INTRODUCTION

Lodvar Kaarstad had become a person of some renown already when I was a small boy. Often I would hear people recount visits Lodvar had made to some nearby farm to predict where the farmer would be able to find water for his well. People said he was also able to see things which were obscure to others. Sometimes I noticed people's voice change when they talked about Lodvar. Others merely frowned at such talk.

The first time I met Lodvar was in 1982. He was 75 years old then. He had a cataract and was not able to see clearly anymore. I still remember one of the earliest trips I made to his home. As I was driving over a hill, I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I accidentally took a wrong turn. When I finally realised this, I had driven so far that there was no point in going back, so I just continued on, arriving at his home from a different direction than usual.

«You drove by Fossen today?»
Lodvar asked when I arrived.  Startled, I asked him how he could have seen this with his poor eyesight. Lodvar said that he had seen it in a different way. He asked me whether I had been thinking about him while driving, which I probably had, preoccupied as I was with my next meeting with him.

I have been interested in this type of communication for a long time because it is so mysterious. It belongs to another dimension, where the thought seems to be an important aspect. Lucky for me and my fascination with this theme, Lodvar lives only a few kilometres from my home. This has made it possible for me to take many trips over to Lodvar and Ingrid´s home at Riste in the valley of Valdres, Norway. I am greatly indebted to both of them for the patience they have shown towards me through all these years. I owe my thanks also to those who have been willing to share their strange encounters with me concerning Lodvar Kaarstad.

I have had many fascinating discussions with Lodvar, during which I have also been able to record some of the events on tape or video. For a long period of time I visited him weekly. Whenever I was there, people would call him with all kinds of questions. Lodvar would look straight ahead of him and answer as if he saw the situation in question right before his eyes.
Afterwards, he sometimes seemed as startled as I felt myself at the answers he had given.
«Why did I say that?»

Through the years, numerous hours were spent talking to Lodvar on the telephone, because more and more often, I would call him to find out if some new and interesting things had come up. One evening I decided to enter his telephone number on the list of numbers I could dial automatically, in order that I would not have to dial his number every time I wanted to talk to him. After entering his number on my list, I pressed the “Lodvar‑button”, and soon his voice was on the other end of the line:
«So, you have programmed my number on your list!»
«Yes, when did you notice that?»
«Right before you called.»

As I am writing this, I have just talked to him on the phone. This time he told me among other things, that someone had called him about a cowbell which had disappeared.
«I said that they should look along a path which the cows use, ‑ and then they should cross a brooklet, and a little further along ‑the path makes a bend, ‑ and this is where you'll find the cowbell, lying next to a birch tree - and that is where it lay.»