There are many UFO groups world wide and even more individuals who believe that UFO and aliens exist. Many believe and yet have not seen an alien or a UFO. I would like to share some of my thoughts concerning this issue.

Recently, I saw on television and read newspaper reports about the Yamassee Native American Nuwaubians, a sect living in Eatonton, Georgia. According to a newspaper article, the founder of the Nuwaubians, Dwight York, has claimed to be an extraterrestrial from a galaxy called Illyuwan. The article also stated that York said that in 2003AD spaceships are going to descend from the sky and pick up a chosen 144,000 people. 

The Internet and other forms of media are saturated with information about the hordes of other groups that have formed worldwide. Most everyone recalls the thirty-nine members of Heaven's Gate who committed suicide because they believed they were going to meet a spaceship they thought to have been in the tail of the comet Hale-Bop. 
After reading about the Nuwaubians and recalling past news reports of Heaven's Gate, I began to wonder what would be the differences between a credible researcher and a fanatic cult member. How would a person discern between the two, especially when sometimes there is just enough truth mixed in with the fanaticism to make an untruth appear quite credible? I believe that deception may very closely parallel the truth.

Our extraterrestrial contacts have encouraged us to use our instincts, research our own answers and come to our own conclusions. Because of this, I began to decipher what may be the characteristics of a fanatic cult member. A fanatic cult member is probably going to be very extreme and unbalanced in his thinking, willing to believe any theory without using discernment and not think about the consequences of his actions. He may be willing to abandon his life and loved ones to follow his own desires, and may unconditionally follow a charismatic or strong leader without using good judgment. He may follow blindly because of a need, which is otherwise unfulfilled.

On the other hand researchers are ordinary people who lead normal lives; they go to work, pay bills and function within society. There are researchers who experience abduction and those who experience contact. A contactee will not experience abduction, the act of taking someone against their free will, because they are sound and balanced in their thoughts and actions. They live spiritual lives and use the tools for resisting abduction on a daily basis.

Many of the researcher's experiences have been well documented and have been the subject of many books. Some researchers have given hypnosis-induced testimony of their experiences.

What do you think? Do we need proof, hard physical evidence, or can we take the word of individuals who probably number in the millions and are brave enough to speak of their experiences? Can we take their word on faith or do we need to hold evidence in our hands? The question no longer is, do UFO's exist and what's wrong with the people who believe in them, but rather, why are UFO's and aliens here? Why are we not being openly told about their existence?

This, to me, is who and what a credible researcher is; they are your neighbor, your co-worker, your friend or your family member. These people cannot explain what has happened to them, they just know that something has happened and probably is still happening. For them, just knowing this is true, is all the proof they need.