The Messengers: Ask Mike Clelland

[Gene Steinberg]

We welcome the return of Mike Clelland to The Paracast after six years! He's author of the new book, "The Messengers: Owls Synchronicity and the UFO Abductee." In fact I got the PDF copy of this book the same day we interviewed Walter Bosley on synchronicity.

Says the publisher (Richard Dolan Press):

The owl has held a place of reverence and mystique throughout history. And as strange as this might seem, owls are also showing up in conjunction with the UFO experience.

Mike Clelland has collected a wealth of first-hand accounts where owls manifest in the highly charged moments that surround alien contact. There is a strangeness to these accounts that defy simple explanations. This book explores implications that go far beyond what more conservative researchers would dare consider.

But the owl connection encompasses more than the UFO experience. It also includes profound synchronicities, ancient archetypes, dreams, shamanistic experiences, personal transformation, and death. From the mythic legends of our ancient past to the first hand accounts of the UFO abductee, owls are playing some vital role.

Tempted? We'll be recording this episode on Tuesday, December 22 at 11 AM Mountain time.

 

[Ravensfee]

By coincidence the postman delivered my copy of Mike's book earlier today.

All I have to do now is read the 370 odd pages before Tuesday so I can ask some meaningful questions for a change...

 

[technomage]

1. Do your observations apply to ravens and crows? These types of birds are ever present in various mythologies so I'd like to get a clarification on the differences between owls and other birds (as far as your work is concerned).
   
   
2. Do you cover Mothman as "Large Owl" in your book? Does Mothman have anything to do with owls?
   
   
3. What are your top 3 paranormal owl stories?

 

[Wade]

To follow up on @technomage 's question what about different people having different totems(?) a few years back i had an amazing sequence of synchronic events with a preying mantis figure ( which are also tied into some ufo abduction stories) or do you think that maybe owls are the new paradigm? By that I mean just as over the years alien contact stories have changed intoi abduction stories and the descriptions of these interlopers have changed perhaps the mantis and owl elements could have changed.

FYI it was your interview with Chris on Hidden Experience a few years back that followed my own experience with the mantis that really began my interest in this subject. My mantis was Chris's yellow helicopter and your Neutrogena Ultra Soft #45, when I heard you guys mention your corresponding stories I told myself "Hey, these guys get it, They know".



And Merry Christmas by the way.

 

[Sue]

What are your best birding stories about owling or daylight birding? What was the most surprising interaction you had with a bird? What was your worst misidentificaiton of an owl or another species? How has your birding experience informed and shaped your approach to understanding the owl archetype? What other traditions have shaped your understanding about interacting with birds? If you draw on other's stories about birds, how knowledgeable were your informants about birding and bird behavior?

 

[William Strathmann]

Mike, in chapter 1 of your book you state that Whitley Strieber commented on your new blog (in 2009) and that you were "impressed at the outright divinity" of his comment, which was as follows:

The grays come in threes. They often appear as owls. Contrary to popular belief, they are profoundly surrendered to God. We find this frightening, because we are not . . .​

---- So Mike, how can Strieber, or anyone, be sure that the grays are "profoundly surrendered to God"? That sounds like a humanly unprovable assertion. Do you think Whitley is some sort of a prophet / shaman?

At the end of your book you write:

When I sleep outside I will very often make a plea to the universe. I will state out loud that, "I am open and receptive to whatever you have to offer." Asking the universe is a little less churchy that saying God, but it's essentially the same thing. I am asking for a message.​

---- What kind of responses do you anticipate? Encounters with owls, coyotes, aliens, etc…?

---- In your estimation, would it be possible for a Being worthy of the title of God to respond directly to you by articulate English, even if internally?

---- In light of your acceptance of the divine, do you think there is also an actual satanic / demonic aspect of reality, dangerous to humans, that one must avoid?

 

[shadowgov]

First of all I would like to say that the guests that have been on recently, have been amazing... keep it up Paracast!!!

From listening to Mike's podcast, I always got the impression that he leaned more to the "love and light" interpretation of the phenomena. I think his views are actually more nuanced than that but I always felt that was his bias. However on several podcast episodes he talked about Dr. Karla Turner which is a much darker view of abduction. So I always sensed there was a tension between opposing views throughout his shows. I was wondering where he stands now?


So this is a bit off topic but my understanding is that Mike is active in the ultralight back-pack community and is an avid outdoors man. As such I was wondering if he cared to address the following questions:

• I was wondering if he has ever looked into the missing 411 project?
  
  • If so does he think they could be possible alien abductions?
  • Has he ever heard of similar experiences?
• I would also like to get his opinion on Bigfoot.

 

[Vimana]

Mike, I am looking forward to your book with great interest.

While I have never seen a Grey face-to-face, I have had encounters with several animals, including a white owl in the snow and a black fox that displayed strange behavior. Has your research uncovered any link between shamanic animal encounters and UFO\alien encounters? If so please describe.

 

[Ravensfee]

I haven't managed to read all of Mike's book yet, apologies if I ask a question which is clarified in later sections.

In your chapter on owls as screen memories you document a number of stories in which owls are seen but are too large, or wearing boots or indulging in other strange behaviour and so you suggest, understandably, that these are not real owls. But when people tell similar stories that feature spindly greys you seem to accept the veracity of what is being seen. If the appearances of the 4 foot owls are not to be believed, why should we not also think that reports of grey aliens are also unrepresentative of an objective reality? If we assume witness are having some of their memories screened or vision distorted how can we ever tell which parts of witness reports represent something approaching the truth?

There's a quote from Louis Pasteur that's translated as "chance favours the prepared mind". To what extent are you the co-author of the synchronistic events you describe?

The majority of the reports you've compiled seem to be from Anglophone countries, North America, Australia, UK, and occurred in the last 35 years. To what extent are these owl reports the result of a specific cultural or historic period? Do we see similar reports from non-white witnesses? Do we see any similar reports from India or China where, I believe, the owl has different cultural connotations?