Is man responsible for such great monuments as the Pyramids of Egypt, Stonehendge, the ancient Peruvian city of Sacsahuaman and the giant stone statues of Easter Island? If so, then this may indicate that great amounts of knowledge have been lost at some point, for it would be very difficult (if not impossible) to replicate such monuments today. Did Atlantis really exist or is it just a legend to spark the imagination? In 1941 Edgar Cayce, while in a trance-like state, prophecized that a Hall of Records would be discovered under the Sphinx in Egypt, around the end of the 20th century. Edgar also stated that the contents of these records will prove the existence of Atlantis. Time will tell if this prediction comes to light. Cayce, known as the Sleeping Prophet, made a living curing uncurable illnesses. He believed in reincarnation and also believed that his abilities stemmed from being able to channel the knowledge of his past lives, while in an altered state of consciousness. He also claimed that one of his past lives was as an Atlantean. Cayce predicted that the western edge of Atlantis would begin to reappear near Bimini in the Bahamas, in 1968 or 1969. Twenty-three years after his death, in 1968, divers discovered the ruins of prehistoric walls and roads off the coast of Bimini. A two-hundred foot long stretch of interlocking rock is believed to be a stone road or the top of a great submerged rampart. Large barrel-shaped objects were also found that could be the remains of giant stone pillars. Skeptical geologists discount this discovery as Beach Rock, and claim the breaks in the rock are natural. Besides prescribing (sometimes strange but successful) remedies for countless individuals, Edgar Cayce is known for predicting the exact date for the end of World War II and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Cayce died in 1945. Some people, such as Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval, claim that a chamber of nine rooms has already been discovered under the Sphinx, but that the Egyptian government continues to keep this a secret. Some speculate that this isn't persued more because of fear of possible revelations that might contradict current belief systems, or as some put it, what we are told to believe by those who control the information.

 If it is someday discovered that Atlantis, a technologically advanced civilization, did indeed exist, then just what happened to them? Where did their knowledge come from? Did survivors spread out to neighboring continents? In the 1500's, when the Conquistadors landed at the Canarie Islands, they discovered a misplaced tribe of people called the Guanches. The people communicated that they were amazed that others had survived the great disaster that sank their homeland. The natives also displayed stone tablets in a language they could no longer read. They hoped that the spanish explorers could decipher the text but the Conquistadors were conquerors and not interested in such things. It is believed that the people were massacred. Has man been plagued by catastrophies which have wiped out civilization to the point that it was set back to square one? There are over 60 legends or tales of The Great Flood, from different cultures around the world. If these tales have any truth at all, then the amount of knowledge and science that has been lost, could be incredible. The true age of man is still a great controversy.

 Now if this isn't the case, then were visitors from other dimensions, planets, or other times, responsible for the magnificent monuments that currently remain a mystery? No one can argue that it must have taken great effort and a certain amount of knowledge and technology, to create many of the wonders of the world. Over the last few decades, many new theories have raised their ugly heads, concerning man's age, evolution, and history. The following is a list of just a small sample of some of the different scenarios that have been considered. I believe that a combination of such scenarios may be a possibility, as certain aspects of each seem logical, if not probable.

1. Of course, there is the mainstream belief, that life on Earth started from single-celled organisms - to complex organisms, from the waters - to eventually develop the ability to survive on land...and, oh yeah, we evolved from primates. This is a sort of natural evolution where no intervention from outside influences, such as alien visitors, has taken place. We have evolved naturally, and have reached our present state, all by ourselves.

2. The second is that we didn't evolve from "monkeys", but that man and ape share a common ancestor. Many believe that if you go back far enough, you will find that we originate from the same animal, but at some point something occured that changed us, and separated us from the other primates. This caused us to evolve in a different direction, maybe even accellerated our evolution. What this something was is unknown, but it may have occured at more then one point in our history. This could be from interactions and knowledge obtained from contact with visitors from other worlds or dimensions. On the evolutionary scale, man has made major technological jumps, virtually overnight. Alien intervention is the idea behind this scenario, but it is unclear whether the advancements and knowledge obtained have always been in our best interest.

3. This third idea names us as the true aliens, to Earth anyway. This theory considers the possibility that thousands, upon thousands of years ago, Mars was inhabited by intelligent life. At some point something happened which virtually destroyed the atmosphere, whether from pollution, nuclear holocaust, asteroid impacts, etc... The inhabitants are forced to seek refuge on the nearest inhabitable planet...Earth. In this idea, we are the descendants of these migrators from Mars. This could account for the pyramids and the giant face on Mars.

4. This scenario paints a somewhat darker image. An alien race or people from another world, came to Earth long before man as we know it, emerged. Workers or possibly even slaves are needed for the building of structures, mining, ect... So the aliens genetically alter or mix their own genes with the genes of the most intelligent species currently on Earth...early man. Now there is a new man, a smarter man. Over time, this new man grows, learns, and develops free will. Man is eventually left to fend for himself but is told that his creator, god or master will return for him one day. This origin points more towards the genetic engineering by aliens as the reason for our current condition, but are we the beloved children or the lab rat?

5. Aliens come to Earth as a barren, lifeless planet and plant the seed of life, so to speak. These creators have been here all along manipulating and guiding our path and/or evolution. This scenario views Earth as not much more than a science project, while purposely keeping us in the dark as to the alien intervention.

 There are many more ideas floating around out there, one of my personal favorites is the one about the Virgin Mary. This idea is that Mary was indeed a virgin and that it was not by some miracle that she became pregnant, but by artificial insemination. It suggests that Mary was abducted and impregnated, much like many abduction tales of today. No doubt, this would seem outrageous to most people of a highly religious background, but as we have explored, events are often relayed to others from the perspective or mind-set of the one who originally observed the event in question. This fact has led many to second guess certain accounts of events in ancient history, as there is a possibility of inaccurate detail or documentation due to common misconceptions of a given era. We may laugh at some of the things our ancestors and others who have come before us, believed in but what might those of a hundred years from now laugh about concerning some of our current beliefs (not just alien related and religious beliefs, but anything from what we view as scientific facts and theories)? Some would argue that there is more left to discover and (truely) learn about, then has already been learned by man. Consider the events associated with Moses of the Israelites(Hebrews). The burning bush that Moses came upon, after he left Egypt, is described as being engulfed in a bright glow or flame, but the bush itself did not appear to be burning. Then, Moses hears a voice coming from the bush, which he assumes is the voice of God. On another occasion, he hears the voice of God again, which tells him that he must return to Egypt with his brother Aaron, and tell Pharaoh to let his people go, or be punished by God. As the story goes, Pharaoh refuses and the Ten Plagues are sent to punish the Egyptians who enslaved the Israelites. Eventually, they are freed and led through the desert by a pillar of cloud in the sky, by day and a bright column of fire in the sky, by night. Then, there is the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea, which saves Moses and his people, but drowns the pursuing Pharaoh and his men. What an all-loving God this must be, the Hebrews must have thought...not likely. Then, we get to the events at Mount Sinai. Moses and his people are told to pray to God for three days. They did so and on the third day the people saw a thick, black cloud and heard the sound of trumpets coming from atop the mountain, as if the mountain was on fire. Moses again hears the voice of God, and is given the Ten Commandments. When Moses returns from the mountain top, his people plead with him to speak with God alone from now on, for they were much too frightened of him.

 While not appearing to be in order of importance, it is argued that one through four seem almost out of place. Five through ten appear to be very good rules to live by, although seen as common sense for most of us. Number one blows our Freedom of Religion Act out of the water, although there are many more religions then that of the One God that are far older. With the exception of Christianity, most don't believe or at least don't claim to be the only one true way. The fact that 1 through 4 seem to mainly deal with and benefit the source or god referred to in them, has caused a new possibility to arise among some ufo believers. This idea is that perhaps some of our religions, ancient myths, legends, and even such things as the Ten Commandments, etc...may have an alien origin. Some believe that religion may have been given to man in a time when we were young an ignorant, and needed guidance. Some will even argue that the source for this guidance may have been a higher evolved intelligence such as alien visitors. One must ask themself, what is the purpose of 1 through 3 if they are indeed coming from an all knowing, all loving god, creator of all things? Is there no room for human error? Can any of these acts not be forgiven? 1 through 3 seem to be attempts in making sure that you stay faithful to only one god or being, and to do otherwise would be a horrendous act against the faith. This mind-set seems to pertain primarily to a material God, giving almost human qualities to it, not the growing belief that God is more of an energy or lifeforce that emanates throughout all things and connects us on some level we don't yet understand. I don't like even mentioning the term God in the light of such strong belief systems of the many different cultures of the world, but many are leaning towards the belief that all things together as one, make up God, all things we know and have yet to know. In this respect, the phrase We are all Gods children may indeed be true. The view that would hold God as a seperate being, much higher evolved than man, here for our sole benefit, watching over Earth, to be worshipped or foresaken (sometimes even punished) by, seems to be a slowly fading one.

 Looking back now, it's hard to believe that there was a time when we would punish, torture, exile, and even kill those that went against a certain faith or just chose to live or believe in their own way, all in the name of God, but imposed by man. How is one to know which religion to choose when there are so many to choose from? Or perhaps it really doesn't matter which you choose, it's more in the way you choose to live and the decisions you make. Some argue, what is the purpose of their creation if they were created only to serve or worship a god? Some have even argued that if there is only one true "way", then that "way" should make itself more evident. I personally, don't hold myself to any one religion. The die-hard believer might argue that Moses talking to God sounds a lot like telepathic communications from an alien source, and all the other events associated with him such as the burning bush, parting of the Red Sea, objects in the sky, and other miracles, were just misinterpreted encounters and the intervention of alien visitors. Countless other tales from ancient times have been subjected to the same new age, somewhat radical theories. Imagine if you could go back in time and interact with what most would refer to as a caveman. How would you be described if this person had the ability to document the encounter? Simple things to us, such as fire or perhaps even a radio might seems like miracles. You might even be viewed as a god yourself. How did the concept of Gods realm or Heaven being up, the sky, stars or space, originate? Did man have advanced visitors long, long ago that came down from the sky (the heavens) in fiery crafts and were thereafter viewed as gods? Since science and religion went their separate ways ages ago, events have often been relayed to others differently, depending on the point of view and beliefs of the one telling the event. There are locations around the world that people go to regularly to catch a glimpse of God, the Mother Mary, etc...While some see images of Mary, others see UFO's. Maybe it depends on what you believe you will see that influences the visual people get at such events, if there is truely something to see in the first place. A true skeptic might brush it off as mass hallucinations by people wanting to see something incredible.

 Will we ever know the truth about our evolution and what has gotten us to where we are today? We can only hope, but my own opinion currently lies somewhere with the combination of the above scenarios. We believe it is possible that multiple events and interactions with other beings, has led to our current state. Many are now considering that maybe what we have been lead to believe about where we came from, how we should live, religion, the meaning of life, etc... are full of misconceptions and false information. Does the government know something so shocking (concerning aliens and their connection with us) that they have been forced to keep it from us? At times, they themselves give this impression. Each of us will eventually draw our own conclusions as to what we think is true. We can only draw on our individual experiences and knowledge to base a decision, so try not to be so surprised when others talk of other possible realities that we may be unaware of, at present.

 One can only blame movies, partially, for the fear, nonsense, and ridicule that comes from such a controversial subject. The fact that aliens aren't reported to look like strange, destructive, unintelligent monsters, robots, etc... that want to destroy or take over the planet (like in the old movies), is a large step away from the War of the Worlds scenario, for if destruction or slavery was the agenda, one would think such actions would have been imposed by now. A main aspect of the abduction phenomenon, is that the focus tends to be on the destruction we are causing to the Earth. Abductees often come out of such an experience, being more concerned about the way we live and interact with our environment. Many also show signs of heightened psychic abilities, while showing no indication of a mental disorder of any kind. Even though the experience of many abductees is viewed as a negative experience, the end result seems to be positive. Many abductees who have moved beyond the traumatic experience, tend to have a deeper need to understand the meaning of life and true purpose, and feel compelled to search for answers and teach others in a positive manner. Some, even believe that they have a mission to help open our minds to a larger existence or reality and prepare others for eventual contact. These individuals, often believe it is their job to insert the seed, idea, or thought that will get us moving in the right direction, along a more peaceful and spiritual path.

 In fact, a large majority of alien descriptions given by contactees, abductees, remote viewers, etc...tend to be humanoid in appearance. Unfortunately, this doesn't do much for either side of the subject. Skeptics will argue that aliens from other worlds wouldn't look like us, while some believers argue that we are space brothers or descendents of these beings. They argue that if man was created in the image of his creator or god, then perhaps our god is no more than an alien race or higher evolved intelligence that started us out or influenced us along the way, and periodically pops in from time to time to check our status and/or influence events.