After Leonard Nimoy’s death yesterday, I thought it was time to disclose something I’ve kept secret for a long time.

I hesitate to tell this story for a number of reasons, but feel impelled to now. Only a small number of people know about it, even though it occurred over 10 years ago.

While I was in the military and stationed in Charleston, South Carolina, I saw something that I literally couldn’t believe…

It was a Friday night, and I didn’t go out, or get together with anyone. It was warm out, so I was sitting in a park behind my apartment complex alone listening to music on my iPod.

There was a baseball field, and I walked over to lie down on some of the bleachers and stare up at the sky. It was enjoyable and soothing to be sitting there by myself with nothing but the night sky above me.

I can’t tell you how long I was sitting there, when I saw one of the most awesome sights I have ever witnessed.

A black triangular shaped aircraft passed over me (not directly). It had orange lights on the side I could see.

(This isn’t a picture of it. I had no camera with me at the time.)

Since I had my headphones in, I have no idea if it made any sound.

Immediately afterward, I started doubting myself. I thought there was no way I just saw what I thought I saw. For about two minutes my mind raced, as I considered what just happened.

Seeing-as-how I was in the military, I have a pretty good idea what kind of aircraft we possess. This was unlike anything I had ever seen before or since.

While I was trying to rationalize what I witnessed, approximately 2 minutes after seeing the unidentified flying object, I saw another aircraft. This time it was the US military’s.

A dual rotered helicopter was following in almost the exact same flight path as the triangular ship that just passed by. I started freaking out even more.

(Not the actual helicopter, just for reference.)

This started to really convince me what I just witnessed was genuine, but once again my mind started stepping in to cast doubts on what had happened.

Much to my surprise, about 5 minutes after the initial sighting, another US military aircraft passed overhead. Heading in approximately the same direction again, this time it was a plane with an air-search radar attached, that looked similar to a C-130 (a large plane).

(Again, not the actual aircraft. In fact, not even a C-130)

At this point I lost all doubt that I had seen something very unusual. While there is no way for me to tell who was piloting that black ship with orange lights, I knew it was meant to be kept secret.

Perhaps it was a government spy plane of some kind, and they were just taking it out for a drive on a Friday night. One thing is for certain: That the government knew that aircraft was there.

Beyond that, I can’t say anything with any certainty. From my speculation, I can’t see why the government would be following the UFO if it was theirs. Taking it out relatively early on a Friday night doesn’t seem to be the least conspicuous time for testing out new technology either.

This leads me to believe that it was piloted by someone other than the US government. Perhaps it was another country testing out their new prototype plane, but why would they do it on American soil?

Unfortunately, this experience left me with more questions than answers.

Perhaps you have witnessed something similar, or have heard from someone else about something like this. If so, please comment below if you’re willing to go boldly where no one has gone before. Or you can contact me through any number of means on this site through social media or email.

I would love to hear your thoughts even if you’ve never had anything like this happen to you though! Am I crazy? Did I witness unknown technology?? Was it from out of this world??? Who knows…

Live long and prosper

There is a Zen koan titled, “The Giver Should Be Thankful” which has always stuck with me since I first heard it. It goes like this:

Seisetsu was the master of a Temple.
He required larger quarters, since those in which he was teaching were overcrowded. Umezu, a local merchant, decided to donate five hundred pieces of gold called ryo toward the construction of a bigger school.
This money he brought to the teacher.
Seisetsu said: “All right. I will take it.”

Umezu gave Seisetsu the sack of gold, but he was dissatisfied with the attitude of the teacher.
One might live a whole year on three ryo, and the merchant had not even been thanked for five hundred.
“In that sack are five hundred ryo,” hinted Umezu.
“You told me that before,” replied Seisetsu.
“Even if I am a wealthy merchant, five hundred ryo is a lot of money,” said Umezu.
“Do you want me to thank you for it?” asked Seisetsu.
“You ought to,” replied Uzemu.

Why should I?” inquired Seisetsu. “The giver should be thankful.”

Perhaps this makes absolutely no sense to you at this point. If that is the case, you’re not alone. The purpose of a koan is to confuse people. One of the most common one’s is: “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”

Editor’s note: This is an original post by Stephen Parato, and first appeared on his website at www.feelingoodfeelingreat.com. It is with his permission that this article is re-printed in its entirety.

He presents us with 15 questions to ask ourselves to find our life’s purpose. There is nothing more important than feeling passionate and inspired about the work you do in this life. I hope with this blog you are able to come to a better understanding of yourself, as I did by reading it.

You came here for a reason, didn’t you?

You can feel it in the depths of your being.

Your life is inconceivably meaningful. You arrived on Earth for a purpose. What that purpose is, you have to uncover (and create) yourself. It’s an epic quest from cradle to grave, and that’s what makes life worth living.

This is the third blog that I have attempted to start today. Twice already I’ve wrote a few paragraphs, but then quit because I couldn’t get going.

Don’t worry, if you are not a writer, this will still apply to your life. The example I’m going to be using is blogging, but really it could apply to just about any life situation.

This is a problem that a lot of people encounter when they first start waking up to spirituality. They think that they are more spiritual than others, and they also tend to think they know what is right for them.

I am speaking from personal experience. I used to be terrible about this, and wanted to change everyone’s lives. It took quite a bit of frustration and failure before I started looking at this from a different perspective.

Perhaps some of you have heard in the media recently that Obama wants to provide two years of free community college to just about everyone.

He wants to do what??? People need to work to learn a work-ethic. These free-loaders are the problem with this country. I paid for my school, so they should have to pay for theirs.

In fact, what’s with grade schoolers and high schoolers getting free school? Some of them even get a free food during the day! Don’t they know there is no such thing as a “free lunch”?

We should go back to the good-old-days. I don’t want my tax dollars going to support some 7-year-old so he or she can get free food and an education!

Put them back in the coalmines, just like how our ancestors had to work. That will teach them some real-world skills that they won’t soon forget!

How long did it take you to realize I was being sarcastic? I’ll bet it was that last paragraph that did it