--- In [email protected], "Rick Archer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > 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 >
************** I always thought that Doug was the reincarnation of Houdini (stage name of Erich Weisz/Weiss), who said that he would signal if he were to come back -- you can make the name Houdini (well, almost) with the letters from Henning's name Dou Hni (although this is not the signal that Houdini said he would send -- see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Houdini "Death"). Henning had real shaky health, and was a hypochondriac to boot -- if you mentioned the word "pneumothorax" (spontaneous collapse of the lungs, which Henning was susceptible to), he would turn pale and nearly faint. Glad MMY saved his soul, even if Henning's health karma was too negative to save this reincarnation's body from early death.
