“I know what you’re thinking…but you shouldn’t do anything desperate.”

I’m nineteen and just started college. In my first day of class, I had a most intriguing experience.

I was sitting in my psychology class, and the instructor started talking about metaphysics, ESP, mind reading, etc.  It really wasn’t part of the class curriculum, but it was apparent that the subject fascinated him.

He explained how a person could be more receptive to the thoughts of others if we just relaxed and let our instincts take over.  As he was talking, I decided I’d give it a try.  I breathed deeply, relaxed my shoulders…and was shocked when I “heard” the thoughts of the person sitting next to me.  It was the weirdest experience.

He was thinking about how disappointed his parents would be if he did poorly in college, perhaps even flunking out.  At first I was amused by his insecurity, but then I started visualizing objects that scared me.  I saw a pistol, a knife…and then I imagined him standing on a tall bridge looking down onto raging waters.

Well, I didn’t say anything to him that day.  I didn’t know him, and I didn’t want him to think I was nuts.  After all, I was just starting out in college, living away from home for the first time, not knowing anyone…  And here I was, thinking the guy next to me was going to kill himself.  It was surreal.

During the next few lectures, I didn’t pick up on his thoughts again, and I started to convince myself that I had merely let my imagination run away with me.  But then on the fourth or fifth lecture it happened again.

This time he wasn’t sitting next to me, but I could see him sitting a few rows in front of me, and I could feel his anxiety, his panic.  When the lecture ended, I found myself walking up to him, saying hello and asking him which way he was headed after class.

Even though I was going the opposite way, I started walking with him.  And suddenly I blurted out, “I know what you’re thinking, that you’re scared and afraid you’ll disappoint your folks, but you shouldn’t do anything desperate.”

He stopped in his tracks and asked how I knew.  I could also see that he was somehow relieved of a weight that was resting on his shoulders.  I also instantly liked him.

I explained that something like this had never happened to me before, but I was certain I had picked up on his thoughts.  He confessed that everything I had said was true, that he was worried sick.

I made him promise that he wouldn’t do anything that was stupid.  He smiled and thanked me for caring about what might happen to a complete stranger.  He said I must be a good person because few others would have done what I did.

Since then, we’re become friends and it does appear we’re on the same wavelength.  He sometimes picks up on my thoughts but it doesn’t happen very often.

Ava Marzen
Ann Arbor, MI

“I felt a pair of eyes staring at me”

I’m a twenty-five year old woman, single and to be frank, I have a difficult time attracting men.  Well, eligible men, I should add.  Somehow the wrong type of guy seems to be “turned on” by me, but I’m sick and tired of getting “worked over” by these fellas if you know what I mean.  Not in a physical sense, but by them not being honest with their intentions.

However, the other day as I was taking a casual stroll around the Whole Foods Market, I felt a pair of eyes staring at me.  When I looked up, I saw this very nicely dressed man smiling at me.  At first I started walking away.  I guess that’s my normal instinct, to run when I’m not sure what to say or do.  But I forced myself to stop, turned around and smiled back.

Well, he turned out to be the nicest guy I’ve met in some time, and in the few short days we’ve known each other, we’ve talked on the phone for hours.  We’ve been out every evening since that eventful day at Whole Foods.

So what’s so strange about this potentially great relationship, and why am I writing the California Astrology Association to get my story published?

I dreamed about it the night before we met.  I admit the man in my dreams didn’t look at all like Arthur, but I did dream about a man standing beside a beautiful stack of oranges.  And so help me, that’s exactly when I spotted Arthur for the first time.

In fact, Arthur had already picked several and was standing there, smiling at me, holding the plastic bag of oranges.

Sarah Birnbaum
Kansas City, MO

“She gripped the steering wheel, and for a moment I thought we were going to crash.”

My name is Jacob and I’ve been interested in parapsychology ever since I was a kid.  Because my intuition is so highly developed, sometimes I feel as if I’m from another planet.

Growing up I remember my mother occasionally asking me if my dad had left work yet.  If I saw a vision of him walking into a store, I would tell her he would surprise her with some chocolates.  As I recall, she never was surprised when my predictions were right on target.  In her later years, she would tell me that my intuition – my psychic abilities – were evident to her even when I was still in the crib.

I have been married three times and divorced three times.  I have six kids and one of them, Seth, has similar abilities to mine.  He and I still play gin rummy together and give each other a look as if to say we know what cards the other person needs.  I still sense when he’ll call seconds before the phone rings.  He tells me he has the same experience.

My wives had mixed feelings about my ability to read their minds.  On the one hand they thought it was “cute;” on the other hand, none of my wives could keep a secret for long.

For instance, my first wife, Kathy, had an affair, and although I knew what was going on, I never revealed it.  That is, until one afternoon when we were driving to a friend’s house.  She happened to mention that I wasn’t as intuitive as I thought I was, and that I often overestimated my talent.

That’s when I dropped the bombshell and told her whom she was seeing and for how long it was going on.  She gripped the steering wheel and for a moment I thought we were going to crash.

J. Erland
Louisville, KY

“My impish nine year old had a bit of the soothsayer in him.”

It was the middle of February and I was daydreaming how nice it would be to spend a week or two in sunny California.

It was a particularly miserable winter in Chicago, and I yearned to get out of town.  My wife had called a few minutes earlier and alerted me to a problem our youngest boy was having in school.

Turns out he was in trouble with the same teacher again, and we wondered if he was alienating her or perhaps she somehow had it in for our boy.  After all, Dustin was a quiet kid who wouldn’t hurt a fly, and he was the last person we’d thought who would cause trouble.

When I returned home that night, Dustin and I had a “man to man” talk, and I was shocked by what he told me.  My impish nine year old had a bit of the soothsayer in him.  It seems he was constantly interrupting the teacher by shouting out the answer before she opened her mouth to ask the question.

I told my wife about this, and after having a good laugh, we thought it best to ask Dustin’s teacher if this was indeed true.  Well, it turns out that Mrs. Miller was at her wits end because she said our kid somehow was getting “into her head” and would interrupt her time and time again with something she was about to say.

Fortunately, Mrs. Miller had a good sense of humor, and she admitted she wished she had Dustin’s ability to read minds.  She said Dustin was a good boy and she’d figure out how to cope with his “talent.”

She also told me something about Dustin that I’ll never forget.  A few days earlier, he had shouted out “fire drill” only a second before the alarm rang.  Mrs. Miller said the school principal had alerted her that there would be a fire drill that day but hadn’t informed her of the exact time.  “Apparently,” she said, “I should have asked Dustin.  He would have told me.”

R. McGurthy
Tucson, AZ

Can you guess who it is?

This man was born Ehrich Weiss March 24, 1874 in Budapest, Hungary. Ashamed of his birthplace, he later claimed to have been born in Appleton, Wisconsin.

His family was poor and at the age of eight, he went to work to help pay the bills. He sold newspapers and shined shoes until age12, when he left home and began performing magic, calling himself “Eric, the Great.”

He was a mere 5’5″ with a high-pitched voice, but was extremely athletic and charismatic

Soon he became famous worldwide when he astonished audiences with his incredible feats.

In 1926, a member of the audience asked if he could punch the magician in the stomach to test his tolerance for pain. A few single blows caused his appendix to rupture.  Despite the pain, he continued to perform several shows but after one final performance in Michigan, he collapsed and was rushed to a local hospital.

Both of his homes, in New York and Los Angeles are currently said to be haunted by his ghostly spirit, even though one of them burned down after his death.

Harry Houdini died October 31, 1926 of peritonitis.

“He said, ‘Go back to your mother now.'”

Bernard had come down with cancer and his health was failing rapidly.  He was only forty-five years old and up to that time he had been quite active and in good health.

One Saturday morning, Bernard told his son Johnny to go out and play, that he was feeling weak and needed some sleep. The eight year old nodded and went out to the back yard to play on the swing set.

No sooner had Johnny sat down on the swing, he noticed his father walking out the yard and down the road.  “Daddy, daddy,” he called after him.  At first, the man didn’t turn or even acknowledge his son’s call.

Johnny started to run after him.  Bernard stopped slowly and said, “It’s OK.  Go back to your mother now.”

Johnny ran into the house but was met by his mother who he noticed had tears in her eyes.  “It’s better you not come in right now,” she said.  Then she went on to explain that his father isn’t in pain anymore and that he had passed away.

“But I just saw him,” cried the little boy.  “I did, too,” said his mother.  Apparently, she had seen the vision of Bernard walking out of the house, and a few moments later, Johnny saw his father walking down the road.

She reports that from time to time when she is in the kitchen she can see his vision in the garden.  “It only occurs for a few seconds, and then I can’t see him anymore.  I think he comes to check on us, to see if we’re OK.  That’s the way he was in real life, and I think he’s showing me he still cares for us.”

M. Marquais
Albuquerque, NM