What I have been trying to say

In March 2009 I started this blog in Swedish and changed to the English language in March 2013. During the first four years much new data on the history of the Swedish UFO movement, close encounter and contact cases was presented. This was combined with news from UFO-Sweden and AFU. In 2013 I presented a position statement on the blog and my latest book was also published: Gudarna återvänder. Ufo och den esoteriska traditionen (Return of the Gods. UFOs and the Esoteric Tradition).

Since 2013 I have increasingly focused on studies of the Esoteric Tradition as a valid theory or paradigm in relation to investigation of UFO, Fortean and paranormal phenomena. Esotericism as presented primarely by Helena Blavatsky, Charles Leadbeater, Alice Bailey and Henry T. Laurency. Simply because in my view these authors represent the most interesting, scholarly and intellectual efforts to formulate esotericism as a science of the multiverse.  A worldview that could be accepted as a working hypothesis by critical and scientifically minded scholars and researchers.

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky 1831-1891

I am of course aware of that by presenting myself as an esotericist among mainstream scientific ufologists is regarded by many as intellectual harakiri or irrational hereticism. But my objective has never been to appear as ufologically correct but simply to find the truth. In this respect I adhere to the motto of Riley Crabb, for many years director of Borderland Sciences research Foundation (BSRF): “If I have one goal in life it is an uncompromising search for the Truth, whatever that might be, and wherever it may lead.”

Riley Crabb 1913-1994

There are now so many blog posts where I have presented the esoteric interpretation of various UFO and paranormal phenomena including the contactees of the 1950s that I find further blogging on this theme not very meaningful. It would simply be repeating the same message with new data. Instead I will concentrate on news on our AFU website. If and when I find new and interesting data relating to UFOs and esotericism I will present them on this blog.

So what have I essentially been trying to say in my books, articles and blog? Here is a brief summary of my basic points:

UFO and paranormal phenomena challenges the materialist, reductionist paradigm
Most serious field investigators who have spent years documenting UFO, Fortean and paranormal phenomena sooner or later come to a point where they start asking themselves the basic question: what are the implications of all these phenomena? There are of course ufologists and Forteans who gather cases like stamp collectors, without bothering about paradigm issues or the scientific and philosophical challenges implied by the phenomena. But for investigators with a scholarly or intellectual approach the various phenomena are usually the starting point of a life long search for the deeper existential questions.

The field investigator of UFO, Fortean and paranormal phenomena who after years of study and with a mass of empirical data realizes that the reductionist/materialist worldview is untenable and a new paradigm or theory encompassing a multiverse must be formulated, face the dilemma of finding a reasonable and intellectually acceptable alternative working hypothesis. There is no ontology in ufology as Jacques Vallee said in a recent speech. When faced with all the data on well documented cases of UFO, Fortean and paranormal phenomena most mainstream scientists retire into a materialist, reductionist cul-de-sac and simply deny the data. There are a few exceptions, researchers who become the cultural heretics of our time entering the domain of the Forbidden Science.

Esotericism as a working hypothesis for a science of the multiverse
Neither reductionist materialism nor orthodox religion has any tenable answers when faced with UFO and paranormal phenomena which clearly indicate a multiverse reality. If there is a multiverse inhabited by various sentient beings of different evolution and intelligence there must also be a science of the multiverse. Which implies that it is reasonable to assume the existence of "scientists" of the multiverse or custodians of knowledge not discovered by mainstream science. This is the position maintained by The Esoteric Tradition or The Ancient Wisdom. I have found the esoteric worldview formulated by a.o. Helena Blavatsky, Charles Leadbeater, Alice Bailey and Henry T. Laurency the intellectually most interesting alternative paradigm to be used as a working hypothesis when dealing with UFO and paranormal phenomena. It represents a third way worldview between materialism och religion.

Alice Bailey 1880-1949

The multiverse theory is today presented from different scientific disciplines; physics, astronomy, psychology, parapsychology and since the 1970s it has been a prominent hypothesis among ufologists and Forteans (John A. Keel, Jacques Vallee, Allen Hynek). This is an interesting cultural phenomenon. A sort of re-enchantment of the world advocated by scientists and scholars (instead of disenchantment), to use the terminology of sociologist Max Weber. But as John Keel so aptly remarked this is "mapping a very old country". A country for centuries studied in the Esoteric Tradition. Academic and scholarly interest in this heretic and forbidden science has seen a remarkable renaissance during the last decades. It has been realized that the Esoteric Tradition can be regarded as the third intellectual force or pillar in cultural history alongside religion and science.

A detailed taxonomy of multiverse entities and phenomena
The writings of Jacques Vallee and John Keel made mainstream ufologists aware of the close resemblance between some UFO entities and the devas, nature spirits and elementals described in folklore and religion. According to the esoteric tradition devas and nature spirits are a parallell evolution to man living at different levels of the multiverse. In the coming centuries we will, according to the esoteric tradition, become more conscious of each others existence and be able to co-operate. The reappearance of The Fairy Investigation Society is an interesting cultural phenomenon pointing in this direction.

Symbolic painting of devas at Norrköping Public Library. The three goddesses in Greek mythology: Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos

A very fascinating and promising prophecy in esoteric literature is that within a hundred years we will be able to photograph and film phenomena of the etheric world and other parts of the multiverse. If true that would be the definite end of materialism as a mainstream academic worldview as we would have definite, empirical evidence that we live in a multiverse. To field investigators of UFO and paranormal phenomena it would open up a totally new world of entities and phenomena. The Astral Plane (1895) by Charles Leadbeater is, in my view, the most comprehensive and detailed taxonomy of non-human entities and phenomena from the multiverse perspective of the Esoteric Tradition. But also the books by Geoffrey Hodson can be studied in this respect.

The esoteric intervention theory
Perhaps the most controversial part of my writings is a variation of Jacques Vallee´s esoteric intervention theory. I have advanced the theory that some of the physical contactees of the 1950s were involved in a cultural influence test. An experiment implemented by a group of benevolent aliens, earth based or extraterrestrial, a group with access to “vimana” technology. This test was done in co-operation with the Higher Intelligence Agency, the custodians of the ancient wisdom, using a new type of phenomena as attraction as they used spiritualist phenomena in connection with the founding of the Theosophical Society in 1875.

A brief summary of my arguments for seriously considering this theory follows:
1. Many years of investigating and documenting physical contact cases have convinced me that some individuals (very few) have actually met and communicated with “aliens” from somewhere.
2. In spite of their faults and personality idiosyncrasies there is circumstantial evidence that the following contactees were involved in a cultural and psychological test: George Adamski, Orfeo Angelucci, Daniel Fry, George Van Tassel, Howard Menger.
3. The contact experiences of journalist Paul M. Vest indicates that the test was a carefully orchestrated plan by this benevolent group.
4. The message or information presented to these contactees is a somewhat simplified version of the Esoteric Tradition with basic ideas such as: a multiverse reality, reincarnation, universal laws for the evolution of consciousness, Earth a quarantined or “prison planet”, man not alone in the universe etc. In order to detect and understand the similarity in ideas between the contactee messages and esotericism a thorough acquaintance with the works of Helena Blavatsky and Alice Bailey is required. Few ufologists have this background.
5. The “hidden hand” similarities between the outbreak of spiritistic phenomena in the 19th century and UFO phenomena in the 1940s and 50s. In the Esoteric Tradition this hidden hand is the planetary guardians, the custodians of the Ancient Wisdom (scientists of the multiverse) using "phenomena" to expand the worldview and consciousness of man, a form of education through astonishment.
6. The assertion, in the 1930s and 40s, by Alice Bailey´s teacher the Tibetan D.K. that "extraplanetary beings "stand ready to intervene" and "offer their help at this time".

I have often commented and speculated on the future of ufology and investigation of paranormal phenomena. Today this type of research is a form of cultural luxury as the world situation is very unstable with wars, terrorism, organized crime, robber capitalism, social and political unrest and a general brutalization and breakdown of culture and society. The naive UFO and new age enthusiast ask why don´t the space people or planetary guardians come out openly to create a peaceful world? I believe the best answer to this question was formulated by the "Venusian" Bill in his conversation with journalist Paul M. Vest: "Upon your earth the mere colour of one´s skin - a slight difference of religious belief - merely belonging to a different race or country - in fact the most trivial deviations precipitate animalistic belligerencies, hideous brutalities and the bloody slaughter of millions of your fellow creatures. Can you then truly be surprised when I tell you the the beings of certain other worlds view earth as earthlings might look upon a den of deadly serpents stinging each other to death."

Paul M. Vest

If the world situation stabilize and we avoid another world war we can expect a continuing "externalisation of the Hierarchy" as it is called in esotericism. Perhaps some new type of "phenomena", revolutionary discoveries in science and certainly some emissary from or individual associated with the planetary guardians or Higher Intelligence Agency giving a new and scientifically updated version of The Ancient Wisdom, the science of the multiverse. 

This hopeful and benevolent "conspiracy theory" was beautifully formulated by Connie Menger, wife of Howard Menger in her "Briefing" in From Outer Space to You (p. 7-8): "Let us assume that there is on this planet a group of scientifically minded and spiritually dedicated men and women who are working to accomplish this great task (the spiritual renaissance of all people on the planet). And, let us further assume that they have already established contacts with equally dedicated people of other planets. To continue their work and remain effective, they must of necessity remain behind the scenes. However, they can, in the interest of humanity in general, send out hints as to what will take place in the near future. Perhaps they send out scouts to make personal contacts for the specific reason of determining the reactions of every-day people. Perhaps it is done as a "smoke screen" to temporarily keep secret the real work which is going on until such time that the people are prepared to meet this new era with many changes it will bring...Then there are the personal contact stories, some of which are authentic, and which have been established for study purposes and for keeping alive a story which must eventually be brought before all people. If given in small doses, the general acceptance will be made over a period of time, and will take place almost naturally. Let us imagine, then, that this great work is being carried on by a universal group of men and women..."

There have been several friends and correspondents who have urged me to make en English translation of my latest book Gudarna återvänder. Ufo och den esoteriska traditionen (Return of the Gods. UFOs and the Esoteric Tradition). Maybe I will in time, but readers who wish to study my theories and data in more detail can follow the links to different blog posts or search for key words in the upper left corner of the blog.

The future of ufology

On September 10 and 11th AFU was visited by Jim Semivan and Deborah Stokes from the United States. They have a long-standing interest in UFOs and the paranormal with several intriguing personal experiences. Jim is very interested in the future of AFU as an international archive and Anders Liljegren, Johan Gustavsson and I spent several hours discussing various projects. On Saturday 10 Clas Svahn, Carl-Anton Mattsson and Håkan Ekstrand stopped by for a short visit to meet Jim before going to England fetching several donations to AFU. Clas gave a short presentation of UFO-Sweden, AFU and the UFO phenomenon in Sweden. Anders and I also had two enjoyable evenings with Jim and Debbie discussing all kinds of mysterious phenomena combined with good food and wine at local restaurants. Many thanks to Jim and Debbie.

Me and Anders Liljegren with Jim Semivan in the middle

One of the problems that came up during our talk was the absence of close encounter cases during the last decades. In Sweden there are now only a few UFO observations each year, mostly globes of light. We have no reliable reports of close encounters with classic saucers, landings or humanoids. Why this is so is an enigma? If this situation continues year after year the UFO movement as such will become obsolete. There is no need for a national UFO organization like UFO-Sweden, field investigation seminars etc. if there are no reports to investigate. Ufologists will become historians, documenting the observations from past decades. Given this situation continues UFO-Sweden has, as I see it, two options. Either close down the organization and keep on working with a small group of researchers with AFU as base and connecting center. Or change the name and objective of UFO-Sweden to an organization with the aim of researching Fortean and paranormal phenomena.

Let us take a look at the type of the close encounter cases that were reported during earlier decades, in the 1960s and 70s. I have chosen three cases, from the AFU report archives, of UFO landing on roads.

April 27, 1967. Engineer Gunnar Rosqvist is travelling by car at midnight between Sala and Avesta. About 8 km from Sala he suddenly becomes aware of an object standing in the middle of the road. Panicking he hit the brakes, touching a building beside the road and a part of some stairs are ripped off. To the investigator K. Gösta Rehn Mr. Rosqvist mention that the object looked like a physical craft with sloping sides giving off an very intense light. The object alighted in a flash and disappeared. Later he was picked up by a lorry.

January 5, 1977. Truck driver Helge Olsen is driving his lorry not far from Värmlands Nysäter, on the E18 towards Stockholm. The time is around 1 a.m. A luminous object appears to be landing ahead on the road. He park his lorry and starts walking towards the object. At a distance of 150 meters Helge is stopped by an invisible wall and can go no further. The object is shaped like a disc, about 7 meters i diameter, resting on five legs on the road. One from the middle of the undercarriage. The legs seemed to be made of glass and shining like the rest of the object, red, green and yellow. Helge stand watching the objects for a few minutes. A faint humming sound is heard. He also notice another lorry coming from the other direction that has stopped because the road was blocked. Suddenly there is a snow drifting around the object and it takes off straight up. Helge return to his lorry from where he can see the object once more coming close and then disappear. The drivers from the two lorries stop and talk and Helge recognize the other driver as collegue. They decide to not report the incident to the police. Helge´s collegue refuse to talk about the encounter as he find the incident very uncomfortable and unnatural.

End of 1970s. A couple are travelling by car in Dalarna on a winter evening. Not much traffic. Ahead of them they notice what looks like a bus standing across the road, blocking the way. It is a large object, probably around 15 meters covering the whole road and more. They stop the car some 25 meters from the object which is standing on three or four legs around 150 cm in height. The colour appears to be grey blue metal and there is a row of windows on the upper part. Suddenly the legs are retracted and the object simply disappears. Only some snow is swirling. Another car has stopped behind them and after the incident they regret that they didn´t talk to the driver. But they were chocked of what had happened. The man is dead today and his wife refuse to discuss the incident.

If these types of close encounters would be reported today on a regular basis field investigators would have much to do but unfortunately this is not the case. It would of course be very interesting if Sweden again had a real saucer flap like in the 1960 or 70s. Jim Semivan believe they will be back. Only time will tell.

Värmland and the Esoteric Tradition

First I would like to share a beautiful and thought-provoking quote which I take to my heart as a collector of owl figurines:
"Philosophy is the bird of wisdom, and the bird of wisdom is the owl. But the owl takes flight only towards the end of the day. Philosophy is the disclipline that comes after the day of knowledge, after the day of real-life experiments - when night falls"
Alain Badiou, Philosophy for Militants

Part of my owl collection

This summer my lady Margaretha and I have, as ususal, visited Karlstad, the city of the Sun in local tradition and our common birthplace. Karlstad is situated in Värmland which is the Swedish province par excellence of authors, poets, artists and mystics. Rich in folklore of fairies, trolls and paranormal experiences including many intriguing UFO encounters. Several authors and artists from Värmland have also been inspired by the Esoteric Tradition.

On the evening of October 10, 2010 a couple and their daughter were travelling by car near Glava, Värmland. Suddenly a ball of fire appears along the road approaching at high speed straight towards the car. The object pass by just a few centimeters above the car roof. Then the passengers feel the car is lifted up in a sort of back flow when the object is passing. It then disappears behind a crest and all of the forest is illuminated.

Värmland was also the scene of the very fascinating Arne Svensson close encounter in August 1943, which I documented in an earlier blog post. Especially interesting is that this observation, of a classic saucer with portholes, occurred before the UFO era. The witness told no one of his frightening experience at the time but wrote down the whole episode and kept the manuscript hidden in a drawer, revealing the full story to his brother Erik in the 1970s. Because of the extensive amount of interesting observations UFO-Sweden initiated two large scale field investigation projects in Värmland in 2002 and 2004. Many hitherto unknown close encounter cases were then investigated and documented.

Anders Persson documenting a UFO observation during Project Värmland 2002

The world famous author Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940), born at Mårbacka, Värmland, was awarded the Nobel Price in Literature 1909. In her writings she was very much influenced by local folklore, personal paranormal experiences and the Esoteric Tradition. She read several books by Theosophist Annie Besant and corresponded with Swedish Theosophists. Ideas from esotericism abound in her fascinating novels. As a member of Selma Lagerlöf-Sällskapet (The Selma Lagerlöf Society) I hold her in very high esteem as the best and most fascinating author in Sweden.

Selma Lagerlöf

Another great author from Värmland, who made his literary debute during the same year as Selma Lagerlöf (1891), is poet Gustaf Fröding (1860-1911). Although he is most well known for his almost magical poetry Fröding was in his life- and worldview very much influenced by ideas from the Esoteric Tradition. This has been carefully researched and documented by Rolf and Anne Sohlheim from Arvika, Värmland and presented on their website.

Gustaf Fröding

If esoteric philosophy is defined as an aspiration towards the good, the true and the beautiful then the art of Gustav Fjæstad (1868-1948) is an outstanding illustration of the ancient wisdom. There are many reproductions of his paintings found on the internet but nothing can compare with the experience of beholding an actual painting. Fjæstad´s creations are, in my opinion, real art - trancendent beauty and harmony.
Both Gustav and his wife Maja were part of the Rackstad Colony of artists in Arvika, Värmland. A lodge of the Theosophical Society (Adyar) had been founded in Arvika by pharmacist Hjalmar Juhlin and in 1909 Gustaf Fjæstad and his wife Maja became members. Several artists from the Rackstad Colony joined this lodge. Gustaf was one of the most active members and often lectured on various aspects of the ancient wisdom.

Livsgåtan, The Riddle of Life. Painting by Gustav Fjæstad 1919

A great influence on the spiritual and new age scene in Sweden during the latter part of the 20th century was Sven Magnusson, born in Karlstad, Värmland in 1930. Between 1964 and until his death in 2008 he was editor of the high quality magazine Sökaren (The Seeker). The magazine succeeded in recruiting many of the best writers on philosophy, religion, parapsychology, new age, UFOs and also authors from the mainstream cultural elite like Alf Ahlberg and Werner Aspenström. Besides his work as editor of Sökaren he wrote several books on new religious movements and one book on the UFO enigma. Sven Magnusson was both critical and open minded with deep insights into alternative spiritual movements. Although he didn´t define himself as an esotericist he often wrote about Theosophy and The Ancient Wisdom. His personal worldview was a combination of agnosticism and Vedanta mysticism. He became a well known cultural profile in his hometown Karlstad, often portrayed in the local papers.

Sven Magnusson visiting the birth place of Gustaf Fröding

Another connection between Värmland and the Esoteric Tradition is Theosophist Göran Söderqvist with his home at Värmlands Nysäter. Göran is board member of the Swedish Theosophical Society (Adyar), the society archivist and he has donated a large amount of books and magazines on Theosophy to AFU.

Between 1907-1938 the hardline, conservative Johan Alfred Eklund was bishop in Karlstad. Värmland was definitely not his favourite province in Sweden. He found it very difficult to understand the local mentality and mystical traditions. In a famous quote he lamented: "Half the population are poets and the other half are myth makers". Personally I am proud and honored to have been born in the city of the Sun, Karlstad, in the province of poets, authors, artists, mystics and esotericists.

Marc Hallet - A Critical Appraisal of George Adamski

Mention the name George Adamski among serious, scientific ufologists and you will without hesitation get comments like: Liar, fraud, cultist, charlatan etc without much argumentation. What scientific ufologists fail to recognize is that this kind of emotional response is simply a reflection of the naïve new age ufologists who already know the answer without investigation. Mere criticism is not enough. You must have facts. It was therefore with great anticipation I received the latest book by Marc Hallet, A Critical Appraisal of George Adamski. The Man Who Spoke to the Space Brothers, written in collaboration with American ufologist Richard Heiden. The book is free for download on the internet.

Marc Hallet has generously donated his large Adamski files to AFU. An important and invaluable collection of material for future research. In many ways Marc and I have the same background in ufology. We were born in 1952 and entered our ufological careers by being rather naïve Adamski fans. Marc working together with Belgian Adamski co-workers May and Keith Flitcroft. And we both after a few years discovered the problems with Adamski and became much more critical of his books and claims. For Marc this discovery entered a lifelong investigation of George Adamski, resulting in several books, mostly in French. For me a 40+ year investigation of both foreign and Swedish contact experiences, including the controversial first generation American contactees.

As I value intellectual honesty I find it important, before I continue my review, to state that my personal views on Adamski differs in several respects from Hallet. Readers of my latest book and blog are aware of that I present an alternative theory, a variant of Vallee´s Esoteric Intervention Theory. Briefly I suggest that some of the first generation contactees, including Adamski, were involved in a cultural influence experiment orchestrated by a group of benevolent alien visitors from somewhere in our multiverse.  This of course makes me a heretic among heretics in the ufological community. But I have reached a similar conclusion regarding Adamski as Dr. Berthold Schwartz mentioned to me in a letter after his investigation of contactee Howard Menger: “The contact claims and case of Howard Menger is far from being an open and shut or black and white matter.” To be fair and intellectually honest I must of course also state that my theory may be wrong.

George Adamski

A Critical Appraisal of George Adamski is a very important book that should be read by all serious ufologists. It is the result of years of research and presents a multitude of new data on Adamski, including an appendix with many interesting documents and a bibliography. But I would suggest readers compare this volume with George Adamski – the Untold Story (1983) by Lou Zinsstag and Timothy Good plus George Adamski. The Toughest Job in the World (2010) by New Zealand journalist and ufologist Tony Brunt.
In fifteen chapters Hallet documents his involvement with the Adamski movement, his defection after discovering indications that the Rodedeffer film of 1965 was manipulated and his resulting detailed investigation of the photographs, films and claims of George Adamski. And Hallet is very sharp in his assessment. Adamski was a simple fraud and con-man who “raised the lie to the level of an art.” There are no question marks in Hallet´s book, no doubts, no ambiguities, all is black and white.  Adamski was a liar. And this is what I find the greatest flaw or problem with this book. Hallet frequently fails to mention facts and data that support a different interpretation. All who have seriously studied Adamski realize he was a mystic and very unreliable in much of what he said, a Janus man. Even Tony Brunt, who makes a different assessement of Adamski, writes in his biography: ”He seemed to be half holy man, half huckster, a fascinating blend of the sublime and the slippery. Adamski was two of a kind”.

Tony Brunt

Much of the book is devoted to elaborate critical studies of the the Adamski films and photographs. As my technical expertise in this field is practically nil I refrain from comments on this issue. Personally I hope that Glenn Steckling of the Adamski Foundation, who is the custodian of the original negatives, will let these be professionally examined and the result presented to the public. One interesting fact is that Adamski was not the first to illustrate the “Venusian scout craft”. This was instead presented in a booklet, Visitors From Space, by contactee  Eugen Drake in 1949 or 1950. On page 127 Hallet mentions the observation of a scout craft and crew made by Lucy McGinnis alone, not together with Adamski. According to Hallet, McGinnis “thought she saw the Venusian saucer up close” and that the observation was probably a dream. This gives a totally misleading picture of what actually happened.  I received the transcript of Timothy Goods interview with McGinnis in 1979. From this it is evident that Lucy was wide awake and stood outside the house in Palomar where she at close range observed a translucent craft with human looking crew. Lucy McGinnis had left as Adamski´s secretary in 1962 when she couldn´t stand more of his wild claims and behavior. When Timothy Good asked why she didn´t reveal the truth about Adamski´s many claims she gave a very interesting answer: “It never bothered me to the extent that I made an issue of it, because, you see, I could have made an issue of it, if I hadn´t seen those ships”.

Page from Visitors From Space by Eugen Drake

There have been many observations made of the Adamski-type craft in various countries, also in Sweden. And not only by Adamski devotees. I personally investigated one such observation made by a bus driver in 1969. He only reported his close encounter to the Swedish military. British ufologist Jenny Randles also mentioned such cases in one of her books. And I have still not found any evidence of fraud regarding the photos taken by Tahalitha Fry in Oregon, November, 1968. AFU are in possession of the letters she wrote to her Swedish friend Edith Nicolaisen shortly after the incident. So even if Adamski did fake his pictures these type of craft obviously exist. As to the Rodeffer film of 1965, was Madeleine simply lying when she in great detail told of the encounter and the three mysterious individuals that came to her home minutes before the craft appeared and told them to get ready? Tony Brunt interviewed Madeline in May 2009 and she said of these men: "They could have been your uncle, or your cousin, or you. I got the impression their role was a supportive one, to be sure we both held up under the excitement of the occasion." Hallet speculates that Adamski could have hypnotized Madeleine to see the craft. Not a very likely explanation. Omitted in Hallet´s biography is also Desmond Leslie´s observation in 1954, together with Adamski, of a small observation disc very close.

Photo by Tahalitha Fry 1969

Carol Honey was an Adamski co-worker in the 1950s and 60s before he became disillusioned with the very extravagant tales and lies Adamski produced in the end of his career. Marc Hallet corresponded with Honey during his last years and they developed a sincere friendship. "Intellectually honest" is Hallet´s assessment of Carol Honey. But I think it would have been appropiate by Hallet to also mention that Honey was a contactee himself, which he mentioned sometimes in his newsletters. "I have had personal experiences myself which proved a lot of things to me but I will not make them aviable to a skeptical public" (March, 1968). "I have met one highly evolved spaceperson who had a bad scar so on this point I speak from personal experience." (June, 1963)

According to Hallet, Desmond Leslie knew that Adamski was a crank. "No doubt, when he realized that Adamski was a rogue, he was not really offended. Maybe he was even greatly amused by that revelation, laughed at it with its perpetrator, and decided to carry the joke further." This speculation has no basis in fact and is a complete misunderstanding of Desmond Leslie, his philosophy and his personality. Desmond Leslie defended Adamski all his life but he was an esotericist and interpreted Adamski´s experiences according to the Esoteric Tradition.

Desmond Leslie and George Adamski

In my personal investigations of contact cases in Sweden I have found independent witness confirmation, that the contactee really did meet some type of "strangers", whoever they are. We find this also in the Adamski case. Lou Zinsstag mention that when Adamski stayed in a hotel in Basel in 1959 he was now and then visited by his contacts. Lou decided to check on this and asked the hotel manager and the porter. Both men answerered: "There are several men who come at nine o´clock, but never more than two at a time". Marc Hallet´s comment on this fascinating information is only a derogatory speculation that Adamski was having secret homosexual meetings. To my knowledge there are no facts supporting such a hypothesis.

With these critical notes I find it important to reiterate that I appreciate Marc Hallet´s book very much. It is an important contribution to our understanding of George Adamski. I am not defending Adamski in the usual sense but my theory is that he, as some other early contactees were involved in an experiment that they often didn´t really understand themselves. And in common with Carol Honey I find the philosophy presented in Inside the Space Ships beautiful and inspiring. I believe the last word on Adamski has still not been written. There is a deeper mystery in the contactee enigma that needs further research. In this controversial field I find it necessary to keep an open mind as well as be critical of critics and skeptical of skeptics.

Gösta Johansson - pioneer ufologist

Most of the pioneer ufologists of the 1950s and 60s are now gone. That includes my old friend Gösta Johansson (1921-1993). He lived in Stockholm, worked as a contructional engineer and became an active member (secretary) of Ifologiska sällskapet (The Ifological Society), one of the first UFO societies in Sweden. I find his name in the membership list of 1964. Gösta Johansson´s brother, Sture Johansson, is the well known trance medium, visited by famous actors like Shirley Maclaine and Dennis Weaver. Gösta Johansson and I became close friends as he was my pricipal source in my investigation of the controversial contactee Richard Höglund.

Gösta Johansson 1986

I have discussed the Richard Höglund case in several blog entries and a summary of his story is printed in Timothy Good´s latest book Earth: An Alien Enterprise. For those not familiar with the basic facts a short English version can be found on this Norwegian site. Gösta Johansson and I met many times to document and discuss various aspects of the Höglund case. Gösta was not a naive new age ufologist but a down to earth person in spite of his deep involvement with this most complicated contact story. Because of his friendship with Richard Höglund he was entrusted with more data of his experiences than anyone else. In this blog I will present some interview transcripts and the unique insights and theories Gösta related to me. Some of the data was documented in my book on the Höglund case but much of this is new information.

A short while after his first encounter with the aliens on November 9, 1965 Richard Höglund contacted a representative of the Ifological Society and that led to the initial meeting between Gösta Johansson and Richard. They soon became friends as Gösta helped the Höglund couple, Richard and Gunvor, to find an apartement in Ösmo, south of Stockholm. This was after their first trip to the Bahamas in March 1967, when no contact occurred as Richard had forgotten to bring the the metal plate had had received from the aliens.

Richard Höglund

Håkan: Did you see the plate yourself?
Gösta: No, but he made a drawing of it which I received from Sture. It had these Adamski-signs. But he suffered from the plate. He got rashes and it also emitted so much heat he had to have it wrapped up in asbestos. Usually he kept it buried in the soil. I felt like a prophet when I received the plate, he once told me.

The plate given to Richard by the aliens

Håkan: When you phoned Richard did you always here those strange clicks you mentioned?
Gösta: No it was during the last years. Sture confirmed this also. When the clicking started Richard became very nervous and suggested we stop the conversation. Once it continued clicking after I hang up and the phone rang. I answered and a voice said It is wrong. This same voice had entered the conversation several times before. I am convinced his phone was tapped.

Richard told Gösta that he now and then was fetched by one of their craft and they travelled to the alien base in Bahamas and later Mexico. He could be gone for a month at a time. When Gösta met him again he was suntanned. Richard parked his car at a secret place where he was picked up by the aliens. The craft was semitranslucent but not large enough for him to stand up. He was rather secretive about his activities at the base. But on the third trip to the Bahamas, the last time with his wife and the travelled by plane, Richard wrote to Gösta January 11, 1969: "We have a good time here my wife and I. Food, money, cigarettes, liquor all free but we are required to do things also... I hope that one day I can tell you why we are here, but now it is impossible. We have our own car, a large black Cadillac but you must understand we are under a certain form of control." In a later letter January 16, 1969 Richard wrote: "I cannot disclose what we are doing here but I can reveal that it is a sort of school we attend and then you understand that the teachers are interplanetary... I have no idea how long we will remain here. Those who have hurt us will be punished but you can be calm."

Richard Höglund in Nassau, Bahamas

Both Richard and his wife Gunvor met the aliens on the third trip to the Bahamas. It was in a villa outside Nassau. The black Cadillac is interesting as he mentioned this already in 1967, before the men-in-black lore became well known. According to Richard the Cadillac was an old model but looked brand new. He had some trouble driving it at first. It was impossible to collide with this car as it had a sort of "magical eye".

Håkan: How did the aliens look?
Gösta: They were brown, like suntanned, thin, dark eyes, long fingers. Only once did he notice something defective in their bodies. It was a man with a scar in his head. There were no women among them and they didn´t sleep or eat but drank, even liquor, and smoked. They could disappear into thin air. He told me that once he had been sitting chatting with two aliens on a bench in the Bahamas when some people approached them. He felt so ashamed because he was suddenly talking into thin air. The aliens were simply gone.

Håkan: Did he take any pictures in the Bahamas?
Gösta: Yes, I have seen several. When he tried to photograph them only a square light was visible in the picture. There was a black man, Loftin, there at the same school. He showed me a photo of himself and Loftin. They became good friends. Loftin turned out to be a CIA agent and he was later found on Little Exuma with a hole in his head. After this incident Bahamas was swarming with CIA agents and they had to move their base to Mexico. Loftin had obviously revealed the base so he was shot, executed. Richard didn´t regard them as especially intelligent. When he asked something they never answered directly but asked their superiors and came back with the answer next time.

Richard with his friend Loftin in the Bahamas

Richard Höglund is unusual in contactee history as he didn´t trust the aliens but felt forced to work for them as they had cured his kidneys. Richard once told Gösta that they were totally insensitive to humans, had no high morals. We are like domestic animals to them. "My wife believe she has met the angels of God, but I don´t think so".

Gunvor Höglund

Richard Höglund died in 1977. He became convinced that the aliens he worked for were dangerous and warned Gösta to not have anything to do with them. So what really happened to Richard and his wife? In my book Främlingar på vår jord (Aliens On Earth) I propose five theories:
1. Real contact with aliens
2. A cover for espionage
3. Organized crime
4. Fraud to make money
5. Pathological lying

Whatever the truth behind the claims of Richard Höglund he definitely was involved with some secret group and activity and he travelled to Bahamas and other countries. His life is an intriguing mystery.

"We flew in from the east" - Part 2

Håkan: Did Ben Austin work at the same company as your husband?
Anna: No, not at all and what would such a person be doing out there in the bush? He said he was keeping an eye on what humanity was doing. I belive he had this place as some sort of station or base. He was small, shorter than me. Maybe 150 centimenter, stocky and heavily built, not nice looking. He wasn´t fat but muscular. He was courteous and companionable. His hair was dark, more brown that black and no beard.

Håkan: What nationality did he look like?
Anna: Well, I asked about his nationality and he didn´t answer but claimed he had a Scottish passport. I asked how he got it? Well, he said, if we can build flying saucers we can also arrange such small details. As for Scotland he said: I have some difficulties with languages and there are so many Scottish dialects... We are checking what humanity is doing so you don´t set this planet on fire or other stupidities as this would make problems for us... When he spoke I don´t know why I felt this terrible fear. My whole being indicated that something is wrong here.

Håkan: You mentioned that he wasn´t beautiful. Did he have any physical defects?
Anna: No. He was dressed in a white shirt. You know in the tropics when you are invited for dinner they use a tie. His neck was not long and his hair short but I noticed he had beautifully formed ears. Well-groomed but his skin colour was not nice. Not as dark as the Indians of Guatemala but rather as a suntanned white person. But the tan didn´t look healthy uner that brown colour.

Håkan: How did he live, his social life?
Anna: He had no family and was entirely alone out there. There were servants but he sent them away so we were alone all evening. The servants were ordinary natives. There were books. The place was neither beautiful nor ugly, an ordinary bungalow.

Håkan: Was there a village nearby?
Anna: No, there was nothing... The servants came and picked us up in his Jeep. There were coffee plantations nearby and large areas of corn cultivation. My husband tol me that the craft stood behind the bungalow, surrounded by some bushes and trees so it was almost impossible to notice. It looked like an ordinary flying saucer but appeared smaller that what you would imagine. I remember he told me they entered from below. It stood on high landing gear, taller than my husband. He didn´t have to bend when entering. The landing gear functioned like telescopic legs so they could land anywhere. Ben Austin mentioned that when they flew over my country house in Sweden they were many aboard the craft.

Håkan: Why were you afraid of Ben Austin?
Anna: I have pondered why this was the only two times in my life I have been afraid.I wasn´t even scared during an earthquake in Mexico... When we were at my country house in Sweden, it was a nice dinner and the UFO incident was simply a fascinating intermezzo but as far as I know I was the only one that felt fear at the time... As for Ben Austin I can only say he claimed to belong to the space people. I can´t guarantee the truth of what he said only relate what happened to me.

After my interview with Anna in her home in Stockholm in 1982 we have kept i regular contact by phone and letter and she has revealed some more data. Because of his bad temper her husband was forced to leave Combustion Engineering in 1975 after having worked in the company for twenty years. He lived in Mexico until his death. Before the UFO incident in 1959 he was never aggressive. After the divorce Anna only met him once, at the funeral of their son, who died in Mexico in 1998. Her former husband was then sorry that the marriage had ended and implied that it was because of the UFO incident. It had effected him psychologically. "It ruined my life", he claimed and he wanted to forget the whole episode. Anna noticed a peculiar change in his eyes after the UFO incident. From being blue they had changed to black-grey. When they met at the funeral of their son in 1998 her husbands eyes were blue again.

In a phone conversation with Anna July 30, 2009 she said her husband called the craft a "sport UFO". Only two people could travel in this craft. He had also said that "such craft will be manufactured on Earth". Anna speculates that perhaps it was actually she that should have been taken for a ride in the UFO. She is glad she didn´t. Anna remarked that Ben Austin was unattractive as a man, stocky, broad face, the laborer type. As for nationality he could have been from Sweden. But he was an intelligent man, supposedly working in the atomic industry.

Anna is still today convinced that Ben Austin, wherever he came from, was a dangerous man. That his intentions were no good. He is the only man that has made her afraid, except her former husband when he became aggressive. But could this episode be interpreted in a different light. Perhaps her husband simply couldn´t cope psychologically with the UFO incident? And the experience was so traumatic that it changed his personality and an inherent destructive tendency opened up?

I have found no reason to doubt Annas claims and experiences. She appears trustworthy, intelligent and honest but her wish is that this incident in her life should not be told with her name during her lifetime.

"We flew in from the east" - Part 1

A few days ago I watched a documentary on the life of John F. Kennedy. In a speech in Dublin on June 28, 1963 he said: "The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics, whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were, and ask why not." Perhaps with a touch of hubris I couldn´t help making an association to AFU and our dream of creating the largest UFO/Fortean archive in the world - which is now a reality. What is left is solving the UFO enigma. Definitely a challenge of different proportions. Especially when part of the undertaking is trying to determine the reality of experiences like the one I present here.

During my 45+ years investigating contactee cases there are very few that I still find intriguing or unexplained. Most of the contact experiences I have documented have a psychological explanation or possibly involving some form of paranormal entities. But there are three or four physical contact cases in my files that to this day I find of special interest as they differ in quality from the rather hazy visionary experiences related by most contactees. One of these physical contact cases involves a Swedish woman, Anna (pseudonym), today 95 years and living in Stockholm. I have promised not to reveal her real name until after her death but presented a short summary of her narrative in my book Främlingar på vår jord. Ufokontakter i Sverige (Aliens on Earth. UFO Contacs in Sweden). A Finnish edition was published in 2011.

Anna was born 1920 in Stockholm but spent most of her life in other countries, USA, England and France. She lived eleven years in Mexico with her second husband George (pseudonym), who worked as a Chief Engineer at the American company Combustion Engineering in Mexico. Anna lived an upper-class life with diplomats, movie stars and royalties. During her stay in Mexico she met and became a good friend with actress Dolores del Rio at a party with the Mexican president. Dolores del Rio and her husband were interested in UFOs and Anna was invited to the Dolores residence in Mexico City where she met about twenty people who all had personal UFO encounters.

In the autumn of 1959 Anna and George were living in Mexico City. One day George came home and told he had met a very intelligent and fascinating man named Ben Austin at a conference in Guatemala. In connection with a business trip Anna and George are invited to Ben Austin´s house about two hours travel by car from Guatemala City. The wife of a french diplomat is to take care of Anna´s children (from a former marriage) while they are in Guatemala. At the hotel in Guatemala City Anna and George are picked up by two servants and they travel in a Jeep for about two hours before arriving at Ben Austin´s bungalow. After dinner and some general chatting Ben dismiss the servants for the day and now the conversation takes a very different direction. Here some notes from my interview with Anna:

Anna: It was after dinner that he (Ben) suddenly says: You are interested in UFO.
Håkan: He is talking to you?
Anna: Yes, and I say, no I´m not. Oh, yes you are, he says again.
Håkan: Did he speak English?
Anna: Yes, of course but he spoke a very peculiar English. Some form of Scottish-English... and he said, you have even seen a UFO. It was in your native country and we flew in from the east to your country house in the Stockholm archipelago.
Håkan: How did you react then?
Anna: I became rigid with fear, I was scared, I was really scared. I found the situation very uncomfortable especially as I hadn´t mentioned the UFO incident to my second husband who had no idea of this incident... He asked if it really was the truth? And I admitted, yes it is really true. We had twelve guests at the time.

The UFO observation mentioned by Anna occured in August 1948 or 1949 at Vindö in the Stockholm archipelago. In the evening Anna goes to fetch something in their underground storehouse. She notice a white light approaching closer over the bay. She run in to tell the other guests and they all watch the light stopping in midair and suddenly fly straight up and disappearing in the sky.

Anna: All of this I hadn´t mentioned for my second husband and their we are with this man in Guatemala claiming I have seen a flying saucer. Suddenly he says: Would you like to take a trip to Venus?
Håkan: He says Venus?
Anna: Yes. And I said no as I have my children in a another country where no one speaks their language and I don´t want anything to happen to them. The he turn to my husband and says:  Imagine your wife is so timid. Would you like to go instead? Of course, he says. I say no, we will both stay. But my husband absolutely wanted to go.
Håkan: Was he interested in UFO?
Anna: I have no idea but he was technically interested like most men. He was very eager to go on this trip and we agreed that I should go back to the hotel and was promised that my husband would be back at the hotel i Guatemala City by six o´clock in the morning. Later I regretted that I didn´t say I wanted to see the craft. Back at the hotel I felt very anxious and couldn´t sleep. Exactly at six o´clock my husband return and his face is deathly pale. He had absolutely no colour in his face and the eyes were staring. He said it was fantastic, it was absolutely incredible. The start engine for the craft was no bigger than a small piece of sugar and in the shape of a pyramid. After take-off there was hardly any sound at all.
Håkan: Did he describe the craft?
Anna, Yes, it was round, small with windows all around. I said to him did you really go to Venus? Then he looked at me and said, you don´t believe me. And I had a hard time believing he really did go there so I said maybe you didn´t. Then he became extremely angry and said if you don´t belive me I will not say a word more about this and then he just went to bed. Later I tried to make him talk men he never did. What was very strange was that his behavior changed completely. He became threatening and it was very frightening.

Håkan: Did his behavior change immediately after the experience?
Anna: Yes it did and it lasted during the rest of our marriage. He became brutal and I was severly ill-treated and beaten. For a while I thought he was obsessed. I couldn´t understand what was happening and I began to wonder if perhaps he hadn´t been aboard a saucer but been hypnotized and that was the reason for his strange behavoir. I still don´t know if he was outside the garage with that guy down there. I can only tell you what happened but I can absolutely not guarantee that my husband was in outer space.. He became harsh and grim and we were afraid of him. I felt the same fear for this other man Ben Austin.

To be continued

Richard Kieninger, UFOs and the Esoteric Tradition

In the October 1970 issue of his newsletter Anomaly John Keel mentioned the contactee experiences of Richard Kieninger, founder of The Stelle Group and community Stelle, not far from Chicago, Illinois. In Keel´s view this was another example of the manipulative “elementals” playing games with a credulous victim. I bought the book The Ultimate Frontier, written by Richard Kieninger under the pen name Eklal Kueshana and was immediately fascinated by his claims of being contacted by an secret brotherhood. Especially as this brotherhood was said to use antigravity aircraft (flying saucers) as part of their activities.

In 1979 I entered several years of correspondence with various representatives of Stelle: Nancy Laub, Gayle Amick, Heather Norris a.o. and also Mr. Kieninger himself. I subscribed to Stelle Letter (later The Stelle Group Letter) and acquired as much data and material I could from the group. There was one essay, Space Vehicles, Travelers, written by Mr. Kieninger, which I found profoundly intriguing. Written originally in 1966 and republished in the booklet Observations (1971) it stated regarding flying saucers: "... some are interplanetary vehicles, others are of earthly origin. The ones which are from this planet are saucer-shaped of generally trapezoidal cross-section with three hemispherical engine pods on the underside. They were first developed by man on this planet about 20,000 years ago and have been used by members of the Lesser Brotherhoods continuously since that time."

Richard Kieninger

This of course is a perfect description of the classic George Adamski, Howard Menger scout craft. In a letter to Stelle I asked how the brotherhoods could keep these craft secret. The secretary, Nancy Laub answered: “ He (Richard Kieninger) smiled at your first question regarding the Brotherhoods´ retreats for their flying saucers, and said that there are isolated places in the world which are safe from detection, and the Brothers know where those places are.” (Letter, November 12, 1979). As to George Adamski I received the following answer: "Richard read your letter and article and wanted me (Gayle Amick) to tell you that although he has heard of Adamski, he is not at all familiar with his experiences etc. and therefore could not comment on them". (Letter, June 4, 1979).

George Adamski, photo December 13, 1952

This statement was an elaborate and somewhat novel addition to the Esoteric Tradition on Vimanas as presented by Blavatsky, Bailey, Laurency a. o. These classic esotericists mention aircraft used by adepts in Atlantis but not in our age. I have only found two additonal sources referring to flying saucers used by secret brotherhoods today. The most well-known is a quote from American contactee Howard Menger´s book From Outer Space To You (1959): “"There are also spacecraft, though of inferior design, which are built by people of this planet. These people are in communication and in service with people from other planets. They are people who possess a high spiritual understanding and have reached an awareness of natural law; therefore they have been entrusted with information enabling them to construct such craft."

The second source is an obscure article, UFO and the Black Lodge, published in Ray Palmer´s Search Magazine, April 1958 and written under the pen name Devananda. This unknown author states: “Flying Aircraft are as old as Atlantis and Lemuria. They have always moved in our skies and have always been seen by men. Both the White and Black Lodges use them and have always employed them for work in the world… Some are etheric, appearing and disappearing, and some are solid metals. The Adepts themselves, or their pupils, are often at the controls, but more commonly robots are used.” I have for many years tried to find the real name of Devananda, without success. In 1985 I wrote to Palmer Publications in Amherst, Wisconsin but their files and records from the 1950s “are no longer aviable”. The small ad published in Fate Magazine, January 1957, indicates that Devananda lived in the Chicago area.

Because of my continued interest in Stelle and its activities I received a personal letter from Richard Kieninger on March 5, 1986. It was a kind invitation to become an Affiliate: "It is apparent from your purchase of Stelle Group Publications that you are seriously interested in your character development and spiritual growth... I would like to invite you to take part in The Stelle Group´s Affiliate Program... Enclosed is information about becoming an Affiliate and an Application Form which I invite you to complete and return to us... Whatever your decision in this matter, I appreciate your sincere interest in improving humankind by uplifting yourself, Hakan. You´re helping to make the world a better place." I declined the invitation but kept on studying Stelle publications.

Stelle residents in the 1980s

Stelle in the 1980s

So what are we to make of Richard Kieninger and his contact claims? They are very similar to the space people contacts of George Adamski, Howard Menger and Daniel Fry but are instead referred to as Brothers belonging to an earthbased secret society. Kieninger occasionally run into these Brothers and receive instructions. In an article A Day In the Life of a Brother, published in The Stelle Group Letter, July-August 1985 Richard narrates: "There hasn´t been a large sampling of Brothers I´ve run into... They don´t tell me what They do for a living, and their work for the Brotherhoods may be quite separate from Their everyday work to earn a living. The one Brother with whom I´ve had most contact is John, who I met in Arizona... I´ve seen the car He drives, but He doesn´t want me to see the license plates."

Photo by Tahalitha Fry, November 1968, Merlin, Oregon

Much new information and a whole new perspective on Richard Kieninger and Stelle appeared in 2008 when I started corresponding with Mr. Walter Cox, one of the original residents of Stelle, where he lived between 1971-1976. Walter was very close to Kieninger for many years. I found his name as he answered questions on cults on Answers.com and asked him many things about Stelle which later changed into private correspondence. Unfortunately his answers on Stelle and Kieninger has today been deleted from the site. There is now a very interesting website, The Stelle Experience, with interviews of old and new Stelle residents. Walter Cox is interviewed in a four-part one hour series.

In one of his answers on cults Walter Cox wrote regarding Kieninger: "To sum up, I would say that Richard Kieninger showed less respect for Truth than any person I have ever met. He lied about everything, large and small. He lied when there was no reason to lie. He lied to avoid the natural repercussions of his actions. He lied to his wife, his many girlfriends, his daughter and every friend he ever had. Does that mean that I think the philosophy in The Ultimate Frontier is false? No, I think the philosophy itself is sound, and I am thankful Richard wrote the book." (December 22, 2005)

In the 1950s Richard Kieninger was a student of the Lemurian Fellowship in Ramona, California. He gleaned most of the content of The Ultimate Frontier from lesson material published by this organization. He was then expelled from Lemurian Fellowship and accused of plagiarism. In 1963 Richard formed The Stelle Group in Chicago which eventually led to the founding of the Stelle community in the beginning of the 1970s. Because of his behavior Richard was asked to leave Stelle in 1975 and again in mid 1980s. He had seduced both married women and young unmarried women. Eventually he founded a second community in Adelphi, Texas, where he spent the rest of his life. He died in 2002.

So Richard Kieninger was just another religious rogue, fraud and trickster - or was he? Walter Cox narrates a very intriguing experience that may give a somewhat more balanced view of Kieninger. An independent verification supporting Richard´s claim of a Brotherhood source. The story was told to Walter Cox by one of his old friends in Stelle, a man he trust and who is not known for spinning tales. Walter gives him the alias Victor but he has confidently told me his real name. Victor had spent many years of hard work at Stelle but in the 1980s he began wondering about the validity of his achievement and emotionally destitute he voiced a prayer: "Dear God and dear Brotherhoods if you exist, please let me know if this community is for real. Please let me know if I`m just wasting my time here, if  I´ve risked my family and everything else for nothing. Please let me know if Richard Kieninger has been telling the truth and if I should stay".

Victor went to sleep and the next morning awoke to a telephone call. The voice on the other end said: "Hello, I´m calling in reference to your request for more information.. I´m calling to answer your questions about Richard Kieninger and the validity of your presence in Stelle. Perhaps we can arrange a meeting." A date was set and a few days later a large Mercedes pulled up in front of Victor´s house. An elderly Chinese man and a young man of perhaps fifteen stepped out. To Victor´s surprise it was the young man, Jim, who did the talking while the Chinese waited in the car. The young man said it was his first assignment from the Brotherhoods and he was sent to provide Victor with crucial information.

Jim confirmed that Richard Kieninger had indeed been contacted by the Brotherhoods as a young man. But later they came to the conclusion that he would misuse the information and they assigned various "keepers" who tried to limit the damage Richard might cause. Despite Richards fabrications Jim said that Stelle had gained positive attention of the Brotherhoods and had the potential to develop in the planned direction. Jim encouraged Victor to stay in the community and help provide leadership at a critical juncture. Because of this visit and information Victor decided to stay in Stelle.

In the middle of the 1990s Victor began to question the experience with Jim and with the help of Internet he succeeded to trace Jim´s phone number. When Victor phoned Jim he was surprised that he had been able to find him but he confirmed the information he had provided some years earlier. Later when Victor tried to search the Internet again using Jim´s name all information had been deleted. With the help of Walter Cox I tried to contact Victor by email to confirm the story. Unfortunately I received no answer and I have come to understand that Victor is rather reticent regarding this experience.

In spite of his sharp criticism of Richard Kieninger as a manipulative con-man Walter Cox has a positive view of the philosophy he presented and still regard Stelle as a “nice place and charming community”. In a letter to me January 20, 2008 he summed up his opinion: “My own experiences have convinced me that I do have mentor´s “on the other side” who are watching out for me. Victor´s experiences are also loosely corroborative, and I do see evidence of a concerted effort on the part of some organization to influence the course of human history. Nowhere, however, does the evidence rise to the level of clear substantiation of the Brotherhood´s existence, so my belief remains just that – a belief.”

When comparing Richard Kieningers “Lemurian Philosophy” with The Esoteric Tradition (Blavatsky, Bailey, Laurency) it becomes obvious that Kieninger made a personal mixture of diverse sources. Although there is high idealism and basic psychological soundness in much of his teaching that is in line with esotericism he also used dubious and contradictory sources. In a letter from Heather Norris December 13, 1985 three of Kieningers sources are given: The Morning of the Magicians by Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier; The Spear of Destiny by Trevor Ravenscroft; Hitler, the Occult Messiah by Gerald Suster. These works must be regarded as not very reliable, popular occult books.

This becomes very obvious in Richard Kieningers contradictory statements on Theosophy and Alice Bailey. In The Ultimate Frontier (p. 68, 1982 ed.) Theosophy and Rosicrucianism are mentioned as preparatory schools but in the audio series Stelle Forum, no. 7, 1981 Kieninger he states: “Madame Blavatsky had been contacted by two Shamballah who happened to be visiting London at the time and invited her to come to Tibet… They gave her a whole bunch of false history… They were essentially totally in control hypnotically of Blavatsky… some of the concepts of Blavatsky has to do with arian supremacy, arian blood being supreme over other…”
“Alice Bailey´s control, a telepathic hypnotist who called himself Djwal Khul, was a Tibetan Shamballist with the same connections as the two men who seduced Mme. Blavatsky (co-founder of the Theosophical Society) into being their psychic mouthpiece against Western Civilization… Their call to lose one´s will in order to experience closeness to God is a ruse to bring mankind under their control.” This is a total misconception of Theosophy and the teachings of Alice Bailey that Kieninger picked up from The Morning of the Magicians and incorporated later in his own philosophy.

Was Richard Kieninger and Stelle an experiment in “esoteric intervention”, using the terminology of Jacques Vallee? An experiment that was aborted because of Kieninger´s character flaws. In some respects the experiences of Richard Kieninger resembles those of Helena Blavatsky and Alice Bailey who were contacted at an early age and given an assignment to be implemented later in life. If true, the basic question remains: Who gave the assignment?