The Truth Is Out There

Source: Weekender, Maroochydore, Queensland, Australia. 6 November, 2008
http://www.theweekender.com.au/features_det.php?id=288

It’s a question most people have pondered at one time or another: Are we alone in the universe? As UFO sightings again hit the headlines, it’s clear there is no easy answer or explanation. But one Sunshine Coast research group, based in the centre of an “alien hot spot”, has spent the past decade looking to the skies for answers.

Words GREGORY STANTON

Our minds often dismiss aliens, UFOs and paranormal activities as absurd. But there are many who believe. They carefully document, research and share their experiences and encounters with phenomena that are not easily explained. They believe there really is something out there. Paul Boulton is just one such person who, after “cross-referencing forever”, has developed a lifelong fascination with UFOs and the paranormal. “There is so much that’s not known,” he says.

A psychic therapist who works out of Montville, Paul’s main area of work is emotional trauma, including clients with instances of alien encounters (previously called alien abductions), although the number of such treatments is miniscule. He is also a member of private research group UFOria, based in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. The “diverse” group (he won’t elaborate any more to protect its privacy), now in its 11th year, meets every two weeks to consider sightings on the Sunshine Coast, generally regarded by UFO researchers as a hot spot of activity.

The airspace above the hinterland is reportedly used by an abundance of extra-terrestrial craft, but also by military and commercial aircraft. “Our goal is to create a safe forum to allow people to discuss what they’ve seen and felt,” Paul says. “If someone tells me they have seen an unidentified flying object, then I have to work out whether they have seen a galactic ship, a military black-ops project, otherwise known as an alien replication vehicle, or a terrestrial-based alien culture’s vehicle. There is also the possibility of misidentification of something else. ‘Unidentified’ adds to the mystery.“The number of encounters is difficult to calculate, but the individual feels emotionally helpless and insecure,” Paul continues. “Because of the memory blocker factor, people are frequently hovering between ‘Did it happen?’ and ‘Will people believe me?’ It’s only after a long time of contact that people may feel I’m safe to talk to. “Usually, when people try to integrate back into society after an encounter, it’s not unlikely they’ll live a solitary life because of our limited world view and the naivety of our mindsets. It was real for them but not in the wider view.”

According to Paul, UFO sightings are statistically on the rise worldwide. UFO stories began circulating more readily after the infamous Roswell incident in 1947, where several eyewitnesses spoke of an unexplained aircraft crash in the US state of New Mexico. An initial press release from the Roswell Army Air Field on July 8, 1947, said personnel had recovered a crashed flying disc. It was later denied by the Commanding General of the Eighth Air Force. Despite evidence to the contrary, the public was told it was nothing more than a weather balloon.Further clouding the issue was the fake video that surfaced, supposedly depicting an alien autopsy. In 2006, the promoter of the film, Ray Santilli, revealed the footage was not entirely genuine.

Brisbane-based association UFO Research Queensland lists 72 reported sightings last year on its website. Functioning since 1956, the number of reports so far this year looks set to eclipse that figure. A reason for higher sightings could be the prevalence of hand-held recording devices to capture a sighting, with the ability to instantly upload to internet sharing sites.“The importance of this is that (the image) hasn’t been filtered,” Paul says, alluding to the ever-present threat of a cover-up. “The goal of the disinformation community is to keep the public in a state of uncertainty and confused anxiety. They attempt to suggest the topic is only of interest to the lonely and unhinged.” This goes hand in hand with media coverage.

“It’s a funny topic,” he says. “If a person is not responsive to it, I end up looking like a loony. Authenticity is the key.”There are plenty of believers. Former US president Jimmy Carter filed a UFO sighting in 1973. Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell is one who strongly believes in alien activity while pop star Robbie Williams has made headlines of late with talk of contact and plans to become a ufologist. In May, British Government files released under Freedom of Information laws recount UFO sightings compiled by the Ministry of Defence between 1978 and 2002. Of particular interest are the corroborated witness accounts by air traffic controllers, pilots and policemen.

Movies and popular culture play a major role in complicating matters, from the tinfoil helmets of Signs to the kind of hostile invasion seen in everything from The War of the Worlds to blockbuster Independence Day. “There’s a big problem with disinformation coming from the movies,” Paul says. “We seem to have the cultural capacity of chickens: we shoot it first then do an autopsy, rather than thinking how we interact with aliens. That anxiety filters down through public thought. Anxiety is an amazing thing. They can rule with massive insecurity in the public.”Conspiracy theories are synonymous with UFOs and aliens. It is said upper echelons of governments have been using alien-inspired technology for decades. Folkloric events such as the Philadelphia Experiment and Montauk Project in World War II supposedly investigated time travel and invisibility. Since then, technology has advanced to proportions similar to the film Men In Black.

It is with a wry smile Paul suggests viewing the 1997 film, minus the hostile alien nature, as a documentary. But governments deny any cover-up.“That’s what anyone is up against in trying to present their findings,” he says. “This keeps everyone under a limited Newtonian view.” It has been estimated one in every 50 people in the US has had contact with extraterrestrials and UFOs. “When you’re looking at more than 301 million people, that’s a lot of people,” Paul says, although he suggests memory blockers are in use. Paul proffers that aliens live among us and have done so for centuries, alluding to the amazing feats of ancient Egyptian and Mayan civilisations as examples.

Sharing a view with many, he implies some aliens can invisibly cloak themselves, and look human. But there is no malicious or hostile intention.Former emergency doctor from North Carolina, Dr Steven Greer — who Paul calls a credible expert in the field — filmed more than 450 personal accounts and testimonies from willing military, corporate, intelligence, government, scientific and aviation personnel in a 2001 venture, The Disclosure Project. “After researching the UFO topic for more than 20 years, I have never read such well-researched first-hand accounts on the topic of UFOs, extra-terrestrials and their vehicles, life forms and their intentions and interactions with humanity,” Paul says.

“The overall theme is no threat or harm is meant to us.”As a researcher of the paranormal, Paul is not averse to investigating the unusual. He recently escorted Bill Homann, the custodian of the Mitchell-Hedges Crystal Skull, on its Sunshine Coast visit. The skull, discovered by F.A. Mitchell-Hedges in Belize in the 1920s, was brought to Australia by Duncan Roads from the Montville-based Nexus Magazine and was the main event at a conference at Twin Waters last month. While in the company of the skull, Paul noticed it resonated with people who were intuitive and open, often to startling effect. One example was an elderly woman who was able to dispense with her cane. But for Paul, UFOs and alien encounters are more than just intriguing. “There’s a bigger picture truth,” he explains. “If you look at where we are as a planet, we are quarantined in the solar system. We are at the end of a cul-de-sac. This means we are visited, but it also means we are subjected to a lot of disinformation.” One way or the other, the truth is out there.

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THE X-FILES From the files of UFOria

A woman driving home at midnight from Maleny notices a disc-shaped craft about 7-10m wide fly nearly 15m above her car for the entire journey. When she turns into her street, it flies ahead and hovers across from her house. She watches as the craft moves slowly away.

UFOs are often reported coming out of the ocean off Coolum.

One couple is visited by a large craft with a strong downward draft above their home. The power from the craft causes the house to shake violently and several household items break. They don’t recall anything afterwards.

A UFO is seen travelling slowly through the hinterland at Witta. It comes from the Lake Baroon direction and lights up the ground as it flies. It hovers quietly in front of the witnesses’ house.

Some people came out of their house late one night to watch the moon land in a nearby field. They remember nothing else for several hours.

Various blinking lights and unexplained glowing in the sky have been reported over Tewantin, Flaxton, Tinbeerwah, Cooroy and elsewhere on the Coast.