Three Times the Future Warned Me
Information from the future can leak into the present. I know this because it has happened in my life.
Here are three examples.
Event 1: Miracle on the Highway
Many years ago, when my kids were young and in the car, we were heading towards Cape Cod, driving on Interstate 95 around 11 p.m. We were in the passing lane doing about 65 mph. There was a minivan ahead of us.
Suddenly, I got the feeling you get when someone runs in front of your car. Without thinking, I slammed on the brakes. It wasn’t a thought; it was an instinctive response.
A second or two later, I saw sparks fly from the minivan’s left rear wheel. The minivan started spinning. As it spun, our car kept getting closer and closer. I pressed the brake as hard as I could without skidding.
Eventually, the minivan did a full 360-degree spin and stopped in my lane. Our car stopped about 20 feet behind it. Without the warning I received, we would have slammed into it. You probably wouldn’t be reading this post today.
Some people who hear this story leap to the conclusion—without any evidence—that I subconsciously noticed something was wrong before seeing sparks or the spin. That wasn’t my experience. But I understand why it’s difficult to accept that I may have received information from the future.
Event 2: Premonition in the Tunnel
For 20 years, I lived in Westport, Connecticut, just south of the Westport train station. In the photo above, the station is marked with a red dot, and the train tracks run along a blue line. From right (east) to left (west), the tracks cross a bridge over the Saugatuck River, then head toward New York City.
The yellow arrow shows the path of my car one day as I drove down Ferry Lane toward the river. The road does a 90-degree turn and enters a tunnel that goes under the railroad tracks. As you drive parallel to the tracks, a parking lot is on your left and the tracks themselves are elevated—you can’t see or hear what’s happening on the other side.
I had driven this route thousands of times without incident. But this day was different. As I approached the turn, I knew—with certainty—that a car was going to be on my side of the road inside the tunnel. I slowed way down and cautiously took the turn.
At first, the tunnel was empty. But then, around the bend (also a 90-degree turn), a car came toward me—on the wrong side of the road.
I’m not suggesting this was a life-or-death situation like Event #1. Even without the warning, I probably would have had time to avoid a collision. This felt more like proof that these warnings aren’t just subconscious pattern detection.
Event 3: Not a False Alarm
Years later, I was living in Park City, Utah. There’s a single-track mountain biking trail I loved that runs from Deer Valley ski resort to Park City Mountain. Most of the time, you’re riding at an elevation of 8,000 to 9,000 feet.
It was a beautiful, sunny day. I was alone and having a great time. You can probably guess what happened next: I got that same emergency feeling.
I slammed on the brakes and stopped.
Nothing happened.
I was alone in the woods. Still a beautiful day. No one in sight. No mountain lion, no oncoming car. I was confused.
I found a clearing and slowly rode my bike in a circle, scanning for danger. Nothing. I shrugged and kept going.
Two minutes later, I flew over my handlebars, flipped upside-down, slammed onto my back, and hit my head hard. My right hand went through the spokes as the bike crashed on top of me.
A week later, I was fine. Bruised, but no broken bones. I did, however, learn a lesson: not every warning from the future is about a danger seconds away. Sometimes, it’s further down the trail. I’ll never again ignore such a message.
These three warnings bore no resemblance to the low-level anxiousness we all feel in modern life. They weren’t a subtle rumble in my gut or a flicker of nervous tension. They were STOP NOW!!! messages—too powerful to ignore.
Do I know why these three moments happened while I was in or on a vehicle? No. But two common elements stand out:
Danger was imminent in all three cases.
I was in that relaxed, non-thinking, open mode that often comes with driving or riding.
These experiences opened me up to the idea that the universe doesn’t fully operate the way we’re taught.
I’d value hearing how you interpret them… and whether you’ve had moments that changed your view of the world.