Posts in category: Things That Occur to Me

My Goodreads Advance Review Copy giveaway for THE FIELD is open! It will run from Tuesday, June 18th until Tuesday, July 9th. I’m giving away 20 copies (yes, you read that right, 20 copies) in exchange for a review posted on Goodreads. SIGN UP TO WIN! One of my friends always says “Free is Good” and so is getting a copy of THE FIELD before everyone else!

This is a picture of deep space taken by the Hubble telescope. Scientists pointed it at a place in space the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length that they thought was EMPTY and left it to gather light for a week to see what they would find. What they found was over 10,000 galaxies. These points of light aren’t just stars, they are GALAXIES each composed of billions of stars. In a point the size of a grain of sand. Mind Blown.

In THE FIELD I explore the idea that there is much more out there in the Universe than we can see or even fully understand.

Here’s a little excerpt teaser from THE FIELD:

To set up the scene – Eric is over at Renee’s house for a ‘homework date.’ She’s not ready yet, so he has to hang out in the kitchen with her father, Dr. Auberge, a prominent physicist who’s running thought experiments that Eric has participated in. 

“Ah, hello. It’s Eric, correct?” Dr. Auberge says. “You must be here to see Renee.”

“Yes, sir. We’re doing homework together.”

“Well, come in, then.” He holds open the door for me. “Renee!” He calls up the stairs, “You have a visitor!”

“Okay, I need to clean up my paint and brushes. I’ll be down in a minute.” She replies from somewhere on the second floor.

“Come back to the kitchen. No telling how long a minute could be.” Great. One-on-one time with dad. You’d think that I’d jump at the chance to get in good with him because of the internship, but I’m pretty sure that dating his daughter isn’t one of the selection criteria. Might even count against me. “Would you like something to drink? Water, soda?” asks Dr. Auberge.

“No, thanks, I’m good.” I find a spot to stand by the kitchen table and try not to look too uncomfortable.

“Please, sit down,” he gestures to the table and pulls out a chair for himself. I sit on the edge of the chair nearest me, nervous because I’m wondering if I’m going to get the ‘potential boyfriend’ grilling. I want to be ready to jump up and leave as soon as Renee comes down, but he says, “Stephen told me about your results on the remote viewing study. Impressive for your first session without any training. Also, the fact that you and your friend are not a ‘couple’ in the strictest sense. One or both of you has a very well developed enhanced consciousness.”

Here’s the enhanced consciousness again. “Uh, what do you mean?” I stumble out. Not the direction I expected the conversation to go.

“Well, usually for subjects who have a high score initially, we find that it’s not the first time they’ve experienced enhanced consciousness. It might be that they have premonitions or maybe coincidences occur frequently for them. Or it could be more like feelings of deja-vu or dreams or that they are more perceptive of the feelings of people around them. Most likely other things, too, that they aren’t even fully aware of.” I just stare at him for a minute. I think my mouth might even be hanging open.

“Is that true for you?” He looks at me inquiringly. It’s as if he knows something about me that I didn’t even fully recognize myself. I’m a little apprehensive, but also curious.

Cautiously I say, “Yeah, I guess I’ve had some of those things happen, but I’ve never thought much about it,” I try to shrug it off.

“What sort of things do you experience?” He’s leaning back in his chair, apparently having a casual conversation, but the way he’s focused on me makes me think that he’s intently listening. I figure I might as well tell him about the soccer stuff.

“Sometimes when I’m in the goal, it’s almost like a thought pops into my head, and I suddenly know where the shot will be going or which way I should dive. I’ve always thought it was athletic instinct or something like that. I’ve tried out some sports psychology stuff about visualizing the outcome you want, so I figured maybe it had something to do with that.”

“It could be instinctive athleticism or that you are subconsciously reading the behavior of the other players, or,” he pauses for emphasis. “You could be tapping into the Collective Consciousness.”

“What’s that?” I feel like The Twilight Zone theme song should be playing in the background.

“It’s called many things; the Akashic Record, the Universal Stream of Consciousness, and by some, God. Many eastern religions believe that we are all connected to each other and to what you could call God or higher consciousness by our thoughts and that thoughts have power, or even energy. Science is just now recognizing the power of thought. As you said, visualization is used frequently in sports, but there is much more to it than that.” I’m thinking that I am in store for a really out-there conversation with Dr. Auberge, but I’m saved when Renee comes into the kitchen and puts her hand lightly on my shoulder. I didn’t hear her come in so it startles me a little. The conversation with Dr. Auberge was getting pretty intense. At some deep level it resonates with me, but at the same time, thinking that there’s a Universal Stream of Consciousness seems straight out of a science fiction novel. It’s hard to believe that it could actually be real.