UFOs - From Belief to Knowing
In comments to another post, I posited a three-step echelon of reaction to the anomalous. Perhaps they are more akin to categories:
1) Interest
2) Belief
3) Knowing
Interest may be sparked by a book you read, a movie or TV show, or a conversation, etc. A precipitating idea makes certain people want to find out more. They may have something missing in their lives, unanswered questions about the nature of existence, or simply a desire to know things that are beyond the experience of most people. At times, it takes on the dimensions of a spiritual quest. The study of UFOs is a great way to kick around a lot of unpopular ideas. It brings up questions about our place in the scheme of things. It sometimes places the more intelligent among us on the cutting edge of scientific and philosophical speculation.
Belief is a very tricky word. A great mistake that some of us who like to talk UFOs make is to make a quick transition to a Belief System (B.S. for short) of “aliens from other planets.” This is unfortunate, as it basically shuts down any further learning, and ignores the historical record of possible contact with non-human intelligence. Belief must be defended at any cost, and it’s often based in nothing that is provable, at least by the game rules of the larger society. Fundamentalist Skeptics are trapped in their belief structures as well, and defend them with the same fervor and occasional disregard for facts or logic.
A few of us bypass steps/ categories 1 and 2. For the individual who knows that there really is something knocking at our collective consciousness, there is no defensive stance needed. It’s not easy to spot this type of person. They generally shut up about it because there is no need to prove anything. The experience they have gone through may not even be explainable in words. To try would be folly. Beware of those who say they “know” certain things to be true. They’re most likely lying, at least to themselves.
Obviously, the experience that led to the “knowing” may be erroneous, but at least we may not be subjected to the shrill cries of the converted. Actually, it might be a case of B.S. If the gut feelings are at peace, this is probably not an issue.
On different days, I find myself hovering around steps 1 and 2. Until I have an unequivocal experience (whatever that might be, and whatever it is) I will not know for certain that there is anything other than us, alone, here on this planet. If that happens, maybe I’ll stop writing about it.
I do have a strong suspicion (another category?) that we have been interacting with non-human consciousness for most of our history, but most of you know that already.
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Jan 24 2007 
January 24th, 2007 at 1:53 am
Greg:
I would counter that “belief” and “knowing” are two mutually exclusive terms, and that the former does not usually lead to the latter (other than by coincidence). Knowing requires evidence, and proof, to some agreed upon standard - belief just requires… well, belief, or, to be a bit more poetic, a leap of faith.
Paul
January 24th, 2007 at 4:40 am
Greg;
In my own personal experience with people in a religious context, I’ve noticed that people who are believers of a particular faith/denomination usually have not studied and compared other religious views. They attend services and read what is provided to them but do little to inform themselves of other religions or even to explore their own views, if they contradict what they are taught. It is a tell me what to believe and I will believe it mind set.
This I think applies to ufology. As “the nuts and bolts” space traveler was the prevailing theory for a long time, many in the u.f.o. community have come to believe it. People have experiences and automatically connect it to this theory because it has saturated our culture. They do not search out other views on the subject because they have already been fed this one. They become believers and any disagreement with the theory becomes an attack on their own experience.
January 24th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
[...] Greg Bishop UFO Mystic - Belief is a very tricky word. A great mistake that some of us who like to talk UFOs make is to make a quick transition to a Belief System (B.S. for short) of “aliens from other planets. .link Posted in UFOs | [...]
January 25th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
A long time ago (1978) I saw a light in the sky on a dark night.
It was small, looked like a star or a planet or a satellite or a plane depending on how high (or far away it was). It was just a point of light in the black sky.
It caught my eye because I was looking up at the clear night sky from the high desert of Central Oregon, far from any light pollution, and it was moving against the starry background.
Then, as I watched, it executed a 90 degree turn - without slowing or banking as far as I could see.
It just changed direction. Doesn’t sound like much. It’s just that I don’t know of anything we had in 1978, or have today, which is capable of making such a course change while flying.
So… I know there’s something unexplained out there. I don’t have any opinion as to what it is, or how it can make such a seemingly impossible move.
Thus: I don’t believe in anything relative to this phenomenon I just know that something in the universe can do it.
Because of that event I keep watching the UFO reports and military aircraft developments hoping that someone will post an explanation which makes sense (I know: “bit of a dreamer, bit of a fool”).
No belief… A lot of interest driven by the certain knowledge that I don’t KNOW!
January 25th, 2007 at 11:47 pm
Paul,
That’s why I gave myself an out by suggesting that these might be more like categories. I suppose that “knowing” is more in class by itself. Point taken.
Also, my I think that my point on these matters was more metaphysical or psychological than legal or scientific, at least, that’s what I was trying to get across.
January 25th, 2007 at 11:49 pm
Seein’,
I agree with you 100%. Belief destroys critical thought, which is unfortunate when the subject is as slippery as UFOs.
January 26th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
You know belief is a tricky word. Some things I have to believe in, because logic will allow no alternative. But when you combine belief with UFOs I just don’t see how it applies. Like many have pointed out, you can’t “believe” in UFOs any more than you can “believe” in toasters. UFOs are a fact of life and you must interpret them your own way, which is where belief comes in. How do I interpret this? Is it poppycock machinations of over imaginative minds? Or is it something truly strange and unknown or is it something you can reference to another belief system? I tend to chose the latter because I have been forced down that path. You choose another path because you haven’t seen the same things as me. Some people use UFOs to fit their beliefs the same way I use a toaster to warm my bagel. Other people (myself and Redfern?) see UFOs as something that burn you when you touch them, much as a toaster will burn you when it’s hot. Neither perception actually changes the nature of the UFO (or toaster) But the question I ask is; is it worth the burn to eat my bagel?
Jess
January 27th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
Very interesting post Greg. And, a coincidence, I just wrote a piece for American Chronicle about this (”Jesus in a Saucer”) and my recent blog entry is on an experience I had last night about aliens (or, something) and UFOs.
I don’t “believe” in a religious sense; I don’t “know” either. but then again, I do. I know very weird things have happened to me. why, what, all those quesitons, I have no idea.
Even if “they” tell me what they are, who they are, why they are, that doesn’t mean I’m going to believe them. “they” could be lying after all.
I do know, based on my experience, and the reading I’ve done over the years, there is, as you said:
“For the individual who knows that there really is something knocking at our collective consciousness, there is no defensive stance needed. It’s not easy to spot this type of person. They generally shut up about it because there is no need to prove anything.”
I agree.
“The experience they have gone through may not even be explainable in words. To try would be folly. Beware of those who say they “know†certain things to be true. They’re most likely lying, at least to themselves.”
I blather on so much on my blog and elsewhere because I don’t know what happened, and I think, somewhere in my head, that by exploring UFO Land I’ll find out. Maybe. Probably not, but it’s fun trying. But I know I don’t know.
January 27th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
Jess,
You wrote:
You know belief is a tricky word. Some things I have to believe in, because logic will allow no alternative.
If belief is a tricky word, how do you define things that you “have to believe” in? It seems like logic and belief are mutually exclusive terms (unless after a logical process, you’re putting something that can’t be explained yet in the “belief” file, to have somewhere to put it while things are figured out.)
Toasters are an item almost everyone knows about. UFOs, I would argue, are quite different. It seems like a spurious comparison, or I’m not understanding you correctly.
I also don’t see how a belief in UFOs could burn you, other than if you hold to one category of belief only to find yourself defending it when it doesn’t fit a chosen, narrow definition. Belief requires no proof, or at least a willful ignorance of contrary information.
What “path” have I chosen that is different from yours? In the post, I tried to explain that I am not in any one category. I shift my perspective depending on the case, the reported facts, the witnesses, my current state of mind, the latest book I’ve read, etc.
You also said
Is it poppycock machinations of over imaginative minds? Or is it something truly strange and unknown or is it something you can reference to another belief system? I tend to chose the latter because I have been forced down that path.
Which latter definition? “truly strange and unknown” or “something you can reference to another belief system”? I agree with both, at one time or another. UFOs are sometimes also the “poppycock machinations of overactive minds.”
I’m not actually sure we disagree about this!
I can’t presume to know exactly what Nick thinks about UFOs, but I’m pretty sure he would generally agree with what I have said here.
January 27th, 2007 at 10:27 pm
Regan,
I still haven’t had any personal experience with UFOs, (except a couple of times with unexplained movements of lights in the nighttime desert sky) but I have a “belief” that something besides us is out there, and the evidence is overwhelming (at least to me.)
In my very first post I explained my general take on UFOs:
The UFO subject is above all, a fun and stimulating intellectual exercise that brings up important scientific and philosophical questions: Are we alone as a species endowed with consciousness? Can we learn something from our non-human friends? Are they just us in another guise? Is the history of humankind intimately connected to something that we have called “gods†“spirits†or even “aliens?†Is this all just wishful thinking by minds hungry for contact or weary of the problems of this world? I think the answer is a combination of all of these, and that’s one of the most exciting things we can consider.
January 27th, 2007 at 10:30 pm
Maltese Frog,
You’re much further along than I am, or at least on a more interesting tangent. I haven’t seen anything close enough or anomalous enough to make we wonder at the same level as you and many other witnesses. I wish I had, and I still want to.
Hear that, you aliens-or-whatever-you-are?