"The Great Leap of Faith" Fizzles...

[Christopher O'Brien]

[I've known Peter for years and when he announced his intention to make his "great leap of Faith" a couple of years ago, I remember rolling my eyes and asking his wife, "he sounds so serious, has he really lost it, or is he really serious about this?" She just chuckled...Well, evidently, our new-age UFO lawyer decided that maybe his grand plan wasn't such a good idea after all -- chris]

Article HERE:

SEDONA, AZ - A Sedona man made headlines over the past year for comments on his blog claiming that he planned on leaping into a portal on December 21st from the top of Bell Rock.

Dozens gathered to witness the event. It was serious enough that law enforcement paid him a visit to make sure he wasn't attempting suicide.

The man followed through with his pilgrimage to the mountain but as for the portal -- you be the judge.

11:11, 12-21-12. These numbers represent something not of this world for those in Sedona. Believers descended upon this already popular tourist destination from all over -- Texas, California, Illinois, New Mexico, and Washington -- everywhere.

"It could be 99 percent wrong but there's that one percent that something could happen," says Tim Greenwald, visiting Sedona.

"I don't know why I'm here waiting for the car crash," says Carol Irwin.
"People around the world are taking this quite seriously as did the Mayans," says Gina Snow.

What's the fuss about? Finding renewal or rebirth atop Bell Rock with an especially adamant believer -- Peter Gersten -- who led a group on the hike in hopes of finding a cosmic portal....
Rest of Article and Video HERE:

 

[Randall]

Thanks for the update. I had completely forgotten about it. This is the same Peter Gersten who co-founded CAUS back in the late 1970s right?

 

[Christopher O'Brien]

This is the same Peter Gersten who co-founded CAUS back in the late 1970s right?

Yup

 

[Randall]

Yup

At one time, like back in the 80s when CAUS was doing FOIA requests, these people seemed like investigators who were taking it seriously. Did someone slip a tab into one of their coffees one day, is it the media, or is this just an occupational hazard for paranormal/UFO researchers?

 

[Christopher O'Brien]

I suppose this saga is similar to my friendship w/ Richard Sauder who seems to have burnt out and finally succumbed to sipping the "true-believer Kool-Aid." You meet someone and they seem consistent over the years. Then, you fall increasingly out of touch and when you re-connect you find that maybe they've gone through a few things that seems to have changed them as people. Peter spent the last 10 or so years as a Public Defender for Navajo County. Imagine, day-after-day representing poor native people who have run afoul of the law: drunks, brawlers, wife-beaters, psychos--you get the picture. Add to that the fact that he had to live in Holbrook during the week and was only able to go to his home in Sedona for 3-day weekends, before having to drive the 200+ miles to work every Mon. morning. After a couple of years, I'd probably want to jump off a rock formation and have the portal take me somewhere transformative! Peter's a sweet guy, perhaps a bit romantic, but all-in-all, he's done the field of "ufology" a great service since the 1970s. I suppose (like many of us) he's become frustrated and jaded as a result. Plus, he lives in woo-woo central, Sedona, AZ. After 5 yrs, I had to bail and create some space from all the channelers, psychics, plastic shaman and the like. I feel for Peter, but never cut him slack after his announcement about his "leap of faith." Get a grip and hang in there, dude!