Recenly my girlfriend told me that she has the ability to "look into
people" and see the faces of different people which says makes up a
person.  Depending on when she looks into a person, she says that she
will see a different face which posibly are representative of alter
egos which together make up a person's personality.  I was a little
taken a back by this as you can imagine and I am seeking information
that would help me to understand what is likely going on as well as
common and academic opinion on the subject of mental powers of this
sort.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

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Clarification of Question by followingtrail-ga on 17 Feb 2004 08:07 PST

She also claims to have some ability to see into the future and that
she has successfully predicted future events.  However, she feels
insecure about these abilities and has not really used them since she
was younger.  If the researcher who chooses to answer this question
could also try to make some connections with psychic powers that would
be great.  Thanks

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Request for Question Clarification by jackburton-ga on 17 Feb 2004 12:22 PST

I had prepared a response prior to you posting this additional
information, but here are my comments/concerns...
   
From the description you have given, this to me sounds more like a
gift rather than a mental disorder - but I wouldn't like to assume
anything at this point. Are you at all concerned your girlfriend may
have a mental illness? (judging from your second post, I'm assuming
this is not the case)
    
I have come across a number of people with similar "powers". The
different "faces" you refer to could mean a number of things, but only
she knows what these faces represent. We all wear "masks", and your
girlfriend may well have the abillity to "see" people on a much deeper
level.
    
If you wouldn't mind, may i ask how long you've been together, and
could you describe how she announced this news to you?, and any other
information you feel is relevant. For example, how did you meet? Can
she see different faces in you? Has she only just become aware of
this, or is this something that she's known for a long time? Does she
herself consider this a gift? or a burden? (You say, "she feels
insecure about these abilities and has not really used them since she
was younger" -- this indicates to me that she's been aware of her
ability for some time but is afraid to communicate her
feelings/observations ...is that correct?)
  
Do you you get the impression that she wants to explore this gift,
and/or perhaps make a living from it? Or is she troubled by what she
sees, and wishes for all this to go away?
  
Do the faces follow any particular pattern? e.g. are they always men,
women, children? ...are these faces/characters always angry or sad
etc? (since you say, "she feels insecure about these abilities and has
not really used them since she was young", this leads me to think she
wants to use her gift, but doesn't have the confidence to do so ...am
I correct to assume this is the case?)
  
If you can answer any of these questions or amplify a bit more, it might be useful.
  
(N.B. Please do not post any personal details such as name, contact
details and anything else of that nature, as this is a public forum)

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Clarification of Question by followingtrail-ga on 17 Feb 2004 14:52 PST

I am not really concerned that she is mentally ill however, I think
there is a small fear in her that it is.  When I asked her if she
thought that it was a gift or an illness she said that she was 95%
sure that she felt it was a gift.
    
This is an interesting point because she has seen many different
people in me (all male).  There has also been times where she said
that she could see just me (myself) when she looked into me.  I will
list some of the people she has seen in me.

Me at 9 years old
Me currently
An old man with red hair which represents wisdom (she says that he is wise)
A goofy looking person.(she has seen this person when I am being goofy)
An extremely good looking person. (this was seen when I was playing guitar to her)
There is also new people that pop up now and then but the wise man
seems to come up often.

When we were in an elevator together she said that she knew that one
of the guys in there with us was not a good person and enjoyed doing
bad things.  When we got back to her apartment she began daydreaming
(predicting future events) of this guy and how he was going to rape a
someone he knows in the future. I was a little taken back by this.
    
We have only been together for about 3 months however, we are very
close on a emotional level. She discribed the news to me on valentines
when I brought her back to may house and noticed that she was bothered
by something.  Eventually she opened up to me and told me, something
she has never done with anyone.

We actually met at a bar and recently she told me that she envisioned
meeting me before we actually did.

She has known about this ability since she was about 14 however, she
was unsure whether it was a gift or a curse and so she chose to
repress the urge to "look into people" until recently.  She seems
interested in exploring powers and seemed excited at the fact of
exploring them more.  She recently said that she is remembering more
and more and the faces are becoming clearer the more she uses them.

Another interesting thing to not is that she said when she was younger
she was really into figure skating.  She believed at the time that she
had the power to make other skater fall down with her mind.  She said
that she should this ability to one of her friends at the time who was
really freaked out by it and she has never done anything like this
since.

Sometime she is troubled by what she sees.  She used to go out with a
real ass of a guy and once when they were fighting she said that she
something that was devilish in nature.  She also fells that it is not
right to disclose what she sees in others and was reluctant to tell me
what she saw in her ex-boyfriend.

If your girlfriend (or anyone else) can demonstrate provable
paranormal powers, she can earn a million dollars:

http://www.randi.org/research/