Wednesday, June 30

Words Can Bring Us Beetles Or Treasures

BeetleThere was a woman who, when things annoyed her, would always say, "That really bugs me." One day she found the chest of drawers where she kept some of her clothes infested with small beetles. A coincidence?

A man called Clive wanted some goldfish in a large glass bowl for his living room and, as he had read a little about the power of the mind, started demanding a bowl of fish from the universe. A few days later a neighbour dropped in to see him carrying a plastic bowl with some fish he had caught that day. "Do you want some of these fish as I won't be able eat them all?" he asked. Another coincidence?

In a way both of these people got what they asked for. Okay it wasn't what they had in mind but whose fault was that?

As with everything we give out, eventually it arrives back either to smooth our path or slap us in the face. Words and what we say are important and it's not just a case of being negative or positive.

Florence Scovel-Shin in her book The Game of Life And How To Play It writes about how she saw some beautiful rose trees in the florists' windows and set about requesting one.

Easter came, and with it a perfect rose tree from a friend as a gift. She phoned to say thank you and told her that it was exactly what she wanted.

Her friend replied, "I didn't send you a rose tree, I sent you lilies!"

The man in the florist had mixed up the order and Florence writes, "He sent me a rose tree simply because I had started the law in action, and I had to have a rose tree."

She also concludes that, "When man can wish without worrying every desire will be instantly fulfilled."

It's why we have to be careful what we say on a regular basis. If, for instance, we keep saying something or other is a 'pain in the a***' it could well become one!

Parents sometimes don't choose their words wisely (unintentionally, of course). "Don't go out without a jacket, you'll catch a cold," or, "Be careful, you'll fall." Atishoo and ouch.

We are surrounded by influences from other people, the media, television and so on. I guess we have to try and make sure that our own words equate to exactly what we really want for ourselves and also what we want for our family, friends and the world in general.

Devon road signI found this amusing. A friend told me about how his father had died and for some reason - when he was talking to his small children - he told them that granddad had gone to Devon (rhymes with Heaven and is the next county to where we live in Cornwall). No idea why he said this - but there we go.

Anyway, a few days later they had to go to the funeral several hundred miles away. Driving home afterwards he saw a county road sign and said casually to his wife, "We are in Devon now."

"Oh no," said his small daughter tearfully on hearing this, "Have we died?"
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Further Reading:
Visualisation Brings About Coincidences And Synchronicity
The Law Of Attraction Powered By Visualisation

Tuesday, June 29

Precognition Or A Creation

EscalatorA few posts back I mentioned that I sometimes get glimpses of the future 'in dreams, in meditations and with feelings just out of the blue.'

I'm not sure if the following experience was a glimpse of the immediate future or something else.

My wife and I were in our local town to buy a few things we needed and were both in a happy mood. We headed to a moving escalator to go down a floor and, as we did so, I said to my wife that I knew that a small child in front of us was going to fall.

There was nothing I could do as there were other people in between. The mother dragged the child, who was only about two or three, onto the moving stairs while balancing a pushchair with her other hand. She was with another woman who didn't offer her any help.

I almost sighed in relief as the child remained somehow balanced on a stair as they headed downwards. But towards the bottom the girl suddenly fell forward and screamed out. Luckily the safety mechanism worked and the escalator stopped immediately.

We walked down the stairs and looked towards the woman and her child and I said to my wife, "What a silly woman." Meaning that she wasn't taking care of her child properly on the stairs. It wasn't meant for anyone elses ears.

I know it's something I probably shouldn't have said. The mother's friend heard me and angrily said in a loud threatening voice, "Do you want to say that to my face!"

She then turned to the mother, with the still crying and upset child, and told her that I had said she was a, "Stupid cow." Which, of course, I hadn't. It's not something I would ever say.

It felt like I was suddenly being sucked into an angry, frustrated vortex so I took a deep breath, made no response at all and kept on walking.

We carried on with our shopping and when my wife wanted to buy something for herself I decided to sit on a seat outside.

I tried to send the woman and child kind thoughts. I then began to wonder whether I had actually seen a glimpse of the immediate future or was it my fear of the girl falling which helped create the accident.

It was obvious from their demeanour that the women involved were troubled. I could sense all sorts of resentment and anger about them.

I still can't make up my mind as to the role I played in this whole incident. I shouldn't have said what I did but I felt so annoyed that the little girl had been unnecessarily hurt and felt so sorry for her.

It's strange how we can be drawn into something confrontational, or any other situation, so very easily: a look, the wrong words and so on.

I'm still undecided as to what caused the little girl to have the fall and if I did the right thing in walking away.

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Monday, June 28

Is Afghanistan History Repeating Itself?

Royal Horse Artillery escaping from an Afghan attack
Anglo Afghan War
I don't really want to get into the world of politics with this blog but I came across something today which is one of those coincidences where history repeats itself - or at least it could.

I'll say first that I was against the invasion of Iraq and I'm none too happy either with the situation in Afghanistan today. And it's Afghanistan that this post is about.

Being British I can only talk about 'our' involvement and the horror of seeing mostly young soldiers being killed almost daily.

We British have, however, seen all of this previously back in the mid 1800s. This was at the time of the first Anglo-Afghan War. It was a bloody, savage war and an Army Chaplain, the Rev GR Greig, wrote in his memoirs of the humiliation felt when Britain finally pulled out. This is what he said:

"A war begun for no wise purpose, carried on with a strange mixture of rashness and timidity, brought to a close after suffering and disaster, without much glory attached either to the government, which directed, or the great body of troops, which wagered it.

Not one benefit, political or military, has Britain acquired with this war. Our eventual evacuation of the country resembled the retreat of an army defeated."


Much of what the Reverend wrote in 1843 could be applicable today. Most of us aren't too sure of the purpose of troops being in Afghanistan, despite what the politicians tell us. And it does seem to be a possibility that there will eventually have to be a withdrawal, without much being achieved. The Taliban will once more gain control.

So have we learned anything from history? Probably not.

One recent article I read via the BBC News website does make me wonder about Afghanistan. What is this report about? Afghanistan may have more than a trillion dollars worth of untapped mineral deposits, a spokesman for the ministry of mines has suggested.

So Iran has oil, Afghanistan has minerals. But the wars were about Weapons of Mass Destruction (which weren't there) and, er, making the word a safer place - or something like that. All a big coincidence, of course.

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Sunday, June 27

Thought Of The Day

There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to learn from.
- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

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Photo: My Fuchsia In The Rain - Mike Perry 2010

Saturday, June 26

The Coincidence Of The Numbers Of Life

Newspaper headline
The two clippings - above and below - are from the UK's Daily Mail newspaper.

Numbers 33 and 76Before I go any further I'll explain that the house number, where I live, is 76 and my previous address was a bungalow with the number 33.

I'll now get to the point of this post. Researchers for the Axa insurance company have been doing a study of door numbers and have reached some statistical conclusions regarding whether certain addresses may be burgled, suffer storm and fire damage and so on. This is what the Daily Mail said, as per the cutting above right.

"So start worrying anyone living at No 33 - you are most likely to suffer from burglary, fire or flood. By contrast, stand proud those with 76 on the front door - you have the best record, say insurers Axa."

So, by coincidence, I'm one of the proud ones, now being at 76. Whereas previously I was in an insurance risk home being at 33.

All of this rings true for me. I'm not trying to tempt fate, I have my fingers crossed and I've touched wood, but my present house has been very lucky for me. So much so that I am reluctant to move. My previous home though wasn't so lucky and there were, what shall I say, a few problems and life there wasn't quite so smooth.

Carrying on with the numbers theme. I've also written a post previously saying how 76 features as a significant number generally in my life - followed by 6s and 7s - thus the url address for this blog - i.e. www.67notout.com.

I was looking at the Stumbleupon website this morning, where one of my posts has been listed. It's the one about a Captain Perry and his NDE - Perry being my surname. This particular post has had 67 referrals from Stumbleupon.

Captain David Perry Near Death ExperienceI also wrote recently that Stumbleupon sent me exactly 76 referrals when I wrote about my dead father in the post Speaking To My Dead Father



So 67 and 76 referrals when the name Perry is mentioned - coincidence? Or is there something more meaningful about numbers and how they appear in our lives? I reckon there is.

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Friday, June 25

Follow Your Dreams Today

This is something I wrote a few years back for someone else. It's probably still out there on the Internet somewhere. It's nothing to do with coincidences or synchronicity but is about following our dreams

Dorothy looked in the mirror, a frown on her face. The old sixties, or was it fifties, song kept running through her mind, 'Little boxes, little boxes and they all look just the same'.

She walked to the bedroom window and glanced at the small square garden behind her little box. It was neat and tidy. Well it would be, for that was the sort of man her Jack was. Everything must be just right. At times it made her scream inside. Why couldn't he ever let the grass grow and simply enjoy the sunshine. "Must keep up standards," he was always saying. "But why?" thought Dorothy. And another thing, "Is it really necessary to clean the car every Sunday, after he had polished his shoes and pressed his trousers ready for work on Monday?"

She walked back to her dressing table and sat once more gazing into the mirror. Should she wear a hat or not? It probably didn't really matter. Her face looked strained and white, the years hadn't been particularly kind to her appearance. As she brushed away a tiny tear she remembered days long ago when her hair was golden and she laughed effortlessly. Jack and her were so filled with joy. They could talk for hours about their plans and dreams curled up on the sofa or while looking at the stars. What a future they had, the excitement and anticipation made sleep almost unnecessary.

Dorothy sighed deeply, she now felt tired most of the time, her dreams having dissolved with the years. As for Jack his ambitions gradually disappeared along with his hair.

There was a gentle knock on the bedroom door and Dorothy turned round to see her son standing there. Mark smiled and said soflty, "Dad's here."

"I won't be long," she replied. Mark closed the door quietly. "Of course it's partly Mark's fault," she muttered to herself as she listened to his heavy footsteps going down the stairs.

The slim, golden haired Dorothy and her Jack were going to start their own business, were going to travel the world and were going to find the secrets of immortality. It seemed easy then, lying on their backs watching the stars after they had made love. There was nothing they couldn't do or achieve. So much were their dreams compatible that they married within weeks of meeting. Jack said they were soulmates, so why should they ever be apart.

Dorothy soon fell pregnant. Their other dreams were put on hold until Mark was born. Jack said he thought they should wait until Mark was at least of school age before they started their business. And obviously it wasn't right to take a baby travelling. "So yes," Dorothy decided, "It was definitely Mark's fault that the dreams were never fulfilled".

Not that she didn't love Mark, she would do anything for him. She had, after all, even surrendered her plans without a fight. Her sister said she was foolish for putting things off. "After all," she explained, "children will only grow up and leave you one day."

Mark now lived over a hundred miles away. It was nice to see him and his wife this week. "It must be nearly three months since he last visited," Dorothy reckoned. He did phone regularly but it wasn't the same. Somehow they had grown apart. She believed he still liked syrup pudding and Arsenal Football Club. Mark's wife had corrected her, "He doesn't like stodge now and watches rugby."

Jack started a job at the local factory over thirty years ago. "Just a temporary measure," he had assured her, "until Mark starts senior school. Then we'll start travelling." So they put things on hold once more and in the meantime moved into their 'little box' in a street like any other.

There was another knock on the door and this time it was her daughter Susan. "Are you nearly ready?" Susan asked.

"No I'm not!" her mother snapped. "You'll have to all wait for me for a change. Goodness knows I've waited for your father for more years than I care to remember. Now he can wait for me."

ballet dancers"Do you know I've never been to the ballet," Dorothy continued as the tears she had been controlling for so long flooded down her pale cheeks.

Susan went and hugged her, squeezing on to the dressing table stool. "Please don't cry, mummy."

"I haven't been to the ballet. I haven't visited Australia, I don't have my own business. I haven't done so many things and your father promised me. He bloody promised me, Susan, and now look what he has done. I feel so angry," she sobbed.

"Oh mummy, you know daddy has always done his best."

"But your father and I were going to do so many things. He put everything off. We had to wait for Mark to finish his A-level exams and then until he finished university. Then we did the same for you. We waited until you started school, then it was senior school and so on, right up to you also finishing university. All I've done is grow older and heavier."

"Do you know we could have started a business with your dad's best friend? You know, Alan Fox. He wanted us to go in partnership as Estate Agents. Dad wouldn't. It wasn't the right time, so he stayed at the factory. Alan now has ten branches. It could have been us. How stupid can we have been."

"Dad hated his job. He was always moaning about how he was overlooked for promotion. But he stuck it out. He put up with silly youngsters telling him what to do. He said he didn't mind as it was secure and, of course, there was the pension. The damn pension. Security became all important. 'We'll do it all later,' he kept saying. We could have visited Australia you know, when he had that small legacy from grandad. But, no! He had to tuck the money away in the bank. Security! It's still all there. We had another chance to go into our own business. But would he risk a few thousand? Would he, heck. 'We'll see when the children have grown up', he'd say."

Susan had never seen her mother crying like this before, she seemed so cross. The frustrations must have been building for years. She wondered why she hadn't noticed. But living in London now it was difficult to see her as often as she would have liked. Then she remembered her year out travelling. Australia, India, USA and more besides. What a year. Thinking back her mother had appeared a little glassy eyed and quiet when she returned all excited with loads of photos and a new boyfriend. Susan even saw her aunt and uncle in Australia. "Mum and dad would have been impressed," she thought, "A large house with a huge veranda overlooking the coastline, barbecues in the sunshine and lots of laughter."

She had always believed though that her parents were content with their life. Dad doing his garden and going to the football occassionally, mum cooking and decorating the house. "Who would have thought that mum wanted to go to the ballet. Wonder why on earth she didn't?" Could it be that she didn't really know her parents at all. They had encouraged her to go out into the world and told her to follow her dreams, so she had. They were good people, kind and loving, but nothing lasts for ever.

Dorothy dried her eyes, surprised and embarrassed by her outburst. She was normally so in control and felt sorry about some of the things she had said and thought. She did care for Jack, so very much. With the children flown the nest what else did she have? She shuddered to think.

There was a voice behind them. Dorothy thought for a second that it was Jack and turned round quickly smiling. It was Mark instead saying, "We really ought to go now, the cars are here". She noticed how handsome he looked in his suit. Very much like his father but with his hair and dreams still intact. They had done a good job bringing up their children. Jack would have been so proud of them both.

Dorothy took a deep breath, wearily smiled at Susan and Mark and said, "Okay, I've kept him waiting long enough. Let's go and say goodbye to your father for the final time." They linked arms and headed downstairs.

Jack had been less than one month away from retirement when he died. He had been looking forward to leaving the factory so much. He had chosen to receive a lump sum with his pension so that he could take Dorothy on a special holiday. After this they were going to sell their house and move to the coast. Not quite what they had envisaged all those years ago, but it was something definite to look forward to.

Two days after the funeral Mark had to leave for home, his business and his new life were calling. He was doing well, detached house, BMW and a good income. Susan also left, back to London and her care free ways. They both promised to visit more often, but Dorothy knew deep inside that they probably wouldn't.

In the silent house she was now alone with her memories and the ticking of the clock, sadness finally creeping in of things which might have been.

Ten days later Dorothy phoned Susan, "I'll be coming to stay with you on Saturday."

"Oh, right. That'll, er, be nice."

"Don't worry, don't worry, I'm only stopping for the one night. I'm going to the ballet."

"You're welcome to stay longer," Susan said feeling guilty.

"No you don't understand. The ballet is at the Sydney Opera House. I'm flying from Heathrow to Australia on Sunday and then, when I'm ready, on to the Far East. The thing is Susan, I don't have time to waste any more time. I'll tell you everything on Saturday. Bye."

Dorothy put the phone down, "What a shame that Jack hadn't fulfilled some of his dreams."

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Ballet Photo: Source

Thursday, June 24

The Ghost Of Granny And Her Revenge

A bit of a ghost story today from Julia Roberts - no, not that Julia Roberts - but still a 'pretty woman'. I digress, so let's just get on with this ghostly tale from Julia.

Granny in her rocking chair"My grandmother was born and bred in the house where she lived all of her life in Cornwall. She was a friendly but firm old soul with a large family and therefore had lots of grand and great-grand children.

From the age of about seventy-five, until she died at the ripe old age of ninety-eight, she always sat in the same corner of her living room, from morning until night, gently rocking herself in her old, wooden rocking chair.

Eventually granny went to where all good grandmothers go, after they have had their fill of rocking and life in general.

As the house was now empty, my father, after much negotiation with the rest of the family, decided to move into granny's house. He soon set about modernising things but somehow couldn't get rid of the old rocking chair which remained in the corner of the living room.

Finally my mother flipped and said the chair had to go. It didn't fit in with the other, more modern furnishings. Dad agreed to chop up it up. Not sure why, as he could probably have sold the chair, but that was what he decided.

Mum and dad were in bed the following night and heard strange creaks and noises from the attic immediately above their bedroom. In the morning, when dad had gone to work, mum plucked up courage and went to investigate the attic.

As she looked inside there was the old rocking chair and, as she watched, it started to gently rock backwards and forwards. It sent a chill up mum's spine.

In the evening dad admitted that he hadn't been able to throw the chair away for sentimental reasons and had therefore stored it up in the attic.

Mum reluctantly relented and the rocking chair was placed temporarily back in the corner of the living room, it's rightful place.

A couple of weeks later mum moved the chair to another room. After doing so mum and dad found that the chair would start to rock when anyone entered the room. Dad said it was just a coincidence, or the wind from the door being opened, but mum felt it was granny's ghost at work. She didn't feel comfortable and the rocking, when entering the room, went on for days and days.

Dad was under pressure from mum to sort it out. In a moment of bravado, or madness, he took the chair into the garden and started to break it up into pieces. Mum and I were horrified when we saw what he was doing, we rushed outside, but it was too late to stop him.

Nothing immediately happened, until we returned to the house and the living room. There, lying on the floor, was the new fireplace which had been recently fitted. It had come right away from the wall and lay shattered. Dad said it was Granny's Revenge.

Nowadays, when all is quiet, there is still sometimes a creak to be heard from the floorboards, in the corner where granny used to gently rock her chair. It's a constant reminder never to mess with granny because her ghost is always watching."
Further Reading:
The Ghostly Ghost Photo Of The Brown Lady
The Ghost Who Leaves Old Pennies In Tyre Depot
The Doctor's Messages From The Dead

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Wednesday, June 23

Meeting Three Young Birds In One Day

A couple of days ago I wrote that we seemed to have goats everywhere invading our lives. Well that's stopped. It's now birds! Not that we mind.

bird on wife's hand
There's the baby bird in the photos, for instance, who flew onto my wife's hand while she was gardening - that's why she's wearing the dirty gloves. He must have needed a rest and was quite happy to remain where he was while I went indoors to fetch my camera.

Later we walked down the road where we live and there was a young girl waiting. She asked if we could help her. She'd found a fledgling bird and didn't know what to do. We sorted that out and, after a walk, returned home.

That evening we were heading, on foot again, to our son's house and at the side of the road a young black rook was ahead of us. He stopped on the pavement and, as we caught up with him, ran next to us looking up at the banked wall at the side of the road.

He ran sort of sideways, looked up, ran a bit further, looked up and so it continued. Almost something like a dog would do. My wife gently picked him up, he didn't struggle, and put him on the high bank. He looked at us as if to say thank you, turned round, and walked off into the undergrowth on the bank.

bird sits on hand
The birds were all remarkably tame despite being wild. They appeared to trust us, which was a lovely feeling.

Just thinking: I'm posting this on my late mum's birthday - perhaps that's got something to with the birds, some sort of connection. As she got older she would often sit in our living room and say she was happy to sit quietly watching the birds in our garden.

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Tuesday, June 22

Coincidences Which Solved The Mystery Of The WW2 Giant

Bob Roberts frisking Jakon NackenDuring the second world war the fighting that Corporal Bob Roberts, of the Canadian North Shore New Brunswick Regiment, experienced was fierce in Calais, France. Allied troops were trying to stop the Germans shelling Dover, England from five gun emplacements.

Eventually the Germans' surrendered and gradually they laid down their weapons. Mr Roberts remembers the action and also how he and his comrades captured Jacob Nacken, who was the tallest man in the German army at 7ft 6in.

Bob Roberts was given the job of frisking Nacken and this brought a lighter moment at the end of such fierce fighting - Bob is only 5ft 3" and even the captured Germans' sniggered and laughed as he frisked the 7ft 6in man.

Bob Roberts, who now lives in Bournemouth, England, is 87 years old - he married an English girl - and often wondered whatever happened to the giant soldier. He never even new his name.

Moving forward 65 years and amateur historian, Rob Smith, sets out to try and trace his mother's Canadian wartime sweetheart. In doing so he comes across the bizarre photo of the diminutive soldier frisking an extremely tall German in some obscure archive.

By coincidence the man he was trying to trace was in the same Canadian regiment as Corporal Bob Roberts. He then found out, by a further coincidence, that Bob lived just a mile away from his mother in England.

Bob was contacted and sent a copy of the photo. The mystery of the 7ft 6in soldier he met in the war was solved. He said, "I couldn't believe it when I received the photo after all these years. It took me back to a moment of light heartedness so soon after I had been a blink of an eye from death."

He added, "I never knew his name, only that he was a lance corporal. He spoke very good English ... it's quite incredible that after all these years I have found out who this guy was."

As for Jakob Nacken he died at 80. After the war he went to New York and was signed up as the World's Biggest Father Christmas. He moved on to work in the circus business as The Giant Uranus. The highlight of his career was in 1959 when he appeared in Ripley's Believe It Or Not on Broadway. He was often billed as The Tallest Man In The World. Photo: BNPS

Further Reading:
General Montgomery's Double In WW2

Monday, June 21

Goats In Trees Coincidence

Goats in trees in Morocco
I had a dream about goats in trees. I thought nothing more about this until my wife was looking through one of our photograph albums - and there they were again, goats in trees.

The photos (as shown on this post) were from when we visited Morocco, a few years back. We were on our way to Marrakesh and there at the side of the road were all of these goats climbing into trees.

The area before the Atlas mountains is very dry and dusty and, as there is little for the goats to eat on the ground, they climb into the trees to munch on the leaves.

At the time we were quite amazed by this but, as happens in Morocco, after a few minutes a man arrived out of nowhere demanding money for taking pictures of his goats. I gave him something but he obviously didn't think it enough so we continued with our journey instead of arguing with him.

The following day after my dream I was at the dentist for a routine check up (nothing needed doing - what a relief!) and was flicking through some ancient magazines, that waiting rooms always seem to have, and came across an article about the very Moroccan goats I had been thinking about recently.

Goats climbing treesFollowing this goats seemed to be everywhere! In conversations, pictures and so on.

I've been pondering as to the significance of these goats, if indeed there is any. I googled 'goat symbols'.

According to Catholic Symbols, "The Goat Christian Symbol represents oppressors, wicked men and demonic forces. The goat also symbolises unrepentant sinners who will be separated from God on judgment day which is associated with the following Bible verse: Matt 25:33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left."

Not really happy with this I also discovered that in dreams goats indicate: 'Vitality, fertility, creativity, virility, abundance and lust'. That sounded a bit better! But somehow still didn't feel right as an explanation for goats and goats in trees relative to my life.

I still haven't reached any conclusion. Perhaps it's just to tell me to get travelling and discover some more interesting and unusual things.

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Sunday, June 20

Thought Of The Day


I see that this video has had over 3 million hits on YouTube so I guess you may well have seen it before. It was new to me though, maybe that's because I'm in England. If you've seen it or not the message within the video is very worthwhile.

Saturday, June 19

Astral Travel By Hypnotherapy

Astral travel of astral projectionIn the 1970s a guy called Terry Thomas did several experiments regarding, what he claimed was astral travel. Terry operated from a 'clinic' in Wales and practised hypnotherapy.

His view was that hypnotherapy differed from hypnosis. Under hypnosis, he argued, the subject is under the complete control of the hypnotist and does only what he commands. Whereas, under hypnotherapy, the subject's subconscious (unconscious) is controlled more by their conscious mind.

Whatever the case isn't really too important. What I want to write about is the fact that Terry Thomas recorded lots of people while under hypnotherapy. The following is one such case.

The subject was a man called John who didn't believe in God, astral travel or any other such 'nonsense'.

John, however, agreed to let Terry use hypnotherapy on him as an experiment. After a ten minute session Terry asked him what he had experienced.

He replied, "Nothing really, only stupid imagination. I heard you telling me to take my Astral body out of my physical body and go and visit my brother. I felt myself leaving my body, then I saw my brother, who was with my mother and my other brother. It was only imagination."

Terry got John to phone his brother, who lived 40 miles away, and to ask him what he had been doing for the last ten or fifteen minutes. John was staggered to find out it was exactly as he had seen and heard while under hypnotherapy.

Because of this John agreed to another session but this time, to make sure Terry wasn't cheating, he chose a friend who wasn't known to the hypnotherapist.

Again, to John's bewilderment, what he saw and heard under hypnotherapy checked out. He had seen his friend in a building which he himself had never visited, yet he described it all perfectly.

There were several more sessions and then Terry 'sent' John to see his dead father, who had died many years earlier.

The whole 'visit' lasted under two minutes. Afterwards he was asked what he had seen.

John, who was accompanied by his mother at the session, replied with tears in his eyes, "Mam, you have no need to worry, Dad is very happy and has no marks on his face, he looks beautiful, no marks whatsoever, not even lines or wrinkles, he looks much younger than when he died."

It seems that John's father had marks on his face through coal mine injuries.

John continued, "I went and knelt before him, my father put his hand on my shoulder and then seemed to go into me and I became part of him. I am surprised beyond words that I was only there for minutes, as I felt that I was there for what I can only describe as a thousand years, a long, long time. I saw many wonders, things I could never imagine, I was told so much, but I knew I would remember nothing of these wonders on my return. The only thing I remember is my father fetching me and putting me back in my body."

I don't want to make this post too long but in further hypnotherapy sessions John recorded previous lives and even the moment of death in one of them. He is on tape as saying, "I'm laying here bad, aren't I? My heart has stopped beating, I feel myself going cold, my heart is going hard. I am dead! ... I am looking down hearing and watching my family grieve over me, but I feel no grief, I am happy."

John is also said to have made visits to Mars and the Moon via hypnotherapy.

As I often say, it's up to the individual as to what he or she makes of this post. Rubbish or an element of truth?

Imagine though, if we could all fully believe that we aren't bound by distance or time and that life is eternal.

Further Reading:
Near Death Experience Changes Woman's Life
The Reincarnation Of James Fletcher
Speaking To My Dead Father

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Friday, June 18

Clairvoyants Just Can't Read Me

Clairvoyant with crystal ballYears back, in my experimental days, I went to see quite a few clairvoyants to see what they could tell me. Could they inform me or give me signs of the future? Would they come up with something that they couldn't possibly have known about me beforehand?

Unfortunately, in my case, the answer to both questions was 'no' - and being a 'believer' I was greatly disappointed.

I reached a conclusion that perhaps I'm a difficult person to read, perhaps I'm too guarded. I say this because one clairvoyant looked at my hand with a puzzled look, then moved on to cards and finally said words to the effect of, "Sorry, but I can't tell you anything as I'm not picking up a thing."

This worried me slightly as I thought there might be something she was hiding from me, but she assured me there wasn't any bad news - or good news - because she just couldn't see anything at all. This didn't exactly fill me with confidence. She did say, however, that I was psychic. She smiled, held her hand over mine and asked if I could feel her energy. It could perhaps have been a lovely moment but I thought I had better leave!

I then went to see Acora who describes himself as a 'world renowned Romany clairvoyant' and was recommended to me. He saw stuff, but it had no relevance to me and nothing he said has ever come true.

He told me, for instance, that I would soon move into property developing and would own houses which I would rent out. Sounded good but then, by 'coincidence', I got talking to another man who had seen Acora as well and guess what he was told? Yes, that he'd move into property etc.

The thing about both of us was that, when we saw Acora for a reading, we were both dressed in business suits and ties and carrying brief cases - enough said.

I had my tea leaves read. A sweet old woman who told me I must be careful when I go potholing. Potholing! There's nothing I'm less likely to do. I hate the thought of squeezing into confined spaces.

And so it went on.

There was a Tarot lady, again a personable woman, but all she could end up telling me was that all that really matters is happiness. Might have been relevant I suppose but there were no predictions.

I don't know how many clairvoyants I saw but none of them could say what I'd done in the past, what my future holds or anything worthwhile.

Maybe it's just me. My wife went to see someone, when we first met, and she was told things about me (is nothing sacred!) that were true and also that she could see us, as a couple, in a white car with a small boy in the back seat. We had a son twelve months later, and a new white car.

Sceptics will say that my wife gave away clues whereas I didn't. Could be, but I'm still convinced that we can see possible avenues for our lives in advance - after all there is no such thing as time. We still have a certain control as to whether we take the full journey down these avenues or not.

I've been able to see things myself into the future in dreams, in meditations and with feelings just out of the blue.

I guess the clairvoyants I saw just couldn't read me.

Further Reading:
Dreaming Winners
A Dream That came True

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Thursday, June 17

Portuguese Secret Organisation Coincidence

A strange coincidence which whimsically asks if there is a secret Portuguese organisation who try to scam girls out of $250. Thanks for the story, Belinda.

clip art Portuguese man"A while back I had a boyfriend who was Portuguese and was employed as a Tech Support Worker. He still lived at home with his mom, together with his eight year old sister. He owned a peculiar necklace, which he said was the only one of its kind. It was a piece of round glass with a translucent picture of an eye.

On my birthday he generously - or so I thought - bought me a laptop. Problem was, a little later, he asked if I would give him $250 as he was unable to keep up the payments on the computer.

We soon parted company following this.

Moving forward three years I met a great guy at a party. On our first date I found out he was a Portuguese Tech Support Worker who lived with his mom and eight year old sister! But that's not all.

A couple of weeks after this he took me to his dad's autoshop and hanging on the wall was the exact same necklace that my previous boyfriend owned. He then had the audacity to ask if I would give him $250 because he was broke.

What I'm wondering is: Was all this a coincidence or is there some sort of secret organisation of Portuguese Tech Support Workers who scam girls in to giving them $250!"

- Belinda.

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Wednesday, June 16

Senior Citizens Lottery Agony

UK National LotteryIn life things happen for a reason, even if we don't fully understand what these actually are. A coincidence may bring about something very special but the opposite is also true. Sometimes life may appear to give us a bit of a knock. Take the story of senior citizen Robert Guest for instance.

Mr Guest played the twice weekly UK National Lottery without fail every week, and had been doing so for the best part of ten years. Each entry had exactly the same numbers, I guess he looked on these as his lucky numbers.

When the mid week lottery draw took place on television he could hardly believe his eyes - there they were - his numbers. He had hit the big time and could see himself on holidays, in plush cars and restaurants. Then later a thought hit him like a bolt of lightning ... he didn't have a ticket for this draw!

Mr.Guest explained, "When they (the numbers) came up, I saw I had three, I had four, I had five, I had the bonus ball. I went through my pockets and through my drawers searching for the tickets. I hoped I hadn't lost them. It took me about an hour, then I remembered that I hadn't put them on."

Yes, the senior citizen had missed out on winning over £125,000 (about $200,000) and was heartbroken. He said, "It's an awful experience. It's just got me down and I'm all on edge." The 67 year old from Spital Tongues, Newcastle says he has lost over 9lbs in weight through stress and worrying about what has happened.

So why did he forget to buy his regular lottery tickets? Because he had to go to the doctors, that's why.

He was running late and everything seemed to be against him. There was a long queue at the newsagents, where he always bought his ticket, so he rushed to another shop, but that also had a queue. Worried about being late for his appointment he told himself that he would buy the ticket after he had seen the doctor - but he didn't.

The retired pipe fitter said, "I was in a hurry to get to the doctors and afterwards my mind just went completely blank."

But he still has his dreams. Mr Guest has vowed to continue with his regular lottery numbers until he hits the Big One.

It does make me wonder though: was there a reason why he missed out on buying his regular lottery ticket? It's strange how, at times, we are just like flotsam riding the waves of coincidence and circumstance.

Further Reading:
The Bulgarian Lottery Coincidence

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Tuesday, June 15

Captain David Perry And His Near Death Experience

I came across this Near Death Experience (NDE) when I was doing some research on my surname Perry. The story is about the recollections of an old officer, a Captain David Perry, who lived way back (1741 to 1826). He was involved, as a soldier, in both the French and Revolutionary wars of that period. He kept the experience of his NDE to himself for thirty years.

The following is Captain Perry's story in his own words, in the style of that time - he seems to have liked very long sentences!

18th century sea captain (for David Perry post"While I was on board the vessel, it appears to me that I died - that I went through the excruciating pains of the separating of soul and body, as completely as ever I shall again, (and such a separation must soon take place) and that I was immediately conveyed to the gate of Heaven, and was going to pass in; but was told by one, that I could not enter then, but in process of time, if I would behave as he directed, on the set time I should have admittance.

It appeared to me that my feet stood on a firm foundation, and that I stood there for the space of about a half hour. In this time there appeared to be a continual flowing up of people, as we suppose they die; and none stopped, but all passed off, one way or the other.

Just at my left hand, there appeared to be the opening of a great gulph, and the greater part of the grown people seemed to pass off there. Once in a while one passed through the gate into the Holy City.

One person appeared, with whom I had been intimately acquainted, and it appeared to me that I knew him as well as ever I did: it was Doct. Matthews - [and whether I saw him or not, he died, as I afterwards learned, while I was sick on board the ship].

The one that talked with me, told me about the Revolutionary War, and showed me the British vessels in the harbor of Boston, as plainly as I saw them when they came. And during the first year of that war, I was down there in Gen. Putnam's regiment, and I went on Roxbury hill to see the shipping in the harbour, and they looked exactly as they had been shown to me many years before.

This transition (as I firmly believe) from life to death, and from death to life, which took place nearly sixty years ago, is as fresh in my mind now as it was then; and not many days have passed from that time to this, which have not brought the interesting scenes I then witnessed, clearly to view in my mind. But I never dared to say any thing about it, for a great many years afterwards, for fear of being ridiculed. But about the [last of February or first of January, 1763], peace was declared between England, France and Spain, and the people rejoiced exceedingly on account of it.

I told them we should have another war soon. They asked me why I thought so. I told them the British had settled peace with their foreign enemies, but they could not long live in peace, and they would come against us next. But I never told my own wife, nor any other person, of what happened to me on board the vessel, as above related, for nearly thirty years afterwards."

More info on Captain David Perry

Source: The Captain David Perry Web Site, © 1999 by Denise G. Jones, Chapter 5 - Used by Permission.

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Monday, June 14

Time Coincidences

Mon, Apr. 11, 1927:
THE SPINACH COINCIDENCE

"My husband likes spinach served at all meals," said a Chicago woman.

"So does mine. Isn't that a funny coincidence?" replied her friend.

It was neither funny nor a coincidence, as these two women soon found — for they were both married to the same man, one Peter Trapani, bigamist.
Source
A few short stories about coincidences with thanks, from the archives of Time Magazine.

Friday, Oct. 06, 1967
THE COINCIDENCE OF THE STOPPED CLOCKS


One day in February 1966, in his Cambridge, England, apartment, the Rt. Rev. James A. Pike found his clocks stopped at 8:19 — the hour corresponding to the time when his son, James Jr., had shot himself to death in New York City two weeks earlier.

The strange coincidence, according to Pike, was accompanied by other unexplained phenomena: his books were mysteriously moved from place to place; clusters of safety pins appeared "where they had not been before, all open to the position that the hands of a clock are in at 8:19."

The Rev. Pike concluded,
"I feel that it is James who communicates with me."
Source

Monday, Jun. 15, 1925
HOLE IN ONE COINCIDENCE


At Ramsgate, England, one Gwendoline Clutterbuck played golf against a certain Mrs. H. M. Robinson on the St. Augustine Links. Miss Clutterbuck executed the 15th hole (110 yards) in a single stroke. So also did Mrs. Robinson.
Source

Monday, Mar. 21, 1994
ART IMITATES NEAR DEATH


As Nirvana's lead singer, Kurt Cobain, recovered last week from a drug-induced coma, fans took grim note of a song the band contributed to the Beavis and Butt-head Experience album. The title: I Hate Myself and Want to Die. For an even more bizarre coincidence (or prophecy?), they might check out the title of the forthcoming album by Cobain's wife Courtney Love: Live Through This.
Source

Policeman cartoonMonday, Aug. 30, 1937
COINCIDENCE OF THE WEEK


The coincidence is that there were two similar stories in the same week.

The first:
A rookie State patrolman, feeling his authority, stopped a tourist car which was several inches out of the right highway lane.

"Where are you from?" he demanded.

"Cincinnati," replied the tourist.

The new officer smiled triumphantly. "Well, buddy, suppose you explain why you've got Ohio tags on your car."

And the second story:
A traffic policeman in the town of North Woodstock, New Hampshire, stopped a car for speeding. The driver was a woman. "Where you from?" the cop demanded. "Philadelphia," replied the lady. The cop put on a wise look and nodded his head. "Oh, so you're from Philadelphia, eh?" he said, sarcastically. "Well, if you're from Philadelphia, whatcha doin' with them Pennsylvania licence plates?"
Source

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Sunday, June 13

Thought Of The Day


The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible.
-Arthur C Clarke

Photo: Sidney Sock Goes Missing

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Saturday, June 12

Coincidences On The Phone

A couple of coincidences today which involve phone calls. Thanks JC.

AA vanThe first is one that was on UK television a while back and is about a guy who works for the AA - this is the Automobile Association as opposed to Alcoholics Anonymous.

He was out for a walk in the middle of nowhere when a public phone box he was passing started to ring. He thought he might as well answer the phone and when he did so was shocked to find that the caller was his dispatcher from the AA.

It seems she had meant to call his mobile phone number but absent mindedly had rung his staff number instead - which just happened to be the number of the phone box he was walking past.
Anniversary GraphicsIt was the wedding anniversary of John Davis' parents, who live in Wales, and he had forgotten to send a card or any flowers. So he wouldn't be too much in their bad books he sent them a text until he could phone them properly later in the day.

Later that afternoon he received a phone call from his next door neighbour, who he didn't really know that well, and he thanked him for sending a message of congratulations for his anniversary.

To say this puzzled John is putting it mildly. Firstly he didn't have his neighbour's number in his mobile's memory, secondly he didn't know it was his neighbour's anniversary and thirdly the text message had got through okay to his parents. He has no idea as to how the same text message was somehow sent to his neighbour.
Further Reading:
Dreaming Of A Phone Number Led To Romance

Friday, June 11

General Montgomery's Double In WW2

General MontgomeryDoubles always interest me and they often go to show why we can't always believe what we see.

Take the famous deception caused in the Second World War by Monty's Double. Monty being General Montgomery (photo top right) the British soldier who was the commander-in-chief of all ground forces for the Normandy landings in 1944.

Security chiefs hatched a plan to delude the German forces that Montgomery was going to lead an invasion from southern France, rather than from Normandy. They decided to do this by using a double.

Lieutenant M.E. Clifton JamesLieutenant Clifton James (photo right), by some strange coincidence, just happened to be the spitting image of Monty. James was seconded into action and his first job was to study the general's voice, gestures and mannerisms including the way he saluted and pinched his cheek while thinking.

By another coincidence James was previously an actor, so he had an advantage in trying to become Montgomery's lookalike. The only thing that bothered him was trying to fully capture the general's personality. He later wrote in his book I was Monty's Double, "He was so unique and overpowering that I despaired ever being him. It was one thing to ape the outside of a man, but quite another to acquire something of his fire and forcefulness."

Lieutenant Clifton James needn't have worried as he perfected everything and flew to Gibraltar as General Montgomery. Here he was greeted by the British Governor and by 'coincidence' also to several of Hitler's known secret agents.

He did a repeat performance in Algiers where he met - and was cheered by - British troops. News of Monty's whereabouts and plans travelled fast and were passed back to the German High Command via their 'secret' agents. The Germans had been taken in by a believable double.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Further Reading:
The Advantage Of Being Mistaken For Someone Else
Abraham Lincoln Describes His Own Doppelganger
A Double Or Doppelganger Coincidence

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Thursday, June 10

Small Coincidences Which Make Up a Day

Nothing too dramatic for this post, just a few 'small' coincidences I've noticed so far today.

Firstly, I went to the Reuters website to do a little research for something I'm doing and the first article I read had been edited by 'Michael Perry', which is my name (see below) - though I'm often called Mike or Mick or even Mickey.

editied by Michael PerryAfterwards I went to the Stumbleupon website where one of my posts had been listed. I have written previously on Coincidence Of Lucky Numbers that a significant number in my life is 76.

The post I was looking for on Stumbleupon was one I had written about my dead father and a voice I had heard. The number of people who had read the post from Stumbleupon was 76, and this sent a shiver up my spine - a message perhaps?

Speaking to my dead fatherFirst thing this morning I weighed myself and for the first time for a while my weight was 11 stones 11 pounds - so the scales showed 11:11.

Later in the morning I mowed the lawn in my back garden and after finishing and going indoors the time on my clock was 11:11.

Much has been written about the significance of 11:11 including on the Synchronicity blog.

At lunch time I read in my newspaper about coincidences. They gave an example: "On the seventh day of the seventh month (July) of 1977, a woman named Mrs Severn became 77!" Not exactly mind blowing but the article went on about odds and the law of averages. For instance:

How many people are needed in a group before there is a 50-50 probability of two of them sharing the same day and month of birth? Commonsense may suggest 365 people; yet statistically this coincidence is likely to occur when only 22 people are gathered together.

After lunch my wife mentioned that she hadn't heard from one of her old dressmaking clients, Bunty, for years and wondered where she was now living. Yes, you've guessed. A little while later, the phone rang and it was Bunty.

Wonder what'll happen next today?

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Wednesday, June 9

Can We Be In Two Places At Once?

GoetheI've mentioned doppelgangers previously but people also talk about phantasms or bilocation and these often sound very similar.

Let's look at dictionary definitions -

Phantasms: Something seen but having no physical reality; a phantom or apparition

Doppelganger: A ghostly double of a living person, especially one that haunts its fleshly counterpart.

Bilocation: Existence or the ability to exist simultaneously in two places.

Phantasms are recorded throughout history. Goethe, for example, mentions this in his autobiography and gives instances where he experienced this himself.

Goethe was riding alone after saying goodbye to his girlfriend, okay he actually called her a sweetheart as was done in those days. Anyway, there he was, on the road in Alsace when he saw 'with eyes of the spirit' his own apparition coming towards him wearing a gold and grey suit - very trendy at the time.

Eight years later he was on his way to visit the same girl, obviously a steady sweetheart. He passed a certain spot on the same road and realised he was wearing a gold and grey suit.

His conclusion was that eight years previously he had seen his future self. He defined the sighting as a mental image rather than anything real. So was this a doppelganger, phantasm or an instance of bilocation. I'd plump for phantasm - maybe a precognitive phantasm.

Another strange case from the past was that of Emilee Sagee who was born in Dijon, France. She actually got the push from a job virtually every year for being in two places at once.

In one instance, while a teacher at Neuwelcke, she was writing on the blackboard and her pupils were amazed to see that there were two Emilee Sagee's standing next to each other.

On another occasion Emilee was in the garden and, as it was such a sunny day, her students asked if they could have the lessons outside. So off she went to get the headmistress's approval while the girls returned to their classroom.

Suddenly the figure of Emily was seen sitting in the teacher's chair. Two of the children tried to touch her and one claimed to have walked right through her. They said that she felt like soft muslin.

Needless to say, this unsettled the pupils and once again Ms. Sagee was out of a job.

Phantasm, doppelganger or bilocation? Whatever, it shows that sometimes we may be able to wander off somewhere else, or even into the future, while remaining where we are. It's daydreaming taken to another level or maybe the astral body is just doing it's own thing.

In Emilee Sagee's case these phantasms or doppelgangers happened while she was tired or absent minded and not when she was in robust health and absorbed with her duties.

Over 80 years ago, scientists discovered that it is possible to be in two locations at the same time — at least for an atom or a subatomic particle, such as an electron. So why not us?

Further Reading:
Abraham Lincoln Describes His Own Doppelganger
Double Or Doppelganger Coincidence

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