Am I imagining things? (Non BDSM)

[DVS]

OK, you need to have an open mind for this thread. Spiritually, mystically, beyond reality-ish, etc. because I seem to be "touched", for lack of a better word. Touched by what, I don't know, but most of my life I've noticed things that seem to make me stand out in different ways. I've been routed away from disaster, away from major injury, etc. that makes me just feel like someone is looking out for me.

Oh, I do have the most terrible luck, though. That seems to follow me around, too. But, nothing that would harm me, physically. My luck usually involves material things...like when I recently had my car stolen. My bad luck seems to keep me from ever getting ahead, financially. Maybe whoever is looking out for me is also controlling that? Maybe they enjoy the humor in it, or something...sick humor that it is.

But for the most part, I basically have been saved from catastrophe, through the years. I've done stupid things that should have killed or seriously injured me, and I've come out unscathed.

I should have been electrocuted when I was in my teens, because I cut an electrical cord in two with a pair of tin snips...while it was still plugged in. Some how, I came out of that without even a shock. The tin snips got a nasty little melted spot on them, when they touched both wires at the same time. And there was a bright spark when this happened. But, I didn't feel a thing and I don't know why.

I could have been killed, because the handle was metal and there was no way I would have been able to let go of them, if the electrical current had gone through them. Simple AC current causes your muscles to contract, so I wouldn't have been able to let go. But, somehow, I cut the cord in two and lived to see how stupid I had been.

I remember when I was about 10, I was watching some kids shoot hoops. I was at a neighbor's house and they had an old Mercury. The one with the big fins on the tail lights? Only you old folks will remember them, I'm sure.

This car was in the garage, just behind me and the garage door was open. Someone shooting hoops got too close to me and I turned around and ran to get out of their way. When I turned and ran, I ran right into one of those tail fins on that car.

The point of it was right at eye level for me and I could have put an eye out. But instead of hitting either eye, I hit the bridge of my nose. I hit it so hard that it knocked me backward, onto my ass. To this day, I have the scar to remind me of how lucky I was.

I once climbed over an 8 foot chain link fence and when I dropped to the other side, a ring that was on my finger caught the top of the fence. That ring was so tight on my finger that it should have cut into and maybe taken my finger off in the process, but all it did was pull the ring off. My finger had no cuts, not even an abrasion from it. I have no idea how that could have happened. I had to use soap if I ever wanted to get that ring off my finger, but that day, it slid right off.

I've had things like this happen all of my life. Maybe I'm just one who remembers these things and they also happen to other people. I don't know...maybe I'm just one of those people who notice such things. But these things are something that make you sit back and collect your thoughts, when you realize what could have happened, but didn't.

I couple of years ago, I was literally run off the road by a snow plow. It was early morning, and I was on my way to work. The snow plow driver had probably been up all night, and didn't see my car. To miss being hit by the blade, I had run my car into the curb. Of course, the plow kept going...he had no idea I was even there.

I had a blown tire, a bent wheel and the strut on that side was also bent. I didn't have a lot of money, so I just fixed the tire and the wheel. The car drove kind of strange with the strut the way it was, but I didn't have the cash to fix it, at the time. I had to drive it for nearly 2 weeks that way.

I was so pissed of my luck, I was actually looking for someone to pull out in front of me, so I could hit them. I wanted someone else to pay for my damaged strut. Oh, I don't mean I would hit someone to hurt them, but I just wanted someone else's insurance to pay for what I couldn't afford.

Well, I got the strut fixed and just about a week later, I was driving downtown, in the middle of the afternoon. It was a sunny day, a little warm for a January afternoon, but still kind of chilly. When I pulled out into an intersection, I was T-boned by a hit and run driver who had run a red light. He hit me so hard, my car spun around nearly 270 degrees. He kept on going and I don't think they ever did find him. All I saw of his car was that it was blue and big, kind of like an old Chevy Caprice. His car hit right behind the driver's side door of my car. Obviously, it totaled my car.

That day, I was second in line to pull into that intersection. I often think of what would have happened, if the car in front of me had pulled out sooner...or later. A split second sooner, and I would have also pulled out sooner and that car probably would have missed me completely. But, if the car in front of me had pulled out a split second later, I would have done the same and that car would have hit the driver's side door and I'd probably be dead, if not seriously injured.

OK, something else I've always noticed happen, and I hope you don't think I'm touched in the head, but for years, I've noticed street lights often turn on and off when I drive under them. Obviously, this is only at night, but I have come to notice this, because it happens a lot. I'd venture to say this happens at least 2 or 3 times a night, if not more, when I happen to go out driving.

I also work nights, and so I notice it then, too. There are a few street lights that will go off or on, many times as I drive under them. No, not every time, but it's become a semi regular thing. You might think that I'm triggering an electric eye on the street light, but they are on top of the light, to be triggered by sunlight. To my knowledge, there is no reason one would be pointing downward to be triggered by car lights, etc. It must be my bright personality shining through.

I could go on with these situations, but I just mentioned a few to make a point. I just wonder what's going on. Am I some wacko? Am I just seeing things? Am I sick...mentally? Am I putting too much thought into this? Or, do you think I'm maybe...just maybe being watched by a guardian angel with a slightly warped sense of humor?

I'm not putting too much into this, because I know I can't do anything about it. I can't control what happens to me, any more than someone else can control what happens to them. But, I just notice these things. And sometimes, I have to sit back and wonder....hmmmmm.

Anybody else have have similar situations happen to them? Come on...I was brave and all. Now you be brave and tell your story. I can't be the only person like this.

 

[WriterDom]

The streetlight thing happens to me all the time.

 

[DVS]

The streetlight thing happens to me all the time.

Woo Hoo! I'm not the only one! Maybe it's a Dom thing?

 

[Homburg]

Had it happen to me too, many times. It's creepy.

 

[Keroin]

Dr. Richard Wiseman wrote a book called, The Luck Factor, that tries to quantify luck scientifically. I haven't read it but I have read some blurbs about it. Basically he suggests that lucky people have four psychological traits that unlucky people do not. These are: the ability to maximize chance opportunities, to listen to "gut feelings," to expect good fortune and to see the bright side of bad luck.

I consider myself a very lucky person but when I look back on my life, objectively, I can see that I've had just as much tragedy and disaster as the people I know who consider themselves quite unlucky. I suppose I tend to focus on the good, therefore I "feel" lucky.

Fact is, I should be dead fifty times over but for dumb luck and chance. I could drive myself nuts asking "why?" but...why? It is what it is and I'm thankful. If there's an entity to thank for my good fortune, (which I seriously doubt), then I think the best way I can thank them is by living my life with gusto and enjoying every minute I'm still breathing.

 

[Sir_Winston54]

The streetlight thing happens to me all the time.

Woo Hoo! I'm not the only one! Maybe it's a Dom thing?

Had it happen to me too, many times. It's creepy.

I had it happen to me enough times that I asked a City of Tampa Street Department engineer what the deal was. He said their "best guess" (because they'd been asked about it before) was that some cars' headlights had just enough "bleedover" at the right angle to hit the streetlights' automatic sensors and fool them into thinking it was dawn. He couldn't explain why it seemed to happen to me no matter what car I drove.

 

[JMohegan]

Or, do you think I'm maybe...just maybe being watched by a guardian angel with a slightly warped sense of humor?

The problem with the guardian angel theory is that it becomes extremely difficult to explain why bad things happen to good people.

If there is a sentient Being controlling the universe in this fashion, then He/She/It is a capricious and evil fuck.

 

[Homburg]

I had it happen to me enough times that I asked a City of Tampa Street Department engineer what the deal was. He said their "best guess" (because they'd been asked about it before) was that some cars' headlights had just enough "bleedover" at the right angle to hit the streetlights' automatic sensors and fool them into thinking it was dawn. He couldn't explain why it seemed to happen to me no matter what car I drove.

Or why it sometimes happens when I *walk* under a streetlight.

 

[Keroin]

Yes, yes, the streetlight thing happens to me too. I just don't read too much into it. My guess is that when the bulbs are getting old they probably flicker on and off and sometimes I happen to be walking underneath when this happens.

Now, if I were to walk for a mile, on a dark road, and every single streetlight went off as I passed underneath, then I might start to hear the Twilight Zone music.

I am the kid who told all the other kids there was no Santa Claus, in case you're wondering.

 

[Netzach]

I have had many near misses and should have gouged my eyes out but missed moments. Many.

I thought it's just mostly childhood and being a lucky klutz.

 

[DVS]

Had it happen to me too, many times. It's creepy.

I don't know if I'd call it creepy, but I do call it odd. And I'd also agree with the answer that some car headlights do bleed into the sensors and cause the street lights to trigger off. But, if that's the case, why would they sometimes go on?

And, as Sir_Winston54 mentioned, why is it no matter what car I'm driving just happens to be one of the cars with the special headlights?

 

[DVS]

The problem with the guardian angel theory is that it becomes extremely difficult to explain why bad things happen to good people.

If there is a sentient Being controlling the universe in this fashion, then He/She/It is a capricious and evil fuck.

Well, I did say if I had a guardian angel, he/she did have a warped sense of humor.

And my bad luck is never physically bad. It always seems to be financially bad, so that is where I'm thinking the warped sense of humor comes in. Physically, I always seem to end up OK...maybe "just" OK, but still OK. I didn't rip my finger off. It slid out of the ring, even though it was very tight. I didn't hit one of my eyes with the tail fin, but right between both of them. An inch either way could have been so much worse. I only have a scar on my nose. I could have lost an eye, but didn't.

Any time I've been in an accident, I came out with minor injuries, at most. Either I happened to be seated in just the right spot where I wasn't hurt, or where the impact was in a spot other than where I was. Sure, I could have been much worse off physically, when looking back at any of those situations. But, it seems my damage was mostly financial.

Something or someone seems to have assisted in my choices at just the right time. Well, all of those, except when money is involved. That's where my guardian angel fits in. The warped sense of humor? This angel seems to think I'd be better off without any money. Go figure.

Oh, and I believed in Santa Claus until I overheard my older sister mentioning something to my mother...something like "That woman is so gullible, I think she still believes there's a Santa Claus."

My reaction? "Santa isn't real?"
Personally, I still think he's real.

 

[DVS]

I have had many near misses and should have gouged my eyes out but missed moments. Many.

So, I guess you ran with scissors as a kid?

I thought it's just mostly childhood and being a lucky klutz.

In my memory, lucky and klutz didn't go together. You were either lucky or you were a klutz.

 

[DVS]

Yes, yes, the streetlight thing happens to me too. I just don't read too much into it. My guess is that when the bulbs are getting old they probably flicker on and off and sometimes I happen to be walking underneath when this happens.

Now, if I were to walk for a mile, on a dark road, and every single streetlight went off as I passed underneath, then I might start to hear the Twilight Zone music.

I am the kid who told all the other kids there was no Santa Claus, in case you're wondering.

I'm sure there's a reasonable answer for the streetlight thing, but so far, I have yet to hear one I can totally believe. And I think you are probably over simplifying it, when you say some of the bulbs are getting old, etc. That can be only partially true.

I believe in happenstance, but I'm a technical person, too, so it's not that easy to consider lightbulbs just deciding to go out when I go under them. I'd think a few times it would be just before I go under them or just after I've gone under them, too.

OK, to have every streetlight go out, as you drive under them would be too obvious. To use movies as a vehicle here, how many science fiction movies have you seen where the the alien just came down and showed himself? How many times did the boogie man just come out and stab people? First, there was some scary music, then there were a few clues, here and there. Then, you saw shadows etc. The only time you actaully saw the alien or boogie man was at the last minute...the zero hour.

And because you mentioned Santa Claus...how many times do we actually see him? Most of the time you just see that he ate the cookies. The fact that his "thank you" note looked so much like your dad's handwriting was beside the point.

 

[DVS]

Or why it sometimes happens when I *walk* under a streetlight.

That's happened with me, too, but not very often. Not near as often as when driving under them.

Maybe you just have more of "it" than I do.

 

[unpredictablebijou]

The "streetlight thing" is one I've been paying attention to for years. I've noticed it too, and have taken informal surveys among both friends and customers. It does seem to happen to people who have other sorts of "energy" as well, whether that's a strong focus on active magickal spirituality or just a "dommy" type whose charisma is rather noticeable.

And yeah, it'll happen whether walking or driving.

I've also noticed that other lights and electricity seem to respond to "energy" in people, or whatever you want to call it. During a period where I was living in a very drama-ridden 'commune', we had a touch lamp that would react strongly to argument, conflict and people in destructive moods. It was funny for a while and then it got really creepy.

Another example: my shop, which has a pretty high concentration of customers who are either highly spiritual, in crisis or both, goes through lightbulbs at a rate you can't even believe. The five-year bulbs last us about four months. It's often that someone will come in with some sort of crisis and at least one light bulb will blow immediately.

And one of my mates is an electrician with 25 years' experience, so the question of wiring and rational explanations has, of course, been explored quite thoroughly.

Not here to offer explanations, though I have a few theories. Just adding to the pile of evidence.

 

[DVS]

I have had many near misses and should have gouged my eyes out but missed moments. Many.

I thought it's just mostly childhood and being a lucky klutz.

In the words of my long time hero, George Carlin. "Why, when two airplanes come very close in the air is it called a near miss? Actually, it's a near HIT!"

I guess George and I just saw things the same way.

 

[WriterDom]

When James, c's old ghost saw that she was packing up to move, he was turning a lot of things in the apartment on and off including the lights and the computer. Since he didn't have a physical body, he had to be doing it in other ways than turning the switch. Maybe they are some form of energy who can fuck with things like that. Spirits who refuse to go into the light. They would turn off streetlights to say, "Hey, I'm here, look at me."

And I've never seen one go off at a distance of 200 yards when I'm walking. It is normally around 50 to 100 feet. Or right up on it. Like they think it's funny or something.

 

[DVS]

Not here to offer explanations, though I have a few theories. Just adding to the pile of evidence.

Evidence is always good. And maybe we'll actually figure something out, one of these days.

I'm wondering if some of us are "chosen" with this streetlight thing, or if we just happen to be the ones that notice it. The way some people drive, I KNOW they aren't looking at where they're going, so how can they be noticing the streetlights going on and off, too? With some drivers, you just can't expect much more of them than to drive slow in the fast lane and talk on the phone.

All of this is sort of tongue-n-cheek with me. I don't take it too seriously, but I also don't dismiss it as just something that happens, either. I don't lose sleep over it, but I do think about the "why" sometimes.

It's happened too many times to be just something that happens. Either there's an actual technical reason for things such as this, or, well...something or someone else is causing it.

Yes, I do believe in spirits. To what extent? I haven't thought about it that much. Still accumulating evidence.

 

[unpredictablebijou]

Evidence is always good. And maybe we'll actually figure something out, one of these days.

I'm wondering if some of us are "chosen" with this streetlight thing, or if we just happen to be the ones that notice it. The way some people drive, I KNOW they aren't looking at where they're going, so how can they be noticing the streetlights going on and off, too? With some drivers, you just can't expect much more of them than to drive slow in the fast lane and talk on the phone.

All of this is sort of tongue-n-cheek with me. I don't take it too seriously, but I also don't dismiss it as just something that happens, either. I don't lose sleep over it, but I do think about the "why" sometimes.

It's happened too many times to be just something that happens. Either there's an actual technical reason for things such as this, or, well...something or someone else is causing it.

Yes, I do believe in spirits. To what extent? I haven't thought about it that much. Still accumulating evidence.

I tend to look more internally for explanations to stuff like this. People aren't so much "chosen" but rather have varying levels of energy, just as they have varying levels of musical skill and a range of basal body temperatures.

I use musical ability as a handy teaching metaphor for what people think of as "psychic" ability or magickal skill (that misspelling is deliberate; it differentiates 'deliberate activities which attempt to effect reality through symbolic act or force of Will' from 'sleight of hand'.) Being really good on the oboe doesn't mean you're better, more blessed or more divine; it's just a level of talent. And similarly, practice is helpful and there are many different sorts of skill and talent.

So maybe folks who put out streetlights or blow lightbulbs have either a chronic or acute form of energy, just like body heat or whatever, that is higher than the norm. Kirlian photography might be an interesting tool in researching this, among other things. But you can't take a picture of charisma, for example, though we all know when we see it. I just don't think we have the instrumentation to measure whatever that is yet... Will? Mojo? basic Super-ness? Akasha? Toppiness?

 

[WriterDom]

One guy from Yahoo answers wrote this

I'm going to say that a lot of your street lamps are likely nearing the end of their life cycles. Generally, street lamps utilize high-pressure gas bulbs, such as ionized mercury or sodium. Nearing the end of their life cycle, they begin to alternate being on or off, and this increases in frequency before, finally, they burn out.
Source(s):
I'm an electrical engineer with GE Canada

 

[DVS]

Another guy from Yahoo Answers...

The kids (louts/hoods) thump the lamp posts in our street, and they go off. This is because they are gas discharge bulbs. The lamps restart soon after.

It may be that your car gives off a sound frequency that does the same thing. An outright nonsensical guess; but it could be the case. Could be a subsonic boom that disturbs the discharge (Still clutching at straws).

Maybe your car generates a supersonic frequency that causes a destructive interference with the frequency of the discharge tube - again a wild guess; but there is a slight scientific possibility that it happens,

It may be that a part of your car is reflecting light (from the bulb maybe, or the car, or anywhere else) onto the sensor on the light that automatically controls the light based on the surrounding light - automatic street lamps.

If I can dream up any more nonsensical possibilities, I'll add them.... enjoy
Source(s):
A real olde scientist clutching at straws; trying to create a bit of humour!

 

[DVS]

Here's a new take on the subject...

Sliders (Street Lamp Interference Persons)

 

[JMohegan]

Well, I did say if I had a guardian angel, he/she did have a warped sense of humor.

And my bad luck is never physically bad. It always seems to be financially bad, so that is where I'm thinking the warped sense of humor comes in. Physically, I always seem to end up OK...maybe "just" OK, but still OK. I didn't rip my finger off. It slid out of the ring, even though it was very tight. I didn't hit one of my eyes with the tail fin, but right between both of them. An inch either way could have been so much worse. I only have a scar on my nose. I could have lost an eye, but didn't.

Any time I've been in an accident, I came out with minor injuries, at most. Either I happened to be seated in just the right spot where I wasn't hurt, or where the impact was in a spot other than where I was. Sure, I could have been much worse off physically, when looking back at any of those situations. But, it seems my damage was mostly financial.

Something or someone seems to have assisted in my choices at just the right time. Well, all of those, except when money is involved. That's where my guardian angel fits in. The warped sense of humor? This angel seems to think I'd be better off without any money. Go figure.

Oh, and I believed in Santa Claus until I overheard my older sister mentioning something to my mother...something like "That woman is so gullible, I think she still believes there's a Santa Claus."

My reaction? "Santa isn't real?"
Personally, I still think he's real.

People tend to fall into one of two categories when it comes to that which can not be rationally explained. The 'some mysterious unknown Power must be responsible' group, and the 'shit happens' crowd.

This thread lends itself well to a poll.

 

[DVS]

People tend to fall into one of two categories when it comes to that which can not be rationally explained. The 'some mysterious unknown Power must be responsible' group, and the 'shit happens' crowd.

This thread lends itself well to a poll.

Well, if I have to be categorized into a group, I'm glad I'm in the 'mysterious unknown power' group and not someone who just shrugs his shoulders and says "hey, shit happens".

I'd rather be mysterious any day, than just shitty.