POOCH SAYS

      Do our eyes deceive us? Does our mind play tricks on us? Do we hear noises that don't exist?

      I once saw my father pass me driving in the opposite direction from the way I was headed. I was so surprised to see him that I called out, "Daddy," but he never turned his head. When I recovered from my shock, I remembered that my father had been dead for over thirty years! Did my eyes deceive me or was my mind trying to bring him back?

      Long ago my husband and I were driving in a near white-out. The snow was piled high on the sides of the road and the road itself was snow-covered. As we carefully rounded a gentle curve in the road we could see a gigantic V snow plow headed toward us. Panic set in (at least on my part.) No place to pull over. We couldn't stop because we would have bogged down right in the roadway.

      Plow and car advanced toward each other. As we edged toward the plow, it began to change shape. Before we could collide, however, the snow plow turned into a huge oak tree by the roadside! Had we been expecting the worst the weather could offer and had both our minds immediately accepted unreality?

      I once awoke from a sound sleep and sat straight up in bed. My mother had called out my name in a voice that sounded as though she needed me. First, I debated on whether to call her and see what was wrong and then I wondered if I had dreamed the episode. It must have been my mind playing tricks on me because she laughed and said she'd slept the night through when I phoned her!

      Have you ever said goodbye to a person, knowing you would not see that person again? Is that intuition, extra-sensory perception, or the mind accepting what the emotions are denying?

      When things go badly in one's life and we expect - no, we KNOW - that the other shoe is sure to fall, does the unwanted occasion occur because we have willed it to happen? Can our minds be so powerful that they can subconsciously cause us to bring misfortune upon ourselves?

      If we can enjoy the magician's acts and the conjuror's feats of the seemingly impossible, can we not accept the fact that we are just as capable of fooling our own selves?

      What does it mean when an animal stares down an empty hallway, the bristles rise on her back, and she lets out a low growl? Do animals sense spirits among us?

      My personal jury is still out regarding every aspect of the para-normal; but while I'm deciding, let me read YOUR mind!