“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. “ Ephesians 2.2
For years, I was deeply immersed in the worlds of the New Age, psychic phenomena, and ufology. I began as an amateur and eventually became a professional psychic. Looking back now, after my conversion to Orthodox Christianity, I understand many of those experiences through a very different lens.
That change in perspective has not erased my memories of what I saw, experienced, or learned. If anything, it has made me examine them more carefully.
My fascination with ufology began in the late 1980s through programs like Coast to Coast AM, books such as Shirley MacLaine’s Out on a Limb, and my growing involvement in psychic and New Age communities. Eventually, that interest led to professional relationships and collaborations involving media figures, whistleblowers, and influential voices within the UFO world.
At first, I believed I was getting closer to answers.
But something changed as I got closer.
The Closer I Looked, the More Complicated It Became
As I came to know some of the people involved, I began seeing things that did not fit the stories being presented publicly.
I encountered individuals presented as whistleblowers whose stories became less convincing the more closely I examined them. I observed money, influence, media interests, politics, and competing agendas operating behind narratives that often appeared straightforward from a distance.
One lesson stood out above all:
Proximity changes your perspective.
From a distance, a UFO story can appear coherent and compelling. But when you begin comparing claims over time, examining motivations, and asking difficult questions, the picture often becomes far more complicated.
Over time, I came to believe that many experiences and stories within ufology fall into several broad categories: misunderstandings, hoaxes, fabrications, classified military technology, genuinely unexplained events, and experiences that may involve a spiritual dimension.
That last category became increasingly important after my conversion to Orthodox Christianity.
Not Every UFO Story Has the Same Explanation
One of the biggest mistakes in ufology is assuming that every case has the same cause.
Some sightings have mundane explanations. Some are deliberate hoaxes. Some may involve military technology. Some remain unexplained.
History contains many examples of fabricated UFO stories, from the Aztec crashed-saucer hoax to the famous Alien Autopsy film and more recent publicity-driven hoaxes. These incidents remind us that people can sincerely misunderstand what they see—and sometimes people deliberately create deception.
Military secrecy has also played a role. Official government reviews have acknowledged that UFO stories occasionally served as convenient cover for classified programs and advanced aircraft testing.
The reality is complicated.
No single explanation fits every case.
The Spiritual Dimension
My greatest shift in thinking did not come from studying government programs or historical cases.
It came from reexamining the spiritual assumptions I once held.
When I was involved in the New Age, I tended to assume that extraordinary experiences indicated spiritual advancement, higher consciousness, or contact with benevolent intelligences.
Orthodox Christianity taught me a different lesson.
The fact that an experience feels spiritual does not mean its source is good.
The fact that something appears supernatural does not mean it is divine.
And the fact that someone receives extraordinary knowledge does not necessarily mean it comes from God.
These distinctions became central to my understanding of everything I experienced before my conversion.
From Theosophy to Modern UFO Spirituality
One historical pattern that eventually caught my attention was the relationship between UFO spirituality and older esoteric traditions.
Long before modern UFO culture emerged, movements such as Theosophy taught that advanced spiritual beings from other realms were guiding humanity’s evolution. Over time, many of these ideas reappeared in new forms.
The ascended master became the extraterrestrial teacher.
The hidden spiritual realm became another dimension.
The esoteric message became communication from advanced beings.
The promise of spiritual evolution became cosmic evolution.
Whether expressed through contactees, channelers, New Age teachers, or modern disclosure movements, the underlying pattern often remained surprisingly similar.
This does not prove those claims are false.
But it does raise an important question:
Who is actually speaking, and how do we know?
The Problem With “Higher Beings”
One of the most important realizations I eventually reached was that intelligence does not equal holiness.
Technology does not equal goodness.
Knowledge does not equal wisdom.
And supernatural ability does not equal divine authority.
A being can appear compassionate and still be deceptive.
A message can sound profound and still be false.
An extraordinary experience can be genuine while our interpretation of it remains mistaken.
This distinction became foundational to my understanding of spiritual discernment.
What I Believe Now
After years of involvement in these subjects, followed by my conversion to Orthodox Christianity, I no longer approach these questions simply by asking:
“Is this UFO real?”
Instead, I ask broader questions:
- Who is telling the story?
- What do they want me to believe?
- What is their history?
- Who benefits?
- What happens when someone challenges the narrative?
- What kind of worldview is being offered?
That last question has become especially important.
Orthodox Christianity taught me to take spiritual deception seriously, not as an abstract idea, but as something requiring humility, vigilance, and discernment.
Discernment Over Fascination
When I was younger, mystery itself was part of the attraction.
The stranger the story, the more compelling it seemed.
But fascination is not discernment.
A person can witness something genuinely strange without understanding what it is. A sincere witness can be mistaken. And a convincing story can still be false.
That is why I am cautious about making sweeping claims about every UFO encounter, every whistleblower, every psychic experience, or every paranormal event.
Some things have ordinary explanations.
Some are misunderstandings.
Some are hoaxes.
Some are fabricated.
Some may involve classified technology.
Some remain genuinely unexplained.
And some experiences may involve a spiritual dimension that I now understand differently because of my Orthodox faith.
For me, that final category matters deeply.
Based on my experiences and the conclusions I reached afterward, I believe that phenomena I once interpreted as extraterrestrial or spiritually enlightened to have been forms of spiritual deception that I would now describe as demonic.
That does not mean every UFO is of supernatural origin.
It does not mean every whistleblower is lying.
It does not mean every unexplained event is a government operation.
The danger lies in assuming that all experiences share the same explanation.
Why I Am Writing About This
Looking back, I no longer believe my years of involvement in ufology, psychic phenomena, and New Age spirituality were simply an innocent search for answers.
At the time, I believed I was pursuing truth.
I believed I was seeking wisdom, spiritual growth, and a deeper understanding of reality.
But over time, and especially after my conversion to Orthodox Christianity, I began to see something very different.
What I once viewed as a path toward enlightenment often kept me focused on everything except Christ.
My attention was directed toward hidden knowledge, secret teachings, extraordinary experiences, paranormal encounters, spiritual powers, and endless mysteries. There was always another book to read, another revelation to uncover, another teacher to follow, another phenomenon to investigate.
Yet despite all of that searching, I found myself no closer to God.
In many ways, I was becoming more fascinated with the creation than with the Creator.
Today, I believe that was not accidental.
I came to believe these influences and experiences I encountered were not leading me toward Christ but away from Him. Whether through deception, spiritual pride, fascination with hidden knowledge, or a constant preoccupation with extraordinary experiences, the effect was often the same: my attention was diverted from repentance, humility, prayer, and communion with God.
From my present Orthodox perspective, I believe that some of what I once interpreted as spiritual advancement may actually have been spiritual deception.
It does not mean every person involved in ufology, the New Age, or paranormal research has bad intentions.
Many are sincere people searching for meaning, just as I was.
But sincerity alone does not guarantee that a path leads to truth.
The greatest danger I encountered was not necessarily the existence of unexplained phenomena. It was becoming so captivated by mysteries, hidden knowledge, and extraordinary experiences that I lost sight of the One thing that truly matters.
In the end, I found that the answer was not another secret, another revelation, or another extraordinary encounter.
The answer was Christ.
The greatest lesson I learned was that evil does not always tempt us through things that appear obviously dark or destructive. Sometimes it distracts us through things that appear fascinating, spiritual, enlightening, or even good.
For years, I chased mysteries.
What I needed was repentance.
For years, I sought hidden knowledge.
What I needed was Christ.
And from where I stand today, that realization is more important than any answer I could ever find about UFOs, psychic phenomena, or the paranormal.
Love in Christ,
Joy Abigail
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed on this blog belong solely to the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position, teachings, or policies of any Orthodox Christian parish, diocese, metropolis, or jurisdiction.
While I strive to ensure the theological and historical accuracy of the content shared here in accordance with the Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church, this blog is an independent project. It is intended for educational, informational, and personal reflection purposes only. It should not be used as a substitute for direct spiritual guidance from a canonical Orthodox priest or spiritual father.
Joy Abigail 
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