A reader recently asked, “What’s the most incredible and bizarre thing you have either witnessed or experienced during your many years of research into the fields of psychic, mystical and paranormal phenomena in the Philippines and in other parts of the world?”

That’s a difficult question to answer because I have seen and experienced so many incredible and weird things in these controversial fields. I have included most of them in my book, “When the Impossible Happens: Confessions of a Reluctant Psychic” and its revised edition.

I don’t expect everybody to believe the following stories but they really happened.

1. I was hacked six times on various parts of my body with a double bladed, 21-inch sword with enough force to cut those parts in half.

This happened in 2004 in Batangas during an initiation rite (called “blessing”) by the Haring Bakal religious sect in Mataas na Kahoy, Lipa, led by Jesus “Jess” Verallo Jr., a jeepney driver by profession. It was witnessed by so many people; three of my male companions were also similarly hacked on their thighs and stomach. It hurt, all right, but there was no wound or blood. How this can be explained is beyond me.
This ritual is done according to Verallo to protect one from bullets and knives.

2. A five-inch thin knife was inserted fully inside my nose without harm.

This happened in the late 1980s in London. A British psychic surgeon named Stephen Turoff, inserted the knife inside my nose to clear it of mucus which was bothering me. I had developed a severe cold after coming from Stonehenge in Wiltshire in November.

The healer asked me to breathe through my mouth as he inserted the full length of the knife inside my nose. My wife who was present during the whole process tried to stop the healer’s hands but was prevented by the other people watching it.

The knife could have penetrated my brain. The process was uncomfortable but I felt no pain. He even twisted the knife several times before removing it. The entire incredible process was caught on film and included in a book about Stephen Turoff published in England.

3. The half-face of a man behind a rock in a still photograph moved to reveal his full face.

A still photograph is not a motion picture. Figures do not move, right? Well, here is something incredible as witnessed by at least four people.

Someone showed me a photograph of a man sitting on the trunk of a fallen tree at a brook in Mt. Banahaw. They said an elf could be seen sitting at the end of the fallen tree trunk.

I couldn’t see the elf (dwende) but what caught my attention was the head of a man half covered behind a rock in the foreground of the picture. I pointed it out to the owner of the picture Ric, my wife, and to Ric’s secretary. They all saw the man’s half-covered face.

As I stared at the picture, I began to go into a trance for no reason. I thought to myself, “Who is this man? Why doesn’t he show his whole face?” As soon as I said this mentally, I saw the man’s half face move to the left side of the rock thus showing his full face. It turned out to be the face of Jose Rizal. Then I went completely into a trance. All four of us saw the whole incredible incident.

Ric later told me he was at that time meditating on Jose Rizal to give him a message. While in a trance, I spoke something I had forgotten and Ric said it was a message from Jose Rizal to him. He said the message I had channeled was meaningful to him. I can’t remember what the message was.

Believe it or not, this really happened. I forgot to ask for a copy of the picture and when I did several days later, was told it got lost. An important piece of paranormal evidence gone forever.

4. In Korea, I saw a tall, 70-year-old female shaman stand barefoot on top of two upright, razor-sharp bolos without being hurt. The bolos were held by two men.

As she stood there before a large audience she made diagnosis or prediction for any person she pointed to. She was obviously in a trance. She is considered a national treasure of South Korea. We had dinner with her before this demonstration but I can’t remember anymore the details of our conversation.

There are many more incredible and bizarre stories I can relate here, but the above should be enough to make people think that, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy,” as Shakespeare said in Hamlet.

The next Soulmates, Karma and Reincarnation seminar is on July 7, 1-7 p.m.; Basic ESP and Intuition Development on July 14-15, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Venue: Room 308 Prince Plaza 1 Condominium, Legaspi St., Legaspi Village Makati City. Call 8107245, 0998-9886292; e-mail jaimetlicauco @yahoo.com. Visit www.innermindlearning.com