and I have no idea whether you possess some psychic abilities but my problems with the claims is exactly what we're seeing here. When persons claiming to have psychic powers actually predict publicly prior to the event happening, they are for the most part dismal failures, no better than anyone else. One always hears of the successes after the fact like "wow, I had this dream the other day and it came true."

The "professional" psychics do make prior predictions but they are smart enough to not just make a single one but often come up with this long list of things they see happening in the future. That list always contains stuff that everyone knows will eventually happen such as natural disasters, airplane crashes, political assassinations, changes in the economy, etc. There is always some vagueness left as to exact locations, people's names, and the like. After the list is released with minimal fanfare, it remains out of the headlines as time is allowed to go on and one of the many things actually transpires in some form or another. That's when the huge publicity begins with the misses conveniently absent from the hoopla.

Now, I have no doubt you had that dream at the time you did. You just don't strike me as a charlatan and you're only sharing it with a small group of people you really seem to care for. However, let me remind you that for every accurate dream one has, there are countless ones that never come true and a random hit no more validates some extrasensory talent than someone's cancer going into remission constitutes a miracle when so many more people die horrible deaths as their cancer only gets worse.

I for one want desperately to believe you possess this gift, wish I did. But I can't force myself to get beyond the evidence I clearly see every day that it's all just random chance and vivid imaginations. I truly see wonder in our imaginations by the way. My dreams often blow me away as rich and detailed as they are. I've written an entire symphony in my sleep only to wake up humming the tune in the middle of the night struck by how very beyond my normal capabilities it seemed. Stupid me didn't run out to the piano and write it down. Instead I went back to the comfort of that sleep and by the morning couldn't remember it at all.

The other little nagging thing that gets me about psychic claims is that, for there to be validity in that concept, the future seems to be set in stone, something we can clearly sense. That would not be a reassuring thought at all. I love that every tiny action we make can cause a ripple in our future.

So here's your challenge Lindy. Next time you have a vivid dream, run out to the computer in the middle of the night, pop onto the habitable zone, and share your thoughts before the event truly transpires. Then we can truly study whether you really have this ability to see into the future as we'll have timestamped your look. I'm afraid once the event happens, no matter what our faith in your honesty, there will be no way to truly quantify the experience.

Art