When doing talks on the phenomenon, I frequently ask the question, what did you think when first exposed to the idea of UFOs and close encounters? Were you frightened? Were you fascinated or skeptical – or did you react in a different way entirely? Depending upon whether you have personally experienced the phenomenon, studied it, or just heard about it, your reactions may be very different. In addition, based on your original beliefs, your conclusions may vary widely as well. In 10 years of interviewing people and public speaking on the UFO phenomenon, I have found a wide spectrum of reactions, a vast realm of worldviews.

A few weeks ago, I got an interesting glimpse of the some of the varying points of view when I presented a talk on UFO encounters to the Parliament of World Religions. This is an organization dedicated to interfaith dialog, understanding the similarities and differences of various religions. Those who attended were all quite interested in the UFO topic, and had many different points of view as well as varying knowledge levels on the subject.

I asked one of my usual survey questions at the start of the talk. How many believed that contact was imminent, had occurred, would not occur, etc.? This group was not specifically part of the UFO community, and so the results tended to vary more than I’ve seen in UFO groups. Yet no one in the room believed that contact was unlikely or impossible.

The variation of belief was primarily in whether contact had occurred already. It seemed nearly evenly divided among the already-here and have-not-yet-arrived schools of thought. Many in the group thought that contact had not occurred yet, while others in the group believed it has occurred and is on-going. While they were accepting to the idea of the paranormal, alien encounters, and other extraordinary phenomena, their views still varied considerably.

One person was openly skeptical of the idea that experiencers might have had actual contact with the intelligence behind the UFO phenomenon. This person raised his hand about three quarters of the way through the talk and asked me if the people who had described close encounters were simply delusional. He cited a case in which knew of someone who was having an episode of some sort, describing his hand being cut. I asked the critic if there was actually a physical cut on the hand. He said no, and therein lay the difference. The UFO phenomenon has direct evidence for its existence, even if such evidence may not clearly indicate its origin.

I recommended that one not accept any extraordinary claim without studying the evidence to his/her own satisfaction. In this particular talk, I began with the assumption that the phenomenon is real, and probably extraterrestrial in nature. However, one ought not to believe something just because I assume (for the sake of argument) at the beginning of one talk, that it is true. Especially in a case like this, please use your own discernment.

I suggested several books that would back up this assertion - namely the Sturrock Report.[i] I also said that many ideas on contact come from what experiencers describe and from UFO interactions with humans. For those who are open to it, this data can be compelling, and reveals a phenomenon both mysterious and powerful.[ii]

After I got home from the talk, I felt a bit restless so I turned the TV on, looking for something either interesting or boring. I found the “interesting” - a documentary entitled Jesus Camp,[iii] on evangelical Christians, creationism and conservative politics. The documentary portrayed a world-view in which ideas contrary to their teachings were simply examples of systems of belief, rather than objective thought. In their view, they are correct. They have the “facts” and others simply “don’t get it.”

This form of thought is not limited to any one belief. Nearly every religion has its extreme elements. Yet it was nonetheless disconcerting. To me, it is why we need organizations such as the Parliament of World Religions, to expose people of one religion to the challenges of others’ beliefs. I suggest that just about anyone might benefit from a little more cross-cultural exposure. It is important to have our beliefs challenged occasionally, whether we like it or not. Each of us can grow from exposure to beliefs that make us feel uncomfortable, going to a different church, visiting a foreign country – or listening closely to the story of a close encounter experiencer.

For experiencers, therapists, researchers, and others interested in the phenomenon, UFO encounters challenge our perspective. They can shake our world and lead us to question lifelong beliefs. In doing so, they help us soften the boundaries and enrich the realm of personal views of all in The CE4 Corner.