Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Epilogue to Flipside


Here's the epilogue from my book "Flipside."  Someone wrote to me and said "It's the most important thing that I've read in your books."  Here's a reprint of that chapter.  (Copyright 2011. Excerpt from "Flipside: A Tourist's Guide on How to Navigate the Afterlife" by Richard Martini.  Homina Publishing 2011. All Rights Reserved.)
EPILOGUE: "BE THERE NOW"


Warren Buffet, one of the richest people on the planet, was interviewed recently about the secret to his success.  “Unconditional Love,” he said, “the most powerful force on the planet.” His father had given him unconditional love – it was a love that allowed him to fail, to get up and try again.[1]

How does all of this affect how we approach our own lives?  If we know energy lives forever, that our souls live forever, that we’re on the journey we chose to be on, how does that help us “make it through the night?” In an effort to connect some dots, please allow me to recap:
1. Souls don’t die.
We’ve been around for millennia, our souls continue on for millennia. In between lives we are fully conscious, with all of our memories intact. Yes, our bodies die, our loved ones depart from us in this life. But we reconnect with them in the Afterlife. 
2. After death we return to our soul group, where we recognize those we’ve been reincarnating with for eons. 
There’s anywhere from 3-25 people in our individual group and we usually plan our next life with these same folks.  We share laughs and memories of the life just lived and eventually plot with them our next adventure. We may even recognize them during this lifetime; usually identified with the thought “I felt like I always knew this person the moment I met them,” or “I knew we would marry.”  
3. In between lives, we all have a life planning session where we choose our next life; we are able to pick and choose what kind of life we want to lead for various reasons, as well as choose our parents.
“Why would I choose those people who’ve made my life miserable?” is a familiar refrain. The answer is that you chose them so that you could be where you are today. Either far, far away from them - which is a gift in some cases, or their influence had directly put you in the place you’re supposed to be on the planet. It puts a different spin on your parents behavior when you consider you chose them because of it.  As well as why your own children chose you.
4. We each have our own “council of elders” who oversee our lifetimes, and engage with us in Socratic debate about how we did. 
Everyone has a council of elders, and everyone goes to see them at least twice; once upon our return so they can help assimilate all the lessons from that lifetime, and once again just before we take another trip into human form. They don’t sit in judgment; rather they help you discern your path.  Usually there are 6-12 people on any given council; it seems the younger souls have fewer.
5. No humans are born without a soul, and we don’t arrive at our chosen body until the fourth month (or sometimes later).
Consciousness is something we’ve retained from our life between lives. Some kind of veil, or filter, prevents us from remembering those previous lives. However, through the process of deep hypnosis, we’re able to bypass these filters and access these previous memories.  The idea that we don’t join the body until the fourth month would be controversial to advocates who believe life begins at conception.  The human animal life may begin at conception, but the spiritual life does not. 
6. We don’t reincarnate as other animals.
Each species comes back with in its own pantheon; i.e. birds of a feather, fish in the sea, and animals on land can swap places with those in their group, but not within other groups. To the concept of being reborn in a “lower life form” as a result of negative karma - that’s not what is reported. All life forms are sacred; there are no pejoratives when it comes to life.  However, its reported you can access your animal friends at any time in the life between lives – they’re an energy pattern as well, and can spend hours playing fetch once again.
7. When we return to our home base, with our soul group, all  actions and effects are left behind - we return to a pure state where we enjoy a world without pain, sin or suffering. There is no hell per se, nor a Satanic like region or persona. 
Those who’ve caused pain, sin or suffering experience the pain they inflicted fully – as if they were the person being hurt during their life review. Afterwards they may choose (or it’s decided for them) to be isolated from others in order to learn from their mistakes. There is no Satan or hell per se.  Once you depart this plane, you no longer have access to the negativity here, or those who might perpetrate it. (For those Satanists out there, sorry, don’t mean to offend.) According to the thousands who’ve journeyed into the afterlife, there’s no evil waiting for us.  But we may experience our own form of hell based on how we’ve treated other human beings.   
8. The process of reincarnation is planned by us, not subject to karma, past mistakes, or past injustices. People choose to be gay, choose to be crippled, or choose to be blissful depending on their spiritual depth. 
We don‘t travel up or down in any fashion, going from peasant to rich person, or unhappy soul to happy soul.  Free will is the law of the Universe, and it’s up to us who we want to return as, or even if we want to reincarnate.  But inevitably, the pull of helping your loved ones and friends, brings us back time after time. Our life choices are up to us.  That includes sexuality, physical type, body shape, etc.  We may choose to struggle with these issues in order to progress spiritually, or to help those around us to progress.  Those who live on the fringes of society are frequently older souls who chose to be there.
9. Bad experiences, including suicide, murder, mayhem and other events are frequently worked out in advance, with the agreement of all souls involved.
They claim there’s no such thing as random violence. This may sound controversial, but according to the research, pretty universal.  When examining a life between life session, we get an opportunity to see those details, however heinous or upsetting, to be true. 
10. Our friends in our soul group frequently show up as pals in this life, relatives, brothers, sisters, loved ones or even as adversaries.
As mentioned, Judas claimed Jesus came to him and asked him to turn him over to the Romans as a favor.  “If you truly love me, you’ll do this for me.”  There are many reasons to be on the planet, we benefit from all our own experiences, but the main role might be one of servitude.
11. Our progression in the afterlife can be charted, in part, based on what color we see ourselves as - the earlier souls are closer to white, and through the spectrum, they wind up into the violet realm. But there is no hierarchy. 
As Jimmy Quast put it; “No one gets to hoard the jelly beans.” The idea of someone being smarter, better, richer, happier, more famous, more revered, more anything is just not the case. You are the perfect self you’re meant to be. All paths are sacred, and none is judged lesser than another. Just older.
12. We all have a soul, spirit guide or “Guardian Angel,” sometimes more than one.
Every one of us has a spirit guide who has agreed to watch over all of our incarnations. It gives new meaning to the sacrifice one does at the service of others - can you imagine becoming a mentor to a soul for all of their lifetimes? But the journey many of us are on is to eventually be a guardian angel (spirit guide) for another soul; no time like the present to start treating others like they might be a future candidate.
13.  All of this movement and planning is based on energy. 
Every thought, action, word or deed contains it, every emotion as well. Treat it with sacred intent, whether praying for deliverance, or to help another soul. If you think it, believe it, pray for it, sing it, act it or create it, you’ve put that personal energy out into the Universe. It can help, heal, or in negative cases, harm others. 
14. There are other Universes and places we can reincarnate. Some religions have spoken of them, various planes in different dimensions Religion is a construct that mirrors the afterlife.
Earth is the best school, the best playground, the best place to advance our souls. “You’ll learn more in one day of tragedy on Earth, then perhaps 5,000 years on another, simpler planet,” according to one interview.  The argument has been raised, “There aren’t enough souls to reincarnate. Where’d the new souls come from?” According to Newton’s patients, there are other places to reincarnate and new souls are reportedly being born. When we graduate from our many lifetimes, the graduation ceremony includes being rewarded with (and offering to guide through many lifetimes) a new soul. 
15. Love and compassion turn out to be not just religious concepts, but words that explain how the Universe actually works; from energy transfer to why we choose a particular life.
Love is the wheelwork of nature, and that attraction and energy is what keeps us going. Compassion is part of the fabric as it’s included in many examples of what we give our loved ones by reincarnating by their side. The Golden Rule is actually golden for a reason, because it represents how the Universe works. Loving your neighbor as yourself, nature as yourself, your fellow beings on all levels as yourself, turns out to be not only a spiritual maxim, but a physical one as well.
16. Religion is a man-made experience based on our god like nature.
In light of this research, world religions seem to be echoing the same thing; in the afterlife we have eternal qualities, and experience a heaven-like state of bliss. And while we’re on Earth, we try to recreate or relive that experience.  One could say we’re “trying to get back to the Godhead,” or “return to God.”  They’re the same. Was Jesus the son of God? Aren’t we all?  Was Moses or Mohammed the chosen prophet? Aren’t we all? 
Oddly enough, the angel Gabriel was the one who brought the word of God to the Prophet Mohammed in a cave. He’s also the angel who brought news to Mary, and predicted the birth of John the Baptist.  Could they all be the same Angel Gabriel? If he exists outside of time, why not?  The founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith, had a visitation from men “dressed in white” who dictated a vision of the afterlife to him, L. Ron Hubbard believed he’d seen another planet from which we return to Earth via Scientology.  It seems they’re all talking about the same thing when they refer to the Kingdom of Heaven or even to Buddha’s journey on the night of his enlightenment to see “non-reincarnating deities.”
Religion expresses the inexpressible, examines the unexamined, and finds truth in the nature of all things.  Science aspires to take the same journey, by making logical sense of what we are doing on the planet, how we got here, and where we are going.  For those who believe that life ends in death, that’s not what’s reported. For those who think the stress of this lifetime is based on karma from a previous one; that too doesn’t bear up under this form of scrutiny. Forgiveness, compassion and love for all people and things appears to be the universal law of the Universe.
17. We have both an animal ego and a spiritual ego.
According to this research, we started incarnating on Earth millennia ago.  Perhaps when humans became upright or adept; our spiritual energy melded with the human’s, and thus began consciousness. Perhaps this event coincided with the formation of societies 60,000 years ago and is our “missing link.”  
Human life appears to be an agreement between the animal and spiritual ego.  That fact helps to underline why people act a certain way, and could have a profound influence on the criminal justice system – if a person is struggling in this life with animalistic tendencies is there a way of examining a healing process that’s not “Clockwork Orange[2]” but based on helping souls discover their purpose?  As mentioned, in Holland, they’ve already [3]begun to bring in psychics and past life regressionists to help cure career criminals.
18. Curing and healing people is part of the work done by others in the Afterlife.
People choose their lifetimes before coming here to continue their work in a particular field.  Musicians may return to further their music knowledge, perhaps explaining child prodigies like Mozart and others.  Doctors and Nurses are involved with healing energy transfer, and may have had many lifetimes where they continued their practice.  Just the way Tibetan lamas might spend a lifetime studying esoteric practices, and then remember them in their ensuing lifetime, we can all tap into the knowledge of our previous lifetimes to help with our current one. 
19. There are no coincidences.
What appears to be a matter of amazing coincidence, upon examination, turns out to be an incredible planned sequence, like a complex 3D chess or “Second Life” game being played on multiple planes where each move affects the other players.  As a butterfly’s wings in a rain forest may cause a hurricane in Asia, everything can be linked in cause and effect if one looks long and hard enough. And by the way, is the reason you’ve picked up this book.
20. You are doing pretty much what you set out to do.
Time and again, people report the spiritual journey they’re on was laid out in advance. This is annoying for anyone with a remote control - we all have the inclination to change the channel, to want to change our circumstance, get richer quicker - but the answer is: “You’re doing fine, you’re on the right path, relax.” As hard as your path may seem, you’re on it for a spiritual reason.
21. This research is the tip of the iceberg.
For those who are interested in finding their soul’s purpose – the reason they chose to be here on the planet – I can’t think of a more effective way. 

Here’s some collected insights from the therapists I interviewed:
People come in because there may be a relative who recently died, or emotional trauma from losing a child. This work is not to supplant therapy they should receive from a licensed trained professional; it’s intended to provide them with answers about their inner being. One of the things clients don't understand until they experience it is that there is a dual nature to all of us. We have our brain ego if you will, and we have a soul ego, and when they are combined it creates one personality and one lifetime.                Michael Newton
Someone can have a strong religious belief that doesn’t include reincarnation, but when you take someone through one of these sessions, they have this mind boggling experience - it’s a visceral experience on a soul and body level – they emerge knowing this to be true. It’s far beyond a concept or belief. That’s profound. One other common occurrence is a feeling of reconnecting to the whole. To know you and I are of the same essence makes it much more difficult for me to cause you harm, because it’s harming me and the whole as well. That’s a message for the entire planet; how we cause harm to others. It’s more difficult to do knowing we are all the same.  I’d love to see everyone have the opportunity to go through one of these sessions.  It’s wonderful that it’s not a dogma, it’s not a religion, but it’s open to everyone. Paul Aurand
I believe we are spiritual beings that live on this Earth. We’re not Earthly beings who happen to be spiritual, but the other way around. So for me, this past life work, soulful work, is about that fact that at our core, we’re this beautiful diamond and the mud that covers it are experiences in other lifetimes we‘ve encountered. And we create these negative beliefs we have about ourselves, whether it’s shame or self-hatred or unworthiness, and sometimes we have to go all the way back to the beginning - our past lives - to wash away the mud so we can uncover the beautiful diamond we are. Until you get to the source of it, you‘re going to be in conflict with nature until you find the source of the diamond within you.                                                                    Debbie Haynie
Always wisdom is uppermost in mind. We choose to incarnate to harvest wisdom from the lifetime, to gain direct experience and knowledge so that we are improved as beings, so that we are expanded as beings, so that we have more wisdom, understanding and compassion.               Colleen Page-Joy
There’s this very bright light everywhere I look; I’m part of it. He’s showing me I’m part of a universal plan, I’m part of that light and it’s everywhere, there’s nowhere in the universe there isn’t this light. He says "That’s what you’re working with, keep it as part of you and bring it back."  We need to know there’s nothing else but light and love. The work we’re doing (as hypnotherapists) is about light, because it opens us up to understanding. We’re on a mission to clarify and create more light and love and it’s available to everyone; all we have to do is open ourselves to it. The light is clear and cleansing, loving and peaceful. Eventually when we become light all the other things go; sadness and such. It’s very healing.      Morrin Bass
To date it’s the single most important modality I can offer anyone. It gives them a sense of their immortality, of the importance of their life and journey, and it gives a sense of belonging to something greater than themselves. It’s not a gifted psychic telling you who you are or what you’ve been, or going to a “Channeler” to tell you your past and background; it’s experiential, the clients become their own channel. After every single client has an LBL, they aren’t the same – some part of them has changed in a positive way and it’s a resource that remains for them long after their Life between Lives journey is complete.             Chanda Nancy Berlatsky
I think traditional belief systems are breaking down all over the world; people are looking for something more, for a greater understanding of themselves, rather than being told by other people what to believe. If you can look at what you have within, that’s got to be the real stuff because it’s your own. If you can tap into that, have access to that, it’s very empowering. The world is picking up pace and if we can have something that’s centering, like an awakening and understanding of your immortal identity, that seems to be the most centering you could ever have. The more people discover the beautiful compassion and wisdom we hold within, that’s got to be good for the planet.                  Peter Smith
A CALL TO ARMS (EMBRACING ONES)
Imagine if one day scientists, doctors, philosophers could all do life between life classrooms? People who understand physics could learn from the classes on energy transfer, doctors could sit in on classes about the healing light of the Universe; philosophers could examine and ask questions about this other, primary world that would benefit our current one. Religious leaders could clarify what their purpose on the planet is, and why they chose a life to help people spiritually (if they haven’t already). It could cause advancements in human science, psychology, medicine, conservation as well as in renewable energy and its resources, as well as helping humanity to fulfill its purpose.
Those who take a journey into this other world, come away from it profoundly changed.  They start to see the many connections their lives have to offer - whether how a childhood friend first put you on your pathway, or how a sense of knowing someone from the past can be achieved by merely shaking someone’s hand. As Paul Aurand put it “hard for me to want to harm you when I see how we’re all spiritually connected.”
People under hypnosis say they discover the Universe is run on “love;” failing another word in the English language, it’s the best they can find to describe it.  Love is the ether that bonds the universe, the gravity or hidden dark matter that binds all elements together.  A sea of atoms of energy particles we navigate every day, but its pulse, its heart, is love – towards our fellow humans, towards nature, towards the planet, towards the universe.  It’s been echoed in all the great tales of literature, of myth and legend, throughout our time together on the planet.  We’ve become used to our belief science can solve the problems of humanity, when actually the true force that can solve the problems of the planet is our willingness to participate in the love we all innately have for it and each other.
And this applies to every curmudgeon you’ve ever met, every cranky, unhappy, miserly person – once they’re off the planet, they return to their blissful selves, where they get the opportunity to see how connected we all are, and how they’ve missed the golden opportunity to revel and enjoy life from a compassionate point of view.
Someone asked Michael Newton why he thought this information was becoming evident now - the question begs to be asked; for all the years we’ve had civilization on the planet, why reveal it now?
He doesn’t know the answer.  Perhaps this information has always been accessible; we didn’t have the ability to decipher it.  Perhaps it’s the abuse of drugs and pharmacological “cures” that change the course of one’s soul path, perhaps people in the afterlife are trying to warn us. 
I think it may be to convince people that reincarnation does exist, and therefore, we must protect the planet for our return. The interview with the gentleman who said he was a “hybrid” – someone who incarnates on another planet as well as Earth – claimed he and his fellow hybrids have come here to enhance people’s consciousness.  (I jokingly asked him when I met him for lunch, if it wasn’t “To Serve Man,” a reference to the infamous Twilight Zone episode where the textbook aliens left behind turned out to be a cookbook. He laughed.)  But according to his interview, over the next seven years, consciousness will change on Earth.  Whether true or not, the future depends on a multitude of factors; of chess games and our spirit guides controlling the board.     
The internet has connected us in ways we never thought possible - which mirrors the afterlife in the connections we already have, spiritually, energetically, between ourselves. The phenomenon of social networks is that they mirror the life between lives; we’re all connected, can reach anyone anywhere at any time.
The ability to retain information in a computer mirrors our ability to retain information.  The transference of energy through ones and zeroes mirrors the transference of energy that occurs on a daily, or moment to moment basis. Is it possible that consciousness, or the spirit world is the same? That we carry engrams of energy around with us, like hard drives floating in the ether of space, so we can refer to past lives and experiences?
I got a text the other day from a friend who was sitting in “Les Deux Magots” café in Paris, when he chatted up the leggy singer sitting at the next table.  The conversation drifted around to past life regression, and she said “You should talk to my friend Rich Martini.” Turns out my two friends, both New Yorkers, had found themselves next to each other discussing the very topic of this book.  I hope it engenders more meetings of the heart, and spirit.
I had a vision while working long hours on the film “Salt.”  I had been away from my family for a number of months, and I seriously doubted the sanity of working such long hours on someone else’s creative endeavor.  And then I had this vision of an orphanage in Cambodia. 
Angelina Jolie supports an orphanage in Cambodia, and last year, she and her partner Brad Pitt donated seven million dollars to charity.  I saw my vision as a way of making a connection between the long hours working on the film and the feeding of starving children that would result from her donations. Still, didn’t make me miss my family any less. But then a few nights later, I had another vision that clarified this previous one.  I saw into the future a young boy on the streets of India, a beggar, selling an illegal copy of “Salt” in a back alley.  I saw how the few rupees from that sale went to feeding his family living out of box behind him.  And in that visual, I saw that the creative energy of filmmaking, the wheelwork of commerce, of life itself, benefits people in ways we can’t fathom. 
Because it was an illegal copy, it allowed me to see the energy involved had nothing to do with creating wealth; rather, the energy was like a giant Tesla coil reaching people in ways I couldn’t predict. All our endeavors spread out like an energy wave through the universe, helping people we’ll never see.
Is life designed in advance? Are we all part of some elaborately plotted mini-series that runs every waking moment?  Does it really matter one way or the other?  We’re on the planet for a reason, we have roles to play, we might as well play them as well as we can. However, that doesn’t prevent me from perennially rooting for the Cubs.
When I was in high school, my art teacher told me I should be a painter, my acting teacher told me I should pursue a career in acting, and my football coach pulled me aside and told me I should coach football. When I mentioned this to Olivia she said “But you did none of those things!” and I said, “Actually, becoming a film director allowed me to do all three; paint with words and light, I usually appear in my films, and directing is coaching others into doing their best work.”  I can point to my own journey to say it appears I’m doing what I set out to do.
When I underwent my session, the world altered for me; if you’d like to try it, I recommend searching for the right hypnotherapist, trained by TNI if you’d like to visit previous lives and between lives.  (There’s a list of Michael Newton trained hypnotherapists at newtoninstitute.org).
Take a yoga class, learn how to meditate.  Whatever gets you into the mindset is the right modality for you. As Pete Smith said, “Whatever book I need to find today, let it come to me” and he picked up Newton’s “Journey of Souls.” Trust in your higher self to guide you to the right material for you – after all, let’s give him or her credit for guiding you to this one.
Once you’ve taken the trip it’s like opening a gateway and other bits of information flow freely, information that seems to come directly from the Great Beyond; the ability to see why you chose your parents, your life situation, and to be able to further examine your soul’s purpose.  You see how we’re all connected; energetically, spiritually – and those people putting stones in your path may be doing so at your request to experience a problem or pain, and learn from it spiritually. What better way to take the reins of life than to understand the truth of why you chose it? 
My journey was complete; Luana mused she was going to another galaxy; I was able to find that galaxy, and to take a couple of mind bending trips to see her.  She spoke to me in both of my sessions – each time in her unique voice. As mentioned, whether one believes they’re seeing their loved one or not is beside the point, they have the profound experience of actually doing so.
And one final word from Luana.  Recently, her old friend and one time paramour Dennis Hopper passed away.  At her funeral, he sent the second largest bouquet of flowers I’d ever seen in my life. (The other was from Jack Nicholson, and stood opposite the one from Dennis.) When he passed away recently, I started to wonder if the two met up, but before the thought was fully formed in my head, I heard Luana say “He’s here with me now.”  Then I saw an image of him, as a young man, about 20, and there was a golden light coming from within him, pouring out of him like light rays.  I heard him say “This is amazing, man,” in the way that only Dennis Hopper could say it.  I then heard Luana say, clear as a bell; “He’s my golden boy.”
Final thought; my daughter and I were discussing God the other day – she’s 7, I’m 56.  We agreed upon “God is the mechanism by which we perceive the Universe – not a person, actually. We are all part of the mechanism that is God – the higher energy source for all things. That’s why people say God is love, because God represents the unfathomable engine that creates and anchors the love between all of us.”  
See you on the flipside.




[1] Huffington Post 7-8-10 “The Best Life Advice I’ve Ever Received.”
[2] The book by Anthony Burgess mocks criminal rehab in the future where prisoners are reprogrammed.
[3] The Telegraph 22 Nov. 2010 “Dutch prisons use psychics to help prisoners contact the dead.”




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Journey Into Tibet

I spent a few weeks with Robert Thurman in Tibet, documenting his journey there. There are clips avail on youtube, but here is the complete documentary "Journey Into Tibet."

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