Crop Circles: "There Should Be Joy"

My Trickster's Realm column for Binnall of America should be up sometime tomorrow, and it's about the McMinnville UFO conference. In that article I write about crop circles, among other things, and the profound and unexpected reactions I (and others) had to Colin Andrews presentation. But it doesn't begin and end there; as I comment in the Trickster's Realm article, I had another unexpected reaction to a crop circle presentation, as I wrote for Tim's site in 2008:

Crop Circles: "There Should Be Joy" In his 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, Daniel Pinchbeck comments about the crop circle phenomena: the amazing and beautiful complexity, their abrupt appearances on a global scale, and how incredible it is that such intricate creations can be made, continually all over the world. Obviously it would be a global change for humanity if the circles turn out to be made by some non-human entity, whether it's earth-bound or extraterrestrial ("alien.") But even if it turns out to be utterly, 100% human, that is still incredible. The ludicrous explanation that Doug and Dave are the crop circle artists is just that: a ridiculous idea. In 1990 in England alone there were over a thousand circles; are we to believe two senior citizens made all those circles? It's so insane that anyone seriously believing that is the case is an idiot.
By saying that crop circles are "just" done by two versions of British good old boys not only marginalizes the crop circle phenomena as an anomalous, Fortean/paranormal event, but as an anything event. Human, schuman, doesn't matter. As Pinchbeck writes:

If the phenomenon was orchestrated by teams of human circle makers in different countries, it would be the largest-scaled, most significant project of anonymous land art know to the world, deserving attention and acclaim on that score. If it was not entirely created by humans, the formations would clearly be of tremendous significance, compelling a paradigm shift in our understanding of the cosmos. But if any attempt to fathom it was met with derision and disregard, dismissed from public discourse, there could be no discoveries at all.(italics mine) (Pinchbeck: p80)

That's exactly it: there is no interest about crop circles, from any perspective, from the infrastructure. Art or aliens, both are suspect. The only acceptable "interest" in crop circles are the usual uber-skeptic dismissive "explanations" that serve not to explain -- certainly not enlighten -- but to put an end to such time wasting nonsense as exploring crop circles.
Sometimes in UFO and esoteric phenomena it's interesting to look at what isn't being said, or done, in terms of the experience. Crop circles, like UFOs, exist. What they are, why they are, why they're here, and who's responsible for their existence; those are the questions. Staying stuck in the first question: do they exist? guarantees one never moves on to a true journey of exploration; they're too stuck in the endless loop of the nonsensical question: "do they exist?" But with crop circles, it's pretty stupid for anyone, even the pathological skepti-bunkie crowd, to deny they exist. So the silly explanations are issued: Doug and Daves, mating hedgehogs, etc. End of story. No need to go on that journey, for there is no journey.
It isn't the end of the story. As Pinchbeck commented, it's fantastic either way; human or other. Suppose the crop circles are all made by just humans; have you seen these things? The artistry is magnificent. That humans can come together, work together, plan these consciousness shifting designs and create them merits a lot more than a dismissive "so what?"
Of course the truth is, regardless of who's responsible for these crop designs, all kinds of high strangeness surrounds the phenomena. Many have reported thinking about, or talking to a friend in the middle of a field, of a specific location or symbol concerning circles, only to discover the exact design in that location the next day. Strange lights have been seen zipping around above fields during formations. Human crop circle artists have reported seeing strange lights and the appearance by some unseen force of circles as they themselves were "hoaxing" their own circles. Anomalous electrical effects, reports of nausea, high pitched sounds; all kinds of weird things that have been documented many times over by crop circles researchers.
Then there's the darker side: the conspiracy angle. Helicopters chasing off witnesses and investigators, military involvement, threats, harassment. Like the UFO phenomena, if there's no there there, why would government or military factions be so heavy handed towards the citizens, and so interested in something that doesn't exist, or that is "just created by hoaxers?"
But, like other esoteric and UFO events, sometimes the mundane explanations are more far out than the so-called far out ones. It is fantastic and deserving of our attention if the circles are "just" man made, but I don't think they are. Much to my own surprise, I've been coming around for awhile now to the idea that the circles are made by a non-human intelligence after all.
Star Dreams
Robert L. Nichol, creator of the crop circle film Star Dreams, was a presenter at the McMinnville UFO Fest in 2008. I wasn't interested in attending the screening of this film. I decided it was "New Agey" crap I before I'd seen it and thought the whole thing was silly. I went anyway, mainly because I paid for it and wanted my fair share of festival goodies, and was really full of myself. I believed myself to be above such silly feel good, naive, love and hug bullshit. I was wrong.
To my surprise, I was deeply moved by the movie. I had tears in my eyes; tears because I had been emotionally tweaked, and understood that something profound is behind the crop circles. I often say that the circles are caused by us, but not in the way we think. Some shadow government agency is creating the circles from space to play with our heads, as well as to practice their technology. Possibly a variation of Project Blue Beam. I never put anything sinister past any government. (I also think much of the UFO phenomena is staged and planted by government entities.)
However, when it comes to governments and secret experiments done at our expense, the concept is a given. And while it's a given, it isn't the last word in weird phenomena; it's only a part of it.
So, Star Dreams. I watched the film again for this column, and had the same profound emotional response. I find myself moving towards the opinion that sentient energy is intentionally creating the circles with a very specific focus and intent: concrete, direct communication with us, for us. The circles are mandalas. And what are mandalas, but designs specifically made to shift energy within us. As many of the crop circle researchers and witnesses in Star Dreams have experienced, intense changes in energy take place when in the proximity of circles. Even when not in physical contact, shifts can be felt -- as I and others have experienced just by viewing them via film or looking at images.
As one woman and witness (Polly Larson) in the film said, mirroring Pinchbeck's comment at the beginning of this piece:

"Something so enormous is happening in the world -- and it's treated so badly."

Crop circle researcher Lucy Pringle remarks in the film that "there should be joy" concerning the circles. Instead, as with all things of this nature, be it UFOs, non-mainstream religious experiences such as Marian apparitions, and so on, there is great marginalization, and many are embarrassed by their "joy" experienced in anti-structural phenomena.
And, a last thing: as we well know, synchronicity is our friend. Taking a break from working on this piece, I go on-line to read up on all the usual Fortean places, and find this announcement on the Coast to Coast site about Sunday night's guest:

Crop Circles & UFOs
Date:07-05-09 Host: George Noory
Guests: Ed Sherwood, Kris Sherwood
Internationally known UFO and crop circle experts Ed & Kris Sherwood will discuss daylight UFO sightings which were close encounters of the 5th kind, as well as new work on crop circles and the collective mind.

Sources:
Daniel Pinchbeck: 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, Penguin, 2007
Robert L. Nichol: Star Dreams: Exploring the Mystery of the Crop Circles, 2004, Sacred Mysteries
Crop Circles: "There Should Be Joy."