Maria Duval - How To Change Your Life In Just 15 Minutes

How To Change Your Life In Just 15 Minutes
Meditation is a powerful process - very powerful. It has the power to transform your life but many people never try it because they don't know how to begin. The truth is that meditation is a simple, easy and natural process. And, to prove it to you, I’m going to teach you an easy meditation technique. Ready? Let’s get started. Every day for 10 or 15 minutes, sit quietly by yourself somewhere peaceful. Maybe under a tree, maybe in your car, maybe in the bathroom, just someplace where you are not going to be interrupted. Now, for this particular meditation technique, do your best to shut down your physical senses. Draw the curtains if it is bright and close your eyes. Put yourself in a place where there is not much sound. Some people play music in the background but even that can be distracting. However, something like the ticking of a clock, or the dripping of a faucet, or the trickling of a waterfall can be very soothing. And some music, it has to be said, does fall into that same category. But even then it must be something that does not stimulate your thoughts. Now focus inwardly, perhaps on your breathing. Be consciously aware of the air flowing into your lungs, and be consciously aware of air flowing out again. Concentrate on long breaths in, and then concentrate on long breaths out. When you breathe in and you think it is all your lungs can hold then try breathing even more air in until your lungs feel like they are almost ready to burst. Then, at a place of full expansion of lungs, take a long, slow, relaxing, breath to let all the air out again. Let your intention be nothing more than being in this moment right now, and just being consciously aware of breathing. Don't think about cooking breakfast, or combing your hair, or wondering how someone is doing, or thinking about yesterday, or worrying about tomorrow, or focusing on anything else in this moment except air in, and air out. Now, during this process, within a few days of doing it, you're going to begin to feel a kind of physical detachment from your body. A very common thing that you will feel is a sort of numbing sensation. Some describe that they cannot tell their toe from their nose. Some, if their eyes are closed, may begin to see movement of light around under their eyelids, or even flashes of color. There is no right or wrong in this meditation technique. There is nothing that you should be reaching for. This is a state of peace. This is a state where, for just a few moments, you stop running the show. You stop trying to make anything happen. This is a time when you just let everything go. Fifteen minutes a day of this will change your life. This is because it will put you in the state of letting your natural energy flow more strongly through you. You'll feel better in the moment. You'll feel more energized when you come out of it. This meditation technique is far more powerful than it might at first seem. In just a few days of consistent practice, you’ll begin to notice the powerful effect it is having on your life. So there you have it. This method will transform your life but there's one catch. It will only work if you do it!

For more Free Mind Power Knowledge, visit http://www.PsiTek.net/index2.html

Focus Beyond Success
Many people get really anxious when studying for the exams such as the PMP (Project Management Professional) or CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management) and so their anxiety works against them. The reason that they are anxious is largely because of their fear of failure. We could say that their belief in the likelihood of their failure is stronger that their belief in their success. In order to find a way out of this mess, it helps to know a little of how the mind works. Everybody wants to be successful. Of course it could be argued that some people obviously want to fail in life �" but that means that they want to be successful in failing. And so when they eventually DO fail, they succeeded in achieving their life’s main goal. And that’s a level of success that few of us achieve. When aiming for a goal, it is very important to concentrate on the successful outcomes of your task, rather than on the goal itself. For example, if you are studying for the PMP exam, you should focus on what you intend to do once you have your certification, rather than just on having letters after your name. You should concentrate on the benefits after the goal is achieved, because your energy ends where you have your focus (I’ll come back to this later). For example, suppose you are playing soccer and you have to take a penalty kick. If you concentrate really hard on taking the kick, you will become anxious and may kick the ball badly. The trick is to imagine that you have just scored the winning goal. Imagine the crowd cheering -- actually hear them in your mind -- and hear them calling your name. Imagine how good the success feels, and how proud of yourself you feel. Imagine the other soccer players running up to you and hugging you and congratulating you. If you do this, then you will relax and actually score the goal. Because if you can truly make your mind believe that you can truly make something happen, then your mind will do all that it can to make it happen (this is explained by “expectancy theory”). So if you say to someone “study hard, and try hard to pass the exam,” that is a waste of time because they are already doing that, and concentrating more on the problems will make them anxious and doubt their abilities. It is much better to get them to focus beyond the end result. Tell them to think about how good they will feel when they pass the PMP exam. And how good it will feel, pinning on the little gold badge. Tell them to imagine how wonderful and proud they will feel the first day they step back into their place of work as a PMP, to give the good news to their boss. Tell them to imagine that they’re being interviewed in the future by a reporter from a big magazine, because the magazine wants to print a feature article on their successes. Tell them to imagine how good it feels to be so successful in life. Once they believe that, it will start to happen. Your energy ends where you have your focus Now, coming back to this statement. It sounds “New age”, but it’s not. A long time ago I practiced karate for a while. This is a very relaxing sport, which seems to be largely concerned with smashing things. I was trying to break wooden planks, but with no success. My understanding of the “formula” was: Strength + technique + tough hands = (whatever you like/don’t like) smashed to bits. I had the strength and the tough hands; in fact I could hit the plank repeatedly without hurting myself too much, and the technique appeared to be right too. But then, as a result of some research, I started really believing that I could break the plank. So now my formula became: Strength + belief + technique + tough hands = (whatever you like/don’t like) smashed to bits. So I focused and my mental and physical energy on a single point on the plank (and pictured it breaking) then hit it really hard. But I still couldn’t break it. Then some time later I met a really sweet girl, who had an incredible knack for smashing things, let me into her secret. She said, “Your problem is that you are focusing on the plank, but that’s were your energy ENDS, because your energy ends where you have your focus. If you want to break the plank, you have to focus on a spot 6 inches BEHIND the plank.” So once my focus (or goal) was to reach a spot behind the plank, my energy ended 6 inches behind the plank, rather than on it’s surface. I would like to say that I was able to smash the plank on my very next attempt. That was not the case, because I was still training my mind to accept the new focus. But only a few days later I was able to smash it. And I would like to say that the girl and I developed a smashing relationship, but it was not to be, because her focus lay beyond me.

Jim Owens PMP is a career Project Manager, Presenter and PMP Instructor. Director of Certification with PMI W Australia, Columnist with www.PMHub.net and Information Age Magazine. Visit Jim at http://www.PromotePM.org The Home of Project Management. Jim's Domains & Web Hosting: http://www.WebsWoven.com

The Awareness of Metaphysical Laws and Principles Part 4
Another point of considerable importance is in the realization that divine revelation is not a static impulse of a moment in time but one that is continuous in the unchanging background of eternity. Divine Laws are no respecters of persons. We may believe in a single revelation of God for humanity for all time and consequently seal ourselves in a cage of human thought, or we may understand the nature of revelations to be forever unfolding its petals of divine truths commensurating with the development of man's mental and spiritual capacity. In one case spiritual stagnation may result, in the other continued growth. It is, therefore, a good idea for the metaphysician to attune daily with the Divine Mind to uncover the many laws and principles applicable to humanity's evolution, and to unfold his intuitive and mental faculties that spiritual truths may be easily discerned and assimilated.

Theological dogmas misdirect man's attention to a false perception and understanding of Reality. For example, we are given absurd theories by the Church concerning cosmology and anthropology which we are to consider as Truth. The Church fails to realize that the progressive modern mind of man requires practical, factual and experiential knowledge. Blind beliefs are out of place and faith without a true foundation no longer fascinates the maturing soul. The true purpose of life is left untouched and unconsidered by the leaders of the Church who prefer instead to build one's faith upon the dogma of a "sole" Son of God for salvation; of teaching and emphasizing a God of wrath; of an eternal hell which the God of Love was supposed to have created, etc., ad nauseam. One is left guessing as to what Truth is or to what it refers to. The scriptures, however, are explicit in their statements as to what Truth is, what it entails, and implies--including life's purpose as planned by God; but most adherents of the Christian religion go over them too lightly. Because the incarnating soul tends to forget its origin and purpose of being while sojourning in physical matter, we feel that the metaphysician should remind the masses repeatedly of life's purpose even if it means ending-up as a shooting target for rotten eggs and tomatoes. Below we present just five of the many important statements that sums-up the purpose of man's sojourn:

1) "Know ye not that ye are gods?" (Psalms 82:6, John 10:34)

2) "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matt 5:48)

3) "I and my Father are One." (John 10:30)

4) "Seek ye first the kingdom of God . . . " (Luke 12:31, Matt 6:33)

5) "Get wisdom, wisdom is the principle thing." (Proverbs 4:7)


Know Ye Not that Ye are Gods

Whoever wrote Psalms knew man's true identity to be divine, and that which appears to be a mortal representation of man merely a façade of the soul. Christians have long believed in a "sole" son of God, but this is disputed by the Master Jesus himself when he echoed the words of Psalms to the Pharisees and the Doctors of the Law. In the Corona Class Lessons, the "Master Jesus" complains:

"One of the greatest weakness of so-called Christianity lies in the fact that they have deified me as a god to worship or bow down to and to make wishful prayers to; yet my mission and message they often neglect . . . " (1986:27)

And one of the contents of this "message" is to know that we ourselves are gods and legitimately the spiritual children of God. It is humanity's mission to reflect, to express their Father-Mother in all of the countless worlds, realms, and dimensions.

We repeat, humanity is an expression or partial manifestation of God, and are therefore sons and daughters of the Supreme Being. To consider ourselves any less is to demean the utterance of Truth by the Nazarene. This statement from the scriptures point out that humanity must eventually come to realize this Truth here on earth and in waking consciousness. This truth is what emancipates a person from all mortal states and conditions.


Be Ye Therefore Perfect, Even as your Father Which is in Heaven is Perfect

We falsely believe in the non-attainability of perfection, and yet, if it were so, the Nazarene would not have made the above statement which is to be understood as a commandment and not as a mere suggestion. Granted, that perfection is non-attainable in the sense that it is no static condition of the soul, but an ever-growing impulse toward a higher ideal--for instance, a perfect human being is but an embryonic, imperfect god. However, the goals set for humanity that represent the state of human perfection by the Divine Mind is attainable here and now. In fact, this is one of the purposes of the cycle of incarnation and reincarnation. It is evident that perfection is not attainable in a single life-time, hence the need for re-incarnating to assist the process of soul-unfoldment and reach the "Insan Kamil" (Perfect human being) level as expressed in Islam. The perfect man is a hermaphrodite in a psychological and spiritual sense. Alchemists and Hermeticists knew of this, and Carl Jung rediscovered this principle. He believed that society's psychological ills stems from the non-integration of the many opposite polarities. To put it succinctly, and from the psychospiritual/psychobiological point of view, perfection is attained when the positive male and female qualities are harmoniously united in an individual and the awareness principle centered and functioning from that state. Below we present some of the associated components of the male and female:


Female

Right side of the brain

Intuition

Pituitary gland

Sympathetic nervous system

Compassion/Understanding

Subconscious mind

Imagination

Kundalini-Shakti

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Male

Left side of the brain

Intellect

Pineal gland

Central nervous system

Power/Wisdom

Conscious mind

Will

Shiva-Holy Spirit


Imperfection appears real, but life itself is perfect, for life is an expression of the Supreme Being. To believe that human perfection is a chimera is to believe in a cosmic deception. Although perfect human beings are seldom seen they do exist, and they usually live in the discarnate state having fulfilled the requirements for perfection. The citizens of the Kingdom of God are those that are perfect in the human sense.


I and My Father are One

This is a statement of Truth, and may result as a spontaneous expression of one's state of consciousness, rather than a reminder and an affirmation of one's inner unity with the First Cause. Fundamentalists in certain religions may consider it blasphemy for one to enunciate this truth, yet, from the spiritual perspective, the opposite is true. A sense of separation from God is a sacrilege and is the root of all evil expressions. Man's spiritual growth commensurates with his growing realization of the unity of all life. Life is evolving every unit of consciousness to the point where it realizes its individualized identity in the presence and oneness with the One Supreme Being. This evolutionary process is hastened with the cooperation of the life-unit itself when it has reached the stage where it is able to exercise the will of the soul. The will, however, is often misdirected in appeasing the purposes and goals of the personality which simply retards the life-unit's sense of divinity, immortality and identity in God.


Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God

Seeking externally for a permanent peace of mind, contentment, and happiness only results in failure. Acquiring and heaping material things in one's home, on one' person and in one's bank account eventually brings about an empty feeling in the soul. All that is external to us is transient in nature; therefore, dependency on externals for our spiritual, mental, and emotional well-being are likewise short-lived. Caesar's and Mammon's kingdom fail to provide us with anything of eternal worth; it is only be seeking within that we acquire the immaterial things beneficial for our continued soul-existence. The kingdom of God is within and at hand, and not as Christian theology has taught: a place situated in a paradisical garden in the higher worlds or in the Last Days waiting for the faithful to enter at some uncertain date. Heaven does exist as a spiritual archetype and must be manifested in our consciousness and in the physical world. The Kingdom of God within is an inner reality that life is directing us to realize and to manifest in our mundane sphere, our external reality. Once we have gained the Kingdom of Heaven, it is up to us how we will manifest it on earth. We may choose to manifest worldly abundance, or we may not. Nevertheless, what is certain is that suffering will be a thing of the past, for it is promised in the scriptures that God shall wipe away every tear. The Kingdom's successful appearance is dependent upon the way we think and live, and the focus and quality of our consciousness.


Get Wisdom, Wisdom is the Principle Thing

According to Tradition, Solomon is supposed to be one of the wisest men who ever lived. The above statement, therefore, takes on a greater significance for it is attributed to the Hebrew King who was responsible for the building of the Temple. Wisdom may be categorized into two types: mundane wisdom of the worldly man and spiritual wisdom of the enlightened person. The spiritual wisdom of the enlightened person is much wider in perspective, and all-encompassing than the wisdom of the worldly individual. Wisdom in its essence is Soul-knowing, Soul-loving, and Soul-willing. It is one of the aspects of the Spiritual Triad within the microcosmic being of man. Its unfoldment and application in one's world assists in proper assimilation of one's mundane experiences. Wisdom in its lower spiritual form, as understood in Hindu philosophy, is the application of Viveka and Vairagya, or discrimination and detachment--discrimination as to what is real and unreal, and the detachment of that which is unreal and false. Meditation, introspection and prayer are some of the principle means whereby the wisdom of the Soul may be evoked into waking consciousness. Knowledge that is spiritually understood is the acquisition of wisdom, and as wisdom grows, so does one's illumination. Salvation is automatic when one attains illumination. Without wisdom a person goes through life making foolish mistakes and karma that bind him or her to samsara--or the lower worlds. Wisdom, therefore, has an emancipative quality which directs a person to Reality and is to be considered as a "principle thing" to be acquired.


The Laws of Life

The average person drifts through life without sparing a thought as to its purpose. When facing problems he usually either flees from it, in which case he confronts it in another form because the seed of the problem lies within, or else he submits feebly to its occurrence. In both cases he fails to extract the teaching that it may convey to his evolving soul. Without a proper philosophy of life man lives like the lower life-forms, indulging in the lower senses and gratifying the base appetites and instincts. An improper philosophy of life is materialistically oriented--it is deemed improper because it neglects the spiritual side of Nature and because of such it fails to answer adequately the many vicissitudes and paradoxes of life that confronts man daily. What we propose is a metaphysical philosophy in which is based the Cosmic Laws and the Eternal Purpose. Such a philosophy may come about as a result of a growing sensitivity to the divine nature within--to a metaphysical awareness of the Soul. In this philosophy all of the beliefs and tenets of a materialistic way is replaced with a loftier understanding and attitude as seen from a spiritual base. For instance, science informs us that we all possess several instinctive urges that motivate our zeal for life; they may be summed-up as follows:

1) The instinct of self-preservation

2) The instinct of self-perpetuation

3) The herd instinct

4) The religious instinct

These instincts are well known in psychology, therefore we shall not take the time to explain them. We shall instead analyze their hidden, occult nature, as seen from a spiritual standpoint.


The Instinct of Self-Preservation

At a higher spiral of evolution, this primal instinct of self-preservation applies to the soul being of man where it is transformed into the evocation and preservation of one's Higher Self in one's waking consciousness. St. Paul calls this the forming of the Christ within. As man is transformed spiritually, he displaces the lower self, the false ego, with the preservation of the Real Self with which he identifies himself. Mortality is thereby transcended as the divinity of the Real Self is preserved, maintained and lived. We must be careful not to limit ourselves because of the false image or conception we have of what we believe ourselves to be. That which appears is unreal; that which is Real, is hidden. It is the archetypal image of man that God created and saw that it was good. There should, therefore, be a cessation of the identification with the unreal.


The Instinct of Self-Perpetuation

This instinct of self-perpetuation is a creative impulse that the biological being of man translates into procreation or generation. From the spiritual standpoint, creativity is in manifesting the qualities of man's innate divinity, and in expressing the divine urge to create outwardly through the mind with the symbol and tool of his will--the hands; and to internally re-create or regenerate anew the quality and life of the cells composing his organic being. Self-perpetuation, therefore, takes on a spiritual nature in which the "self" that is perpetuated is the intrinsic genius and uniqueness of the Soul expressed and moulded upon inanimate and animate matter. Mediocrity is the result of our own sense of self-limitation and false identity. Our true potential is realized by giving up this false state and expressing what really lies within our spiritual nature. Self-depreciation and exaltation of the lower self simply shuts out the light of our Higher Self.


The Herd Instinct

Gregariousness, or the herd instinct in the lower being of man is the desire to socialize, to identify himself with others like himself. This instinct gives rise to the old proverb, "bird of a feather flock together." Man has been called a social animal, and in this propensity towards others of his kind lies the underlying, unconscious spiritual urge to be one with Nature, to unite with God. Spiritually, man seeks unity with the Source of his being, to identify himself with something greater than what he believes himself to be. Not realizing the purport of this instinctive urge, man seeks outwardly for that which can only be found within. Relationships with individuals, with groups, with clans, with others of like creed will fail to satisfy the Soul-urge, for all that which is external to man is ephemeral. Transcending mob-consciousness is the way towards attaining superconsciousness. Man seeks to unite with God for he senses a certain "separation" from his Source, a certain void in his heart. A sense of separation ascribes to us all the opposite virtues of the Supreme Being--its power, wisdom, and love. We falsely see ourselves as mere humans, weak, powerless, finite, limited, mortal, and wisdomless. Nothing less than the "mystical union" with the Universal Being will bring man true peace, happiness and contentment. In order to enforce this sense of non-separation from God, one ought to think, speak and act as though we were one with God. Affirmations and decrees such as "I and my Father are one" are of great aid.


The Religious Instinct

Carl Jung proposed that man possesses a religious instinct which motivates him to recognize, or to believe, and be devoted to something higher than himself in which he has come to call "God." Basically, this has a similar meaning with the spiritual connotation, interpretation and application of the herd instinct. It is actually the urge to evolve, to progress to a higher state of consciousness. Animals, plants and lower life-forms move along the currents of evolution in an unconscious manner. Lacking the mind-principle and the force of the will, they are unable to participate in their own evolution. Man, however, has all the tools, the faculties in his possession to take part in his return to his "Father," like the prodigal son. We believe that either this instinct has been misnamed or else it has been misunderstood, as it has perpetuated man's bondage to religious creeds. Ignorant of the spiritual nature of the religious instinct, man has created a demarcation between a life lived spiritually, and religious devotions to man-made dogmas, often praising the latter while condemning the former. Man will not fulfill God's Plan so long as his devotions are directed to maya, glamor, and illusions rather than to Truth. Man's present form of worship is directed to an idea, an image of a belief. There is no true knowing by experience of what he worships. Unless he turns towards that which is Real and reflects it in his life, man is not truely being "religious." Instead of humanizing God, we should spiritualize man.

Understanding the primal instincts to be spiritual urges and laws with a metaphysical application enriches one's personal philosophy and attitude towards the purpose of existence. A philosophy of life should be based on Truth, based on the Laws of the Cosmos that brought the solar system into being. Spiritual laws unfold man's awareness when applied, and an understanding of those laws gives man a greater direction in life, a greater sense of unity with Nature and a responsibility to life as a whole. There are many Cosmic laws that man should incorporate into his philosophy of life and turn into principles of living. Laws of Love, of Harmony, of Justice, Beauty, Cooperation, and Service, for instance, provides man with enough material to expand his awareness to embrace the Cosmos. Divine Laws are a manifestation of the Supreme Being . By living in accord with these Laws, we manifest in our lives abundance in a material and a psycho-spiritual sense. It is these Cosmic Laws that the spiritual counselor should teach all those that aspire to realize, to be, and to become their Real Self.

Copyright © 2006 Luxamore
Leonard Lee aka Luxamore
Metaphysical teacher, counseler, healer and merchant of occult/magickal items of Indonesia.
Magickal Items from Indonesia: talismans, mustika pearls, kerises, etc.
Magickal Bezoar Mustika Pearls from Indonesia.

Practice Visualizing Your Dating Techniques
The Law of Attraction has worked for many people who sought to gain financial freedom. It has helped many to experience fuller lives through better relationships. The Law of Attraction can also have a profound affect on your body. Think first of how the Law of Attraction works. You are made up of energy and the energy you send out is positive or negative. This will depend upon whether you focus on the good things in life or the bad. This will not only affect others, but it will affect you as well. If you want to send out positive energy, you will want to concentrate on the upbeat things in your life. One way to use the Law of Attraction to do this is visualization. Athletes use a form of seeing what future actions will hold. This technique is called Visual Motor Rehearsal. These athletes are practicing the Law of Attraction. They can be hooked up to all kinds of monitors and then practice an athletic event in their minds. The monitors will show that their muscles obey their thoughts even though they are not being actively used. Then, when it comes time to actually do the activity, they are very much prepared. This is the Law of Attraction. With the Law of Attraction, you can feel the reality of your plans and dreams coming true. This can be done in the same way as the athletes do it, by visualization. This can help you with a physical task you are about to undertake. You might be planning to climb Mt. Everest or simply swim your first lap around the pool. If you can use the Law of Attraction to visualize it and believe the results, you can make it happen. Your positive feelings about accomplishing a difficult undertaking will come back to you in the form of positive energy for you. The Law of Attraction has also been used for healing. No one suggests that medicine should not be used. However, thought among those who lecture and write about the Law of Attraction is that the medicine can be helped immensely by the use of positive energy. The placebo effect should prove that thinking can influence your health. If people feel good about a medicine they are being given, they will more likely be healed by it. This is true whether the medicine is a highly developed scientific formula or a sugar pill. Some conditions require much treatment and medication. People with these conditions often get depressed or discouraged. If they can keep their focus on positive things, they have a better chance of survival. Knowing the Law of Attraction can help them to do this. Part of using the Law of Attraction to heal is to visualize the process of getting better. As you come to believe you are getting better, it turns out that you actually do. Another way to use the Law of Attraction is to dwell on the good by surrounding yourself with things you enjoy. This will keep the focus on the positive energy. The Law of Attraction is not only good for your wallet. It can help other aspects of your life, too. If you have a physical challenge to overcome, the Law of Attraction can help you.

Terry Detty finds Nashville Free Online Dating Service and Knoxville Free Online Dating Service his passion. In addition to marketing, he enjoys reading and occasionally goes out for a short walk.  His latest interest is a new Chattanooga Free Online Dating Service he's been using.

Who's Who in UFology Today
Below are ten names of the most educated, respected UFologists alive today. By studying their theories and published works, you will be on the forefront of UFology research.

Jerome Clark: Researcher and writer. He attended South Dakota State University and Minnesota State University, becoming interested in the UFO phenomenon in the 1960s. He initially embraced the interdimensional hypothesis to explain UFOs, but then turned to Extraterrestrial Hypothesis as the best explanation. His focus is on UFO cases with multiple witnesses, or those which leave physical evidence. He is an active board member of CUFOS, and has served as the editor of the CUFOS journal, as well as The Journal for UFO Studies. In the 1990s he published a massive three volume UFO Encyclopedia, which earned him the 1998 Benjamin Franklin Award in the Science category. He has written and co-written several books on UFOs.

Stanton T. Friedman: Nuclear Physicist. He received his BS and MS from University of Chicago, and worked for 14 years on advanced, classified projects such as nuclear aircraft, fission and fusion rockets, and nuclear power plants for space. He is possibly the best-known UFO lecturer in North America, having been the first promoter of the Roswell incident, and the most significant voice of the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis. His written testimony has been used in Congressional hearings, and he has appeared before the UN twice. He has published two books covering his work with the MJ-12 documents and the Roswell incident.

Richard F. Haines, Ph.D.: Research Scientist for NASA from 1967-1988. He received his MA and Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from Michigan State University. He investigated aviation accidents and incidents for FAA, NTSB, and attorneys. For 37 years he has specialized in pilot sightings, amassing more than 3,000 reports. Other special interests include analysis of photographic evidence and data on Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind. He has written two books and numerous UFO articles.

Bernard Haisch, Ph.D.: Astrophysicist and President of Digital Universe Foundation; Chief Science Officer for ManyOne Networks, Inc; Director of California Institute for Physics and Astrophysics; and editor of numerous scientific journals. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. Self-described as a “UFO skeptic, standing somewhere between the majority rejectionist view of mainstream scientific community and the majority accepting view of the general public,” Haisch advocates personal research of phenomenon while suspending judgment.

James A. Harder, Ph.D.: Professor of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering and Professor Emeritus at University of California at Berkeley. Harder received his BS at Caltech, and his MS and Ph.D. at University of California in Berkeley. From 1969-1982 he was the director of research for Aerial Phenomena Research Organization, one of the first civilian organizations to study UFOs. He was the primary investigator on a number of classical UFO cases, mainly related to alien abductions. He is a strong advocate of the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis and the government cover-up theories.

John Keel: Parapsychologist and Journalist. Keel is best-known for his ideas that there is a direct relationship between UFOs and psychic phenomena and demonology. He is one of the most widely read and influential UFologists since the early 1970s. His 1967 book, The Mothman Prophesies�"about a strange winged creature reportedly seen in West Virginia by numerous witnesses�"was loosely adapted into a 2002 blockbuster.

Bruce Maccabbee, Ph.D.: Optical Physicist. He received his BS in physics from Worcester Polytechnical Institute, and his MA and Ph.D. at American University in Washington DC. He has been active in UFO research since the 1960s, when he joined NICAP. After its demise he joined MUFON and is now state director for Maryland. He was instrumental in establishing the Fund for UFO Research. He is the author and co-author of numerous technical articles and books.

John E. Mack, Ph.D.: Psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and Pulitzer-prize winning biographer. He received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School after his undergraduate years at Oberlin. He graduated from the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute and was Board certified in child and adult psychoanalysis. He was a professor of psychology at Harvard until his untimely death in a car accident in 2004. (We include him in this article of contemporary UFologists, since his work is relevant today.) Mack’s clinical work focused on the exploration of dreams, nightmares, and teen suicide. In 1990 he published his research on alien abduction encounters, concluding, “There is compelling powerful phenomenon here that I can’t account for any other way, that’s mysterious…it seems to me that it invites deeper, further inquiry.”

Peter A Sturrock, Ph.D.: British Scientist. He studied mathematics at Cambridge University where he earned his Ph.D. Much of his career has been devoted to electron physics, particle accelerators, plasma physics, solar physics, astrophysics, and scientific interference. He was appointed professor of applied physics at Stanford University, where he is now professor emeritus. Gaining interest in UFology, and curious about the general attitudes toward the field, Sturrock conducted two major surveys involving more than 2,500 scientists. Upon learning that a majority of scientists favored better research of UFOs, Sturrock helped establish the Society of Scientific Exploration to provide a forum for the subject. His studies have since been published.

Jacques Vallee, Ph.D.: French-born Computer Scientist and Astronomer. After receiving his BS in Mathematics and his MS in Physics, he came to the US 1962 and began working in astronomy at the University of Texas. He worked at MacDonald Observatory on NASA’s first project making a detailed informational map of Mars. He then received his Ph.D. in Computer Science at Northwestern University, where he was a student of renowned UFologist, J. Allen Hynek. Initially he promoted the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis, but later modified it, introducing the Multidimensional Visitation Hypothesis. His exploration of the commonalities between UFOs, cults, religious movements, angels, ghosts, cryptid sightings, and psychic phenomena contributed to his change in ideas. He was the model for the UFO researcher in Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and served as a consultant on the set. He has authored numerous books and articles on various subjects, including UFOs.

About the Author: Francesca Black a long time science fiction buff, manages content for UFO Gifts http://www.ufo-gifts.com and Science Fiction Corner http://www.science-fiction-corner.com