Your unexplained experiences

[Archiver]

Many of us have had experiences that seem out of the ordinary, that some might call supernatural, paranormal or just plain odd. What are yours? If you have a photo that illustrates or is connected, even better.

In the days after my grandfather passed away, Dad said that he suddenly had a very strong scent-impression of his father, and sense that he was there. One of my Aunts swears she saw her long-passed grandmother standing in the doorway and looking lovingly at my Aunt's baby daughter. A month after one of my friends went missing, presumed dead, I had an incredibly vivid dream about him, and I became aware that I was dreaming, and that somehow he was visiting me. I thanked him for being such a good friend, and awoke with a feeling of happiness. He was a devout Buddhist, interestingly.

But one of the more odd experiences I've had was a couple of years ago on a road trip, and was nothing to do with someone passing.

My partner and I were driving interstate from Melbourne to Canberra, and she usually dozes off while I drive. On this trip, we passed a bus which had stopped by the side of the road. The back engine section of the bus was open, and the uniformed driver and a few passengers stood looking at the engine. About 15 minute later, we pulled in to a truck stop for a toilet break, had some snacks, then continued. The weird thing was that about 15 minutes later, we passed the same scene, just as before. A very similar bus by the side of the road, engine gate open, and a uniformed driver and a few passengers looking in. I blurted out, 'did you see that?' to my partner. She woke up and dreamily said, 'see what?' I explained what I saw, but unfortunately she had been asleep.

What the heck was this? A crazy coincidence where another bus played out the same scene? Did the first bus get back on the road, pass us while we stopped, then break down again further along? Or did I witness a crack in time?

 

[valdas]

Many of us have had experiences that seem out of the ordinary, that some might call supernatural, paranormal or just plain odd. What are yours? If you have a photo that illustrates or is connected, even better.

In the days after my grandfather passed away, Dad said that he suddenly had a very strong scent-impression of his father, and sense that he was there. One of my Aunts swears she saw her long-passed grandmother standing in the doorway and looking lovingly at my Aunt's baby daughter. A month after one of my friends went missing, presumed dead, I had an incredibly vivid dream about him, and I became aware that I was dreaming, and that somehow he was visiting me. I thanked him for being such a good friend, and awoke with a feeling of happiness. He was a devout Buddhist, interestingly.

But one of the more odd experiences I've had was a couple of years ago on a road trip, and was nothing to do with someone passing.

My partner and I were driving interstate from Melbourne to Canberra, and she usually dozes off while I drive. On this trip, we passed a bus which had stopped by the side of the road. The back engine section of the bus was open, and the uniformed driver and a few passengers stood looking at the engine. About 15 minute later, we pulled in to a truck stop for a toilet break, had some snacks, then continued. The weird thing was that about 15 minutes later, we passed the same scene, just as before. A very similar bus by the side of the road, engine gate open, and a uniformed driver and a few passengers looking in. I blurted out, 'did you see that?' to my partner. She woke up and dreamily said, 'see what?' I explained what I saw, but unfortunately she had been asleep.

What the heck was this? A crazy coincidence where another bus played out the same scene? Did the first bus get back on the road, pass us while we stopped, then break down again further along? Or did I witness a crack in time?

Have you read “The holographic universe” by Michael Talbot? They say it’s a lot of pseudoscience (like synchronicity of Jung) and abuse of current theories in quantum physics (like string theory), but once you experience yourself something similar, you start to wonder…

 

[seany65]

Hmmm, Could they have managed to get the Bus going after you passed it and when you were in the truck stop it passed you and then broke down again?

My unexplained experience happened some years ago. I was in the living room and I heard an odd noise, so I went to investigate. I looked at the windows and doors on the way to the kitchen which was the last room to be checked downstairs. I saw that a fairly tall glass had shattered into tiny pieces, much like a car door window when thieves break in. The area the shattered glass covered was small-ish and quite concentrated around where the glass had been. The kettle had been on before the noise, but the kettle was an "auto-off" kettle and the spout was higher than the glass and was about 6 or 7 inches away, so the steam couldn't have really affected the glass. I had also drunk some water from the glass a good few minutes earlier but the water was not icey-cold but cool. You may be thinking that "cold water in a glass and that glass then subject to steam? Case closed! But the cold water had been in for a very short time and a few minutes before I'd put the kettle on and the kettle sent the steam above the level of the glass and until the water was nearly boiling there wasn't a lot of steam, and what steam there was sent upwards.

 

[bulevardi]

They say it’s a lot of pseudoscience (like synchronicity of Jung)

I can relate with synchronicities a lot.
I think I have a predisposition to feel this more when they occur.

Such as a song that you haven't heard for over 30 years, suddenly you hear it on the radio, nice and nostalgic.
But later on that day you walk by a bar on a street and you hear that exact same song playing there.
What are the odds!

 

[Rayt]

I was sleeping and woke up with intense physical pain to my eyes. They were burning and my eye lids felt like sandpaper. I couldn’t open them and had to crawl to the bathroom to wash my face but it didn’t help. Forgot about calling an ambulance I couldn’t see a thing. I sat up in bed and eventually fell sleep. The next morning I looked at my phone which is always on mute due to spam calls, I saw a dozen texts and missed calls. My mother died. I then went to pick up my sister to go to the hospice when I noticed one of her eyes was blood red. My sister experienced the same thing but I didn’t tell her what happened to me. I just didn’t want to talk about it. I took her to an ophthalmologist and her cornea was scratched during the night.

 

[valdas]

I was sleeping and woke up with intense physical pain to my eyes. They were burning and my eye lids felt like sandpaper. I couldn’t open them and had to crawl to the bathroom to wash my face but it didn’t help. Forgot about calling an ambulance I couldn’t see a thing. I sat up in bed and eventually fell sleep. The next morning I looked at my phone which is always on mute due to spam calls, I saw a dozen texts and missed calls. My mother died. I then went to pick up my sister to go to the hospice when I noticed one of her eyes was blood red. My sister experienced the same thing but I didn’t tell her what happened to me. I just didn’t want to talk about it. I took her to an ophthalmologist and her cornea was scratched during the night.

Scary experience. The night my father died many years ago my 12 years old daughter came to my room and said that she could not seep and is afraid because she saw her grandpa standing at her bed. Well, I said to myself, just a bad dream which coincided with my dad leaving this world. Who knows.

 

[valdas]

I can relate with synchronicities a lot.
I think I have a predisposition to feel this more when they occur.

Such as a song that you haven't heard for over 30 years, suddenly you hear it on the radio, nice and nostalgic.
But later on that day you walk by a bar on a street and you hear that exact same song playing there.
What are the odds!

Yes, that happens a lot. The explanation, they say, is that low probability events happen more often than we think. And then there is confirmation bias - we start paying attention to things we did not notice before. But again - sometimes it’s too difficult to believe it’s just the low probability event.

 

[peterm1]

In 2016 my wife and I planned a short trip away to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (we live in Adelaide, South Australia, although my wife was at the time working and living in rural South Australia as a Doctor and only got home irregularly and seldom was able to take any real leave from her work - just occasional weekends at home). In this case the trip was timed to coincide with some much-needed annual leave from her work in which she was essentially on call 24/7. Being a bit of a special and irregular thing, we decided to book a suite in the Windsor Hotel - a grand old "pile" (as the British say of grand homes) situated across the road from Victoria's Parliament House and which still exists as a remnant of the Victorian era and very redolent of that age.

A few days before the trip my mother had a serious stroke and it was apparent that it was likely that the outcome would not be good. Accordingly, the family including myself rushed to Brisbane (where she lived) to visit her in hospital and to confer with the Doctors. It seemed likely than nothing would happen immediately but the outcome was inevitable so given the restriction on my wife, she and I decided to proceed with the short visit to Melbourne as planned although it was overshadowed by expected events concerning my mother. I knew that I could just as well fly to Brisbane directly from Melbourne should it prove necessary.

One night, 2-3 days into the trip, and unable to sleep, I lay awake on the lounge room sofa, reading until about 2.00am when I felt obliged to go to bed. Shortly after getting into bed, but before I was near sleep, I suddenly had the strongest and most vivid impression of my mother's presence which lasted perhaps 5 seconds - almost as if she had popped her head around the door to say good night. I experienced a sense that was simultaneously foreboding and reassuring, and pretty much instantly suspected what had happened. So I expected a call from my sister who likewise lived in Brisbane. Sure enough, early the next morning she rang to tell me our mother had passed - and as I expected this happened at the time I was getting ready for bed the night before, as mentioned above. I have never had such an experience either before or since. It was weird and yet somehow comforting though I am not really given to belief in such things. I was adopted at birth and only reunited with my birth family when I was in my late 30's - strangely we reconnected when both my mother and I made application under new laws recently enacted, to contact each other. And, get this - we were advised (by the government adoption authority responsible) that we both applied on the same day. It seems there was always some kind of connection to each other. I can only say one thing final thing about this specific experience.............Nice of the old girl to drop by and say goodbye!!🥲

An odd thing about The Windsor hotel is that it does have a reputation for some such events. My wife and I were staying in what is styled "The Dame Nellie Melba" suite. Dame Nellie being a famous operatic soprano around the late 19th and early 20th century. This suite, styled with this name, was the suite where she often stayed when visiting Melbourne after becoming famous and returning to her home city of Melbourne between tours. Apparently the hotel has a reputation for some kind of ghostly presence of Dame Nellie from time to time. (Or could it just be good marketing?) In any event she ever disturbed us, but my fleeting experience of the supernatural (if indeed that is what it was) was an interesting one and in the circumstances, not a little moving.

A picture of Alla my wife taken at the time of this event in the suite's grand sitting room. The style is a bit too grand and a bit too fussy for my tastes, but it was a nice place to stay though we have not had the chance to return. (Great breakfasts too, in case anyone is interested.) 😉