to gradually acquaint us with the
presence of nearby and friendly life beyond our planet and solar
system. I think the ETs are also interested in interesting humans
-- including those who are bi-cultural, able to move in several
human communities. And this involves, of course, what's called
good "race and cultural relations!"
I think the ETs are definitely
the children of the Creator, and I strongly think, as I've said,
that they are friendly but, given the turbulence of Humanity, are
understandably cautious. Around 1988, the Vatican -- and especially
the Jesuits -- formally embarked, in a friendly and open fashion, on
projects designed to learn as much about all of this as possible,
predicated on their [Vatican et al] awareness that the ETs are
children of God. This is still continuing.
In my opinion -- and I have
given this a lot of thought -- the people who are frightened by the
ETs are doing it to themselves. Why?
First, some humans are simply
afraid of people -- and I and many others see the ETs as people --
who are somewhat "different." My son and I were not afraid of them,
found them as interesting as they found us. Other humans have said
the same thing or, if they were initially surprised and frightened,
soon got over it.
Secondly, there has been a
great deal of unscrupulous and nonsensical human merchandising on
Fear of the ETs. This began in earnest at the beginning of the
1990s and continued for most of that decade. It was carried in
books, magazines, frightening films, etc. And again, it was
nonsense -- but it made much money. Some of this involved the
Hybrid Scare. [A professor David Jacobs wrote a couple of books on
that which were really far out, but got much press. When he decided
he may have been wrong on "hybrids", that was never publicized.]
The people who pushed this scare stuff were not people who,
themselves, had had any encounter experiences. Some did profess to
have talked with people who did -- but they interpreted the accounts
of those people -- who may or may not have had real experiences --
to fit their own frightening books, etc.
And again, all of this made
money. And all of it worked its way into the consciousness and
unconsciousness of many humans who encountered this far-flung Fear
Peddling. And this in turn could [1] produce scary fantasies by
folks who had never, ever, had an ET encounter -- or, [2] could
erroneously "color" the impressions, consciously and
unconsciously, of some of those who had actually had experiences.
And this is what may very well have happened with you. A very
friendly piece of advice, X -- be careful of ET chat groups. I am
very skeptical of the claimed "realities" and interpretations of
most of those folks.
There is the possibility that
some of your recent things may actually be flash-backs from somewhat
earlier experiences -- "colored", unrealistically, by this
ungrounded human-initiated Fear stuff.
Again, the experiences I and my
son had, those of Betty and Barney Hill, and those of all of the
others from whom we've heard directly, were not marked by any ET
hostility whatsoever. I and many others have consistently said
this. I've written on it -- and, a few years ago, gave a long
interview on my experiences and reflections to UFO Magazine [which
drew many appreciative comments.]
As I've said, continue to live
a happy and productive life. Enjoy life. You are a very good
person. Keep your eyes -- again as I so often say -- on the Sun and
Stars and let your ears listen to the Wind. And remember that our
good spirits go with all of us always -- always and forever.
I hope this note finds you in good
(getting better) health and spirit. May I have permission
to forward this e-mail to a group of people?
I'll leave it intact as I received it.
All the best to you and your family.
Scott
AND I RESPOND:
By all means forward it, Scott -- and to
anyone you wish. I'm honored.
Great to hear from you!
All best, more soon -- H.
AND GOOD WORDS FROM SCOTT:
Hello Folks,
I have Hunter Gray's permission to
forward this to you. As always a lucid, thoughtful
piece by Hunter Gray. In this present-day world we
encounter at times fear-based chatter, speculation, and
opinion-offered-as-fact, swirling around our ankles like
a small animal trying to bite us. I've always found the
writing of Hunter Gray to be useful, grounding, and
appropriate. By turning on the lights the darkness and
shadows recede and are dispelled.
I want to express my appreciation to you for
forwarding your insightful letter to me. ET
abduction can be an extremely frightening and
intrusive experience. Experiencers are taken
against their will by unfamiliar beings and often
subjected to intrusive medical procedures. One's
psychosocial background and subjective experience
seems to play a significant role in one's individual
response to abduction. Although they were not harmed
by their captors Betty and Barney Hill exhibited
different reactions. Barney, a proud, fearless
African American and protector of his family was
greatly effected by his inability to take self
initiated action in defense of his wife and
himself. Betty, a brave social worker and civil
rights advocate, though initially terrified,
established a mutually friendly interaction with her
captor, "the leader", who apologized for frightening
her.
Thank-you for staying in touch. I was
deeply moved by your account of the negative
treatment you received by some faculty
members at UND and by the positive response
from students. I recently addressed the
student body at a small college in Vermont
and was warmly received. The lecture hall
was filled to capacity and some students
listened to my lecture from the adjacent
hallway. When I asked the audience to raise
their hands if they believed that at least
some UFOs are extraterrestrial spacecraft, a
couple of hands shot up. Within a few
seconds, almost every hand in the room went
up. It is good that young people are better
informed and more open minded than some of
their older authority figures, and that they
have the commonsense not to be mislead by
the debunkers' false information.
I didn't know that UFO Magazine carried
an article about you at the turn of the
century. Is it possible to find it online?
My very best to you, Eldri and your
family.
Warm regards,
Kathy Marden
NOTE BY HUNTER:
We've mailed Kathy a copy of UFO Magazine
[September 2000].
_________________________________________
STEVE ROSSIGNOL:
Hello again,
Hunter--
I was fascinated
by your ET account. Thanks for sending it.
It is consistent with other similar accounts
of close encounters, and just as
unexplainable.
Whatever the
phenomenon is--whether extra-terrestrials or
psychic visitors from the extra-dimensional
goblin universe--it is something that one
will not believe in until they actually
experience it. My own UFO experience is not
as fascinating as yours. but was impressive
enough for me to become much more open
minded on the subject.
I was getting
ready for work one morning, pre-dawn hours,
when I viewed a metallic disc stationary in
the sky near a newly erected cell phone
tower (yeah, that frigging cell phone
tower--obstructed my view of my little
portion of the Texas Hill Country!). It was
the size of a dime held at arm's length, and
was reflecting the rising rays of the sun.
In a flash it was gone, like it had been
observed (by me, presumably).
Yes, please stay
in touch on this. Thanks for keeping me in
the loop.
I'd heard you had some ET
experiences. More power to you for
your willingness to talk about it.
My mind is pretty open about such
things: the universe is so vast
there must surely be intelligent
life "out there" somewhere.
For what it's worth, I think
logic dictates that if there are ETs
they must be friendly. For a species
to reach such an advanced level of
technology they could travel here
from a distant planet, they surely
would've evolved into pacifists;
otherwise they would've destroyed
themselves long ago.
Relatedly, it is also quite
understandable why ETs would study
us as quietly and unobtrusively as
possible. Star Trek creator Gene
Rodenberry's
is fictional,
but it is based on some very sound
sociological thinking. The logic of
the prime directive is that ETs
would be wrong to introduce
inappropriate technology to a planet
not yet morally ready for it.
live long and prosper!
Marvin
_______________________________________________
SCOTT COLBORN:
Hello Hunter !
I'm confirming your date
choice of Saturday morning,
March 21st, 2009. Your guest
segment is approximately 10:25 -
11:25 am Central Time (9:25 -
10:25 am Mtn time).
In case of emergency, the
KZUM studio line during the "EUP"
program is 402-474-5086.
Use whichever of your phones
that allows your voice to be the
loudest, so we get a good signal
for broadcast. I've had some
people lately that we've had to
ask to speak up because they
were speaking so softly that we
couldn't get much of a signal to
broadcast.
Your friends, family and fans
can listen live via
. The
"Exploring Unexplained
Phenomena" radio program is
hosted by Scott Colborn and
Cathy Behrns, and has been
on-air on Saturday mornings
since 1984. Your program will
be archived and available to the
public free of charge, beginning
at 12 noon Sunday March 22nd, at
. It will remain on the archive
website for about 40 weeks.
As always I'll look forward
to our phone conversation.
Merry Christmas to you and your
family. The Colborn clan is
doing well.
All the best.
Walk in Beauty, Peace. Scott
Host of the "Exploring
Unexplained Phenomena" radio
program, Saturdays 10 - 11:30 am
Central Time, on KZUM 89.3 FM,
Lincoln, NE, and worldwide via
. Archived for
listening and Pod-casting on
, with a link to a free
pod-catcher utility here:
.
NOTE BY HUNTER [MARCH 21 2009]: I had a
fine, most enjoyable time today
on Scott's fine radio program.
I've been on it several times
over the past years. In
addition, I've spoken on the ET
topic at Lincoln and under his
auspices in 1992, 1993, and
2003. I am always very
pleased to join with Scott.
I was sorry to hear
about your computer problems.
It had to be a terribly
frustrating day, especially when
you suspect that an intelligence
agency is involved.
I want to thank-you for
the September 2000 copy of
UFO Magazine. Sean Casteel
wrote a fascinating article
about you and your experiences,
and the photos and photocopies
were superb.
Have you read the
article that Sean wrote about
Captured!. It appeared
in the October 2007 issue of
UFO Magazine? If you
haven't read it, I'll send a
photocopy to you.
Very best regards,
Kathy
FOR AN
ACCOUNT OF THE SALTER UFO ENCOUNTERS
OF MARCH , 1988: THEIR
BACKGROUND, DEVELOPMENT , AND
RAMIFICATIONS, PROCEED TO THE
NEXT FOLLOWING PAGE.
HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR]
Mi'kmaq /St. Francis
Abenaki/St. Regis Mohawk
Protected by Na´shdo´i´ba´i´
and Ohkwari'
