Tuesday 18 August 2009

Things I Still Cannot Explain

I consider myself to be a very scientific person. Having studied psychology, I enjoy analysing things. Furthermore, I believe that understanding the world allows us to make a number of positive changes. When people stop questioning things, it becomes quite easy for them to absorb many beliefs in a dogmatic way. For the past few years, I have always ended up pushing religion away from my life because it is way too hard for me to believe something just because I am told that it is the "Truth".

Having studied a bit of physics, I am aware that there are a lot of things going on in the universe which we cannot witness with our naked eye. Of course, the fact that we cannot see something does not mean that it does not exist. The electron had existed for countless centuries, but it was not identified before 1897. Having said this, the discovery of certain particles in the universe is hard to compare with the discovery of, say, an entity that plays an active part in human life.

Although I believe that various phenomena could be explained quite easily nowadays, there are a few things which I still cannot explain. Two specific events are mentioned below.

The Prediction

In October 2006, the Malta Labour Party won the general election. The Labour Party had not been in power since 1987. A few days following the Labour Party's 1996 victory, I remember that I was talking to some friends at the Junior College in Msida. One of them said that a certain woman from Girgenti had predicted that Dr Alfred Sant's government would not last for more than 2 years. (I believe that the same woman was also famous for having visions of "the Virgin".) When I heard the prediction, I was very sceptical; I told the guy that since Malta had become a Republic in 1974, such a thing had never happened. In September 1998 - almost two years following the Labour Party's victory - a crisis within the Labour Party sparked an early election. The Labour Party lost that election and the Nationalist Party was returned to power.


A Visit to a Psychic Medium

In July 2008, I went to a Maltese psychic medium. Although I had read a great deal about a number of famous psychic mediums such as James Van Praagh, I had never been to one. I had received some positive feedback about the Maltese medium and I decided to go with a very open mind. I clearly remember that I called from a phone that did not belong to me, but I cannot recall whether I gave my name. The reading took place around two days after I called.

At first, the guy seemed to be completely off the mark. He said that there were three spirits close to me. One was of a young male called Ivan. The medium stated that he was a dancer from Santa Venera. Nothing.

He then described a woman who seemed to match my mom's physical description ("light-coloured eyes, fair, and stout"). During the session, I was taking notes, but I was not volunteering any information. The medium said that there was a family connection between me and her, meaning that she was a blood relative. The medium was supposedly conveying information that he was receiving from my mom when he told me "inti ma tantx temmen" ("you are not much of a believer") and "inti z-zghir" ("you are the young one"). True. The most shocking part came when the medium told me the exact date of her passing! He was also spot-on regarding the cause of her death.


I am aware of the fact that with reference to both cases mentioned above, it is still possible to argue that the "information" was the result of guesswork. Having said this, I keep asking myself: was it just guesswork? Or could it be that such cases represent phenomena that still cannot be explained very easily using our current knowledge of the universe?



1 comment:

Suki said...

Yeah these psychic mediums are one big question - are they real? Do they really communicate with the our dead relatives? We'll never be able to answer it. And what about the fortune tellers? Are they quacks or do they really see something in one's palm? Questions questions questions.