Several years ago, I met a young girl who presented herself in such a way that I could not
help but imagine that she would grow up to become the quintessence of an Anomously Sensitive Person.
That encounter resulted in my writing an article about her for the Bulletin of Anomalous Experience.
It is reproduced below.
Of Lizards and Wizards
Magic! I've always been entranced by magic. In junior high school I used to perform magic shows at
birthday parties for the "little kids." In college I read everything I could find about hypnosis.
When Neuro-Linguistic Programming first came on the scene, I knew I had to take the training, if for no
other reason than that its developers had written books with titles like The Structure of Magic and Frogs
Into Princes. As a boy, I wanted to grow up to be a magician. Today, in the guise of a hypnotherapist,
I've secretly realized that boyhood wish.
It is probably no coincidence that at the medieval faire, presented at my children's grammar school each
fall, my role is that of Merlin the magician. Decked out in conical hat and purple robe with gold trim,
I make my way through the crowds handing out "magical Merlin stones" (tumbled amethysts) and
telling tales of enchantment to the little ones. Boys and girls would greet me with cries of "Wizard,
Wizard" and quickly form an entourage, following in my wake as I make the rounds. Supported by the full
authority of the set and setting, it is easy to perform numerous dramatic feats of "instant
therapy" with these young "clients"-healing the hurt of a bee-sting here, improving sibling
relationships there and validating the "princes" and "princesses" who seek acknowledgment.
Toward the end of this year's faire, a 2 1/2 year old girl, with baby-sitter in tow, tracked me down because
she had something important she wanted to share. After directing me to sit on the grass, she launched into a
description of what it had been like when she was "in her mommy's tummy." She reported that it had
been dark and wet, but that the wetness had been warm and she had been comfortable and that it wasn't wet
anymore when she had come out into the sunshine. With great delight, I listened to her narration of this charming
tale. She also stated that, while inside, she had been visited several times by a "lizard." Being a bit
nonplussed by this assertion, I didn't know whether to think of her experience in terms of sensory perceptions or
archetypal imagery. In any event, we completed our conversation, introduced ourselves by name and went our
separate ways.
After the faire was over, while driving away, I was reflecting on this encounter and then recalled that, whereas the
other children had called me "Wizard," she had persisted, despite being given a couple of gentle corrections,
in calling me "Lizard"...and she had also talked about being visited by a "lizard" when she was
in her mommy's tummy. I wondered if there was something about me that stimulated for her the recall of some in utero
experiences. Thinking more about our visit together and recalling her beautiful and unusual name, I was amused by the
coincidence of its being the same name as the daughter (whom I had never met) of a former client who had sought
assistance in preparing for natural childbirth supported by hypnosis.
Much of my time in those sessions had been spent talking directly to the fetus-offering love, caring, support and
guidance. The possibility that the meeting at the faire was something more than mere coincidence was fascinating! Upon
arriving home, I rushed to the telephone, called my former client and discovered that her daughter had, indeed, been at
the faire with a baby-sitter...and had come home with a glowing report about her conversation with a "lizard." We
had a good laugh about the "coincidence," and allowed for the possibility that it might be an example of
"synchronicity" at work. After hanging up the telephone and allowing myself some time to mull over the implications
of this experience, I concluded that it proved nothing... other than that little children can bring a lot of magic into our
lives if we allow them to do so.
While that experience did, indeed, prove nothing, it may, perhaps, have suggested a great deal about the way things might be.
Through the grapevine, I was able to follow this child's development until she was about five years old-hearing reports of her
"chats with angels," of her tales about "the time when she was big and her mommy was little," of her
predictions (eventually validated) of future events and of her perceiving and reporting illnesses in others prior to their
diagnosis by physicians.
Admittedly, this is just one anecdote-and I don't know if she retained her apparent abilities into adulthood as I had hoped-but
it effectively serves to illuminate the potentials inherent in ASPness.
Thinkest thyself a puny form when within thee the universe is folded?
-Ancient Sufi Tradition
(attributed to Ali)
listen: there's a hell of a good universe next door; let's go
-e.e. cummings
