This is sort of a philosophical question for everyone...

Do you think that belief in the Others- UFOs, Aliens, Life Elsewhere...

Could it just be a defense mechanism for people who
feel that their own Life On Earth is lacking in purpose or cosmic meaning?

I for one- a true believer- fantasize about both disclosure
and a Global Alien Landing/Greeting and Social Interface,
mostly as a way to affect micro and macro change-
that is- such a thing would change the world,
and frankly, make it more interesting.

Sometimes I think my own belief, while real, may be linked
to what I perceive as a world that has its' priorities backwards-
and proof of alien life- proof of someone higher up
on the food chain- would certainly wake us up from our
self-awareness slumber...

Or, maybe my belief in such things is a subconcious reaction
to the boredom of everyday life... contact would certainly put
something else besides interest rates and Irag on the front page
for me to read in the morning...

Anyway- you get my point--- are those skeptical too busy
to believe, and we, the believers, just reacting to our own
existential dissatisfaction?

Please, discuss...

TPM

Its basically the NSA's mind control crap throwing those thoughts of disbelief into your head because they find your too unworthy of the truth

For me it started with natural curiosity, and as yourself a general boredom of the many trivial matters in every day life. But when looking into the subject it gradually went from curiosity and for the lack of better hobbys, it turned into a deep interest.

[edit on 11-1-2007 by DigThat]

HighDef:

In my short interest phase in UFOs, I did see a number of people that hate their lives and want aliens to come and make it better. I think this might be what you're talking about. In some cases, it's wanting the aliens to come take vengeance on the unbelievers ("You won't be ascending to dimension 6 when the aliens come, you empiricist puke!") or forcefully restructure the world into the form that the person would like. "If only the aliens would come and make the world the way I'd like, then it would be all roses! And surely any advanced being WOULD remake the world the way I'd like, because I am the best!"

I see it as a sort of megalomania by proxy: the aliens are the projection of their desire for power.

I can remember the first time I even heard of ufo's -

I was around three years of age, and my father called me into the living room to watch a television program called "UFO" (this was around 1978) and I remember watching the show transfixed at the images of flying crafts and the possibility of alien life.

The show gave no clear cut answers, but it sent my imagination spinning at the time.

After we had finished watching the broadcast, I returned to my room and continued playing around with my toys, never giving what I had seen any further thought until I was around seven years of age and my mother introduced me to the original Star Trek series.

Once again, I was transfixed and fascinated - and very creeped out by one of the visual images at the end of the closing credits.

As I grew older, I went through the common experience of being scared of getting abuducted, wanting to see an actual ufo and even reading/watching books and visual media on the subject. I've never gotten too deeply involved with the issue outside of childlike curiousity.

Several years ago, shortly after being diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, I began to see very clear visual hallucinations of several entities that I can only describe as being alien in appearance.

I've fought off delusions and episodes stressing the actuality of alien life forms being on this planet - mainly because my hallucinations have no real life value or purpose, but also because I cannot create a workable storyline to explain what I have seen, felt, heard and thought during these times.

Is it an overactive imagination from my childhood experiences manifesting through my chemical imbalance? Is it symptoms of something real going on under the radar of conventional reality? I don't know.

The subject, while it still holds a bit of creative fascination for me, has become a terrifying and sometimes unwanted thoughtscape, simply because my experiences are so subjective and there are no clear cut answers.

The continual attacks from non believers and people who dismiss everything as nothing more than the product of a chemically imbalanced brain don't help make what I've been going through any easier either.

Could it be the subconcious upwelling of childhood memories gone awry?

I don't know.

Might it be because I don't really have a niche or solid foothold in the accepted dictates of reality? Is it because I believe in a better and more enlighted way of life?

Can't say for sure.

Is it because the majority of my social interactions with the people on this planet have been confusing and logical conundrums?

Maybe. It makes sense to me that if someone is disatisfied with some aspects of their lives that they would search for alternatives - whether it be opimistic of the future or a pessimistic blame game.

I had absolutely no interest at all in UFOs until I actually saw one. After my first encounter, I wasn't even compelled to tell anyone as the experience was something I considered very personal. I was accompanied by a witness during my second encounter, so I spoke more openly about it. My belief in UFOs/ET has nothing to do with attention or boredom, and everything to do with personal experiences.

Could it just be a defense mechanism for people who
feel that their own Life On Earth is lacking in purpose or cosmic meaning?

Speaking only for myself...no. But then again, isn't a scientist studying the atom looking for that very thing? Does that make his or her quest any less meaningful or important?

Let's face it, each of us are infinitismal specs on a spinning mudball that is but a grain of sand on a beach the size of which we can't even imagine... Any idea of our "place" in the cosmos is only in our own egos.

Originally posted by GENERAL EYES

Is it an overactive imagination from my childhood experiences manifesting through my chemical imbalance? Is it symptoms of something real going on under the radar of conventional reality? I don't know.

Ammo for the skeptics, who mostly believe that past influences by sci-fi books and moves, mixed in with visions of grandeur or attention needy personalities, and a touch of insanity or drug use explains the majority of the UFO cult.

I come from a small town in Italy back in the 1950s, where life was much like it was a hundred years earlier, horses and bicycles were the main mode of transportation. We had no radios, no televisions or movies. I was not exposed to sci-fi books or anything resembling flying ships, not even airplanes. Yet I was taken aboard fantastic ships that flew into space.

Vivid imaginations require seeds---movies, books, story tellers, I had none of that but I did have many trips into space, inside of space vehicles. Fifty some years later I’m still making those journeys---and they are not in my dreams or overactive imagination.

I believe your experiences are real but you live on a planet that remains for the most part fast asleep, and therefore you have conflicts with your beliefs, which can cause metal anxiety.

HighDef...

My first reply to you was an excerpt of a longer one I had written, but I didn't post because I didn't want to stir up trouble. I'm U2U'ing it to you, just for fun.

Tell me if I'm not right in terms of some of the posts so far...the other ones should be along shortly.

Tom

Sleeper -

Thanks for your words of encouragement. It's rare someone will step up to the plate and admit that not everything that happens to one who has been diagnosed is purely a result of the illness itself.

It's refreshing to know there are other people out there open to alternative explanations.

Originally posted by GENERAL EYES
Sleeper -

Thanks for your words of encouragement. It's rare someone will step up to the plate and admit that not everything that happens to one who has been diagnosed is purely a result of the illness itself.

It's refreshing to know there are other people out there open to alternative explanations.

There are many people walking around proud as peacocks believing they are the sane and intelligent ones, and laughing at abductees. Talk about delusional---

There is an explanation for everything including your real or perceived problems, but there is no explanation for diehard skeptics, they remain enigmas.

I say that because even if I had no experience with ET it would be impossible for me not to believe in extraterrestrials, its just plain common sense----when you look up at the night sky those are not fireflies they are billions of star systems just like ours.