Tuesday, April 28, 2009

streetlights


Last week I was in Bozeman Montana. I was on my bike riding through the cute streets of the downtown neighborhoods. It was nighttime and snowing, and it was really pretty. As I rode, I calmly thought to myself, “Nothing strange has happened in a little while, has this weird part of my life ended?”

And, at that exact instant, the streetlight directly above me shut off.

Ha! I laughed out loud. It was funnier than it was weird. I tried to ride past some other streetlights to see if it would happen again (it didn't).

I’ve experienced this occasionally over the years, where street lights will turn off as I approach them, but it’s been inconsistent, so I don’t really consider it strange. But that night, riding my bike in the wet snow, it felt different. It felt like I asked a question - and I got an instantaneous reply.

The question was just a playful nice thought, nothing needy or pleading, and this seems to be a pattern for me. Simple questions that just pop into my head are somehow more relevant.

ALSO: I have another nice thought event with the same street-light response.

[Text added: May 1st, 2009]

A mutual blogger named Stace (one of my sister blogs) just posted an insightful essay on her streetlight experiences.

Singing the Body Electric
{an excerpt}

I’ve thought about “the streetlight effect” quite a lot, because the phenomenon of knocking out streetlights happens around me quite a bit. These events are also episodic to a degree, typically clustered around times when I perceive my quantum vibration to be intensely high, whether I’m relaxed or excited.

Based on how I feel energetically, I can generally predict whether or not I’ll be knocking out streetlights on a given night. If I’m driving home from an intriguing lecture or have just been involved in a fractalising conversation, or if I’m just thinking, thinking, thinking and making new connections - that’s when I’m more likely to affect streetlights.

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7 comments:

  1. Yes! Things like this going on and its truth, funny.. I like You r blog. And I believe in conversation with 'the outside inner side.' in every way and every where

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  2. It's interesting because it was more of an honest question than a conscious effort to provoke a response. The Universe doesn't like to be pushed ;-)

    Were you alone in the street when it happend?

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  3. I love that you enjoy riding your bike in the snow. Seems like you brave weather souls enjoy the extreme climate and cherish all that it has to offer. Not sure that I could tolerate that as well as you. As far as those "weird" moments... run with it and take it for what it's worth. ahhhhhhhhhh
    Jane in Saluda, NC

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  4. Reply to Red Pill J:

    I was all alone.

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  5. I've thought about "the streetlight effect" quite a lot, because the phenomenon of knocking out streetlights happens around me quite a bit. These events are also episodic to a degree, typically clustered around times when I perceive my quantum vibration to be intensely high, regardless of whether I'm feeling generally relaxed or excited.

    (Thanks, Mike, for inspiring me - yet again - to write a new post. This comment is the first paragraph...)

    Stace

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  6. I do not doubt the sincerity of Stace, or the effects reported with the street lights.

    But we should be mindful of the terminology we use to explain such phenomena. When we start using "quantum this" & "quantum that" willy nilly, it does not help the case to be taken seriously by the mainstream science— and even though their involvement in these sort of things is not essential, it would be nice if some time in the future the scientists began to look closer at all these accounts, wouldn't it?

    How many con artists are exploiting the world "quantum" to endorse their products —be that a book, a medicine, a meditation machine, etc. Some people see the word and immediately turn the page by now.

    I think we should simply document the pnenomena without even trying to rationalize it; because ultimely those rationalizations might be as far-off as the way an Amazonian shaman interprets his ayahuasca trips.

    I hope this is not taken as a form of disrespect towards Stace.

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  7. This is the first time I've heard about
    “the streetlight effect”,
    but I have to say that I have encountered it a number of times,by myself,and with others.
    But,I've never given it much thought though,as I just put it down to faulty streetlights,that probably come back on as soon as I've driven off,and then go off again...and on and off again,etc.

    I'd like to know if it's common for streetlights to flick off like that,or whether something spooky is going on here.
    Interesting.

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Hi there. I am eager to hear your comments, especially if you have similar stories. I'm happy to answer any questions you have.

And - I reserve the right to delete any comments that are offensive or excessively harsh.