My mind could hardly accept what I had just heard! Her ankle had been sprained (the bandage) and they were going to move from their house (feet leaving the tennis court)! Furthermore, the new home was located in the same direction-as seen from my back yard-as the feet had drifted in my psychic visualization.
It had happened again!
Hanging up the telephone, I decided I was not about to go outside again; if I did, I just might encounter one of those scary things that as a kid I knew hid in the shadows...
And I didn't think I could deal with that just then!
CHAPTER 7
Why Me?
The validation o[!his second psychic experience left me more confused than ever. The vision of the feet, one ankle bandaged, floating off the odd-colored tennis court had definitely been authenticated by both the sprain and the house for sale!
I began to desperately search for the commonality between the two events. I realized that my .first psychic knowing, the choking scene in the restaurant, involved a situation which had not yet occurred. I somehow knew that the woman in the red dress was going to choke before it happened. Yet my second paranormal experience, the tennis court scene, was quite different; I knew on some psychic level what had occurred well after the incident. Were these simply two isolated incidents? Would such episodes recur? Although I was confused and apprehensive, there was an inner desire for another psychic experience.
It wasn't until years later that l realized how my reaction to these initial para normal experiences had set the course for my continued psychic opening. I would learn that two requisites are necessary if one is to continue to develop the natural psychic abilities each of us inherently possesses.
The first requirement is acknowledgment-acknowledging that a paranormal experience actually transpired and could not be casually dismissed with a rational explanation. The second is acceptance-accepting not only that these unprecedented experiences happened, but also accepting that they could be the precursors of future encounters with the unexplainable. Not an easy assignment, given the natural fear that I somehow had activated a mysterious, inner power or force that I could neither understand nor control.
As you might expect, I had become somewhat paranoid, almost expecting to hear strange voices or the weird music indicating that I was entering "The Twilight Zone."
Yet I was pragmatic and could generally count on my rationality and logic in new situations. Even as a kid I often accurately anticipated the ending prior to the last reel of the Western movies I faithfully followed. I invariably solved the murder mystery before the last chapter of the Hardy Boys, the adventure books .I read in grammar school. Most likely I would have been ahead of Nancy Drew as well, except that she was a girl, and boys wouldn't be caught dead reading Nancy Drew.
Now, Freddy the Pig would have known what to do-he was the best of the bunch!
For those of you whose education is incomplete and who have never met Freddy the Pig, Freddy was the hero in a series of books I remember reading in my early, learningto-read years, immediately following the adventures of Dick and Jane and their beloved dog Spot Freddy was cool; he casually stumbled through life much like Peter Falk in the "Colombo" series on television. He always seemed to have the solution well in hand; he was always in control. There is an old saying, "Never mess with pigs... you'll just get dirty and they love it."
But sometimes, one is too close to a situation to really understand what has occurred. It took me some time to fully comprehend that my workshop experience, one of the most profound, emotionally-freeing, self-validating three days of my life, must have contributed to my transformation and newly found personal power. The weekend had been about many things, including feeling, knowing and trusting. It was also about being positive, being accountable for my own emotions and not being responsible for or reacting to the feelings of others.
The seminar had provided an opportunity for me to let go of doubt and fear. These negative and nonproductive emotions not only limit our capacity to create positively, but arouse anxiety and increase our fear. I was slowly beginning to comprehend that by releasing my emotional blockage, I had triggered the experience.
Yet for every question answered and concept understood, there were additional concerns to take their place questions that began with "what," ''why" and "how." What was I supposed to do with this newly found ability; why was this suddenly happening to me; how was I to use this "gift"?
Moreover, were there other "powers" in this package? (Maybe flying like Superman wasn't totally out of the question after all!) What would it be like if I knew what people around me were thinking or what would happen before others did? My mind raced with possibilities. If I could successfully harness this power, I could predict which horse would win the Derby or which way the dice would fall before they were thrown.
After reviewing endless scenarios, I decided to try to predict a specific event that might take place in the immediate future, one that could be easily validated visually. I began by previewing the upcoming day, settling on the morning commute to work. That ought to be a good test, I thought, since one encounters almost anything during a typical Monday morning rush hour.
So, while lying in bed, with sleep being one of my last options, my mind began to trace the route I unfailingly drove each workday morning. I visualized myself pulling out of the garage and beginning the drive to the downtown area that leads to a freeway on-ramp.
While mentally reviewing the journey I knew like the back of my hand, I realized that I was exhausted. Sleep began to make its demands on my tired body. As I let go of my thoughts, it occurred to me that I was focusing on a particular intersection in a quiet neighborhood. It was as if I were replaying a movie that had frozen on one specific frame.
Then, without warning, the still picture shifted into motion. I saw a yellow car swerve and collide with a water hydrant. The scene continued to unfold, and I could see kids playing in the water as it gushed from the broken pipe. The image then took on a cartoon-like quality as the street turned into a river and houses started drifting down the street like they were riding on a magic carpet. ..
I awoke to the sound of the early morning alarm dock and instantly recalled the street scene visualized as I was falling asleep. I wondered if it were all a dream, not really sure when sleep affected the process. I repeatedly reviewed what I could remember, reflecting on the dream-like quality of the experience.
As I walked out of the house, I felt apprehensive about driving by the intersection. Logic and reason suggested that the fantasy scenario could have been a recollection of an old Bowery Boys movie I had recently seen on late night TV. Perhaps I had simply envisioned one of those corny old 1940's movies.
Anxiety and nervousness formed a partnership in my stomach as I began the drive downtown. If it had been a dream, I wondered what the symbols of the car and water represented. I knew enough about dreams to know their images generally contain hidden meanings.
About a block from the intersection in question, I eased my car to the curb and stopped. I wanted to light a cigarette, as if I were dramatically involved in an old Bogart movie-l almost forgot that I had quit smoking years before. Feeling ridiculous, I pulled back into the flow of traffic and drove that final, extremely long block to the intersection. Driving past it, I turned my head and looked down the street.
Nothing!!!
Nothing but the normal stuff of which quiet, middle-class neighborhoods are made. There was no yellow car, no water in the street, nothing unusual or out of the norm. Incredibly disappointed yet greatly relieved, I continued driving to work.
Tuesday morning I again approached that particular neighborhood street crossing with caution, and as I passed, I saw that it looked quite similar to the previous morning, or to any other morning for that matter.
Wednesday morning, having put the precognitive event out of my mind, I was driving through