I wrote this back in 2004 for a class with the Lord's leading; I feel it is important to share it again...

Most of us have had them. Little gut feelings seem to be a part of our everyday lives; but where do they come from? Sometimes the hair stands up at the back of your neck, and you just know you need to change direction. Quite a few teenagers have heard a loving parent say, "I'm concerned over letting you have the car; I have a bad feeling about tonight!" Many parents-to-be have insight concerning their unborn children - their feelings correctly informing them of their child's sex far in advance of any tests confirming the pregnancy itself. How and why do we receive this unusual information? Perhaps even more thought provoking is the fact that many have had genuine authenticated premonitions that are much more precise than mere impressions.

In asking my fellow classmates to voluntarily complete a survey, I received replies from over seventy-three percent of them. Out of that percentage, all answered "yes" to the question, "Do you believe in premonitions, or gut feelings, or in the possibility of dreams coming true?" Students Art and Brad are only two of many who have experienced "déjà vu". It is a French phrase that means "already seen". However, the actual already-seen event is being physically experienced for the first time. If the event has already been seen, who or what sent this information in the first place? A number of people go beyond déjà vu and have strong and precise feelings; the following students provide some interesting illustrations.

Carl revealed, "When I was seventeen years old I always tried to hang with an older crowd...one weekend we were going to a party and I had an extremely bad feeling about it so I decided to go home. [The] next day I found out the party had been busted by the cops and a bunch of my buddys [sic] had been arrested." Darleen had experienced something special when she was a small girl: "When I was about ten, a...family [friend] was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.... he had gone out for a walk...and had not come back. [Many] were out looking for him. Around nine p.m., when I was getting into bed, I felt in my head or heart the words 'He is fine'. The next second later, the phone rang. They had found him." Marcus had an experience when he was a soldier in Iraq, fighting for our country. He disclosed, "I...had no contact with home, when for about four or five days I had a really bad feeling, and it turns out that my grandma was really sick, and almost died." My instructor Jennifer, was also kind enough to impart her knowledge on this seemingly sensitive subject, "I get 'bad' feelings from time to time and usually something bad happens, also my oldest daughter and fiancé often appear to get premonitions." Evidently, as shown through the following students, the most specific premonitions emerged from dreams.

Eileen divulged two dreams that her boyfriend had, one of which involved her: "He had a dream two years ago about me and I have only known him for three months. He also told one of the guys at work before he got to know him that he was going to help him redo a house, because he had a dream about it. After a few months had passed they became friends and his friend asked him to help redo a house, not remembering what my boyfriend had said six months before." Two students, who wished to remain anonymous, kindly gave permission for me to share their accounts. One individual stated, "On many occasions, I've had a dream about a series of events happening at work...then within a month they usually come true." The other had a more heartbreaking experience, "I had a dream about two people getting into a car accident and dying...about a week or two later one of my friends died in a car accident with one of my sister's best friends." I was deeply saddened by the last student's account, but was also fascinated to read the personal stories of those who surrounded me. However, they are truly not uncommon, as premonitions are as old as history itself.

As recently as February 12, 2004, television viewers witnessed an example of precognition in prime time. Jenna Morasca, a contestant on the popular CBS show Survivor, voluntarily left the game; she knew she had to get home. Her mother had been fighting Breast Cancer for twelve years; yet at the end of the show, viewers learned she died eight days after Jenna returned to her side. Speaking on CBS' The Early Show, Jenna said, "It was just a feeling that I never had before. It was like a premonition."(1) Television viewers also horrifyingly witnessed the culmination of many premonitions pertaining to the death of one of our country's most beloved leaders.

There are numerous recorded premonitions concerning the last day of President John F. Kennedy's life; cases are cited in books such as Martin Ebon's Prophecy in Our Time, published in 1968, five years after Kennedy's death. Perhaps the most famous warning, however, was actually repetitious warnings from then-famous psychic Jeane Dixon. The most incredible aspect of her predictions was that she had pinpointed the actual day of the president's danger. On November 22, 1963, she continued to foretell of his peril before his assassination, when she said to one individual, "This is the day it will happen," and later to two others, "Something dreadful is going to happen to the President today."(2) Prior to a day earlier in the 1900s, history also observed countless premonitory reports in regard to another horrendous tragedy.

Regarding the S.S. Titanic, the most intriguing premonition is found in the form of a fiction novel written by Morgan Robertson. The Wreck of the Titan (as cited in Ebon, 1968) was published in 1898, fourteen years prior to the 1912 catastrophe that occurred on April fourteenth. Quoting only a few of the parallels between fact and fiction, I was astonished at the abundance of similarities that arose far too often for mere coincidence. The fictional Titan, was "regarded as unsinkable, sank [after hitting an iceberg] during the month of April; [and]...carried only a few lifeboats, so that most of those on board drowned."(3) The title alone makes one stop and think. An interesting discovery resulted from my research of the Titanic premonitions: author Sandra Shulman said, "eight out of every ten precognitive cases involved a nightmare."(4) That would most certainly define what happened to one of history's most famous presidents.

Abraham Lincoln had a nightmare about his own death. In Recollections of Abraham Lincoln (as cited in Ebon, 1968), Lincoln's former law partner Ward Hill Lamon gives a full account of that dream. (I will quote only a small part). "'Who is dead in the White House?' I demanded of one of the soldiers. 'The President,' was the answer; 'he was killed by an assassin!' There came a loud burst of grief from the crowd, which woke me from my dream. I slept no more that night, and although it was only a dream, I have been strangely annoyed by it ever since."(5) So how does one know if a dream is "only a dream", or if it is actually a premonition? We may find part of the answer given by Mr. Lamon in his own comments written after recording President Lincoln's dream.

"This dream was so horrible, so real, and so in keeping with other dreams and threatening presentiments of his that Mr. Lincoln was profoundly disturbed by it."(6) Premonitory dreams and visions stand apart from other dreams because of their detailed clarity. I can personally attest to this fact based upon an experience from my own childhood.

When I was a little girl, my younger sister had a "waking vision": she was still in bed, but was not asleep. Suddenly, she envisioned her best friend, Deborah, in flames. This was such a vivid and real image to her that she reiterated the information, through her profound tears, to our mother. My mother gathered all of us together, and we prayed for Deborah and her family. About two weeks later my sister's vision repeated. Again, we prayed. In less than a month, we came home from school to find Deborah's house in flames. When Deborah finally came home, she cried to her mother and apologized profusely; she had previously been grounded, and should have been home earlier. Her mother was not upset in the least; in fact she was joyous that her daughter was safe - Deborah was in the habit of taking a nap immediately after school. Upon learning her beloved cat died of smoke inhalation while sleeping on her bed, Deborah's guilt returned because of her late return. The firemen reassured and explained to her that if she had come home, and taken her usual nap, she also would have died from smoke inhalation. This all started with my sister being given a crystal clear picture of flames surrounding Deborah.

Sandra Shulman, author of Nightmare - The World of Terrifying Dreams (1979), states, "The precognitive dream tends to be more colorful, vivid, and memorable.... Sometimes its details will not fade over a few days, as if the subject is being forced to bear them in mind."(7) Herein lies the crux of my problem. I, myself, have been having dreams - vividly colorful, and highly memorable to the point that the details have not faded over the last four years. Although they should be classified as nightmares, I am oddly unafraid in them. At the very core of my being, I not only believe they are premonitions of an event to come, I just know they are. Yet, as frightening as the event is, I must convey the message, "Don't be afraid." Now that is a tricky one; how do I go about that?

In the Holy Bible, 1 John 4:18a states, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love cast[s] out fear: because fear ha[s] torment." Earlier, in the same chapter verse 16a states, "God is love; and he that dwell[s] in love dwell[s] in God, and God in him." Yes, this author believes in God, and believes that He speaks to us, mostly through our dreams. I have not always felt this way, but was reminded when my daughter and I started to have some very real dreams.

Early in the year 2000, my then three-year-old daughter had repetitious dreams. Many a night would find her waking up, crying horribly over the same nightmare. "I saw water going over the mountain, (her little hand making an up and over gesture) and people going 'blub-blub' because they are under the water and can't breathe." While saying this, she covered her face with her hands. I was very concerned while holding and comforting her, but simply did not know what else to do. After her fifth or sixth repeated dream, I finally realized what I should have done in the first place; I prayed. I basically asked God that if He was trying to get a message across, to please take the dreams from my daughter and give them to me. That one prayer was answered immediately; my daughter's nightmares stopped, and (within a few months) mine began. My dreams are not the same as my daughter's; however, they could very well be connected.

In late May or early June of 2000, I had my first dream. My husband was driving my car, and my daughter and I were passengers. Driving down a country road, we passed a tall and shiny red barn on the right. Straight ahead was a grove of trees on the horizon. Suddenly, there was a huge upheaval of dust, like from an impact, swelling larger and larger. My mind told me "comet", but I did not actually see what caused this impact. Unafraid, I knew that we would be killed instantly from the ensuing shock wave, and I told my husband, "We're going home." (By "home", I meant heaven). When the shock wave hit us, I went from being affected by gravity one second, to being lighter than air the next. I was "in the spirit" floating straight up, and was actually disappointed in missing a glimpse of heaven, as my three-year-old daughter then awakened me. I could not forget that nighttime image. It felt so incredibly genuine, like it really happened - the air was warm, the leaves were green, the road was bumpy, and the clarity of the outburst itself was all too real. My husband was the only one with whom I shared my dream, and it was then back to life as usual. Before long, things became un-usual.

Driving in the very rural area of Lerna, Illinois, my family and I were following signs indicating an available house. Shortly after my husband turned east, I then saw the same red barn, and the same grove of trees that I saw in my dream. The only thing different was that we were in my husband's van instead of my car. Needless to say I was taken aback, as I have never before had that type of precognitive experience. To some extent, I expected an impact to occur; but when one did not, I realized that I was being informed of where this event would take place. While on this actual road, we were facing Charleston, Illinois. However, that was not to be the only peculiarity.

One day, I went to a talk forum on the internet. There, a girl had left a message. She was concerned that others would be disapproving of her, but went on to tell of her experience anyway. She had what she called a "vision". She was driving her car, when all of a sudden she "saw" an expanding dust cloud on the ground, "like from an impact". She knew it was something that would kill many people. The vision was upsetting for her, and I was stunned to read this, as I had shared my dream with only my husband. If that was not enough in and of itself, a woman who worked at my daughter's preschool reiterated a dream that she had. When she discovered I was considering enrolling my daughter in a Christian daycare center, she asked me, "Oh, you believe in Jesus? Do you mind if I tell you about a dream that I had?" I literally got goose bumps then, as I just knew her dream would somehow be related. She went on to say that she was "in Mattoon [Illinois] in her own backyard, when all of a sudden she was encased in a huge dust cloud. She knew that she would die, and go to heaven, but was not afraid because she felt Jesus' presence all around her." It was now August of 2000, and I decided to share my dream with my family and friends. My father-in-law, a retired Baptist minister, told me that the two others coming forth was the proof that my dream was a message from God. Through his guidance, I learned that in the Holy Bible, 2 Corinthians 13:1b states, "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established."

Prior to September 11, 2001, premonitions regarding the twin towers going down were had by many. (I personally know of two). After that devastation, and with all the newscasters' discussions relating to missing suitcase nuclear devices, I found myself wondering if my dream concerned a terrorist attack. A nuclear blast can cause the same type of explosion that I witnessed in my dream. However, this information would be cleared up later.

On August 23, 2001, I had my second dream. This time, I was in a relative's home in Kansas, Illinois. Among the many people there, some (including my husband and daughter) were dressed up like one would attend a wedding or funeral. I had just left them sitting at the kitchen table to go to the front porch. A storm was brewing, with dark clouds, a warm breeze, lightning, and thunder. Several were on the front porch with me, and we were viewing the western sky. Suddenly, a loud boom and a fire told me that lightning must have struck Charleston, Illinois, which rests directly west of Kansas. Horribly, we soon realized that the town itself was impacted by something huge. From my vantage point, the fire grew to fill the entire horizon, and once again there was an ensuing dust cloud that grew ever larger. Knowing that this event would take all of our lives, I realized that those who surrounded me knew it too; their anguished cries were more than I could bear. My daughter came running out the front door yelling for me, and as I grabbed her into my arms the shock wave had reached us and we were momentarily ripped apart. We were now "in the spirit", being tossed about like clothes in a washing machine, but for only a second before being pulled up toward heaven. I then awoke, but this time I had an unrelenting message in my head, powerful and strong: "Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

It was three in the morning and I woke up my husband, as this one dream affected me quite badly. I was not afraid of what I had witnessed; but the emotional anguish of those surrounding me, and the sight of my precious daughter yelling "Mommy" while reaching for me was too much. I drifted back to sleep only after my husband comforted me, while I cried my heart out upon his shoulder. Going to the internet upon awaking, I typed the sentence I had been given on a biblical concordance website called biblegateway.com. Acts 2:21 states, "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." It left such a strong impression on me that I had the verse printed in the personals section of the classified ads in my local newspaper. It stayed there for a week.

For about two weeks after this second dream, I felt connected to God himself. Not knowing how else to explain it, I felt a love like never before. I had a lot of answers and everything made sense. Even with the biblical reference to prove (at least if only to myself) that these dreams are from God, I beseeched him, "What makes us so special?"

On January 8, 2004, I had my third dream. Once again, my husband and daughter were with me. It was a beautiful, warm day, and we were in WalMart's parking lot in Mattoon [Illinois], but part of the lot was like a lake, and we were fishing out of it. This did not seem unusual at all. Unexpectedly, I hooked such a big fish that I could not handle it, and handed my fishing pole to a friend, who just happened to be Michael Landon. This was perfectly natural; he was simply a family friend, and there was no knowledge of him being a deceased actor. Unexpectedly, people started gaping at the western sky and began shrieking, using their hands over their eyes like visors. Then we all stared into the sky, and witnessed a flaming comet. Being a huge burning ball of rock, it was about the size of a large house. It sailed overhead and impacted thunderously in the area of Charleston, the flames and debris growing so rapidly that all would be instantly killed from the ensuing shock wave. This was a very real and genuine feeling, and I actually yelled, "It's really happening this time!" I then shouted to the panicking crowd, "Don't be afraid, just ask God to take you home." But then abruptly, as if right at the moment we would have perished, my family and I were being helped by a policeman into his car to be taken home. For some unknown reason, we did not have transportation. I then realized this event did not yet happen. Only then did I have the thought that maybe I should tell this officer about my dreams, so that he would be prepared for this future event. I then awoke, and it was six-thirty in the morning.

The night before this third and final dream took place found me deep in thought, but not about these dreams. I was questioning myself about what I wanted to do with my life. Money for college was presented to me at Christmastime; what to do with it (and on what classes to take) consumed my mind.... Going to bed the night before this final dream found me literally on my knees praying to God for direction. I told him that I did not know what my purpose on this earth is, and I begged him for guidance to help me know what to do. It was a bit unsettling to have that dream after such a prayer.

Two months later, in mid-March of 2004, I awoke with a very strong audible and male-voiced message: "The rest of the world will be told that it's a terrorist attack."

Being a stay-at-home mom and homemaker, I feel that I am nothing overly special. And yet, it seems that I have been chosen to relate some very important information. The typing of this paper feels like a responsibility too great for me to handle. Perhaps it is because the very thought of premonitions, like God himself, is a touchy subject for many. What will people think? What will people say? Will they believe me? Will they ridicule me? Simply noting fellow students wishing to remain anonymous speaks of this. I have nothing but respect and understanding for their feelings on this sensitive subject. I also have been afraid of being too bold with stating what I believe in.

Stating my beliefs, however, is core in my plea to you. The only argument that I can use in defense of myself is to quote the book I believe in, and what it says about people who lie about false dreams. In Jeremiah 23:32 it states, "Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err [make mistakes or go astray] by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord." I truly care for people, and I am having some powerful dreams. Science says there is no way to prove that they will happen, so maybe I should just keep them to myself.

We are, after all, living in a world that is ruled by science. The nature of Science permeates everything we know, or expect to learn about things. Dreams are that which come out of the unconscious, or so we are told, and they are one of the things studied by psychologists and parapsychologists alike. In The American Heritage Dictionary (1982), it reads: [psychology is] "the Science of mental processes and behavior," and [parapsychology is] "the study of phenomena...that are not explainable by known natural laws." Did you catch the difference there? Perhaps what I found online as cited in "Science Frontiers" is clearer about the nature of science. "Mainstream science follows the dictates of "logical positivism", which insists that the only acceptable observations are those that can be experienced by all persons. Since few of us have precognitive dreams, the rules of science would have to be changed if they are to be embraced by science."(8) But why does science have to have the final say on things? As in most subjects, science cannot possibly have all the answers, can they?

Famed Swiss psychologist Dr. Carl G. Jung was frustrated with arrogance, in my opinion, when he said, "we still complacently assume that consciousness is sense and the unconscious is nonsense. In science, such an assumption would be laughed out of court. Do microbes, for instance, make sense or nonsense?"(9) No matter how many predictions go down in history as having come true, they are phenomena that cannot be proven as an exact science. But provable or not, science cannot refute the fact that they do occur, and have occurred to many people, including highly respected people in world history.

There are some scientists that believe in things that science may never be able to explain. As cited in the Guardian Unlimited, an online international news source, "Colin Humphreys is...professor of materials science at Cambridge [in England].... He is also a Baptist. 'I believe that the scientific world view can explain almost anything,' he says. 'But I just think there is another world view as well.'"(10) Extremely pleased to hear that, I discovered that he is not the only scientist to feel that way: "Russell Stannard...emeritus professor of physics at the Open University [in England]...believes in the power of science. He...[also] believes in God.... 'I would say that God does take a personal interest in us. If you were allowed one word to describe God by, that word would be love.'"(11) As one who believes that God himself is a real, sentient being, proving that he exists does not matter...I just know that he does.

Forget all about the arguments concerning religious doctrine, just for a moment, and know this: God has shared a warning with me, and I am now sharing it with you. Just like God gave us the gift of free will, I personally believe that he also gave the earth free will; that is to say, he allows nature to take its course without any interruptions from him. I was shown, through vivid dreams, that a large rock from space will impact the area in which I live. So what are we supposed to do now?

Have a talk with God, in prayer or meditation, and ask for direction. Even if you do not believe in a higher power, chances are good that you do believe that premonitions have come true. When you are alone, you can speak privately to this wonderful divine being. Even if you do not believe in God, tell him, and ask him to guide you anyway. You may be led out of this area at the crucial time. You may be led to stay. For the sake of argument, IF this event never happens, then "no harm, no foul". But if you do not believe now, and this event does happen, it only takes a second to ask him to take you home, or to take care of your loved ones.

If your belief does not rest within the bible's pages, as do mine, you might find this quote by Dr. Carl Jung interesting: "We are so captivated by and entangled in our subjective consciousness that we have forgotten the age-old fact that God speaks chiefly through dreams and visions."(12)

I have come to accept and appreciate Dr. Jung's statement.



Endnotes:

(1) CBS Broadcasting Inc, "Jenna M. Bows Out" [The Early Show], 12 February 2004 [cited 20 April 2004]; available from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/02/12/earlyshow/series/survivor/main599973.shtml

(2) Martin Ebon, Prophecy in Our Time, (New York: The New American Library Inc, 1968), 203.

(3) Ibid., 11.

(4) Sandra Shulman, Nightmare - The World of Terrifying Dreams, (New York: MacMillan Publishing Co Inc, 1979), 174 & 177.

(5) Ebon, 209.

(6) Ibid., 209.

(7) Shulman, 166.

(8) William R. Corliss, "Precognitive Dreams" [Science Frontiers Online], Nov-Dec 1998 [cited 22 April 2004]; available from Science Frontiers #120, Nov-Dec 1998

(9) Carl G. Jung et al., Man and His Symbols, (New York: Doubleday & Company Inc, 1964), 102.

(10) Tim Radford, "'Science Cannot Provide All the Answers' Why Do So Many Scientists Believe in God?" [Guardian Unlimited], 04 September 2003 [cited 22 April 2004]; available from http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/feature/story/0,13026,1034872,00.html

(11) Ibid.

(12) Jung, 102.