There's an interesting programme on television that I've watched a couple of times. People relate stories about out-of-body experiences that have happened to them. One lady was dying from pneumonia. A man was shot in the street and there were two more people who actually died on the operating table, but the doctors in both cases managed to bring them back.

In all the cases that I watched on this particular programme, the participants said that they experienced the most wonderful feeling of peace, unlike anything they'd ever felt during their lifetimes. They wanted to stay, but were told that "it wasn't their time," and so they had to come back to their normal lives.

Many books have been written about people being taken up to Heaven, while others had the misfortune of visiting hell! I've read two books; one by the father of a young boy who was four years old when he was taken to Heaven. He had a serious operation and died during the procedure. But somehow it didn't ring true.

His father was pastor of a Baptist Church, I think in either North or South Dakota. The boy described sitting on Jesus' lap and how God Himself had a lovely white, flowing beard. The Holy Ghost was a sort of blue-coloured spirit who just floated around. I think it's wrong to condemn these books out of hand, but at the same time, a healthy slice of scepticism doesn't come amiss. The book about this chap who visited hell was even more, shall we say, imaginative.

Some years ago, I listened to a British lady psychiatrist with very considerable experience in this area, especially with children. She said that if a Christian child had an out-of-body experience, he or she would describe Jesus, his arms open for them, surrounded in a bright light. However, a Buddhist child would see Buddha. A Muslim child would see Allah, etc.

The interesting part about the people whose stories I related at the beginning of this article was that at no time did they mention a deity at all. Well, all except for one of the men who mentioned that he didn't see Jesus or Allah or any of the gods that we worship here on earth. They all emphasized this incredible peace.

I find so many of these scientific theories to be like mercury, either positively or negatively. Just when you think you're certain that they're the truth, or so much hype, something comes along to upset your applecart! The main problem is that they're so subjective.

When I first heard this business of parallel universes, I was convinced that the theory was complete nonsense. Then my personal hero has to come along, Dr. Michio Kaku, and state that parallel universes are quite possible. Not only that, but we can learn to jump between universes and even meet our doppelgangers! To do so, he and many other theoretical physicists maintain, would give us the chance to learn so many different skills and develop abilities that would enable us to make money hand over fist!

Now, through hypnosis, they're starting to teach us how to mess about with time. Time distortion and fluidity. Now this is something we'll definitely look at, but first we must see exactly what hypnosis does. Is it dangerous? Is it simply a hoax?

So this article has posited facts that even fifty years ago would be laughed at. Now, however, it seems to me that the world of physics has been turned on its ear and that we're learning facts about the mind which are--well--mind blowing!

There we are, then. Hold on to your socks! We're in for quite a ride!