A RESPONSE TO SPEISER'S EBE 'EXPLANATORY HYPOTHESIS

Stop the presses! It wasn't me! The "JS" referred to in "JSUFO.TXT" is an unknown friend of Wendy Silvers', who happens to have the same in
itials as YourIllustrious Sysop. I haven't even finished reading JSUFO.TXT! But other than that, this article by John White is very interest
ing and well-written. (I just hope his book hasn't gone to press yet with my name in it....)                              -Jim Speiser------
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A RESPONSE TO SPEISER'S EBE 'EXPLANATORY HYPOTHESIS'

By John White


The following is excerpted from an essay entitled "UFOs and the Search for Higher Consciousness" to appear in my forthcoming book, The Meet
ing of Science and Spirit.  I offer it as a response to Jim Speiser, who asks in his April 1988 Paranet essay (JSUFO.NEW), "Éis it possible
that EBEs are members of an advanced evolutionary level of life who are tending this planet as a garden?  Might they be cultivating human li
fe, not as a food source, but to give humans the opportunity to become, through their choices, potential members and contributors to the EBE
's advanced level?ÉMaybe we should be asking:  Are we growing in the right way?  How should we conduct ourselves in the presence of these in
dividuals and how should we conduct ourselves with each other?  What do we have to gain by treating EBEs as hostile invaders?  What is the r
eal purpose of these visitations?  Since we seem to be far less advanced, maybe the only way we can gain is by concluding they are here for
our benefit."
My briefest response to Speiser would be to acknowledge the legitimacy of his questions but to disagree with his conclusions.  "By their fr
uits ye shall know them."  Judging from what abductees report as the "fruits" of alien abduction, the EBEs are here for anything but our ben
efit.  I see nothing--absolutely nothing--about the abductions which is positive, which provides new and useful knowledge or which is growth
-inducing for humans and which can be attributed to the EBEs' intentions.  Yes, abductees do report long-term growth as a result of being te
rrorized, traumatized, emotionally and physically raped--but that is in no way to the credit of the EBEs.  It is due solely  to the resilien
ce of the human psyche--its self-reparative quality and its inherent urge toward health, wholeness and self-transcendence.  Some people surv
ived the Holocaust, but it does not then follow that their survival and consequent gain in strength, understanding and even compassion [see
Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning] was due to the good intentions of their captors.  Speiser is leaping to a premature conclusion, an
d a very dangerous one at that.  But the danger is spiritual as much as it is physical, and I think his position typifies a widespread attit
ude which needs to be recognized and corrected.  This excerpt explains what it is and why it is dangerous to adopt the perspective Speiser a
dvocates.
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The term "metaterrestrial" was coined by J. Allen Hynek to denote something that originates outside the familiar space-time framework in wh
ich we ordinarily function.  Also called extradimensional, interdimensional, ultraterrestrial and ultraphysical, this category provides evid
ence that some UFO experiences are due to nonphysical but real entities that come not from other locations in our universe but from other se
ts of dimensions that interpenetrate our space-time.  Materialization/dematerialization and some other psychic or paranormal phenomena are b
est accounted for this way, and are theoretically possible within modern physics' view of reality.  In short, many UFO incidents appear to b
e contemporary versions of what was recorded long ago in mythology, religious scripture and spiritual traditions as encounters with angels,
demons and the various inhabitants of other planes of existence.  These metaterrestrial (MT) beings materialize into our space-time from oth
er levels of reality--traditionally called heaven and hell in the Judeo-Christian world view, but modernly understood as hyperspatial dimens
ions or supersensible space-time frameworks with a wide range of beings native to them, just as ours has creatures ranging from viruses to w
hales.
Thus, the UFO phenomenon suggests that other life forms are present in the universe--the evidence from exobiology supports this idea, quite
 apart from the UFO data--and that they have contacted the human race throughout history and are still interacting with us in various ways.
 The interactions range from benevolent, such as warnings from Space Brothers and Galactic Confederation emissaries about the threat of nucl
ear war, to malevolent, such as the abduction of Whitley Strieber, who told in his bestseller, Communion, of being captured, brain-probed wi
th needles, anally examined with a rough instrument and having his memory altered.
What is the meaning of all this for humanity?  In a comprehensive and recent two-volume bibliography entitled UFOs and the Extraterrestrial
 Contact Movement, George M. Eberhart surveys the literature on UFOs and alleged contacts with ETs.  It is significant that Eberhart describ
es the extraterrestrial contact phenomenon as a "movement."  That movement is widespread, albeit unorganized.  It goes far beyond mere publi
c interest in flying saucers.  In its deepest aspect, it represents a flowering of the human quest for God and growth to higher consciousnes
s.  There are many groups founded on the ET/MT-contact premise, often centering around a charismatic figure who claims to be in contact with
 UFO occupants and to have regular telepathic links with space or hyperspace.  These groups range from membership societies such as the Unar
ius Society (Escondido, California) and Mark-Age of Miami, (Florida) to communal/extended family situations such as that around David Michae
l the Cosmic Messiah (Berkeley, California) and "The Two" who preached a gospel called Human Individual Metamorphosis that promised follower
s would be removed from the planet by a flying saucer.  All these groups extol the virtue of their unseen communicators and claim they have
a mighty revelation to offer for the benefit of humanity.  Many of them regard extraterrestrials and metaterrestrials as "gods from outer sp
ace."  And many of them, such as "The Two," offer a program or prescription for higher human development and extension of human consciousnes
s to godlike conditions if we will submit to "the gods."
But while their appeals to join the movement may be intriguing and enticing, remember that fools rush in where at least one form of ET/MT l
ife--angels--fears to tread.  The movement's appeal needs close and careful consideration.  My purpose in the rest of this essay, therefore,
 is to offer a cautionary comment about the proper attitude toward UFOs and ET/MT contact.
FROM OUTER SPACE TO INNER SPACE
First, consider the most intriguing aspect of the UFO experience:  the convergence of psychology and physics.  As the study of inner and ou
ter space merges, consciousness becomes the key to understanding the situation.  The UFO phenomenon actually leads us to still-larger questi
ons.  It is not enough to ask what are they, where they come from and what they want.  Our ultimate questions concern cosmology and ontology
:  what is reality and how can we know it?
These questions bring us slowly but surely to the realization that only by understanding the essence of ourselves can we understand the nat
ure and structure of the cosmos, including the UFO phenomenon.  It is a paradox recognized in all major religions, psychotechnologies and sa
cred lifeways that the deeper you look inside yourself, the more universal you become.  Scientific and spiritual traditions--the objective a
nd subjective aspects of our attempt to know reality--converge to reveal levels of consciousness far beyond what we ordinarily take for the
limits of our awareness.
Conceptualizing these higher dimensions is difficult.  Recent models of the cosmos by physicists, paraphysicists and parapsychologists are
resorting more and more to the esoteric, heremetic, metaphysical and occult traditions, which claim to have long been aware of other aspects
 of reality other than the physical-material.  These traditions use terms such as the astral plane, the etheric plane, the plane of Mind and
 so forth to denote hyperspaces--other space-time frameworks, other sets of dimensions-- interpenetrating our own.
Where are these hyperspaces?  All sources agree:  they are within us, even while they seem to be outside; and at the same time, they are ou
tside (our physical bodies), even though we arrive there by going within.
The cosmos, then, may be conceived as having different but interpentrating planes of existence which are space-time frameworks in their own
 right.  The higher planes are the native realms of angels, spirit guides, ascended masters and other evolutionarily advanced beings reporte
d throughout history as interacting with humanity to guide and protect us.
Protect us from what?  Malevolent inhabitants of other planes.  Outside the physical plane we humans inhabit is not all sweetness and light
, according to these traditions.  There are said to be objectively real but invisible intelligences that seek to penetrate human psyches in
order to stop our evolution and enslave us to their will.  It is said that these malign entities can and do sometimes materialize into our p
lane of existence in various alluring ways to entice us off the spiritual path.
As a person evolves in consciousness and expands awareness, he passes through these different levels enroute to the highest state of consci
ousness, cosmic consciousness.  Those levels, in Christian theology, are termed "the heavens."  In Hindu and Buddhist thought, they are call
ed "lokas."  Though the terminology differs from culture to culture, the underlying unity of experience cannot be mistaken.  Each level is s
aid to have beings--presumably organized into some social structure--capable of materializing into other levels.  As a person moves into tho
se spaces through whatever spiritual discipline he practices to purify his consciousness and develop organs of higher perception, the bounda
ry between "inner" and "outer" events dissolves and a single, unified view of reality is perceived.  This is why there has been unanimity of
 reports from "soul travelers" to the highest regions.
And what they report is this:  we humans are confused about ultimate reality and our true identity.  Both are something far greater than we
 ordinarily think and both are actually one.
Next consider what this means for human happiness and understanding.  First, there is a core truth to which we can penetrate--an Ultimate A
nswer which alone gives purpose, meaning and direction to our lives and our search.  Second, that truth is accessible to each of us on the b
asis of direct experience, without need for intermediaries.  Third, in order to attain that truth, we must ascend in consciousness; we must
personally evolve through our own efforts.  And, finally, if many individuals evolve, the result could well be a collective change of societ
y, a transformation of the species, a radical change in human nature.
EVOLUTION BEYOND MAN
As I see things, precisely such a change is now occurring.  Evolution has not stopped.  A new race--a higher form of humanity--is now emerg
ing on the planet.  My reason, research and personal experience lead me to this conclusion.  And certainly it is not my conclusion alone.  N
ietzsche, Bergson, Teilhard de Chardin, Sri Aurobindo, Gopi Krishna, Oliver Reiser, R. M. Bucke, L. L. Whyte, Jean Houston and others have p
roposed the same idea before me:  human beings are also human becomings.
The grand theme of history is the evolution of consciousness--a story of ever-more complex forms of life coming into physical being in orde
r to express more fully the consciousness behind existence itself.  As this applies to the current world scene, I maintain, the many threats
 to life on this planet created by Homo sapiens' intellect-gone-wild have caused such pressure on nature that the life force--the intelligen
ce governing creation--is mobilizing to resist the irrationality of Man. 
How will it resist?  Simply by bringing a higher form of life onto the planet--a form which will recognize the laws governing nature and li
ve in accordance with them.  The human race as we know it, in all its combative, divisive, exploitative, self-centered inhumanity-to-man, wi
ll go the way of the dinosaur.  The widespread signs of world unrest and cultural collapse around us indicate that an historical epoch, a wo
rld age, is ending. 
Simultaneously, a great awakening is going on around the globe.  It isn't merely a generation gap or a communications gap.  A new species i
s awakening to its cosmic calling and is asserting--in the face of the threatening dominant species--its right to live.  The planetwide unea
siness and societal upheaval being seen today is fundamentally an expression of people straddling old and new worlds as they try to find out
 what species they belong to.  The dominant species is ego-oriented, technology-mad and unconsciously bent on self-destruction through its m
aterialistic addictions and their unforeseen effects on the biosphere.  The emerging species, on the other hand, is life-embracing.  It seek
s to live in harmony, create a unified planetary culture founded on love and wisdom and, as Native Americans say, walk in balance on the Ear
th Mother.
In the course of people's effort to find their true identity, many errors and excesses will occur.  The "gods from outer space" concept is
a notable example.
Now, there is nothing inherently implausible about the notion that more highly evolved life forms exist and have contacted us.  Exobiology
suggests that life will arise wherever conditions are not simply favorable but merely a little better than totally hostile.  Since our sun i
s a relatively young star, there may be older star systems where organisms developed earlier than here and have become the more highly evolv
ed inhabitants of supertechnological civilizations capable of space travel.   They may even have come to Earth in UFOs.
THE DANGER OF "GODS FROM OUTER SPACE"
The immediate allure of contact with such civilizations is the possibility of learning from them.  Imagine, for example, being given the me
ans to build power sources such as those that propel UFOs.  Some alien communications speak of "free energy devices" that tap space itself a
nd could do away with the need for oil, coal, gas and nuclear fuels.  This is an exciting visita, promising--on the surface, at least--a new
 era of peace and prosperity such as people have dreamed of for millennia.  Beneath the surface, however, this is more of the same narrow vi
sion--the unquestioned faith in the power of science and technology to secure human happiness--that is endangering our species at this time.
Thus, inherent in the possibility of ET/MT encounters is a danger we must recognize beyond the mere idea of ferocious killers as expressed
in Aliens.  We must recognize this danger if we are ever to truly build a "heaven on earth."  For such knowledge as we might obtain from ext
raterrestrial contact still does not give us the most important type of cosmic connection--the type we need to deal with the problems of dai
ly living.  Our endless accumulation of scientific facts simply does not add up to wisdom and understanding of the human situation in its co
smic aspect.  Every new bit of information, every new answer we get raises a dozen new questions.  Gathering scientific data is an endless p
rocess, and unless we are properly grounded in the moral  foundations of the universe, we will continue to find new ways of misusing science
 so that knowledge only leads to greater unhappiness, as we see most strongly in our present historically unprecedented threat to all life o
n the planet.  As Krishnamurti, speaking of our faustian quest, says, "Knowledge is only a part of life, not the totality, and when that par
t assumes all-consuming importance, as it is threatening to do now, then life becomes superficialÉ  More knowledge, however wide and cunning
ly put together, will not resolve our human problems; to assume that it will is to invite frustration and misery.  Something much more profo
und is needed."
What is needed?  A change of consciousness.  Only a change in the state of human consciousness will allow us to find the knowledge and wisd
om necessary to survive the threats facing Homo sapiens.  For there is a type of knowledge beyond science--beyond even the science of supert
echnological extraterrestrial civilizations--that is nevertheless democratically available to every one of us.  It is the core truth, the et
ernal message of all the world's sacred traditions.  It is knowledge that anyone can obtain directly from the cosmos, without intermediaries
, without being dependent upon benevolent superior beings, whether they are angelic messengers, Space Brothers, spirit guides, ascended mast
ers, walk-ins, EBEs or whatever.  Call it God-knowledge, mystical union, attaining yoga, finding the Tao or achieving enlightenment.  These
terms all refer to the same thing:  the fundamental apprehension of Cosmic Wholeness transcending any and all parts of creation and its crea
tures.  This is the knowledge that gives purpose, direction and fulfillment to our lives by answering the ultimate questions which spiritual
 traditions and science alike have tried to answer:  Who am I and what is existence all about?
That is not to depreciate the value of whatever wise counsel or technical information humanity may be offered by extraterrestrials or metat
errestrials in the matter of evolving to higher states of being.  But in the last analysis, it is up to us to take responsibility for our ow
n growth into higher consciousness.  Nobody can do that for us--not through neurosurgery, genetic engineering, chemical implants, hypnosis,
EBE "gardeners" or any other forms of outside intervention such as various theorists are hypothesizing today.  What is "out there" cannot sa
ve us.  The impulse to grow must come from within as an organic expression of a person's total being.
THE MEANING OF 2001
That is the unanimous advice from sages around the globe throughout history.  Deep inside us, not far out in physical space, is the channel
 by which we can make the cosmic connection--the one that really counts.  A powerful illustration of this is seen at the end of 2001:  A Spa
ce Odyssey.  The film is a classic for many reasons, but the chief one is its insightful treatment of the grandest theme of all history:  th
e evolution of consciousness and the growth of humanity to a godlike state.  2001's "hero" is the astronaut Bowman.  His technology-denoting
 name symbolizes an intermediate stage of human evolution that is still relatively crude but nevertheless well beyond the ape-man stage with
 which the film begins.  At the end of the film, we see Bowman traveling on the (symbolically sperm-shaped) spaceship (symbolically) named D
iscovery through the atmosphere of Jupiter, preparing to land and begin searching for the advanced life forms who created the mysterious bla
ck obelisk.  This is the famous psychedelic scene in which the audience goes through the streaming colors representing the atmosphere and su
rface of the planet.  During the passage, an image of a human eye appears briefly now and then, filling the entire screen so that only the p
upil and iris are seen.  This is director-producer Stanley Kubrick's way of saying that the film's explicit journey to outer space is implic
itly a journey to inner space, to the center of the mind.  Because as the audience passes through Jupiter's atmosphere, it also passes throu
gh the giant eye into the brain-mind behind it.
And there, in the center of the mind, is an amazing discovery, a startling revelation:  we ourselves are the real extraterrestrials for who
m Bowman has been searching.  Humanity has gotten so "spaced out," so far from home, so out of touch with the Earth that we have forgotten o
ur origins and lost our roots.  We've become alienated--aliens--to ourselves and the planet.  And because of that, we are in danger of destr
oying life on the planet, and perhaps even the planet itself, just as some purported messages from space beings warn us.
In that alienated state of consciousness, we are searching for advanced life in the universe--searching for higher consciousness--in outer
space.  Now, there undoubtedly are such life forms out there.  But it is deep within ourselves, not out in astrophysical space, that the tru
e cosmic connection exists.  So long as we have not discovered our own potential for growth and further evolution, we have become terminal--
the dying old man that Bowman is at the film's end.  So long as we look for gods from outer space or any kind of saviors "out there," we are
 lost and alienated from Truth.  But when we "look within" and find the power of consciousness directing our destiny and the destiny of all
creatures, no matter how highly evolved, then we realize paradoxically that we are one with that consciousness, that cosmic intelligence, th
at transcendental reality.
The basic situation facing us today is a crisis of consciousness.  Human consciousness is in a disturbed, unstable state and through what c
ould be called "extraterrestrial materialism," many people are making idols of UFOs and extraterrestrial life--false gods from outer space.
 But if we are ever to build paradise here, we must first heal ourselves, not rely on surrogate parents from the sky or wish for saviors fro
m beyond the planet.
Depth psychology has shown that a child's parents are his first gods.  But growing up, maturing, requires relinquishing that illusion, alon
g with hopes and dreams of invoking magical powers and omnipotent forces to give us our desires and answer all our questions.  Instead, we m
ust do the slow, difficult and often painful work of taking responsibility for our own actions and recognizing that if we are presently the
real aliens, we are also potentially the gods we seek.
As the author of 2001, Arthur Clarke, put it in his profound 1953 novel, humanity is near childhood's end.  We stand ready to become what C
arl Sagan calls starfolk.  We stand ready to join galactic society--through the mature form of the human race, the higher humanity I've desi
gnated Homo noeticus.  And that is the meaning of the Star Child floating in space at the end of 2001, silently contemplating the Earth.  20
01 is a mighty cinematic saga of human evolution from an apelike condition to a new stage of transhuman development.  Star Child is Kubrick'
s visual symbol of the emergence of a new state of evolution:  the development of the coming race--or, as Jesus and the Judaic tradition put
 it, the Son of Man, the offspring of humanity.  Star Child is a citizen of the cosmos, no longer ego-centered or even Earth-centered, but r
ather is universally centered and cosmically conscious.
That godlike state beckons to us through many manifestations today.  Although the manifestations are most often occulted, vague and uncerta
in, the principal one has long been clearly recognized--and revered.  I refer to the true spiritual teachers of history--Jesus, Buddha, Kris
hna, Lao Tse, Mohammed, Moses, Zoroaster, Guru Nanak, St. Teresa and other more recent figures such as Sri Aurobindo, The Mother and Da Love
-Ananda.  These illuminati, these godmen and godwomen are the people who most clearly demonstrate the future of human evolution.  These enli
ghtened ones are forerunners of the "new breed," specimens of an advanced humanity.  Their lives have been dedicated to showing those lower
on the ladder of evolution that they have within themselves the potential for self-directed growth to a higher state of being.  And none of
them have claimed to be extraterrestrial.  They have, however, claimed to be universal, and have said that all others can be also.  How?  To
 quote the Buddha's dying words, ". . . by relying upon themselves only, and not relying upon any external help. . . not looking for assista
nce to anyone besides themselves."  Or as Jesus put it, by seeking first the Kingdom of God.
That is why I caution against deluding ourselves with the glamour and mystery of UFOs and ET/MT contact.  The two principal reasons for thi
s can be stated thus:
First, the promise of such contact is tantalizing yet beyond our control.  We are wholly at the mercy of whoever or whatever is out there,
subject to their whims, unable to communicate except when they want to allow it, and unable the verify the information they give us about th
emselves.  We may theorize and hypothesize all we want, but until we have tangible, testable, sufficient data, it is all mere speculation. 
And when we do have such data, we may find that some of the nonhuman life forms are truly hostile to human well-being, rather than benevolen
t, just as many abductees' experiences already indicate.  The guidance and warnings of sacred traditions and spiritual teachers about this m
atter should not be lightly disregarded.  Remember that the Bible describes demons as fallen angels.  We must beware of false gods.
The second reason is this:  the greatest enemy and the greatest ally we have are still to be found in the depths of our own psyche.  The pr
oper attitude toward meetings with starfolk can only be that which we have for human teachers and helpers.  We should not disregard whatever
 information, guidance and counsel seems to be offered by starfolk for our growth and well-being, but we should always test it carefully rat
her than accept it on blind faith or authoritarian command.  When our attitude assumes the character of a master-servant relation or a deity
-worshipper relation, our own evolutionary potential is discarded and our cosmic calling is unheard.  Properly understood, however, ET/MT co
ntact has value in the manner that the signs and wonders of Jesus had for the first Christians.  They pointed to a still-higher source which
 is the creator of us all, and they demonstrated the reality of our own latent ability to become as Jesus was--and even more, as he himself
acknowledged.  The UFO experience can do the same thing for our time.  We must be aware of True God.
We are rapidly entering the next phase of evolution.  But evolution is essentially transcendence, and the source of all transcendence is th
e Transcendental.  That is the source of our being, as well as our becoming.  Whether our meetings with advanced life forms seem to come fro
m outer space or inner space, we must recognize that they principally reflect to us that which we ourselves shall eventually become, and tha
t all time and space, all worlds and their inhabitants arise from the Transcendental Source whose traditional name is God.  Therefore, it is
 God alone to whom we should aspire in our search, recognizing that the distant goal of our evolutionary journey is also the fountainhead  o
f our existence moment-to-moment along the path, and that what is working itself out in cosmic space and eonic time is, beyond space and tim
e, already so right now. 
Paradoxically, our ultimate condition is a present fact:  in Reality, there is only God.  And rightly understood, EBE stands for "everybody
 become enlightened."