The Hidden Hand

All images by Marc Brinkerhoff.

I had the distinctive honor of an invitation to screen what was being called "an insider's insider's film" this past weekend at the Association for Research and Enlightenment in Manhattan. Afterwards, I was able to sequester myself with the filmmaker for some in-depth discussion about it at a cozy gathering of very interesting folks. "The Hidden Hand," a documentary work-in-progress by filmmaker, photographer, and artist, James Carman, takes a stark, and often quite uncomfortable look at UFOs and extraterrestrials from an insider's viewpoint — meaning those who have direct contact, on- and off-board non-terrestrial craft. The film is intelligently woven of dark and light, with interviews and theories of those who self-identify as abductees — who often report negative, traumatic experiences — and contactees, who relate more positive forays and ongoing, cooperative relationships with non-terrestrial beings. The many intimate and often painfully emotional sharings are underscored by startling revelations by several elderly, long-retired personnel who span the gamut of military organizations, and who once held the highest of top-secret positions in their respective "black operations." What we really liked about these individuals was their feisty fuck-you attitudes: "Hey, I kept your stupid secrets for most of my life, and now I'm 85 years old; what're ya gonna do, threaten me some more, kill me, even? Go ahead, I dare ya! Stupid ass-wipes." Actually they didn't say it quite like that, but it was clearly written all over their beautiful wizened and intense faces. My friend and colleague, psychic-medium, Marc, is one of the presenting contactees in the film, and has been interacting with otherdimensional beings since he was a child up to and including the present. A fine-artist painter, he has an impressive portfolio of renderings and paintings illustrating his experiences over the years. Most of the people in the film are often troubled, sad, lost, and shut down; one could not begin to hope for even a smidgen of tragi-comedy in their stories —some which span several family generations — which might bring at least a little light in. Tim pointed out that Marc, on the other hand, is at the other end of that spectrum, as he presents as someone who has found something — substantial relationships and knowledge that has enhanced and expanded his ways of being and understanding of his place in the universe. His unending curiosity and sense of joy, discovery and awe are substantial signs of health and healing, which are somehow accessible to others, even if they haven't had such experiences. The darkened ones, on the other hand, are like prisoners, trapped in lightless, airless dungeons from which there seems no hope of escape, and understandably, nobody watching their pain wants to watch for very long; much less identify with them. People like Marc represent the higher vibrating, evolved potential for an experience with the numinous, with "other." His experience and even his very being radiate humorous acceptance and negate fear. This is most apparent in his prodigious works of light-filled, joyous art. Marc is especially focused on trying to help people veer away from "the negative alien agenda," citing that there are too many fearful people who can only think of the "evil greys" when they hear about non-terrestrial beings. An especially significant factor for Tim and me was the fairly new, "quiet theory" carefully threaded throughout — that many of the beings of non-terrestrial origin are not from other planets in our Universe, but from universes of other dimensions; they do not travel great distances across unimaginable years of light speed, but rather, do not travel at all, able to move without time's hindrance. This level of thought meshes with the concept of "interpenetration of worlds" that Tim and other Risen bring forth in our book, to help us begin to comprehend that there is no "here" and "there" in life-filled actuality, but only "here-now." Phil Imbrogno, who was one of the endorsers of our book, was also one of the earliest, if not the first of scientific researchers and educators in the UFO field to present this theoretical model in his book, Interdimensional Universe — which is how he came to our attention and which led to the comparison of notes and discovery of similarities in reports.