Editor’s Introduction

Douwe Engbertus van Zwol (real name) has a doctorandus in chemistry. Now retired, he has done research on sympathicomimetic amines and nuclear medicine subjects, served as the head of a department of nuclear medicine and worked for the government at Leiden in the registry of new medicines. This experience happened when he was 55 at about 17.00 hrs in Leeuwarden, going from the railway station to the town centre.

Getting wthat you want
Douwe Engbertus van Zwol

I used to often buy a small ice cream going from the station to my home by bicycle. But on that particular day I didn’t have any money in my pocket.

Then I remembered that if you really want something you will get it if you concentrate on what you want and do that with all your mental energy.

So, I thought, this is a good time to test this hypothesis, and started to concentrate on finding 3 quarters for buying a small ice cream. I was bicycling during this process. But then I remembered that after concentrating you must let go your wish and relax. So I started to do that and then…. I saw before me on the ground three quarters lying in a row (in the direction I was bicycling). So I stopped immediately (after me a U big bus stopped too with squeaking brakes!) and I took the three quarters. Went to the ice cream bar and got my ice.

This looks like a joke, but I told this story at home to my wife directly, so she knows also about this.

Contributor’s Comments on the Experience

After this experience much more has happened , but this was so very clear an experiment. And I believe in simple experiments.