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Ossowiecki, Stefan - precognition and prophecy
Identifier
007877
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
A description of the experience
Mary Rose Barrington, Ian Stevenson and Zofia Weaver, A World in a Grain of Sand: The Clairvoyance of Stefan Ossowiecki, 2005.
Premonition / precognition? - Case 1 1923
It happened in 1923, at the end of June. Working in my study and feeling a little tired, I leaned comfortably in my armchair and traveled with-the "eyes of my soul," turning my "sight" into space. Looking at the Vistula I noticed suddenly, close to the Poniatowski bridge, on the Praga district side, some men drowning.
[It would have been impossible to see any of these sights from Ossowiecki's apartment.] I knew clearly that I am seeing something which is still to happen. It was an impression as if the changeable currents of the Vistula carried off a number of people, who were desperately fighting against the vortex.
Wanting to prevent this terrible accident at any cost, I immediately rushed out of the house, took a horse-cab ... and drove to the banks of the Vistula. Here, without wasting a moment, I jumped into a boat and told them to take me in the direction of the bathers, from whom I was separated by a considerable distance.
When I was close to them I told the boatman to take the boat among the bathers, who by now were drowning-their contorted faces showing that these were their last efforts. The boatman would not approach them, afraid that they would overturn the boat and pull us into the river. Only a generous tip made him turn the boat towards the drowning men. With some effort I managed to save three, as it turned out all soldiers of the 30th regiment. I pulled them into the boat using my strength, as they were already very weak [the fourth man drowned].
[Witness report:]
In 1923, on a hot day at the end of June, about 5-6 p.m., we were sitting on the shore of the Vistula, on the right side of the Poniatowski bridge. On the other, the Praga side, a group of men-as we later found, soldiers-were bathing.
We could hear their cheerful shouts across the river. Suddenly we saw a stout man approach the river with quick and nervous steps, and we recognized Mr. Stefan Ossowiecki, whom we knew by sight. We had the impression that Mr. Ossowiecki was in a great hurry because as soon as he arrived on the shore by a horse-cab he jumped into the nearest boat (the bridge had not then been rebuilt) and sailed immediately for the other shore, towards the bathing soldiers. At that same moment we noticed some commotion among the bathers and it became clear that some of them got into deep waters and were beginning to drown. Just at that time Ossowiecki got there and with the help of the boatman saved the lives of three of the people, the fourth unfortunately drowned. Myself, my wife and Count Antoni Jundzill witnessed this event.
When a while later we met Mr. Ossowiecki and I reminded him about his part in the saving of the drowning men he told us he had had a vision, that he found himself on the shore of the Vistula and got into the boat under some internal compulsion that made him drop his work and rush immediately to the river to help the drowning men.