• NEW! LOWEST RATES EVER -- SUPPORT THE SHOW AND ENJOY THE VERY BEST PREMIUM PARACAST EXPERIENCE! Welcome to The Paracast+, eight years young! For a low subscription fee, you can download the ad-free version of The Paracast and the exclusive, member-only, After The Paracast bonus podcast, featuring color commentary, exclusive interviews, the continuation of interviews that began on the main episode of The Paracast. We also offer lifetime memberships! Flash! Take advantage of our lowest rates ever! Act now! It's easier than ever to susbcribe! You can sign up right here!

    Subscribe to The Paracast Newsletter!

Thoughts on the Trickster

Free episodes:

Ufology & The Trickster

boomerang wrote: I'm in the Vallee camp. If this turns out to be no more than aliens from across the galaxy here to take soil and DNA samples, I will almost (not quite) be disappointed

I absolutely agree. I have always felt that way. Can't say I "believe" anything ufo related. But, if there is something I'm in agreement with your sentiment.

tyder,

I'm just curious why aliens taking soil samples would be such a disappointment? To me it's amazing that they've been here at all, and without knowing why they were taking soil samples, being disappointed would perhaps be getting a little ahead of ourselves.

What makes me curious is why they are being so elusive and why after all this time there isn't any proof. If there weren't some serious effort to keep their presence from being known, by now we'd have more evidence. At the same time, they've presented themselves to witnesses in such a manner that they have left them with no doubt. So why this game of hide and seek? Why allow their presence to be known at all? What does this curious behavior imply? One thing for certain is that they aren't seeking open and direct contact. No probe with a gold plaque has landed pointing the way to their home world ( at least that we know of ). Whatever it is they want to do, they want to maintain their sense of impunity.
 
Ufology & The Trickster

A truly excellent post Chris. I must say that I also am in the Vallee camp as well. I have often wondered about the monsters of the ID. The downfall of the Krell. What if the Id was someone else's and we just happened to be the hive of honey bees it likes to farm.
 
Ufology & The Trickster

I'm just curious why aliens taking soild samples would be such a disappointment?

Truthfully, an exaggeration to make a point. Alien life arriving by mere parachute would make my head spin. But I still think the classic space faring taxonomist scenario is inadequate.
 
Ufology & The Trickster

Hi, Chris. Just scanned this thread and decided to commit suicide by admitting to a fairly recent visit from my Trickster. I do buy because I can’t explain what happened to me. I’ve tried to reduce it to coincidence, but I can’t leave it there either. I’ll try to keep it short as possible.


Early this year I went through a terrible tragedy. It left me on an emotional roller coaster so I sought help through looking for books that would give me some feedback on how to handle what was going on. The meeting I’ll tell you about happened in a book store on a day when I had begun to feel like I might survive the events I couldn’t control.


Prior to this I’d been looking as deeply as possible into what frightens me in order to try to find illusion behind fear. Those exercises brought about (unbidden, I might add) a welling up of prejudices too.


At a point three weeks before this encounter, I’d tried to get myself involved in something that might take my mind off sad events. I wandered into a bead store where there are classes for making jewelry. The sales clerk was wearing a unique necklace she’d made from fake turquoise and obsidian. I stood staring at the necklace and voiced (in my head only) my prejudice for fake turquoise because it hadn’t the beautiful striations of color found in real turquoise. Also, because this woman had treated the stones so beautifully with her artful use of other stones, I decided to lose my prejudice for the fake stones.


No big deal. Never said anything aloud. Quick thought and it was gone.


But as I stood in the bookstore that day, my husband only a yard or so away, I saw a small man approach me in my peripheral vision. He walked behind me and stood very close to me on my left and said, “I have to tell you I like your hair.” Only instead of saying it as a compliment, it sounded more like he meant that he was supposed to say it. I immediately got tickled at his phrasing, smiled, and turned to look at him.


I couldn’t stop smiling at his countenance. He had a sweet look on his face, but he ever smiled or looked at my hair. He had ruddy skin under a red hat trimmed in black. He was dressed all over in red and black and I wondered if he were a soccer coach or something. But I saw all of this peripherally because I couldn’t take my eyes off of his eyes which stared directly into mine. I was looking down into his eyes because he was much shorter than I am at 5’6”. He looked to be at least fifteen to twenty years my junior.


I thanked him for saying something nice, all the while smiling at him, but he just stood there staring at me. At some point time seemed to do a wild thing or my mind did. I did a close up on his eyes, not having moved an inch closer to him, and I realized his eyes were turquoise with no striations of color in them. They were a solid light turquoise from rim to pupil. A zillion questions started rapid firing in my head, all of them aimed at explaining why the event had turned so suddenly different from how it had started. One of course was that I had to determine if he were wearing contacts because I’ve never seen eyes that didn’t have some sort of different coloring near the pupil. Human eyes always do. I’ve seen turquoise contacts on women who chose to wear them, but they always couldn’t hide the colorful part of the inner iris. And I could find no contact rims in this man’s eyes at all. I was close enough to determine, believe me.


There was also some sort of air that I was supposed to “get something” from this man who only staring at me instead of talking, but I didn’t really know what it could be. So after I’d taken in his unique eyes, he abruptly nodded his head at me and turned to walk away. Having felt weirdly humbled somehow, I couldn’t watch him walk away.


My husband never saw him or saw our exchange. I was dumbfounded and didn’t understand why so I never mentioned the event until I’d had time to process it later that afternoon. Only then did I remember my thoughts on prejudice for fake turquoise, the exact color of this man’s eyes. No colorful striations. A lost prejudice.


And I remembered another man complimenting my hair some forty years earlier, one who was very short, dressed in the most dapper fashion I’d ever seen, a complete opposite to the man I’d met earlier in the day who was more comical in appearance, but very similar in height. We had taken the same elevator for months and I was always drawn to his short stature and unique dress, but one day when we were alone on the elevator he timed a compliment on my hair so that he could get off the elevator so quickly I didn’t have time to thank him. I never saw him again either. While I thought that odd, I chalked it up to it’s having been his last day at work in the building or his general discomfort at having delivered a compliment. I couldn’t forget how he literally ran off that elevator.


My first leprechaun (a term of endearment) was natty as one man could ever be. When I’d given up my prejudice, he was dressed appropriately for my newer, looser frame of mind.


So to quote your book, Chris, : if you can change the information that’s carried back to the system, you might be able to infiltrate it through its own feedback.”


I think that may be correct with the caveat that infiltration is pretty confusing! My guess, driven by my experience, is that exploring one’s inner world is the quickest way to infiltration. The Mystery Schools hold the answer I only stumbled on in the hope to become more whole, a better person. One doesn’t need drugs, just a desire to become more aware of his own motives and illusions. That’s how new information penetrates the feedback loop and expands it to Tricksterish proportion.


Sorry this is so long, but I felt I had to make the point also that this doesn’t have to be a UFO related matter. It has to be a cross cultural, cross phenomenon related issue. But I do believe that every event such as this is directly related to the individual and his or her inner workings. Can’t guarantee much more.
 
Ufology & The Trickster

Thanks for sharing that story, Poi. The Trickster-ish element appears in this scenario as a kind of socratic teacher, causing you to reflect on unspoken concerns, without didactically instructing you to a particular conclusion, but sort of drawing your attention to (perhaps) the value of your movement towards a 'freer' sense of self. Cool.
 
Ufology & The Trickster

Thank you, bbridges. I came back expecting to be skewered and find that we agree on the nebulous nature of the exchange. Seems to me that it is to become what I will make it, or I will just leave it as confirmation that there are sometimes strange rewards for giving up useless emotional baggage.


(It’s really nice to not be skewered too!)
 
Ufology & The Trickster

Shit man I had a experience of the trickster / strange awareness at a social gathering when these two very tall /skinny/ mature couple came over dressed in 1920s style outfits both were pale as one could be without being dead. The funny thing was no one else in the room were dressed in that type of gear other words not a dress up party. The lady wore emerald green and a real dead fox fur around her neck.The gentlemen wore a Sherlock homes suit both had old school tones and walked around examining us like scientific subjects. :cool:There clothing smelled strange of odor.:question: Furthermore , one chap eyes turned black from green (I did think the black eyed people :eek:or maybe some electronic device within eye lens, medical related problem?:eek:) and the room went cold as ice and he just stared through me .Next week his eyes were the green. Anyway just a note strange encounters with the odd. Also I was drinking coffee ( was it contaminated who knows?) but no alcohol . Furthermore, I tried to think of a reasonable explanations such as temperature in the room such as body heat/heating , lights, looking around the surrounding area for electronic devices or switches out of the ordinary , was it carpet mold, human odor and to this day a strange event which follows Mr Timothy Goods books of eyewitness of strange awareness.
 
Ufology & The Trickster

I found your story reasssuring in some strange way, since i have experienced encounters- different, but equally real, yet strange- that somehow reflected an oblique relevance to my inner concerns at the time. I mean, how do you share these things without coming across as nuts? ...and it never leaves you, how could it? Probably why we find ourselves in a forum like this, and I for one am grateful for the company...journey on, Poi and Blowfish.Richard
 
Ufology & The Trickster

I found your story reasssuring in some strange way, since i have experienced encounters- different, but equally real, yet strange- that somehow reflected an oblique relevance to my inner concerns at the time. I mean, how do you share these things without coming across as nuts? ...and it never leaves you, how could it? Probably why we find ourselves in a forum like this, and I for one am grateful for the company...journey on, Poi and Blowfish.Richard

Well said BB and what struck me was the small burning holes left behind after the individual walked away the location was not the everyday place and no-smoking so I found it a thought provoking event. Similar to the orb encounters near a nuclear fallout shelter which was for the British Government emergency location in Stafford county similar location of the 1960s UFO events? which many may laugh at the notion of the trickster/ strange awareness until it happens to you your life will never be the same ! You will ask yourself why, who etc.
Peace,
BF
 
Ufology & The Trickster

Blowfish, thanks for relating that incredible story. It is comforting to hear of the same phenomenon from others.

I sometimes hear descriptions of these experiences as products of the "imaginal" realm. While there is certainly no proof of an imaginal realm, the word comes close to describing the odd tailoring of the experience to an individual and his inner experience. At best, I wondered at first if I were just dreaming in an awake state. That may be all it is or it may be much more. No way to guage.
 
Ufology & The Trickster

Agreed Poi: it depends on the values we prescribe to the event such as to be aware and not flee or stay learn from the experience of the encounter. Questioning the sanity of the event and the fact in my case witness who apparently were trapped in time and only one other person could smell the burning odor on the restricted location. Maybe/or not it depending on location which reminds me of Walter Bosely theory of lay lines? Also are the events genetic related to individuals or groups? Also feel the trickster/ strange awareness maybe has an earth /universal based manipulation aspect to it from some secretive group is maybe plausible?

Does the shadow person, hooded encounters of small beings are they a pathway of other brain waves which we rarely use (sleep paralysis/unmapped brain) or real interactions with cliches in the wall of time and space?
 
At last I've had a chance to peruse Chris' book Stalking The Trickster.



If your collection on the paranormal doesn't include this book ... get it. It's just that simple. All the tidbits I've seen on this topic and more have been collected here in one reference book along with numerous images and source notes. It would have been nice if it had also included an Index. But that's just me being picky. I like to be able to look up specifics when some relationship pops into my head. On the topic of identifying and defining the trickster, Chris has done an excellent job of painting the portrait. It is rich in symbolism, steeped in mythology, and blended with Jungian Psychology. But as good as this portrait is, don't expect to understand it by looking at the details alone. The Trickster is something mystical that sometimes manifests itself in the physical. It's like looking at one of those mosaics made up of hundreds of little pictures. If you look closely you can see the details, but you miss the bigger picture, and if you back up far enough to see the bigger picture then the details are indistinguishable. Deconstructing the mosaic is possible, but Chris leaves that job largely up to the reader, perhaps because the very nature of the trickster defies such deconstruction. But does it really?
 
...The Trickster is something mystical that sometimes manifests itself in the physical. It's like looking at one of those mosaics made up of hundreds of little pictures. If you look closely you can see the details, but you miss the bigger picture, and if you back up far enough to see the bigger picture then the details are indistinguishable. Deconstructing the mosaic is possible, but Chris leaves that job largely up to the reader, perhaps because the very nature of the trickster defies such deconstruction. But does it really?
Thanks for the positive review Randall. You may have noticed that I only mention "ufos" a couple three times and they are mentioned at the end of the last chapter of the book. I've been saving up my ufological head-scratchers. I have several ideas for a trickster follow-up, and this one has been burbling under the surface for awhile now. I would like to examine how the "trickster" mechanism manifests in the realm of AAO/UAP/UFOs. All the weirdness, absurdities and all non-sequiturisms. Those details often left out by witnesses because if they mentioned them, people would think they were certifiably loony. There are countless great examples of how the phenomena appears to negate their own validity, etc No one has looked at this aspect fully. Vallee and Keel hinted around at its importance, but no one (to my knowledge) has devoted an entire book on the weirder (tricksterish) aspects of those aerial buggaboos... :eek:
 
well i have an idea, towards the end of the book i seem to remember you positing the idea of the trickster becoming conscious and sentient and a sentient internet as well. i wouldn't mind seeing you expand on that a little, as well as memes.

i just finished brandon's second book "the rebirth of pan" and it seemed to me he was headed down that same path but with different nomenclanture. minus the internet of course as that didn't exist at the time of the writing.

fwiw i borrowed both of jim's books from the library, the 'retail" price for both on amazon are a little steep. deep pockets, i have not.
 
Thanks for the positive review Randall.
I think it's well deserved.
You may have noticed that I only mention "ufos" a couple three times and they are mentioned at the end of the last chapter of the book. I've been saving up my ufological head-scratchers. I have several ideas for a trickster follow-up, and this one has been burbling under the surface for awhile now.
I posed the question of whether or not a deconstruction of the phenomenon is possible. As you are gaining some familiarity with the way I handle that issue with respect to UFOs ( and other seemingly complex topics ), you probably wouldn't be surprised if I were to answer "yes". I see a lot of similarities between the way we generalize the word "universe" and the word "trickster". Each has Multiple contexts that superimpose inside overlapping boundaries. While stalking the Trickster, a blueprint delineating these relationships could help the members of our safari stay on the trail. So I was thinking of writing something up to that effect. Would you mind if I solicited your opinion? Maybe between the two of us we can corner the devil, archetype, werewolf, shape shifter ...
 
Sure, solicit away... more brains are better than one befuddled head!

Just to clarify for folks ... you're the expert Chris, and I'm the one who's still befuddled.

Something else I wanted to mention is that you mention reports of unusually large animals like 4-5 foot tall wolves. I've had a number of experiences, including a sighting of one of those things, but I never assigned it much significance at the time because I'd never seen a live wolf before. I just figured that they got that big. I've never forgotten it and since then, in all the wolf documentaries I've seen since, I haven't seen another wolf like it. Only when I read the passage in your book did it fizz on me that I may have seen something unusual. The happenstance is also reminiscent of the time I crossed paths with an MIB mobile.

I was on my way to visit my Mom in Invermere, but this time, instead of travelling between Glacier Park and Invermere, I was driving from Calgary through Banff National Park. At some places the highway runs next to the river. At one of these spots my attention was drawn to the far side of the river to a large wolf that was ambling along the river bank. I'm about 5'11" and this thing easily reached my chest height on all fours. It turned its head and looked directly at me as I passed by and I swear we made eye contact. That moment is difficult to put into words. It was as if I understood that the forest belonged to that creature and I was only a momentary and insignificant distraction. It never broke its stride and there wasn't the slightest hint of surprise or fear in it's eyes. It was simply magnificent ... and apparently impossible.
 
@Christopher O'Brien

OK ... so the other day I finished reading Chis' book Stalking The Trickster, and this afternoon I watched some of the video ( I got the set ). So tonight, I'm sitting and watching TV and I look out the window toward the mountains to the west around 12:00 am, and this is what I see: From behind the hedge along the sidewalk under the streetlamp comes walking at a brisk but oddly stiff pace, a short really skinny guy with drawn out features, jet black shiny hair in a sort of swept back pompadour, pointy black boots and black cape. Now folks, this aint Halloween up here, but suddenly after reading Chris' book and talking about whether or not we attract paranormal events by becoming involved in the study, suddenly I've got a freaking dead ringer for Spring Heeled Jack walking past my window at midnight. Coincidence? I'm not saying, I'm just sayin' ...
 
Back
Top