Todd And The Final Connection

Seraphina, I'm coming to your story very late. However, I would like to address the quantum mechanical issue. To summarize the idea that you may pick up on things due to a quantum mechanical relationship:

Q.M. Describes the energy of something (think electrons, molecules, or composites of these things, or electron spin, or the value of a hidden playing card... A person) by using a mathematical function called a wavefunction. It is essentially comprised of all possible states that this 'something' can attain, with each state being scaled by a factor related to the probability that state can be attained. The number of states could be infinite.

The fact that you are observable simply means that there is a high probability that you are in the state we see (location, time, composition of all your subcomponents), but it doesn't mean you are 100% in that state. There is a probability that part of you is elsewhere (position, time, etc).

When we interact with anything, our wavefunctions are mixing with what we interact with, essentially becoming part of ours. This is a scientific (quantum mechanical) explanation for why you may be able to understand or know someone else's feelings, predict an event, or see a person who is dead in your reality.

And by the way, I have no way of knowing if your reality is the same as mine...

Seraphina:

While I can't mimic a convincing American accent, I'm thinking of the actor Sam Elliott putting his forefinger to the brim of his stetson and saying, "Thank you, kindly, ma'am."

Best,
Biblio.

Oops! I'm sorry, folks. I meant to write "THE earlier comment" in my last post.

Hi, Biblio,
Thank you for investing so much time and thought into this response. What a careful, well developed explanation of your earlier comment! You even provided sources for further reading. (To be expected, of course, from a writer whose nom de plume is Biblio;)
Now I have a better understanding of the point you were making, and can see how it might be applicable to these types of experiences. (I do have a rudimentary familiarity with the principles of physics you've identified, although I'm definitely no scientist. The whole timespace idea is so cool!)
Maybe YGS should create a single place to gather outstanding posts like yours that are especially well informed and clearly written. (Just off the top of my head, I can remember posts by you, Rook, zz granny, Miracles, Tweed, Valkyrie... That deserve to be highlighted.) It's a shame to keep them buried in the comments, when they could continue helping everyone.
Blessings,
Seraphina

Greetings, Seraphina:

Sorry I'm a little late to contribute to this fascinating topic; I'm still catching up after a grueling three weeks at school.

While wholeheartedly endorsing RC's "Quantum Mechanics" statement (and avoiding any lengthy explanations why) *, I'm politely going to disagree with RC's assessment of the emotional phenomenon. From your description, I thought that the heavy wave of anger was Todd's residual emotional state impressed upon the location, rather than something external which was affecting him. My reasoning for this is that Todd's angry/rebellious attitude manifested in other locations (and with other teachers). Something location-specific would have been limited in the effect it could have on him. On the other hand, people can generate an "atmosphere" in a room without even trying. (Think of all the times you've wandered into a room in which two family members are not speaking to each other; you can tell if they're furious with each other and harboring silent resentment or if they're in the room together but happen to be pursuing different interests, such as a mystery novel and today's crossword.) Sometimes, the tension generated by people lingers in the space for a while; I think you got caught up in the wake of his anger for a moment, just as any empath would.

Seeing what is happening in the future (precognition) cannot change the future events. Saying "I wish I had..." is very, very human, but seeing the future is like watching a robbery through binoculars. Sure, you can call the police and describe what you're seeing, but you can't clean the lenses to erase the holdup. My precogs are mostly when I'm asleep; my dreams always seem real to me --no matter how absurd they are-- while I am dreaming. Precognitive events, though, come with a crystal clarity of thought and vision (without my glasses on!), my first thought is metacognitive awareness,"This is not a dream, therefore it is a precognitive experience," and I know that what I am seeing WILL happen, so I must pay attention to the details in order to plan for --even mitigate-- any future pain. Because you've seen it, you know it, or you feel it, there has to be a CAUSAL EVENT generating the information you are receiving. Our brains are incredibly complex electrochemical engines that work on multiple levels; we are used to experiencing time as a sequence, but on the quantum (subatomic) level, there's no valid reason for time to work in only one direction -so it doesn't. Effects (or results) can precede their cause (seeming to go against the normal chronology) because we're observing them from our frame of reference which has always worked for us. Time is less like driving along a highway (one direction, different rates of speed) and more like walking into the garden from the kitchen; just because you're outside, the inside of the house hasn't stopped being there, and you can look back through the window to check. That's what happens with precognition (you looked through the window) and empathy (walking past someone else's window), and --in my increasingly-regular experience-- post-cognition (looking at a house that's two centuries old and remembering the installation of the windows while it was being built), which occurs when I'm wide awake.

You can develop your talent, Seraphina, by trusting yourself to trust the information. The more you accept the information, the easier it is to pick up the more subtle nuances of mood/tone. You don't have to tell the other person what you've seen (that can freak people out), but you can ask them how they are, and phrase your concerns in the form of harmless questions: "you looked very far away when I walked in; is everything alright?"

As for movies, sometimes the soundtracks of *actual* movies and tv shows happen in my head as I'm reading stories and posts. For example, every time Kikigirl posts something, I can hear a line from the pilot episode of a late-90s sci-fi program, Babylon 5, in which an alien assassin (& psychic) confronts the Commander and tells him in shocked horror, "There's a hole in your mind!" (He'd had a traumatic confrontation erased from his memory.) That's *every time* I read one of her posts, an echoing soundtrack happens; I have no clue why. Post-cognitive ideas hit me in emotional waves, sounds, textures, tastes, adrenaline-fuels thoughts, and pain, all accompanied by my own spine-tingling dread (I'd always thought "spine-tingling" was a metaphor until they started, now I know what that feels like from my thighs, solar plexus, shoulder blades, neck, and temples, and it is **not** pleasant). -If you'd like to read what happened, you can follow the progression of my comments to Winter's Azazel in "Motel 6 and Anna" (yourghoststories.com/real-ghost-story.php?story=23375) for one of the first major "breakthrough" moments I had with post-cognition.

The more regularly you use your precognitive ability, the more comfortable you'll feel about knowing extra data. Precognition doesn't have to be a bad thing; you can use your knowledge to make someone's final days/weeks more pleasant by treating them in a way you'll be comfortable with after the events take place. Your behavior is the only thing you can change when heading toward the future which will happen; warning people what will happen does not prevent it from occurring. I tried to avert a problem I dreamed/saw **six MONTHS** in advance, but it still happened as I remembered it would.

Which reminds me, I saw my house --which we bought last summer-- in a dream I had when I was about 13 or 14 years old, living in a different state and sort-of contemplating a move back to Britain. Yellow siding, steep driveway, railing, porch, etc. When the realtor gave us the address & we turned up the driveway, I saw it and I thought "HOME." Sometimes precognition can be a positive reinforcement that you're exactly where you are supposed to be. 😉

Be kind to yourself with your gift, Seraphina, and use it to make the world --and the individual lives in it-- better.

Best,
Biblio.

* As I'm typing this, RC hasn't responded to you yet, so I'll suggest you read "Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy," by Kip S. Thorne and "A Brief History of Time" (the illustrated edition) by Dr. Stephen Hawking; they'll give you a grounding in the basics --along with some entertaining anecdotes-- without requiring a PhD to understand the explanations. Both books were written to interest intelligent readers of all walks of life in the realms of theoretical physics.

Randym, your suggestion certainly makes sense. I've known several people who were consciously aware of when they would die. (I used to argue with my mother about how long she would live, and she proved to be right, unfortunately.) So picking up on this would be pretty natural.
Blessings,
Seraphina

Hi, Hawkseye12002,
Thank you for sharing your empathic experience in the virtual world. I agree that you must have connected with your online friend's emotions, in spite of an extra "layer" of separation that a virtual world would provide. Interesting!
Blessings,
Seraphina

Serephina
I may be way off base but this is something you may consider
It is believed by many who study death that most people become aware they are going to die as much as 2 years before they actually pass. They may not know it on a conscious level but they know. It could be that you picked up on this knowledge through empathy as Rook suggested.
It is also suggested by many that we are all connected to each other in some ways
Think of a school of many fish that turn instantly as one consciousness
Sometimes that connection could be stronger with an individual given a certain set of circumstances

Just some thoughts to help you consider

Have a great day
RANDY

I also strongly agree with Rook's explanation, although I am FAR from being any kind of expert. I don't think it could've been explained any more clearly.

Since I was a child, I have had the uncanny ability to predict who was calling when the phone rang. Mom would answer the phone most of the time and I'd say in my head who I thought it was, then find out later I was correct.

And since you asked about experiences, I have one I'd like to share.

I do not work, I am permanently disabled so I have a lot of time to kill daily. For the past several years, I have spent a lot of time in a 3D virtual world, making friends with people worldwide while honing my graphic design skills.

One day, I was in this virtual world hanging out with friends. There was myself, a male friend (Adam), and another couple who were girlfriend/boyfriend in the virtual world and had strong feelings for each other in "real life" (let's call them Jeff and Gigi). Gigi was leaving our virtual existence and would not be back and Jeff was quite upset about it, as he felt they'd never see each other again. Adam and I said our goodbyes to her and wished her well and that was it... Or so I thought. I went offline shortly after and was doing things around the house.

Suddenly I burst into tears. I had this very strong sadness come over me and I just bawled my eyes out... I had NO idea why and quite frankly, it scared the beejeezus out of me. I immediately called my then-husband Joe at work to make sure he was okay--he was fine. I called Momma to see if she was okay, and she was. I asked her to call Daddy at work to make sure he was okay. She called me back and said he was fine, and asked what was happening.

I explained to her how suddenly I had this intense sadness come over me and how I burst into tears and couldn't stop crying. After we talked, I hung up the phone and it seemed to dissipate shortly thereafter. This baffled me for two days, I just could not figure out what had happened.

A couple days after this experience, I saw Jeff in the virtual world and was making small talk. I remembered how sad he was about Gigi leaving and suddenly had an idea... So I asked him about what time it was that she logged out of the virtual world for the final time. He told me and I went on to ask him if they had a really big emotional scene and he said they had...

By the time I got through questioning him, lol, I had come to the conclusion that somehow I had picked up on his strong sadness about her leaving. It was really strange for me because Jeff and I were friends but not that close. I don't know why I would've felt what he was feeling but... The time frame he gave me was about the same time I had broken down in a crying fit.

As far as the "movie" that you saw when you sat in Todd's seat, I also feel like it was not something you "caused" to happen... I agree with what was already said about the strong emotions that Todd was experiencing was basically ingrained on the seat, and you just happen to be a receiver.

Seraphina, so glad I could be of some help, and that it made sense.
Please, let me know how it goes for you.

Hello, YGS friends,
Argette, thank you for explaining what you mean by picking up on a sense of place. Now I understand. I guess I do this, too, but I always blew it off as the product of a wild imagination. I'm glad you told me about this.
Val, you packed a lot of information into your reply. It was very helpful. Now I understand the layers concept and I'll start using the technique you described.
Tweed, it was kind of you to reassure me that I didn't cause or influence Todd's death. Back then, everything related to the paranormal was strange and confusing to me. I hope some of you talented teachers are helping young people understand these phenomena better. (You're certainly helping me!) I never thought about the psychometry thing being connected to these other ways of receiving information. (Silly me!) It makes more sense now. I'm fascinated by your experience with prophetic dreams. Amazing!
Blessings,
Seraphina

Hi Seraphina,

Please don't believe you had anything to do with what happened to to Todd. I think Rook and Val have covered the nitty gritty of it all. 😊
There are lots of us on YGS who feel and 'see' things unfold as we read. I think it was you who was taught or encouraged by your father to feel out a story behind a lighter (not a very nice thing he did either). Perhaps your education in these things and your age at the time gave you the clarity to receive what you did. Do you remember what you were daydreaming about that day? Maybe there's an answer there. Just a thought.

Nine years ago I lost a sort of friend, (a good acquaintance), a really super nice guy. About a month before he took his life I kept dreaming of a crocodile emerging from murky waters wearing a rose quartz pendant on it's head. He was into lapidary and jewelry making. A couple nights before he passed he dropped by late (quite out of character he should visit me) He brought over a few things he thought I might like, among them was a pendant, incorporating a rose quartz. He simply handed me a box at the door, made like he was late for somewhere and quickly left. Of course this out of character behaviour made sense with his passing. Sometimes I think 'what if' I made him stay while I opened the box at least, I could've gushed over his lapidary skills and maybe that would make him change his mind.
I was close to many of his friends, and I think that's how I became 'aware' of his circumstance. Those crocodile dreams were all the same and they each felt final. I think it was the same for your replay of what happened. I don't think you received it because you were meant to save him, I think you received it because you were in the emotional area, so to speak. Pleased don't blame yourself for any of it.

Seraphina, if you know how to shield your home or a room, you're ahead of the game 😊. Basically, shielding yourself works the same but on a smaller scale. It's your personal space that can travel with you.
Visualize a bubble filled with positive thoughts/energy. Keep expanding it, allowing it to surround you, pushing any negativity away. You might like to say a prayer while you hold this image in your mind, allowing it to grow until you are completely inside the bubble. Fix this image in your mind.
Now, imagine/visualize that inside this bubble you have a type of dimmer switch, that allows you to control the thickness of your bubble. (What I commonly refer to as 'layers'.) By dialing up or down the 'layers', I can control the intensity others emotions strike me with. After you have constructed your bubble take a few relaxing breaths, and go about your day.
With practice/time,controlling the layers will become almost second nature for you.
I hope that is of some help? I'm including a link to Rook's profile, as he has a nice bit about personal shields too, and when you boil it down, it's basically the same thing. That's something, I've learned, it seems very common for people to 'personalize' how they do shielding. Http://www.yourghoststories.com/user-profile.php?user=8155

Seraphina, all I can say us that sometimes I meet someone or even see them on TV and I get a sense of where they live, or what atmosphere they come from.

Only rarely do I get a chance to discover if my senses are accurate. I once worked with a woman, for example, and had a sense of her home, how it was laid out, what it looked like. She invited me over to her house once, and I could see that my visions were spot on.

Hello, YGS friends,
Thank you for your kind and well considered responses to my questions. You always come through with helpful advice and information!
RCRuskin, can you recommend anything I could read to understand the similarities or connections between this type of experience and principles of quantum mechanics? That's a fascinating idea.
Rookdygin, your explanation of what Empathy is really helps. It's so clearly explained that I could follow it easily. (I notice how patient you always are when you answer questions here.) Your speculation that the connection is broken when the spirit crosses over strikes me as sensible and right.
KikiGirl, thanks so much for that link to types of psychic abilities! I'll visit it tonight. Your description of Todd's emotional state and how it could be transmitted is vivid - right on the money - as is your reminder that we are all connected somehow.
Argette, your experiences are intriguing. I never felt the "sense of place" aspect. Will you share a story about that with us?
Valkricry, Emotions as energy--thanks for the reminder. It's an idea that pulls everything together. You really got my attention when you mentioned shielding yourself in public. I don't know much about shielding - just enough to put up a shield around my house or a room. I'm completely ignorant when it comes to layers. Would you please tell me a bit about that?
Blessings,
Seraphina

Kiki, you do realize that the 99 monkey theory (btw it's Hundredth monkey effect) was discredited? Read Michael Shermer's Why People Believe Weird Things. It explains how the urban legend started, was popularized, and became discredited.

Seraphina,
I really don't have a 'scientific' explanation for the ability to 'plug into' another's emotions, but I can offer you the explanation that was given me by a group of psychic friends, a long time ago, back when I was trying to understand why I'm that way too. Emotions are a type of energy, given that, they have a type of 'frequency' if you will. People are 'receivers', and some of us are just more 'tuned' to these frequencies then others. It's part of being an empath.
These emotions can also imprint themselves on non-living substances, like rocks, buildings, trinkets, or that chair you mentioned. I think what you probably felt there was all of Todd's negativity - it sounds like he had a lot of it, so it would have been strong. (Residual hauntings are thought to be caused the same way.)
I just about fell over when you mentioned seeing things like a movie, because that happens to me too! When I do 'readings' I often see the information like that, or sometimes I'll just get one playing in my head for no apparent reason. (I don't know this person, WHY am I seeing that?) It can be a bit freaky.
Because I have often worked in public places, I learned to shield myself, otherwise its over-powering at times. I use a layering technique, because I'm afraid if I close it totally off, I won't be able to help if I can. But, I can also 'reach out' and gather information, if I want to. Not sure I'm explaining very well, and I might be rambling, but if you think I maybe of assistance feel free to pick my brain.

Seraphina, I would also like to introduce this concept or idea to the situation.

Have you heard of the 99 monkeys theory?
Scientists put 100 monkeys on one island and 99 monkeys on a different, nearby island. There was absolutely no way that the two islands connected, the islands were separated by sea.
On the island with 99 monkeys, the scientists taught a monkey how to peel a banana. The monkey progressively began teaching the other monkeys one-by-one how to peel a banana, until all of the 99 monkeys on the one island could perform the task. However, on the other island with 100-monkeys, they did not teach the monkeys this task.
One day, about +-3 months later, some of the monkeys on the island with 100 monkeys began to peel bananas. They were never taught or trained to do this! Eventually, all if not most, of the monkeys began to perform the task of peeling a banana without having ever had contact with the monkeys on the other island.

The idea behind this is that we are all linked in someway. You hear your phone ringing, you know who it is before you pick up the call. You worry about a friend, and something unfortunate happens to your friend. You have a bad feeling about driving, and you have an accident. You think about a friend who you haven't seen for years, and you happen to bump into them.

Note: I am not comparing humankind to monkeys, it is a theory that was applied and the results.

Seraphina, thank you for that well-written account of your experiences.

I have never experienced such extreme feelings, but I do sometimes get something more than I am expecting when I encounter someone new. It's usually a sense of place that I associate with them.

I don't know if it's the same as your experiences. Thanks for adding to my body of knowledge of such things.

Seraphina, thank-you for such a heart-warming and sincere article. I've actually added your story to my favorites!

Most people do not understand what you are going through, they have never had an experience like yours. Although, there are many records in history of people with psychic abilities. In the old days, many Councilmen, Senates and Kings would seek advice or help from oracle/s, witches and prophecies regards their rise to power, in war and country situations/troubles. Ie. In the movie 300, Lycurgus, a man of reputation among the Spartans, went to the oracle at Delphi.

You are not so different from other people, although perhaps they are not as aware of their gift as you are. Old folklore says that as babies, we are all born with the ability to see the world untainted including ghosts and demons, but, as we grow older, we naturalize to this world and we lose this ability. Some people manage to retain one ability and sometimes more, while others are completely void and numbed to anything that seems out of the ordinary. Have a look at this wiki-link which is a list of recorded psychic abilities that people have actually had and have proven to be able to complete even when investigated or examined:
Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_psychic_abilities

You most probably did not "do" anything to Todd. You may have sensed his rage, bitterness and exasperation, and maybe he even intended what happened at the end of the day. Otherwise, you are also capable of premonitions - seeing things before they happen. Some people can sense something before it happens, sometimes it is through' seeing the event before it happens, hearing the event or even feeling the emotions of the person who is involved in the event.

I wish you all the best and look forward to reading any future articles you may write!

Seraphina,

The short and simple term to use for your 'ability' is Empathy...

Empathy: The action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another; of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner; also the capacity for this.

I speak from experience on this point.

As an Empath...

Empath: a person with the 'paranormal' ability to 'experience' the mental or emotional state of another individual.

Because you are able to do this you 'picked up' on his anger, this emotion, being a very strong one, stayed with you and formed a connection that allowed you to 'see' (experience) his passing as if you were watching a movie. You 'saw' it, not through 'his eyes' because of the type of connection that had formed but on that particular evening the 'emotional connection' was strong enough your spirit/inner eye' (call it what you will) 'saw' what he experienced and until his 'spirit' crossed over you continued to 'see' what happened to him (the replays).

I say it repeated until his spirit crossed over because that is the only reason I can think of for the 'connection' that had formed to be broken.

Thank you for sharing. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Respectfully,

Rook

There are some things in quantum mechanics that might explain this sort of entanglement you describe.

You're right in that you did not cause Todd's death, but whatever you encountered in the back of that classroom did, or at least wants to think it did.