TAKE IT SERIOUSLY

Ingo Swann & Noreen Renier

When my friend Ingo Swann (1933–2013) died, his sister held a memorial service for him on the second floor of a small local museum in Manhattan that he often frequented.

Ingo was a celebrity of sorts, known for his unusual psychic abilities that caught the attention of the United States government. He was especially known for remote viewing. Remote viewing is the practice of seeking impressions about a distant or unseen subject, purportedly sensed with the mind.

When you think about it, a remote viewer would make the perfect spy.

The Soviets were the first to act on this idea, and the Americans soon followed, with Ingo at the top of the list. The Central Intelligence Agency soon began the Stargate Project. The story behind this effort and the results of that project could fill an entire book.  Good reading, no doubt, but let’s return to my original story for this blog.

If you mention the subject of remote viewing to most of the general public, they laugh, make faces, and end with the words, “That’s impossible.” Well, it’s not, and our government took this psychic ability seriously.

I was a forensic videographer and photographer, working primarily within the legal system. The camera was practically my third arm, so naturally I wanted to record the memorial service so that friends and relatives who couldn’t attend could still see the accolades spoken about him.

On the day of the memorial service, I arrived at the museum with Dr. Joanne D.S. McMahon, the parapsychologist, and her husband, Tom. We came early and were told the service would be held on the second floor.

The manager asked if we could help set up the chairs in the room. There were quite a few chairs, and we arranged them properly in neat rows with clear aisles on each side and down the middle.

I was then approached and told that no photographs or videos were to be taken.

Why?

I was told his sister had already arranged for someone to film the service, but in reality, when it all started, I didn’t see any cameras.

What I did see were men dressed in suits, with clean-shaven faces and neatly combed hair. It looked like central casting for a government spy movie.

Having been introduced by Ingo in the past, I recognized a few of the guests by sight. They were members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency, but as for the others, I had no clue who they were or which government agency they belonged to.

Which brings me to the point: for a remote viewer and psychic, the powers that be absolutely took the man and his abilities seriously.

UFO groups hold conferences and meetings, many of them open to the public. I spoke to members of MUFON (Mutual UFO Network), and they confirmed that their organization is a target of government interest. They are aware that their audiences are often infiltrated by government informants.

Many in the public refuse to acknowledge the existence of UFOs, yet there are many in positions of authority who take this subject, and the people associated with it, seriously.

Noreen Renier is often called the Psychic Detective. Through her psychic abilities, she has supplied information to law enforcement to help solve cold murder cases.

At one point, she was sent to Quantico, Virginia, to the FBI Academy, to instruct agents in the technique of how to question psychics when gathering information.

Although I’ve found that law enforcement seldom, if ever, uses psychics in investigations, Noreen seems to be the one exception.

Once again—taking psychics seriously.

Throughout my life, the mention of psychics or psychic ability has stirred controversy.

Jehovah's Witnesses strongly condemn psychics, mediums, and all forms of spiritism, calling them detestable practices and in league with demons.

Those who consider themselves “educated” often say that nothing involving psychic ability has ever been presented that meets their standard of proof; therefore, they conclude it either does not exist or is outright fraud.

My point is this: keep an open mind.

Don’t be quick to condemn something you are unfamiliar with.

Of course, don’t be naïve. Take the time to absorb the information you receive before deciding whether to accept it or not.

In either case, whenever you are presented with something different, take it seriously.