My Library

I was not yet quite aware of this as of the beginning of 1972. But as later events unexpectedly and soon changed the directions of my life I realized that it was important to begin considering how circumstances drag one along in their pull. For example, one is aiming at a certain direction within the circumstances already present. The direction end up activating new circumstances -- and one ends up someplace altogether different from the original direction. During February and March, 1972, it was widely understood that the experimental work at the ASPR was going well, all things considered, and this news had spread far and wide. Even so, I could not see a future for me in doing more and more experiments. There was hardly any money in it and I felt I needed to go full-time into some other kinds of projects. In any event, the various experiments were coming to closure at the ASPR, and the experimenters were already busy constructing their first draft reports concerning them. I anticipated that the ASPR work would be concluded at some time in May, and I determined not to do any more psi experimenting for a while. And I needed some kind of life outside of parapsychology which for me was declining in its luster. I had met a rather wild literary agent, Mr. Sidney Porcelain, and showed him some of my early literary outputs. He felt I had "promise," and we set about discussing a book he might be able to sell.