Manly P. Hall: The Maestro of Esoteric Philosophy (III)

Part 3 | The Philosophy of the UFO

14. The Philosophy of the UFO: An Introduction

In the 1940s and 1950s, scattered about his quarterly journal publications and lecture manuscripts, Manly P. Hall offered a series of commentaries about the UFO phenomenon and its larger philosophical implications. I’ve never seen anyone analyze this content of his before, and so in this article we’re going to do a deep dive into it, investigating what the great philosopher had to say about this important and highly relevant issue.

• This discussion follows a string of articles and podcast episodes I put out on the topic of UFOs as part of a longer series on the “secret history” of the 20th century. In those articles, I overviewed a wide range of material from various researchers that point to the emergence of an American-based, human-run (and consequently non-alien) UFO program all the way back in the 19th century, with these early versions of anti-gravity vehicles being termed “flying airships” in contemporary newspaper reports about them from the period.

• It appears that these early antigravity vehicles were developed based on the use of an “exotic” form of physics derived from experimentation into the mysteries of alchemy. In particular, the antigravity effects these early UFOs demonstrated were generated by tapping into what in alchemy is called the “fifth element”: the luminiferous Ether. Notably, this principle of Ether is the same energetic substrate that Nikola Tesla discussed and harnessed in his own designs and blueprints.

While I was putting together that earlier series of articles on the UFO topic, I was aware that Manly Hall had, during the 1950s, written extensively on the issue, but I deliberately left this material out because I wanted to save it for this current chapter, which is entirely dedicated to Manly Hall’s writings on contemporary issues facing mankind during the 20th and 21st centuries.

• Now that I’ve explored the UFO topic without reference to Hall, we can now factor in his teachings about the topic and thereby gain further insights about it.

• Furthermore, having already gone into the latest research into the history of UFOs from contemporary researchers, we can now look back to what Hall wrote about the topic 70 years ago and gain a better appreciation of how advanced his thinking on it was.

• As we’ll discover, Hall made certain statements about UFOs back in the 1940s and 50s that modern scholars have only able to verify decades later. It makes you wonder how Hall gained access to the knowledge he had. When we hear what he has to say about the topic, it’s truly remarkable how prescient his thoughts and predictions about it have proven to be.

Surprisingly to me, none of the major contemporary researchers on UFOs have uncovered Manly Hall’s material on the topic. It’s a shame, because if they had they could have been spared a lot of wasted time following false leads, such as the idea that UFOs are the result of ET/alien visitations.

• As we’ll see, Hall states emphatically that the UFO phenomena is a human-run project. By implication, the idea of aliens that we carry around with us today is very much a projection of our own ignorance and superstition: the result of a confused, materialistic, faux-scientific worldview that has become dominant within modern society.

• One of the main ideas that comes out of Hall’s writings and lectures on UFOs is the notion that our tendency to lean on an “alien” explanation for them functions as an aspect of a larger scientific-age mythological system, one built around the core ideas of secular scientific materialism. Also incorporated in this body of “modern myth” are Einstein’s ideas about space-time, Darwin’s model of biological evolution, and modern psychology’s premise that Mind and Consciousness arise out of the physical brain. None of these theories are actually scientifically true, but we accept them as so, and therefore in time they have become part of a modern scientific-age mythological system.

Hall’s teachings on the UFO topic help us cut through the fog of confusion that this modern system of mythology has instilled within us. On one hand, Hall helps us discover the deeper, metaphysical truths that the UFO phenomenon points us toward; on the other hand, his teachings also help us appreciate that the there is a larger psychological and philosophical meaning behind the timing of the appearance of this mystery on the world stage.

• The modern myth of aliens visiting Earth from somewhere in outer space is not an arbitrary one: rather, it forms part of our modern, exoteric system of belief. In all ages, there has existed an “exoteric” worldview accepted by the uninformed masses; meanwhile, there has always also been an inner “esoteric” body of teachings reserved for the initiated few. The modern scientific age belief in aliens, Darwinian evolution, relativistic space-time, materialistic science, etc. merely represent a modern version of this exoteric paradigm. By implication, an alternative “esoteric” explanation for these phenomena also exist, but this is “classified”, with “classified knowledge” being the modern equivalent of “esoteric knowledge”.

• If we look at things this way, we can appreciate how a major disclosure of the esoteric, classified truths about UFOs, where they come from, and how they work would lead to a major transformation in the structure of the collective psyche, altering in fundamental ways the core body of myth that collective society subsists on.

• This is a significant point, because it suggests that more is going on with the UFO mystery than just aliens visiting us and the government lying about it. Rather, disclosure about UFOs represents the ending of an entire paradigm of scientific-age mythology, with a new, as yet unspecified body of myth rising to replace it. In this new paradigm, key metaphysical truths and facts about the relationship between the human being, the Earth, and the Universe as a whole will be revealed, and a new body of myth must be developed to incorporate these new revealed truths.

In the new worldview that will emerge alongside the destruction of the old, it will be emphasized that, contrary to modern beliefs, there is nothing truly “alien” in the Universe. Rather, the Cosmos is one great Life Form, and all forms of life within it are like cells and organs in its body: each exists alongside its counterparts in a brotherhood of fraternity and common purpose. All are creations of the same supreme Universal Self or God and therefore all are, in essence, One.

• The deeper we go into the metaphysical mysteries underling the manifestation of the material Universe, the more we discover the Divine Presence everywhere. Ultimately, all life forms in the Universe - on Earth or elsewhere - emerge out of this Unity. They exist for a while as an individualized entity, before again being dissolved back into the being of God, the Divine Oneness.

• The idea that fundamentally different and separate ET beings are visiting Earth in flying aircraft is very much a projection of our own state of understanding concerning our own relationship to the greater Universe we inhabit. We see ourselves as discreet, autonomous beings, fundamentally separate from each other, from other planets in the solar system, and from other stars and galaxies in the cosmos. Indoctrinated by this worldview, it becomes natural for us to project this state of mind onto the Universe at large, with the idea of “aliens” becoming the ultimate form of an “other” or “not-self” we can image.

• Actually, there is nothing truly individual or separate in this Universe; everything existing within the Cosmos is the creation of one Divine Consciousness and one Divine Mind. Therefore, the mystery of the UFO is ultimately not about discovering other, separate beings from outer space; rather, it is about discovering our connection to the source of life in the Universe itself.

• This discovery is to be found not in the technological exploration of “outer space” but rather in the mystical exploration of “inner space” - i.e. within the depths and roots of our own psyches. There we discover, enthroned at the apex of each of our psychic natures, the existence of a common, universal principle - what Carl Jung termed the “Self”.

As we explore Manly Hall’s mid-century writings and lectures on the UFO topic, all these themes come up. The overall idea here is to use the symbolism of the UFO as a means to further enhance our understanding of esoteric philosophy and the spiritual worldview of the cosmos it advocates.

• Although the UFO topic is a definitively modern one, the ultimate truths we uncover in our exploration of it reveal the same timeless ideas and principles once pondered and discussed long ago during the times of the ancient Greeks, Egyptians, Chinese, and Hindus.

• As Hall teaches over and over again, the study of any particular topic must be grounded in a foundation of universal principles and concepts. This is true when we study Atlantis and the evolution of races and nations; it is also true when we study contemporary topics such as UFOs and aliens or the World Economic Forum’s campaign for a forthcoming “Great Reset”. Each of these topics exists within the backdrop of timeless truths and wisdom teachings, and to come to a full understanding of what these current events herald, we must base our analysis on a consideration of these universal themes and principles.

Any individual life form, person, event, or social structure must exist and take place within the larger background context of Universal Space. This unified field of Space possesses its own inherent laws, designs, and plans and impresses them upon every individual life form and event that manifests internally within itself.

• Life, Consciousness, Mind, and Form all ultimately belong to the unified field of Space. Therefore, the more we learn about any given area or topic, the more our analysis moves inevitably more and more into the realm of universal principles.

• This holds true for the study of human history, human psychology, and the social structure of human civilization: follow the trail deep enough in any of these categories, and you inevitably end up coming across the existence of universal principles and archetypes in Space.

• This also holds true for the study of the laws and processes behind evolution in Nature. And it is likewise true regarding the study of UFOs and the secret science behind how they work: in each case, as we delve deeper into the topic, we discover our attention being drawn more and more to a consideration of Space, God, Consciousness, Mind, and the existence of a divine hierarchy of spiritual life forms existing above and beyond the earthly world of physical creation.

In this article’s coverage of the philosophy of the UFO phenomenon, we will follow this basic approach, using the UFO issue as a means to climb a ladder of ascent that begins with a consideration of discreet, individualized physical phenomena, such as a UFO sighting, then moving upward to a study of man’s psychological response to its symbolism, before finishing with an analysis of the profound philosophical themes and metaphysical concepts that a deep exploration of this issue inevitably reveals.

• We will begin our analysis by looking at that what Manly Hall had to say about the immediate causes of the UFO phenomenon: are they caused by a secret government research program or are they the product of extraterrestrial beings visiting us on Earth?

• Furthermore, what do sightings of UFOs and descriptions of the irregular physical properties they demonstrate tell us about the shortcomings of our modern paradigm of scientific materialism? And is it possible that the study of the UFO issue will end up bringing mankind toward adopting a new and more elevated philosophical worldview?

These are the questions we will be considering as we go forward in this article, using the teachings of philosopher Manly P. Hall as our guide.

• By considering the larger philosophic viewpoint Hall provides on this issue, we discover that our understanding of the larger spiritual questions of life become enhanced and a doorway is opened within us to come to new collective realizations about the relationship between God, man, the Universe, and the evolution of life on Earth.

• As world civilization becomes increasingly globalized and moves inevitably toward a new age of world government, these are exactly the type of collective realizations that we need to begin accepting and adopting; they are part of a new, expanded philosophical worldview that must rise and become dominant within global society in forthcoming decades.

• As the current UFO disclosure process proceeds, our attention will be brought increasingly toward the revelation of key esoteric truths, ones which must in time become adopted as part of the new, expanded worldview that will accompany the formal creation of a World Nation or World Government.

• With this new worldview in hand, we will be enabled to collectively coordinate, cooperate, and labor together in a world fraternity of shared purpose, one based on the pursuit of a common ideal: the belief in the Unity of God and the Brotherhood of Man; and the shared ambition to elevate human civilization toward a permanent state of peace, prosperity, and enlightenment.

15. The Geopolitics of the UFO

In a scattered selection of articles and lectures put out in the 1950s, ones featuring titles like “The Case of the Flying Saucers” (1950), “The Flying Saucers Fly Again” (1953), and “Dr. Jung and the Flying Saucers” (1959), Manly P. Hall offers a comprehensive assessment of the UFO topic, approaching it from different angles and analyzing its various layers and aspects.

• Hall begins his assessment by offering a general definition of the UFO, writing: “under the general heading of ‘Flying Saucers’ should be combined widely differing accounts of mysterious shapes, lights, glows, beams, gleams, etc.”

• He also emphasizes that, when it comes to UFOs, “several distinct phenomena are present and more than one explanation is necessary to cover the subject.”

Hall points out that unidentified and mysterious flying objects “cover a period of nearly a thousand years” and that an even “greater antiquity could be established by reference to the accounts of mysterious forms seen hovering over Jerusalem at the time of the Roman conquest.”

• A profound scholar of ancient mythology, Hall reminds us that “ancient myths and legends include accounts of gravity-defying mechanisms devised by magic and propelled by secret power.”

• These myths trace back to the time of lost Atlantis, when the prehistoric priest-kings of the Atlantean race were said to have used their knowledge of alchemy to manufacture all manner of exotic technologies such as antigravity flying machines.

Modern-day UFO sightings began en mass around 1947, with the famous Roswell crash being the most well-known of the numerous incidents that would take place that year.

• Since 1947, UFO sightings have been reported with regularity, not just by the public, but also by the military and by national security officials within the US military-industrial complex.

• Before the critical year of 1947, a number of UFO sightings had previously occurred during WWII, these being popularly dubbed “Foo Fighters” by onlookers at the time. Decades earlier, during the 1890s, an even older spate of sightings took place throughout North and South America, with onlookers describing mysterious steampunk-esque “flying airships” piloted by human operatives. (For more coverage of this, see my previous chapter on the history of the 20th century).

Writing and lecturing in the 1950s, Hall offered his take on various possible theories attempting to explain what could be the potential cause for the increase in UFO sightings in recent years.

• The first possible explanation he considers is the most popular and well-known: that UFOs “come from outside the Earth’s atmosphere and originate somewhere among the outer worlds that dot the firmament.”

• The second one he mentions is more overlooked, but also most logical: that “the flying saucers bear witness to human ingenuity” and in truth are “included among the secret experiments carried out primarily to strengthen world armament.”

• Thus, in his view, these are the “only two possible causes for (the phenomena that) seem worth considering. Either they are coming from some distant place outside our planet or else they are being manufactured here.”

Of the two, Hall is of the opinion that “until the physical (and human) phases of this question are thoroughly solved, I think we should be moderately reluctant to press the outer-space hypothesis. It is not to deny the possibility, but to rationalize the probability that should be the first concern.”

• In Hall’s estimation, “we can say conservatively that the chances are seven to one that the mysterious disks are just one more new and useful improvement by which we hope to maintain a world balance of power.”

• Actually, Hall offers a very low chance of possibility that UFOs are extraterrestrial in origin, given that “there are no reputable accounts of anyone arriving on this earth from other spheres in the long history of mankind.”

• He further points out that “the matter of timing is also significant. If aerial visitors had landed on this planet prior to the modern age of invention, a very different situation would have arisen.” But the fact that “visitors from afar should appear riding in contraptions which merely anticipate our own ingenuity by a few years … is extremely fortuitous.” He wonders: “is it a coincidence … that other planets are sending visitors (to us) at almost the same time that we are hoping to send visitors to them?”

Hall concludes that, “the more we ponder, the more the circumstantial evidence grows in favor of an earth origin for the flying disks. … I suspect that it is possible that the UFOs could be in some way part of a research project” and that “these devices are actually ingenious productions in defense or military strategy."

• Hall points out that “one of the supporting claims for this hypothesis is the general lack of profound anxiety among advanced scientists. … It is inconceivable that an unknown type of aerial machine could appear repeatedly in the Earth’s atmosphere without appropriate consternation. If the disks came from another star or a distant planet and were so highly efficient, they could well announce a danger of invasion or a plan for the destruction of the Earth.”

• Consequently, one might expect scientists in such a situation to be in an uproar over the topic. But this is not what we find: our scientist are “not apparently suffering from unnervement. … (Instead), from their distant, austere ivory towers, there is a thundering silence.”

• Hall therefore deduces that, “not having observed any pandemonium among the physicists, one may be inclined to assume that they are in possession of information which they are holding in the strictest confidence.”

• Either that, or our current crop of scientists are profoundly stupid. As Hall humorously observes, “either those in the best position to know do not believe that these mysterious projectiles come from the outer atmosphere, … or the whole group of them is the most idiotic combination ever recorded. They are stupid beyond concept if they believe or have any scientific evidence of penetration of our earth’s atmosphere from the outside and are still worrying about China, Korea, India, Russia, America, England, or any other nation on Earth.”

Stating his case further, Hall believes that “the most practical response to a potential invasion from space would be a highly organized defense program.” Confronted with the possibility of a real alien invasion, “it is inconceivable that the physicists of our globe would not immediately set in motion a worldwide program of common defense.”

• It is therefore logical to assume that, if an alien invasion truly were at hand, an international agency or department of scientists would be set up “through such an instrument as the United Nations Organization, (where) the learned from all nations, including the Soviet Union, could be called together to study the most fascinating and extraordinary circumstance in the known history of the human race.”

• “There is a sufficient body of trained physicians and astronomers to make a world congress of this kind not only feasible but practically mandatory.” So why haven’t we seen it happen?

• The only rational explanation for what might prevent such “a union of world powers” from coming together for mutual protection from a perceived alien threat is the fact that the flying saucers are actually man-made and are part of a classified portfolio of secret military R&D projects, ones being kept secret because their development is taking place within a background context of geopolitical competition and social instability.

In his 1953 article, “The Flying Saucers Fly Again,” Hall offers further elaboration on this point, writing that: “the flying saucer is exactly the type of device with which militarists would be profoundly interested.”

• He continues: “on the military hypothesis that the best defensive is an offensive, we would certainly have every motive to perfect such devices if only to prevent the aggression of other powers.”

• “If the flying saucer represents an advanced type of armament, then those who have it will try to keep it and use it for themselves, and those who do not have it will resort to espionage and sabotage to intensify their own research until they do have it. (Therefore,) silence would not be unreasonable in the latter case, and might be imposed for strategic reasons and to prevent the collective demoralization of people.”

Hall is here referencing the existence of a secret black projects superstate within the inner architecture of the US national security complex, one that began during World War II before expanding into new heights during the Cold War.

• Writing in the 1950s, Hall points out that “we should bear in mind that in the last ten years we have become accustomed to secret military projects of several kinds,” both at home and abroad. Certainly, the Manhattan Project is one obvious example of this type of secret military project, but Hall also acknowledges that Nazi Germany had their own version, as did Soviet Russia.

• Mirroring a line of research we discussed previously in our series on the secret history of the 20th century, Hall writes that “during the rise of the Hitler regime in Germany, scientists were hard at work in remote places perfecting instruments of destruction.” Is he referencing Nazi Germany’s secret Kammlerstab program with this statement?

• Hall wonders if, after the war, the Nazi scientists involved with this program, “whose whereabouts are unknown,” might have kept their research projects alive in either America or Russia. In both countries, “enormous regions comparatively unexplored are available for … research. … Under such conditions, and with the aid of German scientists, … it is not impossible that the flying saucers could be a product of (the continuance of Nazi Germany’s) intense scientific-military research endeavor.”

Between the two world superpowers of the Cold War era, America and Soviet Russia, Hall stated definitively his belief that the UFO mystery was centered in America.

• More specifically, he wrote that: “as these flying saucers have appeared principally over the United States and adjacent areas, one of two explanations presses in upon the mind. Either they are being created here, or they are being designed especially for use here.”

• He further states: “that the United States has an elaborate research project we know too well to even question it, because the reports that come out, little by little, are backed up by every indication that we actually lead the world in that type of research.”

• The idea that the UFOs are the product of classified military research taking place within the inner recesses of the US national security state explains how and why we find an all-pervading policy of secrecy surrounding the subject in this country. Hall believes that all this secrecy is best explained “as a practical precaution in the protection of a vital defense secret. … If these were indications of armament projects, then naturally it would be difficult for the average citizen to pierce the protective wall which the government has placed around such research under prevailing world conditions.”

Overall, Hall concludes that “the only conclusion that seems to be reasonable and carries a large part of the story is that which is now beginning to drift into our contemplation, and that is that the flying saucers and the floating cigars are the products of our own research equipment.”

• “It is some type of research device, an experimental device for either defensive or offensive armament. It is the only practical explanation that exists. … and there is much to indicate the experimental work is being carried on in the United States.”

• “The device in all probability is some highly specialized structure intended to advance research. … That some of them are comparatively small might indicate they are involved in a new principle, either of motion or focus of energy of some kind.”

• Writing in 1950, Hall states that “we must assume (the technology) is (still) in an experimental stage. …The project seems to have been running for several years, but is gradually emerging.”

• He also points out that “the device itself may not be the (final end goal of the) project, but some means of testing for something else. But whether it is a means to an end, or is the end itself, it is almost certainly humanly guided, humanly devised, and is being advanced in the unfoldment of necessary research into the great and powerful potentials of the planet.” Beyond this he declines to go further, stating: “beyond that I think we shall simply have to wait until Uncle Sam decides to talk.”

16. The Psychology of the UFO

In his coverage of the UFO issue, Manly Hall expands his analysis into the realm of human psychology. Here, he moves beyond the question of who or what is responsible for producing the physical technology and seeks instead to articulate a view on the phenomenon’s deeper psychological meaning and significance.

• In taking this angle on the topic, Hall mirrors the work of famous 20th century psychologist Carl Jung, who also wrote of the larger psychological principles and themes underlying man’s experience of the UFO phenomenon. Here, the focus isn’t necessarily on how the physical phenomenon is created, but rather how our interpretation of this phenomenon reveals important aspects of our own psychological functioning.

• In a 1959 lecture titled “Dr. Carl Jung and the Flying Saucers”, Manly Hall builds off Carl Jung’s analysis of the UFO topic, which he presented in his book “Flying Saucers: A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies”, and offers a number of interesting insights concerning the inner psychological aspects of the UFO mystery.

Hall begins his assessment by pointing out that human psychology extends between two dimensions: one individual, the other collective. Any time the topic of the human mind is considered, both dimensions must be factored in and considered.

• Hall writes that, “up to the present time, we have generally thought of (psychological) experience as a relatively personal, individual thing. (But) Jung approaches the problem” differently: he adds in another dimension of analysis, one oriented around the idea that there exists also an aspect to human psychology that is fundamentally collective and transpersonal, one that all humans are linked to and therefore all share in common.

In Jung’s framework, this collective realm of the human psyche is the home to a domain that he calls the “collective unconscious”. Within this transpersonal realm of the human psyche are located transcendent psychological principles, ones he, following the teachings of Plato, termed “psychological archetypes”.