Preface

Dear Reader:
This story began in the late sixties and continues to this day. It could have happened to any one of you. It is the story of three people coming together to follow some apparently cosmic guidance on faith, while they repeatedly asked themselves the question “what if?” I am one of those people. The other two were Andrija Puharich MD from upstate New York, and Sir John Whitmore from England.

Many of you have perhaps heard of Dr. Puharich. It was he who discovered Uri Geller, the well-known spoon bender and entertainer, and first brought him from Israel to the United States. After retiring from professional sport, Sir John Whitmore began a quest for understanding life following a near-death experience. He studied psychotherapy in Northern California, made a documentary film in Hollywood and sponsored leading edge science seminars in England. I am the third member of this group. I am a Deep Trance Medium who has no recall of what is received. I call myself a Transceiver.

The cosmic guides call themselves the Nine Principles of the Universe. I simply call them the Management or the Nine. They became our friends. When I remember all the experiences we went through together then and still now, I am in awe and wonder. It was a miracle that three strong-willed people from such very diverse backgrounds managed to let go of self and enormous egos to pull together as one–or at least to make heroic efforts to do so! The Nine tell us that I am the only person they will speak through.

At this point some of you may be thinking, “Oh yeah, I bet she is.” People have written books claiming we are fakes or CIA and other such nonsense. Ever since this book first came out under the title Briefing for Landing on Planet Earth and also following our later book The Only Planet of Choice, many people have claimed to channel The Council of Nine. Perhaps it would have been better for me if there had been others because I would have liked to share the enormous responsibility that I feel. I see it as a duty and one that I do not take lightly. It has colored my life for well over 30 years.

Soon after “Briefing” came out, it became a collector’s item because it was never published in the U.S.; instead it was photocopied and passed around covertly. These things can never be fully explained, but Dr. Puharich had arranged for Uri Geller to be tested in Government labs around the U.S., and had been somewhat vocal about the findings.

There had been some negative reactions in certain quarters. It was at a time of denial in the U.S. about all possible ET connections. The mood is different today. I feel it is now the right time for this book to be republished, and made available in the U.S.

Our beloved Dr. Andrija Puharich passed on to explore other universes in 1995. John and myself continue to meet and he communicates with the Nine; at times others sit in. This work still goes on and hopefully will do so for a very long time.
Sincerely, Phyllis V. Schlemmer.

Foreword

Although the extraordinary events described in this book occurred more than 25 years ago, they are deeply relevant today.

The threat of war and terror impinges on all our lives, especially those who live in the Middle East. That said, the story that unfolded then to a disparate handful of people reads like a science fiction thriller and yet it was for real–I was one of those people.

If contact with an unearthly and wise civilization could ever be validated in a way that would satisfy the protocol demanded by the narrow scientific parameters of today, it would relegate terrorism to the second or third page of the newspapers. Of course all religions are based upon such unexpected and unverifiable contact with a few people. Most such people have had the good sense to avoid their cosmic conversations being used for religious purposes.

We were contacted in 1974 by a cosmic source greatly concerned about the nuclear threat that existed at the time. The fallout of a global war, we were told, would not only terminate the human race as we know it, but also would have even more serious cosmic consequences.

Their policy was not to interfere (“mankind can only evolve by finding its own way”), but as a last resort even direct intervention was in the cards. This book is the story of the events as they unfolded. We were never commanded but invited to embark upon, and guided through, a number of quixotic journeys to Israel, Teheran and the Soviet Union in the name of fostering peace.

Interwoven with this challenging and at times James Bond-like saga was a step-by-step revelation of how the universe, cosmic intelligence and life on Earth evolved and the meaning and purpose behind it all. Of course such revelations are too vast for a mere human mind to embrace in other than the simplest of conceptual models but our “invisible teachers” were always sensitive to our mundane limitations.

They positioned our own psychological and spiritual development as integral to our mission and showed unstinting love, kindness and patience even when we repeatedly failed to master our own personality limitations.

Key extracts from hundreds of hours of communications were published in 1993 under the provocative title, The Only Planet of Choice.

That book extends the narrative of “Briefing” but also provides a synthesis of communications and thereby an understanding of mankind’s relationship, role and responsibilities to and for life itself. It challenges the dogma of every religion, while revealing the commonality behind them all. It suggests that conflict between religions exists only because we humans have interpreted and distorted the one truth repeatedly to suit our own ends. The importance of this understanding has never been greater than it is today.

But back then, the threat of war had subsided, the Berlin Wall had come down and at least life in the developed countries seemed relatively peaceful for a decade; that was until September 11th 2001. The threat to global peace today is much harder to confront, but potentially no less devastating than it was then. Furthermore, if one ventures beneath our superficial attributions, the true cause of the terror is as elusive as is one of its chief perpetrators. Likewise the boundary between the good guys and the bad guys is far harder to draw with confidence than it was during the Cold War. The conflict now is less about political systems than it is about special interests; religious fanaticism, the demand for oil, the rich/poor divide, drugs, pornography and license, the internet, the environment, exploitation, consumerism, corporate crime and globalization all play their part.

The communications from space have continued throughout, calmly, quietly and at times infrequently behind the scenes informing and guiding this small band of people all dedicated to humanity and sanity.

Others have joined and left the group freely, and a key figure, Doctor Andrija Puharich, has died. Those who have sat in on communications have included renowned scientists, a university president, and celebrities such as singer John Denver and Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Many have chosen to be discreet about their participation.

At times the Nine, as they call themselves, comment on world events as they watch mankind struggle with itself to find the light. They are infinitely patient and seldom judgmental; however in mid-August of this year they communicated robustly at length with a group of some twenty-five seekers and researchers gathered in Fort Collins, Colorado.

This is what they had to say: “Until the nation of Israel has the ability to exist without destruction, your planet Earth is in turmoil, for the nation of Israel is a representation of your entire planet Earth. It is difficult for many to understand that, but it is the micro of the macro and it is important that there is peace and harmony. If you will review recent times, you will see that there has been more devastation upon your planet Earth just as there has been more in the nation of Israel. It is important that it be brought into balance, for you will see that Israel is the center of all the landmass of planet Earth and out of it generates the energy for all of planet Earth. We are in great sadness for its devastation and for the devastation of Ishmael (Palestine) also.

You will view the corruption that now exists also in this country of our Doctor (Puharich, meaning the USA), and the corruption that will then bring about devastation also. For those in authority have in themselves a corruption of desire for power and control of humankind.

Humankind must take into that of self the responsibility not to permit governments to place them in bondage and humankind has the ability to do that. There are those that we call “others” that if they gain control of your planet Earth, they then will control the Universe. You are in a serious time more than has ever existed upon your planet Earth and our time is also the time that you have the ability to bring about rapid change for you have communication among all people in swiftness that did not exist before. What is now of utmost importance are the youth of planet Earth and the beginning of changing the energy within, and the re-education of those youth that are taught to destroy.” The Nine went on to elaborate on this theme and to urge all people of goodwill to meditate and pray for peace, but also to stand up and be counted, speak out against the corruption of power and wealth, and the manipulation of the poor and the less powerful.

Read this book and, if you will, follow it with The Only Planet of Choice. Both books have been sleepers but have been remarkably widely read and many readers have written to tell us that they have been profoundly affected. Phyllis V. Schlemmer, who is the vehicle for the communications, I and others continue to be involved; but quiet cosmic communications will continue long after we are gone, and let us pray that mankind wakes up before it destroys itself and this beautiful planet for which we are transient guardians. The Nine concluded the above communication as follows: “When seventy-five percent of humankind are aware that they are not alone in the Universe, that there is creation, that they are and will exist for ever, that there is no death of the soul, then that which they are, will really be.” ~ Sir John Whitmore.

Author’s Note

This book is about people going through a very testing and unusual experience, and I want to express my appreciation to the principals, both for their unstinting cooperation and for permitting the personal aspects of the story to be told. One problem in writing about contemporary events of this kind is that words tend to fix and finalize things, and I should like to stress that this is an ongoing story, and that in the three years that have elapsed since the events here reported some of the people involved have undergone considerable and beneficial personal changes as a result of their experiences and their strange guidance; others have chosen to drop into the background.

However, in these three years the communications have continued, further elaborating the themes introduced in this book and broaching some new ones. This book is only the beginning, and a book on the extraordinary events and communications subsequent to the April 1975 climacteric will follow.

To reproduce verbatim the material on which the book is based would require three or four volumes of the present length. So the material as presented in these pages is edited. I have omitted repetitions and some digressions, and have tidied up grammar and syntax where necessary, simply in order to make the narrative readable and to include as much of the very varied material as possible.

My thanks are due to Nada-Yolanda and Mark Age, Inc., of Miami, for permission to quote from their publication, Visitors from Other Planets, and to Brad Steiger and Prentice-Hall, Inc. of Englewood Cliff s, New Jersey, for permission to quote from Revelation: The Divine Fire by Brad Steiger.
~ Stuart Holroyd

Introduction

The subject of UFOs–flying saucers–used to be a matter of violent controversy. Now the argument has subsided into a kind of sullen deadlock. The people who read Flying Saucer Review are more certain than ever that the phenomena are genuine–whether or not they are really “visitors from outer space.” The skeptics now simply decline to discuss the matter, as if it were really too silly for words. Yet if they were not hopelessly intolerant and narrow-minded, the present book would lead some of them to agree that “ufologists” are not all cranks and gulls.

The central figure in this book is Dr. Andrija Puharich, an electronics engineer and inventor, described by Aldous Huxley as “one of the most brilliant minds in parapsychology.” Puharich is probably best known for his “discovery” of Uri Geller, the Israeli psychic who was launched to fame in the early 1970s when he bent spoons on British television. By that time, Puharich was already the author of two remarkable books: The Sacred Mushroom, describing his investigation of a Dutch sculptor who produced detailed memories of a “past life” in ancient Egypt, and Beyond Telepathy, a balanced account of some impeccable experiments with well-known “psychics.” No “psychical researcher” in England or America had the slightest doubt that Puharich was a serious and totally honest observer of parapsychological phenomena. And when his book, Uri: A Journal of the Mystery of Uri Geller, was published in 1974, everyone expected it to be another cautious and well-documented account of laboratory investigations into Geller’s powers. What actually appeared left everyone staggered and bewildered. According to Puharich, strange voices spoke out of Geller’s mouth – or from above his head–declaring themselves to be “Space Intelligences” who had selected Geller to be their Messenger in Chief to the human race. And the rest of the book was a catalogue of preposterous marvels, with the “Space Intelligences” causing car engines to stop, making objects appear and disappear, even “teleporting” Puharich’s camera case several thousand miles … Critics decided there could be three possible explanations: (a) Puharich had been hoodwinked by Geller; (b) Puharich was lying; (c) Puharich had gone mad. Even the most ardent ufologists found the book impossible to swallow, for the catalogue of marvels simply went on too long; it left the head spinning.

Having met Uri Geller myself, my own theory was that he was undoubtedly genuine and had some odd ability to produce “poltergeist phenomena.” Poltergeist means “rattling ghost,” and among the thousands of cases on record, some date back to the Middle Ages.

At a fairly early stage, people noticed that the disturbances–objects flying through the air or loud bangs and crashes–usually occurred in the neighborhood of a disturbed adolescent, often an epileptic or hysteric. Nineteenth-century investigators were inclined to believe that such people were “natural mediums,” through whom “spirits” wished to communicate. Then, in the 1880s, Freud “discovered” the unconscious mind–or at least popularized the concept–and the Society for Psychical Research quickly saw that this could be a plausible and natural explanation. Of course it left unexplained the question of how a person’s unconscious mind could cause objects to sail through the air; but it seemed a step in the right direction. In fact, since then, “split brain research” has taken an even more important step towards an explanation; researchers have discovered that we have two people living inside our heads, in the left and right sides of the brain. The left half is the rational, logical person you call “you”; when someone asks “you” questions, this is the part that replies. A few centimeters away, in the right cerebral hemisphere, there is another “you,” a dumb, instinctive “you” who operates almost entirely by intuition. If the two halves are split–as they sometimes are in epileptics–the left half ceases to know what the right half is up to, which explains how a person can cause poltergeist effects without having the least idea that he (or she) is responsible. Almost certainly, the right half is the culprit, together with its various allies in the older parts of the human brain.

On the strength of Puharich’s earlier books, I am inclined to believe that he, as well as Geller, has a highly active unconscious mind. And this could explain the storm of “psychic phenomena” that began to occur as soon as the two got together. This is the theory that I have suggested in my book The Geller Phenomenon. I should add that both Geller and Puharich, while not actually discounting it, are inclined to be doubtful. But then, they would be. The Uri and Andrija I have talked to live in the left side of their heads.

All of which brings me to another old friend, Stuart Holroyd, the author of this book. I have told elsewhere (in Voyage to a Beginning) how we became literary allies in the 1950s, and how the mutual stimulation led me to write The Outsider, and Stuart to write his own first book, Emergence from Chaos, a study in poetry and religion. My book was the first to appear, in May 1956, and it made me an overnight reputation; moreover, since it appeared on the same day as Osborne’s play, “Look Back in Anger”, I found myself linked with Osborne as an “Angry Young Man.” We achieved overnight notoriety and a great deal of publicity.

Stuart’s book appeared a few months later. It was less successful than my own, partly because by this time he was also known as an “Angry Young Man,” and the highbrow critics were already sick of the absurd publicity we were receiving. Still, it made Stuart a secure reputation, and a play called “The Tenth Chance” presented at the Royal Court made it clear that he also possessed a true dramatic talent. He followed this up with a book that combined philosophy and autobiography (Flight and Pursuit, 1959), and then abruptly left London and the literary scene, married, moved to the south coast and established a language school, which he ran for fourteen years, in which time the only books he produced were on English literature and history for the educational market, and an autobiographical novel, Contraries, describing the old “Angry” days of the fifties and the love affair that led to his second marriage: a book which revealed that in the 1970s he was writing with a new kind of assurance.

In early May 1974, a friend who runs a Dutch “occult” magazine rang me from The Hague to ask me if I could attend–and report–a series of lectures on paranormal phenomena in London. (I had written The Occult in the late sixties, and it had gained me a reputation as some kind of authority on the subject). I said it was impossible at such short notice, but that I had a friend in Hastings who was a good writer and a conscientious reporter. He was not–as far as I knew–interested in the “occult,” but might be willing to take on the job. In fact, Stuart agreed, and attended the May Lectures organized by Puharich and Sir John Whitmore. His report appeared in the Dutch magazine Bres, and was reprinted in a book, The Frontiers of Science and Medicine, the editor, Rick Carlson, commenting: “Holroyd’s material is, to some extent, duplicative, but the duplication is worth it; first, because the subjects are complex and occasionally arcane and second because his insights are incisive and his writing lucid.” As a result of attending the Lectures, Stuart became as fascinated by the subject as I am myself, and for the same reason. Both of us are centrally preoccupied with religion and mysticism–that is, with human consciousness, and the insights it can achieve. Both of us had formerly been inclined to dismiss “occultism” as wishful thinking, and to regard its exponents as cranks. Yet if the roots of mystical revelation lie in the unconscious mind, as I am relatively sure they do, then there is an immediate connection between these and so-called “paranormal powers.” Hindu mystics have always recognized this; the power to perform strange “miracles” is just one of the less important by-products of the path to sainthood. And once we begin to talk about well-authenticated instances of telepathy, second sight or foreknowledge, we are also asking fundamental questions about the universe we live in.

For example, if there is even one single provable instance of a glimpse into the future, then there is something basically wrong with our notion of time. And since the existentialist philosopher wants to know who we are and what we are doing here, paranormal research immediately becomes an important possible source of information.

Stuart Holroyd plunged into the subject with his customary passion and enthusiasm. The result was a remarkable book, Psi and the Consciousness Explosion, that appeared in 1977. By that time, he had also turned his wide-ranging knowledge to account by writing no less than four books on paranormal subjects–telepathy, dreams, magic, astral projection–for a series I was then editing.

In the present book, he tells of his meeting with Whitmore and Puharich in America, of how he became aware of the astonishing continuation of the “Space Intelligence” communications, and how he was persuaded to make his own assessment. It seems to me that Puharich showed considerable wisdom in agreeing to Stuart’s writing the book, rather than writing it himself. He is too eccentrically brilliant to make a good writer; he gives the impression that his mind is moving twice as fast as his pen. But, more important, Stuart Holroyd is uninvolved.

As a writer, his interest is in human psychology; therefore it would not make any basic difference to him if Puharich, Whitmore and Phyllis Schlemmer all turned out to be insane; the story would be equally absorbing. Yet, as will be seen, the one thing about which he has no misgivings is that of their sanity. Beyond all doubt, something very strange has been happening, and is continuing to happen, even as I write these words. It would be absurd not to acknowledge that it could be a matter of genuine extraterrestrial communication. Yet on the present showing, there is simply not enough evidence to give real support to that possibility. Then what the hell is going on? I would agree that the remarkable events described in this book couldn’t easily be explained in terms of my “poltergeist phenomena” theory either. Strange entities, claiming to be super-beings from “another dimension,” warn us that the planet Earth is close to a serious crisis, and that this is why they have been forced to intervene so directly. Much of what they say strikes me as convincing, and all of it is interesting, far more so than the majority of “spirit communications” of the past. Could it be, perhaps, that the original poltergeist theory was correct, and that poltergeist phenomena are due to “spirits” who operate through human “mediums?” I have suggested elsewhere that the “spirits” who communicate at seances may be the crooks and con men of the spirit world, habitual liars with nothing better to do. Could this explain why the landing on planet Earth has not yet materialized? In this book, Stuart Holroyd has presented you with all the facts, upon which you can make your own judgment. He has told the story with honesty and clarity and brought to bear on it his immense knowledge of this strange fi eld. Whether or not you find the story of the “Space Intelligences” totally unacceptable, I think you will agree that it is an absorbing and disturbing narrative.
~ Colin Wilson

And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
Revelation 10:10-11 15.

An excerpt from The Nine: Briefing From Deep Space by Stuart Holroyd, published by White Crow Books.