Are You Psychic?

Anyone out there posses psychic abilities? I think we all have a touch of mind-reading or sensitivity or whatever you want to call it. There's a great book called "The Sense of Being Stared At: And Other Aspects of the Extended Mind" which covers perceptions that don't relate to our senses. (I've read another of this author's books, one called "Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home" and it's fascinating.  They did controlled studies that proved our pets can sense when we're thinking about them and, literally, they know when we're on our way home to them.)

I've always had a mild touch of "knowing" some things. For example, I had a dream a couple of weeks ago that my  friend and fellow author Pam Cable had signed with an agent for her book.  I was going to dash her off a quick e-mail about it, but I was running late that morning and decided I didn't have time. Then a very strong inner voice told me to send the e-mail. I felt that Pam was going to contact me soon and tell me she had an agent and it wouldn't have been as impressive to say afterwards, "Oh yeah, I had a dream that happened." So I shot her a quick e-mail. She e-mailed back the same morning, stunned. She had just signed with an agent and had been planning on calling me later that day.

Now, one can argue that I knew Pam was agent-hunting and it was only a matter of time until she found one. Which is true. But the knowingness of that morning was strong. I just knew it had happened.

I was telling Blair all this at dinner later that night and he kind of chuckled and said well maybe I was psychic. I shrugged. "I don't know," I said. "We all have it. It's like knowing who's on the phone when it rings." He started at me blankly. "Haven't you ever known who's on the phone before you picked it up?" I asked. He shook his head.

I happen to think he's in the minority on this. There have been times when I haven't heard from a friend for almost a year, the phone rings, and I'm like, "That's Brett." And it is. What happens is I find myself unexpectedly thinking about this person for a couple of days. (Maybe it's them thinking about me and I'm picking up on it.) So when I do hear from them, I'm not actually surprised.

This was all new to Blair. "I've never had that happen," he said.

So then I shared with him my greatest psychic power, the one I've had since childhood. It's totally useless, but totally real.

What happens is that a TV sit-com or movie scene pops into my mind. Maybe a portion of a Brady Bunch episode, an old Bugs Bunny cartoon, or a scene from Breakfast at Tiffanys. The scene will stay with me for a day or two and I'll think about it at random times. Within a week, I'll catch that exact scene on TV.  I might be walking by a TV in  a mall, see it over at a friend's house, or be randomly flipping channels and there is the 2-minute scene I've been thinking about. It's very odd. And as I told Blair, I have not yet figured out how to use my powers for good or evil. But I'm sure there's some way to parlay this amazing talent into a career. Maybe put TV guide out of business.

How about you? What are things that you just "know" without being told?