Mystical Experiences (Paperback) | Released: 10 Oct 2012

In twenty years as a prisonn psychologist Dr. Farrell heard remarkable stories from inmates. Men in solitary confinement have nowhere to go, so some go out of body. Murderers are often confronted by the ghost of their victim asking, "Why?". An inmate used a Voodoo spell to harm two people. Many received supernatural warnings which saved their lives. One man was smoking marijuana with his cousin in a parked car. After a half hour the man heard a voice saying, "Get outta the car. Get outta the car." He told his cousin, "Get outta this car." They both jumped out. Seconds later a speeding SUV crashed into the car demolishing it. Drug dealers are often warned by dead former comrades who come to them in their dreams saying, "Get out of the drug game." Few dealers are able to heed that warning. The money, the excitement, and the available females in the drug trade are too difficult to give up. These are only a few of the stories Dr. Farrell heard in prison. People in the community told Dr. Farrell similar stories in his private practice. A nurse visiting the Southwest walked into the desert to take photos. She felt something strange under her foot and looked down to see she had stepped onto the neck of a diamondback rattler. She was terrified knowing that if she moved the snake would be free to strike. She prayed intensely and then felt something under each armpit lifting her. Suddenly she was thirty feet away. She believes she was saved by an angel. An American engineer working on a Polynesian island had traveled to the mainland for a three day business trip. When he returned home his wife was gone and his checking and savings accounts were wiped out. It was his second failed marriage and he became despondent. He decided to commit suicide by swimming out to sea until he was exhausted. Down at the beach he sat on the sand before going into the water. An elderly Polynesian man walked up and said, "I know what you are thinking. Can I sit down for a few minutes?" They talked for about two hours and the engineer decided not to commit suicide. On the job the next day he approached a Polynesain man on his crew and said, "I had some problems last night and an old man on the beach helped me out." The worker said, "You met the kahuna." In the last part of the book Dr. Farrell has put instructions for meditation and other techniques that foster mystical experiences because they are benficial. People who have these experiences are transformed. Most become more centered and less distracted by superficial excitements such as drugs, alcohol, gambling, or uncommitted sex.
About the Author: Dr. Jack Farrell has been a licensed psychologist in Maryland since 1982. He has worked as a prison psychologist for over twenty years, treated men in a veterans hospital and maintained a private practice. Dr. Farrell is the author of a previous book, Voices Behind the Wall: ninety Prison Stories. His home in western Maryland is just minutes from the Appalachian Trail where he and his wife, Nancy enjoy hiking. They often hike and ski in Colorado, and have hiked in Ireland, Scotland, Iceland, Germany's Black Forest, and Patagonia in Chile. Sea kayaking is another favorite activity and they have kayaked in Newfoundland, Alaska, the San Juan Islands, and Florida. Now he prefers the warmer waters of the Sea of Cortez in Baja. Dr. Farrell is fond of traveling to ancient ruins and megalithic sites. He often collects folklore on these trips. He has visited most of Europe. In Latin America he made several trips to Mexico, and also visited Costa Rica, Peru, and Chile. In Asia he has visited Japan, China, and Korea. He enjoys the Polynesian culture and has traveled to Rapa Nui, or Easter Island, Hawaii, and both American Samoa and Independent Samoa.