Someone told me this story today, as told to him by Jim Bagnola.
When Doug was doing The Magic Show on Broadway, he often got calls from people wanting to sell him magic tricks or illusions. This is common with magicians, especially well-known ones. His manager, Jim Bagnola, fielded the calls. One time an older gentleman called and asked to talk to Doug. Jim said he was Doug’s manager and the gentleman would have to talk to him first, but the man insisted on talking directly to Doug and finally Jim put him through to Doug. The man offered to sell Doug an illusion which would enable him to levitate across the English Channel, along with his wife Debbie, and promised (it went without saying) that this would make him the most famous magician in the world. Doug and Debbie proceeded to have numerous chats with the fellow and developed a friendship with him. The gentleman knew all kinds of things which he couldn’t possibly have known except through some siddhi. He would tell Doug that certain things were going to happen in his life, and then they would. Often he would say that certain people were going to be in Doug’s audience that evening, and they were. One time he told Doug that his show that evening might not go on because Doug was going to get a bad stomach flu, but that Swami Satchitananda was going to be in the audience that evening, and that he would heal him. That’s what ended up happening. I’m not sure how long this phone friendship developed, but finally Doug was ready to go out to some rural area of Arizona to meet the guy and have a demonstration of the promised ability to fly across the English Channel. Doug was meeting with MMY in DC along with Jim Bagnola and John Hagelin. The three of them were going to fly out and as the meeting went on, they became more and more desperate to leave for the airport so as not to miss their flight. Every time they mentioned it to MMY, he put them off, and finally told them they shouldn’t go. Doug asked why and MMY said that the man they were going to meet was not a good man. Doug protested that he had become a friend and that Doug trusted him. MMY kept arguing his point of view and Doug his. Finally, Doug said “Maharishi, you don’t understand.” MMY paused and said, “We don’t know what planet this man is from. He has a Master in Tibet. If you go out there, I’ll never see you again. I don’t want you to go.” So they didn’t go. Afterwards, Doug tried to contact the guy, but the number he had so often called was disconnected. He never heard from him again. Rick Archer President SearchSummit HYPERLINK "http://maps.yahoo.com/py/maps.py?Pyt=Tmap&addr=1108+S.+B+St.&csz=Fairfield% 2C+IA+52556-3805&country=us" \n1108 S. B St. Fairfield, IA 52556-3805 HYPERLINK "mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]" [EMAIL PROTECTED] tel: fax: Skype ID: HYPERLINK "http://www.plaxo.com/click_to_call?src=jj_signature&To=641-472-9336&Email=r [EMAIL PROTECTED]" \n641-472-9336 914-470-9336 Rick_Archer HYPERLINK "https://www.plaxo.com/add_me?u=25769982909&v0=356483&k0=1251699766&v1=35648 4&k1=804482755&src=client_sig_212_1_card_join&invite=1" \nAlways have my latest info HYPERLINK "http://www.plaxo.com/signature?src=client_sig_212_1_card_sig"; \nWant a signature like this? No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.472 / Virus Database: 269.8.17/850 - Release Date: 6/15/2007 11:31 AM
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