Philip K. Dick’s Communication with Valis and the Evolution of Humanity
Valis, Philip K. Dick, and the Evolution of Humanity
When Philip K. Dick went to the dentist in February 1974, the acclaimed science fiction author did not know that his view of reality was about to change. He was in a lot of pain with what turned out to be an impacted wisdom tooth, and was sedated with sodium pentothal while the dentist removed the tooth. The pain afterwards was fairly severe, so the dentist ordered a painkiller, Darvon, for delivery to his patient’s home later that day.
When the courier arrived, Dick answered the door and was suddenly taken aback by a pendant she was wearing. It was a fish ornament, which she explained Christians adopted as a symbol of their religion. He saw a “red and gold plasmic entity” coming from the pendant and, as he reported it, immediately experienced “crystal clear” vision and “sudden exposure to a vast amount of knowledge.”
This was not his first experience with visions and hearing voices. The voice he heard was the same voice he had heard years before while in college. He also began channeling an alien presence he called “Vast Active Living Intelligence System,” or “Valis” for short. The intense visions lasted for two months, leading him to refer to this period of his life as “2-3-74,” for February and March 1974. During the next eight years, he wrote thousands of pages about his visions and voices. His novels were more autobiographical than they were science fiction.
Dick died suddenly in 1982, shortly before the release of the movie “Blade Runner” based on Dick’s book, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” Many of his other books are now movies, as well. He is now known as the “most influential writer of science fiction in the past half century.”
But, was it all science fiction? He received multiple communications from Valis, had dreams and visions about the future, and spent the rest of his life trying to understand why he gained such supreme knowledge. He claimed to have “total recall of the future.”
Philip K. Dick: The Pre-Valis Years
Philip Kindred Dick was born in December 1928 during the cold Chicago winter. He had a twin sister, Jane, who lived for only about eight weeks. She died mysteriously, some saying she had an allergy to her mother’s breast milk. Whatever happened, Dick went through his life always missing his sister and blaming his mother for her death. His father left the family when he was only 5 years old. Shortly after that, he and his mother moved to Berkeley, California, where he lived most of his life.
First published when he was just a teenager, his first short story marked the beginning of a prolific writing career. Although he successfully published a number of his stories, he was not such a success financially. He was always running out of money and seemed to live from advance to advance.
Dick’s life was not emotionally easy and he seemed troubled throughout his entire life: married five times with three children, thought to use drugs and experiment with LSD, and frequent visions of his own death. Despite drug use allegations, he was able to continue writing. By the time of his death, he had published more than 120 short stories and 44 novels.
As early as 1954, Dick wrote about precognition in his novel, “The World Jones Made.” Based on his own experiences, the main character in that book was a “precog” who could see one year into the future. His books often referenced precognition, and Dick believed he himself had this ability.
He also heard voices, or at least a voice. As a young man taking the physics portion of a college entrance exam, Dick found that he did not understand eight of the 10 questions. Suddenly, he heard the voice explain to him, in a completely understandable way, what he needed to know. As a result, he received a perfect score on the test.
He heard the same voice again years later, when it explained to him what was happening in a television documentary that he had had difficulty understanding. In 1974, the same voice returned when he had his life-changing vision in response to the fish-pendant worn by the pharmacy delivery girl and he began his regular communications with Valis.
Philip K. Dick: The Valis Years
Although Dick reported only sporadic communications with the voice until 1974, after that date, the communications became fairly frequent and routine. Valis gave him advice on improving his health, his appearance and his financial situation. Dick credited the voice with saving the life of his young son by describing the medical condition the boy suffered from and urging Dick to get the child immediately to a doctor. He convinced his wife of the need to take their seemingly healthy boy to the doctor where they discovered the child had the exact condition the voice described to Dick. Prompt surgery saved the boy’s life.
Dick believed the voice he heard was from God, or at least from some higher power. He wrote continuously about what he experienced. He ended up writing thousands of pages and hundreds of thousands of words in his attempt to make sense of it.
He intended his 1981 book “Valis” to be a trilogy. It was more of a biographical presentation of Dick’s visions and voices than it was a book that fit in the science fiction genre. As one reviewer put it, “He’s not looking for aliens; he’s looking for the meaning of life.” Due to his sudden death in 1982, at the age of 54, Dick never completed the trilogy.
The Death of Philip K. Dick
In February 1975, Dick wrote a letter to a friend telling her about a dream he had just had where he saw “a stark single horrifying scene, inert but not still; a man lay dead, on his face, in a living room between the coffee table and the couch.” He followed the letter with another one in May 1975 in which he said he was “scared.” He added, “What scares me most Claudia, is that I can often recall the future.”
Almost exactly seven years after the first letter, Philip K. Dick’s dead body was found face down in his living room, wedged between the coffee table and the couch. Without realizing it, he had accurately predicted the circumstances surrounding his own death. Some reports say he died of a stroke. Others claim it was congestive heart failure. Others regale in the mystery of why he died so young.
Philip K. Dick left behind, in addition to his short stories and novels, his influence on other sci-fi writers and pop culture, as well as many mind-bending films. Unfortunately, he did not live to see his work on the big screen. He died before the release of his first movie, “Blade Runner;” however he saw about 20 minutes of the finished product and seemed pleased that the filmmaker preserved Dick’s vision. Other movies based on his books that were made after his death include: “Minority Report,” “Total Recall,” “A Scanner Darkly” and several others.
He also left behind more than 8,000 pages about his experiences with Valis since his 1974 vision. The pages had narrow margins and were mostly single spaced with numerous handwritten journal entries. Dick referred to this body of work as his Exegesis. The papers were edited and published in 2011 as “The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick.”
Was Philip K. Dick more than just a legendary science fiction author? Check out Mysteries of the Solar System, part of Gaia’s Deep Space series, and watch the conversation between Open Mind’s host Regina Meredith and her guest, Anthony Peake, on Scanning the Future with Philip K. Dick.
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Don’t miss Deep Space on Gaia for more on the long and hidden history of Earth’s secret space program.
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Precognition: Is It Possible to Know Something Before It Happens?
Precognition is the ability to know that something is going to happen before it occurs. It is a form of perception that does not depend on visible signs, sounds, or other environmental cues. In this article, we explore what precognition is, how it manifests, and what you can do to develop this ability.
Table of Contents
- What Is Precognition?
- How Is Precognitive Information Received?
- Differences Between Precognition, Intuition, and Clairvoyance
- Precognition and Spiritual Channeling: Is There a Connection?
- Spontaneous and Induced Precognition: Two Ways It Manifests
- Can Anyone Develop Precognition?
- How to Develop the Ability of Precognition
- How to Integrate Precognition Into Daily Life
What Is Precognition?
Precognition is defined as the anticipatory perception of an event that has not yet happened. Unlike other psychic phenomena, precognition implies a direct connection with future time, without the need for prior signals or logical deductions. Those who experience this ability often report visions, sensations, or dreams that later manifest in reality.
This ability can manifest sporadically or repeatedly, and it’s not always easy to recognize immediately. In many cases, a person may not realize they have had a precognitive experience until the predicted event actually occurs. That’s why learning to identify the patterns and sensations associated with this type of perception is key to developing it.
Although precognition is commonly associated with prophetic dreams, it can also appear during waking states, meditation, or moments of deep emotional connection. It is not about fortune-telling, but rather a subtle form of access to information that transcends ordinary perception of time.
How Is Precognitive Information Received?
Precognitive information can arrive in many ways, depending on a person’s sensitivity and the context in which it manifests. Here are some of the most common forms:
- Precognitive dreams: These often appear as vivid or symbolic dreams that anticipate future events. Although they may seem confusing at the time, their meaning becomes clear when the predicted event takes place.
- Spontaneous images or visions: These manifest as brief, spontaneous mental scenes that arise without apparent cause. They are usually accompanied by a strong emotional charge or a sense of certainty.
- Physical or emotional sensations: Some people feel physical discomfort or intense emotions without a clear reason, just before something important happens. Over time, they learn to recognize these sensations as warnings of what is about to occur.
- Words, thoughts, or “instant knowledge”: These are sudden perceptions of information, as if one “just knew” something without learning it. This form of precognition tends to be clear and direct, without ambiguity.
Differences Between Precognition, Intuition, and Clairvoyance
Although precognition, intuition, and clairvoyance may seem similar, each functions in a distinct way. Precognition is specifically related to the perception of future events. Intuition, on the other hand, is an immediate understanding or a sense about something that is happening or about to happen, without necessarily containing precise information about the future. Intuition tends to be broader and less detailed.
Clairvoyance, meanwhile, is the ability to “see” information beyond the physical—whether from the past, present, or future. A clairvoyant person may receive mental images, symbols, or scenes representing a situation. While clairvoyance can include precognitive moments, not all clairvoyant experiences are anticipations of the future. The main difference lies in the type of perception and the time frame to which the information refers.
Precognition and Spiritual Channeling: Is There a Connection?
Precognition and spiritual channeling share a common foundation: access to information that does not come from rational analysis. In both cases, the person acts as a receiver of knowledge that seems to arise from a deeper or higher source. Although not every precognitive experience involves spiritual contact, the messages perceived often carry a sense of clarity, symbolism, or emotional depth that suggests a link with subtle planes of consciousness.
In the series Channeling: A Bridge to the Beyond, available on Gaia, various ways are explored in which channelers access non-physical information—including precognitive experiences. Through interviews with experts and renowned channelers, the series shows how our perception of time can expand when connecting with guides, energies, or dimensions beyond the visible.
Spontaneous and Induced Precognition: Two Ways It Manifests
Precognition can manifest in different ways, either spontaneously or through intentional practices. In some cases, it appears without warning, as a dream, a sudden image, or an intense sensation that anticipates something to come. These experiences often occur during moments of relaxation, when the mind is more open. But they can also be consciously activated through techniques like meditation or psychic exercises designed to deliberately access future information.
Both spontaneous and induced forms share the same origin: access to data that has not yet materialized in physical reality. The difference lies in the level of control and preparation. While one arises unexpectedly, the other requires training and focus. Both are valid and complementary paths in developing this ability.
Can Anyone Develop Precognition?
Yes, anyone can develop precognition, although the process may vary from person to person. Some individuals are born with a naturally heightened sensitivity, but that doesn’t mean it’s an exclusive ability. With practice, focus, and an open mind, it’s possible to activate and strengthen this skill over time.
The most important thing is to cultivate mindfulness and learn to recognize internal signals. Precognition usually doesn’t appear in dramatic ways at first—it often begins with subtle cues that become clearer with practice. Learning to recognize when your perception is activated, recording your experiences, and trusting what you perceive are key steps in its development.
How to Develop the Ability of Precognition
Developing precognition requires consistency, sensitivity, and openness to new ways of perception. These practices can help you gradually train this ability:
- Keep a perception journal: Write down dreams, intuitions, or spontaneous images. Reviewing these records allows you to detect patterns and confirm synchronicities.
- Practice meditation regularly: Meditation silences mental noise and increases receptivity. It’s essential for accessing subtle information.
- Observe your emotions and sensations: Pay attention to sudden changes in your emotional or physical state. These are often anticipatory signals that tend to repeat.
- Ask questions before sleeping: Formulate a clear question and see if you receive any revealing dreams. This exercise activates the precognitive channel during rest.
- Trust what you perceive: Doubt blocks the flow of information. Practicing confidence in your impressions is essential to strengthen this ability.
How to Integrate Precognition Into Daily Life
Incorporating precognition into your daily life doesn’t mean constantly waiting for signs—it means learning to recognize when your perception is activated. You can start by paying more attention to your intuition when making decisions or when you feel an internal warning you can’t explain. The more you listen and validate it, the more natural it becomes.
It’s also helpful to create brief moments of silence or reflection during the day. This makes it easier to connect with your inner perception, even amid routine. Precognition becomes a practical tool when you stop forcing answers and allow information to arrive in a spontaneous and fluid way.
