Chapter 4, page 34 Grandma and the Skunk.
He tells of his friend Rebecca and how her grandma in spirit sent the smell of a skunk to keep her awake during a car trip. She loved the smell of skunk. Bruce writes:
"According to Rebecca, every twenty minutes from then on the scent of skunk filled the car. Since I'm the rational-minded type, I figured Grandma just arranged for a skunk to be hit by a car in Rebecca's path every twenty minutes. I realize that's no less irrational than Grandma magically bringing the scent of skunk into the car, but somehow it seemed like a more logical, reasonable explanation to me."
"A week or so after I heard that story, long after sundown, I was sitting in a room with rebecca in a house in the Virginia countryside...Suddenly, the smell of a skunk filled the room..."
"Whew! Smells like a skunk has gotten into the house and sprayed in here somehwere. Geez I hope it's not rabid," I remarked nervously, looking around the room for sharp, vicious teeth and a raised white tail.
"No, Grandma's here to visit".
"You have a pet skunk named Grandma?" I asked incredulously.
(Bruce, I hope you don't mind me quoting your book there).
Alysia, the story goes on to show how when Bruce said it was impossible that her grandma was producing the smell, that Bruce instantly couldn't smell it anymore--and skunk smell doesn't just completely disappear like that! Since he had expressed doubt of this, he didn't experience it anymore.
He writes: "It was my denial of the possibility of my direct experience that prevented me from continuing to experience it...The nonphysical reality of that smell can only be perceived if I'm willing to accept that my own direct experience of it is real. If I deny its existence, I have no way to experience or detect it".
This is great stuff here. I hope whoever is looking for a copy of this can find it. My friend's used book store always has copies of Bruce's books. I can help find copies if need be. Bruce, can you have them ordered up too or something?
Love, Vicky