TWO WORLDS

By:  The Night Watchman

I believe life is divided into two worlds. We have our one world where we get up, go to work, pay the bills, lament the end of "Friends" on TV, and get through the day wondering if Gillette will finally have a razor with five blades because we know it will shave us closer than the one with four. It's our everyday existence. The one that keeps the economic engines running to fuel the train called "Life" that gets us to our destination of New and Improved Land.

The second world deals with the unknown or the unexplained, which is probably why most of you are reading this magazine. I don't believe there has been anyone who, at one time or another, hasn't wondered about the origins of our planet, the existence of spirits and an afterlife or whether the Abominable Snowman has a cute little bunny rabbit named George. (Please excuse the Bugs Bunny reference, but I, too, came from our little materialistic based culture.)

The unknown has perplexed many of the world's greatest thinkers. More often their studies raised more questions than conclusions. Maybe that is the attraction to this world. It's like one big Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle without the answer page. We can fill in some of the blanks, but our lack of knowledge in some areas keeps us from completing the puzzle. But still, we go back to it, hoping one day we can solve it.

I think it's safe to say most of us have a healthy balance of life between the two worlds. But there are those who don't. They spend much of their time trying to acquire more things or get so busy trying to change the world through political activism that they have essentially closed their - dare I say souls - to a much larger purpose. Conversely, there are those who, through their trepidation of the existing social order, refuse to realize the learning opportunities in the so-called "real" world. They are, as well, wrapped up in a myopic existence. Much of this, in my opinion, stems from fear of rejection because of their beliefs. It's understandable, but whether they realize it or not, they are an important part of this world, just like everybody else. Societies are not made up of groups - they are made up of individuals.

I was drawn to the unknown at an early age, but never really delved deeply until recently. I guess I have to give credit to Art Bell. I used to work evening shifts and Art Bell was the only interesting program on when I finally got into bed. At first, I was highly skeptical about many of the subjects, but then Art and his guest at the time were discussing sleep paralysis and astral travel. It was a significant breakthrough in my skepticism. Here I was, listening to what I believed to be a rational person describing a phenomenon I had been experiencing for years. Until then, I had no idea what it was I was experiencing and afraid to tell anyone about it. But, that night changed my whole perception of things. I not only was ready to tell someone about it, I needed to tell someone.

The next day, I went to my friend Terri's. I thought I'd spring my admission of the strange phenomenon I'd been experiencing since I was five. She's a highly educated and rational woman with a healthy degree of skepticism. I figured if she could at least accept my admission without thinking I was nuts, then I would have the courage to express my beliefs to anyone. So, I mustered up the nerve and told her about my experiences of having out of body experiences. To which, she replied, nonchalantly, "Oh! You mean like flying around the house? I've been doing that for year."

So much for feeling like the only person on earth with strange experiences.

It's an amazing thing, the human condition. Once we know someone else has experienced something odd, we don't feel so out of place. And that's the purpose of this magazine: To have a forum for people to share and discuss odd occurrences and events while searching for answers.

It is my hope this magazine will provide the public with information and evidence to spark interest into finding out the answers to the mysteries around us. Although The Night Watchman Chronicles will provide opinions of experts in many of the fields we will delve into, it's my belief the path to the answers lies with everyday people like you and me.

So, let's all get off that couch and begin our journey to find those answers. But don't forget about our day jobs, because I'd like to try that new razor with five blades.