Where Do Our Ideas Come From?

Helene wrote this story on July 1st, 2010, and saved it on her computer as “Where do our thoughts come from?” This story feels more like a recounting of a past life, a retelling of an astral projection, or Helene connected to a thought form that was traveling through time. What do you think?

I’m not a person who takes pills when I have a challenge going to sleep; instead, I let my imagination take over as I pretend to become a different person. It’s like a “What if” game. Last night, the word TITANIC popped into my head. I immediately thought of the sinking of the luxurious cruise ship, the Titanic. “I think I’ll play a mental game that I was a passenger on the ship”, I decided. I lost track of time and became oblivious of my immediate surroundings as I mentally projected onto the ship. I wrote the following scenario that I’ll share with you. I even titled it Love in Action.

As Nathan gathered his tools in stateroom 108 on the upper deck of the TITANIC, his heart began beating a little faster at the thought of surprising his beloved wife, Maggie. He knew the steamer would be making her maiden voyage to America on April 10th, and he requested this stateroom when he booked passage.

Nathan waited until his last day at work on the ship before he returned to this stateroom to attach the box under the dressing table. The box contained a locket engraved with the message: May Our Love Be An Everlasting Voyage Together.

April fifteenth would mark their forty-fifth wedding anniversary. He wanted it to be special, for he would be retiring from his job with the Pilgrim Ship Company, where he worked all his adult life. He had so many plans upon their return from the voyage. He would expand his garden area, enlarge the guesthouse where Maggie taught music and wrote children’s stories.

‘Bet it will take her longer to find her gift this time because this is an unfamiliar place for her,’ he thought as he closed the door behind cabin 108. Two days later, he and Maggie would be first-class passengers on the ship.

Maggie was elated when Nathan told her about their voyage to America a week earlier. She had spent the entire time before the cruise getting ready and packing. She was especially thrilled when she learned about the huge ballroom on the ship. Along with her love of music and writing, Nathan and Maggie enjoyed dancing.

The day finally arrived for their departure. The sky was overcast with a steady rain. This did not dampen their enthusiasm. When Maggie stepped into their stateroom, she squealed with delight and hugged Nathan for the umpteenth time. Since hearing about being on the maiden voyage of the largest ship in the world, she acted like a teenager on her first date. They danced until dawn the first three nights.

It was on their fourth day out, April fourteenth, when Nathan noticed an aura of quietness about Maggie. The ship had been pitching and tossing since morning, and a cold chill hung over the liner. They decided to stay in their stateroom and order tea and toast. As they drank the tea, Maggie turned to Nathan and again asked his opinion about the meaning of Life, God, and one’s Destiny. Over the years, this topic came up frequently. The more they read about other people’s concepts, the more philosophical their views became.

Tomorrow would be their anniversary, when Nathan would give Maggie the gift that he had hidden in their stateroom to commemorate the special day, their forty-fifth wedding anniversary. Instead of waiting until tomorrow, Nathan decided that he would play their favorite mental game now. Maggie was so good at reading Nathan’s mind he found it uncanny. Maybe he could outwit her this
time. A place she was unfamiliar with…would she be able to read his mind and find her gift in the hiding place? ‘Perhaps this would cheer her up,’ he thought.

“I hid something in this room for you. If you read my mind, it’s yours,” he said as his face spread into a smile. His gentle laugh rippled through the air as she looked at him for a moment before she walked over to the dressing table. “Are you referring to the box taped under the table?” Nathan shook his head in disbelief as he removed it and handed it to her. Reading the inscription, her eyes sparkled with love for him, and he swung her into the circle of his arms.

“Why do I think…” before he could complete the sentence, an electrifying shudder reverberated through the ship. They clung to each other for a brief moment. The next sound was a shrill whistle. “All hands on deck…All hands on deck. Secure your life jackets.” The loudspeaker repeated. Grabbing their warmest wraps, they left the stateroom.

Panic and utter kayos escalated as they made their way toward the ship’s rail. Crew members were guiding passengers into the life rafts. The cabin boy assigned to service their stateroom come forward to lead them to their assigned raft. After Maggie assessed the situation, her eyes locked on a young couple clinging to each other. They were not wearing life jackets. She turned to Nathan and said, “Let the others go first.” They unbuckled their life jackets and handed them to the couple.

“You will be fine,” Maggie assured them as she pressed the locket that Nathan had given her earlier into the young woman’s palm. She then directed the cabin boy to give their place to the couple.

As the life raft rowed away from the sinking Titanic, the young woman clutched the locket so tightly she could feel the embossed inscription on the back of the locket. It was too dark to read the message, but she knew that she would treasure it from that day forward. An older woman that was seated beside the couple in the raft was watching what had just transpired. She turned to the
young woman and said, “Honey, you just witnessed: Love in Action.”

Now I have a question for you. What do you think happened? Did I latch onto actual passengers that were on the Titanic? Is that how movie scripts are written? How about futuristic and Sci-Fi stories… are they telepathically dictated by beings not in this dimension? Because I tend to be open-minded and believe that everything is possible, I’ll take the…So what else is new? Amendment. I suggest that you give it a try and let your mind take you to another place, another time, and another personality. You may be surprised, entertained, and learn something about our minds.

Helene Hadsell