What Goes Bump in the Night?

I have had more than my share of supernatural experiences. Prior to my accident that left me a quadriplegic, I dreamt of a room that I had never seen before. It was something quite random, and I gave it no further thought. This happened in about April 1990. My spinal-cord injury occurred in June of that year, and I spent the next five months in rehab. I returned home to a brand-new house at the end of November of that year. Lo and behold, my bedroom turned out to be the room of my dreams, quite literally. The only thing that was different was the colour of the paint on the walls, and that had been changed prior to my moving in. The original colour was the exact same as that of my dream, lime green.

I can share a few more of these sorts of experiences that I've had throughout my life. Initially, it used to be something which freaked me out but, as the years went by, and I had more of these happen to me, I eventually just learned to go with it. It is something of an inside joke between myself and the universe, at this stage.

But what shall I make of it? Is the supernatural simply something from my imagination, or is there something more to it all? Are things like ghosts real? Should I pay more careful attention to the figure in the mirror which, I must confess, could just be a trick of the light? Have you, the one reading this, experienced things which you cannot explain? Me, myself, and I would like to know. It remains something of a mystery but, for me anyway, it's also just one more part of my life.

In 1983, I saw a movie which scared the bejeezes out of me. Poltergeist was about the scariest thing I had seen up until that point. For a 10 year old, it was an experience which gave me nightmares, but it was also something that started me asking the question; is there more to reality that meets the eye? Are things that go bump in the night real, and should I be afraid of that which I don't understand?

My curiosity was further pickled after I did a module in Gothic literature at University. Just about every culture on earth has its version of nightmarish creatures such as werewolves and vampires. Have these purely been the grandiose fruits of overactive imaginations, or are they the inceptions of people that have come face to face with real evil?

It would be easy to dismiss the unexplained as purely just fanciful fiction. For as long as I can remember, however, I have always tried to find the veracity of that which I couldn't explain or didn't understand. Myths. Legends. Urban tall tales. I find it strange to think that all of these versions of common folk tales would find fertile ground in the minds of people from around the world in such similar iterations. Have these all be purely coincidental? I know that there is more to reality than can be experienced through the five human senses, but are there, in fact, sentient beings just beyond the fringes of our consciousness that bear us ill will? I have always thought that the answer to this question was just a lucid dream away. And, yes, I have had my share of those as well.

After digging a little deeper, it turns out that I am not the only one that asks these questions? In fact, organisations such as the CIA have also put quite a bit of stock into the potential of the human mind and what it might be capable of. Just Google "MK Ultra" and you will be presented with accounts of what is known as remote viewing, that is to say, observing things on the other side of the world without actually being present. Can this really be done?

I am a firm believer that we have not established the true potential of what we, human beings, are capable of. It is, of course, a misnomer to say that we only use 10% or less of our brains. We only use 10% or less of our brains at any given time, due to the fact that it would most likely overheat if we used more, but how far can we push out the boat in this regard? We, human beings, are nothing more than biological Duracell batteries. We take in fuel in the shape of food, and convert these into electrical impulses which allow us to experience that which we do.

As someone who has experienced and gained great benefits out of things like Reiki, for example, I have experienced first-hand what happens when the energy fields of two people interact. No, it is not science fiction. And, no, I do not believe it to be something purely from the ambit of the supernatural. I do, however, believe that we are capable of far more than we give ourselves credit for.

So getting back to my original question. What, exactly, constitutes the supernatural? Are there intelligences beyond our own out that there us ill will? Should one pay more attention to the things that go bump in the night? I, for one, am curious to understand. Going forward, I will investigate all things with an open mind, bearing in mind that I believe that this is what we are called to do. We are in this thing called life to grow, both in our understanding of ourselves, and in our understanding of that which shares our reality with us.

Ultimately, it is as Shakespeare said "There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." As for me, I want to plumb those depths.