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In an unprecedented exclusive interview to A. J. Gevaerd, editor of the Brazilian UFO Magazine, one the highest ranking and most distinguished officials of the Brazilian Air Force, Brigadier José Carlos Pereira, recognized that "it is time to end the UFO secrecy".

Introduction

During the first ever official meeting between members of the Brazilian Committee of Ufologists (CBU) and military of the Brazilian Air Force held on May 20th 2005, at the Brazilian Airspace Defense Command (Comdabra) headquarters, Brigadier Jose Carlos Pereira, a former commander of the body from 1999 to 2001, has shown a special interest in the subject. At the end of the meeting, he escorted the ufologists himself to the exit door of the building and after receiving some issues of Brazilian UFO Magazine declared: “I thank you for the gift, but I should say that I always buy the magazine at Brasilia newsstands”. In an informal way and with no reservation Pereira confirmed his high interest and level of information regarding UFO matters.

Brigadier Jose Carlos Pereira is undeniably regarded by Brazilian ufologists as a high-rank official who has material information on the existence and concreteness of UFOs, not to mention their unquestionable extraterrestrial origin. Until little time ago he did not bother to hide what military new on the issue. Therefore, as part of the second phase of the Brazilian campaign UFOs: Liberdade de Informação Já [UFOs: Freedom of Information Now], the Brazilian Committee of Ufologists (CBU) decided to meet him for an interview with no guarantees that he would accept the invitation.

To our great surprise, however, Brigadier Jose Carlos Pereira accepted the invitation and granted Brazilian UFO Magazine with an exclusive interview in which he reports the truth of UFO phenomena in Brazil. The meeting took place on March 8th, in Brasilia, and was a unique opportunity for Brazilian ufologists to become aware of Pereira's opinions on the issue. More than that, it was an opportunity for all to know details on his thinking about different aspects of UFO phenomenon, namely topics related to the Air Force, national security, and responses of Brazilian military surrounding this subject

“I'll be readily available to ufologists of Brazilian UFO Magazine and it will be a great pleasure to meet them at any time”, said Pereira when accepting the invitation. “I always respected the work of this magazine and I wish to contribute to the movement they are leading, aiming the freedom of UFO information in Brazil”. Days before the date of the interview was set a significant impact was expected after its publication. It would be something similar to another historical occasion for Brazilian Ufology when Brazilian UFO Magazine was also directly involved: the interview with Colonel Uyrangê Hollanda, in 1997.

The Need for Freedom of Information

For our publication this would be an opportunity for not only know the ideas of one of the most brilliant military in the country but also to bring him to join the movement UFOs: Liberdade de Informação Já, which was fully achieved. “It's time to disclose all secrets on this subject in Brazil, be them from any air bases, and I'll will work for this to happen”, he declares. During an interview with more than a hundred questions the military showed the seriousness with which he sees the subject and the research. He entrusted his interviewers – this editor and special consultants for Brazilian UFO Magazine Roberto Affonso Beck and Fernando de Aragao Ramalho – with important information.

Brigadier Jose Carlos Pereira openly spoke on nearly all subjects approached not refraining from answering any questions to him presented. “I intend to talk to my uniform colleagues and get informed on the exact environment in military headquarters and air bases in order to bring the support of some of them to your work”, he offered even before being asked to do so. Throughout the questioning, Pereira talked about security in Brazilian air space, violations the nation suffered from unidentified flying objects, the so called Official UFO Night in Brazil, Operação Prato [Operation Saucer] and its commander, and even described some UFO events unknown to us.

“Colonel Uyrangê Hollanda, commander of Operação Prato [Operation Saucer], was a serious and objective man, diligent and respected by all”, Pereira says, confirming what Brazilian ufologists always knew but had no means to assure – that indeed Operação Prato [Operation Saucer] resulted in more than 2.000 pages of documents besides the already known 500 pictures and 16 hours of footage. Regarding Caso Varginha, however, he says to know nothing but what was revealed by Brazilian UFO Magazine and the press. He seemed to be sincere because such case belongs to a different military sector, the Army.

Brigadier Jose Carlos Pereira was born in Salvador (BA) and joined the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) in March 1958, retiring in July 2005 after occupying the main positions in the Air Force hierarchy including the highest rank of all. He was graduated in December 1963 and little by little became one of the best specialists for space policies and strategies in Brazil. Pereira was also a jet pilot as well as a pilot for transports, a special air operations and a military parachutist.

Member of Brazilian Military Elite

Pereira was an operations officer and a commander of the Unit for Jet Training, a commander of air bases and official of the superior military command in operations and personnel sectors. He had a distinguished performance at the military intelligence being an official at Brazilian Presidency cabinet and an official for intelligence at the Inter-American Defense Board, in Washington. Pereira was also chief of logistics and mobilization of the superior command of Brazilian Armed Forces, commander of the Brazilian Air Force Academy (AFA) and chief of the General Command of Air Operations.

Over the last 10 years, Brigadier Jose Carlos Pereira was also a commander of operations for the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) being responsible for 13 generals and a total number of 27 thousand subordinates. From 1999 to 2001, he was a general commander for Air Operations and for the Brazilian Airspace Defense Command (Comdabra), a body that was already called “Brazilian Area 51”. As we can see, it is no overestimate to say that during some time Pereira was the guardian of the key to the safe where Brazilian UFO secrets have been kept. On March 27th 2006, already retired, this Brigadier took office at the presidency of the Brazilian Airport Infrastructure Agency (Infraero), by appointment of Minister Nelson Jobim.

Brazilian ufologists consider that Pereira's statements will have a significant impact on the campaign UFOs: Liberdade de Informação Já [UFOs: Freedom of Information Now]. Never before a military of that rank spoke so freely about UFOs. Very few from other countries came so close to repeat the same initiative. This encouraged Brazilian UFO Magazine to try a contact with military of the same level in the Navy and in the Army in order to look for the support Brazilian ufologists need to fulfill their goals. Step by step we follow our path which someday will lead us to the freedom of UFO information in Brazil. Uyrangê Hollanda gave his contribution and now Jose Carlos Pereira joins his efforts.

See below the highlights of the interview given to Brazilian UFO Magazine

UFO – Brigadier, you have been the one in military who speaks more about UFOs in the media. You have given several interviews always in a very open and natural manner. What makes you act like this?

Pereira – I consider that as a matter of personal belief. I believe there should be no subject to be kept closed to humankind. It might look flamboyant and bizarre, but this subject must always be checked and investigated. Galileo, Copernicus, and so many other scientists must have known that. So I believe no human being or institution has the right to keep doors closed to the discussion of any matters, be it scientific, political, social or religious. Not even to Ufology, which I consider to be within the scientific field. This is a personal point of view that I sustain till these days.

UFO – It has been said that you keep the key to the safe where UFO secrets are kept, including documents, pictures and footages made in different circumstances by military in duty in different bases – some in missions like Operação Prato [Operation Saucer], some by accident. What could these secrets reveal?

Pereira – Look, I'm a man devoted to science, a man with a scientific mind. If you present the idea that extraterrestrials are here, that they are visiting and investigating us, that they are doing things that we cannot understand what they are, then your idea goes against scientific reasoning. Because, as far as we know, our Solar System has presented no indication for the existence of life in another planet except Earth.

UFO – And what if we consider civilizations with a much more advanced technology compared to ours?

Pereira – OK, look, I'm analyzing with the knowledge we have today in our planet, with the knowledge our current stage of science has achieved. This is the caveat to be consider. So, if we consider only this knowledge, I reject every possibility of anyone coming from outer space to Earth. And it gets more complex if we go further because Alpha Centauri does not seem to be a planetary system. Let's move then to the portion of the Universe astronomers call “inhabitable zone”, which seems to be many light years from Earth.

UFO – Is the understanding of this situation beyond our control?

Pereira – The starting point is the technology we have today to understand the universe. I wouldn't say no one might have advanced a million years ahead somewhere else. On the other hand, the technology we have today on Earth fully dismisses the possibility of someone from out of the solar system to arrive here. I humbly insist that our knowledge must still be insignificant to comprehend all of this. We can see by what happened over the last hundred years with discoveries ranging from penicillin to the airplane.

UFO – Spacecraft coming to Earth certainly do not use the same propulsion technology we used to explore the Moon, Mars or Venus. Do you think this should be openly discussed by civil society?

Pereira – No, they probably don't use rocket engines like our spacecraft sent to space. My opinion on Ufology is that it must approach scientific fields in the near future, such as astronomy, astrophysics, and astronautics in order to form a more consistent scientific group. I don't refuse the idea of philosophy entering this range of subjects, with its modern concepts aiming to quickly address the issues we couldn't solve to date: who we are, where we came from, and where are we going to... Since Aristotle we make the same questions and no one answers. Ufology in combination with these other subjects might be a way to these answers.

UFO – Your open and frank position matches those of a few other Brazilian military. However, the same is confronted by some sectors within the military who prefer UFO matters to be kept out of public discussion. Do you think it is time to break such resistance?

Pereira – Look, I believe the mere opening of secret files to be delivered to the press and the public in general is something that can be done tomorrow morning without any problem. But I think this is not enough, not sufficient. Ufologists might even get disappointed when they see those files because I feel they expect more concrete evidence and maybe they won't find what they long for in those folders. However, I think that an official example of opening UFO archives – especially when this attitude comes from the military – comes to favor and empower other people that fear to discuss the issue. I think that from the moment the government opens the subject for debate all the fear people have towards this subject will be gone and things become more transparent. No one fears transparency; instead people fear the lack of it. So I believe that such an opening is really helpful and has a very favorable effect in this discussion.

UFO – And what to do while we do not achieve this relying only on testimonials of thousands of highly credible people who have experienced UFO phenomena?

Pereira – One must consider all different sorts of evidence surrounding UFOs. As in any police work, we have documental, testimonial, and circumstantial evidence each with their own weight. Documental evidence, for example, has its own impact as has a testimonial. Has anybody seen something in the sky? Great! But it’s even better when we have 50 people witnessing it. Especially when these people don't know one another and live in different communities. This is how testimonial evidence becomes stronger. And, at last, we have the circumstantial evidence, which is the most fragile of all. We must separate these three kinds of evidence we have today concerning Ufology. Circumstantial evidence are present in high volume, so are testimonial ones, and 90% of these have a scientific explanation while the remaining 10% do not. Regarding material evidence, we have none.

UFO – Would you call the occurrence of May 20th 1986, the so called Official UFO Night in Brazil, as a circumstantial evidence of the UFO phenomena?

Pereira – As far as I know, observations in that occasion were testimonial evidence from people who saw it.

UFO – Jet pilots who were sent by the Air Force to intercept those objects were very experienced.

Pereira – Yes, they were. That's why those are testimonial evidence, situations in which witnesses saw something and radars detected that same thing. Look, radars may present a false echo, they may be affected by many different factors, but when we have more than one radar spotting the same target, then we have something serious enough to be ignored [in an assured tone]. This equipment operates in different frequencies.

UFO – One of the jet planes intercepting the objects was even surrounded by many of them who came relatively close...

Pereira – Here we have the sum of different facts. Someone has seen something and radar spotted it. Such equipment has nothing to do with human eyes, it's an electronic device. Another pair of eyes also saw that same thing [another pilot] and so on. Then you start to give credits to the occurrence and the situation becomes more concrete. OK, but where is the object? Was it captured? Here is where the material evidence thing comes in, and we don't have it.

UFO – Brigadier, when the Brazilian Committee of Ufologists (CBU) visited Comdabra on May 20th 2005, we were received by Brigadier Atheneu Azambuja, who showed us three folders of UFO occurrences from that body's archives. Aren't these evidence that we have been visited by objects crewed and controlled by intelligent non terrestrial beings?

Pereira – Well, those folders are not only at Comdabra, they are spread through other bodies worldwide. They prove that unexplained phenomena occurring lead us to believe in the presence of such being and alien objects on planet Earth. That's it. They are uncommon to our planet. Now, telling what are those beings and objects is a very risky thing since we have no knowledge enough for that [in a cautious tone]. So, I believe Ufology has much more work ahead [in order to identify the phenomenon] and even needs to add some other subjects to its efforts.

UFO – At the time of that visit to Comdabra we said that we would like to conduct a joint study with the Air Force by forming a mixed team of civilian ufologists and military. What do you think about this?

Pereira – Yes, but I should say that such a team would need more people. Besides ufologists I believe that it's necessary to have scientists, astronomers, physicists, etc, because such knowledge must be jointly addressed by more people.

UFO – Do you personally believe that civilizations from other planets might be visiting us?

Pereira – Well, my thought on this is that we, humans, left ground for the first time in an airplane nearly 100 years ago and within only one century could reach the Moon. In astronomic means we could say that a hundred years are nothing, not even dust. Then, if in one century and with our limited capacity we could achieve this... Now, think: where will we reach a hundred or a thousand years from now?

UFO – We know that the Brazilian Air Force officially investigates the UFO phenomenon since 1969, when Brigadier Jose Vaz da Silva established the System for Investigation of Unidentified Flying Objects (SIOANI) at the Brazilian IV Regional Air Command (COMAR 4). But why was that research apparently closed in that same year without any further progress?

Pereira – Look, that's a very interesting question. I wasn't around that time and have not researched those facts. I've never had the idea of investigating the reasons why that work was ended, but I suspect Brigadier Vaz da Silva hasn't had any more conditions to go further. He tells a different story [from many other military]. He was always an avant-garde man, always ahead of this time.

UFO – Do you believe in a superior interference in the establishment of SIOANI or was it an exclusive initiative of Brigadier Vaz da Silva?

Pereira – I'm almost sure there was a superior order. Certainly a superior instance to Brigadier Vaz da Silva worked with it by supporting the project, assisting and implementing SIOANI. A commander can't do anything by himself. He must have a superior instance behind his actions.

UFO – The two leaked SIOANI bulletins brought descriptions of cases researched by the body, including UFO landings and their crew. These are being investigated and kept in secret by the military. This is the kind of documents ufologists want to see disclosed. Do you believe they can be publicly revealed?

Pereira – In my opinion there is no reason to keep such material in secret. None. I understand that the disclosure won't affect any of the four classical criteria military always have in mind when dealing with national secrets. And these are represented by the following questions: first, will the disclosure take the country into a war? Second, will it cause panic in the population? Third, is it a threat to the national security, be it with a South-American country or any other? And fourth, will the disclosure of this material affect the privacy of people possibly mentioned on it? This is what we must have in mind. If none of these matters are affected – which is actually the case –, then it must be disclosed!

UFO – Are you for the disclosure of UFO documents prepared by the military and kept in secret to date?

Pereira – Absolutely. Unless the disclosure affects any of the four items I've just mentioned. In that case I think the material should not be disclosed. We must respect people's privacy and also the national security as we have to preserve peace and order. Also, we shouldn't start a war or create indisposition with other countries. Anyway, we shouldn’t reveal our plans to the enemy. Besides those factors, it's time for transparency and for clearing this subject.

UFO – Do you think this also applies to documents from Operação Prato [Operation Saucer], carried out by the Air Force of State of Para in 1977?

Pereira – Sure! No doubt about that! To all and every operation!

UFO – Have you received specific information on that operation?

Pereira – At the moment it was carried out, no. I knew of the results only after that. But I knew Hollanda [Colonel Uyrangê Hollanda, commander of that military mission]. He worked for the Air Force Intelligence, same as I did, so we were always passing by one another.

UFO – I interviewed Hollanda in 1997. I had just given an interview to Fantástico [Fantastic], talking about the documents Brazilian Air Force holds and he saw me at the show and called me the next morning saying: “Look, Gevaerd, I follow your work and I know you are doing the right thing. I want to say that now I'm retired and have no more obligations with my uniform. So, if you want to come to Rio to interview me, I'll have much to say”. I went to Rio immediately and together with Marco Antonio Petit we had a historical interview with him. Have you read it?

Pereira – Yes, of course. I have a copy with me and have also found it in several websites. It's a long interview and I read it carefully. Some time ago, a colleague sent me a copy and I replied: “Man, do you really think I don't have it? I got a copy long ago”.

UFO – Really? Then I conclude that high rank officials as you may have had become aware of Hollanda's statements.

Pereira – Yes, certainly. It's a long and much known interview. But Hollanda was a very disturbed man, with a very introspective personality. And as a result he took his own life…

UFO – Do you believe his personal problems somehow influenced the statements he made to Brazilian UFO Magazine concerning Operação Prato [Operation Saucer]?

Pereira – Not the contents, but maybe the way he did it. Hollanda was a serious man and wouldn't be able to change the contents, especially regarding such an important matter.

UFO – People say that he loved to be called to lead that operation because all he wanted was to go to the jungle. He headed the military mission and had a close encounter with an ET, so he told us at the interview. Did you know this?

Pereira – I knew that, he reported it, but I have never discussed this issue with him. Hollanda also called me shortly after, but I was in another operation [not a ufological one].

UFO – He told us that he was together with a subordinate at Rio Guajará-Mirim heading towards the camp when a cylindrical aircraft with 100m in length nearly landed on the other margin. From the top, a door was opened and an ET came from it floating to the place where they were. According to Hollanda this was the most exciting moment in the operation. Have you ever discussed that with him?

Pereira – No, unfortunately I didn't have details before. But maybe that's why he had put all of his efforts and dedication in Operação Prato [Operation Saucer], which was where he found a sense for his life. If he couldn't succeed as an aviator and if he rejected the idea of being an intending officer, then the intelligence suited him well. Working for the intelligence for me is an agreeable experience, at least partially. Things were tough those times. I worked a lot with pure military intelligence, with strategy. But I was never much concerned with communists for example [the first official justification for Operação Prato [Operation Saucer] was that it was conceived in order to identify communists possibly hidden in the Amazon jungle].

UFO – Hollanda suspected that the contact he had with an ET at the margin of Rio Guajará-Mirim during December 1977 was the turning point for the termination of Operação Prato [Operation Saucer]. He said he was ordered to terminate the operation after reporting it to his superior, Brigadier Protásio Lopes de Oliveira, then commander of the Brazilian I Regional Air Command (COMAR 1). Did you know that?

Pereira – Partly. I didn't have that detail.

UFO – Many people do not believe he killed himself. He would have been murdered instead for having supposedly talked too much. This is not true. However, if our issue where the first part of the interview – UFO 054, October 1997 – was earlier released and if he had seen the respect Equipe UFO [Brazilian UFO Magazine Team]rendered him then maybe by feeling honored and seeing the huge contribution he gave to Brazilian Ufology he would not have taken his own life...

Pereira – Yes, maybe. But he had a very lonely life and that is something very sad. That's why in military life the sector which mostly unites people is the intelligence. Those who lived this experience suffer when they leave the circle. It's somewhat like in a combat situation: when bullets are crossing by no one thinks about the homeland. Everybody is thinking about their own lives and the lives of those around them, the ones who can save their lives. When Hollanda retired he was completely isolated from everyone and everything. This can really affect someone.

UFO – Hollanda was very close to the UFO phenomenon, especially from the middle to the end of Operação Prato [Operation Saucer], until he had that contact with an ET and the mission was terminated. But this did not prevent him from his own investigations which he carried out during his spare time. He even had other contacts until the phenomena around him suddenly stopped. This seems to have affected him a lot. Did you know that?

Pereira – No, I didn't. But once I was talking about Hollanda to a psychologist and she told me he presented the profile of someone who had faced something very serious in some moment of life. An event so serious that could isolate him, let's say, from his fellows [in a regretting tone].

UFO – Do you consider that the experience he had with Operação Prato [Operation Saucer] could have contributed to his state of mind?

Pereira – Yes, no doubt about that, it was a catalysis factor, a very strong experience.

UFO – During that time, were the results Operação Prato [Operation Saucer] commented on in military circles?

Pereira – Yes. Not with great emphasis, but everybody knew what was happening.

UFO – And how about the contact Hollanda had with an ET, in December 1977. Was this also known to military?

Pereira – Only a few people knew about that. I knew about it much later, not at the moment that occurred. Brigadier Protásio was the one who talked to me about that fact. At the time it occurred I was already more senior than Hollanda in the Air Force and I only knew about that specific episode, the contact itself, when I was to be promoted a Brigadier. But, regarding Operação Prato [Operation Saucer], I was made aware as soon as I started working in the intelligence, when I was still a Colonel. I was a planning director at the Air Force and all files were at my disposal.         

UFO – Have you had access to the documents prepared during Operação Prato [Operation Saucer]?

Pereira – Yes, all of them. But this happened when I was the planning director for the Air Force, in the early 90s.

UFO – And where were those files? Brasilia?

Pereira – Yes, Brasilia. Those files were all collected and some were sent to the SNI [Brazilian National Information Service, a body that originated the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (ABIN)]. But only part of them. I would see them again only several years later when I was in a different position at the Air Force.

UFO – So you had the operation files at your disposal. The information we had came to us through Hollanda and could not be satisfactorily confirmed is that he and his subordinates produced at least 2.000 pages of sighting reports which were typed by sergeant Flavio Costa, a kind of secretary in the mission, besides 500 pictures and 16 hours of footage and super 16mm. Do you confirm that?

Pereira – Ah, yes, that must be this. Those footages were the best thing we had at the time.

UFO – When the Brazilian Committee of Ufologists (CBU) was at Comdabra we could see part of those pages and pictures. We saw more than a hundred of them contained in a folder. Where is the rest of the materials?

Pereira – Well, Comdabra is the acronym for Brazilian Airspace Defense Command, which deals with air matters. At a certain moment, those files were distributed to different bodies according to their interests [performance scope]. Those which were sent to Comdabra are those directly related to the Air Defense System and involve radars spotting objects, jets following something, etc. Other kinds of operations which had nothing to do with the country's Air Defense remain at the old SNI, currently the ABIN.

UFO – Have you seen the footages of a huge amazing spacecraft over Rio Amazonas made during Operação Prato [Operation Saucer]?

Pereira – No, I haven't had the chance. But I know they do exist.

UFO – But where are these footages?

Pereira – Comdabra has what was already shown to ufologists. And the Air Force Intelligence System, also based in Brasília, also has some materials.

UFO – Besides those pictures from Operação Prato [Operation Saucer] did you see any images obtained in other missions or generated by any other means?

Pereira – No, what I saw were only the pictures of Operação Prato [Operation Saucer]. Some of them were made public a little later. There were no other missions. Operação Prato [Operation Saucer] was the only one.
 
UFO – Regarding the Brazilian Committee of Ufologists (CBU) visit to Comdabra, Brigadier Atheneu Azambuja - then commander of that body-, reported that it was common to have Air Force jets taking off to identify “radar targets” being “hotel traffic” among them. We know that those words were used to describe several things including flying saucers. How many of these interceptions occurred every year in Brazil and what are the outcomes?

Pereira – Many. I remember one at moment. This is all automated, procedures are automated. This fact occurred in Anapolis (GO) a few years ago. There was a radar contact with “something” and the Air Defense determined a Mirage to take off from the air field of that town. The unidentified object was very close, it wasn't very far, almost in Goiania area. The radar could not determine the altitude, but only the position it was. The Mirage went up towards it as high as possible and reached 48 thousand feet [nearly 16km], which is its maximum altitude of operation and had to abort the search. The pilot said: “I reached 48 thousand feet and can't see anything. The radar says it's in front of me, but I don't see anything”.

UFO – The ground radar spotted a dot in that position. How about the Mirage's radar?

Pereira – Yes. The jet's radar informed the altitude it was, but it couldn't tell the altitude of the other contact which appeared in both radars. So it's very hard when you don't know where the target is. It could be at any altitude from 1000m on. I remember that episode very well. The pilot had visual contact with the object, a lightening spot at noon, at broad day light.

UFO – Was that a large object?

Pereira – Well, it was a bright spot whose size was impossible to tell because it would involve parallax. You cannot tell the size of something when you don't know the distance it is from you. The pilot says it was far away. “I see something here, but it is far, very far”, he said. And he was already at the maximum altitude of 48 thousand feet. A Mirage can reach 50 thousand feet, but that would be dangerous. I remember that taking off very well.

UFO – Brigadier, how many of these cases happen every year and what are the outcomes?

Pereira – I remember three or four like these. I don't know about the annual average [laconic], but it can be two or three each year. There's another thing, do you have information on any case involving the Brazilian Navy in Rio Amazonas?

UFO – In Rio Amazonas all we have are cases involving civilian ships. As for the Navy, we have one case occurred in Rio Paraguay, 1962, involving a ship captained by the late Captain Joao Maria Romariz. That ship was followed by a UFO near Forte Coimbra, a territory that now is part the State of Mato Grosso do Sul. This case is reported in the book UFOs: Arquivo Confidencial. Do you know of any specific case occurred in Rio Amazonas?

Pereira – Yes, and this case was “sealed” in the Navy, it was never disclosed. I had the information that one of those old corvettes, which sail very well, was involved in a sighting. That kind of ship could go to very far frontiers. A corvette like that was travelling at night when approached by a UFO that came very close. Things went mad, they say. The situation got very complicated for the captain of the ship because panic took over the crew in a very remote area. In that kind of place, the nearest Indian is a thousand kilometers away...

Source: A. J. Gevaerd/UFO magazine Brazil
http://www.ufo.com.br/

The biggest squid ever caught, at up to 10 metres long and boasting a fearsome beak and razor-sharp hooks, may be small compared to others still lurking in the depths, scientists said Tuesday.

The colossal squid has begun a two-day thaw at The Museum of New Zealand in Wellington before it is examined in more detail Wednesday by an international team of scientists.

It weighs 495 kilograms (1,090 pounds), has eyes the size of dinner plates and is estimated at up to 10 metres (33 feet) long.

But that may be relatively small, scientists say after initial examination, suggesting other colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) under the chilly Antarctic waters might grow much larger.

On a museum blog following the progress of the thaw, Chris Paulin -- who is projects manager at the museum, known as Te Papa Tongarewa, said Tuesday that the beak of the colossal squid has been exposed as the flesh defrosts.

The size of the lower beak -- used to chop prey into bite sized pieces -- is around 43 to 45 millimetres.

Colossal squid lower beaks previously found in the stomachs of sperm whales have been as long as 49 millimetres.

Extrapolating the relationship between the length of the beak and body size from another smaller specimen being examined suggests the species could grow much bigger, Paulin said.

"Can we assume that this species reaches three quarters of a tonne in weight?" he asked.

One of the scientists leading the examination, Auckland University of Technology squid expert Steve O'Shea, said it was difficult to say how much bigger the monster squid could grow.

"What we know from that one measurement is that the beak of this animal from the stomachs of sperm whales are considerably larger," O'Shea told Radio New Zealand.

"We make the leap to say the colossal squid grows considerably larger than the 495 kilogram one we are currently defrosting."

O'Shea has previously described the colossal squid, which has razor-sharp swivelling hooks at the end of its tentacles, as "a nasty aggressive sort of squid... a gelatinous blob with seriously evil arms on it."

If the new specimen was cut into squid rings, they would be size of tractor tyres, although they would taste like ammonia.

The colossal squid was caught as it ate an Antarctic toothfish hooked on a fishing boat's long line in Antarctic waters in February last year.

After being snap frozen, it was given to the museum, which has since been deciding the best way to defrost, examine and display it.

Suggestions such as using a giant microwave to unfreeze it were discarded, and on Monday the squid was placed in a tank filled with cold salty water to ensure it defrosts slowly without decomposing.

The squid is so large that there was a risk the outside flesh would start to rot before the inside had thawed.

Defrosting is due to finish Wednesday when scientists will learn as much as they can before the squid is preserved in formalin to go on show in a massive tank at the museum later this year.

The progress of the thawing is being shown live by webcams on the museum's website www.tepapa.govt.nz.

Source: Yahoo News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080429/ts_afp/nzealandanimalssquid;_ylt=
AqEgfshOLeKg533h_OxIQ3R34T0D

Parallel universes really do exist, according to a mathematical discovery by Oxford scientists that sweeps away one of the key objections to the mind boggling and controversial idea.
    
The work has wider implications since the idea of parallel universes sidesteps one of the key problems with time travel. Every since it was given serious lab cred in 1949 by the great logician Kurt Godel, many eminent physicists have argued against time travel because it undermines ideas of cause and effect to create paradoxes: a time traveller could go back to kill his grandfather so that he is never born in the first place.

But the existence of parallel worlds offers a way around these troublesome paradoxes, according to David Deutsch of Oxford University, a highly respected proponent of quantum theory, the deeply mathematical, successful and baffling theory of the atomic world.

He argues that time travel shifts between different branches of reality, basing his claim on parallel universes, the so-called "many-worlds" formulation of quantum theory.

The new work bolsters his claim that quantum theory does not forbid time travel. "It does sidestep it. You go into another universe," he said yesterday, though he admits that there is still a way to go to find schemes to manipulate space and time in a way that makes time hops possible.

"Many sci fi authors suggested time travel paradoxes would be solved by parallel universes but in my work, that conclusion is deduced from quantum theory itself", Dr Deutsch said, referring to his work on many worlds.

The mathematical idea of parallel worlds was first glimpsed by the great quantum pioneer, Erwin Schrodinger, but actually published in 1957 by Hugh Everett III, when wrestling with the problem of what actually happens when an observation is made of something of interest - such as an electron or an atom - with the intention of measuring its position or its speed.

In the traditional brand of quantum mechanics, a mathematical object called a wave function, which contains all possible outcomes of a measurement experiment, "collapses" to give a single real outcome.

Everett came up with a more audacious interpretation: the universe is constantly and infinitely splitting, so that no collapse takes place. Every possible outcome of an experimental measurement occurs, each one in a parallel universe.

If one accepts Everett's interpretation, our universe is embedded in an infinitely larger and more complex structure called the multiverse, which as a good approximation can be regarded as an ever-multiplying mass of parallel universes.

Every time there is an event at the quantum level - a radioactive atom decaying, for example, or a particle of light impinging on your retina - the universe is supposed to "split" into different universes.

A motorist who has a near miss, for instance, might feel relieved at his lucky escape. But in a parallel universe, another version of the same driver will have been killed. Yet another universe will see the motorist recover after treatment in hospital. The number of alternative scenarios is endless.

In this way, the "many worlds" interpretation of quantum mechanics allows a time traveller to alter the past without producing problems such as the notorious grandfather paradox.

But the "many worlds" idea has been attacked, with one theoretician joking that it is "cheap on assumptions but expensive on universes" and others that it is "repugnant to common sense."

Now new research confirms Prof Deutsch's ideas and suggests that Dr Everett, who was a Phd student at Princeton University when he came up with the theory, was on the right track.

Commenting in New Scientist magazine, Prof Andy Albrecht, a physicist at the University of California, Davis, said of the link between probability and many worlds: "This work will go down as one of the most important developments in the history of science."

Quantum mechanics describes the strange things that happen in the subatomic world - such as the way photons and electrons behave both as particles and waves. By one interpretation, nothing at the subatomic scale can really be said to exist until it is observed.

Until then, particles occupy nebulous "superposition" states, in which they can have simultaneous "up" and "down" spins, or appear to be in different places at the same time.

According to quantum mechanics, unobserved particles are described by "wave functions" representing a set of multiple "probable" states. When an observer makes a measurement, the particle then settles down into one of these multiple options.

But the many worlds idea offers an alternative view. Dr Deutsch showed mathematically that the bush-like branching structure created by the universe splitting into parallel versions of itself can explain the probabilistic nature of quantum outcomes. This work was attacked but it has now had rigorous confirmation by David Wallace and Simon Saunders, also at Oxford.

Dr Saunders, who presented the work with Wallace at the Many Worlds at 50 conference at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Canada, told New Scientist: "We've cleared up the obscurities and come up with a pretty clear verdict that Everett works. It's a dramatic turnaround and it means that people now have to discuss Everett seriously."

Dr Deutsch added that the work addresses a three-century-old problem with the idea of probability itself, described by one philosopher, Prof David Papineau, as a scandal. "We didn't really know what probability means," said Dr Deutsch.

There's a convention that it's rational to treat it for most purposes as if we knew it was going to happen even though we actually know it need not. But this does not capture the reality, not least the 0.1 per cent chance something will not happen.

"So," said Dr Deutsch, "the problems of probability, which were until recently considered the principal objection to the otherwise extremely elegant theory of Everett (which removes every element of mysticism and double-talk that have crept into quantum theory over the decades) have now turned into its principal selling point."

Source: The Telegraph (UK)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/09/21/sciuni121.
xml&CMP=ILC-mostviewedbox

Synchromysticism is an emerging field of study and subculture existing on the fringe of areas already considered fringe – primarily mysticism and Jungian psychology. The word was coined by Jake Kotze in August of 2006 for an article posted on his website Brave New World Order, who defined it as: "The art of realizing meaningful coincidence in the seemingly mundane with mystical or esoteric significance." As Kotze recalled in an email:

"I needed something to explain a way of investigating subjects with synchronicities and the word seemed to fit... My biggest inspiration for this kind of thinking and investigating came from Goro Adachi at Etemenanki. Goro calls his research multi-contextual."

The synchromysticism research Jake Kotze publishes on his websites include information-dense videos, artwork and articles punctuated by images illustrating various mystic/pop culture linkages. His articles and videos usually focus on esoteric symbols or memes (possibly stemming from a collective unconscious mind) reoccurring throughout a wide range of sources, especially mass media. Such symbols include numbers, words, archetypes, shapes and various visual motifs or patterns such as portals and checkerboards. The total effect is a mind-blowing labyrinthine reality mash-up linked by a type of dream logic. Kotze described his approach towards synchronicities in an October 20, 2006 post on Brave New World Order:

"My idea about the significance of meaningful coincidences in movies with mystical connotation is not that it points towards real truths, but that they point towards possible realities that might emerge from the collective psyche into consensus reality. We vie and jostle for acceptable limits of consensus reality through our art and philosophy. Our ideas and concepts about reality are the very fabric of reality itself. We try to sell each other beliefs in a creative effort to allow new ‘things’ to emerge into the accepted matrix of the now. I don't fundamentally fret about what ‘is’ real; I care about checking the zeitgeists' temperature in order to project future possibilities of acceptable norms and find hidden pockets of knowledge embedded in the pattern of 'AUM'."

Recurring themes Kotze has been tracking include "stargate" symbols and imagery that was most powerfully expressed in the events of 9/11. He argues that in the language of esoteric symbolism the Twin Towers are analogous to Solomon's Temple, Mecca and the pyramids of Egypt – structures intended to be, in a sense, vortexes to higher dimensions. Kotze has linked imagery from an astounding amount and variety of pop culture sources, including cartoons, mainstream Hollywood films, cult classics, posters, websites and even videogames of the stargate concept.

Interestingly, Jake's research sometimes finds specific individuals, who he calls resonators, associated with certain reoccurring esoteric symbols and patterns. An example would be his observation of synchronistic connections between actor Hugh Jackman and the stargate motifs. This line of thought sounds preposterous on the surface, but Kotze often provides a surprisingly large and detailed collection of evidence to explain the rationale for his conclusions. Using an expansive knowledge of esoteric symbolism and example after example of sometimes striking data and imagery, it's enough to make even a hardened cynic raise an eyebrow.

To skeptics, such synchronistic patterns involving pop culture celebrities might seem uncomfortably close to fixation or clinical obsession (e.g., Hinckley's obsession with Jodie Foster, or Chapman's with John Lennon). Though it's common for most people who regularly experience synchronicities to become obsessed by the idea of synchronicity, Kotze is less concerned with celebrities than the symbols or archetypes they might represent. He has no interest in deifying or meeting any of the individuals associated with synchronistic patterns, and he communicates in a lucid and well-referenced manner why he believes the connections exist, with no illusion that the people involved are consciously aware of it. As Kotze explained in a March 20, 2008 post on his The Blob website, regarding the Hugh Jackman-Stargate connection:

"This suggests, in my view, a non-local intelligence guiding the affairs of the universe rather than conscious tomfoolery on the part of a human agencies such as conspiring Hollywood magickians. The embedding of symbolism is too well orchestrated, subtle and concise. The noisy plotting and scheming of the human mind doesn't directly create the phenomena charted by synchromysticism. The patterns found emanate from the same force that organizes uncountable numbers of snowflakes into unique (all being appreciably different) but certainly not individual (all comprising six way geometry) forms. The same force that animates this very moment you read this sentence, the moment of present awareness that is inseparable from who you are."

Jake Kotze's work got a boost in exposure after Henrik Palmgren's Red Ice Creations site began featuring articles and videos from Brave New World Order. Henrik also recorded a series of podcast interviews with Jake throughout 2007. In addition, Kotze was the guest for the premiere edition of the “Occult of Personality” podcast in October of 2006 and was interviewed on Kent Bentkowski's “The Kentroversy Tapes” podcast in October of 2007.

Ben Fairhall, creator of the Battling the Behemoth website, was an early supporter of the idea of synchromysticism; Fairhall’s blog was quickly followed by Todd Campbell's Peering Through the Looking Glass. Over a brief period of time, a rapidly increasing number of websites have adopted the word and supported the principles of synchromysticism. Though the online synchromystic community is a recent phenomenon, the fundamental concepts that synchromysticism draws upon have connections to mystic traditions as old as shamanism. Seeing esoteric and mystical significance in the seemingly mundane is characteristic of varied metaphysical philosophies around the world such as Hermeticism, Taoism, Sufism, Kabbalah and teachings of the Pythagorean mystery schools.

In the modern age, ideas behind synchromysticism have influenced in varying degrees works of pioneers as diverse as Helena P. Blavatsky, William S. Burroughs, Aleister Crowley, James Joyce, Carl Jung, Stanley Kubrick, Timothy Leary, John Lilly, Terence McKenna, and Grant Morrison – most of whom have been referenced in Kotze's research. A feature that makes synchromysticism unique from other forms of synchronicity is its focus on esoteric mystical symbolism and the use of communications technology to document, share and compare synchronicities related to such symbols from ancient traditions throughout the mass media landscape. Besides its obvious connection to media, Jungian psychology and the occult, from what I've gathered through articles, interviews, videos and other sources related to synchromysticism, the field also has strong associations with the psychedelic experience and conspiracy theory.

A relatively well-known example of proto-synchromystic writing is James Shelby Downard's essay on the Kennedy assassination, "King-Kill 33" (popularized by the Marilyn Manson song of the same name). In it, he collects a vast array of symbolic clues and associations that leads him to speculate that Kennedy's assassination was part of a Masonic ritual. Masonic aspects of synchromystic symbology have also been the subject of lectures and articles by Jordan Maxwell, Richard C. Hoagland and Jay Weidner. Kotze has made references to all of these writers and they likely influenced his thoughts on synchronicity. In his interview on "The Kentroversy Tapes" podcast, Jake specifically cites Robert Anton Wilson as one of his primary sources of synchromystic inspiration, which shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone familiar with Wilson's writings. In much of his work, most notably Cosmic Trigger: The Final Secret of the Illuminati, Wilson wrote extensively on the subjects of synchronicity, conspiracy, psychedelics and magick.

Synchronistically, in Cosmic Trigger Wilson relates how shortly after he published Illuminatus in 1975, William Grimstad (a.k.a. Jim Brandon) corresponded with him to share channeled information from people allegedly contacted by extraterrestrial intelligences. The information corresponded in detail to esoteric topics Wilson and Timothy Leary had been confidentially discussing at the time. Later, Grimstad sent Wilson a tape called "Sirius Rising" that he and close friend and collaborator James Shelby Downard recorded that contained some of the same information featured in Downard's "King-Kill 33" essay. Wilson called the Grimstad-Downard theory "…the most absurd, the most incredible, the most ridiculous Illuminati theory of them all." But he added, "The only trouble is that, after the weird data we have already surveyed, the Grimstad-Downard theory may not sound totally unbelievable to us."

In the same book Wilson disclosed his distant link to Lee Harvey Oswald (Oswald's ex-wife lived with the sister of Wilson's family doctor). Wilson was also a friend of Kerry Thornley (co-founder of Discordianism, the only religion Wilson embraced) who befriended Oswald when they served together in the marines. Their mutual friend Greg Hill (a.k.a. Malaclypse the Younger, the other co-founder of Discordianism) had a girlfriend who served as district attorney Jim Garrison's secretary in the summer of 1963. She used his Xerox machine after-hours to print the earliest Discordian text, "Principia Discordia or How the West Was Lost". In the fall of 1966 Garrison began his investigation into the JFK assassination, later dramatized in the Oliver Stone film JFK (1991) which itself has been a subject of synchromystic analysis by Dean Grace.

The connection between Kerry Thornley, Lee Harvey Oswald and Jim Garrison was further documented by countercultural and Fortean historian Adam Gorightly in his book The Prankster and the Conspiracy.  Though it was briefly mentioned in Cosmic Trigger, Gorightly's book covered in greater detail a falling out between Kerry Thornley and Robert Anton Wilson due to a disagreement in the interpretation of coincidences surrounding Kerry's connection to the JFK assassination and Kerry's increasing sense of paranoia. Kerry began to suspect the coincidences were an intentional manipulation possibly involving the CIA, Mafia and/or Naval Intelligence, and even went so far as to accuse close friends of being a part of a plot. Wilson remained agnostic on his views on the causes of those and other coincidences but entertained ideas ranging from subjective perception, the collective unconscious, parapsychology, quantum physics and a holographic universe. This open-ended view of synchronicity is more in alignment with the synchromystic view, while Kerry's approach (minus delusional paranoia) is closer to those of relatively conventional conspiracy researchers such as Alex Constantine, John Judge, Michael C. Ruppert, and Webster Griffin Tarpley.

For synchromystics such as Kotze, the causes of synchronicities are not as important as their possible meaning (though he has considered theories similar to Wilson's, such as communication from a conscious universe and the notion that we may be unconsciously drawn to certain symbols due to genetic memory embedded in our DNA). Similar to ongoing arguments about whether the origins of crop circles are man-made or cosmic, their existence and questions about what they might possibly mean are what's truly fascinating to those who study them closely. Not surprisingly, Kotze is also interested in crop circles because he has found that some share the same reoccurring esoteric symbols as ones found in his own research. In the summer of 2007, he investigated crop circles up close while visiting friends in the UK, including fellow synchromystic Ben Fairhall.

One of the many writers, bloggers and artists connected to the growing online synchromystic community is Peter Joseph, whose film Zeitgeist (2007) (which used material from Jordan Maxwell) became an Internet sensation. Other prominent personalities within this group include Adam Star, Afferismoon, Christopher Knowles, Jeff Wells, and Steve Willner. Andras Jones is the creator and host of “Radio 8 Ball”, a cross between a music program and talk show in which callers ask questions for which Jones interprets a synchronistic response using a random shuffle mode on a CD player. Though his analysis leans more towards the psychological than the esoteric, some of his interpretations of symbols contained in lyrics delve into synchromysticism. In March of 2008, Henrik Lemon, a DJ from Sweden put The Synchromystic Forum online which expanded and solidified the community and accelerated the exchange of pertinent ideas.

As an indication of the growing popularity of the synchronicity meme, in 2007 there was a Hollywood take on it called The Number 23. The film tackled the subject in a relatively unimaginative, simplistic, unsubtle and moralistic manner typical of the average contemporary Hollywood product, however the filmmakers seem to be connected to synchromystic patterns Jake Kotze has written about. The protagonist is played by Jim Carrey who, according to Kotze, is a resonator for the Green Man archetype. The director Joel Schumacher is a co-writer for the screenplay of The Wiz (1978), a film linked to a pattern Kotze calls "The 911 Stargate". The film's cinematographer, Matthew Libatique also worked on Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain (2006), which was featured in a December 7, 2006 post on the Brave New World Order site. Libatique first collaborated with Aronofsky for the movie Pi (1998), a much better film about a man obsessed by the mystical significance of numbers and how they fit into synchronistic patterns.

Two other films with a more sophisticated view of synchronicity are Richard Linklater's Waking Life (2001) (which also covered a number of related philosophical and metaphysical issues), and Laurent Firode's Happenstance (2000), starring Audrey Tautou, who is better known as the protagonist of Amelie (2001). Happenstance and Amelie share in common a theme of synchronicity as a potentially beneficial karmic force. In contrast to The Number 23, which depicted the phenomenon as a source of fear and paranoia, these films (and, sometimes, actual experience) show how if used with intuition, synchronicities can guide one towards happiness and fulfillment.

Some conspiracy researchers have a cynical view towards synchromysticism because they consider it too "new-agey" – a diversion or escape from more important issues. Such arguments may be missing the point because synchromysticism is not a substitute for para-political investigation, but rather a fascinating aspect of it. The objective of such research is to seek the truth no matter where it leads. If one discovers obvious, conspicuous synchronistic patterns, those facts shouldn't be ignored or dismissed simply because they have no standard rational explanations. Synchromysticism doesn't necessarily rule out the possibility of manipulations by secret societies or criminal elites, but it offers a glimmer of hope because it implies that even conspirators themselves might not have complete understanding of, and control over, situations or their outcomes. It can be beautiful and comforting to realize the universe might be conscious, as opposed to a lifeless mechanistic construct, at a time when the reductive materialist paradigm seems to be leading us into a dead end.

A more common critique of synchromysticism is that anyone can connect anything to anything, making it meaningless. From a synchromystic point of view, this could be a supporting argument, because they view synchronicities as being ever-present and able to be seen by anyone, not just experts. Synchromysticism can be viewed as a new art form that encourages creation of meaning and associations with the entirety of one's reality. In a sense, it's no surprise that synchromysticism has links to conspiracy theory, psychedelics and occult traditions because all three are methods to deprogram oneself from cultural conditioning, a means to connect a diverse range of information and ideas, as well as a way to see the world from a more open perspective. It's an alchemical technique to create meaning out of the chaos of current events and seemingly vapid commercial detritus that bombards us on a daily basis, and to add new layers of meaning to more enduring and celebrated works of art.

Whether one believes in the occult aspect of synchromysticism or not, it's a fascinating new field from a psychological, philosophical, aesthetic, anthropological, and/or quantum point of view. Synchromysticism reinforces the interconnectivity of everyone and everything, and empowers us to reinterpret social reality to in a sense "decode" the universe and ourselves. Using synchromysticism as a new language or tool can help us forecast and respond to trends developing in the collective unconscious, noosphere, morphogenetic field etc. – to reclaim culture and steer it in a more positive direction or, at the very least, provide a fun and interesting new application for mass media. We can't create a better world if we can't control the way we perceive the world, or stretch our imagination to envision something better. New art forms such as Kotze's, which are independent, democratized, relevant and visionary, can effect change by enabling us to co-create new maps of reality, an essential precursor to conscious evolution.

Source: Reality Sandwich
http://realitysandwich.com/the_cryptic_cosmology_synchromysticism

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Few people could be blamed for regarding our world as increasingly insecure. From terrorist attacks to muggings, many people feel more vulnerable than ever before.

However, one Inverness man believes we all have a vital weapon with which to defend ourselves against such threats. Our intuition.

Martial artist, professional trainer and professional psychic Jock Brocas has drawn together elements from his background in the martial arts, the armed forces and security industry along with what he regards as his own psychic abilities to create a defence mechanism based on awareness which forms the basis of his first book, "Powers of the Sixth Sense".

The book appears to have struck a chord with the American public and went into a second printing in its first week of publication and has also been praised by readers such as former Ministry of Defence UFO specialist Nick Pope, martial arts practitioners and is endorsed by a scientist involved in the CIA's experiments in ESP, Project Stargate.

Other countries have also expressed interest in publishing the book and a major US television network — which Jock says he cannot reveal at the moment — has also been in talks about using the book as the basis of a series.

However, Jock, who lives in Inverness with his wife Joanne, insists financial success was not his main motivation in writing it.

"If people get in touch with their feelings it can keep them safe from violence," Jock said.

"The book's out there to help people and if it changes one person's life, it's done its job. Our world is a hostile place."

"You just have to look at the local and national news. Recently in Inverness we've had a violent death, we've had the London terror attacks and the attack at Glasgow airport. But we have got to realise we have an original weapon within us and that's intuition."

It is a weapon those in the frontline of the "War on Terror" seem to be already utilising, Jock believes.

"I did a radio show for the armed forces and had contact from soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq," he said.

"One guy had this intuition about going into a particular building. He changed his route and discovered that if he had gone into that building, he would have been taken out, along with the rest of his patrol because an ambush had been set up."

This was only one of the many radio and television stations which have shown an interest in the book and Jock and Joanne have found themselves giving interviews at 3am or 4am to stations across North America or elsewhere in the world.

One of the examples Jock cites in his book is of a British doctor who felt something wrong about his forthcoming holiday to Asia, cancelled at the last minute and so avoided becoming a victim of the 2003 tsunami, but use of self-protective intuition need not involve such dramatic circumstances.

"It can be something as simple as the hairs sticking up on the back of your neck when you go into a club," he added.

"It's a natural inbuilt ability that we all have."

The book also brings together various aspects of his own life including his long-standing interest in martial arts, his career in the army and security industry and what he maintains are his own and his wife's psychic abilities.

"I've always been a spiritual person," said Jock. "I was brought up a Roman Catholic and I wanted to be a priest when I was younger. My uncle was a monk and I used to go to the monastery all the time. In the monastery I saw a priest and tried to shout to him, but he ignored me and when I complained the next day, the monks told me he had died years before."

Alongside this experiences ran Jock's fascination with martial arts. He studied judo, Taekwon-Do and Shotokan karate, but his main interest was in Ninjutsu, the martial art of feudal Japan's own equivalent of the special forces, the Ninjas.

However, he kept his involvement secret, telling his family that he was going to mass on Sunday when he was actually going to martial arts training.

"In fact, it was only two years ago at our wedding that my mother found out I was a black belt," Jock claimed.

At the age of 16, Jock joined the army as a boy soldier and went on to become a combat medic and served with various units, including the Gurkhas and Paras, before an injury sustained on a march through the Brecon Beacons in Wales led to Jock receiving a medical discharge. However, he was able to call on his military background for a career as a bodyguard in the security industry, thanks in the main to a posting to a royal residence.

"I worked with the Queen Mother's Special Branch protection team and that fed what I wanted to do," he explained.

After training with former members of the SAS, he became involved in personal protection work, specialising in surveillance and counter-surveillance, and working internationally, mainly in the oil industry.

"One moment I could be working for a synagogue in Glasgow, the next month I could be working for Middle Eastern clients — though I never told one lot I was working for the other one," he laughed.

Jock also says that his security work led to frightening undercover encounters with paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland when his intuition saved his life and that he was part of a team which went to Los Angeles to train police there in firearms and close combat techniques.

It was when he returned to Scotland to live in Aberdeenshire, that Jock met wife Joanne on a psychic development course. "Of course, I was her best student," Jock added, claiming the course has helped him make sense of his psychic abilities and he and Joanne now work together as mediums. This has included being called in as consultants in poltergiest cases, though Joanne has also used the controversial complementary therapy Reiki to treat depression and other conditions.

Jock knows there are many who would scoff at the couple's psychic claims, but he is not the sort of person to back away from confrontation.

"I have taken on sceptics on air. I've got a bit of a reputation as being the Gordon Ramsay of mediumship," he laughed.

Nor is he worried about subjecting his claimed powers to scientific examination.

"I believe what we do has a basis in science and we should be able to prove it," he said.

"I don't mind taking sceptics on. It's a challenge and I enjoy a challenge. I also take on other psychics. There are a lot of cowboys out there who are just out to rip people off. When we are called to hauntings, we never charge a penny."

Since Jock wrote his book, while recovering from the effects of a serious car accident, the couple have both become authors. Joanne has her own book, "Feel the Vibes", scheduled for publication in September. Focusing on psychic and spiritual development, it includes a number of stories and Joanne's own experiences from the Highlands.

The couple have plans to co-author a book, but before that happens both have their second books to produce and in Jock's case, that involves engaging in some "DaVinci Code" like contentious religious territory.

"My next book is called 'Powers of the Soul'," Jock said. "It's about Jesus and challenging the Church's view that Jesus was the saviour and devine. I believe he was probably the most powerful medium and healer and I've gone through the books of the Bible to prove mediumship existed in that day. I believe it's going to be very controversial — and so do my publishers."

Source: The Inverness Courier (UK)
http://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/5912/
Tapping_in_to_sixth_sense_to_avoid_danger.html

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The last time I 'died' was in Jerusalem in 1276. Pope Gregory X's Crusade against Islam had collapsed and the city's Christians would soon be abandoned to their fate.

My final hours were filled with fear. I was besieged in a beautiful vaulted church along with 100 knights. Smoky candlelight glinted off their armour. Some knights were praying, others resting.

As dawn broke, they readied themselves for the final conflict with an implacable foe. Even the most devout were terrified. All knew that only a handful would survive the coming day.

I watched their preparations for battle. The sharpening of swords and lances. The reinforcing of shields and armour.

But most of all, I prepared for my own death. As a monk in a city of Muslims, my chances of surviving the coming assault were slim. Soon after the knights left the church, I retreated to a small side-chapel to pray. I was desperate for forgiveness.

I had travelled from a monastery in Kent to the Holy Land so that I could kill Muslims.

Although I still hated Islam, I found it hard to love my own side. The decadence and corruption of the Crusaders had sickened me. I wanted to be left alone to live in peace, but it was too late.

With no knights left to protect me, the rampaging enemy had set fire to the chapel. I watched as the flames roared up the sides of the building.

Soon I too was on fire and burning like a Roman candle. I didn't feel any pain - I knew I was going to die and that my Lord would make it swift.

Out of the blackness I could see a burning white light. A calm voice asked me what I had learned from my life and whether there was any knowledge I wished to carry to the next.

It was the voice of David Wells - a past-life regression therapist who had put me in a trance and guided me to my 'past incarnation'.

To many, the idea of reincarnation will seem like bunkum. But strange as it may seem, it is garnering a surprising degree of respectable scientific support.

Today, London hosts an international conference on the subject in memory of the late Dr Ian Stevenson, an American scientist who spent decades studying the phenomenon.

Dr Stevenson amassed an astonishing amount of evidence for reincarnation. He tracked down more than 3,000 children who claimed to have experienced a 'previous life'.

Many were able to give precise details, such as their former names and the manner of their deaths. They could even recall the names of friends and family, many of whom Dr Stevenson was able to track down through birth records. Others knew intimate details known only to the deceased's family.

Such findings have led respected academics to startling conclusions. 'Reincarnation is the most likely explanation for the strongest cases,' says Dr Jim Tucker, medical director of the Child and Family Psychiatric Clinic at the University of Virginia in the U.S.

'The evidence points to a "carry over" of memories and emotions from one life to another. That could be termed reincarnation.'

Reincarnation is highly controversial - not just among scientists, but between different religions too. Broadly speaking, Christians, Muslims and Jews do not believe in it, while Hindus and Buddhists do.

To most in the West, it is still seen as little more than the product of a far-fetched imagination. But given the growing interest of the scientific community, I decided to investigate whether there could be more to it.

I volunteered to undergo what's known as 'past-life regression therapy'. Practitioners of this discipline claim we have all lived before and that we can be taught to remember our former incarnations.

It sounded utterly preposterous. Yet I must admit to a certain uneasiness, also. What if I were to remember that I had been a murderer or a rapist in a former life? Or, Heaven forbid, one of Hitler or Stalin's henchmen?

Whatever the truth behind it, past-life regression is not without risks. The psychological shock of 'recovering a memory' from a former life can overwhelm some. Others feel guilty about misdeeds 'they' perpetrated.

I took comfort from the fact that David Wells, one of Britain's most experienced practitioners and author of Past, Present And Future: What Your Past Lives Tell You About Yourself, had agreed to be my guide.

I was led into a darkened room and coaxed into relaxing on a big, soft chair surrounded by burning incense and scented candles.

David asked me to imagine myself floating above my house. I mentally drifted off into space and turned back to face our beautiful planet.

Slowly the Earth appeared to stop turning and began to reverse direction. This symbolised flying backwards through time.

In my hypnotic state, I pictured myself returning to Earth at the time of my former life - just in time to re-live my death in that church in 13th-century Jerusalem.

My regression experience was perplexing, to say the least. I felt as if I were living in two worlds at once. I was aware of my current life, but the world of Jerusalem in 1276 was equally real.

I could feel the clothes I was wearing and the sandals on my feet. I saw my surroundings in vivid detail, right down to the moonlight streaming through church windows and the fear etched on the knights' faces.

It felt more powerful and spontaneous than a memory, more realistic than a dream, but not as solid as the waking world.

As I stayed in my trance, David started asking me questions about my past life, and things became even stranger. It felt as if someone else was replying.

The answers I gave were so spontaneous and specific that it certainly didn't feel like I was dreaming them up on the spot, or trawling through memories of films set during the Crusades.

Was I merely describing scenes from my imagination or from facts I had gleaned during my real life?

Professor Chris French, a psychologist at Goldsmiths, University of London, thinks it was a combination of the two. He is deeply sceptical about past-life encounters, and says: 'Often people who undergo hypnotic regression conjure up false memories. It's not a magical key for unlocking hidden memories.

'There's mountains of experimental data which shows that people produce a story for themselves based on their own beliefs and expectations. People come out with a Hollywood version of historical events, such as life in Roman Britain or medieval Europe.'

Even so, the evidence for reincarnation remains tantalising. Dr Stevenson's team at the University of Virginia documented possible cases of reincarnation involving children over a 40-year period.

They focused on children because they thought their stories were less likely to have been contaminated with false memories.

Most of the team's evidence was gathered in the Middle East and Asia, where a belief in reincarnation is generally accepted.

One case was of a Lebanese girl who could accurately recall the names of 25 people from a previous life. She also knew the precise relationship between the individuals.

Intriguingly, researchers believe children can have birthmarks or deformities at the site of the injury that killed them in a former life. The case of Semih Tutusmus from Turkey is typical.

Semih was born with a serious deformity in his right ear which, from the age of two, he claimed resulted from being shot by a man called Isa Dirbekil. Semih gave his name from his former life as Selim Fesli. He also gave the names of his wife and six children.

At the age of four, Semih made his way to a neighbouring village and found the house he had lived in during his past life, and introduced himself to ' his' family. When he saw Isa - the man who he claimed had shot him - he threw stones at him. A short while later, Isa confessed to the shooting (he claimed it was an accident) and was jailed for two years.

Even more astonishing is the case of Jenny Cockell, 55, who lives near Northampton. Jenny was a toddler when she began recalling a past life.

Visions of a village in Victorian Ireland repeatedly flashed into her mind. As she grew older, the details became more vivid, and by the time she was an adult, she became convinced that she'd lived in the village between 1898 and the early 1930s, that she had seven children, and had died giving birth to an eighth.

During regression therapy, she was able to draw maps of her home village. She marked shops, main roads, a station and the cottage she had lived in. After studying a map of Ireland, she felt drawn to the village of Malahide in County Dublin.

In the early 1990s, Jenny visited Malahide and followed a trail of clues that led to the discovery of her 'former identity' - Mary Sutton, a farm labourer's wife.

She learned that upon Mary's death, her eight children had been given to orphanages across Ireland. This prompted Jenny to embark on an odyssey to track 'her' lost children.

Sonny Sutton, her eldest 'son', was the first of the children traced.

'I didn't know what to think,' said Sonny, of their meeting. 'We were all Catholics, and Catholics don't believe in reincarnation. But when she got out of the car I could see my Mother in her. There was a bond between us from the beginning.'

Jenny, to dispel the inevitable doubts about her story, took the step of contacting Dr Stevenson before she approached Sonny. A BBC researcher, Gitti Coats, also interviewed Jenny and Sonny before they met each other so that any evidence would be uncontaminated.

'The two sets of memories tied together very well,' Gitti reported. 'Nearly everything tallied.'

After meeting Sonny, Jenny focused her efforts on tracking down her 'daughter', Elizabeth, whom she died giving birth to in her former life. After months of looking, she was traced to the Dublin Mountains.

Elizabeth, brought up by an aunt and uncle, was totally unaware of being adopted until Jenny told her.

She had more doubts about reincarnation than her brother, but later accepted a priest's explanation that her mother was working through Jenny to reunite the family. Elizabeth subsequently embraced Jenny as part of the family.

'I can't see her as our mother,' she said. 'But I do think my dead mother is causing her to have these dreams. Some people might say she's making these things up, but she's proved they're real. Sonny told me she knows things nobody else knows.'

So do cases such as that of Jenny Cockell and the children identified by Dr Stevenson provide proof of reincarnation? As far as some scientists are concerned, they just might - but there are several other equally odd explanations.

Some believe that Jenny and those like her may possess a psychic ability known as 'super-psi', which allows them to reach back in time to access other people's memories. In other words, they are not recalling their own former life.

Others believe there is a more disturbing possibility: that Jenny is possessed by the spirit of Mary.

Dr Peter Fenwick, a neuropsychiatrist at King's College, University of London, says: 'The phenomenon seems real but its origins are open to interpretation. We simply do not understand it yet.'

From my own experience of regression therapy, all I can say is that my 'former life' - and death - felt eerily real.

I do not claim to know for sure that I was once a monk at the time of the Crusaders. But, equally, I cannot believe the 'memories' I described in such detail were pure fabrication.

Source: The Daily Mail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id
=562154&in_page_id=1770