Sunday, March 31, 2013

Owls & UFOs


At this year's UFO congress in Scottsdale, AZ, I had a chance to catch up with my friend, Mike Clelland.  Mike writes a blog and records a podcast about UFOs, abductions and other related topics.  He has a special connection to owls and, over time, he's collected a lot of unusual stories related to these magical birds.  Combined with his own 'owl stories' he's amassed quite a catalog but he's always looking for more.  During congress this year, Mike made a point of asking me if I recalled any
unusual owl stories and one in particular came to mind.  It occurred on my first visit to the home of a woman who reported a number of UFO sightings.  Some of the details of the case are presented here, specifically the portion that relates to the appearance of an owl.

I conducted this investigation back in 2008 in the Tampa, Florida area.  A young woman named Joan had contacted me about a series of UFO sightings that she'd had near her home on the outskirts of Tampa.  After a few phone conversations, I arranged to meet her at her home and see the area where the sightings had occurred.  It was the first week of September, 2008.  Joan claimed that she had witnessed a UFO on three separate nights during the summer, with the most recent sighting in late August.  These were 'fresh' sightings and I was anxious see the location and speak with Joan in person.

I arrived at Joan's home just as the sun was starting to set.  I parked on the street in front of the address that she had given me and turned the engine off.  Joan had told me to look for her car and, glancing at the house, I noted that it was parked out front, assuring me that she was home from work.  I reached over and retrieved my notebook and digital recorded from the passenger seat.  I make a habit of carrying both since some witnesses are not comfortable having their interview recorded.
 Since I had been in a rush leaving, I needed to change the batteries in the recorder.  As I was looking down to do this, I heard a heavy 'thud' and felt a slight shake as though something had fallen on the vehicle.  
Looking up quickly, I was shocked to see an owl perched on the hood.  It turned it's head and looked directly at me.  I recognized the species, a Great Horned Owl.  This one was at least a foot tall.  It looked at me for a moment, turned it's head and looked forward down the street then repeated this movement.  It never made a sound and after a moment, it launched into the air.
I had reached over and grabbed my camera from the seat without taking my eyes off the bird, but it happened so quickly that I was unable to take a photo since the bird took flight just as I powered the camera on.

It was an unusual incident and I wasn't sure what had caused the owl to land on my vehicle moments after I had turned the engine off.  I didn't mention this incident to Joan when I went in to conduct the interview.

Sitting in Joan's kitchen, I listened quietly as she began to give me details of her UFO sightings.  Like many people who report repeated encounters, Joan had experienced some odd things in her life.  On two occasions, she had experienced missing time.  Lapses in her routine that she simply couldn't explain and didn't have any clear memory of. 
Once she had told me about her sightings, I brought up her children.  Joan had two kids, Melissa who was twelve and Jared who was seven.  Her daughter had not mentioned anything unusual since the UFO activity had begun.  Her son however, had started to talk about 'lights in the sky' and the 'little men'  He had also developed an imaginary friend.  A common thing for young children to do, but the timing was rather curious.

As I sat talking to Joan, her son came in to the kitchen.  He calmly reported to his mother "It's at my window again Mommy."  Joan assure him that "it" was already gone.  She excused herself for a moment and walked with her son to his room.  When she returned to the kitchen, she explained that a large owl had started coming to her son's window and perching on the sill outside.  She seemed to think that the bird was attracted to the bedroom light or possibly to her son's cat that often sat on
a table just inside his window.
I asked if she had ever seen the owl herself and she reported that she had not but her daughter had witnessed it on a couple of occasions.  A neighbor had also informed Joan that he had seen a large owl in her yard a few times.  Interesting enough when I pressed her for more details, Joan recalled that the owl had started to appear around the time of her first UFO sighting.

In Shamanic terms, the owl is a powerful totem.  Viewed as an omen of death and darkness in some cultures and as a representative of wisdom by others.
Owls have been mentioned in quite a number of UFO accounts.  Some researchers believe that the owl is often a 'screen memory' blocking the reality of some alien life form.  Of course, these theories, while interesting, remain unproven.  Perhaps more fascinating are the number of cases of real, physical owls that appear to those who report abduction experiences.  Are these birds part of a shamanic experience unfolding around people going through abduction experiences and contact with some otherworldly life form?  Are the birds drawn to the circumstances or the people themselves?  These questions and others are being explored by Mike in the midst of his personal journey with owls.

If you have an unusual story of an encounter with an owl that you would like to share, contact me at:
twocrowsparanormal@gmail.com

or get in touch with Mike Clelland at his blog:
 http://hiddenexperience.blogspot.com/


Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Binnall of America


I recently taped a show with Tim Binnall for season 7 of BOA Audio.  We had a great conversation that lasted two and a half hours!  Lots of discussion of the black eyed children, crystal skulls and the paranormal in general.

If you've never listened to BOA audio, I encourage you to check out some of the past shows.  It's one of my favorite podcast.  Tim is a great host and past episodes have featured some amazing guest.

http://www.binnallofamerica.com/boaa032613.html

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Rosemary Ellen Guiley

At this year's International UFO Congress in Scottsdale, AZ, I had some time to chat with author Rosemary Ellen Guiley.  I've always been a fan Rosemary's work and we share a lot of common ideas in terms of the global nature of paranormal phenomena. 
Perhaps the most impressive research that Rosemary has done concerns the Djinn.  Her book "The Vengeful Djinn" should be on the shelf of everyone interested in developing a broad understanding of the paranormal.

Those familiar with my book on the Black Eyed Children will know that it includes a chapter on the Djinn and their possible connection to BEK encounters.  In her years of research, Rosemary has received reports of encounters with the black eyed children herself and it's her opinion that they are very likely a guise of the Djinn in many cases.
I'm happy to report that Rosemary's investigation of the Djinn has led her to release a new book on the topic, "The Djinn Connection".  I haven't had a chance to dive into it yet, but I'll post a review once I have.  I have no doubt it will live up to her normal, high standards.

In the meantime, you can purchase this and other books directly at Rosemary's Website.
Rosemary also publishes a monthly newsletter and subscriptions are available through her Website.  Subscribe for free, it's delivered via email and contains interesting reports and interviews each month.  The current edition includes a discussion with yours truly as I discuss BEKs, eye-shifters and portal areas.

Rosemary's Webstie can be found at:
http://www.visionaryliving.com/

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Starry Frog Rediscovered


A large number of animals go extinct each year.  In fact, some estimates put the totals in the tens of thousands.  Even at the low end, it’s a disturbing number.  This being the case, it’s always exciting to hear about the discovery of new species or the re-discovery of species thought lost.

On the island of Sri Lanka (formerly British Ceylon) a strange frog was discovered in 1853.  Physician and naturalist Edward Frederick Kelaart discovered the frog and dubbed it the “starry frog” due to the pattern of specks on its back.  Kelaart took a sample of the animal back to Europe.  Kelaart’s expedition was the last documented account of the frog, at least, until recently.  The large shrub frog has been found again in the wilderness of Sri Lanka after 160 years.

Writing in the paper Zootaxa, L.J. Mendis Wickramasinghe says that the frog remained undetected for a long period because of its habitat.

“We worked in [parts of the Peak Wilderness Sanctuary] where previous studies had never taken place, in tough and rugged conditions, so hardly any researchers had actually gone to these sites.” 
These quite stunning frogs were observed perched on leaves in the canopy. They were slow moving, we collected samples which we thought were new species. But after reviewing past work, [especially] extinct species, it was evident that this was Pseudophilautus stellatus”

The starry frog is about two inches long.  Its skin is lime green with black outlined white specks.
The scientists identified 78 individual frogs during the survey, but the group believes that the species should be listed as critically endangered due to its scarcity and small habitat.  There are numerous threats to this and other species in the area including mining operations, plantations and forest dieback.

“Amongst the most important threats noted in this region, is the forest dieback phenomena, possibly due to pollution and/or climate change, which has never been documented in this region before
With decrease in the canopy cover, alien invasive species, such as Clusia rosea, and Pteribium revolutum, are widely distributed in lower areas and is slowly spreading to higher elevations, which can potentially become a threat in the future.
To know that this species is not gone forever and that we do have a second chance of preserving it is indeed beyond belief!” says Wickramasinghe.



Learn more about conversation efforts for the starry frog and other species at:http://www.mongabay.com/






Thursday, March 7, 2013

Disney on UFOs

In March of 1995, an interesting UFO documentary aired on television.  The special, called "Alien Encounters" was produced by Disney and was broadcast without any promotion or advertising.  Even more interesting, the documentary doesn't question the existence of UFOs, rather it promotes UFOs and aliens as a reality.
The unusual nature of this documentary has led some to speculate that it was produced to 'test the waters' to gauge how people would respond to the idea of alien contact.
By all accounts, the special only aired one time, and even then it was broadcast in only five cities.  The special is not currently available on video or DVD but luckily, someone managed to tape a copy on VHS when it was originally  broadcast.  Thanks to the wonders of the Internet and YouTube, if you missed the original airing, you can now view the entire documentary:


"Mankind is in the midst of the most profound event in history – actual contact with intelligent life from other planets. For nearly 50 years, officials have been documenting routine alien encounters here on earth, and thousands of people have seen or experienced this alien presence. Yet many others still refuse to acknowledge the obvious evidence all around them. From beyond the boundaries of our perceptions, intelligent beings are beckoning mankind to join the galactic community."
From the Walt Disney Special 'Alien Encounters'.

Friday, March 1, 2013

Spirits, Shadows & Secrets Symposium

I'll be part of an amazing line up of speakers for the Spirits, Shadows and Secrets International Symposium in Edinburgh, Scotland!