This May Be All The Disclosure We Get

Something happened on Monday, April 27, 2020 that received less attention than it deserved. The US Department of Defense confirmed that three videos that have been public since 2017 are both genuine and complete. Who took these videos? Pilots for the US Navy, while in flight training missions. What is in these videos? Flying objects moving at remarkable speeds and accelerations. Flying objects which could be neither identified nor intercepted. When did the pilots take these videos? In 2004 and 2015. Where did the pilots take these videos? The 2004 video is from off the coast of San Diego, California, USA. The 2015 video is from off the east coast of the United States. (I have written about this here.) Why did the pilots take these videos? The pilots took these videos because the pilots weren’t expecting to see these objects.

This may be all the disclosure we get

This may be all the disclosure we get
Chad Underwood, US Navy pilot recording 2004 “TicTac” UFO video

The Department of Defense confirmed that the flying objects in the videos remain unidentified to this day. No natural phenomenon has demonstrated this speed and acceleration. They are not known to be the military assets of any nation on Earth. They answered one question, only to leave a much larger question unanswered. Many people have contended that the videos were fake or edited. Between 2017 and the present, these videos have undergone intense scrutiny by interested parties. Many hoped to find evidence of fakery or inauthenticity. I imagine the April 27 confirmation disappointed them.

An admission against interest?

This may be all the disclosure we get. I wish to explore another aspect of this event. Can you imagine that the Department of Defense wishes to say that the flying objects in the videos remain unidentified? Would any military on Earth say “We do not know what this is” without significant motivation? I make no claim to know what this motivation might be. However, I consider the very existence of this confirmation to be evidence of its truth. This is known in legal proceedings as an “admission against interest.” The Department of Defense has a lack of incentive to make an embarrassing or damaging statement about itself. This is an indication of the statement’s reliability.

What consequences follow?

Image from the movie “Fire in the Sky”

This may be all the disclosure we get. I realize some people will be greatly disappointed in this. I believe historians will note that in 2019 and 2020, unidentified flying objects (UFOs) took a great step forward in credibility. The United States government has admitted that these objects exist. They have confirmed they are something other than instrument errors or pilot hallucinations. What does this say about the 6,000 UFO reports in the United States in 2019? Are those camera errors or mass insanity? What does this say about the testimonies of people being taken against their will? Are they some kind of cultural delusion? Perhaps we need to reconsider some things we previously rejected.

Have your thoughts and feelings changed?

This may be all the disclosure we get. The New Message from God teaches what is currently a minority viewpoint on the subject of extraterrestrials.

1) Intelligent extraterrestrial life exists
2) Extraterrestrials are intervening in human affairs today
3) This extraterrestrial intervention is a threat to human freedom

I realize some people consider this not only false, but impossible. But many things once thought to be impossible have turned out to be so. Therefore a belief in the impossibility of something carries little weight with me. Could the April 27 confirmation make this a little less impossible for you?

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Welcome to Mystery of Ascension! We are students and advocates of the the New Message from God. We are members of a worldwide community. We seek to assist the world in successfully navigating difficult times ahead. We seek to assist the world in successfully emerging into a greater community of intelligent life. You will also find some poetry. Find out more about us here. Contact us here.

There Is A Wise Perception Of The Present

There is a wise perception of the present

Cherries are on sale at my local grocer. In my mind, cherries are connected with one of the tales in the book Tales of the Dervishes by Idries Shah. I have mentioned on numerous occasions that there is a great sympathetic vibration between these dervish tales and the teachings of the New Message from God. It is occurring to me to demonstrate this by commenting on this dervish tale as it proceeds.

There is a wise perception of the present

This tale is attributed to Sufi Abdul-Hamid Khan of Qandahar, who died in 1962. He was the Master of the Afghan Mint, a man with one foot in the dervish world and the other in the world of modern technology. This tale is called “Valuable – and Worthless.” I will put my commentary in brackets.

A certain king one day called a counselor to him and said “The strength of real thinking depends upon the examination of alternatives. Tell me which alternative is better: to increase the knowledge of my people or give them more to eat. In either case they will benefit.”

The Sufi said “Majesty, there is no point in giving knowledge to those who cannot receive it, any more than there is point to giving food to those who cannot understand your motives. Therefore it is not correct to assume that ‘in either case they will benefit.’ If they cannot digest the food, or if they think you give it to them as a bribe, or that they can get more – you have failed. If they cannot see that they are being given knowledge, or whether it is knowledge or not, or even why you are giving it to them, they will not benefit. Therefore the question must be taken by degrees. The first degree is the consideration: ‘The most valuable person is worthless and the most worthless person is valuable.'”

There is a wise perception of the present

[We have now learned that the counselor is a Sufi, a dervish. I consider the knowledge being spoken of here to be knowledge in the ordinary sense; data, information, education. But the Knowledge spoken of by the New Message from God also requires skill and desire to be attained. The deeper spiritual intelligence that God has placed in every person is indifferent to satisfying idle curiosity.]

“Demonstrate this truth to me, for I cannot understand it,” said the king.

The Sufi then called the chief dervish of Afghanistan, and he came to the court. “If you had your way, what would you have someone in Kabul do?” he asked.

There is a wise perception of the present

[We now know this tale is set in Kabul, Afghanistan. I believe that the Sufi is responding to a royal command for a demonstration. I believe that the Sufi is responding to a sincere request to learn. As there are monastic orders, there are dervish orders. As monastic orders have leaders, dervish orders have leaders.]

“It so happens that there is a man near such-and-such a place who, if he knew it, could by giving a pound of cherries to a certain necessitous man, gain a fortune for himself and also great advancement for the whole country and progress for the Path,” said the chief dervish, who knew of the inner correspondence of things.

[I imagine the king thought to himself, “This is the very thing I was asking about in the first place, the benefit of my people!” I consider “the Path” to refer to the dervish path and its participants. I make no claim regarding the inner correspondence of things. But one of the outward manifestations of the Knowledge I seek to reclaim is wise perception in the present and in the future.]

The king was excited, for Sufis generally do not discourse upon such things. “Call him here and we will have it done!” he cried. The others silenced him with a gesture. “No,” said the first Sufi, “this cannot work unless it is done voluntarily.”

In disguise, in order not to influence the man’s choice, the three of them went straight to the Kabul bazaar. Divested of his turban and robe, the chief Sufi looked very much like any ordinary man. “I will take the part of the exciting cause,” he whispered, as the group stood looking at the fruit. He approached the greengrocer and wished him good day. Then he said “I know a poor man. Will you give him a pound of cherries, as a charity?” The greengrocer bellowed with laughter. “Well, I have heard some tricks, but this is the first time that someone who wanted cherries has stooped to ask me as if it were for charity!”

[So now we know that the man who could have given the cherries was a greengrocer, and the cherries were part of his inventory. I imagine the king being crushed on the inside as a golden opportunity was lost forever.]

“You see what I mean?” the first Sufi asked the king. “The most valuable man we have has just made the most valuable suggestion, and the event has proved that he is worthless to the man to whom he speaks.”

[There is a wise perception of the present. Step 232 of the 365 steps in Steps to Knowledge is “My calling in life requires the development of others.” I might not make my rendezvous with others. They might not make their rendezvous with me. But I have to work on being ready.]

“But what about ‘the most worthless person’ being valuable?” asked the king.

The two dervishes beckoned him to follow them.

As they were about to cross the Kabul River, the two dervishes suddenly seized the king and threw him into the water. He could not swim.

As he felt himself about to drown, Kaka Divana, whose name means Insane Uncle – a well-known pauper and lunatic who roamed the streets, jumped in and brought him safely to the bank. Various other, more solid, citizens had seen him in the water, but none moved.

[I am honored with others are strong. When others fail, I am reminded of the need for Knowledge. Today’s hero can be tomorrow’s failure. Today’s failure can be tomorrow’s hero.]

When the king was somewhat restored, the two dervishes intoned together: “The most worthless person is valuable!”

[There is a wise perception of the present. Don’t ask me how the dervishes knew that Kaka Divana would save the king. Don’t ask me why the king didn’t honor and enrich Kaka Divana for saving his life. Don’t ask me why the king didn’t have the dervishes executed. I think the answer to these things is “Elaborating on this would disrupt the arc of the story.”]

So the king went back to his old, traditional method of giving whatever he could – whether education or help of any kind – to those to whom it was decided from time to time were the most worthy recipients of such aid.

[There is a wise perception of the present. The punch line of the story is “The valuable advice of the dervishes proved to be worthless to the king, as it made no change in his behavior.” I desire for the wisdom of the wise to be valuable to me.]

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Welcome to Mystery of Ascension! We are students and advocates of the the New Message from God. We are members of a worldwide community. We seek to assist the world in successfully navigating difficult times ahead. We seek to assist the world in successfully emerging into a greater community of intelligent life. You will also find some poetry. Find out more about us here. Contact us here.

What Do We Think About Our Visitors?

What do we think about our visitors?

Some of you may not be familiar with George Gallup (1901-1984). In 1935, he created the American Institute of Public Opinion, which would later be known as the Gallup Poll. Gallup was a pioneer in the art and science of public opinion surveys. His polling organization continues to this day.

What do we think about our visitors?

The Gallup Poll takes surveys on a wide variety of cultural topics. However, they are not well-known for conducting surveys on the subjects of UFOs or extraterrestrials. The first poll they conducted was in 1966, and the most recent poll they conducted was in 1999. But they conducted two in 2019, one in July and one in August.

In June, Gallup asked 489 American adults around the country the following question: “Do you think there are people somewhat like ourselves living on other planets in the universe or not?” (Question 1) The result was 49% Yes, 48% No, and 1% No Opinion, with a 6 percentage points margin of error. I consider the wording of the question to give the respondents some “wiggle room.”

Perhaps Gallup realized this and offered an alternate version of the question to 529 American adults around the country: “Do you think there is life of some form on other planets in the universe or not?” (Question 2) The result was 75% Yes, 22% No, and 3% No Opinion, with a 5 percentage points margin of error. I am not surprised at this result. Life is known to exist on earth in remarkably harsh environments. I would be interested in exploring the opinions of the No respondents.

In August, Gallup asked 1,521 American adults around the country the following question: “We have a question about Unidentified Flying Objects, also known as UFOs. Which comes closer to your view – [ROTATED: some UFOs have been alien spacecraft visiting Earth from other planets or galaxies, (or) all UFO sightings can be explained by human activity on Earth or natural phenomenon]?” (Question 3)

I consider the “ROTATED” to mean that half the time they offered one possible answer first, and the other half they offered the other possible answer first. The results was 33% “some UFOs have been alien spacecraft visiting Earth from other planets or galaxies,” 60% “all UFO sightings can be explained by human activity on Earth of natural phenomenon,” and 7% No opinion, with a 3 percentage points margin of error.

Both polls showed the responses of different subgroups, sorted by gender, region, education level and political affiliation. There were subgroup responses higher and lower than the total response. But all of the subgroup responses were close to the total response. There is no one subgroup that is driving the total response.

How many people are changing their minds?

What do we think about our visitors? Quite a few people are changing their minds, as it turns out. In 1999, 41% answered Yes to Question 1. An 8% increase works out to 19.2 million American adults changing their minds. In 1999, 61% answered Yes to Question 2. A 14% increase works out to 33.2 million American adults changing their minds. Question 3 has only been asked by Gallup in August of 2019.

I consider this to confirm the Marist Poll survey on this subject in February 2018. I have written about this poll here, here and here.

The Marist Poll shows a more dramatic change than the Gallup Poll. But both polls show that many Americans are changing their minds on the subject of the existence of intelligent life on other planets.

Why are we changing our minds?

What do we think about our visitors? Part of the reason people are changing their minds might be the explosion in exoplanet discovery. Exoplanets are planets orbiting a star other than our sun.

Some people are changing their minds in response to certain news items.

Is this a good thing?

What do we think about our visitors?

What do you think about our visitors? The number of people changing their minds might indeed be a good thing. The New Message from God teaches that our world is emerging into a greater community of worlds. This emergence requires significant changes and significant preparation. If this is so, then it’s a good thing that we wonder what this greater community might be like.

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Welcome to Mystery of Ascension! We are students and advocates of the the New Message from God. We are members of a worldwide community. We seek to assist the world in successfully navigating difficult times ahead. We seek to assist the world in successfully emerging into a greater community of intelligent life. You will also find some poetry. Find out more about us here. Contact us here.