Thought Of The Day

Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
Goethe

Photo: Benalmadena, south Spain. © Mike Perry 2010

Dreaming Of A Phone Number Led To Romance

Some coincidences are hard to believe but nevertheless the people involved are always adamant that the stories are absolutely true. One such case is the romance of David Brown and Michelle Kitson - real people, that's them in the photo on the left. It involves a coincidence of phone numbers.

One morning in 2007 David woke with an unfamiliar mobile phone number going over and over through his head, he couldn't shake it off. Curiosity got the better of him so he decided he might as well text the number.

Michelle, a 17 year old, answered. She lived some 60 plus miles away from John, didn't know him but, to cut a long story short, they exchanged texts, then phone calls and eventually agreed to meet up ... and now they are married.

John described what happened, "I went out for a quiet night with some mates and ended up having a few to drink. When I woke up this phone number just kept running through my head."

Michelle said that after the initial contact with David, "It was really weird but I was absolutely hooked. My mum and dad kept saying, 'But he could be an axe murderer', but I knew there was something special about it. I hadn't had a boyfriend before. Those first text messages were a real adrenaline rush.

"I believe that things happen for a reason. I know some people will find it hard to believe, but we know the truth."

Regarding their very first meeting David got to their meeting place early and decided to phone her. He saw a girl answer a phone on the opposite side of the road, it was Michelle.

He says of that first meeting,"It was love at first sight for me - I loved everything about her."

About remembering Michelle's number he explains how he has, " ... no idea how I ended up with her number in my head - it's only a few digits different from mine."

Of course many will be sceptical of such a story but the couple insist that it is absolutely true. The Daily Mail newspaper tried to find out how this sort of thing could happen and asked a Professor Heinz Wolff, an emeritus professor of Brunel University.

Professor Wolff answered, "Whatever else it is a charming story but I would be against a supernatural explanation. It is likely the number of this girl was mentioned in the pub (where he was with his mates the nigh before) and somehow this young man overheard it, even without realising, and his subconscious remembered it."

Is this a big coincidence or maybe some precognition in a dream? Were the couple destined to meet or is the spoilsport Professor correct?

David and Michelle know exactly what they believe and so do other people, who have had very similar coincidences with phone numbers and romance.

Like, for example, the friend of Roy Smith's from Vancouver:

"Many years ago a friend of mine was making a regular routine mid-week phone call to his girlfriend. However, on this occasion, he absentmindedly miss-dialed the last digit and ended up talking to the 'wrong number' for an hour or more. They decided to meet for coffee. They got along fine. He ditched his current girlfriend and he and the 'wrong number' have been happily married for over 30 years."

And also Ezgi Erkol from Izmir:

"Almost two years ago when I went to Italy I stayed with an Italian family which had a son at my same age. After coming back to Turkey, I decided to add him to my msn contacts. Fortunately I confused his name and surname and so I ended up adding another person, with the same name, to my list. Although we realized that I made a mistake, we didn't stop talking. Finally he came to Turkey just to see me and we understood that we were the two halves of the same apple!"

Further Reading:
A Romantic Coincidence

Houses Have Feelings Too

My son recently moved to a new house - not new in the sense of just being built but a house new to him and his fiance.

After they had moved all of their furniture and belongings inside and straightened things out a little I sat in their living room and immediately felt comfortable. I thought, "This is a good house filled with happiness."

I remember reading Tennyson when he wrote:

"Woods have tongues
As walls have ears."
That's sort of true. Houses and buildings somehow absorb attitudes and perhaps temperaments of the people who have lived there previously. If the last tenants were full of family love this permeates the atmosphere. The opposite is true as well. If there has been hate and ill feeling these vibrations linger and can be felt by the new owners.

All buildings have a mood. I love visiting churches and places of worship wherever I travel in the world - even though I don't belong to any organised religion. Most churches give an instant feeling of peace and tranquility.

Other buildings give off different vibes. Obvious ones are places such as airports, where everything seems to be hustle, bustle and confusion. A doctors surgery may give off anxiety, restaurants a sense of expectations and so on.

Some people say they see ghosts in their houses or in other buildings who repeat the same thing. These apparitions walk down the same stairs, in the same way or across a room in a certain direction over and over again. Some strong emotion has imprinted this into the house.

It's interesting (or maybe worrying!) to consider what the walls of our own houses are taking in as they observe our moods, tone of our voices, thoughts and so on.

Shelly said, "One wandering thought pollutes the day." As well as polluting our minds perhaps these thoughts also pollute our living areas.

Wonder how people feel when they walk into our homes?

Photos: Rye Church Mike Perry 2010

Voices Told Woman She Had A Tumour

This is a strange case because it may involve some form of telepathy or even voices from a higher level. What makes it particularly interesting is that it is from a good source - The BMJ, the British Medical Journal, and was reported by a consultant psychiatrist.

The story is about - what appeared to be - a perfectly healthy woman (known in the report as AB), a full time housewife and mother, and someone who rarely went to her doctor.

She was sitting at home reading when she heard a voice inside her head. The voice told her, "Please don't be afraid. I know it must be shocking for you to hear me speaking to you like this, but this is the easiest way I could think of. My friend and I used to work at the Children's Hospital, Great Ormond Street, and we would like to help you."

The voice continued, "To help you see that we are sincere, we would like you to check out the following" — and the voice gave her three separate pieces of information, which she did not possess at the time. She checked them out, and they were true.

Thinking she was going mad she went to her doctor who referred her to the psychiatrist who made his report to the BMJ. He diagnosed a 'functional hallucinatory psychosis' and treated her with counselling and medicine. The voice left her alone for several weeks and she felt well enough to go abroad on holiday.

While away the voice returned. They told her words to the effect that 'they' wanted her to return to England immediately as there was something wrong with her and she should have immediate treatment. She returned to London.

The voices then gave her an address to visit. Her husband reluctantly drove her there. It turned out to be the department of a London hospital. On arrival the voice told her to go in and request a brain scan because (1) she had a tumour in her brain and (2) her brain stem was inflamed.

She saw the psychiatrist the next day and he arranged for AB to have the scan to reassure her. The hospital, however, refused to do this because they could see no medical reason as to why this should be carried out - she had no symptoms, headaches and the like.

After several weeks of discussion they finally agreed. The scan 'revealed a left posterior frontal parafalcine mass, which extended through the falx to the right side. It had all the appearances of a meningioma.'
An immediate operation followed the findings and the tumor was removed.

After her recovery she heard the voice once more, "We are pleased to have helped you. Goodbye."
Twelve years later AB remains completely well.

So was it the tumor itself which caused the hallucinatory voices (this is seemingly sometimes possible) or something else? A form of telepathy perhaps? Or maybe some sort of skulduggery by the woman herself? Opinion is split.

As a non medical man myself it's difficult to reach any conclusion. Again it's another case of 'believe what you wilt.'

Photo: Wikimedia Commons Thomas Schultz

The Mystery Of The Lobster Nightmare

Here's a strange story from John Moss and I'm assured that it's true. I can't explain how it happened maybe you can.

One year in my youth when I had been working a couple of years, I went camping with a friend of the same age at a small seaside resort where we fished and went after lobster from a small rowboat.

Our tent was an ex army bell tent. My friend mentioned that we must be careful with lobster as his father had once been bitten by one and suffered three months of blood poisoning.

One afternoon we caught a number of lobsters and just left them free in a section of our boat. We were both barefoot and I disliked the creatures moving about, trying to climb up the sides of the boat, their legs and feelers never still.

The result was that all this preyed on my mind that night.

We turned in and made the tent safe by pegging down the ground flaps and roped the door flap to keep it closed against stray dogs, marauders and the wind.

In the early hours of the morning I had a violent nightmare when I saw hordes of red lobster coming for my bare feet. I must have yelled in terror, which woke me and I found myself standing outside the tent in the moonlight.

My friend lit a hurricane lamp and had to untie the door to get out and ask me, "What's the matter."

The tent was secure and to this day it remains a mystery to both of us how I got outside the tent.

Further Reading
10 Coincidence Or Synchronicity Examples

Lots Of Spanish Water Even In The Mountains

I was talking about how we should, perhaps, ask for answers or help from the Universe in my post of a few days ago The Secret Answer To Problems and Questions.

Since then all sorts of memories have flooded my mind about how I have found help by asking. Don't worry, I'm not going to bore you with them all! However, one sticks in my mind from when our son was only about 10 or 11.

We were in the south of Spain on holiday and, in a small hired car, set off into the mountains. Can't remember exactly where we were heading but the roads became narrower and narrower as we went higher and higher. We hadn't seen another car or vehicle for over an hour when our car suddenly decided to grind to a halt.

Luckily there was a space where we could pull over, opposite was a sheer drop. The car had overheated and the radiator was empty. I wasn't too sure what to do. We needed water to fill the radiator and I then figured we could just about turn round and head back to civilisation.

Only problem was the mountains were completely parched and it was very hot. I went off for a walk to try and find some water, perhaps a small stream but no such luck. There was nothing about and no villages for many miles according to the map.

Strangely I felt very relaxed about the situation. I went off again in the other direction and after a few hundred yards sat on a big rock looking at the wonderful view. I then started to visualise water - lots of it, gushing everywhere and asked the Universe to help me.

I wandered back to the car and my wife and son were getting quite anxious. I told them not to worry as we'd get some water soon. Not sure if I believed this fully, especially when asked, "Yes, but how."

Moments later a lorry was coming down the road towards us. The first vehicle we had seen for ages and ages. The lorry pulled up and the driver said something or other. I don't speak Spanish so, with hand signals and random words, I indicated that we wanted water.

It was then I noticed the back of the lorry held a big circular tank and, yes, it was filled with water.

The driver beckoned me to the back of the lorry and I stood there with a small bucket he had given me. He turned a handle at the back of the drum and suddenly a jet of powerful water gushed all over me and virtually knocked me over. I was drenched from head to toe but couldn't help but laugh - as did my wife and son.

To cut a long story short the lorry had been delivering water to some of the small homesteads high in the mountains. Our car engine cooled, I filled up the radiator with water (plus a bottle for emergencies), turned the car round - though very apprehensive of the sheer drop - and then slowly drove down the mountain and finally reached where we were staying on the coast.

My visualisation of water gushing everywhere certainly came true. It was as if the Universe was playfully saying, "So you wanted water ... I'll give you water!"

Sceptics will say that the lorry was heading in my direction anyway, but to me - and the way it felt at the time - I had a little help along the way.

Further Reading:
The Secret Answer To Problems And Questions

Footnote Warning: One of the things I've noticed about asking for stuff from the Universe is that it doesn't pay to boast about it or to think suddenly you've got it all sussed. If you do you get a kick up the pants, playfully of course.

For instance I wrote a post The Art Of Finding Coins Or Anything Else. It was about 'how my wife is always finding coins' whenever we go for a walk. But since then my wife hasn't found any coins at all - not even a penny! As with a child the Universe gives us a bit of a nudge if we get too big for our boots. So I now have to say 'how my wife was always finding coins!'

Being On Earth Is One Big Coincidence

Many of the posts on this blog are about coincidences or synchronicity. I've written about lots of examples, some small and others more impressive. But when you think about it, we are all here on earth at this time by one big coincidence or maybe even millions of them.

The odds of us being here now must be billions and billions to one. For example, if our great-great-great-great-great-grandfather hadn't have met up by chance/coincidence with our great-great-great-great-grandmother then we wouldn't be here now. And you could take this right back to the first men and women who walked on earth - even Adam and Eve if this is what you believe.

It looks like we are all linked, almost relations if you like, going back thousands of years.

Let's now look at this from another viewpoint, this time looking forward. Our meeting with our partners and then us producing our children stretches way into the future. Our great-great-great-great-grandchildren will be there partly because of us and other coincidences along the way. We are linked therefore to millions and millions of people in the future.

Now some will say, though all of this might be true, there is more to it than this. They would bring in their beliefs of how we are souls or spirits - or whatever else you might wish to call the part of us which is God, for want of a better word.

If we are atheists then us being is here is definitely one massive series of coincidences. We are almost freaks by being here in our present form purely by chance - lucky to have had the opportunity to experience a short life. Simply a speck of dust along the highway.

If we believe there is something more to us, and we are eternal, then perhaps the coincidences that got us here are in fact part of some Master Plan. Some say we choose our parents, for instance, and are here for a purpose of learning. If this were/is true those coincidences, which created our physical bodies are less meaningful, but other coincidences and synchronicity are the opposite - very much more meaningful.

It all depends on what we choose to believe.

Regarding coincidences in general I feel that The Celestine Prophecy guy James Redfield has got it partly right when he says:

"A new spiritual awakening is occurring in human culture, an awakening brought about by a critical mass of individuals who experience their lives as a spiritual unfolding, a journey in which we are led forward by mysterious coincidences."

Further Reading:
10 Coincidence Or Synchronicity Examples
How The Past Can Link To The Future
Coincidence or Synchronicity - Example 10 - About a link to the past.

Thought of the Day: Secret of Happiness

There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way.
- Buddha

Photo: Neustift, Austrian Alps Mike Perry 2010

The Advantage Of Being Mistaken For Someone Else

I'm not sure if this comes under the category of coincidences and synchronicity but it's something that has worked to my advantage.

Sometimes I get mistaken for someone else, usually with the same surname.

A couple of examples.

My wife and I were on a holiday / vacation in Wales and I thought we deserved a meal in a good restaurant. I phoned to make a reservation and whoever I spoke to was extremely polite, almost over the top and I booked a table for 8.30pm.

We got to the restaurant at about 8.15pm, we walked in, I said I was Mr.Perry and had a reservation.

"Ah Mr. Perry," was the reply or words to that effect, "Lovely to see you again. How was South Africa?"

I was a little unsure what to say but, to my wife's embarrassment, I just went along with it. Who was I to argue? "Fine thanks." Needless to say I hadn't been to South Africa.

The meal was superb, we had one of the best tables and the service was first class. We almost felt like royalty.

The second instance was again when we were on holiday / vacation. This time in the USA. We were travelling through Phoenix and had booked an hotel for two nights in advance.

I walked over to reception and the person behind the desk said, "Mr. Perry, how nice to see you again. We have given you the same room."

I had never been to Phoenix previously (I live in England) or, for that matter, the part of Wales where the restaurant I mentioned was situated.

What does this mean? To be honest I don't really know, but there have been quite a few similar instances. All I can say is that mostly when it happens it's to my advantage, as I get well looked after.

Anyone else had this sort of thing happen?

Further Reading:
Four Coincidences On A Day Out In Truro
10 Coincidence Or Synchronicity Examples

Photo: Mike Perry 2010 - Lookalike poppies called Mrs.Perry

The Secret Answer To Problems And Questions

One of the things which interests me is to how we can introduce into our lives more meaningful coincidences or synchronicity. It seems logical to me that if we can, say, create a car parking space then we can also make absolutely anything else happen - even though it may not be necessarily 'good' for us.

I still remember the very first time I tried to find an answer to a question via asking the universe (or whatever you may prefer to call it). It was as a very young man and I'd read about mind power for the very first time. I tested out getting an answer and chose a bit of a silly question.

I asked the universe how high Mount Everest was. This was way before the Internet but I could have looked this up in an encyclopedia or something similar. I decided, however, to wait for the 'magical' answer.

The next day the newsagent didn't have my normal daily paper so I chose a different one at random. I got to my then desk at work, opened the newspaper up, and there in front of me was an article about someone climbing Everest. It also gave the height of the mountain (29,035 ft).

Since that time I've asked for hundreds and hundreds of answers to all sorts of proper questions applicable to my life. I can't say I always get an answer but sometimes the problem I had solves itself so I don't really need the answer. But, more times than not I'm happy with the outcome.

I'm not into organised religion but there are many truths within the Christian Bible. A couple of examples, relative to what I'm writing about in this post:

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; Seek, and ye shall find; Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. St.Luke 11.9

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever you desire, when ye pray, believe that you receive them, and ye shall have them. St.Mark 11.24

In other words we have to ask for what we want. And this is pretty much what most of the self help / visualisation techniques such as Cosmic Ordering are based.

When we ask, things start to happen, coincidences if you like.

Now I don't look on this as a way for material gain, though it can be used as such. As I see it, it's up to individuals as to how they use this 'secret' and they should consider the consequences of any requests.

This post isn't a 'How To' get rich system, but the universe will look after us - we can receive what we request. We just have to be careful what we wish for!

If you are unfamiliar with asking the universe for answers, or anything else, one bit of advice, which works for me, is to ask and then ... nothing. Forget about it.

A bit like when we mail a letter. We don't start thinking about the van collecting the letter, the sorting office, the trains and maybe planes involved, the delivery man. We simply pop the letter in the post/mail box and forget it, knowing that it will be delivered.

This is also how the universe seems to work too. It's not up to us as to how the answer or item requested will come about. We simply have to know that it will and, as is often said, remember that 'God works in mysterious ways.'

Over 6000 Pages Of UFO Reports

The UK government has just released a series of UFO files from it's secret archives, they can be seen here. There is a lot of stuff to wade through, over 6000 pages, covering from 1994 to 2000.

Highlights include such things as:

Several people claim they saw a UFO over Michael Howard's home. He was, at the time, an important UK politician and held the post of Home Secretary. The witnesses say they saw a large triangular UFO, which they estimated was the size of a large jumbo jet. The craft hovered over his house near Folkestone in Kent.

One witness, Sophie Wadleigh, describes what she saw, "It was so peculiar, it all felt really odd and I heard this humming noise. As I looked across the field I saw a large triangular craft hovering about 300 metres off the ground."

Another unnamed person said, "I was really frightened by it and I'm not stupid. I don't believe in anything like that. This is not something I've ever seen before or like something we would have built."

There are also UFO sketches of other incidents, some interesting, some not so. Below is a sighting allegedly seen at London's Heathrow airport in 1993. Think of it what you will!


Then there is a UFO encounter by a man from Ebbw Vale in south Wales in January 1997. He claims he was driving his car when he had to stop and was surrounded for around five minutes by 'a tube of light'. His mobile phone and car radio stopped working during the incident.

To quote the records: "First sighting seemed like a 'massive star' moving towards the car. Having stopped the car and switched the lights off, the light encircled the car, remaining for perhaps five minutes ... (The man) was able to walk through the light which was very bright. There was no sound, no aircraft or helicopter noise, and besides feeling ill was very frightened."

Afterwards the report continues, "He felt and was indeed sick later on. He is still feeling ill today (28/1/97) and has developed a skin condition. Advised to see doctor." The whole incident was reported to the Ebbw Vale police at the time.

Other stories are the likes of: a man who saw an illuminated blue triangle over his garden; a UFO travelling at a speed of over 1,000 knots tracked by a senior air traffic controller at Glasgow Prestwick Airport; a 'near miss' between a Boeing 737 airliner and a UFO when approaching Manchester Airport; on June 11, 1997 a male claimed he was visited by a flying man ... and so the reports go on and on.


If you have lots of time rummage through the 6000 pages and see what you think.

Four Coincidences On A Day Out In Truro

Coincidences seem to happen when we embrace life, get about and do things. At least that's what I find. If we sit tucked away from the world at large, down in the dumps and negative, then not much happens.

I don't mean that dramatic coincidences or synchronicity will occur every day - though they might! Sometimes small happenings can also be interesting. Here's an instance of four which happened in one day at Truro - when my wife and I were out and about.

Firstly I had an hospital appointment. Nothing serious just a visit for a check up at the Dermatology Department. I was delayed at the hospital, they seemed to be all behind schedule. I finally left, after my appointment, about an hour later than expected.

As I did so there was my son and his fiance heading for the maternity department and I had the good news that I was to be a granddad! I was thrilled. They had kept it all secret so obviously I was 'meant' to see them.

My wife had dropped me off at the hospital and had then gone into the nearest town centre, Truro (photo top right), to look round the shops. I phoned her to pick me up and she said she had just that minute got back to the car as her phone rang, she would be with me in ten minutes. So that was two 'coincidences'.

We then decided to see a friend who lived quite near the hospital. She was home and we chatted away for about an hour. I asked her if she still had the same lady gardener - whom she had told us about previously - as her garden was looking nice. She confirmed she did but said she wasn't due a visit from her for another couple of days. The door bell rang and - yes, it was her gardener who popped in on the off chance. So that's three coincidences.

The gardener came in for a coffee and we all got talking.

It turned out that the gardener was originally from my old home town (300 miles away). Of course we had places of interest to talk about, changes that had been made and so on. I found out, for example, that the Police Station where I worked after leaving college is now a coffee bar and restaurant. That's four coincidences in a day.

If we had stayed home in our living room we would have missed those 'magical' moments. You might say that they aren't very spectacular coincidences but they helped brighten our day. It shows an indication of how everything fits together and how we can receive all sorts of information.

Let the universe take the strain.

Further Reading:
10 Coincidence Or Synchronicity Examples

Photos: Flowers: Mike Perry 2010 and Truro: West Country Views

We Can Avoid Train Crashes And Other Disasters

It's interesting that when there is some kind of catastrophe - such as a train crash, Titanic disaster, tsunami and so on - there are always stories about people who should have been involved, perhaps even injured or killed, but for some reason stayed away.

Lyall Watson talks about this in his book Supernature and quotes an American mathematician, William Cox, who completed a survey in an attempt to discover whether people really do avoid travelling on trains which were going to be involved in an accident.

The mathematician collected data on the total number of people on each train, at the time of an accident, and compared these with the number of passengers who travelled on the same train during each of the preceding seven days and on the fourteenth, twenty-first and twenty-eighth day before the accident.

His final results, which covered several years, show that people did in fact avoid accident bound trains. There were always fewer passengers in the damaged and derailed coaches than would have been expected for that train at that time.

The difference between expected and actual number of passengers was so great that the odds against it occurring by chance were over 100 to one.

Okay, as someone or other said: 72.6% of statistics are made up! But it does illustrate that sometimes we may be guided away from events, happenings and people. Oh, and the opposite of course. We are also guided towards 'things'. That is, if we trust our intuition and feelings or anything else in which we believe.

In other words, if something doesn't feel right - don't do it. If it does, go for it!

Quote: Revelations can be simple or complex. They usually carry a special feeling with them; some get goosebumps, tingling or other physical sensations. Sometimes you may have no physical sensations but you feel a mental 'click' as if a piece has just fallen into place. You can receive revelations in many ways - directly into your mind as insights, from reading a book or by hearing something.
Sanaya Roman - Spiritual Growth

Further Reading:
Titanic Coincidences

The Reincarnation of James Fletcher

A story today about reincarnation.

Edward Ryall hails from Benfleet in Essex and appears to have clear memories of a previous life when he was named John Fletcher some 300+ years ago.

Edward says, "I am 99% certain that reincarnation is the only explanation for what I remember of those days."

It all started as a child when distant memories flooded his mind of places he had never known. Often he would use words that were in an unknown dialect, not associated to where he lived in Essex.

Nothing else significant really happened until he was in his fifties and was taking a holiday. He was driving down a country lane near Bridgewater in Somerset (England) and where the Battle of Sedgemoor took place.

In Edward's words: "All of a sudden I knew this was the place I had always seen in my mind. The only thing was it was not quite right. It was the wrong way round. I was used to looking at it from the other side. Then gaps in my story filled themselves in.

My memories were those of John Fletcher, a 40 year old farmer, with two sons, living in a village called Westonzoyland, some three miles from Bridgewater. In July 1685 a nobleman arrived in our parish to head a peasant army. Many of my friends were persuaded to join him.

John Fletcher finally succumbed and went to help the others on the moor. Again from Edward/John:

"Some of our men were mounted and it was the horses which gave us away. They smelled the enemy horses and started to whinny. I must confess to having turned tail and run."

He was, however, chased by an opposing horseman. "I heard a swishing, whistling sound. Then there was a great red flash in my head - then nothing." John Fletcher was killed.

This may, perhaps, all sound very fanciful but a few of the facts check out.

Edward/John mentioned that the winter prior to his death was very hard - it was.

He described the church at Westonzoyland and the fact that the staircase ran up the inside wall. These stairs no longer exist now but records show that in the 17th century there was such a flight of stairs. St Mary’s Church, Westonzoyland served as a prison for around 500 troops after the Battle of Sedgemoor

History also shows that James Scott, the 1st Duke of Monmouth (photo top left), pitched camp near Westonzoyland prior to foolishly attacking the forces of the Earl of Favesham and that a scouting party was lost.

Sceptics will always say that Edward Ryall may simply have been remembering things taught as a child. He strongly denies this however, "There is no question of my hearing all this sometime before and subconsciously remembering it. These memories have been with me since early childhood."

It is up to individuals as to what they believe.

Images on this post in Public Domain.

Further Reading:
The Mantlepiece Buddha

Thought Of The Day

All that we are is the result of what we thought
Buddha

Photo: Minack Theatre,Porthcurno,Penzance, England (c) Mike Perry 2010

Sorry But Sylvia Browne Doesn't Ring My Bell

I was given a book by Sylvia Browne called Exploring the Levels of Creation as a Christmas present and I've just got round to reading it.

From what I gather Sylvia Browne is well known in the USA, though I had never heard of her previously myself. I got an immediate feeling, when starting to read the book, that it didn't ring true.

I'm interested in reincarnation as I believe it could be one of the answers to what life is all about, especially if this is tied in with Karma. It explains some of the apparent injustices in the world. Sylvia Browne writes about herself, "I've personally incarnated on this planet 54 times, and I've decided that I'm either stupid or a glutton for punishment." No comment!

She goes on to give an example of proof of life after death as follows:

"My own grandson Willy, who was born after my father's death, found a picture of him in my drawer. He then turned to his father (my psychic son Chris) and me and said, 'Look here's Old Poppy.'

Old Poppy was what we called my father in later on in his life! Then Willy got a strange look on his face, and in a deeper voice than usual said, 'That's my girl' - which was my father's favorite thing to say to me."

Browne explains further by saying, "I realized that my father had been able to get through Willy's pliable and innocent mind for a moment to send me a message."

Stories like this should have had me going, "Wow!" but they didn't because I find it difficult to believe many of her claims and stories. Apologies if this upsets her fans.

I have since looked at Sylvia Browne's website - much too slick and commercial for me - and also other stuff about her on the Internet. James Randi, for example, claims that her predictions are no better than educated guessing (but there again, if you know anything of him, he would say that).

I suppose, what her book has impressed on me, is that we have to find out about life, coincidences, synchronicity, reincarnation, messages from the dead et al by personal experience. It simply isn't enough to read and accept what any authors write or say.

Real truths ring a bell and can be sensed inside.

A Child's Life Saving Precognition

This is a story which I have taken from an old book by David Adams called Test Your Own Super Mind. I don't think it's still in print. The theme of the incident is a 'life-saving precognition'.

The story starts with a German housewife, Margaret Woellner, who lived with her husband and two children in Witzenhausen.

Margaret was in her house, back in 1972, with her then three year old daughter, Ulrike, while her ten year old son, Joachin, played outside in the garden. It was a normal Tuesday and she had no reason to believe that moments later she would have a miraculous escape from death. (Photo right: Thomas Robbin)

Shortly before noon, Margaret went to the kitchen to start making lunch, Ulrike was playing happily on the floor next to her.

Suddenly Joachin rushed into the house, his white face a mask of horror. "Mother," he screamed, "Get out of here! Something terrible is going to happen."
Frau Woellner saw from Joachin's expression that this was not a childish stunt and, after picking up Ulrike, she ran from the house.

Seconds later there was a deafening explosion, followed by a ball of fire which quickly engulfed the house. The kitchen, where minutes earlier Margaret was standing, was reduced to a black and smouldering crater. Nobody could have survived the blast and fire.

The explanation for the blast was a leaking gas pipe but how did Joachin know about this and that he should warn his mother? When questioned all he could answere was, "I just had a strange idea. It was as if there was a voice inside me saying 'Go and fetch your mother and sister, otherwise it will be too late.'"

Fortunately he listened and acted upon his intuition.

Footnote: I see that Amazon USA does have used copies of Test Your Own Super Mind

A Romantic Coincidence

A story of romance mingled with a huge slice of coincidence or synchronicity.

My wife and I were in Madeira on a sunshine holiday last year and while in the hotel got chatting to a couple in their mid to late sixties. We saw them again the same evening, as we were going in to dinner, and they asked if they could join us at our table.

They were a happy looking couple and we soon found out why, they were on honeymoon! And they had quite a tale to tell.

They first went out together when they were sixteen but, typical of that era, their parents objected. One of the reasons was that he was Jewish and she Christian. They carried on seeing each other secretly but finally Florrie, and her family, moved away to Australia (from England) and they never heard from each other again, even though George sent her many letters.

While in their mid twenties they both married other partners and had children. Florrie became a widow about five years ago and she moved back to England. George meanwhile got divorced at around the same time.

George said he never forgot Florrie and she giggled that she always remembered him.

In 2008 George went on holiday, on his own to Spain, and got talking to a woman sitting on her own and about his own age. After a while he introduced himself as George B and the woman said her sister used to go out with a boy of the same name, when she was a teenager.

"I suppose you are going to tell me she was Florrie T," he laughed.

"Well, yes, she was," was the reply.

George was quite taken aback, to say the least, and the woman continued by saying that Florrie was with her on the holiday. They were sharing a room.

Half an hour later George was emotionally reunited with Florrie and they have been virtually together ever since.

Florrie later told George how, when her mother recently died, she cleared out her home and there she found George's teenage letters to her, tied up with string. Her mother must have kept them for some reason but never showed them to her daughter. Unbelievably Florrie had them with her on her Spanish holiday when the couple met again by coincidence. She said she had a feeling that she wanted to read them quietly.

The couple said they couldn't help but think how their lives might have been if they had never been separated as teenagers.

We never saw them again as the next day they were on their way home.

Lots of people have a story to tell, if we have the time to listen.

Further Reading:
Monumental Lido Hotel & Funchal Madeira Review - My Madeira holiday review on Squidoo.

Photos: From our Madeira holiday 2009

A Message Without The Messenger Realising

Coincidences aren't always obvious and, at times, they are simply messages - many of which we don't even notice.

I'm trying to think of an example of what I mean. Oh yes, quite a few years ago I was a manager of a finance and loans company - okay I can hear the murmurs of 'boring' but I'll continue anyway!

As I said, I was a manager and I got a promotion to a bigger office where there had been a bit of trouble with some of the staff. Two in particular were demoted managers.

I agreed that I would take on the office but then began to get second doubts. Was I just asking for a hard life? It was obvious that those ex managers would be a problem. I guess I was doubting my own ability to handle the situation at the new office.

It was strange, as I'm usually quite laid back about such things: que sera sera and all that. I'd agreed so I couldn't back out.

The situation was on my mind when one of the assistant manager's at my previous office phoned me and said something to the effect of, "Sorry you are leaving us as you always seem to be so in control of everything and easily handled those difficult situations that came up. We'll all miss you." (Apologies if that sounds like bragging!)

We all like to hear compliments and this bucked me up enormously. Then I realised that it was a 'message'. It told me I could handle the new office and the possibly troublesome staff.

It was as if a load had been lifted from my shoulders.

I started at the new office with new found confidence and everything worked out perfectly.

So that phone call to me: was it a coincidence, a message of some sort or simply kind words from an ex work colleague? I guess it depends on how you view life.

To me it was a message and I've noticed over the years how, at times, people can say helpful things without realising they are doing so.

Another way of looking at this is that it's good to say a few kind words and give genuine compliments to others. It may just help them on their way.

Further Reading:
Miles Of Smiles And Butterflies

Twin Deaths And Other Twin Coincidences

Not all coincidences are good news. One such case was reported by news groups around the world in 2002 when two 70 year old twin brothers died.

The Finnish twins were killed on the same stretch of road within hours of each other.

The scene was set in Raahe, 600 kilometres north of the capital, Helsinki, where the first twin met his death while riding his bicycle and was hit by a lorry. (Photo: Pertsaboy)

Just two hours later his brother was crossing the same road, again on his bicycle, when he was hit and killed by another lorry. There is no reason to suspect that the second twin knew of his brothers death.

The police officer investigating the tragedies, Marja-Leena Huhtala, said at the time, "This is simply a historic coincidence. Although the road is a busy one, accidents don't occur every day."

Ms. Huhtala went on to say, "It made my hair stand on end when I heard the two were brothers, and identical twins at that. It came to mind that perhaps someone from upstairs had a say in this."

Twin Connections
It's interesting as to how many twins have a special connection. Debbie LaChusa for example has written a book, Twin Connections, covering this subject.

Debbie gives examples of her own connection with her twin:

"... our husbands also share the same birthday (no, they’re not twins!), they are both left-handed, they both wear glasses and they both graduated from the same high school. Pretty weird, huh?!

Is it just a bond, or is it something more?

We have another connection - and this is the one that baffles me the most. I can’t tell you how many times I have been thinking about calling my sister, when the phone has rung and it was her on the other end. It just happened again today, as I was writing up this story!"

Further Reading:
Dead Wife Helps Husband Win £26 Million
What A Coincidence
How The Past Can Link To The Future

Thought Of The Day

Observe your thoughts with detachment as you observe the distant flight of birds in the peace of the evening.
- Suttapitaka, Majjhima-Nikaya, Cularahulovada Sutta

Photo: (c) Mike Perry 2010

Titanic Coincidences

This is one of those 'famous' happenings which I find fascinating. In this case it's about the Titanic coincidences.


Titanic in dock
But first lets put a slightly different slant on things. How and why things happen is always interesting. Are they destined to happen and if so why?

With the Titanic the problem, as we know, was an iceberg and we accept this without a second thought. But if we think about it properly wasn't it a bit of a coincidence that the iceberg - most likely thousands of years old - broke away from Greenland at that precise time and moved south as far as the New York latitude?

Wasn't it also strange that the Titanic's captain had sped up the ship to try and reach it's destination before time? If he hadn't have done this the Titanic wouldn't have hit the iceberg and killed all of those people.

It was almost like a plan coming together - the iceberg and Titanic had to collide. Some would say it was in the stars.

There are numerous tales of people foretelling the Titanic's demise. A Mrs. Marshall is supposedly to have screamed out as the ship sailed past the Isle of Wight, "It's going to sink, that ship is going to sink. Save them! Save them!" Her mother was on the Titanic.

There are dozens of these sort of stories but many cannot be proven. The case of Morgan Robertson is slightly different as in 1898 he published a novel telling of the 'unsinkable' SS Titan.

In his story the SS Titan steamship sailed out of Southampton on its inaugural voyage and went on to sink following a collision with, yes, an iceberg.

There were similarities between the Titan and the Titanic:

1) Titan and Titanic were on their first voyage.

2) Both ships were sunk after hitting an iceberg.

3) There is a similarity in the names of Titan and Titanic.

4) Titan was 70,000 tons and the Titanic 66,000 tons.

5) Titan 800 feet in length, Titanic 882 feet.

6) Both had three propellers.

7) Both the fictional Titan and the real Titanic were thought of as unsinkable by their owners and therefore had insufficient lifeboats. The Titan, according to the story, had 24 lifeboats for 2,500 passengers and the Titanic had just 20 lifeboats for 2,224 passengers.

Perhaps there was magic afoot with the Titanic sinking? According to the British Museum she was carrying an Egyptian Pharaoh mummy destined for an American museum.

Newspapers at the time made much of the mummy calling it cursed. They made claims that everyone who had photographed the mummy had all mysteriously died.

Some of all this we can perhaps take with a pinch of salt and yet some of the coincidences make you wonder.

As the Titanic left port a cockerel crowed - a sign of bad luck for sailors ...

In 1939 a ship called the Titanian was in the general area of where the Titanic went down. The helmsman had a dreadful premonition and decided to try and stop the ship. Later the Titanian hit an iceberg. It was damaged but could carry on thanks to the collision being at a slow speed.

Further Reading:
Famous Coincidences - Abraham Lincoln

Images on this post in Public Domain

Footnote: I wrote this post just before my evening meal. Feeling lazy my wife and I decided to have this in front of the television. I switched on the TV and it was the Antiques Roadshow Special and what were they talking about - yes, Titanic collectibles!

They had the original Titanic plans from when it was built, postcards sent by a musician from the ship before it went down (he died) and lots of info about medals issued to the crew of the ship that went to Titanic's rescue - the RMS Carpathia. Carpathia saved 705 lives but was sunk herself by a German submarine during World War 1 on July 17th 1918.

Titanic memorabilia is now valuable.

Eggs On To Be A Second Coincidence

More eggy news. Following the box of double yolked eggs in my Eggs On To Be A Coincidence post there has been another remarkable find.

70 year old Mrs. Ann Hordon, from County Durham in England, cracked open an egg into her frying pan and it had four yolks! The chances of this happening are quoted at being 11 billion to one.

The British Egg Information Service were astounded. After they had all picked themselves off of the floor they went on to say (in unison, of course) that the record number of yolks found in one egg is nine, but four is still exceptional. Their official spokesperson added, with a cluck, "To find a quadruple yolker is a very rare phenomenon."

The egg plot thickens, whatever will happen next! Is this some sort of scrambled message from afar? Can we decipher the code ...

Music Freebies By Coincidence Or Synchronicity

Here's another couple of coincidences, though not my own. These stories comes from parapsychologist Alan Vaughan.

While Alan was a student he wanted to posses the nine Beethoven symphonies, which had recently been released as a deluxe box set of records by the N.B.C. Orchestra. Being a student he couldn't afford the record set.

At the time, to help with his studies financially, he had a part time job in a public library and someone ordered the very set of records he desired through the library. When they arrived Alan was amazed to see that two sets had been sent but the bill was for one. The spare set he considered to be a gift of providence to him, an impoverished college student, who loved music.

Alan also tells the tale of a woman who wanted to obtain a special arrangement of Dvorak's Humoresque for her elderly father as a Christmas present. The version she desperately wanted was for violin and piano but the local record store said that no such recordings were currently available.

A few weeks prior to Christmas the record store clerk was surprised to receive a recording of Humoresque for violin and piano. The store had not placed the order and they found that, unbelievably, the label was different to the company that had sent it.

As the record arrived in such an extraordinary way they presented the record free of charge to their customer whose father, therefore, received a logically impossible gift for Christmas.

At first glance it seems that this coincidence business can bring about freebies! But life doesn't always work out like that. What these two examples had in common was a great passion, almost an obsession for the music which finally came their way via ... coincidence, synchronicity, chance?

As with visualisation, and other techniques, if we have a genuine, powerful desire for something - no matter what, good or bad - it can come about. But, as is often said: Be careful for what you wish for!

Further Reading:
Coincidence or Synchronicity - Example 8 - A concidence about photos
Coincidence or Synchronicity - Example 7 - About the Puruvian Nazca Lines

Eggs On To Be A Coincidence

A bit more light hearted today. It's about Fiona Exon, from Cumbria in England, who was about to make some scrambled eggs for breakfast. As she cracked open the eggs into a bowl each one was double yolked. Yes, as she broke the full six pack of eggs each was the same.

"Erm, so what," you might say, "Is that really a coincidence?"

Well sort of. The British Egg Information Service reckons this is extremely rare, a bit like hen's teeth. They say that finding one double yolk egg has odds of just 0.1 per cent (i.e. 1000 to 1). So finding every egg in a standard box of six this way is odds of ... I'm not exactly sure, but one expert mentioned it being 1 trillion to one (providing the eggs were picked at random to fill the box), but this does seem a bit over the top.

So what am I trying to say? I guess I'm actually putting a case forward for those who oppose any coincidence as being meaningful. If you can get a pack of six double yolk eggs then any coincidence is also possible somewhere in the world.

The thing is though, despite what I've just said, I still believe that some coincidences are meaningful enough to be considered as synchronicity. Yes, there really are messages from the universe to help us along our way. That is, if we can be bothered to consider them properly.

Also see:
Eggs On To Be A Second Coincidence - where the egg plot thickens!

Other Coincidences:
10 Coincidence Or Synchronicity Examples

White Feathers Comfort The Bereaved

In my previous post I started to talk about white feathers and maybe their meaning.

After my first experience with the white feathers I hit a sad time in my life. In a period of 16 months three very close people died: my mother, my best friend of some 30 years and my daughter. The latter two deaths were quite unexpected.

Needless to say this hit my wife and I quite hard. I questioned many of my long held beliefs and now feel that life is about change, nothing is permanent.

I've been lucky though as I now have some new people in my life such as my wonderful daughter-in-law to be who is pregnant, so my son will soon be a dad and me a granddad (frightening!)

Following my mother's departure from this world my wife and I started to see white feathers. They seemed to be everywhere and these continued following our other two losses as well.

The feathers felt like they were messages saying that things were alright. Often, after we saw one, something nice would happen. Of course, when we are emotional, there can be a tendency to hang on to whatever we find comforting. Some would say that the white feathers were like a crutch.

It's very easy to dismiss white feathers as something by chance or even superstition - feathers perhaps simply out of pillows, or even birds!

The odd thing, however, is that they sometimes seemed to almost answer questions.

On one occasion I was walking across the square in our local town, just after my best friend had died and wondered if he was okay. A daft question some will think, as he was dead, but out of nowhere a white feather appeared and fell at my feet. As I continued to walk it flew on ahead and did a sort of big forward circle before falling again at my feet.

Perhaps I was clutching at straws but I got an instant feeling inside that things were okay with him and I had no need to worry.

This sort of incident followed my wife and I during the sad times. My wife would find a feather and say, "Look, she's thinking of us." And that's how we felt. It was comforting.

The other side of this is that we also came across black feathers and following these something not so good would happen - even one of the deaths.

At the present time the feathers, white or black, have stopped appearing. Perhaps we are getting stronger and don't need them quite so much.

Recently I've been reading about white feathers and theories of their meaning. I don't know if any of these are correct as none of them a struck an immediate chord with me. All I can say is that they helped my wife and I and seem to have helped other people as well.

Gloria Hunniford, a well known televison and radio presenter in the UK, lost her daughter, Caron, to cancer and this is what she said:

"I remember one time in a swimming pool, everybody and everything was awash with water and I just looked down and all of a sudden on the edge was just this white fluffy dry feather and I thought, 'Oh my God!' It's just like Caron popping in to see how the children are getting on."

And on the BeliefNet website I read the following:

"White feathers may appear in the most unlikely places. When you have found a white feather, carry it round with you to keep your angel close. Once, when I was teaching an angel seminar, I mentioned that white feathers are a common angel sign. After the seminar a woman said that, despite what she had heard, she was not convinced of the existence of angels. At that very moment another student noticed a pure white feather stuck to the sleeve of her cardigan."

Angels? Guardian Angels? Messages from the dead? At the moment, I honestly don't know for sure.

Footnote: I would just add that a white feather is also known in the British Army as a sign of cowardice. So much so that in WWI lapel badges were issued to essential workers on home soil to show they were helping the war effort and were not cowards avoiding military action.

They also indicate pacifism in some countries and bravery in North America.

Further Reading:
White Feathers And Perhaps A Deal With An Angel
10 White Feather Story Posts As Examples Of Messages From The Dead

White Feathers And Perhaps A Deal With An Angel

I'm writing about white feathers today. No doubt you've heard such stories previously. Some say they are from angels. Perhaps a Guardian Angel. Personally I have no idea.

I haven't reached a definite opinion about angels and/or white feathers but the following is something that happened to me.

The first time I experienced white feathers was when I bought a new car. There on a grass verge next to my car, when I went to collect it, were three white feathers, all lined up next to each other. I read afterwards that finding three feathers is supposedly your Guardian Angel letting you know they are about. As, I've already indicated, I'm not sure if this is true.

The car purchase was a little odd because, being me, I shopped around for the best price. I took ages deciding and then finally, to my wife's disappointment, reached the conclusion that the car I wanted was slightly too expensive.

That night I tried visualisation, seeing the car at the price I could afford and requesting that this would come about. By this I mean that I sat quietly picturing myself with a new car and buying it at a price I was happy about - cosmic ordering if you like. (Mind you, I should have simply visualised the car being mine without any price tag. I now know better!)

Nevertheless the next day my wife was seeing one of her dress making clients. In the general chat my wife mentioned the car I was thinking about buying.

Now by chance / coincidence, or whatever, the client said she had a friend who was a car dealer and sold this particular make. She went on to say he was desperate for a few sales otherwise he could lose his dealership. Seemingly he had to sell a target number of cars each quarter.

She rang him to see what sort of price he would take for the model I wanted. He gave his 'bottom' price and I said this was still too expensive. He asked what sort of price I hoped to pay. I told him, via the dress making client, and he agreed on a price below what I was willing to pay. He reckoned he wouldn't make any money on the deal - that could have just have been car sales talk. But I was more than happy with the result

So, to sum up, I'd asked the universe / cosmic, or whatever you want to call it, for a car at a certain price and I got it. Then, when I picked up the car, there were three white feathers lying next to it - a message of confirmation perhaps from a higher level? Or just my imagination?

In my next post I'll carry on with the white feather theme as, after this, I then began to see many more of them following the deaths of people close to me.

"Dad once said to me that should he pass away, if there was some way of letting me know he was going to be okay - that we were all going to be okay - the message would come to me in the form a white feather. Then something happened to me about ten years ago when I was on tour in Australia. I was presented with a white feather by an Aboriginal tribal elder, which definitely took my breath away."
- Julian Lennon, John Lennon's son