Do people really choose when to die without being conscious of it?

This has intrigued me because of a growing number of cases I have noted in the last few years.

1. A woman I knew  died during the strong earthquake in Baguio City in July 1990, which killed over 1,600 people. She was able to  get out of the hotel when the earthquake struck. But she went back, after the earthquake, to get her handbag.

As soon as she entered the hotel, an aftershock caused slabs of concrete to fall on her. She was crushed to death.

It was as if she went back to die.

2. A multimillionaire Chinese-Filipino businessman got out of his burning house, but went back in to get his wallet. He never came out.

3. A cosmetologist of a well-known dermatologist was walking along Edsa past midnight after a nightlong celebration of the Edsa revolution. She was with two companions.

As they crossed to the other side, she suddenly ran ahead of her companions, just as a speeding car was coming along.

She was hit so hard, her body was thrown several meters away, and she landed on her head. She died instantly. Her two companions were not hurt at all. Why she suddenly ran, right at that moment, nobody could tell.

4. During the 9-11 terrorist attack at the Twin Towers in New York, a man  working in the building was late coming to the office because he had to bring his daughter to school. He was saved from sure death because of the delay.

Changing their minds

5. Before the Titanic sank in April 1912 after hitting an iceberg, more than 50 people who had booked the trip canceled all of a sudden, thus saving their lives. Why did they suddenly change their minds, unlike the more than 1,500 passengers and crew who died?   Among those who canceled their booking was  banker  J.P. Morgan.

6. I was supposed to be on Cebu Pacific flight 387 that crashed in Cagayan de Oro on Feb. 2, 1998. I was to conduct a seminar there.

When my host was in a taxicab on the way to  Cebu Pacific office to buy my ticket, he told me that he heard a voice whisper in his ear to get me a PAL ticket instead. Obeying the voice, he proceeded to the PAL office.

Upon landing in Cagayan de Oro, I heard the news that the Cebu Pacific flight 387 had crashed, killing all the 104 people onboard. Was it because it was not yet my time?

7. The husband of a well-known top executive of a  big advertising company was buying flowers near the PNR railroad track. For no reason at all, he stepped back a few feet from the flower stall just as a train was passing by. He was run over by the train and died.

8. I have read several stories about balikbayan or OFWs who were killed while they were on vacation in the Philippines. It was as if they came back to die.

It is, of course, very easy for us to say that the above are mere coincidences, and do not mean the people involved had a choice as to whether to die or not at that time. It stands against reason or common sense for a person to  choose to have himself or herself killed, unless he or she wanted to commit suicide.

And here is where the controversy lies. I don’t believe in accidents or coincidences, because everything happens for a reason. This is the Law of Causality. Nothing happens by chance.

No one in his right mind will choose to die a seemingly senseless death.  But is it not possible that the souls already knew what would happen and chose the action that was in conformity with the soul’s desire?

Some may argue, “That’s the person’s destiny.”  He is predestined to die or not die that day.

But I believe we always have a choice. Therefore, predestination is nothing more than what a person has chosen it to be in a previous life. We always have a choice, because free will is absolute.

NOTE:

Attend the next “Basic ESP and Intuition Development” seminar on Jan. 25-26, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the next “How to Heal Yourself Through Visualization” on Feb. 1, 9 a.m. to 12 nn, at Rm. 308 Prince Plaza 1, Legaspi St., Greenbelt, Makati City. For reservations, call tel. nos. 8107245 or 0908-3537885. E-mail [email protected].