One of the most exciting and controversial theories that has come out of quantum mechanics is that of “parallel universe” or “multiverse,” sometimes referred to as the “many worlds” theory.

Is our universe unique, or could there be parallel, even multiple universes, where all possible choices or events are played out or realized?

The theory of a parallel universe was first proposed by a brilliant Princeton physics graduate student named Hugh Everett in 1957.

Said Frank Tipler, professor of mathematical physics at Tulane University: “Hugh Everett showed that the consistency of quantum mechanics required the existence of an infinity of universes parallel to our universe. That is, there must be a person identical to you reading this article right now in a universe identical to others. Further, there has to be an infinite number of universes, and thus an infinite number of people identical to you in them.”

According to Tipler, most physicists who apply quantum mechanics to cosmology accept Everett’s argument, including Stephen Hawking. But not Danish physicist Niels Bohr, who rejected the idea when it was first presented. “He couldn’t cope with the idea that every decision we make creates new universes, one for every possible outcome,” said Tipler.

Everett died in 1982 of heart attack at the young age of 50. He did not live to see the growing acceptance of his theory among physicists in later years.

Few in the Philippines have heard of the theory and parallel universes, or the many worlds theory except in science fiction, movies and novels. The films “The Matrix” and “Dr. Strange,” for example, feature characters going in and out of parallel universes or dimensions.

Could it be that the following true stories of people who unknowingly went back in time to stay in hotels that no longer exist are examples of parallel universes? You be the judge.

PAL flight attendants

There was the case of the Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight attendants, which was told to me in the early 1980s by a PAL pilot.

Several Filipino flight attendants had to make an extra flight to London, England. They arrived at Heathrow Airport close to midnight. Since their extra flight was not anticipated, they had no advanced booking in the usual dorm or boarding house for flight attendants.

They were to fly back very early the next morning. So, they decided to look for the nearest inn or motel they could rest in for the evening.

They hailed a taxi that took them to an inn, but it was fully booked. The front desk receptionist said the only available space was in the attic where they could take a shower and rest. The girls took it, as they were tired and sleepy from the long flight. All they wanted was to get a little sleep.

They found the attic quite cold and rather eerie. They tried to sleep but they couldn’t. They felt a strange presence, as if they were not alone there.

They also heard some strange noise, although they saw no one else. The ghostly presence bothered them no end. They hardly slept that night.

At about 4 a.m. the next day, the girls rushed down to check out. They saw no one at the front desk or anywhere else. So, they decided to just leave the payment at the front desk and hurriedly left in a taxi.

Several months later, the same group of flight attendants were on vacation again in London. They decided to look at that strange inn where the three of them had stopped before.

They took a taxi to the same spot where they had stayed before, and found only an empty lot, except for some debris of a building that appeared to have been long gone.

When they asked what happened to the inn they had stayed in three months earlier, the taxi driver told them that the inn burned down more than four years ago and had not been rebuilt.

When they approached the place, they found the money they had left at the front desk among the debris.

When I first heard this story, I couldn’t believe it. I thought maybe the women had experienced what psychiatrists call “collective hallucination.”

Several years later, a PAL flight purser came to attend my seminar on ESP. She turned out to be one of the flight attendants who had stayed in that haunted inn in London! She confirmed that the story the pilot related to me was true.

Next week, I will relate the strange story of two American female tourists from New York who stayed and even ate sandwiches in a hotel in Mexico City that never existed.

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