Mike Clelland: Owls, Aliens & Synchronicity

[gunshy]

So, I wasn't entirely sure I should post this in the "Episodes" category, because mostly it's a story about the crazy knot of synchronicities that surrounded this episode. But it is technically about the episode. So here goes.

I'll start with saying that when I was younger, about 11 or 12, I had a weird dream-like-but-definitely-not-a-dream experience involving a pretty damn large snowy owl and my grandma. I won't describe the whole experience, but I will say we don't have snowy owls in Wyoming, and it's the only weird owl experience I've had. I could never put my finger on it, but I knew it wasn't a dream, and that it had some significance (which is why that movie 'The 4th Kind' freaked me out when I saw it about 6 years ago). I would later find out that owls were involved in high weirdness, and my story shares some common themes with other weird owl stories. So I do have a personal thread to pull on.

So last year, my cousin started a website. Basically, it's a hub of links to really nifty shit. UFOs, art, music...the other stuff that matters. I promise this isn't a shameless plug, but if you wanna check it out, it's right here. He's not making money on it or anything, this isn't an ad: http://www.coalitionofseekers.com/

So anyway, when he first got it up, one of the first links I followed was to Mike Clelland's blog (http://hiddenexperience.blogspot.kr/), to listen to an interview by a man whose pen name is John Clark, about his totally bizarre life experiences. I saw all the references to owls on Mike's blog, got keyed up, and started exploring it a bit, reading some stories, and I realized there was definitely something to my childhood suspicion. Well, after I navigated away, I didn't go back to his blog for a while. This was early last year.

--------------------

Just a few weeks ago, I got together with an old friend, and he invited me to be a guest on this podcast he and some buddies do here. Really, they just sit around and bullshit and record it. But anyway, while we were recording, I was sick of watching youtube and talking about jerking off, so I changed topics. "How do you guys feel about aliens?"

We got onto the topic, and some strange sightings they've had out at this particular place on the outskirts of town. Things like cows who were not behaving at all like regular cows, moving with quick, concise motions and unnerving gazes. Lights in the sky. Then one of the guys there that I'd never met starts talking about how he had these three huge white owls fly over his truck while he was driving out there, and I almost jumped out of my chair. I told them about my earlier experience. They want to take me out there at some point, and I'm down for sure. Maybe I'll make a report about it on here if something nifty happens.

So, just a few days ago, I decide to revisit my cousin's website. I hadn't looked at it in a few months. After messing around on there a bit, I made my way back to Mike's blog, and went to featured interviews. The first name on the list is Leo Sprinkle, which raised an eyebrow, because that guy is from Wyoming, and my dad met him when he was a young hippie. Said the guy changed his life, totally overflowing with love. He's one of those people that just raises your consciousness by being near you.

I started listening to that interview, and then I hopped on Facebook. I scroll down, and the third thing on my feed is Greg Carlwood's post about the new Higherside Chats featuring who? Mike Clelland, talking about owls, aliens and synchronicity. I freaked out (in a good way).

After almost a year of not even thinking about the guy's blog, I get on it the day Carlwood releases that episode?! Too weird. I just had to relate that tale. After I told it to my cousin, he informed me he started Coalition of Seekers with kind of a side intention to create synchronicities for people that came there. That is certainly what happened.

That's actually what got me to sign back up for THC+ after so long.

 

[TheCarlwood]

Interesting! I've gotten quiet a few messages regarding syncs and that episode. Glad to have you back!

 

[hatzman]

I really enjoyed this episode. Mike is a great speaker. Can't say I see many owls here in Australia, but my I'm looking

 

[gunshy]

I really enjoyed this episode. Mike is a great speaker. Can't say I see many owls here in Australia, but my I'm looking

Well then it'll be extra weird if you do!

 

[general urko]

Back when I was a teenager in the mid 80's, me and a friend stumbled upon a huge white barn owl on the side of the road in front of my house. It was obviously sick or in distress so I grabbed my .22 rifle to put it down so it wouldn't suffer (I was 13 or 14 at the time, stupid young). As we were getting ready to put this bird down a man came in from nowhere and grabbed the rifle. He said he was driving along the road and saw us kids with a rifle and wanted to know what we were doing. We explained that we did not want the owl to suffer so we were going to put it down. The man thought for a minute, then nodded to us and said " ok, now I understand". My next memory is waking up in my bed the next day. My friend has no recollection of the incident. I walked out to the place where we were and there was no owl carcass. I did not want to shoot the owl, just didn't want it to suffer. As strange as this memory is, I am glad that I didn't have to take this injured animals life. Knowing what I know now I would have behaved differently, but I was just a stupid kid.

 

[satyagraha]

Were there power lines overhead on that roadside?

I found a red tail hawk in a situation like that once. It was alive and alert, but it just didn't try to fly. I put on some leather gloves and put it in a cardboard box and took it to this wonderful wildlife vet lady who used to be in our region. (Sadly, this saint has passed on.) I couldn't see it through the feathers, but upon examination she found the bird had been electrocuted and the internal burns were such that there was no saving it and she had to put it down. Apparently the hawk's wingspan was great enough to span the 12,000 volt lines and drew the current.

One time, maybe twenty five years ago, that wildlife vet came to assist with the rescue of some orphaned barn owl chicks. Here are some video capture photos from video I took of the chicks, the barn, and that wonderful vet lady. The four chicks had fallen from near the very peak of the roof to a small platform 8 feet below it, still high up a rickety ladder. I brought them down, one at a time. That beautiful old barn came down a few years back too. Makes a guy feel old. I used to pick liberty caps out behind that barn when a friend used to live there.

 

[gunshy]

Here are some video capture photos from video I took of the chicks, the barn, and that wonderful vet lady.

Unfortunately, the image links seem to be broken.

 

[satyagraha]

Unfortunately, the image links seem to be broken.

They are just regular jpegs and small ones at that. I can see them when I am logged in. I noticed that I could not see them if I wasn't logged in.

If anyone else can see them, please let us know. I tried to see if I had some setting that would prevent them from being seen but found nothing that I think would cause that.

 

[kingrichard]

More Owls in the news...
http://kboi2.com/news/local/why-are-dozens-of-dead-owls-showing-up-along-interstate-84

 

[wwpalum]

Back when I was a teenager in the mid 80's, me and a friend stumbled upon a huge white barn owl on the side of the road in front of my house. It was obviously sick or in distress so I grabbed my .22 rifle to put it down so it wouldn't suffer (I was 13 or 14 at the time, stupid young). As we were getting ready to put this bird down a man came in from nowhere and grabbed the rifle. He said he was driving along the road and saw us kids with a rifle and wanted to know what we were doing. We explained that we did not want the owl to suffer so we were going to put it down. The man thought for a minute, then nodded to us and said " ok, now I understand". My next memory is waking up in my bed the next day. My friend has no recollection of the incident. I walked out to the place where we were and there was no owl carcass. I did not want to shoot the owl, just didn't want it to suffer. As strange as this memory is, I am glad that I didn't have to take this injured animals life. Knowing what I know now I would have behaved differently, but I was just a stupid kid.

That is a creepy story. Do you remember seeing the guy's car, he said he was driving along and saw you. Also is the lost time in your memory and your buddy's loss of memory due to the incident being so long ago or was it induced by something else? By the way I think putting down a suffering wounded animal is the right thing to do.

 

[general urko]

I do not remember seeing the car the guy was driving, which in itself is odd because I am a huge car enthusiast and always notice cars. I also remember being startled when the guy grabbed the barrel of the rifle because we did not hear any approaching cars. It seemed he came out of nowhere. The next day when I met up with my friend, he had no memory of the man, just remembered the owl in distress. I have had an interest in the UFO, paranormal stuff since I was young. I can definitely say I am not an abductee or anything like that. But I do remember a couple weird things that happened to me throughout my teen years. I'm sure many people do.

 

[wwpalum]

So when I listened to this episode I found it a interesting topic but I had never had any experiences with owls. However in the past 2 weeks or so I've had a couple owl experiences, which is odd because I don't recall everything having any before.
The first one happened 3 days in a row. I was in the woods hunting, I know I know a lot of people aren't going to like the hunting part, but there I was hunting and a large owl flew up about 25 yards or so and sat on a branch for about a half hour at which point he dove down and crushed a chipmunk right in plain view. The other two days same scenario but different location same results. What are the chances of that.
Then tonight I pull in my driveway and a owl is sitting on a branch above the spot where I park. Not a big owl like the other one but a smaller one like a screech owl.
I'm not saying anything crazy but that was just some synchronicity that happened to me.

 

[hasbeen]

Even though I grew up in small town/farming area, I cannot recall ever seeing an owl, although there were often hoots in the night.

I listened to the first half of this one on my nightly walk through town. For the first time, I noticed that there were some owl paintings on my route - they had never caught my attention before.
Now I can't help but see them every time I walk that way.

The real kicker came in the morning on my way back home. Just as the conversation lighted on owls and UFO's I glanced up at the town's observation platform - it's a silver doughnut that goes up and down a 500ft pole, and wouldn't look out of place in the background of a Mars Attacks trading card -

As soon as I glanced back, my eyes were drawn to a small figurine in a charity shop window. That figurine was three owls, two child owls sheltering under their mother's wings.

"UFO, owl," I thought. What a fluke. I chuckled internally and looked up at the "UFO" again, sure in the knowledge that, having strolled a little further down the street there'd be no matching "owl" on the ground.

As soon as my eyes returned to street level an owl, printed on the backpack of a child no less, was staring back at me.

Spooks were had in abundance.

The whole experience brought to mind the "Finding a Quarter" exercise in the first chapter of R.A. Wilson's Prometheus Rising, and, of course, Matthew 7:7 -
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find;"