Nothing has been posted for a long time and certainly much longer than I would have hoped. There are two reasons. First, this last crop circle season, my nineteenth, was by far the most astonishing I have witnessed. The most articulate, the most taxing and, in terms of its legacy, the most demanding by far. It has taken some time to recover and it requires much work.

Second, I finished the book I have been working on for the last eight years, Crop Circles: The Bones of God. The preparation of text, photographs and diagrams for the publisher was a lengthier task than I had imagined. I hope you can forgive me.

 

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Last year at the Summer Lectures I spoke of a message channelled by A. J. Gevaerd, a Brazilian UFO researcher and writer. Gevaerd, a chemist by training, is the editor of a leading Brazilian UFO magazine. He also uses the name Rogerio de Almeida Freitas and claims to have had contact with non-terrestrial intelligences over several years.

During 2006 he had been informed that, sometime between November 16, 2006 to April 30, 2007 a major event would take place. A gigantic “fly by” of a fleet of thousands of craft would be seen by millions. It was not stated where this would happen and the time bracket - about five months - was very loose. 

Gevaerd wrote: “This fact is to mark the first moment of the so long awaited reintegration of our planet to the cosmic interchange. This would be the end of the isolation experienced by us for so long since we live on Earth under some kind of “cosmic quarantine”. After all, we are the “unwanted companions” in this part of the Galaxy, since we commit all sorts of crimes against the dignity of life. After this first visit – which would be objective, clear, unquestionable, filmed and reported, yet very brief, maybe lasting for a few hours or even less – others will happen in order to make terrestrials even more used to resuming their communion with humankinds of other planets. That should be followed by future contacts with many other extraterrestrial species, all of them linked to what I call “cosmic brotherhood ideals”.”

An unfulfilled prophecy. A failed prediction. It did not happen!

I guess I am (I guess we all are) suspicious of channeled messages. To accept channeling we must accept the reality (or at least the possibility) of telepathy and psychic interaction. And yet the absolute absurdity of these things is a cornerstone of Modern Science, our very own fundamentalism. Certainly our cynicism is reinforced by the majority of transmissions which are, if not blatantly false, then all too often the product of arrogance and delusion.

There are however a few things which make me suspend judgment.

First, the crop circles. Over the years, over many seasons, I have had many experiences and heard many stories from others which tend to reinforce the widely held view that telepathy or some similar interaction are in play. The reports of synchronicities and coincidences are too regular, too numerous and too commonplace to be easily dismissed. Researchers and visitors often report the sense that they are being “scanned” or at least observed. Of course there is no “proof”.  We cannot produce the kind of evidence that might win over a sceptic. 

However, for my part, the whole crop circle experience seems to be underpinned by a constant sense of the numinous.

Second. During my years in California I met Darryl Anka who for many decades has been channeling an entity called Bashar. Prior to meeting Darryl I had had a limited experience of channels, channeling and similar phenomena but we became friends and I witnessed his private and public work many times.  

My contact with Bashar was one of the most remarkable episodes of my life. Information was delivered which Darryl Anka could not conceivably have known. Returning each year to California from the crop circles I was astonished at the depth of his knowledge. He would speak, in detail, of things which were unpublicised, recent and in one or two cases, known only to me. I remain impressed ten years later.

Third. In the case of a fly-by or the Blossom Goodchild prediction (which I will be dealing with shortly) there were several confirmatory statements from widely differing sources. The cynic will respond that these were from people jumping on an already rolling bandwagon and, indeed, this might be the case.  

Fourth. Perhaps the most impressive part of the whole Gevaerd event was the poetic quality of his statement. The language and ideas resonated profoundly for me. In an era desperate for “proof” and “evidence” I find myself relying increasingly on my intuitive responses in these matters and, though the Gevaerd prediction failed, his statement felt radiantly real. The Goodchild message is similarly touching.

The Blossom Goodchild event

In August this year, Blossom Goodchild, an Australian direct voice channeling medium received a message from a group of cosmic beings calling themselves the Federation of Light. They stated that for a period of three days, starting on October 14th, a single enormous craft would be visible in our skies. They understood the commotion that this appearance would cause and they said “We give you  the opportunity to capture on screen this particular ship. There shall be no contact in the form that those of your planet would like. For this initial presentation, we shall simply be presenting our ship to you.” 

Their long message emphasised that they come in love and in peace. “We come to assist your world. We do not come to take over. We do not come to destruct. We come to give you hope.” 

It took Blossom Goodchild some weeks to find the courage to go public with this message (which can be read in its entirety on her website) and, when it was published, the internet went wild. Obviously people were excited, but in addition to that there seemed to be an eager anticipation as though, in some way, many had been expecting this.

Inevitably, there were debunkers. Gary Val Tenuta, an American UFO researcher wrote a letter entitled “Why the 10/14/08 UFO Event Won’t Happen” which presented the reasonable (and to some) reassuring consensus view. He implied that there was an ongoing conspiracy of disinformation though by whom and to what end was not made clear. 

In the event, he was right in at least one respect. It did not happen. Another unfulfilled prophecy. Another failed prediction.

What are we to learn from this? My regular readers will know that I am a gullible old bliss bunny who falls for any crystal fairy blather that comes along. But...

We know that there has not been a massive, undeniable, indisputable visit. Yet. The background noise and chatter grow louder every week. Smaller sightings are increasingly commonplace.

Most remarkable of all is the subtle shift in consciousness. If the Blossom prediction had surfaced as little as ten years ago it would simply have been dismissed. Now the idea of contact is embraced with enthusiasm.

I sense a beautifully orchestrated public relations operation here. They do care for us and they do want to make contact but they are wise enough to approach us, volatile as we are, with caution. Did the 14th October event simply fail to materialise or was it a stage in a carefully planned preparation programme of enormous delicacy?