It's All About Connections

I have to come to believe in the interconnectedness of everything. I don't pretend to know exactly how all this is accomplished, but being unable to explain everything doesn't bother me.

I have written before about the remarkable coincidences and connection between twins, for example the well-known case of the Jim Twins. Guy Lyon Playfair has written an interesting book titled Twin Telepathy which is worth a read.

Now comes the interesting story of  twins Sarah Mariuz and Leah Rodgers who gave birth to their babies on the same day (last Thursday) at the same time (1:18 a.m.). You can read all the interesting details by clicking this link.

When I was in college I had friends who were twins. That was probably my first fascination with twin-telepathy, as listened enthralled by their stories. These ladies were nearly identical and so similar in voice, mannerisms and personalities.

Some of the connections really blow the mind.

The Mind Is A Powerful Thing

Personal opinion warning: Because of the widespread and blatant fraud that surrounds so many professional psychics, fortune tellers and mediums, I don't have confidence in this aspect of the mysterious.  I believe in premonitions, intuition, bursts of insight, predictive dreams and prophetic visions. But it just seems to me that in my personal investigations of the matter, the pros have to resort to trickery in order to make and maintain a reputation.

The story I am about to relate, which was reported by the Associated Press back in 1965 and based on an article in the British Medical Journal, concerns a fortune teller who accurately predicted a woman's death.

The prediction was 38 years old when it came to pass. A five year old girl was told "you will die when you're 43." How nice to say such a thing to someone so young! Only that girl and her sister knew about this prophecy.

Fast forward 38 years and the little girl, now a woman, is facing a minor operation. Yet, having lived with the fortune teller's prediction, she confided to her sister that she felt she wouldn't wake up from the anesthesia. And when the day came for the operation the unnamed woman also told a nurse she was sure she was going to die.

Shortly after the operation was completed internal bleeding began and the woman lost consciousness and died. The doctors found no apparent reason that this happened.

The British Medical Association opined that

"There is no medical explanation to account for this. It seems rather like the case of natives who die on the date at the time which doctors predict."

Yes, I would say, exactly like that.

The doctors who performed the operation offered this:

"We wonder if the severe emotional tensions of this patient superimposed  physiological stress of the surgery had any bearing on her death."

Which brings me to the title of this post: The mind is a powerful thing.

Hey, I'm as skeptical as most people about such long term predictions. (Perhaps that's because I'm not a fatalist.) But here it is. Just as I firmly believe in the placebo effect, in mind over matter (to a reasonable extent), I believe a prediction like this can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Just as positive thoughts bring positive results, so negative thoughts bring about negative results.

The Long Arm Of Coincidence

The wit Mark Twain observed: "Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities, truth isn't."

Below is a very old newspaper clipping which expands on this thought. 

For those of us look at life, our own lives especially, and find that many of the incidents in it seem just too coincidental to be mere coincidence, we suspect there is purpose and intention. The general order of the universe is our basis for faith in the idea of a Supreme Intelligence behind it.

Life seems to have a flow, a tide if you will, within which one can swim according to or against. I'm not arguing that going with the flow of your life will mean everything is always hunky-dory. Life isn't that way in general. The price of admission to this fantastic experience is that there will highs along with lows, sadness alternating with gladness and dark places  here and there in the light places.

The patterns are all there. Our intuition can be our guide if sought and relied upon. Life has often been referred to as a game. How we play it has everything to do with how it plays out.

A House. A Prayer. A Voice.

Anecdotal evidence is suspect to many people. I've written often that for me it is the preponderance of the anecdotal evidence that moves me. That coupled with my personal experiences brings about  a sense of conviction. The more personally I know a person (or people) the more persuasive their anecdotes are.

In this post I want to relate a story about my former neighbors, a young couple raising a small family. They lived beside me for over a year, until they were notified their lease would not be renewed. This was sad for me because they were good neighbors and genuinely nice people.

The young man has an interesting and truly inspiring story. A recovering drug addict who found deliverance by calling on a higher power. A bad drug deal left him in the hospital at the point of death. His parents, ever supportive, placed him in a long term recovery program. He was able to get clean and so far stay clean. His wife is a sweet young lady who has been supportive. Together they have faced troubles in life with their often sick infant. But they are people who have come around to a faith worldview. They believe in and live accordingly to the power of prayer.

When they were told they would have to move, it seemed a dire situation. Money is tight because of medical expenses. At first their plan was to move in with his parents in order to put aside some money for another place. But the couple looked around anyway for another house.

The husband found one that seemed right, but would be a bit of a struggle on a tight budget. His wife was encouraged, but they both felt they should pray for guidance before moving in. While that was happening, the house was rented out. It was yet another disappointment in an increasing run.

And then one day as she was driving around the wife noticed a house for rent . She drove past at first, mindful of the recent disappointment and fairly resigned to moving in with the in-laws.  But a voice in her head kept telling her to go back. Heeding the voice she did go back to take a look and get the phone number.

It turned out the rent was much lower than what they had been paying here, lower than the first house they had looked at - so low, in fact, the couple feared there might problems with the house. After looking at the house and talking with the owners, it turned out to be a matter of the house needing a little work (which would be done along the way).

Problem solved. They could now move out before their lease expired. They would not have to move in with his parents, which is an important thing to any young people starting out in life. The lower rent still allowed them time to improve their financial situation.

The subject of religion is a touchy one. I sometimes think more people pray than are religious in the conventional sense of the word. And to me that's fine. Spirituality for me is not creeds and associations. For me, spirituality is about a deeper sense of living, a deeper sense of self and others, and a deeper appreciation for the Supreme Mind.

So I believe in the power of prayer. I believe in seeking and finding divine guidance in life. My life has improved dramatically since I left my former cynicism behind and allowed myself to explore the spiritual realm with an open mind. And personal experiences - especially those of people I know - strengthen my faith.

Sting Of The Butterfly

If there is one saying that sums up the career of the "dancing master" of boxing Muhammad Ali it is "float like a butterfly sting like a bee," as performed in the above video by Ali and his assistant trainer Drew "Bundini" Brown.

Yesterday as I was reading about plans for Ali's upcoming funeral I came across this story of the strangest coincidence.

In the late champ's hometown at the Ali Center where mourners were gathering, a swarm of bees had settled in a tree beside a sign carrying the famous float slogan. For pictures click this link.

Beekeeper Kevin McKinney, who had been called in to help, called the event an "exceptional coincidence."

But it was the CEO and president of the Ali Center Donald Lassere who perhaps put it in a better perspective:

"The Muhammad Ali Center has always experienced what we have come to know as, 'Muhammad Magic,' but I cannot even conceive as to the genesis of those bees. However, it's possible his spirit is watching over the center, and he is wanting his fans to know that he is still 'floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee.'"

Was that swarm off bees attracted by that "Muhammad Magic" in order to make a statement?