My words at @philipcoppens' Memorial Service yesterday.

I first met Filip on August 18th 1995 at the Ancient Astronaut Society World Conference in Bern Switzerland. It was Filip’s first lecture for the society and, at the time, we had both come to the realization that we both wanted to pursue these topics as a full-time career.

We became friends quickly and when I founded the new Archaeology Astronautics and SETI Research Association in 1998 together with Ueli Dopatka and Erich von Daniken, it was Filip who suggested that our mission statement should read “The A.A.S. R.A. is determined to prove whether OR NOT extraterrestrials visited Earth in the remote past.” as opposed to just “The A.A.S. R.A. is determined to prove whether extraterrestrials visited Earth in the remote past.” which was how we had initially phrased it. Already in 1998 Filip displayed an extraordinary attention for detail.

In late 2008 / early 2009 our friendship deepened because Filip started to spend more and more time in Los Angeles because he wanted to see his eternally beloved, his soul mate, his inner fire, the radiant Kathleen MacGowan.

I welcomed this development very much because this period happened to be the early filming stage of a small 2-hour documentary I embarked upon called Gods, Chariots and Beyond which later became Ancient Aliens… As the consulting producer I was given the privilege to suggest potential experts in the field and I immediately threw Filip’s name into the ring. I was delighted to hear that our impeccable research team at Prometheus Entertainment had tracked down Filip’s whereabouts and he happened to be living in the Greater Los Angeles Area because of Kathleen!

From then on our friendship intensified over many endless nights we spent inspired by each others’ thoughts. I remember our times in the summers with him and Kathleen and their friends out on the porch as we gazed up at the stars, wine glasses in hand surrounded by candle light, recounting stories of yore and pondering the mysteries of the Universe…

Filip was about as prolific a writer as they can possibly become. Filip was a walking encyclopedia, a source of rare information that never ceased to amaze. Above all, Filip had the rare gift to convey complex information with easy-to-follow-explanations to even the most hard of understanding individuals.

In his short period on this planet he wrote a lifetime’s worth of work and while that may be satisfactory to many, as in, “Hey, look at how much he wrote, what he produced, in only such a short amount of time!” it sends my mind into a dark tailspin thinking of how much more, how many more lifetimes worth of work, Filip could’ve written had he only been given more time?

Where is the justice in all of this? What is the Universe trying to teach us here? What is the lesson to be learned? I don’t have a clue and I’m not going to pontificate about the deeper meaning behind it all because it makes no sense. Not this time. No words, no explanations, will ever fill the void and I fail to see the meaning in it all. There is none. At least not at the moment.

Krix and I went to see Filip multiple times in the hospital while he put up the most courageous of fights fraught with unparalleled pain and suffering… The last time I saw Filip was on December 23rd, 2012, and when we got up and left, when I looked at him one last time, he fired off a smile so bright, so happy, so content, that I knew right there and then that if this was Filip’s time, then this was his way of telling me, “Hey, Brother G, I’ll be alright!”

…and I know he is alright since he transitioned to the Great Beyond… because let me tell you something, he has already been working behind the scenes!

Only a few days ago, on the evening after he transitioned on December 30th, 4 hours after arriving in Miami, Krix noticed that her wallet had gone missing. She had accidentally dropped it on the plane and we knew what that meant. It meant that the wallet was gone. Probably for good. Despite the odds, we contacted the airline, filled out all the necessary forms online etc. The reply we got was that the airline only responds to those passengers whose items were actually found. The chance of something like this working out in your favor is zero to none!

…at 9:35am the next morning, Krix’ phone rang with the airline on the other end telling her that they had located her wallet. They found her wallet, with everything in it! To us, this was Filip’s doing. No question!

So, let me tell you! It’s good to have an active friend on the other side…!

But with all kidding aside, the world has lost an unparalleled intellectual mind, a thinker always on the prowl for answers, with an undying quest to seek answers for the impossible.

Let us all remember Filip’s smile as his memory shall fuel and guide our hearts, to inspire us in our steadfast pursuit to achieve new heights in consciousness…

In the words of the great Ralph Waldo Emerson “Nothing is ever wholly lost. That which is excellent remains forever a part of this Universe.” What a fitting observation. Filip is within all of us now.

I’ve proposed for a while that the period between when our soul leaves this earthly body and transitions into the next reincarnation, that period of time, however long it may be, IS heaven… So with this in mind, Filip HAS experienced heaven and for as long as I live I shall cherish the gratitude and wonder I know Filip felt when he was given the privilege to experience the Great Beyond, to be One with the Source, to be unconditionally given the answers Filip looked for his entire life…

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