beyondcommunion.com
Updates by webmaster
2000

“To create a working interface with the visitors, what we need is to learn how to properly include them in our own version of reality, and this cannot happen if we must communicate through the medium of cultural institutions like governments that were never intended for this purpose, and are, essentially, too simple to accommodate the enormous amount of information that is necessary to effect the fundamental change in the nature of the human mind that must take place. It has to be built by accretion, through millions and millions of personal experiences.”
- Whitley Strieber, May 1995

2000

Sincere thanks to everyone who has signed the guestbook!
In this new year, may everyone on Earth remember
“We Are One”


Visit my promo-site for this still-in-production documentary film and see a preview. I'm happy to donate my webdesign time to a worthy film endeavor, and I hope you may lend your support to fund the completion of this film. About three hundred thousand is needed. Update: More filming was done with experiencers in September, and in Italy in November, and a fundraiser is planned for early 2001.
–beyondcommunion.com Webmaster

 

December 2000:

The Hunger to be Reissued in Paperback July 2001
17 Dec 00: In a move that was anticipated by this website, Pocket Books will reissue The Hunger in paperback in July, one month before the release of The Last Vampire. This may come as great news to everyone who may have been considering buying used editions of this classic novel via ebay. (The Hunger was last printed in 1988 and very few bookstores have any unsold copies remaining). At this time, I do not have cover art for the upcoming reissue, but it is expected to tout or tie-in with the upcoming release of The Last Vampire in some way. On a personal note, may I add that I wish I had more info for you, but Simon & Schuster hasn't sent me review copies or press releases in the past (for the release of Superstorm) and I don't expect them to start now (though I wish they would). Without their support it is difficult for me to report on upcoming publications.

12 Dec 00: The Coming Global Superstorm arrives in paperback the last week of December. On a related note, if you want to be proactive in protecting the environment, consider contributing to groups that fight the good fight, such as:
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is the world's leading environmental organisation and over the last 30 years has had great success in winning major international campaigns and in raising public awareness of environmental issues. Greenpeace uses its trademark fleet of ships, cutting-edge communications tools, peaceful confrontation, consumer action, lobbying and the promotion of environmentally sound technologies to campaign on a wide range of challenging and complex issues. Greenpeace is non-violent, highly values creativity and action, is global in its scope and thinking and is independent of both governments and business. Greenpeace has a presence in 47 countries and a worldwide staff of 1,100.

Almost solstice, and that means more light for those living in the northern hemisphere...

If you haven't visited here before, I am the webmaster of BeyondCommunion, and I have no relation to Whitley Strieber other than that I seem to know way too much about him, for a guy I've hardly met. I'm on a journey like everyone is, trying to find out what it is that we are here for, what problems we face, and what we need to learn about and change about ourselves to succeed.

1 Dec 00: I had an interesting experience last night. It was about 3 AM, and I was just about to settle into bed after having stayed up late to listen to a radio program. And as I prepared to rest I saw in my mind's eye a view of what I believe is to be myself in the future, and a glimpse of the room in which he/I stood. I was startled to see a man whose shoulders were the exact same size as my own. He was standing, leaning a bit forwards with his hands resting on the back of a wood chair. It seemed to be a dining room or an open-designed kitchen and living area, a nice room with a wood floor, autumn colored walls, and nice natural light as one often has on the West coast. It was his shoulders and frame that startled me into realizing he was me, because his face had a beard – a beard of white and black. I have never planned on having a beard, but at some time, when I have more grey hair, perhaps I will – I certainly hate shaving enough to try it, sometime. I was pleased to see I was not bald, my hair was slicked back and close to my head, it worked well with my beard. My earring, I noticed, was thicker than the small loop I wear now, and it seemed to be on the wrong ear. Later I concluded it seemed to be on the wrong side because I am used to seeing my reflection in a mirror. I am not very good at estimating ages, and people age differently, so I can only guess at my age in the moment I saw; perhaps 40 to my mid-50s, or 60s on the outside chance I am a healthy 60 year old. It seemed there were some other people there – I (he) was obviously looking at someone or something in the room, as he was standing as one stands if they've been interacting, as during a conversation. I think two people were close by, someone in the room or in the kitchen only feet away. I had the sense there were perhaps a couple other visitors, of the human kind, in this moment, as it was the kind of moment when I expect there would be a bottle of wine served. Just writing that now, I can almost feel myself uncorking a bottle. Perhaps it was a future Thanksgiving, or just a similar social gathering.
What comes from this? What came from this vision? Well a couple things so far. First, is, I feel better about myself. I saw a rather funky dude, not a very masculine guy but an interesting guy. The room, while I did not see a lot of it, was the kind of warm environment I'd like to be in someday assuming I am successful at finding what I need. In this particular image – because I am not ruling out the possibility of multiple futures/worlds, as theorized by Everett – I guess I can be reassured that heart disease won't get me for at least a couple more decades. Or if it does, that at least in one possible reality I may be doing well. It was a gift to have this moment, a small one, but an interesting one.
I noticed, the next day, that I had seen a world that was not much different than this one, in that it was comfortable (where's the Superstorm? not on the charts, or not as bad, I presume). I notice with some puzzlement (hmm...) that the world I saw was not, it seems, so changed by an alien presence that the aliens were there, or were even in the room or had affected the culture in any way that I could notice. Now of course, I only saw a small piece. It was a world of warmth, for me, and the most important thing I learned was about how I stand up, physically, and what sort of social environment I may have in store for me. It was nice.

Addendum: I've since heard from a valued person who has glimpsed a future that has been affected by an alien presence, so, we shall see. I hope so.

The Last Vampire
By popular request, a large version of the photo directly below is now available, simply click here. Thanks to MF for the scan and to hellgirl13 for printing the image directly from a rare 35mm film trailer. A DVD release of the film (The Hunger, 1983, directed by Tony Scott) still has yet to be announced by Warner Brothers (it was formerly property of MGM), and the people at Scott Free (Ridley and Tony Scott's company) haven't heard anything yet, either, according to Zinema. I'm still hoping Whitley might end up on a commentary track – he and Tony could argue about the ending of the film.

Dreamland Gets Zonked
At the start of December, word from Whitley was as follows: “Premiere Radio Networks is no longer providing the 4th hour of Dreamland on the internet, either live or archived. Commments regarding this decision should be directed to bglicklich@premrad.com and copied to whitley@strieber.com” This situation has since been resolved.
Which is fortunate, because had it not been resolved, this meant that only people who have an AM antennae attached to a stereo could have heard the program. I don't know about the rest of you, but I think I threw away mine sometime in the 1980s. [Actually, a few radio stations that simulcast their entire schedule online would have been another option]. A side effect of this decision would have been that Dreamland guests may not be interested in staying on the show through the last hour (since it is already very late at night, a difficulty for most guests, to compound that difficulty with the prospect that very few people will hear the broadcast meant bad news for Dreamland).

Intergalactic Diva Website
I've set up a page for Pamela Stonebrooke, who was on Coast to Coast December 7th. Her story is thematically related (she's an experiencer of some kind of alien encounters).

November 2000:

The Last Vampire

Miriam Blaylock

Miriam Blaylock as envisioned in the film The Hunger (1983)
The Last Vampire sounds like perfect winter reading, but, publication is nine months away...seems like forever (...and ever?). This will be 20 years and six months since the publication of The Hunger. Until then, enjoy the MP3.

Alternate Dreamland Audio Stream
20 Nov 00: People tuning in to Dreamland last night via the Whitley's World website had some difficulty getting through the website to the audio stream. If you made it to the audio stream, you were ok, but many people couldn't get that far into the website. A good alternative is to go to this station and listen to their stream. (But of course, if everyone does this, the same problem will arise there.)

Whitley Strieber Appearance Saturday Nov. 11th
Whitley Strieber spoke at the 2000 Texas Book Festival in Austin, Texas, on the subject of “Being an Advocate for Rejected Knowledge,” and read a short story entitled 10 Minutes. The festival, which gathered Texan authors and authors who had written about Texas, was held at the the State Capitol at Austin. Also drawn to the capitol were many people demonstrating about the presidential election, which, if anyone missed it, ended in a tie.

October 2000:

I can't imagine that it will be easy to top September's announcements...

The Last Vampire
29 Oct 00: Dreamland radio previewed The Last Vampire as Whitley and guest Katherine Ramsland discussed the legend of vampires, and the subcultures that like to imagine that vampires actually exist. By the way, a new Japanese anime vampire film called Blood: The Last Vampire (coming direct-to-video) is not related to Whitley Strieber's upcoming novel.
Update! I nearly missed the opening line, but Whitley Strieber read the first passage from The Last Vampire on his Dreamland radio show last night, and it went something like this:

“Everyone knew the sins of Miriam Blaylock. Her crime, and it was an unforgivable one, was to enjoy human beings as friends and lovers rather than to simply exploit them. She could kiss them and find it sweet, have sex with them and afterwards sleep like a contented tiger. To her own kind this was perversion, like a man with a sheep. The fact that this prejudice was nonsense did not make what she was doing now any easier. She pressed herself back against the seat of the cab, instinctively keeping her face hidden, not only from man, but from her own kind…”
Click here for an MP3 that you can send to your friends (be sure to tell them the book comes out next summer!). Other excerpts from the upcoming novel were read later in the show, so listen to the audio archive on Whitley's World for even more of a taste.

Superstorm Paperback
Click here for cover art of the upcoming paperback edition of The Coming Global Superstorm. It seems Whitley has written a new preface.

Beyond Communion
I am slowly changing over the name of this website from Is That Someone There? to Beyond Communion. I've come to feel it will be easier to remember the website if its name is a reflection of its address. Since May 2000 our address has been beyondcommunion.com, so I think it is time. Click here for a pic of what the site looked like back in November 1998, at the time of its launch.

Personal Note from the Webmaster
21 Oct 00:  I know you aren't visiting this website on account of me, but since part of me still has an ego, I figured I'd mention that I had a good time the evening of the 20th speaking alongside Dr. John Mack and several bright experiencers at a private outreach that took place somewhere in the northeast; trying in some small way to make sure that the messages and information that come through experiences are communicated to the greater public with some degree of clarity and context.
This was my first real speaking gig, as my other previous occasion had been by telephone. I'd like to send out thanks to everyone who was there for trusting me with their ears. It was a pleasure, and I hope I helped in a way.

Screen captures of Japanese TV special
On the PEER website, I have started to post images from the Japanese television special that aired September 15th (skip down to August entry for an early description of the special). Since it is in Japanese, the images are sort of like comic-book storytelling. Currently, a couple people's experiences are online. Next week I'll post a third batch, including Roger Lier surgery footage. Whitley Strieber did not appear on the special, but I thought it may be of interest anyway. Click here for the first installment of images on the PEER website, and click here for the second, featuring Budd Hopkins.
Update! A third gallery has been added, but it is not of Leir, rather, it is a recreation of a person's flashback to childhood. This is perhaps the most tearful part of the show (or maybe I'm just a sensitive guy).

Whitley in Spoof-Documentary
Six Days in Roswell, a mocumentary about a pilgrimage to the 50th anniversay of the Roswell event, will been released on DVD in mid-November. Whitley is one of several interviewees who, it seems, was not aware he was talking to an actor playing a part. Here is a review from another website.

I repaired the link to Whitley's High Times interview from Aug 1995. This is an external link, and the problem has been that the magazine keeps relocating its webpages.

Off-Topic/Off-World
Have you ever played the computer game version of the film Blade Runner? It is a worthy complement to the film, which is (in case anyone missed it) a cyberpunk film noir. I was inspired to make this collage of the game characters after enjoying the game itself so much. It is 800x600, so you can set it as a wallpaper if you want to.
Click here for the wallpaper.

Some Great Off-Topic News for Stuart Davis Fans
Stuart has a bunch more shows planned for this fall, and Stuart will soon be beginning work on both another studio album and another live album! (P.S., look for his so-called “ad” in the most recent issue of What is Enlightenment magazine). Bright Apocalypse is his current album, and everyone I've given it to has sincerely enjoyed it. Haven't you ever wanted an album chock full of Buddhist-Christian-Hindu-Jewish-Moslem-Taoist pop songs? (I found some 16-second-long samples but they're really too short to get a sense of the album, and they don't seem to convey much of the subwoofer-oriented mix).

September 2000:

Whitley Revealed to Have Secretly Written a Sequel to His Most Famous Novel
25 Sept 00: Whitley Strieber's landmark 1981 novel The Hunger secured his reputation as a master of horror fiction, and spawned Tony Scott's cult-classic neo-gothic film starring Catherine Deneuve, Susan Sarandon, and David Bowie. In a brief column in UFO Magazine, Whitley Strieber reveals that he has written a companion piece that may be called The Last Vampire.
Whitley recently set the scene on his message board: “The Last Vampire is my sequel to The Hunger. It re-enters the lives of Miriam Blaylock and Sarah Roberts in the present. There will be a website up in January, and the book will be published in August of 2001.”
Update! A Dreamland listener has passed on to me the info that Whitley talked about The Last Vampire on a show this summer, which surely prompted the UFO Magazine interest. Thanks go out to GZ for the update! (Folks, if you hear anything on Dreamland that deserves mention here, please give me a shout. I truly appreciate it, as I am on the east coast and have to sleep before the show ends at 1 a.m.) The Last Vampire has been pitched to various film studios in Los Angeles – who would be fools to pass up the chance to return to a legend. (Images: Film poster, above left. On right, Catherine Deneuve as the immortal seductress Miriam Blaylock).

Whitley Begins Writing New Autobiographical Book
14 Sept 00: In August I had a feeling that Whitley was writing about his life again...and today he confirmed it. My impression came from a series of comments he had made on Coast to Coast and on Dreamland; comments that indicated he was reflecting on past incidents in the way a writer might. Particularly, a recurring theme was presented of meeting men who bear secret knowledge. The first sign was an interview with Mike Siegel on Coast back in April, in which Whitley revealed that a friend of his who had been a field agent for the CIA was present during one of his Communion experiences – even though this friend had been dead for years. I recognized that this could be threaded, thematically, in to the two visits from the mysterious small man who visited Whitley in Central Park in 1971 and most famously in June 1998 in Toronto. My intuition started to hit last month so I sent Whitley an inquiry as to whether he had indeed started to write about the Toronto experience, and his response at the time (mid-August) was that he was “thinking about writing that book”. If you visited the Future Works page on this website last month, you may have been prepared to hear today's announcement that was distributed via Whitley's e-mail newsletter: “I have begun my book about the lengthy encounter in Toronto...”, Whitley writes. Join Whitley's e-mail newsletter mailing list at Whitley's World, and if you have already missed this issue (which you have), read an excerpt here. (How long does it take to write a book? Well, Communion was written between March and June of 1986, if that is any indication. Of course, Whitley has the Dreamland radio gig to do as well). (He is also about to start writing another treatment for The Coming Global Superstorm television mini-series).

8 Sept 00: Whitley's World's official message boards have finally launched! I plan to keep my unofficial boards online just in case anything ever goes wrong with the official ones, but for myself, I am registering for the official system at this very moment. I'll see you over there!

Whitley, Have You Ever Tried Reiki?
I posted a question to Whitley on his new message board about whether he'd ever used Reiki, in light of his most recent journal entry about not knowing what to do to learn more, but I think it expired before he had a chance to see it. Two other people, including a Reiki practioner, did have a chance to reply and the practitioner suggested Whitley try it as well. “Reiki (pronounced ray-key) is, in its simplest translation, universal life energy. It is referred to in other cultures as chi, prana, or spirit...The practice of Reiki is the art and science of channeling this universal life energy, or force, to promote spiritual, mental, and physical well-being.” As I understand it, having tried it a couple times, if a Reiki practioner detects a blockage in your body (which he or she detects by passing their hands over you, usually) they can help you to unseat this blocked energy and move it naturally through your chakra system. And as it does so, you may experience some very dramatic or deeply held insights, emotions, thoughts...things that you have held back for whatever reason. I did not believe chakras existed before I tried this, and now I do. It wasn't necessarily intended to bring forth alien encounter experiences. But whatever is blocked may come up, and that could be anything from one's personal life. This can include the recall or even reliving of visitor experiences, but regardless of what it may be, it is often very emotional, and so I suggest to Whitley or anyone considering Reiki that they prepare for this content physically, as it can be quite intense. (You may want to bring some Gatorade, for example).
In response to this suggestion, a Reiki practition chimed in: “I am a Reiki practitioner, and I think it would be an excellent aid to Whitley or anyone else. It cannot be used for harm. Indeed, in my practice it has helped many people. I have even used it on dogs with physical ailments and have seen the improvements in them.” Come on Whitley, could one get a better endorsement than that? If it is good enough for a dog...
On a related note I highly recommend chapter 10 of a compilation called Celestial Healing edited by V. Aronson. I've met the man who wrote that chapter, and he is one of the most articulate experiencers I know, and he writes in this chapter about how Reiki, or energy-work, can relate to encounter experiences (though it is not in itself a good introduction to Reiki).

Here is something that I believe may be from early 1999 which someone just pointed out to me (and several million other people via email) recently, which I am sort of feeling may be a joke [see update at conclusion]:
Real life catches up with Star Trek:
     HSV Technologies Inc., of San Diego, California (www.hsvt.org) is developing a non-lethal weapon that uses ultraviolet laser beams to harmlessly immobilize people and animals at a distance. The Phaser-like device uses two beams of UV radiation to ionize paths in the air along which electrical current is conducted to and from the target. In effect, the beams create wires through the atmosphere wherever they are pointed.
     The current within these beams is a close replication of the neuro-electric impulses that control skeletal muscles. It is imperceptible to the target person because it differs from his own neural impulses only in that its repetition rate is sufficiently rapid to tetanize muscle tissue. (Tetanization is the stimulation of muscle fibers at a frequency which merges their individual contractions into a single sustained contraction.)
     No retinal damage can occur because the cornea absorbs all ultraviolet radiation at the wavelengths used. Moreover, the beams are too weak to produce photokeratitis (corneal inflammation) unless they are directed at the eyes for several minutes. In addition, the current they transmit is insufficient to affect the smooth muscles such as the heart and diaphragm.
     Our electrical beam weapon has a far longer potential range than its nearest competitor, the wire-based Taser ® .
     Successful proof-of-principle tests have been performed at the University of California at San Diego, and further refinements using novel laser designs are forthcoming.
     Although the smallest laser now available for this application is the size of a carry-on suitcase, a hand-held version should become feasible with only modest advances in laser technology.
     Also under development is an engine-disabling variation for use against the electronic ignitions of automobiles. The engine-disabling version should be able to operate with off-the-shelf lasers because it would be carried aboard police patrol cars. See US Patent #5675103
This page seems like it may be a joke, but I am not sure. It seems to mirror the experiences of alien abduction, as noted in section 8.1.3 of the 1999 French COMETA report: “Locomotor Paralysis of Some Witnesses: This phenomenon is less common. It is remarkable in that the paralyses reported only affect certain voluntary movement, but not respiration or posture (balance, in particular, is not compromised; the witnesses do not fall down) or eye movements. From the standpoint of concepts, it can be remarked that in human beings posture and respiration are controlled by the cerebellum, an organ that is independent of the cerebrum, which governs voluntary movements. The paralysis effects can be reasonably attributed to microwaves acting from a distance on certain parts of the human body...” (excerpt from COMETA report is a rough translation). This distinctive kind of paralysis is precisely what the webpage describes. The web page then takes it to the next step (if this is indeed a joke), by mentioning that it could be used to disable automobiles. (And any experiencers who have needed to have their alternators replaced can sympathize). Again, I have to ask, is this page a joke, riffing on the subject of human/alien encounters? I've sent them an e-mail asking them.
Update! I've been assured by the president of the company that the information as described above is very real, and it is not an example of a perfectly done deadpan-humor website. They are presently conducting measurements and expect to conduct demonstrations “soon.” Visit the website and be sure to click on the patent information; there is more detailed information there. Sadly, with a simple modification the weapon can output a lethal waveform. But if used as intended, this weapon could be the next best thing to not having any weapons at all.  Regarding aliens, I would remind everyone that just because humanity is able to create the temporary paralysis effect in weapon form does not neccesarily mean that the paralysis experienced during the intial moments of an abduction are caused by alien weaponry per se; we must also allow for the possibility that conditions which cause tetanization of muscle tissue (hey, a new word every day) may arise naturally when alien space and our space touch.

Here is a good link for environmental news updates:
Environment News Service

The launching of the French version of Amazon.Com, Amazon.Fr, has enbabled me (what an appropriate typo! But I meant “enabled me”) to upgrade some of the French covers. On a related note, I have another foreign cover ready, a German one, but I can't tell what book it is for! The German title is Todes Dunkel - which doesn't seem to be a literal translation of any of the English titles. Lacking a synopsis that might give a clue, I am really in the dark on this one. Anyone know which American title Todes Dunkel refers to?

An update on why The Hunger is not on DVD:
It seems that MGM has not released Tony Scott's film version of The Hunger on DVD because Warner Brothers acquired MGM's pre-1986 catalogue last year. So if anyone knows any exec's at Warner Brothers, start nagging them.

August 2000:

As long as Dreamland also focuses on political outrage, I thought I may as well provide a link to this editorial about the recent protests at the recent Presidential conventions. I don't think it is less than obvious that police cause violence whenever they are dropped en masse into situations where they are, according to their superiors, meant to “keep the peace.” Thanks to television coverage, everyone has seen that otherwise peaceful protests are turned violent due to the presence of groups of police. This editorial from the Boston Phoenix notes a recent trend of the police that must alarm every free person in this country: Apparently aware that they are being revealed as the instigators of violence at peaceful protests, police are using tactics that in earlier times we would say “could only happen in Russia.” By the way, for any cop who feels that their actions are defensible because “someone threw a bottle,” bear in mind that the cliched phrase that “police responded when someone threw a bottle” is inevitably said in the context of someone having thrown a bottle at the police. Not thrown at any member of the public who needed defending from peace officers. But rather, someone threw their bottle at a fully armored cop. I'm not saying that a plastic bottle of Poland Springs doesn't hurt if there's a few sips of water left in it, but come on. Get reasonable. Police need to realize that peace is often best served by their staying far away.

Anne Strieber and Marc Hernandez were outside the radio station searching the skies during last night's (13 Aug) Dreamland, because the station they uplink from was receiving calls about a UFO sighting in the skies over San Antonio. “[A person from the station went outside and] she banged on our window to get our attention so we could go out and see this,” Whitley said. “What she saw was a square-shaped object radiating pink light. The object was white and had sparkles of pink light coming from it.”
Of course, any sightings in August need to be viewed in comparison to meteors, since the Perseid meteor shower is running. “The earliest record of its activity,” says this site, “appears in the Chinese annals, where it is said that in 36 AD 'more than 100 meteors flew thither in the morning.' Numerous references appear in Chinese, Japanese and Korean records throughout the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th centuries, but only sporadic references are found between the 12th and 19th centuries, inclusive. Nevertheless, August has long had a reputation for an abundance of meteors. The Perseids have been referred to as the 'tears of St. Lawrence', since meteors seemed to be in abundance during the festival of that saint on August 10th, but credit for the discovery of the shower's annual appearance is given to Quételet (Brussels), who, in 1835, reported that there was a shower occurring in August that emanated from the constellation Perseus.”
What the radio station employee described does not seem to match a meteor (unless it was coming straight down and was so substantial in size as to last a long time).

Novella News
A copy of Evenings With Demons is up for auction on ebay (click to view). If you've recently read the novella Pain on Whitley's World and are looking for the rest of Whitley Strieber's short stories, this rare limited edition hardcover (which collects the majority of Strieber's short stories) is what you seek. On a related note, I finally read the short story The Open Doors, which was published not too long ago in the various-authors collection Revelations, and it was great - a stream of consciousness internal dialogue of a dying man. A very difficult style to write in, due to the risk of the reader falling out of the stream, so to speak, but he carried it off beautifully. I've missed Strieber's fiction, and this was a real taste of him at his best. I admit, though, that I did not quite "get" the final page of the story. Didn't matter though, it was a good read anyway. Maybe The Open Doors could turn up as another online novella...

I would just stay here  /  if You weren't living in my ear  /  whispering little cues  /  aiming me into You
I should have noticed this in May, but, the May 2000 journal entry for musician Stuart Davis is online at Stuart's website, and I recommend reading it if you are in the mood for some intense personal reflections from this student of Pierre Teilhard De Chardin.

Bay Area UFO Expo
If you are attending the expo this month, click here for an important announcement.

Who is in bed with whom?
If you've ever wanted a non-paranoid look at the media's relationship with government, and how this relationship has saturated the perspective of the most renowned news organizations in this country, an upcoming book will be an essential reference. The book, the title of which I won't reveal until later, is coming from an online publisher that prints books one-at-a-time on demand. Very likely this may be the first title you'll consider purchasing in this way. (I am not sure why it is not being published by a major publisher, but the irony is appropriate enough). With over two dozen new interviews with UFO researchers and an historical perspective that extends from World War One up through this year's translation of the French COMETA report, there is much to recommend. But the best asset is what I mentioned at the start - it is not a feedback loop of paranoia, it is a well documented expose of the relationships. I'll have more details in a couple months, or as soon as the book becomes available. And then please get it before any lawyers respond - there could be a lot of unhappy reporters and television producers when this comes out. [Update: The Missing Times is expected to be released in November 2000]

Casebook: Alien Implants by Roger Leir, the second book in Whitley Strieber's Hidden Agendas Series (and the first to have good cover art!) is due this month. (Sorry to be rough, but really, the cover art for the first book in this series was awful!).
Casebook: Alien Implants features an introduction by Strieber and the data from Dr. Lier about the removal of unidentified objects from the bodies of some experiencers. This paperback is simply a reprint of The Aliens and the Scalpel under a new name and at a lower price.
Dr. Leir will be on Dreamland on the 13th. Dr. Leir will be on Japanese television on Tuesday the 15th, when Fuji television Japan presents a prime-time television special on the alien encounter phenomenon hosted by Yoshi Zumi Ishihara, son of the governor of Tokyo. This is no small achievement - this is the first special on real-life alien encounters to be shown in Japan in nearly ten years. As some of you may know I work at PEER, an organization founded by Dr. John Mack, and we have been working in an advisory capacity on this program since February, when the publisher of the new Japanese edition of Dr. John Mack's book Abduction, Masashi Tanigawa of Cocoro Corp., Tokyo, approached producer Yoshinori Suzuki (of Non Production Ltd.) and PEER with the suggestion of a creative partnership. Our intention was to encourage the creation of a program that went beyond all previous programs in terms of exploring the depth and subtlety of the experiences. What ultimately came from our efforts...remains to be seen!
We exercised no creative control, and I have to say that advising this program was a challenging and at times a difficult experience. The translation requirements were, of course, an inherent challenge. We were attempting to convey to the producers information of an oftentimes subtle nature – the way experiencers feel, for example. Such descriptions needed expert translation, and only a couple of our translators seemed well versed in the kind of expressive language. Beyond this, there was the difficulty of preconceived notions, which we had to try our best to deconstruct. This was the most difficult part – to get the producers to unlearn what they may have read in cheap paperbacks, and get rooted in the real experiences of people. I did my best to convey what I meant, as when we were talking about recreations and I told Mr. Suzuki that the actor must be told to do much more than simply act afraid – he or she must also try to convey a sense of unexpected familiarity or recognition of some sort. Sadness perhaps, as well as the fear. Much more than just screaming.
The producers also needed to unlearn the perception that hypnosis dominates the recall of these events – a perception that omits normal memory, as well as EMDR, Reiki, and all the other techniques which suggest that unconscious elements of these experiences are only being held back by the sheer comportment of individuals, or, as Dr. Mack says, “I am continually struck by how near the surface these experiences are. There's a lot of talk about hypnotizability. The term hardly applies in abduction work. In my experience the abduction experiences are so near the surface, so pressing to be communicated, that sometimes the person just lies back and the experiences begin to be re-lived right away.” (see “The Timing, Triggers and Qualities of Recovered Memories in Therapy” below in May update).
So besides offering advice which made the producers' lives more difficult, we were responsible for hooking the producers up with many of the American researchers seen on the program (including Budd Hopkins, Dr. Thomas Beck and Dr. Janet Colli in Seattle, Dr. Norman Don). The program won't be seen in America, but about 20% of the 100 million homes in Japan are expected to see the program, so I hope it turns out ok. Maybe some people on the West coast with satellite dishes can tune in the program:
Fuji Television Japan presents Tuesday Wide Special: People Who Were Touched By Aliens (not to be confused with the independent film Touched By An Alien)
will air at 7pm (time in Japan) on Tuesday August 15th. Update! The title they decided on could be translated as Special Report: Implanted By Aliens: A UFO Abduction Incident.

Update! You can read Whitley's report of the taping of Dr. Leir's segment by clicking here.

Whitley's World E-Mail Bulletin Launches
2 August: The first Whitley's World E-mail Bulletin was mailed from Whitley's World August 2nd. Subscribers receive a bulletin (probably monthly or when the mood strikes) written by Whitley Strieber that presents several capsule updates of interest.

Special Announcement:

28 July: On Whitley's World, Whitley Strieber's first venture into e-book territory has debuted with the release of his short story, Pain. The short story Pain had previously only been available in a limited edition hardcover from 1997 called Evenings With Demons, which had a limited run of only 376 copies and is now an extremely expensive collector's item. This e-book release is the first opportunity for the general public to read this story, and Whitley has written a new introduction.

“Pain is the legendary novella Whitley wrote after he had the Communion encounter in December of 1985, but before he had any conscious memory. The inner man cries out in this amazing document. E-book version only $6.95”
Click here for Pain


July 2000:

I've added an historical addendum to the chronology of UFO events prepared for the Confirmation tv special. The addendum is extremely brief, but expands the perspective of the chronology ever so slightly. Thanks to PEER and the COMETA report.

Global Super-Scorn?:
Whitley Strieber, in a new journal entry (22 July), is concerned that the warning that was in The Coming Global Superstorm has been ignored, even in the face of changing weather patterns. As a tactical suggestion, Whitley might want to explore getting behind the Global Environment Outlook reports from the United Nations, which should carry more weight than his own book, given that it is written by expert scientists.
As I reported in this column last year, in late 1999 the United Nations Environment Program released their Global Environment Outlook 2000 (GEO-2000). This report on the ecological crisis had similar findings to what is presented in The Coming Global Superstorm. An excerpt from GEO-2000: “...The issues cited most frequently are climate change, and the quantity and quality of water resources...Many scientists emphasized that the interlinkages between climate change and other environmental problems could be important. This includes the emerging scientific understanding of complex interactions in the atmosphere – biosphere – cryosphere – ocean system — which could lead to irreversible changes such as shifts in ocean currents and changes in biodiversity.” I haven't seen the new GEO-1 (short for 2001) report yet but I think it is safe to say that it will present even more evidence. The GEO-2000 report is now available in its entirety online in several languages, including English.

Superstorm: TV movie:
I've added an update on Ted Turner's interest in making a tv movie of Superstorm to the television section.

Message Board News:
Whitley's World's new webmaster Ericca invited people in the second week of July to beta-test a “virtual environment” that could serve as the landscape for events and live chat. Ericca's beta design was an oasis with reflecting pools and palm trees. On Dreamland of July 30th Whitley announced that the ActiveWorlds environment would be too expensive to serve as a regular forum for Whitley's World, so a more traditional forum would be created. But it seems Ericca is still trying to talk him into it, so stay tuned... [Update: The virtual reality is “on hold” as they look for less expensive virtual reality environment, perhaps something like Blaxxun.] While most of these virtual environment systems simply are not Mac compatible, I've heard that new Macintosh G3s may have some kind of Windows95 emulator built in. Can any Mac users confirm this? Meanwhile, our independent message board is available, and no registration is required. In fact, we encourage people to only use their first names, or a nickname.

Communion DVD news:
My review copy of the special edition DVD of Communion has arrived, and besides my review we also have sections showing the disc's menu screen images and an exclusive side-by-side comparison of the “framing” of earlier editions of this film. A link to an interview with Christopher Walken, and a review of the disc by DVD Review has also been added. One quick and amusing bit of trivia I'd like to share before you start in, which is revealed thanks to the clarity of DVD: The “Russian novel” that Whitley (Christopher Walken) is writing on his computer, seen immediately before his computer screen crashes, is in fact a list of movies produced in 1987 which included scenes where Perrier is consumed! Appropriately enough, Whitley's wife Anne (Lindsay Crouse) drinks down a lemon Perrier herself forty minutes into the film. See the Communion DVD news page.

The Hunger DVD news:
In related news, DVDFile wants to know why The Hunger hasn't received a deluxe DVD release (or any DVD release for that matter) yet. Read their plea here.

Dreamland news:
The Edgar Cayce themed Dreamland that was to air on the 9th has been cancelled for the time being due to the unavailability of one of the two Cayce experts. I was looking forward to this one, perhaps it will be rescheduled.

June 2000:

The French COMETA report continues to streak through the press. (That's meant to be a pun on comets, not on being nude). The Irish Independent ran an article on June 27th that expands on the original Boston Globe article. Another will appear in France the first week of July. I've only glanced through a rough translation of this report, but it seems remarkably comprehensive, ranging from UFO sightings to relevant philosophies regarding contact, and everything in between, from advantages of acclimatizing people to the idea of other species by using “bionic robots” (gotta love this rough translation), to theories regarding why paralysis does not affect witnesses' postures (or, the question of why “the witnesses do not fall down”). This report asks questions like “Are they seeking to make contact or have they already done so?,” and, are we prepared for “the chance or intentional discovery of a microbase [in France or elsewhere],” questions which no one except hicks were supposed to ask. Well, hicks and millionaires like Laurance Rockefeller, Paul Allen, Joe Firmage of course, and according to the June issue of the Japanese magazine Anemome (which I am sorry to say has not yet been translated for certain), the vice president of SONY. Hey, personally I was satisfied when John Lennon saw a UFO (though come to think of it, he was a millionaire at the time as well), but maybe the interest on the part of earth's wealthiest will impress American media.

Whitley's WorldImportant Announcement
About the Official Whitley’s World Website
June 18: Whitley Strieber has completely redesigned his Whitley's World website, and it looks great!!! Among the new features will be an e-mail notification list. This redesign, by a company called Wisehosting, comes about a month after the site's former webdesigner, RowlandNet, accepted a contract from Premier Radio Networks to run the servers for anti-gay advocate Dr. Laura. Whether related or not, given the controversy I am thrilled to see that Whitley's World is now being serviced by a new company. Parts of the new Whitley's World may be under construction. Whitley's e-mail address was temporarily down over the weekend of June 18th. “My e-mail is going into never-neverland,” reported Strieber on his Dreamland radio show.

This month in history: tracks, presumed to be from water, have been found on Mars.

UFO Briefing Document | Hidden AgendasThe UFO Briefing Document has arrived in bookstores. “The first book in the Whitley Strieber's Hidden Agendas series is the legendary UFO Briefing Document that was sent to every member of congress and leaders around the world.” Click here for more Hidden Agendas info on Whitley's World. For even more information see below; near the end of the May update is a link to a preview of the book.

Suggested Reading:
Nobel Prize winning chemist and DNA researcher Kary Mullis tells his story of an encounter with “glowing raccoons” (likely greys) in his autobiography Dancing Naked in the Mind Field. The chapter, entitled “No Aliens Allowed,” is a seven page description of his encounter, which occurred on a “tree farm” near the Navarro River in Mendocino County, CA. He even mentions Whitley Strieber's Communion, and the similarities are striking. (Mullis was quoted about his experience in Dr. John Mack's book Passport to the Cosmos). Dancing Naked in the Mind Field is written in an entertaining writing style, part Tom Robbins, part Hunter S. Thompson, and it will only take five minutes to read if you settle down with it in a Barnes & Noble.

...Whitley's birthday is June 13th....
H A P P Y   B I R T H D A Y !
13 June 1945, 04:45:00 AM CWT, +05:00, 098W30', 29N25', San Antonio, TX

An interview with Whitley Strieber appears in the May/June issue of UFO Magazine (the UK magazine published by Qwest, not the one from the US).

The Coming Global Superstorm will be released simultaneously as an "e-book" and as a mass market paperback January 2001. Either option will cost $6.99.

Some new foreign cover art has been added, including a large, clear scan of the UK paperback of Breakthrough, so much better than the US paperback. Also added the UK hardcover of Majestic. If you have foreign covers and a scanner, please contact me so I can walk you through the process of how to add your covers to this site.

Touched By An AlienI am working on a website for the independent documentary film, Touched By An Alien, but it looks like it won't go online for another month or so...apparently this season is not the best time to fundraise, as everyone who can be is on vacation (and the point of the website is to raise $300,000 to complete the production). But when the site launches, there will be a 13 minute long preview reel online that you will be able to view via RealVideo. When you see the reel, I think you are going to love adding your name into the credits. (Everyone who donates can have their name in the credits as a sponsor). Still reading? Want a sneak preview, even if the website is not yet finished? Send me an e-mail and I'll tell you the exact web address you'll need to enter into your browser.

CNI News, the ultimate twice-monthly journal about contact with non-human intelligence published by Michael Lindemann, has ceased publication. The surprise announcement came as a shock to many subscribers who have relied upon CNI News as the only entirely trustworthy source of information on the net. However, good things may be cooking for Michael Lindemann, as he said he has been asked to join an as-yet-unnamed media group and thereby reach even more people. [Update: As some suspected, Lindemann was hired by Joe Firmage for one of Firmage's media ventures]

Communion DVD
June 20th is the newly reset release date for the DVD special edition of the film version of Communion. This may be the true release date, as they finally have the cover art prepared. On the Communion DVD info page there is a full-size picture of the back cover, with Special Features list. (Dig the inflatable aliens!)

Click cover to be taken to the
Communion DVD info page

Special Announcement:

As part of the acquisition of Simplenet (my webhost) by Yahoo, Yahoo is encouraging Simplenet sites such as this one to upgrade to an actual domain name. With Whitley's blessing, I have registered the domain name
www.beyondcommunion.com

Update! May 17: The new address is now functioning.
Please enter http://www.beyondcommunion.com into your browser and then update your bookmarks.

May 2000:

You may have heard that the sensational report by French officials on the subject of unidentified flying objects has now made the mainstream press. A nearly full page article ran in The Boston Sunday Globe on May 21st. This is remarkable in that only two weeks earlier (on May 6th) the Globe ran a dismissive story about alien abduction. Are we seeing a shift of consciousness, or does someone need to ride the coat-tails of the alien presence to pump up funding for exotic weaponry? Click the Globe link above for more information, click here to read a summary of the report by someone who has read it, and also visit Cosmiverse. One question not answered in either story is where the report can be obtained. If you know, let me know. Thanks! Leslie Kean, the San Francisco based reporter who wrote this story, was a guest on Whitley Strieber's Dreamland radio show on May 28th

The Boston Sunday Globe article was nearly full-page in size (an unrelated article ran on the bottom edge). "UFO theorists gain support abroad, but repression at home," appeared on the Science & Society page E3, May 21st, 2000.

More photos from The Hunger have been added to the film section.

“The Timing, Triggers and Qualities of Recovered Memories in Therapy” by Dr. Bernice Andrews et al. (see March update below) has impressed me deeply. I never knew why experiencers tended to “relive” their experiences when they were recalling them. If you've seen a person in the midst of remembering such events, you may have been as disturbed as I was at the sometimes fierce shaking of their bodies (as if every muscle fiber were at odds with every other), the gasping for breath, and the sounds (from wails to screams)... Not being a psychiatrist, this “reliving” always struck me as peculiar, and made me wonder why other memories aren't “relived.” I admit I wondered if the reliving was perhaps something wholly other than memory; Maybe, I theorized, it was just an opportunity for a human being to express a depth of emotion (usually pain and fear) that our culture largely asks people to avoid. (By that, I simply mean that people are expected to put on a “public” face, so that chances are you will not see anyone in public with any expression on their face that suggests anything but that they are “fine”). So it was with some fascination that I read in Dr. Andrews' report that in her study of people with childhood sexual abuse and other heavy trauma, “the majority of the relevant cases (60%) involved full reliving; 23% involved partial reliving, with the remaining 17% involving no reliving according to our criteria.”

Message Board Restored
If other people are finding that the message management on Whitley's World impedes their conversations, I have ten-times as much webspace now as before, more than enough room for everyone. While I respect the right of a webmaster to govern, it is always my hope that they govern wisely. In the past, my impression has always been that the webmaster of Whitley's World does not govern wisely (my opinion), and this was one of the motivating reasons why I created this website. I wanted an alternative place where people could be free to have discussions that could grow organically, touching on many subjects as they evolve. After experiencing some dissatisfaction with the editorial control exerted on the official message boards, I am restoring the message board system to Is That Someone There?, however I maintain that we should keep the conversation on the official page as much as possible. The system of message management on Whitley's World may impede some conversations, but it serves many others. Consider this message board as a place for discussions that tend to grow beyond the narrow constraints of the official message board system. I don't expect this site's message board to get much traffic, but it serves as an alternative. And as always, you are able to post anonymously here if you feel safer doing so. [Update: These comments reflected the situation as it existed in May. In June 2000, Whitley hired a new webmaster and we've since linked back to that official forum]

In the Breakthrough section, we have added a brief article from a Denver newspaper, from 1995. Breakthrough is probably my favorite of the Communion books. I've also expanded the listings of Strieber's past tv appearances on the video page; it now includes local programs as well as national programs. If you have tapes, send them in.

 An independent film about the transformative effects of alien encounters by Emmy Award nominated filmmaker Laurel Chiten is seeking your support - and there is a rather cool incentive. Chiten is the producer/director of The Jew in the Lotus, inspired by Rodger Kamenetz's best-selling book, focusing on the author's particular odyssey of suffering and the role of spirituality as a universal theme. She also produced/directed the 1996 Emmy Award™ nominated Twitch and Shout, an emotionally absorbing, sometimes unsettling, and uplifting film about people with Tourette Syndrome (TS) who must contend with a society that often sees them as crazy or bad. They are now seeking funds to begin editing a new film about experiencers that has been filming in the United States and the United Kingdom. Among the participants in the film are Dr. John Mack, experiencers who have worked with PEER, and British author Patrick Harpur. Rarely are such subjects tackled by a respected filmmaker whose films have demonstrated an ability to reach a large cross-over audience. If you would like to help fund this film, you have the option of having your name listed in the credits, if you so desire. You can also fund this film anonymously. Either way, you can help spread awareness of the depth and possible meaning of the encounter experience in a way that I trust will be sincere and moving. Dr. John Mack will be speaking on this film's behalf at a fundraiser this Friday evening, May 19th, in Cambridge. I (the webmaster for Is That Someone There?) will be there to lend a buck or two.
You must include a note stating if you want your name listed in the end credits of this film. Your gift is tax deductible; the Center for Independent Film, of which Chiten is a member, is a Massachusetts 501(c)3 non-profit organization. For more information, or for directions to the fundraiser (if you are in Cambridge) please contact Blind Dog Films.

Update! May 19: I've seen the demo reel for the film, (I'd previously seen some of the rough footage) and this looks very much like it would fit in well as part of HBO's documentary series as much as it would fit in well on PBS' P.O.V. series (the latter of which is where Chiten's earlier films were aired). Of course there are no guarantees that any film will get national exposure. It is a struggle to make the films, a challenge to find them a home. But what I saw could fit in well on some of the most popular channels - this is a vibrant story about people, not a dry documentary filled with boring stock footage. I might have to donate a small webpage about the film to convey it in more detail to you. I don't expect you to be careless with your money, and I expect that when given a glimpse of this film, you'll really want to have your name in the credits. I can add Alan Dershowitz to the list of recognizable faces on the screen. And there are a few faces you won't recognize, but will get a kick out of - like the man who led the inquisition against John Mack at Harvard (and is fine with that), and an experiencer's mom.

Update! May 20, 1 A.M.: Alright, I've just come from the party/fundraiser, which was made up of an audience of both Dr. Mack supporters and many, many people who had funded Laurel Chiten's previous films. These people were interested in seeing whether her new film deserved their support. It's late in the evening and so I'll just say that the demo reel went over really well with both crowds. Had it only been a success in the eyes of Dr. Mack's readers, it would have been a failure. It was not. It was very successful. I volunteered some webdesign time, so I may be in on their webpage soon, which I think will help you get an idea of how your help will help make a great, and needed, film.

A Reminder: All posts in the Updates section of this website are written by the webmaster and do not represent the views of Whitley Strieber or the Communion Foundation.

Whitley Strieber After Dark:
Whitley's on the cover of the May issue of the After Dark newsletter (from Premiere Radio Networks), but it is only available by subscription.

Whitley Strieber's Hidden Agendas Paperback Series Update:
I wonder if the publisher is aware that the first book of the upcoming series, UFO Briefing Document by Don Berliner (see Feb update below), is available for free online? Joe Firmage's International Space Sciences Organization (ISSO) really does a fine job of pulling in top-notch documents from many different minds, and they've had this Briefing Document online for awhile now. But, the way the webpage is laid out across multiple pages makes it not practical to print out, so you may prefer the paperback.

David Jacobs' New Book Coming in September:
UFOs and Abductions: Challenging the Borders of Knowledge
University Press of Kansas will be releasing a collection of essays about alien encounters by various academicians, edited by David Jacobs of Temple University, in September. Click above link for details. No Whitley...but despite this omission, this looks like it may be a good companion piece to the landmark Alien Discussions, the 683 page mammoth from 1992 born of the landmark conference on alien abduction held at MIT.

UFOs and Abductions: Challenging the Borders of Knowledge should also be welcomed as a sensible alternative to a trend that I'm calling the “Year of Denial” (May 1999 - May 2000). The “Year of Denial” was headed up by Sleeping With Extra-Terrestrials: The Rise of Irrationalism and Perils of Piety by Wendy Kaminer (October 1999), and Captured by Aliens: The Search for Life and Truth in a Very Large Universe by Joel Achenbach (November 1999), both of which received tremendous promotional support from their publishers. These were accompanied by The Abduction Enigma by Kevin Randle, Russ Estes, and William Cone (May 1999), and most recently, Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud by Robert L. Park, (May 2000). The Year of Denial may run a bit longer, as Voodoo Science will also be receiving promotional support from ABC television, most likely in June on their 20/20 magazine show.

April 2000:

Editorial by webmaster
Are you starting to remember, yet?

Our spiritual ancestry, the big picture of who each of us is, possibly an understanding of our karma - these are the things that I never expected would have come from a subject such as this. It seems to me, now, that these things are coming.

In the sixties, there was a wave of books known as the "new consciousness" movement (Alan Watts et al.), and when people today declare that we are entering a wave of "new consciousness" I am (or have been) tempted to say, "yes, but that is what they said on the backs of those paperbacks in the sixties, too."

Is this different? I think, yes. I think what is coming is an honesty about ourselves. And not an entirely voluntary honesty. I don't think we are being given a choice about this. We are coming into it and it is going to be painful. Sad for some, and truthful.

As we are facing a lifeform that comes (partly?) from a realm we've called the "spiritual", and as we have started to get practice in sharing in this world (thanks in part to their interventions, and thanks in part to our own natural pace of growth) we may be headed to the unequivocal proving of the existence of the spiritual - a world we have only shyly hoped that we may ourselves extend into. We may for the first time know that we have souls, and in accepting that, we may be flooded with knowledge held in the part of ourselves that has been distant from us, the part of our lives that we call the "soul," which may know the facts I spoke of in the first paragraph. What knowledge is there? And how will we feel about it?

How I feel is, a bit wistful; not sad, but, I feel some of the sadness that one feels when missing the familiar and loved, but here it is different in that I haven't knowledge of what is missed, I only am sensing it. And that makes me wonder about what may be learned in the future.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say, with a complete awareness that it may only be for myself, but with the idea that it may possibly be more widespread (and with the further caveat that, even if widespread, may just be the way the horoscopes are patterned this month) - that the remembering has started.

Update! Here is an example of the sort of thing that I'm talking about:
Yesterday, Saturday, I had a very strong mental image of Annie Lennox sitting next to me. Think of this as a daydream, because obviously I am not off my nut enough to think I'll ever be in a circumstance to date Annie Lennox (she's the lead singer of the Eurythmics, FYI). But suffice it to say, I had this cool image, very vibrant. It had an emotional quality to it, more vibrant that an average thought. Today, Sunday, I surfed the web and came across this news item: "Sadly, it has been reported in the media that Annie and her husband Uri have split, after 12 years of marriage. The split is reportedly amicable, and Annie will remain in her London home with her daughters." What am I suggesting? That wordless knowledge is starting to be transferred across distance. My thought from Saturday, which although wordless was representing Annie Lennox being single, was followed by an actual news item describing her formal dissolution of her marriage. I know, I know, it doesn't neccesarily mean she is single, and I am not at all suggesting an intention on her part to communicate with me (I'd guess that knowledge radiates in all directions), but it hints at the fact that knowledge in some form is being transferred across distance. Moreover, the knowledge is the kind of knowledge that speaks the truth.


Whitley Strieber was Mike Seigel's guest on the Coast to Coast radio show April 17th.
At 1 hr 37 minutes into the program, Whitley reveals a detail of his Communion experiences that he has never revealed before.
Click to listen (then skip ahead an hour and 10 min).
At 1 hr 37 minutes into the program, Whitley said that in addition to the already acknowledged aspect of his glimpsing an alien figure beside him while he huddled in the woods outside his cabin (while he was mostly paralyzed during an abduction experience), he revealed that he was spoken to by a friend of his who he knew from his college days in the 1960s. This seemed impossible, Whitley said, because this friend had been dead for some time. The friend, he continued, had been employed by the Central Intelligence Agency. The deceased man told Whitley that a stealth fighter plane would soon crash, and indeed soon afterwards a stealth fighter did crash, revealing the stealth technology to the world. Whitley did not say more about this, except that he was afraid to put it in Communion because it seemed so outrageous.

Here is a review of The Coming Global Superstorm by Harold W. Egeln of the SPACE newsletter.

I've been calling Dreamland “Whitley Strieber's Dreamland” for some time now, but as of April 16th, it became official. See Whitley's World for details.

Anne Strieber has posted her first journal entry on their webpage (Whitley's World), and she has also revealed that they will be having an Edgar Cayce themed Dreamland in June! Cayce is no longer with us, but “we'll be having an all Edgar Cayce show on July 9 with Michael Mandeville, who has evaluated all Cayce's predictions and Gordon Creighton from the U.K., who knew Cayce personally.”
Cayce was a modern voice that restated some essential truths about the nature of the world, in my humble opinion. While in a trance state, he would speak at length about the nature of reality, the nature of spirit and matter, the history behind human incarnation, karma, and how our thoughts are in a sense “real,” having an effect as surely as our deeds. A good primer to read now before the show would be, appropriately enough, The Edgar Cayce Primer by Herbert Puryear, Ph.D.. It is an easy to read paperback, take it outdoors this spring. Frankly, Cayce's own words (presented unedited in some larger books) are rather difficult to read because when he was in his trance state, he either spoke in fractured sentences or the transcriber was exceptionally poor at shorthand.

There seems to be a bit of confusion regarding Whitley Strieber's schedule of appearances this year. His name appears on the flier for Bay Area UFO Expo, San Francisco, August 26-27, but my understanding is that he is not actually scheduled to appear.

An absolutely amazing sight to behold is the museum-residence of artist Ted Seth Jacobs, the painter of the cover of Communion. Now, for a limited time, there is a webpage up that takes you inside his home, “Mes Illusions,” a seventeenth-Century house in a rural Anjou village that he restored and decorated. Many of the walls are painted in trompe-l'oeil murals - murals which “fool the eye” into believing you are seeing a three-dimensional vista.
Click here for his amazing “Mes Illusions”

Speaking of websites, I am making another webpage to promote Dr. Mack's current book, Passport to the Cosmos. Visit www.passporttothecosmos.com, listen to some RealAudios, and grab a banner if you'd like.

Amazon.Com reports that a large-print edition of The Coming Global Superstorm will be published in June. In related news: A 2-minute excerpt of the Audiobook is online at the Simon & Schuster website (click here to listen).

April Fools? Art Bell has announced again that he is leaving the airwaves, but this announcement looks serious.

Slightly off-topic: I'd like to recommend renting the film Last Night directed by (and starring) Don McKellar if you are interested in thoughtful films about the end of the world (and who isn't?). I rented it based on my knowing Don McKellar as an excellent supporting actor in such fine films as Exotica and When Night is Falling, and I am pleased to report that he is every bit as good in a leading role. His directorial method is reminiscent of Atom Egoyan (Exotica, The Sweet Hereafter).

March 2000:

Whitley Strieber's commitment to the internet has been reaffirmed. The Communion Homepage has a new aesthetic as of March 18th. There are new journal entries and easier to navigate menus. The new design brings together material previously on the Communion Homepage with new material related to Whitley's Dreamland radio program. A message board has been created where people can discuss Dreamland topics, etc..
This redesign raises the possibility that I may be able to rest awhile, and leave the updates to Whitley himself. As some of you may know, my work with Dr. John Mack's organization, PEER, has been particularly intense since the release of his most recent book, and I could really stand to benefit from a little rest & relaxation.
(Not to give a misleading impression, be assured that the Is That Someone There? website will remain online, and will be updated as needed, although I am removing the message board so as to help promote the use of Whitley's new official message board).
Click here to visit Whitley's newly redesigned official homepage, which has been named Whitley's World.

Nightman approacheth?
Whitley said the following on March 19th's Dreamland:

"…[We have] an entirely new look for the web site. We have a chat room [and] more elaborate descriptions of our upcoming Dreamland shows. There's also going to be a lot of new stuff coming up.

I am going to be doing readings of ghost stories called Bed Time Stories, which you will be able to listen to via RealAudio or Microsoft's MediaPlayer.

There are going to be releases of unpublished Whitley Strieber stories and books. There is an entire novel out there which I have never published because I have never had a space in my publishing schedule to do it. It is going be published for the first time on this website, and fairly soon.

There's going to be a new series about aliens for kids or young adults, that I think adults will also enjoy. A lot of new stuff is coming up. Take a look, I think you'll find the site is going in some interesting new directions."

British scientists say they have cast doubts on the prevalence of False Memory Syndrome and the idea that recovered memories are often bogus ones induced by therapists.
The British Psychological Society announced the results of Dr. Bernice Andrews' (BA (Lond), PhD (Lond), CPsychol, FBPsS) research into false memories the second week of March. Click here for the Reuters news item. One may obtain the new report from the British Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. Here is the reference:
Andrews, B., et al., (2000) The timing, triggers and qualities of recovered memories in therapy, British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 39, 11-26.
and another paper from the study:
Andrews, B. et al., (1999) Characteristics, context and consequences of memory recovery among adults in therapy. British Journal of Psychiatry, 175, 141-146.
These journals should be available in libraries of major universities.

BookCloseouts still has overstock of The Communion Letters, as well as a very few copies of the audiobook of The Secret School and the hardcover of Confirmation.

While our message board (which has since been closed) did not require proof of one's identity, the message of March 8th was indeed from Whitley Strieber. I would like to thank him for letting us know that he was visiting; it serves as a fitting end to the Is That Someone There? message board. I hope that over the past several months Whitley may have read some of the many thoughtful and caring messages that were shared there.
Whitley's message, incidentally, was:
“This controversy that has blown up about my "backing off" because I didn't want to do Richard Sauder's Kundalini Tales is false. We didn't want to do it because it's old hat. That's all. The book has been around for years. The author has concocted the whole thing as a publicity stunt.”

Whitley Strieber is soliciting unpublished manuscripts for consideration as part of the upcoming Whitley Strieber's Hidden Agendas paperback series from Dell.

On his March 5th Dreamland radio program, Strieber announced that you should send a description of your book and the first 50 pages, "no more, no less," to:
Whitley Strieber, 5928 Broadway, San Antonio, TX 78209.

If you want your submission returned, you must include a self-addressed stamped envelope. Most importantly, your manuscript must already be finished, and the deadline for receipt of your 50 pages is March 31st. "We are not interested in books that are not yet complete, but if your book is finished and you've not been able to find anyone to publish it because it was a little too far over the edge, well, maybe you've come to the right guy." They are only seeking non-fiction manuscripts on "edge" subjects. If your book is selected you will receive an advance of $5,000, and royalties.


News items about higher dimensions and a current wave of unidentified flying object sightings being reported in China have been posted on Whitley Strieber's official website, The Communion Homepage (March 5).

Robert Anton Wilson, a sort of extra-fizzy conspiracy theorist with a twist of psychedelia, was Whitley's guest on his March 5th Dreamland radio program.

Whitley Strieber was unable to attend the International UFO Congress in Laughlin, Nevada, because an illness precluded him from travelling. Our best wishes go to Whitley for a steady recovery.

Whitley Strieber is a recipient of a Millenium Award from Blend (formerly Magical Blend) magazine!

A special edition of Communion will be released on DVD soon, but not on March 28 as was planned. Click here for my Communion DVD news page which currently includes a reprint of Mark Rivera's interview with DVD producer Vini Bancalari of Elite Entertainment, and a filmography of the director, Philippe Mora.

Caliber Comics recently posted their final word (?) about the Beyond Communion comic book series:

"Beyond Communion was planned to be an on-going series written by Eisner-nominated writer Martin Powell, illustrated by Shane White and Jim Royal, with covers by SFX artist Steve Neill. Unfortunately, the series was cancelled because of medical problems with Martin Powell and consequently, only the first two issues were released. There are no plans as of January 1, 2000 to continue the series and only the second issue is currently available."

It should be noted that issue #3 is reportedly complete, but Caliber was unable to release it. The fourth issue was at least partially complete.

Whitley, publish the series as a trade paperback! Heck, add an introduction to it, and it could be part of the Hidden Agendas series

February 2000:

Whitley Strieber's 'Hidden Agendas' paperback series coming:

Whitley Strieber will be participating in a new book series from Dell. Rumours of this series filtered in the first week of January; Strieber went public with this development on the Feb 6th edition of Dreamland. Advance word is this is a paperback series, retail price $6.99.
A revised edition of UFO Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence is expected to be the first release in the series, likely due in June. The Briefing Document was a Laurance Rockefeller funded overview of fifty years of UFO reports, edited by Don Berliner. It was originally published in 1994 in a limited print-run of 1,000 copies (bootleg copies were traded around at the time as well), which were distributed by the UFO Research Coalition to various world leaders in an effort to bring them up to speed. (Click here for more info on the original edition of the Briefing Document, including the original table of contents).

The second title, coming “not too many months from now” (likely due in August) will be Casebook: Alien Implants, by Roger Leir, the podiatrist whose work on "implants" was first presented in The Aliens and the Scalpel. Informed sources suggest that another release in the Hidden Agenda series may focus on Christopher Styles investigation into the Shag Harbour incident of October 1967, wherein Canadian officials attempted to retreive some kind of object that reportedly crashed into the chill waters off Nova Scotia.

Update! Whitley Strieber will be writing an introduction to the first release of the series, and this may indicate a trend. The full credits for the Briefing Document are: Don Berliner with Marie Galbraith and Antonio Huneeus with a new introduction by Whitley Strieber.

Update! The title of the Shag Harbour book is Dark Object. And another title in the series has been revealed: The Fatima Secret by Michael Hesemann.

January 2000:

Some unexpected news about the upcoming DVD release of Communion has been relayed by Mark Rivera of the Genre DVD website. This DVD will not be a direct reissue of the laser disc. Rivera interviewed Vini Bancalari Of Elite Entertainment, who revealed that in developing this new DVD edition, the director Phillipe Mora sifted through “hours and hours of outtakes, deleted scenes, on-set interviews and more.”

The most important Journal Entry that Whitley Strieber has ever written has been posted on the Communion Homepage (1/2/00). "The truth of mankind is happiness—not the great jubilations of history, but the little joys of our little lives...I want to see us free ourselves from the hatreds and angers and fears of the past, and open our hearts to one another and the living cosmos that surrounds us." You will want to save this entry. It explores the truth of humankind, and of visitor-kind. If you've ever been touched by these experiences and come to know any of the visitor's history, some of this may make you weep.


On January 11th, Whitley and Art appeared on the Today Show in support of their new book, The Coming Global Superstorm (see December updates below for more details). You can hear the interview by clicking here. Click here for another picture.

The Coming Global Superstorm official website is being regularly updated with news related to global warming.

"Dr. John Mack is, in my opinion, now the world's leading authority on alien abductions. The close encounter experience as it really is. Dr. Mack is probably as close to the truth about this as anyone ever has been."
- Whitley Strieber

  Signed copies of Dr. John Mack's new book Passport to the Cosmos are still available via the PEER website. This is the kind of book that needs an undercurrent of support from every person who has read it. The major media have not reviewed this book. But Whitley Strieber has (see above) and I certainly have - and I've given away about eight copies of this book to friends. So why the lack of exposure? We've seen Whitley Strieber's editorial on this matter, in general, but I attribute it to a weakened ability by publishers to promote books of depth and beauty.
Dr. Mack has faith that Passport to the Cosmos will reach and touch those who need it, but I feel a need to let people know it is available. Maybe you could do the same.
Click here for a celebrity endorsement, of sorts.

A book signing with Whitley Strieber and Art Bell was held Wednesday, January 12th, at the Barnes & Noble, Rockefeller Center. This was described as their only joint book signing for The Coming Global Superstorm.

1999 Archives
Click here to enter.
Many great updates!

How You Can Help

This website launched in late November 1998.
On January 29th 1999, Is That Someone There? (as this website was then known) joined Whitley Strieber's official website, the Communion Homepage (as that website was then known) as one of only two sites suggested by Yahoo! for information on Whitley Strieber.
On May 11th 1999, Whitley Strieber's official website linked to this website, tripling our number of visitors. The link from the Communion Homepage went missing in December 1999, and then was restored March 19th, 2000 when the Communion Homepage became known as Whitley’s World.
In May 2000, this website secured it's own domain name, www.beyondcommunion.com, with Whitley’s blessing. Since late 2000 this website has been known as Beyond Communion.

You can also help send visitors our way by displaying our banner
and linking your page to ours.

People Living in the World Beyond the United States
can help improve this site by sending in scans of the covers of your (non-US) editions of these books. Even if the artwork is only slightly different, it may be interesting and fun!
Also, please let us know of any interviews we may have missed!

I am also seeking photocopies of back issues of The Communion Letter,
for my personal use.

Mircea Eliade's Encyclopedia of Religion
Does anyone know where to find the CD-ROM of Mircea Eliade's Encyclopedia of Religion? This CD-ROM version of his definitive sixteen volume encyclopedia came out in the mid-nineties, and is out of print. It is incorrectly listed on Amazon.Com (the description of the CD-ROM is here, but the item is the hardcover), and I am trying to find a used copy. Please contact me by clicking here: webmaster

Used Books Source

You need no longer worry about the “out-of-print” status of most of Whitley Strieber’s earlier books. I've come across an incredible database of used books for sale, in varying condition and at varying prices. A tremendous collection.
Bibliofind
Please remember to send in scans of any
unusual editions you may buy!
(We remain a not-for-profit website; we provide this link freely.)
Whitley Strieber’s in-print books can be purchased from
www.whitleysworld.com