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An imperial advisor who foretold the end
of a dynasty.
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00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:14,040
A trance -like state of mind attained by
a mysterious oracle.
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00:00:14,620 --> 00:00:20,820
And an entire organization founded on
the ability to predict the future.
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00:00:21,780 --> 00:00:26,020
There's something about human nature
that compels us to want to know what the
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00:00:26,020 --> 00:00:27,020
future will bring.
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00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:32,800
We use predictions all the time when it
comes to weather or traffic or even the
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stock market.
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00:00:34,150 --> 00:00:38,510
Well, most predictions are simply a best
guess based on experience.
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00:00:39,630 --> 00:00:45,570
There are those among us who have the
ability to see the future in vivid
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00:00:47,530 --> 00:00:54,090
Who are these mystics who possess the
power of prediction? And just how do
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tap into an unseeable realm to capture
details beyond our reach?
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And is the ability to see the future, A
special gift?
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Or something we all are capable of?
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Well, that is what we'll try and find
out.
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In our modern world, it might be
tempting to assume that prophecy
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is merely an antiquated fantasy from the
past that has no relevance today.
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But the surprising truth is that
millions of people still rely on
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readers, and fortune tellers of all
kinds for guidance about the future.
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People want to know about the future.
Our hopes get projected into prophecies,
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the things that might get better.
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Our fears get projected into prophecies,
the things that might go bad.
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And various writers and mystics attempt
to tell us what is coming.
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Sometimes they get it right.
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Predictions continue to garner attention
today because human nature tends to go
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in the direction of something that it
considers beneficial.
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And so when we speak of prognostication
or peering into the future, we at least
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have to give credence to the possibility
that prophecy works.
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Is it possible that some people do in
fact have the ability to peer into the
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future?
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Well, for thousands of years humanity
has turned to so -called prophets for
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information about what the future holds.
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So perhaps a close examination of some
ancient clairvoyance and their bold
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predictions will shed light on the
mysterious power of prophecy.
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Zhejiang Province, China.
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Deep in this remote mountainous region
lies a small village called Nantian
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Township.
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In the center of this community, there
is a commemorative square within which
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stands a 15 -foot tall statue dedicated
to an ancient prophet named
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Liu Bowen.
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Liu Bowen is one of the most well -known
figures in all of Chinese history.
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He's born in 1311. He died in 1375.
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He was a close advisor of the emperor of
the Ming dynasty, or the whole emperor.
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In the surviving letters that we have,
the emperor repeatedly and explicitly
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refers to Liu Bowen's ability to see the
future.
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On account of Liu Bowen's access to this
untapped knowledge about the future,
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the emperor was able to...
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predict where enemy troops were, when
they would strike, and he was able to
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defend or attack them successfully.
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Very famously, there's a story that says
he helped the Ming emperor secure the
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throne and overthrow the Mongols who
ruled over China previously for a few
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hundred years.
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So Liu Bowen was a very useful advisor,
and he's seen as a kind of a cultural
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hero nowadays in China.
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Liu Bowen made thousands of predictions
related to Chinese affairs of state.
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But his most famous prophecy was of an
event that took place not during his
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lifetime, but rather more than 500 years
after his death.
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1911.
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All across China, uprisings occur
against the Qing Dynasty.
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The revolution culminates in the
abdication.
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of the child emperor Puyi and the end of
the Chinese monarchy.
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This is one of the most important events
in all of Chinese history because it's
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the end of a dynastic system that had
been in play since at least 221
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B .C.
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So we're talking about 2 ,000 years of
history that end.
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And the Obolwan is credited with having
seen this, having seen the revolution.
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In the 20th century.
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For some, the idea that a man who lived
in the 1300s could successfully predict
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the overthrow of the last emperor of
China in 1911 might sound impossible.
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But many Chinese people believe that Liu
Bowen did, in fact, do just that.
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And as evidence, they point to a cryptic
poem Bowen wrote that is called The
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Song.
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One of the most important parts of the
song is it has a line about one of the
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last emperors dying prematurely in his
palace.
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And this actually occurred. The
penultimate emperor died as a result of
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probably poisoning at a relatively young
age in the palace.
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And it happened only a number of years
before the revolution.
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Following this description of the
emperor's premature death, there is a
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about the appearance of a golden dragon.
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Now, the term golden dragon in the
Chinese culture refers to a ruler who is
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adored by his people. And this is indeed
what happened when Sun Yat -sen came to
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power as the first provisional president
of the Republic of China following the
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revolution.
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He was the savior and father of the
Chinese nation.
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Because of its parallels with the events
of the 1911 revolution,
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the ancient song of Sao Binh is
considered an authentic prophecy in
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culture.
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And in fact, many people believe that
Liu Bowen's predictions continue to have
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relevance today.
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You can go online, social media,
YouTube, et cetera, et cetera. And there
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lengthy, detailed discussions of newborn
ones' prophecies and how they might
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match current events. People read
current events in light of those
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And he's credited now with having
foreseen coronavirus.
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The prophecy describes a massive plague
that will...
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ravage China and the rest of the world.
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It mentions that the brunt of this
plague will occur in the year of the pig
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the year of the rat, and this
corresponds to 2019 and 2020.
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The details are incredibly precise.
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People revisited Yoboan's prophecies,
and they see this reference to the
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eruption of an epidemic.
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And this seems to provide answers, to
provide some sense of order, offer
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guidance and clarity.
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He did foresee this, just as he's
foreseen other things.
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Liu Bo 'an's predictions about the
future of Chinese dynastic history took
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hundreds of years to come to fruition.
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But if you were looking for more timely
advice thousands of years ago...
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There was actually a place where people
of all types could go to consult
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directly with the gods.
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Delphi, Greece.
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Here on the slopes of Mount Parnassus
lies the ruins of several holy
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that were constructed by the ancient
Greeks.
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The most famous of these structures is
the Temple of Apollo.
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Built in the 5th century BC, the Temple
of Apollo was the site of a sacred
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ceremony in which farmers, merchants,
and even kings would come to hear
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prophecies about their future from a
high priestess who was known as the
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of Delphi.
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The Oracle of Delphi is a unique
individual in the past.
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This is a woman who, through her
prophecy, was able to see the future.
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and people are coming to her and
expecting to get information that helps
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their actions.
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So the Oracle at Delphi was one of the
most powerful women in ancient Greece.
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Inside the Temple of Apollo, the Oracle
was seated on a high tripod and would be
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open for consultations, and people would
come from all over the world.
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So kings would come.
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Farmers would come if they wanted to
know about the next harvest. Everybody
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in the ancient world to Delphi with a
life -changing question, and she could
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then prophesy, give you a sign, what's
the right way to go.
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Her magical power to channel the
prophetic gods was at your service.
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The Oracle of Delphi reportedly
predicted numerous important events in
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ancient world, including the rise of
Alexander the Great and the death.
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of the Roman Emperor Nero.
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Many historians believe a clue to her
powers of prophecy can be found in the
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writings of an ancient Greek historian
named Plutarch.
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Plutarch wrote three long pieces about
Delphi.
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And Plutarch described how when the
Oracle is in the trance, the ecstasy of
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prophecy, this breath came up from
Mother Earth and Plutarch also said it
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smelled sweet like perfume.
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And when Mother Earth is breathing at
Delphi, the Delphic Oracle goes into an
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altered state, and she becomes like a
ventriloquist dummy.
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But the ventriloquist is the wisdom of
Mother Earth spoken through the Delphic
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Oracle in Greece.
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What was the mysterious breath from
Mother Earth that gave the Oracle her
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prophetic power?
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Well, in 2003, a team led by
archaeologist Dr. John Hale uncovered
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which suggests that the answer to this
ancient riddle does, in fact, lie
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in the Earth itself.
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The Temple of Apollo had been built
around a subterranean cliff.
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We wanted to collect some rock to see
if, by any chance, that big geological
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fault. that runs under the temple,
released intoxicating gases that the
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got into her altered state from.
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So we took our rock samples, we had them
analyzed in the labs, and they showed a
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cocktail of light hydrocarbon gases,
methane, ethane, and
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ethylene.
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Ethylene is what puts the sweet smell in
every flower and the grapes you
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harvest.
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in living things that smell sweet, and
it is one of the most instantly
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intoxicating gases known to humanity.
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It's the ethylene that does it.
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The woman is seated on that tripod
directly above the class, and as the
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come up and she inhales them, these
sweet -smelling gases, with the first
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she would be in an altered state,
because it could go straight through her
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passages and into her brain.
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The Oracle of Delphi may have been in a
state of intoxication that would give
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visions to the prophetess.
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Psychedelic substances bring about a
relaxation of inhibitions, and there
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are experiments that have been done that
have raised tantalizing questions about
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the possibility of precognition using
what we would call narcotics today.
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Did inhaling gas that rose out of the
earth, Allow the Oracle of Delphi to see
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the future?
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It's a fascinating possibility.
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And in fact, for thousands of years,
priests, prophets, and shamans from all
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over the world have used exotic
substances to unlock prophetic
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One of the best known examples is a
curious drink called ayahuasca.
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Ayahuasca is a brewed concoction made
amongst a number of Amazonian tribes and
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contains a number of different kinds of
plants.
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Ayahuasca has been purported to elicit
feelings of flying, and shamans use
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ayahuasca to have an ability to see the
future or to be able to make prophecy.
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Ayahuasca is often ingested in religious
ceremonies in the Amazon basin.
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and used as a sacred ceremonial
substance or
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sacrament.
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It is said to release the mind into a
deeper, realer state of being, of
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to help somebody glean information that
they might be closed off from under
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normal circumstances in an effort to
foretell the future.
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The fact that ancient cultures around
the world used mind -altering substances
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to enable prophecy raises a fascinating
question.
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Did these concoctions actually help our
ancestors see the future as people have
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believed for centuries?
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Anytime you're playing with intoxicants,
and your brain especially is being
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affected, you can't always be sure of
what's going to happen.
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Delphi shows us an example of a culture
in which when they say there was
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an external force coming up out of the
rock that triggered the transit, we can
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back that up with the geology to show
people, take these ancient accounts
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seriously.
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We'll never know if the power of the
prediction witnessed in the Oracle of
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Delphi was merely fume -induced fantasy
or the actual ability to see the future.
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What can we learn about the secrets of
the past by examining the abilities of
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modern -day prophets?
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Eastleigh, England, September 2015.
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Craig Hamilton Parker, an English
psychic and medium, posts a series of
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00:16:22,140 --> 00:16:23,280
prophecies on this website.
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Some of them quite ominous and even
oddly disturbing.
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I've been a psychic medium all my life,
in touch with the spirit world, and
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sometimes make predictions.
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And in 2015, I decided to put some
predictions on my website. I said that
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there'd be a massive earthquake in
Japan.
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I wrote that Brexit would happen. At the
time, everybody was saying it's never
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going to happen, everybody's going to
vote to remain, there's no chance.
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00:16:50,180 --> 00:16:54,200
I saw a terrorist attack in Nice in my
vision, and I put those in my
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00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:55,200
predictions.
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00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:57,740
Sometimes I don't like telling the
future.
210
00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:04,880
Within a year, the predictions Craig
made came surprisingly, and in some
211
00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:06,740
frighteningly true.
212
00:17:08,099 --> 00:17:14,099
On April 16th, 2016, Kumamoto, Japan was
shaken by a 7 .0 magnitude earthquake.
213
00:17:15,339 --> 00:17:18,599
50 people were killed and more than 3
,000 people injured.
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00:17:19,470 --> 00:17:24,349
And then, on June 23rd, over half of
Great Britain voted to approve Brexit
215
00:17:24,349 --> 00:17:25,849
leave the European Union.
216
00:17:26,910 --> 00:17:32,390
Finally, on July 14th, a 19 -ton truck
driven by a terrorist plowed through a
217
00:17:32,390 --> 00:17:37,170
crowded market in Nice, France, killing
86 people and injuring over 400.
218
00:17:38,430 --> 00:17:42,690
Of course, not all of Craig's prophecies
ended up happening. For instance, he
219
00:17:42,690 --> 00:17:47,010
predicted that a gas attack would take
place in a European city, but there was
220
00:17:47,010 --> 00:17:48,530
no such attack in Europe that year.
221
00:17:49,310 --> 00:17:53,990
But the fact that he got three out of
four predictions right led many to
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00:17:53,990 --> 00:17:59,210
that his uncanny ability to see the
future couldn't have been a mere fluke.
223
00:18:00,490 --> 00:18:04,590
The natural question that people have
is, where does the prediction come from?
224
00:18:04,710 --> 00:18:08,050
Where is the so -called psychic getting
this information from?
225
00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:12,460
The first explanation we go to is that
it's some sort of psychosis. But that
226
00:18:12,460 --> 00:18:15,800
doesn't really hold up, because you
can't turn crazy on and off.
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00:18:16,020 --> 00:18:19,220
And the fact is, if you meet most of
these folk, and I've met plenty of them,
228
00:18:19,300 --> 00:18:22,140
they're perfectly ordinary, everyday,
functioning people.
229
00:18:23,460 --> 00:18:27,820
According to Craig, his ability to see
events before they happen is one he was
230
00:18:27,820 --> 00:18:28,820
born with.
231
00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:34,620
Since childhood, he surprised his family
with what he called flashes of the
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00:18:34,620 --> 00:18:39,920
future. glimpses of things that hadn't
yet come to pass, but often did.
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00:18:41,020 --> 00:18:45,480
And in his early 20s, he decided to make
a journey to India, where he studied
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00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:50,400
the writings of ancient oracles and
honed his raw talent.
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00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:55,260
So I became very interested in this idea
that there's an ancient tradition that
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00:18:55,260 --> 00:19:00,420
goes back right through time, over many,
many centuries, maybe back tens of
237
00:19:00,420 --> 00:19:01,420
thousands of years.
238
00:19:01,900 --> 00:19:06,140
For me, seeing the future is a bit like
a dream experience in many respects.
239
00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:13,440
I use an old technique from India called
Tretkaka, which I look into a candle,
240
00:19:13,580 --> 00:19:18,880
basically. You go into a sort of a state
of gazing and then move the image of
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00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:22,640
that candle into the middle of what we
call the third eye. And you'll see it as
242
00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:26,660
an afterimage on the back of the eye,
where all these visions will appear.
243
00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:31,060
I see things, things I know, things I
don't know.
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00:19:31,770 --> 00:19:36,670
It's like the universe knows better than
I do. It gave me this information, and
245
00:19:36,670 --> 00:19:38,370
it's kind of my duty to put it out
there.
246
00:19:39,190 --> 00:19:44,510
In the fall of 2016, another of Craig's
prophecies, this time about the U .S.
247
00:19:44,510 --> 00:19:46,730
presidential election, came to pass.
248
00:19:47,110 --> 00:19:52,070
I kept getting glimpses of this strange
character, you know, and I thought, who
249
00:19:52,070 --> 00:19:53,070
on earth is this?
250
00:19:53,790 --> 00:19:57,670
And then suddenly Trump announces
himself in the primary.
251
00:19:58,050 --> 00:20:02,250
And then I knew that's what I'd been
seeing. That was this strange figure
252
00:20:02,250 --> 00:20:07,170
kept coming into my meditations and
interrupting my thoughts.
253
00:20:08,250 --> 00:20:12,350
Clearly, for me, Trump was going to be
president, even though everybody at the
254
00:20:12,350 --> 00:20:15,350
time was saying he don't stand a chance
of ever being president.
255
00:20:15,590 --> 00:20:17,830
But the unconscious seemed to know
better.
256
00:20:20,270 --> 00:20:24,330
But how is Craig actually getting these
messages about the future?
257
00:20:24,550 --> 00:20:27,550
Are they really coming from his
unconscious mind?
258
00:20:28,230 --> 00:20:32,070
Precognition is the scientific term for
things like premonition.
259
00:20:32,730 --> 00:20:37,530
And it's getting accurate information
about a future event that you didn't
260
00:20:37,530 --> 00:20:38,530
cause.
261
00:20:38,670 --> 00:20:44,610
We think that the brain, no matter how
complicated and nonlinear it is, is
262
00:20:44,610 --> 00:20:47,750
something that could be reduced down to
the laws of physics.
263
00:20:48,540 --> 00:20:51,420
Now, that doesn't mean that the brain
can't imagine the future.
264
00:20:51,780 --> 00:20:58,580
We are genetically hardwired to have
premonitions. We can't stop it.
265
00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:00,500
It's part of our makeup.
266
00:21:01,340 --> 00:21:08,040
The feeling of premonitions might be an
example of how our memories orient us
267
00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:09,040
toward the future.
268
00:21:10,590 --> 00:21:15,690
So current thinking among memory
researchers is that our memories are not
269
00:21:15,690 --> 00:21:21,690
to us so much for their ability to
enable us to recollect the past as they
270
00:21:21,690 --> 00:21:25,750
useful to us for enabling us to navigate
and predict the future.
271
00:21:26,250 --> 00:21:31,230
And from that perspective, the idea that
deja vu, which might result from a
272
00:21:31,230 --> 00:21:35,530
memory process, might be accompanied by
feelings of premonition fits that.
273
00:21:38,070 --> 00:21:39,450
If somebody has.
274
00:21:40,090 --> 00:21:42,810
an authentic, intuitive, or insightful
gift.
275
00:21:43,250 --> 00:21:45,470
And I do think such things exist.
276
00:21:45,990 --> 00:21:51,770
I think it's a kind of ESP in which
certain individuals are able to glean
277
00:21:51,770 --> 00:21:57,550
information in anomalous ways, in ways
that go beyond our ordinary five senses.
278
00:21:58,350 --> 00:22:04,790
The Internet, TV talk shows, and the
bestseller list are full of prophets and
279
00:22:04,790 --> 00:22:08,670
pronosticators claiming to be able to
divine the future.
280
00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:13,680
And in a number of these cases, they
really seem to be able to do it.
281
00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:20,920
If it's true that there are such things
as real psychics, then where exactly
282
00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:26,080
does their incredible gift come from,
and how can we better understand it?
283
00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:31,000
According to some researchers, the
explanation doesn't lie in the distant
284
00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:34,560
future, but rather the ancient past.
285
00:22:36,420 --> 00:22:38,620
The Bible makes it very clear.
286
00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:44,400
that biblical prophets were not
arbitrary individuals, men or women, who
287
00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:48,680
just as if minding their own business
and then God chose them.
288
00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:50,720
It wasn't like that at all.
289
00:22:51,120 --> 00:22:57,000
It was an internal experience that the
Bible calls a dream or a vision.
290
00:22:57,280 --> 00:23:03,960
If you do not learn how to understand
dreams, you will never understand their
291
00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:04,960
message.
292
00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:12,380
It is very clearly said in the Bible
that prophets had to go to school
293
00:23:12,380 --> 00:23:19,160
to learn how to experience and interpret
the
294
00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:22,100
spiritual message, which we call
prophecy.
295
00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:29,200
And biblical teachings of prophecy were
not limited to those
296
00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:31,220
of the religious world.
297
00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:33,560
Many people...
298
00:23:33,980 --> 00:23:37,260
have been trained in these techniques,
and we don't even realize it.
299
00:23:39,360 --> 00:23:41,100
Trained to see the future?
300
00:23:42,260 --> 00:23:48,280
Could such a far -fetched but also
tantalizing notion actually be possible?
301
00:23:49,020 --> 00:23:54,120
I think our generation is on the
precipice of a great question about the
302
00:23:54,120 --> 00:23:58,100
-physical abilities of the mind. I don't
know that we'll answer it, but I think
303
00:23:58,100 --> 00:24:03,300
it is coming more and more into focus
that materialism just doesn't cover all
304
00:24:03,300 --> 00:24:08,740
the basis of life anymore, and that the
mind has capacities, including extra
305
00:24:08,740 --> 00:24:13,080
-physical capacities, that are
measurable, that are present, and that
306
00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:14,080
beginning to understand.
307
00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:19,180
It's a natural part of the human
condition to make predictions.
308
00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:24,900
And couldn't it be that maybe our
predictive ability is far greater than
309
00:24:24,900 --> 00:24:29,860
ever imagined? That maybe every one of
us somehow has a way of seeing into the
310
00:24:29,860 --> 00:24:33,420
fabric of time? We just have to trust
that ability.
311
00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:39,940
If each of us could learn how to predict
the future, would we accept our fate or
312
00:24:39,940 --> 00:24:41,000
fight to change it?
313
00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:46,340
Are people who have the power of
prophecy chosen, like the Bible
314
00:24:46,820 --> 00:24:52,680
Or is there a hidden capability each one
of us has that simply needs to be
315
00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:53,680
unlocked?
316
00:24:54,540 --> 00:24:59,880
For a young man in Selma, Alabama, it
was the ability to receive remarkable
317
00:24:59,880 --> 00:25:06,800
information while in a deep trance that
would make him world famous and earn him
318
00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:09,480
the name, the sleeping prophet.
319
00:25:12,620 --> 00:25:13,920
Selma, Alabama.
320
00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:21,500
In this small city at 21 Broad Street
stands what looks like an ordinary brick
321
00:25:21,500 --> 00:25:22,500
building.
322
00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:29,440
But curiously, a historic marker plaque
explains that this was once the home of
323
00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:31,920
an extraordinary man named Edgar Cayce.
324
00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:37,920
In the 1920s, people from all over the
country came to Selma to visit Cayce and
325
00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:40,340
seek information about the future.
326
00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:43,900
from the man known as the Sleeping
Prophet.
327
00:25:45,580 --> 00:25:51,960
Edgar Cayce was a man born in the
agricultural south in the late
328
00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:58,900
1870s, but as he grew older, he detected
in himself the ability
329
00:25:58,900 --> 00:26:05,480
to enter into a sleep -like trance state
and be able to perform
330
00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:11,220
what were considered medically
clairvoyant readings of subjects.
331
00:26:11,580 --> 00:26:17,880
He was said to have the ability to
diagnose and prescribe cures for
332
00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:19,060
bodily ailments.
333
00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:24,960
In his writings, Edgar Cayce described
the process
334
00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:28,280
as accessing information.
335
00:26:30,060 --> 00:26:33,720
And he would read that information.
336
00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:36,360
Speak it in trance.
337
00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:44,700
Edgar believed that disabilities were a
gift, but that it wasn't a power
338
00:26:44,700 --> 00:26:46,240
of his own.
339
00:26:46,540 --> 00:26:48,600
He was channeling a higher power.
340
00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:55,860
Casey comes at the time when there was a
strong interest in fortune tellings of
341
00:26:55,860 --> 00:26:56,860
all kinds.
342
00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:01,680
For one thing, there were tea rooms in
which you could sell tea.
343
00:27:02,300 --> 00:27:06,400
And someone could look at the tea
leaves, usually a fortune teller.
344
00:27:07,060 --> 00:27:11,120
But on the other hand, Edgar Cayce is a
little different.
345
00:27:11,500 --> 00:27:18,460
The level of prophecy, the predictions
he's making, are way beyond anything
346
00:27:18,460 --> 00:27:19,820
happens in a gypsy tea room.
347
00:27:21,500 --> 00:27:25,680
At first, it was just local people
coming for these consultations. But
348
00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:27,760
gradually, over time, his fame spread.
349
00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:30,940
And Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla.
350
00:27:31,660 --> 00:27:36,640
Woodrow Wilson asked his advice about
what might be coming up.
351
00:27:37,940 --> 00:27:43,720
Edgar Cayce had a series of readings we
call the World Affairs Readings in
352
00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:50,600
which he actually predicted the crash of
the New York Stock Exchange
353
00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:52,940
in 1929.
354
00:27:54,140 --> 00:28:00,600
He also described the Asian involvement
in the European War, World War II.
355
00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:08,420
Another fascinating aspect of Edgar
Cayce's readings is that he foresaw and
356
00:28:08,420 --> 00:28:14,960
talked about the Dead Sea Scrolls long
before they were discovered in 1947.
357
00:28:15,300 --> 00:28:20,820
He was talking about it in the 30s and
40s. And so Edgar Cayce had a great deal
358
00:28:20,820 --> 00:28:23,300
of success with his psychic readings.
359
00:28:24,540 --> 00:28:29,640
Edgar Cayce is considered by many to be
the best documented prophet of the 20th
360
00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:30,640
century.
361
00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:35,280
Unlike most of his contemporaries, Cayce
was widely believed to be not a showman
362
00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:40,040
or an entertainer, but rather a genuine
clairvoyant.
363
00:28:42,820 --> 00:28:47,800
But just where was this information he
prophesied coming from?
364
00:28:49,100 --> 00:28:55,800
Cayce's method to perform acts of
clairvoyance was to glean
365
00:28:55,800 --> 00:29:01,620
information from what he called the
source, or what he at other times
366
00:29:01,620 --> 00:29:03,340
to as the Akashic Records.
367
00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:10,740
The concept of Akasha extends back to
ancient Vedic culture.
368
00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:18,260
And according to Hindu tradition, it was
like an ethereal hall
369
00:29:18,260 --> 00:29:22,500
of records in which all events that ever
occurred were imprinted.
370
00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:26,940
And Edgar Cayce said that this was the
record book that he was using.
371
00:29:27,340 --> 00:29:30,060
to gain access to extrasensory
information.
372
00:29:34,140 --> 00:29:40,020
Was Edgar Cayce somehow able to tap into
a universal source of knowledge that
373
00:29:40,020 --> 00:29:42,120
existed outside of his own mind?
374
00:29:42,700 --> 00:29:44,760
For now, the answer is unclear.
375
00:29:45,940 --> 00:29:52,480
But people continue to read Edgar
Cayce's predictions in hopes of
376
00:29:52,480 --> 00:29:55,520
more prophecies that actually came true.
377
00:29:56,140 --> 00:30:01,920
Edgar Cayce's readings first started
being recorded systematically in 1923,
378
00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:08,820
and there are 14 ,308 surviving
readings,
379
00:30:08,980 --> 00:30:15,860
and there are thousands of readings that
have never been fully explored.
380
00:30:16,220 --> 00:30:22,440
There is a vast amount that could be
studied that might have information
381
00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:23,440
the future.
382
00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:26,120
And it's fascinating to theorize about.
383
00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:29,560
But
384
00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:44,240
what
385
00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:49,500
if this ability to see the future could
be put to the test by an institution set
386
00:30:49,500 --> 00:30:52,540
up to rigorously study this phenomenon?
387
00:30:53,660 --> 00:31:00,120
It just so happens that such a place
exists, and it's called the British
388
00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:02,300
Premonitions Bureau.
389
00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:11,360
South Wales, United Kingdom, October
21st, 1966.
390
00:31:12,280 --> 00:31:17,560
News organizations broadcast a series of
horrific images that stunned viewers
391
00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:18,600
across the country.
392
00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:26,700
A tidal wave of mud and shale has
swallowed the small coal -mining town of
393
00:31:26,700 --> 00:31:28,920
Aberfan in its entirety.
394
00:31:30,580 --> 00:31:36,920
Of the 144 people killed by the
landslide, 116 are schoolchildren.
395
00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:42,200
And for this tight -knit community, many
of whom have lived in Aberfan for
396
00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:43,200
generations,
397
00:31:43,400 --> 00:31:45,360
the loss is devastating.
398
00:31:47,630 --> 00:31:53,070
One of the first people to respond to
the disaster is psychiatrist John
399
00:31:55,570 --> 00:31:59,670
Initially, he arrives to offer
consultation to the survivors.
400
00:32:00,490 --> 00:32:04,870
So when he gets there, he's interviewing
parents that had lost children.
401
00:32:05,510 --> 00:32:11,450
He was really surprised to hear that
there were premonitions before it
402
00:32:11,960 --> 00:32:17,400
One boy drew a picture of people masked
on the hillside digging into it, and he
403
00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:18,600
wrote underneath the end.
404
00:32:20,420 --> 00:32:25,880
Also, there was a young girl who told
her mom about a dream where she said
405
00:32:25,880 --> 00:32:29,940
was this black mask over the school, and
she couldn't get in.
406
00:32:30,940 --> 00:32:34,340
Both of these children later went to
school and died.
407
00:32:37,230 --> 00:32:42,530
Barker begins to wonder whether these
premonitions could be used as a sort of
408
00:32:42,530 --> 00:32:47,270
early warning system that might prevent
future disasters.
409
00:32:48,290 --> 00:32:53,550
So he asked Peter Fairley, who ran the
science desk at the national newspaper,
410
00:32:53,830 --> 00:32:59,190
the London Evening Standard, to consider
setting up a program to collate
411
00:32:59,190 --> 00:33:00,390
people's premonitions.
412
00:33:02,510 --> 00:33:09,180
Fairley not only agreed, But he set up
an entire bureau to act as a focal
413
00:33:09,180 --> 00:33:10,180
point.
414
00:33:10,580 --> 00:33:15,640
Starting in January 1967, the bureau
commences operations.
415
00:33:16,560 --> 00:33:22,100
Reports come in, and the bureau's staff,
they devise an 11 -point system,
416
00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:23,680
looking for patterns.
417
00:33:24,040 --> 00:33:30,600
Five points for unusualness, five points
for accuracy, and one point for timing.
418
00:33:31,580 --> 00:33:34,140
The British Premonitions Bureau.
419
00:33:34,760 --> 00:33:39,680
as it would come to be called, collected
469 predictions in its first year.
420
00:33:41,780 --> 00:33:44,740
Unsurprisingly, many never came true.
421
00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:52,800
But those submitted by two individuals,
Alan Hensher and Lorna Middleton, stood
422
00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:53,860
out from the crowd.
423
00:33:54,360 --> 00:34:00,240
Alan Hensher and Lorna Middleton made
headlines in March 1967.
424
00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:07,360
when they both predicted a train
accident just days before a passenger
425
00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:10,120
derailed, killing 49 people.
426
00:34:10,980 --> 00:34:16,520
Hensher also had a premonition about a
fatal plane crash, predicting the number
427
00:34:16,520 --> 00:34:17,900
of people who would die.
428
00:34:18,520 --> 00:34:21,260
That kind of accuracy is staggering.
429
00:34:22,719 --> 00:34:27,159
For John Barker, the notion that Hensher
and Middleton's predictions might allow
430
00:34:27,159 --> 00:34:29,719
him to warn people of disasters ahead of
time.
431
00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:31,739
It was an exciting one.
432
00:34:32,739 --> 00:34:36,159
For the next year, he sent hundreds of
what he believed to be credible
433
00:34:36,159 --> 00:34:39,560
predictions to the editors of the London
Evening Standard.
434
00:34:42,040 --> 00:34:47,920
But in the summer of 1968, there was one
deadly premonition that he chose to
435
00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:48,920
ignore.
436
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:52,260
One that was shared by both Hensher and
Middleton.
437
00:34:52,820 --> 00:34:55,239
And it involved John Barker himself.
438
00:34:55,980 --> 00:34:59,600
Around one in the morning, Hensher calls
Barker.
439
00:35:00,730 --> 00:35:05,730
He's in a panic. He's got a terrible
premonition. He says, do you have a dark
440
00:35:05,730 --> 00:35:06,730
car?
441
00:35:07,030 --> 00:35:12,410
Barker says yes. And he tells Barker,
you have to be careful. Be very, very
442
00:35:12,410 --> 00:35:13,410
careful.
443
00:35:14,290 --> 00:35:16,770
Then Barker asks him, what? Am I in
danger?
444
00:35:18,370 --> 00:35:19,370
Hensher says yes.
445
00:35:21,770 --> 00:35:24,010
Barker wrote a memo the next day.
446
00:35:24,440 --> 00:35:29,420
explaining that Hencher could only
explain that the dark car was somehow
447
00:35:29,420 --> 00:35:33,420
connected to Barca and a potentially
deadly outcome.
448
00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:38,740
It all seemed pretty vague, and perhaps
that wouldn't have worried Barca so much
449
00:35:38,740 --> 00:35:43,040
were it not for the fact that there was
another warning from his other
450
00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:45,080
superstar, Lorna Middlepool.
451
00:35:47,720 --> 00:35:53,160
On August 18, 1968, less than two years
after he had opened his Bureau of
452
00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:57,440
Premonitions, John Barker was suddenly
rushed to the hospital.
453
00:35:58,460 --> 00:36:02,380
Barker died of a sudden brain
hemorrhage, age 44.
454
00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:07,040
The British Premonitions Bureau closed
down shortly thereafter.
455
00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:13,840
As for the dark car, there are many who
are convinced that the answer is simple.
456
00:36:14,300 --> 00:36:19,780
It was the funeral hearse that conveyed
John Barker's body to its final resting
457
00:36:19,780 --> 00:36:20,780
place.
458
00:36:20,860 --> 00:36:25,760
It raises the question, was Barker's own
death just a coincidence?
459
00:36:26,220 --> 00:36:28,140
Was it self -fulfilling prophecy?
460
00:36:28,360 --> 00:36:34,400
Or like the rest of the Bureau's
predictions, was fate simply too
461
00:36:34,400 --> 00:36:35,400
stopped?
462
00:36:39,060 --> 00:36:40,520
Paris, France.
463
00:36:41,900 --> 00:36:46,960
In the heart of the city stands the
Louvre, one of the most renowned museums
464
00:36:46,960 --> 00:36:47,960
the world.
465
00:36:48,480 --> 00:36:52,940
Of the hundreds of thousands of artworks
contained in its prestigious galleries,
466
00:36:53,180 --> 00:36:59,680
the biggest attraction is the Mona Lisa,
which draws roughly 10 million visitors
467
00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:00,680
every year.
468
00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:05,860
The Mona Lisa is one of the many
important paintings created by
469
00:37:05,860 --> 00:37:08,860
Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci.
470
00:37:10,160 --> 00:37:15,640
But curiously, da Vinci was much more
than just a painter. He was also a
471
00:37:15,640 --> 00:37:19,800
who envisioned futuristic technologies.
472
00:37:21,540 --> 00:37:26,760
Leonardo da Vinci is widely regarded as
the quintessential Renaissance man
473
00:37:26,760 --> 00:37:28,440
because he did it all.
474
00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:35,640
He was an artist, he was a gifted
engineer, and he was
475
00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:37,120
also a great craftsman.
476
00:37:37,840 --> 00:37:42,480
So he had a wide array of skills
combined with a brilliant mind.
477
00:37:43,700 --> 00:37:49,060
When we think of da Vinci, we often
think about his sketches of amazing
478
00:37:49,060 --> 00:37:55,280
machines. And he compiled this vast
collection of sketches in his notebooks.
479
00:37:55,940 --> 00:38:00,660
He was designing fortifications, port
facilities,
480
00:38:01,400 --> 00:38:06,760
canals, catapults, and tanks.
481
00:38:07,570 --> 00:38:12,550
These sketches would be completely at
home in the notebook of an engineering
482
00:38:12,550 --> 00:38:13,550
student today.
483
00:38:14,670 --> 00:38:18,130
Leonardo certainly had an amazing
imagination.
484
00:38:19,030 --> 00:38:25,990
But one has to say that Leonardo's ideas
were too advanced for his time in the
485
00:38:25,990 --> 00:38:31,250
sense that he was stymied by the lack of
the right materials in the period.
486
00:38:32,230 --> 00:38:37,080
However... The fact that very few of the
things Leonardo depicted actually were
487
00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:40,180
done shouldn't really blind us to his
genius.
488
00:38:41,820 --> 00:38:46,560
While most of da Vinci's concepts were
too advanced to be built in the 15th
489
00:38:46,560 --> 00:38:52,460
century, incredibly, some traces of his
actual achievements can be seen today.
490
00:38:53,020 --> 00:38:59,720
In Milan, a canal system designed by da
Vinci has been preserved, and a military
491
00:38:59,720 --> 00:39:01,620
stronghold he constructed in
Switzerland.
492
00:39:02,160 --> 00:39:09,100
Still stands But of all the futuristic
machines envisioned
493
00:39:09,100 --> 00:39:15,260
by Leonardo da Vinci His most famous
designs were in pursuit of a stream of
494
00:39:15,260 --> 00:39:21,640
flight For decades modern historians
have wondered did da Vinci actually
495
00:39:21,640 --> 00:39:26,820
discover the secret to soaring through
the sky centuries before the invention
496
00:39:26,820 --> 00:39:27,820
the airplane
497
00:39:28,590 --> 00:39:31,810
Leonardo's understanding of flight was
certainly a lot deeper than many of his
498
00:39:31,810 --> 00:39:37,870
contemporaries. He was one of the first
people to study actual bird motion, try
499
00:39:37,870 --> 00:39:40,610
to figure out how birds flew under their
own power.
500
00:39:41,650 --> 00:39:46,750
If you look at Leonardo's flying
machines, the first machines that he
501
00:39:46,750 --> 00:39:51,390
in his notebooks are, in fact,
ornithopter designs, very much like
502
00:39:51,390 --> 00:39:53,710
they flap their wings to generate the
lift for flying.
503
00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:58,040
And then he progressed on to designs
which were much more like gliders.
504
00:40:01,260 --> 00:40:05,940
One of the really fascinating things
about da Vinci's efforts, if he was very
505
00:40:05,940 --> 00:40:10,520
creative in thinking about how humans
might spin things or turn things, one of
506
00:40:10,520 --> 00:40:12,640
the designs he had was an aerial screw.
507
00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:18,540
And it's a particular structure, like a
propeller, to provide lift and have
508
00:40:18,540 --> 00:40:19,540
something fly.
509
00:40:20,750 --> 00:40:25,510
Leonardo da Vinci's principle of a
single screw turning a propeller to
510
00:40:25,510 --> 00:40:29,570
lift is strikingly similar to the
mechanics behind the modern helicopter.
511
00:40:30,450 --> 00:40:34,470
And over the years, engineers have been
inspired to bring da Vinci's visionary
512
00:40:34,470 --> 00:40:38,050
designs to life through real world
experimentation.
513
00:40:39,830 --> 00:40:41,570
In 1976,
514
00:40:42,600 --> 00:40:47,720
The Gossamer Condor was flown, and it
was the first human -powered flying
515
00:40:47,720 --> 00:40:52,500
machine with one person operating this
propeller -driven glider, essentially.
516
00:40:53,420 --> 00:40:57,440
It was the first attempt at what
Leonardo was trying to make.
517
00:40:59,500 --> 00:41:04,280
A crew at the University of Maryland
used Leonardo's design for the aerial
518
00:41:04,280 --> 00:41:05,280
screw.
519
00:41:06,920 --> 00:41:11,020
the quadcopter design worked. The air
screws actually did provide enough lift
520
00:41:11,020 --> 00:41:15,440
lift the quadcopter up, and so there is
some promise for a design like that.
521
00:41:15,800 --> 00:41:19,360
So Leonardo, even today, does inspire
people in their designs.
522
00:41:20,080 --> 00:41:25,500
Was Leonardo da Vinci simply a genius
who was ahead of his time, or were his
523
00:41:25,500 --> 00:41:28,780
inventions the result of an ability to
see the future?
524
00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:34,400
Whatever the case may be, there's no
question that the unique capability to
525
00:41:34,400 --> 00:41:38,970
perceive what is yet to come, has
influenced the world as we know it for
526
00:41:38,970 --> 00:41:39,970
thousands of years.
527
00:41:40,490 --> 00:41:46,670
Whether it's called clairvoyance,
mysticism, or prophecy, perhaps one day
528
00:41:46,670 --> 00:41:52,790
will all be able to access our psychic
potential and practice the power of
529
00:41:52,790 --> 00:41:57,310
prediction. But for now, what the future
holds remains
530
00:41:57,310 --> 00:41:59,930
unexplained.
48519
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