The UFO Paradox

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1 Wording, Method, Sources

2 What Kenneth Arnold Really Saw

3 A Modern Saga Takes Shape

4 Morning in Zimbabwe

5 Detecting Signals of Transcendence

6 The Rockefeller Disclosure Initiative

7 The Alien Abduction Impasse

8 Who Do We Think We Are?

9 The Bigelow Factor

10 Musing on the Future of Reality

11 The Matter of Pascagoula

Epilogue

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Keith Thompson is an author, independent journalist, talk radio host, former TV talk show host, and former U.S. Senate staff member. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Esquire, San Francisco Chronicle, Idaho Statesman, and the Pacific Sun. The author of Angels and Aliens and Leaving the Left, he lives in northwest Florida.

“A meticulously researched exploration into unidentified aerial phenomena, adopting at times a scientific lens, a philosopher’s perspective, and a journalist’s scrutiny. Thompson’s multi-lensed approach underscores the complexities and challenges inherent in the study of a phenomenon that is trying to tell us something important. Are we prepared to listen?” DEAN RADIN, Ph.D., chief scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences and author of Real Magic and The Conscious Universe

“Human experience is either real or unreal. It is either objective or subjective, this-worldly or other-worldly. No, it is not! Human experience is often far more complex and difficult to fathom than we are to imagine. Thompson knows this and shows it. The UFO Paradox is an effective antidote to easy explanations, simple binaries, old habits of reasoning, and dead-end thinking.” Dale C. Allison Jr., author of Encountering Mystery and The Luminous Dusk

“This book is a call from the cosmos that is fiercely alive, weirdly involved in our own forms of culture and consciousness, and beyond any of our conventional religions and sciences. Reality is not what we think it is. Nor are we. Human beings manifest supernormal powers in a supernatural world that is much bigger than we think, and maybe than we can think. Keith Thompson shows us all of this, and so much more, in a new book that is now one of our finest confrontations with the baffling truth of the UFO, which is really a paradox shattering our assumptions, whatever those are.” Jeffrey J. Kripal, author of How to Think Impossibly

“Keith Thompson is both a scholar and a journalist that has been on the scene working hand in glove with many of the key investigators in this elusive field. He brings to this inquiry a deep understanding of the mythic and paranormal dimensions of reality. His exploration of the UFO mystery has been colored by an appreciation of the larger dimensions of human existence, triggered by his own near-death experience. This book has achieved something rare in UFOlogy lore: a near-perfect balance of the physical and nonphysical dimensions of the phenomenon.” Jeffrey Mishlove, Ph.D., host of New Thinking Allowed

“Quantum mechanics, consciousness, cognition, Socrates, and a welcome dose of philosophy are all part of The UFO Paradox. As entertaining as it is brilliantly written, Thompson—one of the most astute writers on this topic—takes us through some of the most famous UFO cases of the modern era, giving us a fresh look at the data and how these cases touch on the most important questions of our humanity. Highly recommended.” Jim Semivan, CIA National Clandestine Service (retired) and recipient of the CIA Career Intelligence Medal

“The UFO Paradox stands as one of the finest dives into the deep end of strange phenomena and all that is out there. From his own lifechanging near-death experience, through the labyrinthine history of the UFO field and its luminaries, presenting a transcendent metaphysical worldview far beyond simple nuts and bolts, Thompson conducts like a maestro, synthesizing a hall of mirrors with great wisdom and a unique perspective. Utterly captivating and impossible to put down.” Josh Boone, filmmaker and director of The Fault in Our Stars

“This exceptionally well-written book reexamines major cases and topics to explore the paradoxical character of UFOs. Calling on a lifetime of research, Thompson offers acute observations and measured criticism of today’s renewed efforts to understand the nature and meaning of a phenomenon that has influenced cultures for millennia. If someone wanted to read one book on this subject, it should be The UFO Paradox.” Michael E. Zimmerman, Professor Emeritus at the University of Colorado Boulder and Tulane University

“This riveting read takes us on a mind-bending trek through the UFO enigma, bringing game-changing insights from Thompson’s rich experience as a lifelong UFO researcher. Digging up startling new facts on classic UFO cases, he compels us to think and challenge everything we thought we knew about UFOs—and ourselves. The UFO Paradox is both enthralling and deeply moving.” Hussein Ali Agrama, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago

“Here we have it all—ideas about UFO/UAPS, strange ships running around our airspace, while even stranger beings seem to threaten human existence—the whole of it matching Joseph Campbell’s discoveries on the power of mythmaking. Yet Thompson himself, part of an investigative team that included Harvard psychiatrist John Mack, found cases that will both shock and surprise you. Truly, there is more to the UFO mysteries than anyone ever could have predicted.” P. M. H. Atwater, L.H.D., author of The New Children and Near-Death Experiences and The Forever Angels

“In the style of historian and investigative journalist, Keith Thompson details how we have gotten to the immediate question facing humanity. How shall we respond, knowing we have been and are currently in an ongoing relationship with aliens?” Peter Faust, M.Ac., UFO experiencer and coauthor of The Constellation Approach

“Through Greek myth, paranormal psychology, and experiences of his own and others, Thompson explores the deeper implications of the UFO phenomenon for a reevaluation of physics and philosophy. I recommend this book as one of the finest examinations of this subject I have yet encountered.” Kylea Taylor, LMFT, author of The Ethics of Caring

“Showcases investigative journalism applied to the UFO phenomenon at its very best. It goes beyond mere reporting and presents a balanced mix of speculation, fact, intuition, and knowledge.” Sebastiano De Filippi, musician, author, and UFO researcher of the case of Ángel Cristo Acoglanis, Mount Uritorco, and the Underground City of Erks

UFOS

“A meticulously researched exploration into unidentified aerial phenomena, adopting at times a scientific lens, a philosopher’s perspective, and a journalist’s scrutiny. Thompson’s multi-lensed approach underscores the complexities and challenges inherent in the study of a phenomenon that is trying to tell us something important. Are we prepared to listen?”
–DEAN RADIN, Ph.D., chief scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences and author of Real Magic and The Conscious Universe

In case after case related to UFO encounters and other unknown aerial phenomena (UAP), the same impasse is reached: testimony from witnesses on one side, dismissive responses from the authorities on the other. In the fertile void of this deadlock, however, lie extraordinary possibilities about the nature of mind and matter, spirit and soul, transforming the UFO into a celestial, metaphysical event.

Focusing on the possibilities found by exploring both sides of the UFO debate, veteran UFO observer and reporter Keith Thompson shares profound insights and experiences from his several decades of research, revealing that the UFO phenomenon is decidedly real yet perhaps not what either side of the debate expects. He looks at UFOs as a genuine unknown, from outer space or manifesting from hidden dimensions, as well as the theories of skeptics and debunkers who insist that UFOs can be explained as hoaxes, hallucinations, or misidentified phenomena. He explores the modern flying saucer era against the backdrop of visionary experience—angelic visitations, near-death experiences, shamanic journeys, religious miracles, and fairy tales—and shows how UFOs are simultaneously physical and spiritual, presenting a form of intelligence capable of altering the perceptions of witnesses.

Chronicling his own investigations into the UFO mystery, the author details how he introduced the late Harvard psychiatrist John Mack to accounts of alien abduction and how he was invited by philanthropist Laurance S. Rockefeller to lobby then-president Bill Clinton to disclose government-held UFO information. Sharing stories from his friendship with astronaut Edgar D. Mitchell, among others, the author recounts discussions on how best to interpret UFOs and non-ordinary phenomena of various kinds.

Thompson reveals how the UFO phenomenon ultimately represents a call from the cosmos for humanity to open to greater dimensions of reality and recognize that our understanding of the universe is still far from complete.

Keith Thompson is an author, independent journalist, talk radio host, former TV talk show host, and former U.S. Senate staff member. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Esquire, San Francisco Chronicle, Idaho Statesman, and the Pacific Sun. The author of Angels and Aliens and Leaving the Left, he lives in northwest Florida.