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 town toward the freeway when I casually glanced down the side street on which I had been focusing the past two days.
I could hardly believe my eyes: A yellow car with its front end wrapped around a hydrant... a gusher shooting 20 feet in the air... and water everywhere!
What I had seen Sunday night occurred Wednesday morning!
Had this precognitive experience been a dream or a conscious psychic vision? It is sometimes difficult to differentiate between the two since, in a broad sense, they are both psychic experiences. What is more important is to recognize the parallel elements in each of these paranormal occurrences.
All the psychic events that took place after the seminar-the restaurant occurrence, the tennis court visualization, and now the precognitive event with the fire hydrant had several features in common. Each had been solicited, each centered on a dramatic event involving an accident or injury, and each concerned people or situations on the periphery of my life. The fact that the choking, the ankle injury and the auto accident had all been negative events was most unnerving.
Why was I being forewarned? Was I supposed to have interceded and prevented these occurrences from taking place? Would there be more?
Research parapsychologists would likely agree that one's initial psychic experiences often occur around negative events. Why? Negative situations are often threatening or act as a warning and, therefore, are more noticeable. As an example, a nightmare is the dream most often remembered because it deals primarily with a fear or negative images. Nightmares are often simply dreams that are dramatized in an attempt to get our attention. We pay more attention to negative news-just tune in to the evening broadcast or examine the headlines of a local newspaper if you have doubts.
In my particular case, the choking lady in the red dress certainly caught my attention. Had I been presented a more positive event, it might have gone unnoticed or been dismissed as a hunch or lucky guess.
Survival and well-being are basic human instincts, and fear is an emotion that often triggers, or results from, the natural functioning of our inbred psychic intuition. Though fear is usually perceived as a negative feeling, a psychic warning is more likely to accompany a fearful situation than a positive one. Primitive people knew this and perceived fear as their natural ally. In our modern society, unfortunately, we often ignore this psychic input in our haste to avoid fearful situations.
An unnoticed psychic perception has little value. As religion requires faith of the heart, psychic intuition requires acceptance and belief. Both provide well-being and comfort if we are willing to open to their messages.
So... why did the fire hydrant event take three days to occur? Because, although I had accurately precognized this event, I forgot to specify the time frame!
CHAPTER 8
Learning a Major Lesson
In the weeks following my experience with the fire hydrant, I paid constant attention to each thought, daydream, or idle mind chatter that came to, and through, my awareness. Although introduced to a new source of knowledge with an unknown purpose, I was beginning to enjoy the distinctive
