Slipping Between Worlds
I was doing a web search on parallel dimensions, and the possibility of an individual just "slipping" between close by worlds, when I happened upon your site. I am slowly becoming convinced that not only is such slippage possible, but it has happened to me and those close to me on several occasions. My experiences suggest that this might be a common occurrence for many people, but the majority just don't realize it.
Many of my experiences revolve around public personages who "died" in my memory, but then "came back" at a later time. I'll begin with those. I remember these events most clearly, as they always came with a report on network news or CNN.
1. Burgess Meridith, movie veteran and known as "the Penguin" on the 60's-era "Batman" series, "died", in my memory, in 1985 - but in 1992, he was still doing voice-overs for Honda commercials.
2. James ("Scotty") Doohan, "died" of congestive heart failure, in summer, 1995, as reported on CNN. I distinctly recall this, as I am a big "Trek" fan, and it also happened around the same time as Christopher Reeve's equestrian accident that left him paralyzed. A year later, I saw Mr. Doohan in a commercial for Radio Shack. He lives to this day.
3. A weird one: There was a report on the web of Victor Mature dying in the fall of 1999. But as I remember it, he "died" many years earlier, in 1973! How do I know? As a student at Portland State University in the spring of 1974, the student newspaper conducted a hoax in which they claimed a war (WWII) movie was going to be filmed on the PSU campus, where they would close off the park blocks and recreate a war scene. Victor Mature was to be the star.
They were supposedly looking for extras, and encouraged their readers to participate. Hundreds fell for it. When the hoax was revealed, one of the key "traps" was that Mature had indeed died the year previously, and it was partly a test of how well the typical student kept up with current events. They even reprinted the obit. I have tried to find a copy of the paper, but have lost it - plan to research the archives next time I'm in Portland. (But if I've crossed universes, what will be the odds of me finding anything??)
4. This just happened TODAY, and prompted my web search out of exasperation: Now I recall that Ustinov "died" in the early 90's, '92 or '93, from the usual causes of that age group. That is just the "dying-not-dying" experiences. I have two others I wish to share:
1. In the spring of 1999, when I was first getting involved with my future bride, she owned a small home in Syracuse, NY, about a 4-hour jaunt from her apt. in NYC. Our normal route extended along NYS Hwy. 17, as far as Binghamton, where we merged northward on Interstate 81 towards Syr.
The first time we made this trip together, it was about 10PM when we reached that particular junction. It had been a long work day, we were a bit tired, and nature was calling badly. Therefore, we were VERY glad to see, within a mile of the junction on I-81, a rest area, where we could stop a bit before continuing on. Seems innocuous, except in all the trips to Syracuse SINCE that time, we have never again seen that rest area!
We both remember it clearly, and can even point to the place where it was - today there is an empty space with a frontage road paralleling it. No closed exits, no signs of demolition, just high grass and highway - as though it never existed. My wife also claims she had seen it another time in the past, prior to our getting together. There is another rest area to be sure - but it's about 50 miles further up the road, and it doesn't have the same layout as the one in our memory. Full bladders tend to sharpen the senses!
2. This happened last October, on a warm Saturday afternoon. We were waiting for the Metro North train at the Spuyten Duyvil station, inbound for mid-town Manhattan (we live in Riverdale, in the west Bronx, overlooking the Hudson River). The station platform overlooks a unique spot, a section of the Bronx/East River that merges with the Hudson further north. A railroad bridge spans the junction, which needs to be opened to allow boats to pass.
We were alone on the platform. Directly ahead of us, in the river, was a small boat with a small outboard engine. The engine was silent, the occupant, a male in his 30's was casually fishing. Moments later, an empty train passed by, not stopping, temporarily obscuring our view of the river. The train only took perhaps 10-15 seconds to pass. However, when our view of the river returned, the boat was gone! It was as though it had never been there.
The view if the river is very clear for hundreds of yards in each direction, with no hidden inlets to hide a boat in. Even so, in 15 seconds, the man would have had to reel in his line, fire up his outboard engine (a very small one, at that), and go at top speed beyond the bridge to the north, for us to not see him. The bridge would have had to open to let him thru. Even had he done that, he would have left behind smoke, noise, and a wake. There were none of these things.
This was weirding us out, to be sure, but it gets weirder. A few minutes later, our train arrived. We picked our seats, and took one last look at the water thru the window... ....only to see the boat again, in exactly the same place, with the fellow still fishing! Not only that, there was a SECOND boat, with two MORE occupants, perhaps a dozen yards upstream! The river was devoid of any craft prior to the train's arrival.
That was when the hairs really began to stand up. It's one thing to have a dead guy come back to live a year later, but to
have your universe change - twice - in front of your eyes, is extremely disturbing.
There are other small things going on as well, on occasion, that I have noted, since that time, but it may be because I am developing a
heightened awareness of such things. Do you know others who have these experiences? What do you think it
means??
Thanks for reading,
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NOTE: A couple of days after receiving the above note, I received the following from the gentleman's wife and she continues to relate interesting stories about "slipping".
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Mr. Jefferson,
My husband, shared his recent correspondence to you about "parallel" universe experiences, a few of which I have personally witnessed. While perusing your website, and reflecting on the events he previously described, other "happenings" came to mind. These events occurred only after meeting my now husband.
I preface my recount of the following "events" with a statement that I consider myself a "rational" thinker, appreciative of the logical scientific process to establish "truths". My medical career has provided many opportunities to witness both the efficiency of medical "science" and the miracles of the unknown human spirit at work during physical "healing". Ergo,
I remain "open" to a spiritual or "other" psychic presence, yet suspect of many "supernatural" claims. It is therefore unsettling, interesting, perplexing, intriguing and sometimes frustrating when I personally experience "unexplained" perceptions or changes in my otherwise "orderly" world.
1) Shortly after meeting my husband, during one of his visits to my apartment, I listened as my answering machine picked up a message in the other room. I heard a hauntingly distinctive voice calling his name "Tom" softly, yet distinctly. This was before he moved into the apartment and not on HIS phone line.
He had not given my telephone number to anyone as a contact. In fact, since the day he moved in, he has had his own telephone account and separate telephone number. Initially, I avoided referencing the "voice", thinking it was only my imagination. A few moments later, Tom asked if I had heard his name being called. His acknowledgment sent chills up my spine, as I had already convinced myself of this auditory impossibility.
2) Again, in our initial "courting" days, I was with my now husband during "happy hour" at a pub downtown Manhattan. At one point he left for the men's room leaving his briefcase beside me. His attaché is a hard leather rectangle with a gold colored "lock" at the handle. While glancing around the room, I was drawn to the briefcase, located in rather dark area next to foot rail under the bar.
Incredibly, I saw the gold area and small locks "glowing" with iridescent neon colors, flashing as it were, in some type of rotating pattern. The area and parts of the lock were highlighted as if 3-D or as a "hologram". I was mesmerized and shaken. I tried to make sense of the lighting, looking for potential reflection of lights from some source. I simply could not believe the "living" nature of what I was seeing. I immediately wondered if too many Martini's caused a visual disturbance (still a plausible rationale).
I also remember feeling "vulnerable" and totally alone as the world around me remained animated and totally non plused by the glowing from the briefcase, all too obvious to me. My reactionary thinking (perhaps base instinctive survival instinct) questioned who my "date" truly was. I remember thinking that one who possesses such a "glowing" thing, might not be who he said he was, perhaps working in a high tech covert operation, and/or possibly dangerous. The glowing stopped immediately upon his return.
This I found extremely frustrating, as I had no one to witness what I saw. I know him well enough now to realize that he is not a covert operator and certainly not dangerous, but such were my immediate reactions to the situation. My husband offers that perhaps the "flashing" was a benevolent spirit attempting to reach or communicate. Okay, perhaps for there is no definitive answer.
I recognize that I normally do not have the extraordinary "artistic" vision to create Picasso like interpretations. Perhaps, as I was feeling "high" both from alcohol and the exhilaration of a new relationship, I had a momentary "peak" experience. I will never know why I saw what I did, but that memory is very clear today, nearly two years later.
3) During a late summer evening just after dusk (several months after the "briefcase" incident) my husband's then 10 year old daughter and I were sitting on the terrace of our NYC apartment. We were chatting while watching the feline chase a plastic ball across the terrace floor.
All of a sudden a translucent beam of light flashed across the top of the terrace railing, circled around the wall, and floor and flew off the side of the building. The cat was immediately attracted and tried in vain to "catch" the ball of light. The 10 year old stopped talking and looked at me. After a momentary hesitation, she asked " What was that?"
I desperately wanted an answer to the 10 year olds question. But, our terrace faces the Hudson River and there is little reflection from surrounding buildings. The light itself was not typical of a reflection from a window closing, flashlight passing by, or other possible sources, but rather a ball of golden glow of separate, self contained energy. I could not find a source, possibly from a passing boat on the river (none seen), and overhead airplane (not observed), or from the building next door. The cat continued to watch the location where the light had disappeared, yet I saw nothing. This has not occurred since, although at times I find myself expect it's return.
We are looking forward to following your work.