I received the following e-mail from Janelle Marcos, a grade 7 student of Miriam College, about a strange event that happened to her.

“I was absent last Friday Mass because I had a slight fever. But a lot of people, including the librarians, saw me in school. My classmates said I even said ‘Hi!’ and greeted them ‘Happy Birthday!’

“During the first Friday Mass, they saw me standing in line. But during homeroom, I was gone. Although I left my things in school, they said these weren’t there in the morning. Then my things appeared where I had placed them the day before.

“Some batchmates also saw me in the CR. Then the clinic called at home asking if I had gone to school. But I wasn’t there, I was at home.”

As you can see, Janelle merely related what happened to her without asking me any question. Neither did she hint at any fear or apprehension. It was as if she was just telling a story to someone. But I guess she wants some explanation about what happened.

This phenomenon is technically called “bilocation,” or being in two places at the same time. This is not really as rare as some people may think. I have come across similar cases happening to other individuals both here and abroad.

Bilocation happens when our astral body (sometimes called our etheric double) leaves our physical body, goes to another place and is seen there by other people. In most cases of bilocation, the astral counterpart seen by others does not respond when greeted. In a few cases, the astral body responds, as if really there.

Natural occurrence

The astral body is also known as the “Desire Body,” because it goes wherever that person desires to be. In this case, Janelle probably wanted to be in school but could not because she was sick. So her astral body was the one that went to school.

This reminds me of a case when I was working in a large rubber shoe manufacturing company in the early ’80s. One Monday morning, Vivian, an audit clerk, was brought by the plant manager to me, crying uncontrollably. She related that on the previous Saturday, she was absent from work because she wasn’t feeling well. She just stayed at home.

But on that day she was seen in the factory by no less than six employees, including her supervisor. One co-employee even said Vivian had asked her about a certain chemical compound they were using there.

When Vivian heard all this Monday morning when she reported for work, she panicked and started crying. She thought it meant she was going to die. She only stopped crying after I explained to her that what happened to her was perfectly natural and it did not mean she was about to die.

I explained to her about the astral body and how bilocation takes place. She was so relieved after that and was able to work without a problem.

Documented cases

The most well-known documented cases of bilocation concerned the famous Italian Capuchin monk and stigmatist Padre Pio, who only a few years ago was canonized by the Catholic Church. When he was still alive he was often seen in two places, and at times in three places, at the same time.

One of the recorded stories happened during World War II. The plane of a British pilot was shot over Italy. As the crippled plane was falling, the pilot saw a monk flying in front of him, took hold of the plane’s nose and gently landed it safely on Earth, thereby saving his life.

When the pilot related to his colleagues what happened to him, he was told there was a Capuchin monastery nearby and suggested they go there and inquire. When the British pilot and his companions were inside the monastery, they saw monks silently marching toward the chapel. When the pilot saw Padre Pio, he exclaimed he was the monk who guided his plane safely back to earth. But Padre Pio never left the monastery that whole day.

Bilocation should not be confused with “teleportation.” In bilocation, a person is seen in two places at the same time. In teleportation, the person physically disappears or vanishes in one place and appears in another place simultaneously. There are also a number of fully documented cases of teleportation in the annals of parapsychology and psychical research, but that’s another story.

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