Are Accurate
Predictions
Possible?
by
Shepherd Hoodwin
Since
the future, by definition, hasn't happened yet,
it is impossible to make consistently accurate
predictions. Some psychics and channeled sources
are adept at picking up probabilities based on
where things are heading, but since each
individual has free will ? probabilities are
constantly shifting as we make choices ? nobody
knows for sure. Even when certain changes are
more or less inevitable, the form they take, and
the way people react to them, are not. Timing is
especially difficult to predict, and even when
different channels and psychics agree in their
predictions about specific events, the dates
often vary.
Sometimes
people tell me that a psychic or a channeled
entity told them that something terrible was
going to happen, which upset them a great deal.
That strikes me as inappropriate. I'm not
suggesting that someone should lie if he sees a
strong negative probability on the horizon, but
it should be conveyed in such a way as to
empower the person listening. Besides, since nothing is
carved in stone before it happens, it is
misleading to say that something is definitely,
without a doubt, going to happen.
It
is wise to take predictions with a grain of
salt. Rather than asking if and when an event
will happen, it might be more useful to ask what
percentage the probability is, and if there are
agreements or karmas putting force behind its
happening. For example, at a given moment, a
person might have a sixty-two percent
probability of getting a particular job. That is a very high
probability, since probabilities rarely rise to
about eighty-five percent until something is
actually in the process of happening; even a
fifty percent probability is quite high.
Nonetheless, people don't always keep their
agreements, for a variety of reasons, and the
person may not be hired. If, unexpectedly,
someone comes along who seems better qualified
or who is a friend of the company's owner, the
probability might drop to thirty-seven percent,
which is still fairly high, but, obviously, not
overwhelming.
If
we have an agreement to meet someone at a
certain time, we may not be able to keep the
"appointment", but if it's an
important agreement, chances are that we will
reschedule it, and it will eventually work out.
This is an organic, ever-changing world. Nothing
is carved in stone. Every significant choice a
person makes can change relevant probabilities.
"We
do not know for a certainty what the future will
bring for ourselves, or for you. That makes the
game of life much more interesting and
challenging. If everything could be predicted
ahead of time, we would all have to be
automatons, and if we are expressions of the
Tao, then the Tao would likewise be an
automaton. Fortunately, this is not the case. We
cannot predict what others will do with
assurance, because others themselves do not know
what they will do -- and even if they think they
know, they might change their minds. We can only
give our best projections, based on where things
appear to be going, taking into account the
relevant agreements and karmas.
"Imminent
events are easier to predict. If an object is
teetering precariously on the edge of a shelf,
one could safely predict that it will fall.
However, even in such a situation, someone might
come along and move it.
"It
is a great fallacy that you need to predict the
future to choose well now. Relying on
predictions of the future weakens your capacity
to make good choices. When you think that you
have everything figured out, you may start to
drift by on your preconceived notions, rather
than playing the game in the present moment with
all the skill and attention you can muster."
Even
if events do not go as our essence planned, and
predictions therefore prove wrong, sometimes
things work out for the best anyway. A case in
point was my apartment when I lived in
Manhattan. Affordable apartments were next to
impossible to find when I moved there,
especially those larger than one-bedroom.
However, my guides told me that I would find an
inexpensive two-bedroom apartment to share. I
got a photographic image of it, and a couple of
my friends psychically saw similar images.
Apparently, my guides were working on a few
possible apartments that fit that description,
but all of them fell through. I still found an
affordable apartment, but it was a studio. It
had been one of my guides' "back-up"
choices, but they hadn't told me about it ahead
of time. It was disappointing at first, but it
turned out to suit my needs better in some
respects than the envisioned apartment likely
would have.
I don't subscribe to the idea that
everything works out for the best ? the highest
outworkings are sometimes thwarted because,
again, people have free will ? but I do believe
that the universe is basically benevolent, and
as a whole conspires to our highest good, if we
let it. Perhaps, sometimes, it does so in ways of
which even our guides and essence are not aware.
WE
ARE RESPONSIBLE
No
one on any plane of existence is infallible or
knows everything we need to know. In addition,
we all have our own experience of reality and
ways of describing it. There is no right and
wrong in this regard, only infinite facets of
truth. We do have much to learn from each other,
and those on higher planes usually have more
experience, greater resources of information,
and a larger perspective than we do on the
physical plane. However, their counsel is more
accurately viewed as coming from loving friends
than from a deity. No one is more
"God" than anyone else.
We
are each responsible for ourselves. We
experience more growth if we don't do things
merely because we think someone else, incarnate
or not, told us to. It is well to examine what
we hear others say with appreciation and
respect, but we don't always hear what is
actually meant, for one thing. More importantly,
no one knows us better than we know ourselves,
at least potentially. We must make our
own decisions and mistakes, and form our own
understanding, if we are to learn to guide the
course of our lives wisely. Besides, true
teachers don't tell people what to do. They give
greater perspective and understanding, so that
their students can make well-informed choices.
Beware of those who issue orders, or who are
certain that they know what's best for someone
else, even if they are being channeled from a
higher plane. Just because material is channeled
does not mean that it is appropriate or a fully
realized expression of truth.
RECOGNIZING
TRUTH
Channeled
material, like everything else, must be
interpreted through the understanding of the
hearer. Sometimes, we draw conclusions or make
associations that are not valid, or we simply
misunderstand. The truth is precise;
it is as important to hear what is not being
said as what is. The
ability to recognize truth is crucial. Truth is
always associated with love. It has a certain
feel about it. It is not necessarily
comfortable, but it is penetrating, and
ultimately liberating.
Often
the truth or value of channeled material isn't
fully apparent until later. It may seem at first
to be deceptively simple or general. If we have
that experience with something channeled for us,
we have nothing to lose by living with it a
while, and seeing if it looks different later.
One client told me that after her session, she
wasn't particularly impressed, but two months
later, she listened to her tapes and couldn't
believe that Michael had said what they did; it
was almost as if she hadn't heard it the first
time. This is a common reaction.
In
my brochure for new clients, Michael says:
"You will get the
most out of this session if you review the
material in a week or two. It's hard for so much
new input to soak in the first time. A defense
against overload is to make it seem less than it
is. This is normal, but often, our students find
their channeling to be far more meaningful
weeks or even months later. It is the mark of a
good teacher (and we aspire to this) to give
what the student is almost but not quite ready
to hear. That way, we promote growth. Obviously,
the material becomes more meaningful when the
student is actually ready."
THE
LARGER PERSPECTIVE
We
are in the midst of a planetary transformation.
There are many nonphysical beings who are
assisting with it, whether we know it or not.
Channeling is a means of consciously working
with them. They are often as gratified to make
the connection with us as we are with them. Used
in a responsible way, channeling can be an
important tool in our personal and collective
growth.
Whether
or not we call ourselves channels, it is
becoming more and more essential that each of us
develop our inner connections with the larger
universe if we are to move creatively with the
changes occurring.
 This article was excerpted from:
"The Journey of Your Soul:
A Channel Explores Channeling and the Michael Teachings" by
Shepherd
Hoodwin
Info/Order this book
About The
Author
 Shepherd
Hoodwin is an intuitive, workshop leader,
and teacher. He also does past-life
therapy, counseling, and channeling
coaching (teaching others to channel).
He is the author of "The Journey
of Your Soul - A Channel Explores Channeling
and the Michael Teachings",
"Meditations
for Self-Discovery - Guided Journeys for
Communicating with Your Inner Self",
and "Loving from Your Soul -
Creating
Powerful Relationships". His next book
is "Opening to Healing Energy".
He
is also working on a collection of new age
humor. Shepherd can be contacted at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
,
through his web site at http://summerjoy.com,
or toll-free at 877-SUMMERJoy
(877-786-6375).
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