Premonitions: An exploration of the 'sixth sense'

Premonition, a painting of Henry Wysenhoff, 1893

Carol Forsloff - Dr. Linda Okerke attended a special academic high school in Natchitoches, Louisiana, for gifted young people. I was her patient at an orthopedic clinic in Portland, Oregon, and saw her for the first time in 2012, a year after leaving Natchitoches, where my husband and I had lived six years. Dr. Okerke and I shared the remark: "What a coincidence," when we discovered we had both lived in Natchitoches, a statement often made in such circumstances. But are there such things as coincidences, or is there some predetermined or mystical planning that brings people together at opportune times?

People speculated after the death of Whitney Houston that she had a premonition of her own death as she spoke of wanting to be with Jesus. TMZ relates the conversations that Houston had with friends in the days before her death. She was said to have made this statement: "You know, he's so cool ... I really want to see that Jesus."

Others, however, maintain that there are no such things as premonitions, only coincidences. An article in the Daily Mail reasons that Whitney Houston took drugs on a regular basis and that the fact she mentioned her love for Jesus and wanting to be with Him was simply something that happened as it would at any other time in the singer's life, considering the regularity of her drug-taking.

Larry Dossey, MD tells us, "I used to believe that we must choose between science and reason on one hand and spirituality on the other, in how we lead our lives. Now I consider this a false choice. We can recover the sense of sacredness, not just in science, but in perhaps every area of life."

For me, I had been anxious about seeing a bone specialist, as the increased pain signaled that perhaps my osteoporosis condition was worsening, and I feared the type of medical treatment that might mean hospitalization or some special medication that would cause me to be unable to do the type of concentrated work in writing and music that I enjoy. I hoped, and literally prayed, for support or solace when I saw a specialist for the first time in Portland.

Having a doctor from the same town from which I had recently moved, and had so loved, immediately quieted my fears, as I recognized that in some fashion I had received that special solace that I seemed to know would come. It is this type of "knowing" that Dr. Dossey maintains is possible and that is a gift that helps us plan ahead and to manage problems that might otherwise have no answer.

Dossey writes, "Most researchers believe premonitions are trying to do us a favor. They are mainly about survival."  He goes on to say that whereas many premonitions are of possible danger, there are also positive ones as well. As he says, "They come in many flavors."

After interviewing many people about their premonitions, Dossey wrote a book entitled "The Power of Premonitions: How Knowing the Future Can Help Shape Our Lives." His scientific work and conclusions are based about anecdotal evidence, something others question.  On the other hand, the possibility of having that special something that comes to us, for whatever reason, in answer to a prayer or a feeling or a belief, folks say can certainly bring comfort and relief in times of crisis.

Kevin Costner offers sterling performance at Whitney Houston funeral

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Carol Forsloff - Culture, music and religious differences faded in the Kevin Costner performance at singer Whitney Houston’s funeral, as he addressed these issues in ways that bind and not divide, as so many other events often do,  and as he spoke of the love and faith that unify our souls.

It was that performance that showed the world community the central part the church plays in the African American community, as they heard Costner speak about his friend Houston with humor and great affection.  His message and his manner crossed that great divide that  some folks in the South relate,  how death and Sunday church are the two times when segregation most often shows its face.

Costner talked about the similarities between him and Whitney Houston and how the issues of her life and death had touched him in deeply personal ways. The similarities Costner addressed had to do with faith, the memories of childhood that faith issues and events bring when folks become adults.  He and Houston had both grown up in the Baptist church, were involved in the music and the very culture of their church.  He spoke of how important, how significant these things can be in how we relate to one another throughout our lives.  But in addressing those areas of shared belief, Costner also touched upon the kind of superficial differences that keep folks from learning how faith can bring folks together, as occurred with Costner and Houston in the making of the film,  “The Bodyguard.”

As great gospel music poured through the church in New Jersey as people gathered to celebrate the life of Whitney Houston, perhaps it was Costner who, in sharing his conversations with Whitney about life and faith and what is really meaningful in life, brought a sense of unity to those gathered at the church, as well as those who watched on television today.  Like the film, "The Bodyguard," that challenged notions of race and what it means to love beyond those superficial differences, the message from the actor, Costner, reminded us again how love and faith are the overriding qualities that bind us all in death.