PGS / the “sensed presence” ~

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The last couple of days have been very busy.

We’re now in Chicago, after a solid 10hrs drive from Toronto, split up by an overnight stop at the Holiday Inn Express in a small Michigan town called Charlotte.

The Holiday Inn Express Charlotte MI was notable for the fact that it had dial-up speed internet, just when I needed to send some large files to Dubai for an investor to sight.

The trip into the US was also notable because we got stopped at the Canadian / USA border.

My own stupid fault.

There was a huge line of cars at the border crossing, waiting to get processed by immigration. I noticed one line was moving much faster than all the others, and so I deftly manoeuvred the car into that line.

And yes, the line was moving much more swiftly than all the others.

Whoopee, I thought. We’ll be through in no time.

And then Pieter said: What’s NEXUS mean Bill? 

Over our lane was a big neon sign saying NEXUS ONLY. I thought that meant a type of vehicle, you know, like a LEXUS, but spelt wrong. It IS America after all and they’re not that good with spelling. I figured I could talk my way around that one with the Immigration Officials if it came to that. Something along the lines of: Oh, I’m driving a Toyota. That’s made by the same company that makes Lexus. Am I right to go? 

Well, then I realised that the car in front had stopped at some kind of camera, and the driver had shown a card to a camera, and then had been waved through.

This was why the line was moving so fast.

It came my turn to stop at the camera. I read a sign that said: PLEASE SHOW YOUR NEXUS CARD. 

I showed my credit card.

And then I had to stop at a window where a very strict Immigration Official asked me some questions. It went like this:

US Immigration: And what are you doing in the United States?

Me: I’m making a film on intuition. 

US Immigration: Really? And how’s that going?

Me: I have a good feeling about it. 

He didn’t get the joke. Or maybe he did, and didn’t find it funny, because we then had to drive to a Guantanamo like compound and then go through half an hour of rigorous questioning. While that was happening, they searched the car. They even searched the suitcases, and found in Jennifer’s suitcase Pieter’s heavy tripod head and baseplate.

(Pieter had asked her to carry them on a flight to balance out the weights.)

We finally got released, with a very severe warning not to try and jump the line ever again by going in the NEXUS lane. We walked out to find another official holding up the tripod head and baseplate. From a distance it looked like the parts of an Improvised Explosive Device – that is, a bomb.

We explained what it was – the official looked at us skeptically, but then allowed us to go.

The reason we’d gone to Toronto (we got in at 11pm, and left at 1pm the next day) was to do an interview with John Geiger, Senior Fellow at Massey College, Toronto University, and CEO (formerly Governor) of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society.

He’s also author of THE THIRD MAN FACTOR and THE ANGEL EFFECT – both books examining what scientists refer to as “sensed presences.” A lot of those who have sensed these presences prefer to call them Angels.

In both books John has meticulously detailed first hand accounts of people who have reported “divine intervention” with a sensed presence.

John took a secular approach in the interview, which for my film was great because I have enough people referring to angels and taking a spiritual or religious approach.

John cited scientific research which gave plausible explanations for these phenomena, however he conceded in the interview that science really can’t explain everything.

For instance, he said that most of these so-called angelic encounters are accompanied with an overpowering empathy or feeling of what’s been described as love.

Science has no explanation for that.

It was an important interview, and will balance the ledger a little in my film – which is much needed for those who will watch the film and hanker for an empirical answer to these spiritual questions.

John Guiger (3 of 5) John Guiger (4 of 5)

25 thoughts on “PGS / the “sensed presence” ~”

  3. Hahahaha! Wonderfully entertaining post, Bill! You did, however, get off easy at the border. When we did our one and only – to date – one-week clairvoyant retreat in Canada (Island Lake, B.C.) many years ago, we were stopped at the border (not in the Nexus – or Lexus – line, however). They didn’t have a problem with Raphaelle and Nick, my younger son, aged 14 at the time (except that they confiscated his proud possession of fireworks that we had just purchased for the 4th of July to blow off on our return trip in a state that was legal to do that in). The paper Nick had to sign to fork over his firework collection stated that it was being turned over to the Queen of England. Nick wondered why the Queen would need his puny collection of fireworks! Anyway, it was me they wanted to detain. They wouldn’t even accept my US driver’s license even though they accepted Raphaelle’s. They searched every little compartment in the 28-foot RV that wasn’t bolted down. Then they found two unopened boxes of my Sony $19.99 portable cassette recorders – back-ups in case the one I was using failed (which I wore out every six months). I couldn’t understand why they were so interested in such measly findings of contraband? I was interrogated for the next 3+ hours straight by the immigrations officer. Meanwhile, we’re watching all the participants for our retreat waving at us joyfully as they passed by at the border! After the first interrogation, they had called for the customs officer to come interrogate me. Fortunately, I was given my one phone call and called our event organizer in BC to verify that I was who I was and that I was supposed to get there to teach and that I had already gotten paid in the US for this job. It wasn’t until much later that I connected the dots – it was the year Hong Kong was returned to China and there was a rash of Asians bringing their fortunes, especially in electronics and such through the US and crossing into Canada to relocate. Fortunately, I had my receipt for the two Sony’s! Hahaha….and an old, long-expired military issued US passport from when I was in High School in Japan. Hey, these experiences make for good stories in our old age, right? Loved your post!
    Michael

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    • Michael,
      About 35-40 years ago I had a fireworks and border crossing issue too. As a single parent I had taken my two daughters (aged 7 and 9) on a long road trip from Seattle to Disneyland and on to Ensenada Mexico. While we were at “The Blowhole” in Ensenada, the girls took their $10 and perused the shopping stalls. Arriving back at the border crossing, the lines were long and I was complaining about it taking so long to get through. The girls kept glancing at each other and asked what they were looking for in the cars. My response was just “illegal stuff and drugs”. Soon we were waved on without being inspected. The girls quickly asked “Are we through?” Upon my answering yes they both cheered and pulled out boxes of M 80’s from under my seat!!!

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        • Highly illegal fireworks. They look like firecrackers but are much louder and way more powerful. They used to be compared to 1/4 stick of dynamite but they aren’t actually that big. Was just discussing them with Dale and he was telling me stories of using M 80’s to blow up mailboxes as a child. Also that the coolest thing was that they were waterproof and were interesting to watch blow up after throwing them into a lake. Really surprising that he could grow up to be such a nice and wonderful person huh?

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          • I can swap delinquent stories with Dale about use of firecrackers. I used to put them in jars and throw them from rooftops at the roofs of cars – timing the throw so that the shattered glass would fall like rain on the cars. Like I say, delinquent!

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      • Hahaha! Lynda, you didn’t look like a big-time smuggler! I still don’t know why they confiscated my sons legal fireworks from the US – The Queen, no less! Hahah…

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    • Michael, that’s an incredible story. And yet they’ll let Osama Bin Laden’s family leave the US after 9/11. I don’t get that… Such a waste of time and effort, that could have been better spent hunting down bad guys. Luckily you had that old passport on you!

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  4. OK Bill I am sitting here with a hord of Austrians in Santiago an just broke out laughing reading hour post. Only an Aussie could get away with a stunt like this.

    You have no idea how much I an looking forward to this movie of yours. ..I better have a ticket for TIFF. Light an love…

    as usually the Camino is throwing me some curveball. Ingrid

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    • Hey Ingrid – yes e Aussies have a way of getting into strife, as we call it! You have to tell me about some of the curve-balls on the Camino. Sounds interesting!!

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      • Don’t you love the way life lessons get thrown our way Bill? I am sure the guards had something to do about over their tea break like “There was this smart**** Australian who thought he would short circuit the process, well we gave him the extra special third degree ….!!!

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        • I think there might have been a bit of that in their attitude and behaviour Angie, yes. And I DID learn a lesson. Now i know the difference between a NEXUS and a LEXUS.

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  6. Only you, Bill!!! My only Canadian/US border crossing was in the wilds of Alaska and the (about 13 yo looking) border guard was most interested in my Australian passport and even sweetly gave me stamp, even though they don’t usually stamp passports 🙂

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  8. My first trip to Canada was in 1990 when we were leaf peeping in Vermont in the fall and decided to cross the border just to go into Canada. We crossed without any contact with Canadian officials, did a U-turn and crossed back into the US. The US guy seemed a little skeptical about our U-turn explanation but let us pass after looking at my drivers license. Obviously way before 9-11.

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