The Power of Premonitions: How Knowing the Future Can Shape Our Lives

I highly recommend this book if you are someone with a rational, scientific mind yet love the topic of intuition and premonition. Hugely satisfying book. The references at the end of the book also provide a wealth of fascinating sources, which will take you even further if this is an area of interest to you. Dossey treats the subject with a scientist's need for experimental proof, which takes it many steps above the usual spiritual vagueness and sloppy thinking that proliferates on this topic. He also addresses the many arguments and objections to premonitions by asking the very questions and examining every doubt that skeptics express on this subject. Such a pleasure to read a well-measured, well-researched book that supports intelligent and scientific examination of experiences that so many of us have had in our lives. It is also so well-written that it is a true page-turner. He is a fantastic thinker AND able to translate things in a way that makes them not only accessible but fascinating.

Overall, a good summary of the science. But I was hopeful that it would give more details on how to hone ones promonition ability. Most of the book was duplicative of things I've read elsewhere. Not much new.

Good book for anyone who has had this kind of experience and does not understand what is happening to them. Mr. Dossey confirms that experiences outside the "norm" is perfectly normal for most individuals. To dream the dream, hear the message, or feel the feeling is not heeded by most people but is there for all.

"O, that a man might know the end of this day's business ere it come!" Julius Caesar, Act V, Scene I.Time and other thieves... The good Doctor has unleashed an outstanding contribution to our attempts to understand the chaos of being, and the very nature of time itself.In a work that manages to be both deeply scholarly and highly entertaining, Dr. Dossey has fashioned a mosaic of strange bedfellows that will at the very least help us to start asking the right questions.As expected, the book is a masterpiece of research, supported by acres of notes and references, dealing with numerous core topics, such as the block universe, chaos, entropy, repression and a look into the paradox-drenched quantum arena as a whole.While the case examples are fascinating and well chosen, the book also looks into cases of people successfully acting on premonitions, and the rituals of some cultures whereby destructive dreamed premonitions might be negated and dark outcomes averted.For me, the book's crowning magic lies in the closing sections, in which Larry Dossey cites examples of how mystery and embracing the unknown can be good for our psychological and physical wellbeing. We do indeed seem to need just enough chaos and uncertainty in our lives. In the same way, one of the theories about reincarnation is that we are not supposed to remember details of our previous lives, lest it bias our thoughts and actions in our current life.There's an allegorical song by Ani DiFranco called Little Plastic Castle, in which she sings..."They say goldfish have no memoryI guess their lives are much like mineAnd the little plastic castleIs a surprise every time..."Good job, given the dang size of the bowl...Dr. Dossey takes the unusual and insightful step of asking the reader whether they want to invite premonitions into their consciousness, given the responsibility that may come with it. This dilemma was beautifully captured in the Garth Brooks classic, The Dance."Hey who's to say, you know I might have changed it allAnd now I'm glad I didn't knowThe way it all would end, the way it all would goOur lives are better left to chanceI could have missed the painBut I'd have had to miss the dance..."Live with passion.Steven Cain (Sirius Moonlight, One Star Awake)

This is the first book of Dossey's I've read. I very much enjoyed his pleasant, methodical voice because it's yet another objective read about a subject which is seen as difficult to explain. Dossey also knows about a great many famous historical figures and their anecdotes of their own premonitory experiences. He includes some of those, such as Abraham Lincoln's or Winston Churchill's, in this book. Case after case of well-documented premonitions are recounted, and Dossey's valuable understanding of ethics are included.Opinions about consciousness from renowned scientists are also mentioned, including those from Albert Einstein, Erwin Schrodinger, Werner von Braun and Neils Bohr. Gallup Organization polls about Yankee paranormal beliefs about are cited. But overall, this is a layman's book is about verified case studies, verified anecdotes and good sense. Dossey's many, many examples from this book were very enjoyable. Of course they were sometimes unsettling. I read some about which I hadn't heard, including Scotland's Aberfan coal mine disaster, the World Trade Center attacks, Winston Churchill's escape from an ambush, and Beatrice, Nebraska's church explosion.If you're looking for lengthy or dry accounts of research studies proving or disproving premonitions, then absolutely this isn't your read. It's not a compilation of scientific studies. If you're looking for accounts faithful to accuracy in case after premonitory case, this is a wonderful book to have. Because Dossey's subject is so controversial to *some* scientists, I'm now inclined to include offer all the stuff below. Please accept my apology in advance for its length, but those of us who like explanations will appreciate it and you don't have to read it unless you want to.Because a reputable scientist tells you something can't exist, doesn't mean it won't or doesn't. Stephan A. Schwartz is a long-standing researcher and empiricist in favor of nonlocal awareness. His work is mentioned in Dossey's book with fondness and high regard. Schwartz said in 2007 that, "The problem, of course, for those people who are critics, is that precognition ought not to exist at all, particularly precognition which extends out in time." Yet hundreds of thousands of us report having precognitions ourselves, which are then published in some manner. Millions more of us have experiences which go unpublished and unnoticed.One's life is based heavily on that which you choose to support or deny. For a moment, if you stand aside from the perceived causes of our species' difficult-to-explain experiences like those described in this book, your opinion is always going to distill to *your* beliefs. You'll either believe the author or not based on your experience coupled you're your perception of 'scientific authority.' And scientific authority always boils down to peer review. Made understandable, peer review means that scientists eventually agree or disagree the experiments or recountings are done well enough. Experimental results and anecdotes can either be declared repeatable and valid, or invalid. In the case of premonitions, researchers can declare them valid and repeatable, declare them inexplicably flawed, or instead disavow them to steer around their understandable apprehension of career suicide.It was from the podium of the International Remote Viewing Organization's 2007 conference, Stephan A. Schwartz spoke this:"... there are over 2,000 studies about nonlocal perturbation, in the form of what's called 'therapeutic intent research' - that is, consciousness of one person affecting the well-being of another. And there are a similar number of studies involving things like Ganzfeld, which is a sort of first cousin of remote viewing, remote viewing, the creativity research, the near death studies research. So there's a large body of material. We actually do know a few things about this. And we don't know a lot. But there are a few things about which most researchers who do this work at a very rigorous level do agree with. The first thing that I think most researchers in this area would agree with is that there is incontrovertible evidence for the acquisition of information which could not be explained by normal sensory intake. Another thing that we agree on, is that there is... some aspect of consciousness exists outside of time-space... The problem, of course, for those people who are critics, is that precognition ought not to exist at all, particularly precognition which extends out in time."

I have barely scratched the surface of this book. For me, this is one I have to digest SLOOOOOOWWWWLY, some books I have to read a little bit at a time...this is one of them.

Awesome! As with all of Dr. Dossey's books, this one is inspiring and clearly written, with plenty of provocative stories.

I bought this because I was intrigued about learning about premonitions.Back in 2004 I had a few things happen to me, feelings if you will. Little did I know at that time that they were premonitions. Thinking back to the memories now excite me because if you have had a premonition, whether good or bad, knowing you have had a feeling about a future event might excite you, like it does me.In 2004 I was still a teenager but that year feelings or premonitions, as I now know they are, were strong.I began to get feelings about something big that was due to happen to me in 2007. I had no idea what until my daughter was born in that year which is a big thing to me as if you are a parent, it can change you. Also in 2004 I had began speaking to this guy who soon developed obsessive feelings towards me, he would constantly text or ring me. I had no interest in him other than being his friend but it was clear he didn't want that. Anyway one day I had a very sudden feeling he would show up at my house out of the blue and as I wasn't in the mood to deal with his behaviour I decided to draw the curtains and hide incase this feeling were true. It felt so strong and I wanted it to go away. The feeling told me he was on his way and he'd be there soon and within half hour he was there knocking on my door. He soon left when he thought no one was in and I was left to wonder about that feeling I had. Soon as he left the feeling left me and I was able to relax.I also knew my mum wouldn't live past 50. She died at age 50.So the whole premonition thing still excites me and I haven't had any dreams or very strong feelings like that day in 2004 with that guy. Although I know the feeling is still there as back in 2010 I knew I would have another child in 2012 and I did, even though at the time I was happy with 1 child. I do get a feeling about 2015 and I feel drawn to that year like I did with 2007 & 2012.

I bought this book along with another book which covers precognition or as this book refers to it as premonitions. The other book was rubbish but this is completely opposite,it is well written and opens up lots of possibilities regarding time, matter and consciousness. I have read it three times and each time gleamed something more from it.If you have read  Entangled Minds  by Dean Radin you will understand lots of the principles of quantum particles and how they interact, this leads you on to understanding that everything in the Universe is connected. Entangled Minds

Larry Dossey is an author I like, and this book of his does not dissappoint. He is a doctor by profession, and approaches his subject from a scientific perspective. You'll be surprised what scientific study there is on this kind of thing, and the intriguing, thought-provoking results. An extensive interview with Larry Dossey can be found on Dr Joseph Mercola's website.

Dossey seems to leave no stone unturned in this penetrating and lively study of an elusive subject. Lucidly written, abundantly annotated, crammed with, well, 'anecdotes' , this is an engaging, informative and inspiring read that should appeal very much to anyone interested in premonitions and related psychic phenomena.

very interesting!