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LETTER TO THE EDITOR
or known (precognition); and that living is so thorough, there is no
way to distinguish it from everyday reality while the phenomenon
is in progress. (1996, p. 20)
Do not confuse this with ddjd vu, which is past oriented. What I
am referring to is a clear and cogent ability to access the future
somehow and "live" it before physical manifestation.
Features I have noticed with the future memory phenomenon are
physical sensations at start and finish, akin to a chill, rush, lift,
tickle, or "high"; an occurrence pattern that appears to be universal
regardless of experiencer; a particular mind state when it happens,
usually wide awake and alert, although some report it during dream
states and near-death states; content typically include mundane ac-
tivity but sometimes covers significant events, feels like a "rehearsal"
of some kind; awareness of power to change the future afterward,
claimed by some experiencers, although others say they cannot; and
consequences includes handling stress better because of "rehearsals,"
becoming more peaceful and confident, after which the frequency of
futuristic episodes often subsides.
I found the future memory phenomenon rather perplexing until I
began to study childhood behavior patterns, especially at around the
ages of three to five when the temporal lobes develop. Children at
this age are almost entirely "future-oriented," as they play with pos-
sibilities of what may soon be expected of them as they grow. These
futuristic "rehearsals" give birth to the imagination, which enables
youngsters to establish continuity in their lives and the validity of
action and reaction.
When I compared this to my near-death research, I began to notice
all kinds of correlations, which I discussed at length in Future Mem-
ory (1996). For the sake of brevity, I will simply say here that people
who go through a brain shift display evidence of what appears to be
a temporal lobe expansion and traits associated with the rebirth of
imagination. As with the young when they experience the fullness
of an emerging consciousness, near-death experiencers during and
after their episodes often find themselves involved in enlargements
of consciousness.
Once tossed off as "flashforwards" (Ring, 1982), future memory
might well be a significant factor in near-death research and a clue
to the mechanism for transformations of consciousness, or higher
brain development.
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