Wednesday, June 3, 2009

The good and bad news about being a psychic



The good news is, I am truly psychic. The bad news? I don't get to decide how that works. For instance, I can not intuit winning lottery numbers or "see" clearly whether or not a relationship is meant to be. I don't know who will win the Academy Awards or the presidency or a football game and I am terrible at predicting the weather.

But I am psychic, really I am. For instance: one day many years ago in San Francisco I suddenly developed a serious jones for a yo-yo. I needed a yo-yo bad. Unable to resist the impulse, I got myself to a toy store and bought a lovely, shiny, brand new yo-yo, after which I spent the rest of that afternoon baffled about the intensity of the urge, since, once I got to yo-yoing, I remembered that I had never really liked it much as a kid.

The next day, I watched a report on TV about some people in Michigan who had celebrated "National Yo-Yo Day" with a marathon of yo-yoing. Ah! So I am psychic, I thought to myself. But ... who cares about tuning in to National Yo-Yo Day?

Yesterday I was contemplating the end of my dog's long life. I was asking myself, Will I miss having to step over napping dog bodies all the time? (There are three dogs in this house, all of whom are fond of napping in doorways and other areas of heavy traffic.) I decided I would not miss that bit of being a dog owner, not at all.

An hour later, rushing through the foyer with a basket full of clean laundry, I tripped over the sleeping body of Shadow, the other venerable old dog in the house. Flew through the air (so did the laundry), banged my knee and shoulder, cursed myself for not paying more attention. Poor Shadow was gasping for air, she was so upset.

She's OK and I'm OK and yes yes, I'm psychic, but ... couldn't this talent be put to better use? Honestly!


From the southwest corner of Lincoln Park, a lovely winding diagonal path has been carved out of the lawn by those of us going back and forth to Eastern Market. This is a "walking tour" from the corner to the weird Lincoln statue in the center of the park.

35 comments:

Deborah said...

Someday we will compare psychic notes--and family members with the gift. . .

Today, I'll just tell you that I tripped over Chubby carrying dirty laundry downstairs and threw the laundry basket into the top of the library card catalog in the entryway and destroyed some carved piece that Kathy hated (artistically), but Don's dad had done. . .after dreaming the night before that I had grabbed that piece and deliberately broken it--go figure

love you so!

Ady Grafovna said...

Alas... the right brain will not be told what to do.

CocoDivaDog said...

I'm too hard-headed (so I am told) to be psychic...

ellen abbott said...

I don't know if I'm the least bit psychic but I know I need to credit my intuition more. I might have saved myself a lot of misery if I had done so.

Oh, wait. I am psychic about a friend of mine. Every time he pops strongly in my head for no apparent reason, I will hear from him in a matter of days...either postal mail, e-mail or a phone call.

Elizabeth said...

My friend Jill and I have one particular friend who , if we intone her name, will telephone us...
all sorts of different levels of being psychic

tripping over dogs is par for the course and an important component of dog ownership.

Bee said...

Perhaps if we are tuned into other realms we don't always see what is at our feet?

Speaking of feet, I love your walking tours, Reya. I'm going to take you up on that D.C. tour someday!

Teri and her Stylish Adventure Cats said...

...loved your post.

When I think of all the cat-caused cat-a-trophes around my house (and some of them blamed on the cats but really boils down to poor judgement on my part)...I just have to say, I can't live without 'em...but sometimes some expletives preceed that thought, MOL

JC said...

Bella and Maddy Jean are always in front of doors or the stove or the frig.

It's their job.

And, I'm sorry your dog is getting old. Mine is only seven and she has really aged this last year.

Nancy said...

We have some psychic abilities that run in our family, too. Unfortunately it never saves me from tripping over dogs, either.

Joanne said...

Glad you're both okay. I've done that with my cat, and I pity the poor animal must wonder why the heck I'm booting her, which of course I'm not, but that's what it must seem like!

Tom said...

For the first time i have a puppy..I know exactly what you are talking about, except it is from his running around underfoot...he doesn't seem to know the meaning of the word 'nap'

Kat Mortensen said...

Do you know the Kate Bush song, "Strange Phenomena"? It's all about those little psychic moments that we have from time to time.

"A day of coincidence with the radio--and a word that won't go away (you know what they're all going to say)
"G" arrives...funny, had a feeling he was on his waaay...

Your post brought the song back to me.

Thanks!

Kat

Anonymous said...

It's the privilege of owning a dog: you get to trip over them regularly. Usually for me, it's Tillie the lab that I trip over as she is prone to napping absolutely anywhere, so there is no predicting which areas of the house in which to take greater care. Luckily, I don't have a basement, but the three steps down into the garage where the washer and dryer are located can be lots of fun when Shakes or Tillie puts one of their tennis balls there for me to find. Last fall I took left my left foot at a weird angle.

But would I trade them for anything? Absolutely not, not even chocolate.

SafariB said...

its something you cant explain to those who dont have it..

its like a space in another dimension thats just there. that cant be forced. that just "is".

Rosaria Williams said...

Psychic like the Mentalist on television? Can you make a living with that inner sense? Thank you for visiting and encouraging my back-breaking work of love.

Reya Mellicker said...

Poetikat! I forgot about that song - thank you. I love Kate Bush.

Tom, your puppy will mature and then he will nap. I promise.

My, my ... dog tripping is a universal thing. Wow. Who knew?

Peaches said...

I was psychically connected with my son the last month of pregnancy and for the first year and a half of his life. It was very strong; incredibly powerful. I think all women are, if they pay attention. This connection faded as his dependency on me faded.

Chris Wolf said...

Use your powers for good, Reya, :-)
I don't believe I'm psychic, but I sense many things about people. If I say something or ask them aloud about it, they then look at me suspiciously, and say "how did you know?"
That's different, I think, I'm just a good listener?

e said...

Great post! I used to trip regularly over feline bodies. Now that I'm rolling, they either jump in the lap or get the heck out of dodge...

I've had a couple "psychic moments" that saved my life...
Give my best to Jake.

debra said...

I also tripped over the old dog while I was carrying the laundry! Misty doesn't see or hear too well and moves somewhat slowly. She's a good old girl.

Last week we shared wine and cheese with a fellow who lives in the Village. I have never been to his house before, but I know I was there in some way at some other time. Hmmmmm.

Linda Pendleton said...

That's funny... I enjoyed your post. I've not ever tripped over a dog but my cat sure puts me to the test! So far so good.

Anonymous said...

"Could this talent be put to a better use..." -how many times have I asked myself that.I dream of friends new hairstyles,my auntie's gift to my mother,my daughter's new pink shoe purchase - all true, but hardly earth-shattering stuff.The most frustrating for my husband was when I dreamt of being shown the number four all night. In the morning I saw fours forming and running in rivulets down the shower screen.I made him go out and get heaps of lottery tickets with fours, and derivatives and multipules of four.Not enough, I cried, buy more! The result? No win,a povvo week, but in the paper we read that the prize amount won was $444,444. So what good was that?The Universe must have had a good chuckle over that one.(Kept that newspaper clipping til it fell apart, to prove my point - to who??)

Natalie said...

Oh, Reya. One day, a long time ago, I picked 15 horse races in a row for my ex without fail. WE put $1 each way, just for fun.
I went to the Melbourne Cup twice and LOST every single race I bet on. That was a lesson to show me that I am not in charge of my gifts.
It frustrates the living daylights out of me.
I wish we lived near each other, we could have a coffee and chat about 'stuff'.xx♥

Dani said...

Reya- have you seen the show "Psych" on USA? It's one of my favorite shows, I think you would enjoy it. Even though the main character is a "fake psychic", its good for a laugh.

I'm jealous that you have a sixth sense... maybe we all have it, but some of us just know how to tap into it.

Jezebel said...

I tripped over 2 dogs and a sprinkler today...

I have a new email address; please send me yours.

Much love to you & Jake,

Jezebel & the Terriers

Tess Kincaid said...

I am psychic in exactly the same way you are, Reya. Your yo-yo thing is a perfect example of things that happen to me ALL the time. Don't you wish we could hone in and use it for things we wanted to? I always say I have an "Aunt Agatha" kind of psychic ability. But maybe it's not so clumsy and random as I think.

Ronda Laveen said...

Dog tripping in America...I've done it many a time. Sprained my right ankle years back stepping over a dog and into a hole the dog had dug. The double dog whammy.

To fearless, clear seeing:)

mum said...

maybe it's more a question of the incidents you recall because of an external confirmation, no matter how trivial it appears. (I'm thinking of your yo-yo example.)

I regularly get premonitory-type dreams or visions with specific faces or building details I encounter months or years later. I see those types of things as the equivalent of catching a road sign out of the corner of your eye while you're driving. It tells you you're headed in the right direction, which is all you need to know from a road sign, yes?

All of us are probably 'psychic', if that means being aware of a lot more than what is right before our noses. Besides,even the right-before-our-noses stuff, we can trip over :-)

The trickiest part of the psychic vs psycho conundrum is not confusing one's own wishful thinking with useful info being broacast by the... whatever (universe? I don't know what to call it.) Paranoid schizos (my husband's first wife, for example) confuse their own fears with honest-to-goodness threats to their life - the whole 'mind control, my husband is wiretapping my thoughts' school of craziness.

There are lots of those around, which probably makes it that much trickier acknowledging one's own visions, voices, dreams or whatever else comes bearing good news from a benevolent universe.

Speaking of which, I like Rob Breszny's expression of 'pronoia' to describe that kind of thing. Do you know Breszny?
http://www.freewillastrology.com/

Cheers, Reya - and don't forget to watch where you're stepping! :-)

Barry said...

I love your slide shows it's like joining you on your walk, but with no sleeping dogs to trip over.

Reya Mellicker said...

Mum - I've been a fan of Rob Breszny for many years. In fact I used to go see his band, World Entertainment War, when they performed in San Francisco.

We're email "friends" - he is a GREAT astrologer, too.

karen said...

I do love the yoyo story! i've had quite a few similar experiences, which are really uncanny, and I can hardly believe them myself..

I am always tripping over our dogs and cats - they are always in the way, but I'm so indulgent towards them, they could get away with just about anything! :)

Butternut Squash said...

What is it about dogs and doorways? My cat used to always recline on my homework while I was doing it. Now my children place themselves in essential thru ways with their toys. It's like they are all saying slow down and play with me.

Squirrel said...

that yo yo kind of thing happens to me all of the time-- I know what kinds of envelopes will be in my mailbox before I get the mail, I can see by the stamps what country the mail is from.
I'll buy something I hate that i figure no one will want, only to find a family member was trying to get in touch with me by phone to ask me to pick that item up on my way home. ... and lots of other stuff. It's always been that way so I don't see it as unusual. I think everyone has this in them, everyone has talents they don't use. My dad and his parents had the same abilities, so it may be genetic .

poor jake--I remember a post you did on his getting older-it was some time back and he had just stopped liking the longer walks. It's sad though, when the end is near.
kisses to jake.

Reya Mellicker said...

Jezz: how do I send you my email address?

I'll try!

Verily I go. said...

I've had a couple of scares with information that I didn't understand....until later. Yes, must trust. Why did I miss this post? xoxo