When addressing the issue of UFOs or UAP - however one wishes to describe the phenomenon - it is not a matter of believing. Believing is a fanciful way of suspecting or supposing something is real or may be true. Like having faith - believing depends on independent personal conjecture or conviction.
My good friend and colleague, the late Dr. John Mack - during my 1996 visits with him in his Cambridge office at Harvard University told me: "The UFO phenomenon as well as the abduction phenomenon are all about knowing - not believing."
It is here that believing and knowing part ways.
Believing is a concept engaged or triggered by faith. Knowing is a concept that is triggered by or that is engaged by reality.
I do not believe the world is round - I know the world is round. I do not have faith that the Earth orbits the Sun - I know the Earth does so. I do not believe that I exist - I know that I exist. Sentience is not a belief - it is a matter of knowing I am sentient.
The convergence of 'believing' vs. 'knowing' is indeed an existential exercise of the mind - how do we actually KNOW anything is real. Try 'knowing' THAT when you are in a car accident or your child dies. Knowing takes exceedingly prime precedence over believing.
Let another example explicate the difference.
In the Roman Catholic faith there is a concept - an article of faith - known as Transubstantiation. It is the belief that ordained priests have been given the power by Christ himself to physically change wine and water and bread into the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
No one of resonantly sound mind who is not Catholic can or could ever actually 'believe' this. However, Catholics, since the days of early Christianity, 'believe' this to be true. Do they 'know' it is true? Some of fervent belief may feel that way - however - few know with absolute and consummate certainty that Transubstantiation is in fact real.
When I hear 'do you believe in UFOs?' I cringe. UFOs are not a matter of faith - they are a cosmic reality. Can one say knowingly that UFOs are not real? The definitive answer to that is 'no'. Can they say I do not believe in UFOs - sure - but that does not prove they do not exist.
Eventually the entire argument - like anything in the realm of reality - reveals itself in data - evidence and ultimately proof.
The recent corroboration by trained military pilots and the documentation of radar specialists provides tangible evidence that the UFO/UAP phenomenon - whatever it is - is real.
The platform of belief they are extraterrestrial is a solid bet. The platform of knowing UFOs are real is a wager of certainty.
The platform of 'believing' they are real is a bet on Santa Claus.
The transition from "belief" to "knowledge" is a significant step forward for any soul on the path of discovery/expansion of consciousness. To "know", without doubt, that we are not alone in the universe, challenges many assumptions about our human existence and our concepts of divinity. Re-examining the biblical references to Ezekial's Fiery Chariots is jusy the beginning. To "know" that Beings from other galaxies regard Jesus as just another prophet is a revelation, but also remember that's more or less what Buddhist believe too.
ReplyDeleteIn my own preferred field of endeavour, out-of-body travel/consciousness projection, "knowing" that the dead are all still living on one or another level of the spirit world/astral plane, continuing their lives joyfully and not mourning their passing as we are, is a major advance on one's spiritual journey. You are no longer bound by the beliefs of religion or science or philsophy, you are confidently balanced on the platform of your experience. And from there you can expand into many other areas of new understanding, such as how the process of incarnation and many rebirths actually functions to complement our hunger for more and more knowledge. Yes, knowing beyond doubt is the pearl of great price.
Knowing that we move from the physical realm to spirit world/astral plane is indeed a comfort for those of us who were locked into the confinements of traditional religious traditions. The spiritual and humanitarian freedom this allows us in the here-and-now is liberating. It provides so many opportunities to do good for others. It often occurs to me that perhaps some of the beings who may inhabit the cosmos or different realms of existence are somehow able to engage both the physical realm as we do, but also be part of a non-corporeal realm - 'Inbetweeners' so to speak. Not sure why I 'know' this but somehow I do...
ReplyDelete