Last week, I discussed teleportation, a paranormal phenomenon where a person disappears from one place and simultaneously appears in another quite far from where he originally was.

A reader asked if anyone could do this deliberately. Teleportation is rare, with very few documented cases. It usually happens spontaneously and involuntarily, without the person being conscious of it.

However, there are some advanced Indian and Tibetan spiritual gurus who were reportedly able to travel long distances in seconds, if they wanted to. In the Philippine experience, some elemental creatures are apparently involved in the phenomenon.

Now let’s talk about bilocation, or being in two different places at the same time. This is really more common than most people think. Like teleportation, bilocation usually happens to people without their conscious effort or knowledge.

Bilocation is easier to explain than  teleportation. It happens when one’s astral body detaches itself from the physical body and travels elsewhere. The astral body is sometimes called the “desire body” because it travels where it desires to be, although the person may not be aware of it.

A case of bilocation happened to Vivian, an audit clerk in a rubber shoe manufacturing company I used to work in. One Saturday, she stayed home and did not report for work because she was not feeling well.

However, at least three coworkers and two supervisors swore they saw her in the factory that day and even answered a question asked by one of them concerning the whereabouts of a chemical compound.

Natural

When she reported back for work on Monday and learned that several people definitely saw her the previous Saturday, she panicked and started to cry. She thought it meant she was going to die. Only after I explained to her about the astral body and bilocation as being natural did she stop crying.

Another case of bilocation was only recently e-mailed to me by Tonypet Araneta, a former activist, fellow psychic researcher and businessman. In the 1970s, he frequented Swiss Inn restaurant in Paco to chat every morning with paranormal researcher Hiram Ramos.

One morning, as he was being driven to Swiss Inn, he “developed a severe headache” and told his driver, Villamor, to return to his office in Port Area so he could rest. “By lunchtime,” continued Tonypet, “I had recovered and decided to head for Swiss Inn again, hoping to catch Hiram, at that late hour.

“As I entered Swiss Inn and moved to where we would normally sit, a waiter named Campued asked me in Tagalog, in a very surprised voice, ‘Sir, what happened? You came this morning, ordered coffee but when I returned later you had already gone and the coffee was left untouched.’ This is the first time I had an experience like this which I could prove.”

As it turned out, he has had several bilocation experiences. Although he never left the Philippines from 1972 to 1979, “I would get reports from many acquaintances and friends who swore they saw me in Europe and America.” But since there was no evidence, he dismissed such stories as merely those of mistaken identity.

Now he thinks it could be true.

Several continents

Many saints of the Catholic Church have been recorded to bilocate, the most  frequently mentioned of them was Padre Pio, an Italian Capuchin monk.

Apparently, Padre Pio was aware of being in two places at the same time to perform a special spiritual task, prevent an accident or heal a seriously sick person.

One reported case I had already written about involved a British pilot whose plane was shot down in Italy during World War II. A Capuchin monk appeared outside the plane as it plummeted and guided it safely to the ground. It was later confirmed by the pilot that the monk who saved him was Padre Pio, who at that time never left the monastery.

According to the “Dictionary of Mind and Spirit” compiled by Donald Watson, “the individual who bilocates is seldom aware of two viewpoints simultaneously.”

Now, quantum physics seems to offer a clue on how these two phenomena can take place.

The Wave Property Theory in quantum physics says that “a quantum object (for example, an electron) can be at more than one place at the same time.” This apparently explains bilocation.

The Quantum Jump Theory says that “a quantum object ceases to exist here and simultaneously appears over there, without going through an intervening space.”

Quantum physics is forcing scientists to view the physical universe in an entirely new way. Phenomena, which were  regarded as supernatural or mystical, appear to be natural, after all.

For personal consultation and paranormal services, call 8107245 or 0908-3537885. Attend the next Practical Mind Dynamics seminar on Aug. 10 to 11, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the next Soulmates, Karma and Reincarnation seminar on Aug. 17, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., at Rm. 308 Prince Plaza I, 106 Legaspi St., Greenbelt, Makati City.