Largest UFO conference in US wraps up in Phoenix

By Steve Hammons

It’s not just about unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and the beings reportedly aboard some of them. It’s bigger, wider, deeper.

That is one of the insights gained by many of the people who attended the five-day 23^rd annual International UFO Congress conference near Scottsdale and Fountain Hills, Arizona, Feb. 12-16.

From national security considerations to spiritual perspectives, from the far reaches of the Universe to our struggling planet Earth here and now, speakers and attendees explored dozens of key aspects of, and possible connections to the UFO phenomena.

Hundreds of people from around the country and other countries attended the fascinating presentations by speakers, panel discussions, evening gatherings and other activities. Visitors also enjoyed perfect weather – sunny days with highs in the mid-80s and mostly clear nights for sky watching (night-vision equipment was also available).

Approximately 1,000 people attended each day with a total of about 2,500 probably attending, according to local news reports. Many other people around the U.S. and around the world learned about the conference on the International UFO Congress website.

The conference organizers, Open Minds Production of Tempe, Arizona, recruited speakers who covered a variety of topics ranging from mainstream scientific views to very forward-leaning perspectives about what could be going on.

MORE THAN FLYING OBJECTS

The many unknowns and mysteries associated with the UFO situation create wonderful opportunities for professional, paraprofessional and amateur researchers to try to learn more and gain more understanding. This appeared to be happening at the International UFO Congress in significant ways. The sharing of experiences, information and perspectives provided plenty of food for thought.

While some talks at the conference embraced some very mind-expanding concepts, other speakers tackled the nuts and bolts of the recent history of UFOs in somewhat more conventional historical terms.

Conference attendees were told that, yes, a very special craft of some kind crashed near Roswell in July 1947 and was promptly flown to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in southwestern Ohio for examination by top engineers, scientists and defense officials.

In the 1950s and ‘60s sightings of a variety of types of UFOs continued to be seen in the U.S. and internationally. As a result, semi-open public investigation programs such as Project BLUE BOOK were put in place. Behind the scenes other research and response activities also reportedly were implemented.

The situation has continued to develop to the present day. How has it developed? That seems to be the complex question at hand.

The UFO phenomena provided an overarching fabric of the International UFO Congress, yet that topic also served as a way to approach possible other new discoveries that could be related in certain ways.

Several speakers examined unusual, anomalous phenomena that do not always appear to be directly connected to the many kinds of UFOs that have been reported. Yet, there are indications of various types of connections, according to some views.

For example, physicists and others speculate that there could be hidden dimensions in our Universe. And there might be points of connection and interaction between our “normal” world and other worlds. Portals, doors, wormholes, star gates and pathways may exist.

If so, where are they? What do they do and how do they work? Where do they go? Who uses them, and why?

Some conference speakers noted that our planet and human societies are in trouble. There are a significant number of serious challenges and problems of many kinds facing the human race and this planet we are living on. Of course, the human race itself is a huge part of the problem, certain presenters noted.

One view is that there may be intelligent beings – of several kinds – who might be able to assist us. According to some of the speakers, this help may be available and has been in the pipeline and in the form of discreet and mysterious interventions currently underway.

TOWARD A BREAKTHROUGH

Can new discoveries and insights help us? And are there serious dangers that we should also be aware of and prepared for? What roles do the media play? If kind and friendly beings are nearby and can provide help, why is so much suffering and destruction continuing on Earth?

These are some of the questions considered by speakers and attendees at the conference.

However, if we look around our world in new ways, look to Nature and Mother Earth, look to the skies and into ourselves, there are solid clues and indications worth paying attention to, according to several of the speakers.

These clues may involve a variety of phenomena from discoveries in physics to crop circles, from the theorized dimension of Heaven to healing miracles here on Earth. And from odd coincidences to meaningful signs and messages in our daily lives. There are also other existing and emerging phenomena that are fascinating and maybe hopeful, the conference audience was told.

Some speakers counseled attendees to keep their eyes open for these realities. They may show themselves through Nature, through our relationships and through the human heart.

Fundamental to the discussion at the conference was the issue of how our human consciousness can try to accurately understand what might be going on in these areas. How can we determine what is true and what might be the best paths to follow to make more progress?

More questions … a few answers … and then more mysteries.

But by asking these questions and looking honestly into the many puzzle pieces involved in the UFO phenomena, those at the International UFO Congress, and all of us, might someday make further discoveries and a significant breakthrough.

UFO situation awareness: Phoenix conference hosts scientists, researchers, media, public

By Steve Hammons

An upcoming conference in the Phoenix, Arizona, region next week seems to have the potential to expand knowledge and understanding about an apparently challenging, sensitive and complex situation … visitation to Earth by intelligent beings from elsewhere.

The 23^rd annual International UFO Congress begins Wednesday, Feb. 12 and continues through Sunday, Feb. 16. The conference has become a significant research and educational platform where updated perspectives are shared and opportunities for further insight are identified. 

Ripples outward from the conference into the media and general public about the UFO situation and related subjects also serve these interesting and important educational efforts.

Speakers include an astrobiologist, astrophysicist, theologian, Army colonel, university professors, journalists, photographers, filmmakers, media personalities, researchers and respected authors. 

Some of the speakers wear more than one hat as they leverage their unique backgrounds to learn more, and communicate more, about the UFO situation and other forward-leaning research into interesting and important emerging developments.

Do conference speakers, attendees and the general public have “a need to know” about these kinds of topics?

Some people might be surprised by how much information on the situation is already public. But for those at the leading edge of research into these subjects, there always seems to be more information to gather and interpret, more research to be conducted, more mysteries to try to understand, more puzzle pieces to try to put together.

REAL SITUATION

The 2014 conference is being held at the Fort McDowell Resort and Casino, with the Fort McDowell Radisson next door as the host hotel. These facilities are located on the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, a local Native American community near north Scottsdale and Fountain Hills in the northeast corner of the metropolitan Phoenix area.

The public is invited to attend some or all of the conference and film festival. Various rates are available for those wishing to enjoy parts of the conference and related activities and events. More information on attendance pricing is available on the International UFO Congress website. The website also includes information on the speakers, schedule, film festival and related topics.

This year’s speakers have significant backgrounds, as have those in previous conferences. Some well-known TV, radio and media personalities will be speaking. Researchers and authors from the scientific and defense fields will also give presentations. Other speakers approach UFOs and related interesting phenomena from their own unique perspectives and backgrounds.

Attendees at this year’s International UFO Congress will no doubt arrive in Phoenix from around the country and around the world. The UFO phenomenon is truly a global situation and is a subject of keen interest of millions of people, including national governments and their defense organizations.

From all indications based on the decades of research by determined and dedicated investigators (those we know about and those we don’t), there seems to be a real situation on our hands that is vitally important for the human race and planet Earth.

As a result, we might be wise to try to improve our “situation awareness” about these kinds of subjects.

Hope springs eternal for many of those researching the UFO topic. Over the years and decades, a vast amount of information has been released, discovered or put forward in various ways that inform, educate and prepare people about what is going on … or at least parts of what is going on.

Some researchers seem to see light at the end of the tunnel, or at the end of the wormhole or star gate.

However, there have been many reports about aspects of the situation that could be very concerning, and impact public health and safety, as well as national and global defense. It may be a very mixed situation, with many elements in play, some investigators indicate.

ONGOING DEVELOPMENTS

The International UFO Congress will provide a valuable opportunity to improve public understanding about the apparent spacecraft and other phenomena in the sky (and sometimes on the ground) as well as who is responsible for them (or aboard them).

The UFO situation impacts the human race and our nations and societies in many ways, credible researchers have stated. Even though it has allegedly been regarded as a top-secret matter in the U.S. and internationally for decades, there reportedly have been parallel activities to gradually educate and prepare us for certain surprising and challenging developments. 

The International UFO Congress in Phoenix will probably be quite helpful in this regard.

Spring comes early in the Arizona Sonoran Desert, where Phoenix is located. The short and mild winter season will just be winding down in February and warmer spring temperatures are sure to follow in March. Conference speakers and attendees might be able to enjoy sunny days in the 60- and 70-degree range. Locals have noted that, so far, the Sonoran Desert winter this year has been beautiful, with weeks of sunny days in the mid-70s.

Generally clear nights should provide excellent scanning of the starry skies, especially away from the city lights on the outskirts of the metro area where the conference is being held.

Some conference visitors may want to take the short drive up the I-17 freeway to Sedona and the beautiful “Red Rock Country.” There they can experience the mysterious magnetic energy “vortexes” that are reportedly part of larger geologic and magnetic anomalies in the Sedona region. Plenty of odd encounters and sightings have been reported in the Sedona area over the years.

The fact that the well-known “Phoenix lights”  case occurred right over the metropolitan Phoenix “Valley of the Sun” back on March 13, 1997, will no doubt be on the minds of conference speakers and attendees.

Could something like that happen again? Or, might some other significant development or multiple developments take place in conjunction with the 23^rd annual International UFO Congress conference?