The Twilight Zone Introduction - Warning...Scary!
ESP (extrasensory perception)
ESP or extrasensory perception is perception occurring independently of sight, hearing, or other sensory processes. From http://skepdic.com/esp.html
Okay, is everyone sufficiently scared and under my mind control? The introduction to The Twilight Zone scared the heck out of me when I was a youngster. I'm not sure why. I'm also not sure if the story I'm going to tell you was from that show. But, that's not important nor the point.
The story was of a young woman who was having recurring dreams of a plane that was going to crash into her while she was sleeping. In every dream the plane got closer and closer to her. She would wake up in the dream screaming. She realized that in her next dream the plane would crash. So, she didn't go home that night. She decided instead to stay in a motel far from her house.
That night she dreamed her dream and woke up only to see the real plane crashing into her room at the motel.
No fooling Mother Nature!
So, do I believe in ESP? I don't think so. But, I do believe if we pay attention to all our senses we can "feel" things in our gut. I have walked into stores and "sensed" there was something wrong. One store was almost completely empty of any stock and had no customers. A curtain over a door in the back opened slightly and a man looked out. I turned around and left. Too creepy for me.
Once my husband and I checked into a motel. He went in and I stayed in the car. While waiting I got the feeling "something" was wrong. When the Chief came back to the car, I told him to check us out. He laughed at first. But, I stood my ground...we were not going to stay there.
Okay, I'm can be a little goofy. I have suffered panic attacks during my lifetime. So, maybe in those two cases that is all it was. I wouldn't argue with you.
I also get "feelings" about people. They may look like everyday, normal, good people, but I sense something about them that isn't "right."
My best example of this phenomenon was when I was working at my last job. My boss was interviewing people for a top sales management position. I would greet the interviewees and speak with them for a few moments as they waited. After the interview, when they left, I would give my boss a thumbs up or down. He'd always laugh.
After one interview I gave a thumbs down, he said "Really? Why? I think I'm going to hire him." We talked about it. I said "There's something about him. He feels sneaky to me. Like what you see is NOT what you're going to get." He hired him anyway.
Turns out, this guy convinced the people reporting to him they'd be better off if my boss was fired. Because then he would be in charge and he'd "look after them." He fired those that didn't go along with his plan. While this was going on I saw that people were relating to me differently. I wasn't their friend anymore, they saw me as aligned with my boss.
One of the men he fired called me and told me about the "plan." He wanted me to warn my boss. I thought about it. And, I told him. His reaction was expected: "He's a disgruntled employee." No, I said, he's a good person. He wants to help you.
The process took about two months. It was so sad and could have been avoided. On his last day, my boss hugged me and said "I should have listened to you."
