Destination Unknown: Explorations of the Paranormal

By Elizabeth Maxim

A Lifetime of Psi. The Paranormal has been a part of Elizabeth’s life for as long as she can remember.

A Lifetime of Learning. Growing up with the philosophy it’s better to learn about something than fear it, Elizabeth set out at the age of eight to better understand fantastical events that, though she found interesting if not fascinating, scared others.

A Lifetime of Love. With the help of several individuals, not all of whom were corporeal, Elizabeth ventured into the unknown world of exploring Psi confident the worst that would happen was that she’d gain a better understanding.

From beginning to end, Destination Unknown: Explorations of the Paranormal is filled with real life stories of fantastical, sometimes inexplicable events that are sure to entertain even as they educate.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elizabeth Maxim
• Release date: Nov 23, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005035570

Elizabeth Maxim

If Elizabeth were to map her life’s journey, it would resemble the chaos of a Pac-Man game but out of this chaos came the foundation for her stories. She draws from knowledge, personal experience, and imagination in creating strong independent characters who steer their own destiny... often with a little help from love.Elizabeth studied alternative medicine with an MD for several years before earning a doctorate of philosophy in that field. She also holds a bachelor's degree in holistic childcare. Currently living in the Pacific Northwest, she is the author of multiple books, fiction and nonfiction, as well as two blog sites.You can follow Elizabeth at elizabethmaxim.com.

Book preview

Other titles by Elizabeth Maxim

Fiction

Psychic Hangover#

Kerry's Game^^

The Company She Keeps^^

Her Sanctuary^^

Tequila Hangover#

Ghost in the Mirror^^

The Dreamer**

The Lover**

The Messenger**

The Seer**

Advantage*

Bishop Pair*

Zwischenzug*

Port in a Storm

Positional Play*

Simultaneous Display*

Pawn Storm*

Dark Bishop*

Pin*

Bind*

Diagonals*

Promotion*

Soothsayer

Analysis*

Adjudication*

Metatron’s Legacy*

Cauldron of the Gods^

Chronicles 1: Karma*

Beacon+

Rainmaker+

Shadow of the Gods^

Mirror+

Redemption^

Adrift***

Isle of Future Past^

# Hangover Series

^^ Psi Adventure Series

* Metatron’s Army

** Awakening Series

^ Dragon Core

+ Ghost Games

*** Colony

Non-fiction

Riding the Waves:

Diagnosing, Treating and Living with EMF Sensitivity

Breaking the Waves:

A Primer on Sensitivity to Electromagnetic Frequencies

Amplifying the Waves:

The Role of Electromagnetic Pollution in EMF Sensitivity

Wipeout EMF Sensitivity:

The Challenge of Curing Autoimmune Disease

Calcium:

The Old Man Mineral and Its Role in EMF Sensitivity

Ignoring the Rules:

An Intriguing Approach to Resolving Calcium Toxicity

Published by Doorways Publishing House

Copyright © 2021 by Elizabeth Maxim

All rights reserved.

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher except for the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

elizabethmaxim.com

There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception

- Aldous Huxley

AUTHOR'S NOTE

The stories you are about to read are true. They are real life experiences. I have changed the names in some cases in order to protect the innocent. However, I have preserved the actual experiences to the best of my ability. Though I have organized the information chronologically, I believe readers are best served if I employ my Switchback Style of writing wherein I go back in order to provide depth and context and better understanding.

TERMS

Clairaudience – the power to hear sounds that exist beyond the reach of ordinary experience or capacity.

Clairsentience – Paranormal experiences accompanied by feelings and/or physical sensations. i.e. gut instinct.

Clairvoyance – the ability to see objects or actions removed in space or time from natural viewing. The ability to see auras is a type of clairvoyance.

ESP – extrasensory perception. Communication or perception by means other than the physical senses.

Paranormal – events beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding.

Precognition – Knowledge of a future event or situation, through extrasensory means.

Psychomancy – Communication between souls or with spirits.

Telepathy – communication between minds by means other than sensory perception.

INTRODUCTION

It wasn't until I was eight years old while watching In Search Of... with my dad that I learned there was a name for a phenomenon that had been a part of my life for as long as I could remember: ESP.

I'd heard plenty of stories in my community and my family of paranormal phenomenon such as premonitions or seeing ghosts but no one gave it a name. It was just no big deal.

As I sat watching a woman work with Zener cards and listened to researchers from Duke's Rhine University talk about investigations into extra-sensory perception, two thoughts went through my head:

That's what it's called!

What's the big deal?

I said as much out loud which led to my explaining that I could do what the woman on TV could do.

Naturally, my dad wanted a demonstration.

He laid out shuffled playing cards face down on the dining room table then asked me to tell him what they were. After watching me go through several successful rounds, he got some dice and asked me to predict what he would roll.

My success rate was what is termed statistically significant.

His reaction was more thoughtful than anything else which was a good thing since it kept it casual. For me? I not only wanted to know more, I needed to. Thus began a lifetime of Explorations of the Paranormal.

EARLY EXPLORATIONS

Having psi abilities is nature. Having a superstitious nature is nurture.

- Elizabeth Maxim

Though early efforts to discover more about extra-sensory perception were stymied they were far from fruitless.

I learned the role fear and superstition play in the understanding, and lack thereof, of paranormal phenomenon.

Excited over my successful demonstrations, I stopped by the public library on the way home from school the next day.

Where I was disappointed to find only one book on the subject.

Deciding the thin paperback was better than nothing I went to check it out only to be told by a librarian who would have been at home in a Dickens tale that I was too young to be reading about such things.

An indignant sniff reminiscent of a peevish governess was the icing on my irritation cake.

I related the story to my dad that night. Picking up the thread of the first lesson in Explorations of the Paranormal, he told me it was probably a good idea I not talk about the subject.

Especially at school.

As I'd already had a run-in with a nun over the fact I could see auras, I understood.

Still...

He listened patiently while I pointed out the hypocrisy in the system.

The nuns were always telling us stories from the Bible, plenty of which were stories of paranormal phenomenon. What, they thought it just suddenly stopped somewhere along the way?

I was also indignant because I wasn't lying. Why was I being punished?

I was in second grade watching the nun teaching a lesson when I became aware of a golden glow around her body that went out several inches. When blinking and rubbing my eyes didn't change the situation, I leaned over to inquire if a fellow student could see what I was seeing. She didn't answer though she did tell the teacher I was bothering her which led to my being summoned to the front of the room. When I explained the situation, the nun proceeded to shut me in a closet in the classroom where I remained until the end of the school day several hours later.

Having gone through twelve years of Catholic school along with two years of Catholic college, my dad tried to guide me through a thorny patch of truth:

Hypocrisy can serve to mask fear of the unknown.

So can indignation.

The takeaway? Let sleeping dogs lie.

You're kidding, right, dad? I mean this is me we're talking about.

After listening to me tell him I would just sit in the back of the adult book section for however many days it took me to read the book in secret, he agreed to go with me that Saturday so I could get it.

He grabbed several books on contracting and project management, slipped the ESP book into the pile, then, after handing me his library card, sent me to check out the whole stack.

You can imagine my reaction when I saw ol' sourpuss at the circulation desk. Not intimidated in the slightest, I set the stack on the desk, placed the card on top, and explained my dad asked me to check everything out for him.

My dad read the book right after I finished it. We both agreed it was seriously lacking in meat.

Sympathetic to my frustration he did what he could to support my efforts to learn more.

To that end...

LEARNING STARTS AT HOME

It was beyond frustrating not to be able to talk about ESP. My confusion over the inconsistency was intensified by the fact that my own family, filled with rather devout Catholics, didn't see anything wrong with paranormal abilities.

They certainly didn't see them as evil or from the devil.

I'd grown up hearing stories of relatives who'd had premonitions or saw spirits.

Though to that point all of those individuals had already passed on. I hadn't heard anything about anyone still living.

Not wanting me to feel ashamed about what was often called a gift, my dad shared two amazing stories about his mother who was a very strong psychic.

We have to leave!

My paternal grandparents were playing bridge with friends when my grandmother suddenly blurted, We have to go home. Something's happened to Mike!

Apparently, my grandfather had seen enough statistically significant hits to know not to argue. They left immediately.

The key was in the door when the phone started to ring. My father, in high school at the time, had been in a terrible car crash and was badly hurt.

Apparently, my grandmother had tried to talk him out of going out with his friends that night, as did my mom who was dating him. Both had a feeling something had was going to happen.

Roll the bones - I mean dice!

My paternal grandmother had a knack for picking winning numbers.

It was a bit of a family joke because she would often win at casinos, after which my grandfather would proceed to blow it all.

She informed my grandfather shortly after they built a new home that she wanted to invest in a penny stock she felt would do very well.

My grandfather, a seasoned investor, tried to talk her out of it.

Fortunately for the both of them she was stubborn. The stock grew in value to the degree they were able to pay off the house in its entirety shortly thereafter.

In the Family 1

I apparently inherited her ability as I have a history of winning raffles and other games where I needed to choose.

After my maternal grandfather observed I had a knack for picking horses in the paper - as a sort of game - my dad began consulting with me before going to the DRC. My success rate was what they call statistically significant.

And picking stocks.

When I was in high school, I needed to choose and track three stocks for a business class. My paternal grandfather tried to talk me out of my choices, explaining the logical reasons why the companies were unlikely to do well. Deciding to follow my gut over his business acumen, I kept my choices. The results? My stocks did extremely well.

Throughout the years I've tapped this ability.

Stocks, not horses.

In the Family 2

An equal number of psi success stories came from my mother's side of the family.

Scottish, they referred to it as Having the Sight.

Their approach, however, was more understated.

To put it in context:

My family and I were at my maternal grandparents' for dinner.

It was the summer before I started first grade.

At one point it came to everyone's attention my younger brother was nowhere to be found. I stood in the kitchen listening to panicked adults strategize on what to do and where to look. When the phone rang, I said, That's Mrs. B. She's calling to tell you he's over there.

My grandmother had already asked if I knew where my brother was. I didn't.

I watched my grandmother listen to the caller, politely thanking her then hanging up. Eyes on me she said, That was Mrs. B. She wanted us to know he's over there.

The sudden silence was unnerving, and I wanted to squirm as every person in the room turned to look at me.

I was five at the time.

My grandmother was still staring at me.

After a long moment of silence, she asked how I knew.

I shrugged and told her: I don't know. I just knew.

She looked at me in silence for several seconds more before turning to my mother and saying, She's one of us.

It's ironic that my paranormal journey started long before I learned the term ESP.

In fact, it started before that day.

Who's That Girl?

Earlier the same summer, on a different trip to grandma's for dinner, I was outside playing when I heard someone crying. Following the sound, I came upon a pretty little girl about five years of age sitting on the back steps of the house next to my grandmother's.

Face in her hands, she was crying.

I asked her what was wrong whereby she looked up at me and stopped crying.

In a white dress with white-blonde hair, I remember thinking she was very pretty.

We chatted for awhile and though I don't remember details of the conversation, I do remember thinking it would be nice to have this girl as a friend. When my grandmother called that dinner was ready, I invited her to come along.

I grew up in a family that believed there was always room for one more at the dinner table. I knew my