Doug Dillon's Blog, page 183
June 2, 2012
Paranormal Writings: Channeling Resulted in a Published Book
In the paranorma nonfiction book my wife Barbara and I wrote, An Explosion of Being: An American Family’s Journey into the Psychic, we talk about something called, “The Writings”. This was our term for information channeled through Barb as we explored the world of the paranormal following my father’s death. Up until we lost my dad though, we had no understanding of, or belief in, the world of spirit. That viewpoint changed radically after many more experiences, study, being open to new possibilities and consulting trusted people who knew about such things.
Barb’s channeling began with automatic writings and then developed into her ability to respond verbally to questions with her eyes closed. I became the interviewer and secretary, writing down what she said in a crazy shorthand that I later translated so it made sense. In this way, Barb and I probed into all kinds of things like life after death, religion, the meaning of world events, and the connections various family members had to the world of spirit. The results were often intricately worded but gave us unusual insights and great comfort.
Barb and I constantly wondered whether the information was coming from a higher portion of her own being or an actual entity. Originally, when we asked, we were told the communications flowed from someone who in life had the name Ollie. Other names followed. Eventually though, it really didn’t matter to us and we simply called the source of the information, “The Source”. Interestingly enough, however, as time went on, The Source eventually referred to itself as “we” instead of “I.”
Just so you’ll get at least a little taste of those communications, here are some quotes from those days:
The finality of the soul’s construction is non-existent. Its opportunities are never ending—therefore, the construction is never exact in its nature, either.
Ghosts are actually visions created by a mutual agreement between parts of your soul, or parts of other souls and yours.
I want you to be prepared for the eventuality of your lives but I also hope that you will not run from the hurting moments. They will turn into paths of joy at a later time which will be hard for you to understand. I want you to believe this very much.
The Source became such a big part of our paranormal journey that in our book, An Explosion of Being, we even created a chapter titled, “To the Reader from a Source with No Name”. In that section, we simply asked The Source to help finish the book and it did—fifteen pages worth. Um, yes, The Source could be a blabbermouth at times but one we trusted and learned a great deal from over a number of years.
June 1, 2012
Paranormal Experiences: The Footsteps
This is the first of three events reported by my friend, Patrick Delsaut, a writer and paranormal explorer from France. According to Patrick, it occurred in the late 1960s.
When we were children, my sister and I were in the living room with our mother. Night had fallen and we were talking quietly together.
All of a sudden, all three of us heard what sounded like someone walking around in the room above our heads. Into the short silence that followed, we again distinctly heard the sound of slowly moving footsteps on the second floor of our home.
This really frightened us, especially my mother. You see my father was away and there was supposed to be no one else in the house. We didn’t have a phone and couldn’t call the police so my mother went next door to the neighbors. While she was gone, my sister and I kept hearing those footsteps.
Finally, our mother returned with two burly men. Then all three of them slowly walked up the stairs, thinking that a thief had got in somehow. My sister and I stayed in the living room listening to all three on the stairs as those footsteps above us continued.
When our mother and the two men arrived at the closed door to the bedroom where the sounds were coming from, the footsteps immediately stopped.
The men opened the door slowly, expecting to be attacked by the burglar but … the room was empty. Two windows facing the street were definitely closed. No one could have left the room, that’s for sure.
Obviously, there was no thief, but we never did figure out the mystery of those very clear and frightening footsteps.
To see Patrick’s website, click here.
To see another blog posting on Patrick himself, click here.
May 30, 2012
Ripley’s Paranormal Coincidences
In 2011, I published Book I of The St. Augustine Trilogy, my paranormal/historical novel for young adults titled, Sliding Beneath the Surface.
The story mostly takes place in the St. Augustine, FL neighborhood called the Abbott Tract just north of the Castillo de San Marcos–the old old Spanish fort.
Right at the edge of that neighborhood sits the original Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum. At night, Ripley’s runs their Ghost Train Adventure that begins and ends there at the museum.
In Sliding, the main character, fifteen-year-old Jeff Golden, mentions he’s been to Ripley’s and there he saw a carved Chinese puzzle ball like the one Lobo, an old Native American shaman once handed to him. I had Jeff say all that because in my research travels to St. Augustine, I saw a large puzzle ball at Ripley’s and decided to use it as a key paranormal symbol–hence it’s appearance on the Sliding cover above.
Photo of the puzzle ball I took at Ripley's several years ago.
In continuing first person comments, Jeff makes clear his dislike for all the tourists who flood St. Augustine and go on silly ghost tours like the one at Ripley’s. Then Jeff describes times during terrifying paranormal exploits when he and his girlfriend, Carla:
Ride their bikes past the historic St. Francis Barracks that houses the Florida National Guard HeadquartersEncounter a soldier in front of the National Guard building
Go to the St. Augustine National Cemetery just down the street from the National Guard building
View the historical marker there erected by the West Point Society of North Florida in relation to the Second Seminole War
View the 3 coquina pyramids that cover the remains of over 1400 soldiers killed in all the Seminole WarsLearn about the start of the Second Seminole War from Lobo, the old shaman
Encounter a cannon used in the Second Seminole Wars
Photo courtesy of Greg Dillon
In writing Sliding, I mention in the book:
How some of the officers killed in the first battle of the Second Seminole War were West Point Graduates and
That my father, Walt Dillon, graduated from West Point. (Both my parents are buried there)
Now, many years ago, my wife Barbara and I wrote our nonfiction book titled, An Explosion of Being: An American Family’s Journey into the Psychic, originally published by an imprint of Prentice Hall.
When I published the Sliding book in 2011, I also brought out a new edition of Explosion through my own publishing company. That book is dedicated to my father and describes his funeral at West Point. Dad’s death started Barb and me on our investigations of the paranormal and resulted in the writing of Explosion.
The Ripley's mansion on San Marco Avenue
Just after the first of this year, 2012, I contacted a friend of mine, Dave Lapham. Dave wrote two books on the ghosts of St. Augustine. I called him because I wondered how he had marketed his books.
Turns out, one thing Dave did was to set up book signings at Ripley’s right there up the street from the neighborhood where all my fictional characters live. Dave suggested I gave Ripley’s a call. Ripley’s? I had thought about book signings in St. Augustine but not at Ripley’s. How interesting.
At the time though, I was so swamped with other things that the thought of working St. Augustine book signings into my schedule just then seemed overwhelming. Dave’s idea was a good one but it took me until the week of May 14 to do anything about it. Here’s where the coincidences really come flying at me. Yup, everything you’ve read up to this point has been prologue.
Early in that week, my friend Chuck Dowling, another author but a writer mostly of military fiction, emailed me. He asked if I had ever thought of doing book signings in St. Augustine. I replied and said, yes, I had just put it on my calendar to call Ripley’s on Friday based on Dave’s suggestion.
Florida National Guard Headquarters
A day or so later, I got an emailed newsletter from the Seminole Wars Foundation based in Bushnell, FL, of which I am a member. In doing research on the Second Seminole War for Sliding, I found the group’s goals and activities very worthy.
Anyway, one particular article in the newsletter really caught my eye. Their next meeting was coming up and here’s what it said, boiled down to the following bullet points:
The meeting will:
Be held on August 18, 2012
Be held in St. Augustine
Be held in recognition of the 160th anniversary of the 1842 interment of all Seminole War casualties buried in the St. Augustine National Cemetery
Annual Reenactment of the Dade battle that started the Second Seminole War
Be held at the Florida National Guard Headquarters–the old St. Francis Barracks
Involve The West Point Society of North Florida, in addition to one other military organization
Involve the entire group walking from the National Guard Headquarters to the St. Augustine National Cemetery
Involve a ceremony at the 3 coquina pyramids
Involve the firing of the cannon from the Dade Battlefield park museum, like the one Jeff and Carla encountered
I’m telling you what. I read that piece over several times, marveling at the fall meeting’s connections with both my books and my father. To say all that was startling is to do it an injustice. I had yet to attend a meeting of the Foundation but this one I could not miss.
For a few minutes, I just had to sit back and marvel at how many things could come together like that. Even believing at least some coincidences have significance, as is my thinking pattern, I was no where near prepared for such a rush of multiple, connected events. Synchronicty at its best. Carl Jung would have loved it.
BUT WAIT! It doesn’t end there. Back to Ripley’s.
As planned on Friday, May 18 , I called them. Ripley’s that is. There I spoke to Ralf who was very receptive to the book signing idea. In fact, he said, it might be good for me to do one on a Saturday evening when there are a ton of their Ghost Train folks coming through the museum.
Hmm. That got me to thinking. I would be going up to St. Augustine on Saturday August 18 for the Seminole Wars event during the day, right? So I asked Ralf about me doing a book signing that same night. The date was open. Bam! I scheduled it.
Actually, it was only after speaking with Ralf that the enormity of what I would experience on August 18 truly hit me. Wow. With the Seminole Wars event during the day and signing both books at Ripley’s that night, I had scheduled myself into living out all those coincidences within about an eighteen-hour span of time. And it had taken less than a week from the time my friend Chuck called asking me about St. Augustine book signings until I finally set everything up with Ralf . Quite a whirlwind of activity.
Photo courtesy of NASA
The universe had spoken and emphatically so, but why? Was there any purpose in all this happening in such a linked way, assuming it all fell together as planned? Was I being guided somehow if nothing more than a higher aspect of my own being? To be perfectly honest, I would like to think that it was some sort of confirmation of my efforts in writing and studying the paranormal. Maybe yes, maybe no.
But the universe is a tricky place and when you try to interpret it’s intentions, it can very easily smack you upside the head. Some of those folks who study synchronicity suggest that intense coincidental events partially, at the very least, reflect your own thinking and observational patterns.
The idea is that you increasingly play a part in creating “coincidences” on a quantum level without realizing it. This can result in delusional cycles of self-reinforcement instead of revelation. Here is where people interpret series of coincidences that mirror their beliefs that the world will soon end and are just a bit disillusioned to find it hasn’t gone away on schedule.
So, for now, I’m just going to be very thankful that I was privileged to watch such amazing patterns emerge out of our everyday world and fuse themselves into a structure in which I will be a grateful participant. No matter what, it’s going to b e fun to see it all unfold.
By the way, all the location photos you see here I took a number of years ago in my research for writing Sliding Beneath the Surface. Under the category Photo Galleries here on my website blog, you will find a number of groupings that relate to the Dade battle–the one that started the second Seminole War in 1835. Or you can find them under the Florida History category.
Here are some links if you care to check them out.
Click here for the spring newsletter of the Seminole Wars Foundation. See page 3.
Click here for the Seminole Wars Foundation.
Click here for the West Point Society of North Florida.
Click here for the St. Augustine National Cemetery.
Click here for the Florida National Guard.
Click here for Ripley’s.
May 26, 2012
Paranormal Coincidences: Building a Book Character
Meet Lobo, or a picture of someone resembling my character by that name. In my young adult paranormal/historical series, The St. Augustine Trilogy, Lobo is a modern day Native American Shaman living in America’s oldest city. Advanced in years, big, tough, and mysterious, this character is all that stands between fifteen-year-old Jeff Golden and death or insanity.
Some of Gary's work
In developing Lobo, I placed him physically on a tree-shaded peninsula modeled after an artist friend’s property who actually lives in St. Augustine. Gary is an excellent painter and my original intention was to have my character possess that same skill. I definitely wanted Lobo to be a creative artist of some kind and that choice seemed very logical.
Egyptian Wings of Eternity
Then after pondering that intention for a while, I decided to give him an artistic skill that I possess–wood carving. It just seemed to be more Native American oriented in so many ways that it fit beautifully. Unlike Gary, I’m a rank amateur at my carving but I have fun and give the results to family members as gifts. You can see several of them in this posting.
The Lion in the Dillon family crest
In thinking about it some more though, it sort of struck me as a bit egocentric and even lazy to give Lobo one of my skills. Even so, in the end, egocentricity and laziness won out. I just couldn’t resist describing carvings that Lobo might create. In using something so personal it gave me great motivation in developing the character. Later on, as I continued to develop the trilogy, I found that my selection fit beautifully into certain historical and paranormal threads. In fact, Lobo as a wood Carver so fully supports the books’ plots that I can’t imagine him with any other skill. Interesting how things work out sometimes, isn’t it?
Believing firmly that there are no true coincidences, I’m continually delighted to see that understanding playing itself out in the choice I made as I work on finishing The St. Augustine Trilogy.
If you would like to see a small photo gallery of the limited number of carvings I’ve done, click here.
May 25, 2012
Chilling Paranormal Tales for Young Adults
Writing novels on the paranormal is much easier when you’ve had a lot of experience with it yourself. It is simply a natural of part of who you are and this comes through clearly as you write the words.
Right away, readers sense this authenticity and settle in for what could be a real-life journey with an author who actually becomes a trusted guide. For them, the paranormal comes alive in ways that purely imagined stories can never hope to accomplish.
In my case, I’ve been involved with probing the paranormal for more years than I care to count. Part of that experience is detailed in 
a work of nonfiction my wife Barbara and I did through Prentice Hall titled, An Explosion of Being: An American Family’s Journey into the Psychic.
As you might guess, my young adult series, The St. Augustine Trilogy, is bulging with things spooky.
Told in his own words, this paranormal/historical series is a very personal account of fifteen-year-old Jeff Golden’s explosive coming of age in America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida. Join Jeff as he faces mind-blowing paranormal activity and battles powerful forces that threaten to overwhelm him. Follow his every move and thought as he fights not only to survive dangerous supernatural events but to keep his mental balance as well.
The premise of The St. Augustine Trilogy is very simple but critical. It is this: You Create Your Own Reality.
Click here for Book I of the trilogy titled, Sliding Beneath the Surface. Books II and III are in the works.
Click here for An Explosion of Being.
A Real-Life Paranormal Journey
The paranormal has been a part of my life for so long now that I’ve almost forgotten what it was like during the days when I regularly pooh-poohed such things.
To be perfectly honest, it took the death of my father to jump-start my transition from skeptic to believer. When our family lost Dad, really strange things started happening. If you would like to read about one of them, there is a link below for you to follow.
It was those unusual occurrences that led my wife Barbara and me on a long-term journey to understand paranormal events. In the process, we had some fascinating experiences, learned a great deal and wrote about is all in An Explosion of Being: An American Family’s Journey into the Psychic. Published originally by Prentice Hall, the book stirred up enough interest for Barb and me to do radio shows across the United States and in Canada.
These days, I blog extensively about things that go bump in the night and I write paranormal historical fiction for young adults–and for adults young at heart. Titled, The St. Augustine Trilogy, my novels for young people are inspired by own personal connections with the paranormal, love of history and appreciation for America’s oldest city, St. Augustine, FL.
Click here for the link to my blog posting on a key event at the time of my dad’s death.
Click here for more information on The St. Augustine Trilogy.
An International Paranormal and Literary Connection
Recently, I had a delightful paranormal and literary contact from a man name Patrick Delsaut. Patrick , who is French, originally trained as a biochemist and now spends all of his time writing about the paranormal. Specifically, he is interested in life on other worlds, UFOs and alien beings. The title of his home page is, Presence of Other Worlds. Patrick has authored a number of books and is in the process of getting them translated into English.
When he found my website,Patrick saw we had some similarities and decided to contact me. He doesn’t speak English and I don’t speak French but he uses a Google translator and we do just fine. Now Patrick and I are developing a good relationship as we talk about all things spooky. He seems like a great guy and we are exchanging information and having fun.
Patrick's banner. Translation: The Presence of Other Worlds
All of that is simply background for me to tell you what Patrick did for me as a fellow writer and paranormal prober. He said he wanted to create a banner for me to add to his website. I’ve started exchanging banners with other folks in the field so I agreed. But when he finished his work, Patrick had also created an entire page dedicated to me and my paranormal writing efforts. It’s beautiful and I was astounded. If you would like to see it, click here.
First of all, I would like to publicly thank Patrick. Second of all, I would just like to point out to other writers and paranormal probers what a wonderful and generous spirit of international cooperation I’ve received from a man I’ve never met.
From Patrick, I’ve also learned how the Google translator can truly facilitate communications between people who speak different languages. Maybe you knowhow easy this isbut I sure didn’t. Thank you for that bit of education as well, Patrick.
If you would like to see the rest of Patrick’s site and then follow how he set it up with the translator and then link to my special page, I will walk you through it below:
Click on the site link below
Scroll down to the translator and click on the flag indicating your language preference
Then scroll down to Miscellaneous
Select Friends Sites
On the Friends Sites page, scroll past Forums Friends until you actually reach Friends Sites.
Somewhere there, you will find a gold rotating banner that shows my name and the some quotes from my websites. Click on that and you’re there
Click here to start and have fun looking at his site. Its worth the effort. Patrick did it all himself.
May 23, 2012
May 21, 2012
St. Augustine, Florida: Concerts in the Plaza
Music fills the downtown plaza of old St. Augustine every week during the summer. Come and enjoy free, old-fashioned outdoor entertainment in America’s oldest city. Summer is a great time to take in St. Augustine’s historic locations, have a great meal at one the local restaurants and let the musical talent smooth away the rough edges.
As you can see below, the 2012 schedule begins in late May and ends with Labor Day. Hope to see you there.
Every Thursday 7:00 – 9:00 PM except 1:00-5:00 PM On Memorial Day and Labor Day (Both on Mondays)
May 28
St. Augustine Jazz Society presents
The Bill Doyle Quintet
Kenny Mackenzie & Friends
May 31
The Driftwoods
June 7
Bob & Joline’s Friends of Mine Band
June 14
Big Pineapple
June 21
Mid-Life Crisis
June 28
Lightly Salted
July 5
The Restless Kind
July 12
The Grapes of Roth
July 19
Ancient City Slickers
July 26
The Company
August 2
The Falling Bones
August 9
The Rick Arcusa Band
August 16
Rob Ellis Peck & Friends
August 23
The Mike Hart Band
August 30
Lonesome Bert & The Skinny Lizards
September 3
The St. Augustine Jazz Society presents
John Thomas Group
ET Swing & Friends
For further details on the concerts and other St. Augustine information, click on the items below:
Full City of St. Augustine Concert Information
A YouTube Concert in the Plaza Video
A Calendar of Events for St. Augustine
