Larry Dossey is a physician, author, health advisor and visionary. His writing invites you to be more grateful and accepting of what you already know inside yourself. He is known to explore ideas of both Science and Spirituality.
His new book, The Power of Premonitions: How Knowing the Future Can Shape Our Lives, offers valuable insight to encourage people to have more love and appreciation in their lives. After reading a number of his books, I heard him on the Awakenings radio show with Michele Meiche and contacted him. He generously shares this interview here;
In your view, what is a premonition?
“Premonition” literally means “forewarning.” Premonitions are a heads-up about something just around the corner, usually unpleasant. It may be a health crisis, a family death, or a national disaster.
Sometimes they also provide information about pleasant happenings ahead — a job promotion, where the last remaining parking place is, or, in some instances, the winning lottery numbers.
What prompted you to write your latest book?
I was intrigued by my own resistance. I actually tried not to write it. I largely ignored this stuff for years, but the my own premonitions grabbed me and would not let go. I could not ignore it. Would you?
Dreams guide me. How do dreams relate to your process?
My precognitive experiences initially took the form of dream premonitions. They were unnerving and totally upset my worldview.
What drew attention to your perceived, inner conflict?
My Science education taught that effects could not come before their cause, that time flowed in one direction, and information from the future could not flow into the past. As my premonitions later proved valid, I realized my worldview was incomplete and had to be reshaped.
So, you grew aware of a stage of your own inner journey.
How do you react to premonitions that scare people due to links to divination and the supernatural?
People can use premonitions and divinatory abilities for nefarious purposes, to manipulate and control (and harm) others. Historyis filled with examples. Adark side of psychic abilities is recognized in nearly all cultures. I wrote a book about the dark side of prayer, Be Careful What You Pray For, exploring the negative uses of prayer.
What do you say on loving visions of the supernatural?
All cultures that recognize dark uses of psychic abilities also recognize protective abilities that guard against negative effects. Most cultures that recognize "the dark side of the psyche" live fairly gracefully with these possibilities. They realize they don't necessarily need to feel victimized by them. Only Western cultures seem to be really hung up about this issue.
But, even in Western, Christian nations there are "prayers of protection" -- the Lord's Prayer ("deliver us from evil"), the 23rd Psalm, the Prayer of St. Francis, etc.Images and visualizations are often used (surrounding oneself with protective white light, or enshrouding oneself with Love, and so on....)
Why do premonitions suddenly seem more acceptable or credible due to Scientific research?
Scientific research isn't necessary. In the history of the human race, Science is a very recent development; people relied on premonitions/ future knowing for tens of thousands of years before the advent of Science.
More specifically, why do certain people require scientific support to believe their intuition?
Science has become a dominant paradigm in our time. We are creatures born both to faith and intellect. Science also employs Faith. Science could not operate without it --- Faith in the regularity of nature, the dependability of so-called natural processes and laws, and so on. We should employ all our gifts and abilities wisely -- Faith and Science.
How do you reconcile opposition of Science and Spirituality?
I personally believe Science, if practiced wisely, can be a spiritual path. Many of the earliest scientists, such as Newton, saw Science as a path to knowing God.
For example, the famous Oxford Book of Prayer has an entire section devoted to "prayers of protection." I personally believe we have something we might call a "psychic immune system" that protects us against the negative, non-local wishes and intentions of others, much like our physical immune system protects us from infectious agents.
Why not accept visions on pure faith without Scientific proof?
Since Science is a dominant paradigm, why not use it if it affirms, say, premonitions/ future knowing? There is an avalanche of scientific evidence thatthe mind is in some sense non-local -- not localized or, confined to specific points in space, such as brains or bodies, and not confined to specific points in time, such as the present. The evidence powerfully indicates that some aspect of the human psyche is infinite, which is a synonym for "nonlocal." If so, some aspect of our mind is immortal or eternal.
Why not use such glorious scientific findings? The problems come when we do science piecemeal, rejecting these findings. But that's not valid science, but prejudice. If someone wishes to reject Science,that is a choice.
Some people also tap into inner knowing without external approval or validation. How do you respond to that?
Indeed, there are many paths up the mountain. For myself, I'll take Science and faith. One cannot practice valid Science without faith.
What advice do you offer people who receive premonitions about death, assassinations and crises that turn out to be repeatedly true? (I had a client who only remembered her dreams when it pertained to premonitions of accidental death. She would have no idea of the identity of people in her dreams and would later read about their obituaries. I also know people who receive sensitive information.)
One must make one's own decision about how to handle this information, and that decision depends on the level of certainty or uncertainty as to its validity. I don't have any hard and fast advice. These are difficult matters, as I'm sure you appreciate.
Early in the Premonitions book, I discuss the views of Louisa Rhine on when to report premonitions of disaster or doom. I can't repeat that here; look up "Rhine, Louisa" in the index and see what this wise woman and precognition researcher had to say on the subject. BTW, she was one of the world's greatest authorities on spontaneous premonitions.
I too have had medical clients with these abilities, who found them very disturbing. In each case, I tried to help the person toward a position of gratitude for this great gift, yet at the same accept their fallibility and limitations as a mere human with innate imperfections.
How does growing trust in your own premonitions shift your perception of Science and human limitations?
It humanizes Science because it reveals a majestic, quite wonderful side of the human mind -- the nonlocal, infinite, immortal, eternal, timeless side, as I discussed above.
Knowing each soul can foresee future possibilities, and has the power to change, what do you believe would prompt more people to take personal responsibility in their own lives?
Taking responsibility for this gift or ability would mean accepting it as a fact, then taking measures to refine and perfect it, just as a naturally gifted athlete, musician, or artist would try to refine her/his gift. It would mean honouring the ethical implications of this gift as well. That is, if we are indeed creatures who are in some sense nonlocal in space and time, as the evidence suggests, this means that at some level one cannot separate individual minds from all other minds.
In some sense, all minds come together to form a One Mind or a Universal Mind. This means that we are all connected. The ethical implications are profound. They make possible a sense of unity between all things, all beings, not just humans. This permits a revision of the Golden Rule, from "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," to "Do good to others because in some sense they ARE you."
You talk about “evidence” for premonitions. Isn’t evidence just anecdotes and stories?
This field used to be only about stories, but that’s changed. There’s now a science of premonitions. For the first time in history, we can now use “premonition” and “science” in the same sentence.
Take the “presentiment” experiments that have been pioneered by consciousness researcher Dean Radin. Briefly, a person sits in front of a computer, which will make a random selection from a large collection of images that are of two types — calming or violent. Calming images may be a lovely scene from nature; violent images deal with death, carnage, grisly autopsies, and so on. The subject has some physiological function being measured, such as the electrical conductivity of the skin or the diameter of the pupil. The bodily function begins to change several seconds before the image is randomly selected by the computer and shown on the screen. Here’s the shocker: the physiological change occurs to a greater degree if the image to be shown is violent in nature. How is this possible? How does the body know which image is going to be shown in the future?
Dozens of these studies have been done by various researchers. They show that we have a built-in, unconscious ability to know the future. Somehow the body knows before our awareness kicks in. There’s a charming quotation in the book The Secret Life of Bees that captures this. Fourteen-year-old Lilly says, “The body knows things a long time before the mind catches up to them.”
Another type of experiment is called “remote viewing,” in which people can consciously know highly detailed information up to a week before it happens. These studies were pioneered at Stanford Research Institute, and are replicated at Princeton University and elsewhere.
How does one develop the capacity for premonitions?
The main thing is not to try too hard. Premonitions usually come unbidden. They largely “do” us; we don’t “do” them. So the trick is to invite them, not compel them, into your life.
First, simply realize that these experiences are extremely common, and that it’s likely that you will experience them.
Second, keep a dream journal, because premonitions occur most frequently during dreams. Record your dreams as soon as possible on waking. Most people find that premonitions become more frequent when they do this.
Third, learn to quiet your body and mind. Sit down, shut up, be quiet, and pay attention. Some people call this meditation; others simply call it “getting quiet.” Research shows that skilled meditators perform better on premonition experiments than just about anyone. Meditation opens a door to premonitions and helps us notice them when they occur.
What do your medical colleagues think about your book?
Nearly all of them are supportive.
I’ve discussed premonitions with hundreds of physicians in lectures at medical schools and hospitals all over the United States. I was hesitant at first, thinking they’d all probably get up and walk out. The opposite happens. They open up and share their own stories.
Larry, you are prolific. Please share a key lesson you have learned.
I used to believe we must choose between Science/ Reason and spirituality, in how we lead our lives. Now, I consider this a false choice. The good thing is we can recover the sense of sacredness, not just in Science, but in every area of life.
We are grateful Larry, for the insight you offer here. You remind people they can learn to gain more confidence in their own inner knowing. External views or approval need not control faith in oneself. Yet, they can also be reassuring.
I highly recommend readers consult http://www.dosseydossey.com/larry/default.html for more information on Larry's books, appearances and perspectives.