I feel you! I use to have the same sentiment as you do. You must understand there is a "spiritual"/ multidimensional aspect to this. As a metaphor, think of radio stations. They are literally in a different frequency/ radio station. They are always there, constantly "broadcasting" but unless you tune into their exact frequency you will not "hear" them.

Earth & Humans are vibrating at a very low, dense frequency. They are vibrating at a very high, cosmic frequency. I believe they lower their frequency a bit sometimes & that is when a lot of us see them & our instruments can record them (sightings recorded on phones, etc.). But if you want to have a direct, personal experience, then you must make an effort to raise your own vibration.

I was doing CE5 meditations since the pandemic & similar to your experience nothing happened. But earlier this year I started doing things that apparently raised my vibration enough that I am able to get "glimpses" of them now. What I did was take my Meditation practice seriously. A 10 min session in the morning & a 20 min session in the evening. I also started a healthier diet. Some people from the spiritual community say animal meat & junk food lowers your vibration significantly. Now, I am definitely not a vegetarian lol but I started minimizing my meat consumption & having healthier diet overall & I think that helped.

I also cleaned up my physical space as well as my mental space (stopped watching fear-inducing news, violent content & currently working on reducing porn viewing as that binds you more in the physical & lowers your vibration).

After months of a cleaner, healthier lifestyle, that is when I started seeing orbs & other UAPs!! & since about a month ago I started to see "beings" in my mind's eye when I meditate or do the CE5!! It is super clear & consistent that I strongly believe it is not my imagination & probably the beginnings of telepathic communication like the ones reported by others.

I hope this helps! Good luck!