Past Indian Lives, Epigenetics and the Light At the End of the Tunnel

I was conversing with someone on Facebook about their native American heritage.  When we think about "past lives" and reincarnation, we often connect it to what we know about DNA and genetics.  "Hey, I'm Irish and Italian, is it possible that my genetic code remembers the lifetimes of my ancestors?"

My favorite pic of Sitting Bull. Sitting at the same table
I sit at every time I go to Rome and sit in Caffe Greco.
He's with Bill Cody, from the Wild West Show. You can't see me because
I'm in this photo 100 years later.

Epigenetics is a new branch of science that claims this to be true. Well, actually it's a new branch of psychology meets biology, and people are trying to prove or disprove the theory. The idea being "imagine if I could take a pill and I would no longer be connected to the diaspora my relatives suffered through!" (Note: Scientific research is driven, in the most part, by capitalism.  If someone wants to be able to sell or profit from science, they sponsor a study.  This isn't news - it's just the nature of the beast.) 

The basis of the research comes from a study where rats were killed while the smell of roses was prevalent. Then their offspring were exposed to the smell and they showed panic and fear.  "Oh no, the creep who murdered my dad for an experiment is back."  As William James, father of modern psychology (and some credit with marrying quantum theory with psychology) points out - "Just because we can observe something in the brain does not mean  that it necessarily springs from the brain."

Meaning, there are many reasons why the rats fear humans who smell like roses.  It could be that they're remembering the fear from their progenitor (I assume their parents were murdered first, and then extracted to make new mice to prove this diabolical point.) or it could be that their loved ones on the flipside are screaming "Look out! This guy who smells like Minnie is coming to kill you!" 

The reason I sound disbelieving is because based on this afterlife research I've become aware that all animals are sentient.  Full stop.  Their sentience is related to their journey on the planet, just like ours.  And the fact that we continue to experiment on animals so that we can benefit humans is... well... kind of old fashioned, let's say.  

Cruel?  Perhaps.  Insane? Okay, I'll accept that.

I'm not arguing vegetarianism here, although my billion or so pals in India have embraced it. (Older dataset and all).  I mean plant based diet may be the healthiest diet around, but why force people to do what's good for them? How would they learn?

But it's possible the "spirit" of these rats has returned to warn their offspring.  I mean it's not a likely scenario, but is also a possibility.  When we look at the rodent in Africa who when bit by a poisonous snake knows what plant to rub against to cure themselves of the snake bite - what's happening there?  Is it that their code has that information? Is it one of their parents whispering in their ear? And when did the code begin to pass itself along genetically?

Or ants that move their colony after 5 years due to overcrowding.  At what point did they determine that five years was enough? And how is the message sent? (ant mail?) And who sends it?  And why?

I had a professor in college who said "You don't have to know the answer to your question in order to ask it.  In fact it's better if you don't know the answer, because asking the question gets the reader to think."  Smart guy that Julian Baird.

So today I was thinking about the journey.  Here were are on the planet, with a limited amount of time to pass along information.  We do our best to learn as much as we can, and then pass it along. Either we speak it, film it, tell our family, friends, or write it into books.  Now we have facebook and email to pass along information.  And what percentage of that information gets to the rest of the species to keep it moving along?

Hello? Any sentient beings left?

Well not much apparently.  

Here we are arguing about things that people have been arguing about for decades, and perhaps longer - and yet, its as if we're starting the arguments over from scratch.  That might be part of the journey on the stage of life - that we get onto stage with only so much information and try to enact it.  After all, how do we get notes from all the other actors that have played this same part?  Wouldn't it be lovely if just prior to going out to do Hamlet, we could converse with everyone else who has played the part?

Perhaps.

So today a woman wrote me about her son who is part native American and is just beginning to access and process that information.  And is hopeful it will take him out of his depression he's had since the election - as everything from his perspective is looking dark, is looking pointless, is looking like there's no light at the end of the tunnel. 

I sent her this video.  It's Scott De Tamble doing a spontaneous "past life regression" with a woman who was at one of my book talks.  I was talking about my own past life memory of being a native American and witnessing the massacre of my wife, son and tribe. And how I thought it so extremely odd that if I was making this information up, why I'd allow myself to feel that kind of tragedy.  And I did feel it when I saw it, experienced it. 

Woman listening to my talk burst into tears.  Scott asked her if there was something I had said that caused that reaction.  She said there was, and he asked "would you like to explore it?"

So she did.  In front of an audience.  I know this woman pretty well, we've been friends for a long time, we had never talked about this work or research.  She worked at a University, and told me she was interested in the topic of "between life hypnotherapy" which "Flipside: A Tourist's Guide on How to Navigate the Afterlife" is about.

Here it is: 



As noted in the text, she remembers some details that aren't easily accessible. That she came from a Sioux tribe in Virginia sounded implausible as she said it - until I found her tribe living in Virginia prior to the "Trail of Tears."  She mentions having to burn all the clothing of her tribe so that they could "rest in peace" in the afterlife is not an easy detail to access - I found a reference to it in a book about western native American traditions written in the 1800's. I also found it mentioned in Apache death rituals mentioned here:

So - is she like the mouse remembering an event that happened to someone in her blood line?  She is not part of this blood line, so that's not physically possible.  

Is she remembering a lifetime of someone else, who just happened to experience these events? (The Jungian unconscious theory) Also not likely, since the memories seem to be related to her journey through all of her lives - the lessons she signs up to learn.  

I've shown in Flipside that two people have had identical memories of previous lives - they were married to each other in the 1840's - but I used two different therapists to ask the question on two different continents - and neither the subjects or the therapists knew of their shared background (but I had heard it from one person, and suggested we do a blind test with the person he saw in his past life memory.)  I arranged for the session with this woman who didn't know anything of my friend's session, nor did the therapist asking the questions.

So remembering a previous lifetime is not someone picking up on the "leftover" energy of someone else's lifetime.  

Could it be hypoxia or cryptomnesia? (Hypoxia - hallucinations from lack of oxygen, cryptomnesia remembering something you read or heard somewhere else)

What she says is "new information."  It's not anything that she could have known (most people will automatically argue that the Sioux are from western US and not know their history without the forensic search) - the information she recounts is specific and detailed - unlike the accounts that are written that are available through forensic research and the information is not anything that could come from a hallucination - as it's accurate.  

Could it be synthesthesia? (The wiring of the brain somehow picking up the wrong message). 

Well, that wouldn't account for the details she's remembering that are not part of the public record... burning clothes to release spirits, or building model huts and burning them to release spirits... it's not a common practice among any tribes.  

It's just light in the Vatican. Its only light in the Vatican.

And it's not part of her lifetime of memory or experience.

So why is this experience light at the end of the tunnel?

Because the veil is lifting. I'm talking about events and experiences that are becoming more and more common on a daily basis.  And once a person has had these kinds of experiences,they start to end seeing the planet as some kind of polarized, walled off experience.  It's like the overview effect that astronauts report after circling the earth; they no long see borders. They no longer see races. They no longer see gender. They no longer see clothing or status or wealth.

All they see are humans.

Quantum Butterflies and Diamonds in the Rough

Was chatting this morning with a friend who works in the health care industry. She's had an unusual path - born in Africa, eventually found her way to the US and helps heal people.   We were joking about success, how relative it is, and the elusive money that always seems outside of our reach.  It's a familiar refrain, she jokingly wants to "make millions" or "make enough money to get whatever she wants."

Hanging with my Homies in Leh, Ladakh

She recounted how in college, she had a philosophy class where the teacher asked "How many people in this class are happy?"  A few raised their hands. "How many people think they'll be happy in the future?"  Everyone raised their hands.  "How many want to become millionaires?"  Everyone's hand went up.  The teacher said "Well, let me get real with you..." and then rattled off the statistics that showed how many people were likely to get the success that they aimed for, and how difficult it would become - to be rich or happy - in the future.

It's those pesky statistics that stop us in our tracks. 

How many times have we heard or thought "Well, if I had only taken this path, or opened that door, I would have had more success?"  Or "I was this close to winning that deal, that contract, that project, and it was snatched away from me." We never stop to think that it was better for us that the deal did not happen. We only think of the lost opportunities. Or lost income.

So I asked her "Has anyone ever complemented you on your work?"  She said someone had recently said to her "I feel so privileged to know you.  You make me feel great whenever I'm with you."  I asked her to put a price on how much that compliment was worth.  A dollar? A million dollars?  

She thought about it - "More than a dollar.  Okay, I'll say it was a million dollar compliment."  I said "Okay, now you're a millionaire.  Look at that.  One compliment and you've discovered that you're actually what you've always been wanting and looking to become!"  

She said "What are you saying? That I'm looking the wrong way for fulfillment?"  

I reached out my hand.  I said "Everyone is reaching for something. Success, money, fame. Reaching for that victory, that money, that reward.  Perhaps all they have to do is turn their hand over and look inside their hand. It's already there.  You've already "won." You get to be here on the planet. Living life, breathing air, experiencing love and all that comes with it.  And you've altered the path of, changed or helped people in your life.  What more could you possible want than that kind of million dollar compliment "You've changed my life. Thank you"?

I said "Think of each compliment as a diamond.  And then go through your life and think about everyone who ever complimented you in such a way.  Each one of those compliments is a jewel in your necklace, a flower in your garland. Then look at how many jewels you have.  You'll see that the thing you were reaching for is actually in your hand when you turn it over.  Just turn your hand over..."

This discussion reminded me of a dream I once had. (as recounted at the end of "Flipside: A Tourist's Guide on How to Navigate the Afterlife.") 

While working on the film "Salt" I was working 18-20 hour days, 6 and 7 days a week, trying to help this film into the world. (I'm also in it - I drive Angelina out of Korea)  I was working for my friend Phillip Noyce, an amazingly hard working director, who requires a bit of energy just to keep up with him. I was thinking "My family is back in LA, I'm stuck in the winter of NY with this crazy film. This isn't furthering my career in any way. What the heck am I doing here?"

That night I had a dream.  I was in a large room.  The children looked Asian. They were eating soup out of wooden bowls, using wooden spoons. I looked around.  "Where am I?" I realized I was in an orphanage in Cambodia. Looking at these children being fed.  Then I remembered, Angeline Jolie, the star of the film, owned an orphanage in Cambodia - or rather donates 7 million of her salary each year to support these orphans.  And I realized I was being shown the connection between my long hours of work and her donation.

To which I thought "Oh come on. Really? She's making 20 million or something on this movie, and you're telling me that my overtime in some way contributes to these kids in Cambodia?" I scoffed at my own dream, as if it come from some mistaken place.

The next night I had another dream; another "vision" that was more than a dream. This time I saw myself standing on a street in Mumbai.  It was a street that seemed familiar to me, as I've been to Bombay a few times, and in this vision I was hovering at the end of a street near an alley. 

I could see two people having a transaction. One was an older man, and the other was a man in his 20's. The older man handed the younger one about 400 rupees ($10) for a copy of a bootleg copy of the film "Salt."

I knew it was a bootleg, because 1. it had a composite picture of Angelina on the cover, and 2. the film had not even been finished yet, so it could not exist anywhere other than my head.  

But this older gent was buying this bootleg copy from the younger fellow.  The younger man took his 400 rupees, turned and handed it to his wife - who was living in a large cardboard box with their four children.  This is a common site in various parts of Bombay - people living in boxes, literally on street corners.

But it was in that moment I saw what this vision meant. The energy of the wheel of life.  How our work influences people millions of miles away, people we'll never meet nor realize we've helped. 

It was a bootleg copy, to demonstrate that no one on the film, no one producing it, or starring in it were profiting from the transaction.  It was part of this gigantic "Energy wheel of life" - where turning the bottom of the wheel from where I was, changed something at the top of the wheel on another side - something I would never consciously be aware of.

All the labor of everyone, my contribution minuscule - in a tiny, insignificant way - was turning that giant wheel so that the energy of creativity could help this poor family in a slum in Mumbai.

We can't see the good that we do. Or our effect on others.

But we can appreciate that if we put our heart and soul into something, someone somewhere will benefit from it.  That's how the energy works. 

You do a small simple good deed for one person - and like the quantum butterfly effect - it affects someone on the other side of the planet. 

From a definition of "the quantum butterfly effect" 

From Nature.com

"In the paper, Lorenz claimed the large effects of tiny atmospheric events pose both a practical problem, by limiting long-term weather forecasts, and a philosophical one, by preventing us from isolating specific causes of later conditions. The "innumerable" interconnections of nature, Lorenz noted, mean a butterfly's flap could cause a tornado - or, for all we know, could prevent one. Similarly, should we make even a tiny alteration to nature, "we shall never know what would have happened if we had not disturbed it," since subsequent changes are too complex and entangled to restore a previous state.

So a principal lesson of the butterfly effect is the opposite of Redford's line: It is extremely hard to calculate such things with certainty. There are many butterflies out there. A tornado in Texas could be caused by a butterfly in Brazil, Bali, or Budapest. Realistically, we can't know. "It's impossible for humans to measure everything infinitely accurately," says Robert Devaney, a mathematics professor at Boston University. "And if you're off at all, the behavior of the solution could be completely off." When small imprecisions matter greatly, the world is radically unpredictable."

Or, radically complex. My two cents.

The Goddess of Memory

Something odd happened to me yesterday....

(How many posts start this way?)

...related to the flipside.

Goddess of Memory by Rosetti

As mentioned in yesterday's post, I was having lunch with Jennifer Shaffer near her office in Manhattan Beach when it appeared that Michael Newton had shown up while we were chatting about making it easier for people to access the flipside. 

But as I was leaving our lunch, I checked my cellphone for texts, and a word appeared on my instant message app:

Mnemonic

I've never used this word before, had to look it up. You'd think at my old age, most words would have come into our view, and we've used or dismissed them. But this word means a couple of things; it's related to memory.  The original word in Greek means "mindful."

It's often used in terms with a "Mnemonic Device" - which is like a place holder for a memory.  Like "Every Good Boy Does Fine" to remember the notes on the treble clef. But it can be a phrase, a visual, or any kind of "place holder" to help us with our memory.

Jennifer and I had just been talking about remembering our loved ones.  Could this be a message from the flipside with regard to how to do it? Or how to make it easy to do?

Michael had suggested that my method of trying to help remember people - like toasting them in present tense - or taking a photograph out and imagine how and where the photograph was taken, and then to ask that person questions you don't know the answer to...  it was amusing that Michael replied "keep it simple."  As in KISS - "Don't make people think they have to work to remember their loved ones, just allow it to happen when they speak their name aloud or in their mind."

A tree we planted in Paul Tracey's memory,
Billy Meyer and Mark Caplis. Now only
Mark remains. (Billy and the tree are on
the flipside)

Isn't that a version of a Mnemonic?  I also noted - as I tried to reproduce the word on my phone to see if it would appear with two letters - MN - I remembered that whenever I wrote about Michael Newton on my blackberry, by typing MN I got another phrase.  "Auto spell" is like a Mnemonic. It takes your symbols and turns them into phrases.  And the word itself begins with his initials. Michael Newton.

It turns out my phone needs the first four letters M N E M to automatically make that word appear.  Did my pocket type MNEM?  Not sure how it could have, I had my cell in my hand, took it to the table, walked it into lunch, set it on the table, walked it back to my car, looked at it and saw the word had appeared.

MNEMONIC.

Pronounced like "Demonic" but with an N. (amusing)

So I looked up the word. Where does it come from?

NOW IT GETS INTERESTING.

It comes from the Goddess of Memory.   That's Mnemosyne (good luck pronouncing that without a key) - but it's "Nee - moz - a - nee."  And it turns out she's one of the most famous Goddesses of all time, but has been ignored by authors for centuries.

Because her name was invoked before every Greek play.  They would stand in front of the audience and ask for Mnemosyne - Neemozanee - to help  them with their memory because plays are memorized, and they'd ask the Goddess of Memory for help "in getting it right."

Statue de Mnémosyne du parc du château de Compiègne

Which relates to how epic stories were told through human history.  People like Homer would recount stories that had been repeated to him - aloud - in the old tradition - and people would ask for help in making sure they got all the details correct.  This is how human history was carried for millenia before we started writing (and re-interpreting it) for others.

Mnemosyne was a Titan.  Her mom was Gaia - the mother of all mothers - and her dad was Uranus. Here's her Wikipedia entry:

Mnemosyne (/nᵻˈmɒzᵻniː/ or /nᵻˈmɒsᵻni/; Greek: Μνημοσύνη, pronounced [mnɛːmosýːnɛː]), source of the word mnemonic,[2] was the personification of memory in Greek mythology. A Titanide, or Titaness, she was the daughter of the Titans Uranus and Gaia. Mnemosyne was the mother of the nine Muses, fathered by her nephew, Zeus:
Calliope (epic poetry)
Clio (history)
Euterpe (music)
Erato (lyric poetry)
Melpomene (tragedy)
Polyhymnia (hymns)
Terpsichore (dance)
Thalia (comedy)
Urania (astronomy)
     In Hesiod's Theogony, kings and poets receive their powers of authoritative speech from their possession of Mnemosyne and their special relationship with the Muses.
       Zeus and Mnemosyne slept together for nine consecutive nights, thus birthing the nine Muses. Mnemosyne also presided over a pool[3] in Hades, counterpart to the river Lethe, according to a series of 4th century BC Greek funerary inscriptions in dactylic hexameter. Dead souls drank from Lethe so they would not remember their past lives when reincarnated. Initiates were encouraged to drink from the river Mnemosyne when they died, instead of Lethe. These inscriptions may have been connected with Orphic poetry (see Zuntz, 1971).


Similarly, those who wished to consult the oracle of Trophonius in Boeotia were made to drink alternately from two springs called "Lethe" and "Mnemosyne." An analogous setup is described in the Myth of Er at the end of Plato's Republic."

Okay - there were two springs... one was "Lethe" which you drank TO FORGET ALL YOUR PREVIOUS LIFETIMES (before coming here).

It's the "drink" we take before we come to the planet.  On your way in, stop, get a slurp of Lethe, and voila - no memory of your previous lifetimes.

But on your way back?  Another pit stop, get a slurp of the Mnemosyne spring and voila - YOU REMEMBER ALL YOUR PREVIOUS LIFETIMES.

So - was Michael Newton trying to put a word onto my cellphone that related to his life's work?  That he actually was a version of Mnemosyne - helping us to remember our past lifetimes? That reading "Journey of Souls" "Destiny of Souls" "Life Between Lives" and "Memories of the Afterlife" was like taking a drink of the spring of Mnemosyne?

Modern day Mnemosyne MN

By the way, if you want to take that drink, I highly recommend visiting the Newton Institute website - they have trained hypnotherapists who have learned the technique from the master himself.  They have a searchable database to find someone trained near you.  I recommend getting reviews from others, and speaking to the therapist first, before you go in, to see and hear what might be in store for you on your adventure.

Scott's the fellow on the right

If you're in California, I highly recommend my pal SCOTT DE TAMBLE who is in Claremont, CA, whose website is "lightbetweenlives.com" - who I've filmed 35 adventures with, and every single one of those that I've filmed he's been able to take people not only into a past life, but into the life between lives. (And when someone did not go into the life between lives, it was explained by this person's spirit guide why that wasn't going to happen.) Here's Scott giving a lecture in May of Last Year.

Scott is a virtuoso.  Full stop.  If you're reading this sentence and you're considering going on a between life adventure and you have the means to get into his office, do it.  Bring a camera, film it, show it to your friends.  That's what I've been doing for the past 8 years. (Flipside is a small sampling of those sessions)

Here's a talk the three of us did together last year.

But back to this discussion of the Goddess of Memory - she is the mother of the 9 muses.  ("Spirit council" perhaps?  When people have a near death experience, or a guided meditation, or a hypnosis session, or some rare individuals who remember these events, say that they saw themselves "standing before a council.")  

In Newton's work that council was between 6 and 12 individuals, and each member of the council represented some quality of learning that the person had achieved during their "successful" lifetime.  So, if asked "who is on your council and why are they there?" a person might answer "I see that person represents selflessness because I learned that profoundly during that lifetime, and there's one who represents music, and then there's another who represents courage..." etc.  

(Note: I know this experience because I've had it myself, thanks to Scott.  "Rich, go back to a previous time you were in front of your council - count how many people are there.  Now go into the most recent trip to your council, is there anyone new there who you can identify?"  I clearly saw the "new council member" and described why she was suddenly in my circle of advisors.)

So maybe the person who first wrote the story of Mnemosyne was someone who met her on his or her council. And counted the other 9 folks in the room and identified who they were.  In the Goddess of Memory's case, she has Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Euterpe (music), Erato (lyric poetry), Melpomene (tragedy), Polyhymnia (hymns),Terpsichore (dance), Thalia (comedy), Urania (astronomy).

Look at these various talents; Epic Poetry (narrative story telling), History, Music, Tragedy, Hymns (Music with spirituality), Dance, Comedy, Astronomy, and Lyric Poetry (songs with emotional or spiritual content that are sung.)  It may seem oddly foreign to us - but if we examine the time frame, let's say its 2500 years ago - we're talking about 25 hours ago. (I had one person describe ten minutes on the flipside like 25 years of here - if you do the math, 2500 years may be like 10,000 minutes - or ABOUT A WEEK on the flipside.  So perhaps not so hard to remember those who've gone before from that time frame.) 

I spoke with Scott and Jennifer about doing a joint project together.  And I think it's going to revolve around something like this - the three of us in a room with someone who is willing to do hypnotherapy, then speak to people on the flipside while I pepper them with questions, while Jennifer downloads, unpacks what they're experiencing.  How cool would that be?

One other note - the last time that Michael "showed up" while we were having lunch, he said that from his side, he was doing a version of "noetic science" about how people on the flipside could communicate with us back here. Neither I nor Jennifer knew what the term meant.

"Noetic science" refers to "In philosophy, noetics is a branch of metaphysical philosophy concerned with the study of mind as well as intellect. Noetic topics include the doctrine of the agent/patient intellect (Aristotle, Averroes) and the doctrine of the Divine Intellect (Plotinus)." wikipedia. 

The Institute of Noetic Sciences is The Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) is an American non-profit parapsychological[1] research institute. It was co-founded in 1973 by former astronaut Edgar Mitchell,[2][3][4] along with investor Paul N. Temple, and others interested in purported paranormal phenomena,[1] in order to encourage and conduct research on noetic theory and human potentials.[6][7]
The institute conducts research on such topics such as spontaneous remission,[8][9] meditation,[8] consciousness, alternative healing practices, consciousness-based healthcare, spirituality, human potential, psychic abilities, psychokinesis[9] and survival of consciousness after bodily death.[10][11] 

The institute maintains a free database, available on the Internet,[2] with citations to more than 6,500 articles about whether physical and mental health benefits might be connected to meditation and yoga.[8] Headquartered outside Petaluma, California, the organization is situated on a 200-acre (81 ha) campus that includes offices, a research laboratory and a retreat center (originally the campus of World College West).[12] Its current director is Cassandra Vieten."

I don't know much about the institute, but will check it out. 

So the words of the day (from Michael Newton) are "noetic" and "mnemonic."

Worth thinking about.

And finally... I sent someone a copy of the film "Flipside" today to a grieving parent, someone whose loved-one checked off the planet, and reached out to let them know they were still around via a "medium."  I sent the film to show the background of my work in this area and added this note, which is my way of trying to express what it is that I'm doing.... and that I'm not trying to "sell anyone" on this information. It's tailored to those who have a compelling interest in the topic.  In case anyone was wondering;

"I'm a film guy, about ten years ago started a documentary because my close pal died and came to visit me. I was trying to figure out how that could be (saw her, we traveled together, etc). Took me awhile, but stumbled onto the work of Michael Newton (Journey of Souls) which led me to DOPS at UVA and near death experiences.  And I was seeing the same info coming from people under hypnosis, as well as people experiencing near death events.  Which then led me to the science behind esp (Gary Schwartz Phd, Mario Beauregard PhD, Dr. Sam Parnia, Dr. Bruce Greyson - all consciousness investigators) and finally to mediums.  

And in my case, I worked with mediums that I knew of their work, and focused my attention on talking to one person on the flipside, through three different mediums to see if their reports were similar.  (in many cases identitical)  

Not all mediums are the same, everyone is different as you know - but when you get a consensus of opinion, the architecture of the flipside becomes a little bit clearer. as I try to point out in my blog these reports appear to be tailored (by those on the flipside) to not upset the world order, or to alter someone's path - they're so specific that only the person hearing them would be convinced beyond a shadow of doubt that they're coming from their loved ones. 

Others hearing the same info will remain unconvinced, skeptical - which is okay, because apparently we all choose our paths, and that may include a life in a closet... which is okay too, because "we're not in any hurry to get to the flipside."  Check it out - if it rings true to you, then (it's worth pursuing this research.)

My two cents.

Gaia TV interview with George Noory and a message from my cousin on the Flipside

Link is below for this video with George Noory

"Tearing up the charts! Read all about it!  Get your Hacking the Afterlife right here!"

#6 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks.... 

https://www.amazon.com/Hacking-Afterlife-Practical-Advice-Flipside-ebook/dp/B01J63P3R6/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=












Meanwhile...

My sweet departed cousin Mary Vey reached across from the flipside today. I was going to toast her (in present tense) today, when my cousin John Paul called. He is at her place and found a letter addressed to "My cousin Rich "Dickens" Martini." He's forwarding it, says that it's sweet profound sayings she wanted me to have. Thank you MV. (posted on Thanksgiving... then:)

My cousin Vey Martini, female Jockey, lover of animals

Just spoke to my cousin JP, who said it was 1 of about 300 books, nondescript, but for some reason he picked it up while cleaning out her home after her passing. It was addressed to me 2 years ago, with quotes and sayings from old movies. Its not the content of the book thats so moving, but the idea he'd pick up this one tome, with a nondescript cover, inside a personal message to me. 

It won't prove the afterlife to anyone else, it's too private for others to see as a message from the Flipside, and anyone could argue its meaningless. 

But when you get a message in this way, filled with mathematical impossibility, knowing the personas involved, the history of all involved, it serves as proof only to those who experience it. Allows everyone to retain their pov.

AND IN OTHER NEWS....

The show that I did on Gaia TV with George Noory is available at Gaia TV.  Here's the link:

INTERVIEW WITH GEORGE NOORY ON HACKING THE AFTERLIFE

Click on Link Above to watch (.99 for the rest of the year)

Sting and the Flipside

Sting and the Flipside....


Something caught my ear in this interview the other night.

Sting (Gordon Sumner) talks about how much it moves him that people come up to him and tell him how his music has been a theme in their lives, or his music changed their lives, or had a profound effect, whether they got married, fell in love to it, etc.

And he joked "I just got into it to find women."

Well, of course, he found Trudy.  And has had a gaggle of kids while finding her.  But I digress.

In the research behind "Flipside: A Tourist's Guide on How to Navigate the Afterlife" and "It's a Wonderful Afterlife," and now "Hacking the Afterlife" I've filmed people under deep hypnosis talking about their "life planning sessions."

I've reported my own five different between life sessions, but it was in my first session when I asked my guides the question: "So why did I choose my life?" and the answer was "Every thought, action, word or deed contains your energy.  So if you write a poem, sing a song, write a book, paint a painting - every talk show you do - some part of your energy, who you are as a soul, your heart - goes into that work.  Whether you work in a bank, or move digits around on a board, some of your energy goes into that as well - but if you're doing that work with your heart, then it can be a healing energy."

I said that I chose a lifetime in film because I felt that combining words, visuals and music I could help heal people.  And then I said "I just wish I'd chosen someone more successful at it."  Which elicited a laugh from my spirit guides and the hypnotherapist doing the session - the only time I've gotten laughs on both sides of the veil.

But Sting did the same. When he signed up for this lifetime he wanted to help heal people with music.  He's an amazing singer, gifted musician, and has explored a variety of different styles.  But at his core, it's not about the content of each lyric, it's about the intent and heart that he brings to his work - and that is attached to the music and lyrics and stylings - which directly affects people on the planet.

And they come up and say it to him; aloud.  "You changed my life.  Thank you."

There's no greater honor then to sacrifice your life for others.  There's no greater gift that you can give then to give your heart to others.  

Yes, he's had a great journey and path, and yes, he's had pain and sorrow and suffering too.  It's written in his face.  But when someone comes up to you and says "Your music helped form who I am as a person" you need to see that was what he signed up to do.  It's healing. It's helping. It's why he's on the planet.

Some years ago, I reviewed Sting's show at the Wiltern when I was writing for Variety.  After the show, I got to meet him backstage, and then for some odd reason, I was on a plane the next day to go to Italy.  And when I got off the plane in London, and went to the passport agent, Sting was standing in line behind me.  And I turned and introduced myself. "Hi, I'm Rich, I met you at your show the other night."

And he nodded, used to fans and fandom.  I added "I write for Variety."  The look on his face reminded me of when I was sitting next to Van Morrison and said the same sentence.  Van said "I don't talk to the media" and got up from the table.  "But I'm not The Media" I said.  (And I had my film "You Can't Hurry Love" pay him $30K for the use of "Wild Night" in a clip, but I forgot to mention that part.)

Anyways, he seemed chagrined that a "critic" was in the same line as him.  Moments later, I was going to the kiosk to catch the British Air flight to Rome, and he was there too. He waved me over and introduced me to his wife Trudy. "This is Rich Martini, he wrote the Variety review."

She brightened, and he said it as if it was something he'd actually read.  I thought "Wow, polite guy."  I tried to not hover or talk too much other than to say I was a fan.  On the plane, I sat in steerage, but as I left, passing through first class, I saw the sweater that Trudy had been wearing sitting on the floor.  So I grabbed it and when we got to customs I shouted out "Oh, Missus Sting! You forgot your sweater!"

It was worth the laugh.  "Mrs Sting" couldn't have been more appreciative.

But wait. There's more.  About six months later, I was talking to someone on his staff, and they said "He's coming into town. I'm sure he'd want you to have a ticket."  I wasn't reviewing the show, was reluctant to call, but I did.  When his personal assistant said "Why are you calling?" I said "Well, I saved Trudy's sweater on the plane."  And his assistant said, "Do you realize how many people call me every day to get free tickets to his shows? And you're calling because you saved her sweater?"

I mumbled, "Well, it was a long story, but it was because I write for Variety..." and the assistant interrupted me.  "You wrote the Variety review?"  I paused. Uh-oh.  Maybe they didn't like it. Gulp. "Yes."  

She said, "That was the best review I've read. (She may say that to all reviewers, what do I know?)  It covered his life, his journey, his writer's block, and talked about finding his voice when he went back to his father's hometown..."  I blushed... over the phone.  She said "What night do you want tickets for?"  So I went to see him again, sat in the seat like any other fan.  He's great.

Some years later, I ran into him at an art gallery.  I said "Hi, you don't remember me but..." He interrupted me: "Rich Martini" he said. Shook my hand. "Thanks for saving my wife's sweater."

This guy is something else this Sting.

So I know he's going to read this post. He's that kind of a guy.  Checks stuff out, remembers it, soaks it in, turns it into a song. If not him, then his assistant, or someone out there in the ether will pass it along.

He will read this blog, this memory down life's lane.  And I'm here to tell him that the story he told on Colbert is the essence of why he chose to be on the planet.  How do I know that? Because in the 35 cases I've filmed, the 7000 I've examined from Michael Newton, and the 2000 from Dr. Helen Wambach - they all say the same thing. 

We choose to come here. And we choose to do the work that we're going to do so we can help other people. 

I print transcripts of these filmed sessions in the book "Flipside" and "It's a Wonderful Afterlife" and "Hacking the Afterlife." And the film "Flipside" is actual footage of people saying these things. Consistently. Over and over and over again. Under hypnosis. And in the latest book - not under anything at all.

So Gordon chose this life - chose this name, which is not only associated with bees, but is a musical term, like a cymbal being smacked - a "sting" - On behalf of all those  people on the planet that you chose to change their lives; thanks dude.

Some comments from my youtube pages....

Since my last Coast to Coast appearance, I've been getting some interesting posts on my various youtube pages.  I'm sharing their questions and my answers here, as it allows me to "reply all" in a different fashion.

The flipside of the flipside

Question/Comment: 

"I'm an empath/indigo child... I cringe at the idea of being like some people or animals, (or coming back as such) I try not to be judgmental but I have become extremely bias as to who I am and how fortunate I am and the way I think. I'm also terrified of getting old, not sure why but that didn't hit me until recently. I think that's mainly because of my physical abilities and I feel like if those ever left me I'd be miserable and trapped here while the next wave gets to enjoy the party... 

I've never felt depression hit me this hard and I've never once had suicidal thoughts but sometimes I just don't know how I'll react when I get to a certain age. If I do. I've just been so on the fence about what's really true or not. It's like when you die, how can you still be conscious somewhere else? I'm trying to decipher that. But then we just decide to take on another body when ready? I've been terrified by what scientists say how there is no soul, no god, no anything and we are just here a glitch in evolution and that we tell ourselves these things do we are not scared or feeling hopeless. 

Now that really brings my hopes down, the only thing I can think of that tells me there is something else out there is when I was little I saw energy orbs, spirits, and entities or whatever you want to call them. I also remember my first memory and coming into existence, it felt like a continuation of something but I can't say I definitely remember any kind of past life. I just have an attraction/connection to a specific time period..."

RM:

Cool. You're tuned differently. Don't stress over it. We tend to walk around the planet thinking we have to be like, or somehow are like the other beings on this planet. Yeah, that's true, we are, but then again, we aren't.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson points out that there are no two rainbows alike. That's science. You and I stand side by side, we see different rainbows. We can both call it a rainbow, but what we're seeing is accurately different to each of us, depending on a lot of factors. Does that make the rainbow any less beautiful?

I have written extensively about these questions you're raising. Why am I here? Why do I feel different? People come up with terms like "indigo child" or "empath" to try to pin down what it is they're seeing or experiencing. During a between life session 
I was filming, a young woman was accessing her spirit guide, an older curmudgeon kind of sage, and when she asked "What's the shift in consciousness people are talking about?" he said "Oh, you humans always think that by labeling things you'll get a better handle on them. In terms of the cosmos, it's no big deal, but if you want to understand a shift in consciousness imagine yourself a tiny little crab walking on an ocean floor, and you suddenly open your eyes and realized you're in an ocean. That's a shift in consciousness."

That's in "It's a Wonderful Afterlife" - so a shift in perspective is to see a number of things differently. For example, we choose to come to the planet. We choose who we are going to be. We choose to incarnate only as a person that we want to be. (We don't choose animals for the most part, they have their own realms and own version of reality, and it wouldn't be very polite or needed to choose that existence, but there are some extremely rare cases, one I report in my books.) But it's a choice. You chose to be empathetic, or more tuned into your empathetic abilities than the next person.

So what to make of that? Cool! You chose to have a different kind of stereo receiver. Everyone gets their choice - some have different filters, some don't. So your choice was this special kind of receiver that experiences emotions and other people's feelings in a different way. Doesn't make someone worse or better, just makes them appreciate things differently.

Does everyone have this ability? Absolutely. But some of us choose a journey with more filters - less ability to understand and feel the emotions of others, because there are lessons we've signed up to learn. 

Think of your life as a classroom - you can come here to learn some pretty profound lessons, and sometimes people don't learn the lessons, so they may decide to take the class again. Sometimes people realize they know these lessons and sign up to help others learn them. 

The point is - you've done this a bunch of times. You got this. Yes, you may feel like it's going to be odd to be older - but since we don't die - we can't die - no one dies, they just head back home at the end of it all, try to appreciate what you signed up to do. You decided to come here to experience this journey to its fullest. 

Not to just wander around the amusement park and never go on any rides. Get on the ride that fascinates you, that makes your heart beat faster. Reach out to the people that fascinate you that make your heart beat faster. You're here for a reason, try to stay open to that reason. You've been old a bunch of times, you may still be connected to the ego emotions of growing old (looks, money, friends, etc) but that's all just vanity.

And I mean by vanity as in, the way to happiness while you're here on the planet is to help other people. It's a physical fact that when you help someone else it changes the amygdala - the repository of depression - if you look up the meditation "tonglen" you'll find that its been proven scientifically (Richard Davidson at the U of Wisc) to effectively cure or alleviate symptoms of depression.

What's tonglen? It's a mediation on helping others. So if you're feeling even the slightest bit depressed, stop what you're doing, step away from what you're doing and help someone. Help them across the street. Walk someone's dog for them. Write someone a thank you letter. Thank a teacher you always loved, but never thanked.

These "acts of kindness" are really acts that make the amygdala work better, process seratonin better, make the brain not worry about what others are thinking, because you're busy with the act of helping. I know that this sounds like a religious concept - but it actually is based in science. Help someone else because it will help you. Love your neighbor as yourself, because doing so will make you feel better. Will help the other person and will help you at the same time.

So if you take anything away from this research, it's that you've learned one simple fact: loving your neighbor as yourself is actually the reason we're on the planet. Because back home we experience unconditional love (and by back home, i'm referring to the place where 35 of the people I've filmed have called the flipside) and we come here to teach and learn and experience variations on unconditional love. You chose to be here. Allow your heart to show you why you chose to be here, and enjoy every day as if its a gift. Because... it is.

The center of the universe, Mt. Kailash

Question/Comment:

(From a thread asking about proof of the afterlife)

Not challenging anyone's experience, just some interpretations of it. Why? Because I want that to be true (probably due to my fear of death) and want to clear it to myself, not to accept something on the bases of wishful thinking. So, It wasn't about you, and challenging your and other people experiences, it was about me and my system of believes, how to pull all that things through my firewall.
Anyway, thank you for your time!
Appreciate it!


RM:

...So - that's what you're wondering about. In essence a question we all have - how can I prove to myself, beyond a shadow of doubt, that life goes on?   And how can I do so withoutrelying on second hand accounts - or authors pontificating about the afterlife (this one included) - it's one thing for me to say "well, the research points to this fact - that we don't die.  It's counter intuitive, its contrary to what we can observe. 

Things live and then they die. Except when we start to observe the planet and our lives from another perspective. Like I say - it's a bit like trying to describe jumping into a pool to someone who has never seen a pool of water.  It's an experience that's beyond some people's experience - and no amount of describing the feeling of diving into a pool and floating to the top will help. 

What I've found effective is hypnotherapy.  The Michael Newton institute has a searchable database. And if you do some research and talk to the hypnotherapist, you'll find the right person for you. That's one method.

Another method is having a near death experience. Which I don't recommend. Or taking a strong hallucinogen. Also don't recommend. But there's one more method I do recommend, and its meditation.  If you think of meditation as a verb rather than a noun - it's an exercise, and doing pushups makearms stronger - meditation makes the mind stronger.  If you do some every day - ten minutes is fine - eventually you're going to be able to focus on things you couldn't focus on before.

The simplest one, two, three method I've come across is to take a photo of a loved one and meditate on it (after you've done some other meditations and built up your ability to focus and "unfocus"). Imagine how the photo was taken, recreate it all in your mind - what the clothing felt like, the light on the face, the sounds - all the sense together.  Then imagine the loved one inthe photograph alive - as they were in the picture - and let them see you observing them.  Try to be fully in that moment.

Then ask them some questions you don't know the answer to. Questions that you assume there is an answer to - and a question that you figure they might have access to.  So - questions like "how are you?" and "Where are you?" are answered by "I'm fine. And I'm here." Questions like "What or who is God?" are usually answered by "That's above my pay grade." so try to ask them questions that you think they might know the answer to. Like... what city was great grandmother from - and did she have a twin brother?  A question you don't know the answer to, but they might know, and you can later research it.

It can't be a path changing question - "what are the lottery numbers" are almost always met with "and why should you win that?" They know what you'd do with the money, and how it would alter the path you've signed up for. And try to avoid "future" questions - as the future is not set, can always change. But "Where is?" questions can be answered.  Sometimes with a sense of humor.

Then you have to be open to the answer. Not everyone can communicate through words, so the answer might come from a friend, might come from your attention being directed to an article, or to a song. The key is to not judge the answer, but to examine if it's accurate or not.

All I can say is that based on my observations from a lifetime of seeing and sensing "ghosts" and then having this research fall into my lap, having done 5 between life hypnotherapy sessions with different Michael Newton trained therapists, I've expereinced the pool first hand.  Everyone can experience that pool, and everyone eventually will. 

You had a question about "why" this information is coming about, and whether knowing it would alter someone's path.  First, I'd offer the reason you're commenting on this page is because of that detail - and from what I've heard consistently is that "the veil is thinning." So it appears to no longer be some kind of "out there" paradigm - that it's becoming more prevelant because either it "needs to be" or that it physically is becoming easier to connect to the flipside.

Again, I'm not debating these points, or putting them out there for what they might imply - it's just what the research shows consistently. I can't control what others think about this research, I can only share it so that others in the future will be able to examine it. The reason I've come to realize I'm doing it is because the planet needs for us to be aware of the concept that we choose to come back here - and if that's the case, doesn't it make sense to leave behind a clean campground with clean air, water or earth?  If not for our children, but for our own return?

Earth doing it's thing with light.

Queston/Comment - Reply:

"Thanks. ... My problem with hypnotherapy is: how can I know that I am not daydreaming, taking from my subconsciousness resources, making up things, etc, although it seems it is from external source? How I can know I’m not speaking only with my subconsciousness? And now, after I know for all elements like ‘’soul mates’, ‘soul groups’ etc. it wouldn’t be strange at all if my brain start making up things from that elements. 

AND NOW, that is the moment YOU step in! You recommend me to check some information only deceased one knew. I like it. That is what I am looking for. Some objective outcome. You understood me.That is what my scientificated 3D brain needs. Doesn’t left much room for interpretation, wishful thinking, imagination, etc.

But seconds later you disappoint me, when you said: “Not everyone can communicate through words, so the answer might come from a friend, might come from your attention being directed to an article, or to a song.” It again seems so vague, unclear. How long I should wait for the answer? Would my attention become overselective, would I start to looking for secret “meaning” in every song? Become paranoid? You know, I am back again on uncertain terrain, that leaves me too much room for interpretation.
But ok, maybe deceased one could communicate through words anyway. 

One general question - Is it possible to organize some experiments with objective testable outcomes? Sam Parnia tried something like that with OBE cases (I only know of Charles Tart before him). Although he published preliminarily results, it is still to early for any conclusions. But at least something is happening. The same with hypnoses or mediums would be good. Isn’t it so? If they really communicate with higher realms, why is it so hard to prove that in controlled experiments one and for all. Personal experience is one thing, but this, this would change things more than billion personal experiences. Moreover, everyone would like to check it personally..."

RM:

My friend, take it one step at a time. What's your hurry? If you discover today that life doesn't end, how does that change your day? Change your lunch? 

So ask your relative a question. See what happens. If something happens, you're done. You've answered the question you have.

If you don't get the answer immediately, right away, this very second, then stay open to whatever else might come into your view. Does this mean you have to spend the rest of your life being open? Yes. It does. 

Try to stop judging others for their path and journey. It's not how we are taught, it's not how we are raised as humans. But the reality is, everyone is equal. Everyone has their own path and journey. We can't judge them unless we are in their shoes and understand why they chose this path and journey. Easy to say, hard to do.

Here's the physiological data with regard to the research: about one third of your life's energy shows up in the body. Sometimes more, sometimes less, depends on how much you wanted to bring with you. Two thirds of your energy (or soul, or whatever you want to call it, consciousness) is always back "home" - back where you normally reside. So only about a third of you is here in this body at any particular given time. It varies when you're consciousness is altered; a coma, for example, even being asleep. But generally, in your conscious mind while reading this sentence, there's roughly two thirds of you out in the theater sitting in the seats observing (or not, depending) what's going on stage.

That's just in the reports. 

So if what these folks are saying is accurate, there are all kinds of factors involved with communicating between those in the audience, and those on stage who have taken a form of amnesia drug so they don't recall their past lives. Why does everyone take that potion? Well, not everyone does, and some experience it differently.

Sam Parnia is a doctor who set up a 7 year study of near death experiences. Along with Dr. Bruce Greyson (I highly recommend watching his youtube talk "Is Consciousness Produced by the Brain" - it's 90 minutes you won't forget, and I reproduced it for the book "It's a Wonderful Afterlife") - both of these fellows are not concerned with the between life realm as I am. They're scientists who set up protocols to measure and learn from people who have near death experiences. So they're cataloging the results - how many people do have one, don't have one, how many people see a light, experience meeting another person, etc, during their near death experience.

My research isn't concerned with trying to prove these experiences - what I've learned is that each one is unique. No two near death experiences are the same. No two rainbows are the same for that matter, but we have just one word for them. 

Yesterday I read that science has learned that water has another form, besides gas, solid and liquid. Apparently between 40 and 60 degrees celsius it takes another form altogether that they're just learning about.

Think about that for a moment. 

The very thing that keeps us alive, we barely understand. So we're talking about consistent experiences in the "afterlife" - for lack of a better term. My point is that we can't even communicate properly about these items if we can't get the words straight. "Afterlife" means nothing if you can't define consciousness. There is no "afterlife" - there's just "life" and it's various realities.

But it's not willy nilly, nor is it chaos, nor is it ruled by some overlords, nor is it ruled by the "laws of science." None of that applies to this research. It appears that we are in charge of this journey - we are in charge of our reality, and we choose to learn from it (or not.) No one else is dictating who or what we're supposed to be, no one is dictating who are what we're supposed to accomplish - other than our desire to help our friends and loved ones and fellow travelers experience what they've signed up for.

A long way of saying "don't worry about it." Just take it one step at a time. Your first step is to take out a photograph and talk to your relative or friend no longer on the planet. And then see what happens. You may get a thought that comes faster than you can think it - like an answer to your question that comes faster than being able to form a sentence. Write it down. Don't judge it. Meditate on it.

Here's a simple question for your relative no longer on the planet; "Is what he is saying correct?" Write down the answer. Yes. No. Maybe. There are only three. Then meditate on what that answer means to you.

My two cents.