Good Grief and Gwyneth Paltrow

There's no amount of solace that we as humans can have towards someone who's lost a friend, a lover, a family member, a child, a co-worker, someone that we love who is no longer on the planet.

From "The OA" - being consoled on the flipside by a "ghost"

This past weekend, a young girl died in our home town, and the memorial for her was standing room only. She was remembered as someone who was a light in people's lives. Stories were told about some unusual "Flipside" like events prior to her passing... she had a bad cold, and called her brother to tell him he had to drive home to see her.  He thought it was odd that she would call him to do so, as no one thought it more than a cold.  

But it turned out to be more than a cold, and she was no longer on the planet after a sudden turn for the worse.  Almost as if she "knew" she was no longer going to be on the planet, and insisted that he come home so she could say "goodbye."

Memorial for my pal Paul Tracey at his gravesite
in 2004. He's come to visit me a few times, including
during a trip to Tibet (as recounted in Flipside).

I've heard and gathered a number of reports of people who appear to "know" in some fashion that they're about to check off the planet.  My brother's close friend called him one night to tell him how much he loved him, and how much he had influenced his life.  Then the next day, playing in a softball game, he suddenly had a heart attack and died.  At the funeral, his widow remarked on the phone conversation she had overheard between my brother and his friend.

"I've never heard him talk like that to anyone."  My brother had not either, and they spent over an hour on the phone talking about their path and journey together, and all the fun and comic moments they had, and all the things they shared as close friends.  It was "like he was saying goodbye."

Well, not goodbye.  But "See you later, alligator."

Actress Luana Anders who has been to visit me
often, those visits are the genesis of the Flipside research

People contact me from all walks of life about helping a friend, or relative who has experienced a sudden tragic event.  They've lost their mom, close relative or a best friend, and are having a hard time trying to "get past it."

I got a call like this the other day from a brother of a good friend back East.  His mom had passed away, and he had the good fortune to be able to hang out with her the last years of her life.  He told me how he had gone over to see her just about every day to have lunch with her, and how devastated he was when she passed. But he had a profound dream about her, and wanted to know if I could explain it, or what it might mean.

Dreams are like reflections in glass.

He began by saying he "didn't believe" in anything beyond what we experience on the planet, and that it was hard for him to repeat the story. But he said the dream "was so real that I know it wasn't a dream."

He said he was at an event with tables and large ceilings. He later said he recognized the venue, it was a place they had been to large scale events over the years with his family.  He said he suddenly heard his mom call out to him by name.  

He said he went over to her table, and she looked happy, and vibrant.  He said he suddenly felt a ball of light come through him, a light that made him feel completely happy, accompanied by an overwhelming "feeling of love."  

I asked him if the words "unconditional love" would apply to that sensation.  He said they would.

What I didn't tell him, is that his brother and I spoke just after she passed away, and I asked him if he had any visitations from her. He said flat out "no" as if that wasn't a possibility.  But he did say that he "had a dream about her."

And it was the same kind of experience after their mom passed. My friend is an award winning reporter, from a famous newspaper, and in his dream (after she passed) he found himself in her old room, and went over to her chair and hugged her. And he said that during the hug, he felt like an electrical charge - but accompanied by an incredible experience of unconditional love. 

As I pointed out to both brothers, the reports from the Flipside - either from people under deep hypnosis or from people who've had near death experiences - report this specific feeling; an experience of unconditional love.  People sometimes feel it during a near death experience, sometimes when describing a feeling of traveling "through space when they are met by a light" and the "experience just beyond the light" or "being inside of the light" is one that they repeatedly use the words "unconditional love."

Which I find kind of funny. Because what's "conditional love?"  It's pretty much how we exist on the planet. "I'll love you if you love me" or "I only love people who are my skin color, from my background, are my height, weight, same color eyes, have the same heritage, blood type or shoe size."

It's not a common phrase. We don't hear it in church "God is unconditional love." "Love your neighbor unconditionally as yourself."  It's not part of our advertising, or media, or arts (I did write and direct the film "You Can't Hurry Love" perhaps I should have called it "You Can't Hurry Unconditional Love.")

But what's consistently reported by people who are able to examine these events - and I've heard them from people under deep hypnosis, from people who've had near death experiences, from people who are fully conscious who are having coffee and telling me about their experience - when I say "Stop. Hold onto that memory for a second. What did you feel like when you went into that light/or embraced your mom/or saw people who no longer exist on the planet? What words would you use to describe that feeling?"

They often say; "UNCONDITIONAL LOVE."

"What does that mean to you?"  "It's a feeling beyond bliss, beyond anything, of being completely and utterly connected, of being loved unconditionally, of having no fear and total happiness...."

You get the idea.

So when we go home, we experience unconditional love.  Okay.  Got it.

Do our loved ones still exist after they pass away?

Well, yeah. Why wouldn't they?

Unless they don't want to visit you. Mom and dad.

I kid. If you've read my books "Flipside" "It's a Wonderful Afterlife" or "Hacking the Afterlife" you'll find quite a bit of first person eyewitness accounts of people who have visited, or had visitations from people no longer on the planet. Not one or two - but thousands. I've filmed 35 people under deep hypnosis talking about these events, and have interviewed a number of scientists talking about consciousness research.

Our kids went to the same preschool. Oh boy.

Recently, Gwyneth Paltrow is in the news because she endorsed this book of this fellow who claims that he's an intuitive who talks to people on the Flipside about healing.  I have not read his book,  I have seen the article complaining about it in the Independent by Ms. Hosie, and I comment on it here, because, well, it's worth talking about.

Why complain about GP endorsing a book from a NY Times bestselling author? What's the point? That he shouldn't heal people with his books? That she shouldn't point out people who claim to heal people from the Flipside? That we should ignore what people say about the Flipside, even if it can be verified, it can be forensically proven, or it's a source of new information?  Hard to pin down what's the beef here.

What's the beef?

But it brings up the question:

Can doctors heal us from information from the Flipside?

In the Independent article they complain that she's advocating this fellow's book who claims that he's getting medical advice from "ghosts."  Okay. That's worth noting. Yes, you generally don't want to get medical advice from ghosts unless you've seen their degree. I'm not kidding.  We tend to think of ghosts, or people "channeling the other side" as omniscient, or sacrosanct, or "absolutely correct."  That's not in the research at all. (Wiser, smarter, have access to more lifetimes than we do, but not omniscient.)

What we find is that "talking to ghosts" can be a verifiable event, but that doesn't mean the ghost is any brighter, smarter, more adept than when they were previously on the planet. (Gee. What if you're accessing a doctor who is still dispensing bad advice?) That being said, there are some "ghosts" that do have experience over here as doctors, or as healers, and getting advice from them is worth examining or exploring.  After all, if they still exist, and can help, why not ask them questions?

Anita Moorjani was dying of cancer. And while she had a near death experience she "understood the cause of her illness" and started to heal herself, so by the time she got back into her body the healing process had begun. This happened under clinical conditions.  But she's a doctor who accessed her "higher self" to affect a cure. (Is your higher self like talking to a ghost? Well, if you understand the concept of the "ghost in the machine" then, as a matter of argument, yes, you are.)

One of the most famous people to give and get medical advice from "ghosts" was Edgar Cayce. 

Edgar makes an appearance
in "Hacking the Afterlife'

 While under a trance, Edgar would access information that was not only accurate, but could cure people of illnesses. He was immensely famous for this ability - and many poets, Presidents and scientists went to visit him.  But was Edgar 100% accurate?  Of course not. 

Why? Short answer (based on the research) is because we have free will. 

People don't sign up for a lifetime to NOT experience life - they do so to learn and teach and explore.  Not everyone signs up to be ill, it's a consequence of being human - and while everyone appears to want to be cured of their illness, the only way to really know what that's about is to speak to their higher selves. "So why did you choose this lifetime where you'd have this illness? And what's the best way to cure yourself, if that's what you're trying to do?"

In the reports, people claim that they experienced an illness so that the could "become better doctors in a next lifetime."  People claim that the illness was a way of teaching lessons in love and compassion to those around them.  

I cite a case in Flipside where one fellow claims he chose the life of a baby in a previous lifetime (in 1964, in Miami Fl) he lived 4 years in an incubator, experiencing a debilitating illness that kept him in the ICU his entire life.  

When asked if that was a "difficult choice" he said "Not really. From my perspective I was loved, and experienced love.  That lifetime was teach others around me about love."

Good grief!

I'm not here to debate whether Goop is a fabulous website, or where Gwyneth Paltrow's intentions lie in promoting books about healing. (Our kids went to the same preschool, and we share a good pal in Dr. Habib Sadeghi) 

I don't know who the Medical Medium claims to be channeling, or accessing, or his methodology for doing so.  That's not really my point. Yes. There are charlatans out there doing this kind of work. But that doesn't mean that what everyone is bringing back from the Flipside is inaccurate.  

It does mean that we need to check into the methodology (the degree hanging on the wall) of how the information was accessed and why. And the best, most accurate way to access that information is to do it yourself.

How to do it yourself?  

Well, there are two methods I recommend. One is via a hypnotherapy session with a Michael Newton trained hypnotherapist (there is a searchable database at the Newton Institute website). I work often with Scott De Tamble here in LA, he's a virtuoso at what he does. You want to know why you chose this lifetime? He can guide you to the answer.

The other method is via talking to a medium yourself. I work with Jennifer Shaffer here in LA, who works pro bono with law enforcement on missing person cases.  You want to speak to a loved one no longer on the planet? She can guide you to them.

What I recommend, if you're going to go down this path - is do your research, bring questions that you don't know the answer to, or could not know the answer to, and ask specifics about the individual you're seeking to speak with. It's not often, but sometimes the door is slammed shut for some reason, and it may be to not "alter your path" by accessing this information. But even in those cases, I've seen Scott De Tamble use the Socratic method ("So why did you bring this person to this session if you don't want them to access this information?") to pry open doors that normally seem closed.  

All I can say for a fact, is that in the 35 sessions I've filmed, the 5 I've done myself, and the many hours I've filmed Jennifer doing her thing, I've gotten accurate, verifiable information from the Flipside that I could not have had access to.  

The three Flipsideers (Jennifer and Scott)

All I can report is what I've seen or experienced, and that is that indeed - people who are no longer on the planet report that they are still learning, teaching and going to classrooms over there on the Flipside, and that they continue to help heal, and help doctors here who need to help their patients.

That there's no one cure for every illness, but that if the person is able to examine their path and journey, they can find the source of their illness, whether it's genetic, sociological, psychosomatic, or otherwise... and the reality is that since there is no death, even if an illness doesn't appear to be survivable - it is survivable, because no one dies.  

We merely exit the stage.

If you're stopping by this blog for the first time, I sincerely know how odd and controversial that statement is.  But if you care to go down the rabbit hole with me, check out my books - or book talks on youtube - or look into other reports on the same topic.





For those interested in the science of consciousness, I recommend the books done by the scientists at UVA ("Irriducible Mind" "Beyond Physicalism" "Return to Life" etc.) "Biocentrism" by biologist Robert Lanza, "Brain Wars" by neuroscientist Mario Beauregard, "The GOD Experiments" by Gary Schwartz PhD, or Carol Bowman's "Children's Past lives."

For those interested in the Flipside, I recommend Michael Newton's "Journey of Souls" as a jumping off place, Erik Medhus "My life after death" Galen Stoller's "My Life after Life" and Annie Kagan's "The Afterlife of Billy Fingers."  

These are all first hand accounts of what it's like on the flipside, and Dr. Newton's book is what spawned my documentary "Flipside."

In audible, ebook, paperback, etc.
Links on the side of the page.

So, again, I'm not mitigating grief.  God knows we all go through it. But having some perspective is good, having a sense that "they aren't suffering anymore because they've gone home" is good to hear or know.  It's not worth arguing about - because after all, not everyone is supposed to see the curtain pulled back, not everyone is supposed to see the Wizard of Oz, and it's not my job to pull that curtain back for everyone.  

But for those folks who feel the need to reach out and share their stories, that's why I'm doing this research. (And Gwyneth, if you or your peeps are curious about this research, just ask Habib-ola.)

Flipside and the Vortex

Print on Demand version of "Hacking the Afterlife" is HERE:

I got this unusual email from someone recently.  I'm sharing it with her permission.  This is a woman who lives on the East Coast, married, kids, and was curious about this event that happened to her when she was a child.

She writes: "I've been "homesick" since early childhood and used to cry in my room to go "home" and I knew this place I was in just wasn't "it". When I was about 5 yrs old...I was crying again. 

It was then that some kind of vortex opened up in my room (for lack of a better word?) and there were 8 or 9 people there in some kind of room with one or two podiums...two people stand out...there was an older man with gray hair and beard looking very austere and a beautiful blond woman. 

Vortex by Kent McDonald (copyright)

The woman actually stepped out of this "vortex" and told me that I chose this and this is my home now and that I was here to live "my story" and I could go home after. It was so real! I can still see the memory as clear as if it happened yesterday. 

I didn't stop pining for home til I was in my late 20s because I KNOW there is something more. Needless to say, I have read every book on regressions and NDEs I can get my hands on for the past 25 years. 

Your book is yet another confirmation that the experience I had was real and that I'm not the only one having these experiences. I will be reading your others!! They picked the right person!! Thanks again Rich!!"
----

I told her she came to the right place... as these kinds of "glimpses of the flipside" happen to people often. I hear about them because of the nature of my research, but I'm sharing them here, because, after all... why not?

Here's what I replied:

"So what I ask people to do... and it's usually while having coffee somewhere (so grab a cup of joe), is to "go back to that moment in their mind's eye."

Try to do that. Find a comfortable place to sit without distractions, you can put  on soothing music, turn off your phone - or sit in a crowded cafe'. Whatever it takes to allow yourself to revisit that moment.

Begin with a freeze frame.  Freeze the frame at the moment you first witnessed what you were looking at.  Take a look at the people.  Then ask yourself a series of questions that require a "yes, no, maybe" or "i don't know" answer.  I would argue that you do know the answer to these questions because everything is somewhere in our memory banks - either in this life, or somewhere - and that people don't appear out of the blue in our lives unless we somehow know them.

Vortex (photo cited above) A tourist destination.

Also, you've reached the right guy to ask this about, because I've gathered quite a few accounts of relatively the same feeling or experience. (I mention a few in the book "Flipside," some in "It's a Wonderful Afterlife" and definitely in "Hacking the Afterlife.")  So just try to stay open to the answer no matter how odd, fantastic or different it may seem to you.  "Try not to judge whatever it is that you're accessing."  (And as a matter of science, you're either making it up, or it's coming from your subconscious - either way the answers are the same, and are worth looking into.)

So let's go back to that moment, shall we?  

You described 8 or 9 people there in some kind of room with one or two podiums...

What is this room? Have you been here before? Does it feel familiar to you? If so, how can you describe the room? Be as specific as you can - how big, are there walls, look around to see what's behind you, are people seated, standing...  What's the podium look like? How tall is it? What's it made out of? Or your best approximation? If you can move forward and touch it with your hand.  Is there a microphone? These kinds of questions are really about painting in the sketch that's in your mind...

(Note: When I did my first between life session with Jimmy Quast for the film "Flipside" I had the experience of standing behind a "podium" in the room where my "council" was sitting. I was not consciously aware of ever being here before, but as I stood there I had the feeling I'd been there a number of times. I could see either individuals in front of me, and it seemed like they were all old, old teachers of mine. Back to the reply:)

You wrote: "Two people stand out...there was an older man with gray hair and beard looking very austere and a beautiful blond woman."

Let's examine these two folks one at a time.  Look carefully at the older man.  How long is his hair? What color are his eyes? What's do you mean by austere?  If you can, say hello in your mind's eye to him - how does he react while you're in this memory? Can you say hello to him?  

If he responds, then ask him a question... are you someone I know? How do you know him? Ask him what his name is? If nothing comes to mind, ask him for a placeholder of a name - a first letter of his first name, then the second, the third, etc.. until you get a word. Doesn't matter if it doesn't make sense... just allow it to be his name for now.  Ask yourself "Is he a guide of some sort? Has he ever incarnated with you?" If so, ask him to show you that lifetime - write down as many details as you can... hair, height, what year it was, what your role was, what his role was... if not, then ask him "how am I doing?"  See what he says.

You may get no answers from this exercise, but I've found it's okay to ask them. You're not upsetting any balance of your path or journey - you're just asking questions out of curiosity.  And finally, at this point, shift your point of view over to his point of view, looking at you.  What do you look like?  Do you look like you do now? Or different? If there was a color associated with your image, what is it? What are you wearing? Trying to fill in some of these details... and when you're done with that examination, let's focus on the woman.

From the cover of "Proof of Heaven" by Eben Alexander.

What does she look like? Hair? Color of her eyes? What's her name? If you don't get one, do the same - first letter, second letter. Ask yourself - is this someone you know? If so, ask her what role she's had in your life? 

And further, since she's the more talkative one in your memory, let's ask her some questions.  Like... how does she think you're doing now? At this moment in time? Is there anything she'd like you to focus on that's different?  Ask her to remind you why you chose this life, this path and journey.  Who are you here to help, to heal, to take care of?  Allow the image of that person to come to mind.  

Then ask what lessons have you come here to learn? To share? To teach? What's the main purpose of your journey in this lifetime?

Just write down whatever comes to mind - without judging it.  Later you can revisit these answers and see if they resonate with you... at this moment, you're just allowing whatever comes forth to come out of you.  

Ask her the same questions you asked the older fellow. Has she ever incarnated with you? When? As who? What was that like? Then shift your perception to her her pov... do you look the same as from the man's pov? Or has it altered in any way? What's the emotion or feeling that you get when you stand with this woman? If you reached out and touched her hand, what's the feeling that occurs when that happens. And if you can freeze that feeling in time - try to do so.  It's something you can always access.

Can you smell them? Imagine what the smell is like. Focused meditation.

You mentioned in your email: "The woman actually stepped out of this "vortex" and told me that I chose this and this is my home now and that I was here to live "my story" and I could go home after..."

So now let's ask her what she meant by your choice.  Ask her to take you to the moment when you made this choice - your "life planning session" if you will. Look around you. Where are you? Who's there with you? What's being said? What's being planned? See if you recognize anyone from this memory.  Look at them carefully, and then shift your perspective to look at you. What do you look like? The same? Different? Older? Younger?

Finally - what's the meaning of the word "home" in the above sentence? What does it mean to you?  If it's possible, ask if it's okay to go there now - while you're thinking about these events.  See what that feels like. 

Be as descriptive as you can be - after all we're taking a journey to a far off place, think of yourself as an astronaut who needs to tell people specifically what you're seeing or experiencing.  What is the journey like? What does it feel like? Can you see any lights? Or people? What is the emotion you have when you're "home?"

Again - freeze that feeling.  That's "home." Only you know it - only you can experience it. It's unique to you. Allow that to be part of your consciousness... and remember, no matter what happens to you in this lifetime - there's always going to be home. You don't need to be in a hurry to get there - because you've got work to do here - but it's good to know there's a place that contains those feelings and experiences.

So print this out... then take out a pencil and notepad... and walk through it one by one - write down what you experience... take your time, we're in no hurry here..  and when you've finished, share as much as you'd like to share!

You don't have to tell anyone around you about this journey - unless you feel that they need to hear about it.  I'm not giving you a philosophy, belief, or anything else to examine... I'm literally having some coffee and asking you some questions that your subconscious can or can't answer.  Try not to take any of it too seriously, and at the same time, try to experience whatever it is that comes to mind.

Best,


Rich

------

I share it with you dear "The Martini Shot" reader.  Look around you. No one is looking over your shoulder while you read this. But it may apply directly to you. Perhaps there's a dream or a vision, or something that has occurred that seems "out of the ordinary" or is a "recurring dream" which includes individuals. Or perhaps you had some kind of "out of body experience" or dream where you felt you were standing with or in front of other individuals.  
You can access it.

Every experience that you've experienced is stored. There's no "delete" key in your memory.  All of it is stored.  There's a common misconception that the difference between "short term" and "long term" memory, is that one is deleted, and the other retained. That of course is not the case, as many people who've had some kind of conscious altering event, injury or trauma, either can access moments that would seem trivial.  Science, biology proves that everything that you've seen or experienced is retained.  It may be subject to interpretation, perhaps the file that it's stored in had been corrupted, altered in some fashion - but it's still there. 

Every time I heard BB King live is still retained.

The same goes for previous lifetime memories.  We tend to dismiss them because they're not accessible in any easy way - but under hypnosis, or in the cases of people remembering or experiencing events that they could not have had access to - but that exist - it seems that the mind can revisit these events, revisit these people no matter where they are in the universe.

I've tried this technique on a number of individuals (as recounted in "Hacking the Afterlife") and have found that indeed, people can access memories and events - shifting their perception of consciousness from themselves to others looking at them - in such a way that is uncanny.

In my next post, I'll talk about a couple of folks who I've run into who've had experience with "UFO's" - or some kind of phenomenon that appears to be UFO's, and what these folks had to say about them while fully conscious, while I asked them questions about the event.  Unusual replies to say the least.

Stay tuned.

Flipside and The Vortex

I got this unusual email from someone recently.  I'm sharing it with her permission.  This is a woman who lives on the East Coast, married, kids, and was curious about this event that happened to her when she was a child.

She writes: "I've been "homesick" since early childhood and used to cry in my room to go "home" and I knew this place I was in just wasn't "it". When I was about 5 yrs old...I was crying again. 

It was then that some kind of vortex opened up in my room (for lack of a better word?) and there were 8 or 9 people there in some kind of room with one or two podiums...two people stand out...there was an older man with gray hair and beard looking very austere and a beautiful blond woman. 

Vortex by Kent McDonald (copyright)

The woman actually stepped out of this "vortex" and told me that I chose this and this is my home now and that I was here to live "my story" and I could go home after. It was so real! I can still see the memory as clear as if it happened yesterday. 

I didn't stop pining for home til I was in my late 20s because I KNOW there is something more. Needless to say, I have read every book on regressions and NDEs I can get my hands on for the past 25 years. 

Your book is yet another confirmation that the experience I had was real and that I'm not the only one having these experiences. I will be reading your others!! They picked the right person!! Thanks again Rich!!"
----

I told her she came to the right place... as these kinds of "glimpses of the flipside" happen to people often. I hear about them because of the nature of my research, but I'm sharing them here, because, after all... why not?

Here's what I replied:

"So what I ask people to do... and it's usually while having coffee somewhere (so grab a cup of joe), is to "go back to that moment in their mind's eye."

Try to do that. Find a comfortable place to sit without distractions, you can put  on soothing music, turn off your phone - or sit in a crowded cafe'. Whatever it takes to allow yourself to revisit that moment.

Begin with a freeze frame.  Freeze the frame at the moment you first witnessed what you were looking at.  Take a look at the people.  Then ask yourself a series of questions that require a "yes, no, maybe" or "i don't know" answer.  I would argue that you do know the answer to these questions because everything is somewhere in our memory banks - either in this life, or somewhere - and that people don't appear out of the blue in our lives unless we somehow know them.

Vortex (photo cited above) A tourist destination.

Also, you've reached the right guy to ask this about, because I've gathered quite a few accounts of relatively the same feeling or experience. (I mention a few in the book "Flipside," some in "It's a Wonderful Afterlife" and definitely in "Hacking the Afterlife.")  So just try to stay open to the answer no matter how odd, fantastic or different it may seem to you.  "Try not to judge whatever it is that you're accessing."  (And as a matter of science, you're either making it up, or it's coming from your subconscious - either way the answers are the same, and are worth looking into.)

So let's go back to that moment, shall we?  

You described 8 or 9 people there in some kind of room with one or two podiums...

What is this room? Have you been here before? Does it feel familiar to you? If so, how can you describe the room? Be as specific as you can - how big, are there walls, look around to see what's behind you, are people seated, standing...  What's the podium look like? How tall is it? What's it made out of? Or your best approximation? If you can move forward and touch it with your hand.  Is there a microphone? These kinds of questions are really about painting in the sketch that's in your mind...

(Note: When I did my first between life session with Jimmy Quast for the film "Flipside" I had the experience of standing behind a "podium" in the room where my "council" was sitting. I was not consciously aware of ever being here before, but as I stood there I had the feeling I'd been there a number of times. I could see either individuals in front of me, and it seemed like they were all old, old teachers of mine. Back to the reply:)

You wrote: "Two people stand out...there was an older man with gray hair and beard looking very austere and a beautiful blond woman."

Let's examine these two folks one at a time.  Look carefully at the older man.  How long is his hair? What color are his eyes? What's do you mean by austere?  If you can, say hello in your mind's eye to him - how does he react while you're in this memory? Can you say hello to him?  

If he responds, then ask him a question... are you someone I know? How do you know him? Ask him what his name is? If nothing comes to mind, ask him for a placeholder of a name - a first letter of his first name, then the second, the third, etc.. until you get a word. Doesn't matter if it doesn't make sense... just allow it to be his name for now.  Ask yourself "Is he a guide of some sort? Has he ever incarnated with you?" If so, ask him to show you that lifetime - write down as many details as you can... hair, height, what year it was, what your role was, what his role was... if not, then ask him "how am I doing?"  See what he says.

You may get no answers from this exercise, but I've found it's okay to ask them. You're not upsetting any balance of your path or journey - you're just asking questions out of curiosity.  And finally, at this point, shift your point of view over to his point of view, looking at you.  What do you look like?  Do you look like you do now? Or different? If there was a color associated with your image, what is it? What are you wearing? Trying to fill in some of these details... and when you're done with that examination, let's focus on the woman.

From the cover of "Proof of Heaven" by Eben Alexander.

What does she look like? Hair? Color of her eyes? What's her name? If you don't get one, do the same - first letter, second letter. Ask yourself - is this someone you know? If so, ask her what role she's had in your life? 

And further, since she's the more talkative one in your memory, let's ask her some questions.  Like... how does she think you're doing now? At this moment in time? Is there anything she'd like you to focus on that's different?  Ask her to remind you why you chose this life, this path and journey.  Who are you here to help, to heal, to take care of?  Allow the image of that person to come to mind.  

Then ask what lessons have you come here to learn? To share? To teach? What's the main purpose of your journey in this lifetime?

Just write down whatever comes to mind - without judging it.  Later you can revisit these answers and see if they resonate with you... at this moment, you're just allowing whatever comes forth to come out of you.  

Ask her the same questions you asked the older fellow. Has she ever incarnated with you? When? As who? What was that like? Then shift your perception to her her pov... do you look the same as from the man's pov? Or has it altered in any way? What's the emotion or feeling that you get when you stand with this woman? If you reached out and touched her hand, what's the feeling that occurs when that happens. And if you can freeze that feeling in time - try to do so.  It's something you can always access.

Can you smell them? Imagine what the smell is like. Focused meditation.

You mentioned in your email: "The woman actually stepped out of this "vortex" and told me that I chose this and this is my home now and that I was here to live "my story" and I could go home after..."

So now let's ask her what she meant by your choice.  Ask her to take you to the moment when you made this choice - your "life planning session" if you will. Look around you. Where are you? Who's there with you? What's being said? What's being planned? See if you recognize anyone from this memory.  Look at them carefully, and then shift your perspective to look at you. What do you look like? The same? Different? Older? Younger?

Finally - what's the meaning of the word "home" in the above sentence? What does it mean to you?  If it's possible, ask if it's okay to go there now - while you're thinking about these events.  See what that feels like. 

Be as descriptive as you can be - after all we're taking a journey to a far off place, think of yourself as an astronaut who needs to tell people specifically what you're seeing or experiencing.  What is the journey like? What does it feel like? Can you see any lights? Or people? What is the emotion you have when you're "home?"

Again - freeze that feeling.  That's "home." Only you know it - only you can experience it. It's unique to you. Allow that to be part of your consciousness... and remember, no matter what happens to you in this lifetime - there's always going to be home. You don't need to be in a hurry to get there - because you've got work to do here - but it's good to know there's a place that contains those feelings and experiences.

So print this out... then take out a pencil and notepad... and walk through it one by one - write down what you experience... take your time, we're in no hurry here..  and when you've finished, share as much as you'd like to share!

You don't have to tell anyone around you about this journey - unless you feel that they need to hear about it.  I'm not giving you a philosophy, belief, or anything else to examine... I'm literally having some coffee and asking you some questions that your subconscious can or can't answer.  Try not to take any of it too seriously, and at the same time, try to experience whatever it is that comes to mind.

Best,


Rich

------

I share it with you dear "The Martini Shot" reader.  Look around you. No one is looking over your shoulder while you read this. But it may apply directly to you. Perhaps there's a dream or a vision, or something that has occurred that seems "out of the ordinary" or is a "recurring dream" which includes individuals. Or perhaps you had some kind of "out of body experience" or dream where you felt you were standing with or in front of other individuals.  
You can access it.

Every experience that you've experienced is stored. There's no "delete" key in your memory.  All of it is stored.  There's a common misconception that the difference between "short term" and "long term" memory, is that one is deleted, and the other retained. That of course is not the case, as many people who've had some kind of conscious altering event, injury or trauma, either can access moments that would seem trivial.  Science, biology proves that everything that you've seen or experienced is retained.  It may be subject to interpretation, perhaps the file that it's stored in had been corrupted, altered in some fashion - but it's still there. 

Every time I heard BB King live is still retained.

The same goes for previous lifetime memories.  We tend to dismiss them because they're not accessible in any easy way - but under hypnosis, or in the cases of people remembering or experiencing events that they could not have had access to - but that exist - it seems that the mind can revisit these events, revisit these people no matter where they are in the universe.

I've tried this technique on a number of individuals (as recounted in "Hacking the Afterlife") and have found that indeed, people can access memories and events - shifting their perception of consciousness from themselves to others looking at them - in such a way that is uncanny.

In my next post, I'll talk about a couple of folks who I've run into who've had experience with "UFO's" - or some kind of phenomenon that appears to be UFO's, and what these folks had to say about them while fully conscious, while I asked them questions about the event.  Unusual replies to say the least.

Stay tuned.

Flipside Memories from members of the audience

Some unusual emails and contacts from people around the planet lately....

My alma mater.

Phone rang. It was a woman in Canada.  She sounded surprised to hear my voice. She said "It's you!" I said "Yes, I think so. Should be me."

She said she had been listening to me on a blog radio broadcast the night before and fell asleep. She said that she began to dream that I was still talking to her.  But in this case, she was looking at me. (Gray hair, glasses, you know... me.)  The only problem was is that she'd never seen me before. 

So the next morning she went on line and watched a video of me talking and said "oh my god! that's the guy in my dream!"  

Holding Curtis Hanson's Oscar

She listened to the podcast again, and at some point they lost the connection with me, and someone in the control room said aloud my phone number to call me back to the show (Podcasts - it happens).  Only this woman could hear the person saying my number.  And she called it.

And I answered.

I said "Oh come on now, you must have seen a video of me speaking somewhere. I'm all over the net."  She said she had not.  I said "Well, there must have been a photograph of me on the blog radio ad" and she said "Well, I didn't see one. I just tuned in while I was in bed."

I said "That's funny. Well, let's examine it for a moment, shall we? Was this a creation of your imagination? Or did I actually come and visit you (not consciously, not aware of it) and speak to you?  What did I say?"  She said that I jokingly said "Maybe we know each other from a previous life."  She said, "Then you got up from the table and left behind your cellphone, keys and wallet."

Exqueeze me?

I said "Okay, try an experiment with me.  Freeze the image that you can remember.  Take a look at the phone. Describe it to me."

She said "It's a flip phone."  I said "Well, I don't own one of those - so it's likely your imagination of me doing this.  Open up the flip phone. What do you see?"  She said "I see a phone number."  I said read it to me.  And in a very slow halting voice she read off the number one digit at a time... and read off my cell phone number.

Me in reflection outside Ciprianis.

I laughed. "Well c'mon. You called me on this number!" She seemed startled. "Oh, yes, I did, didn't I?"  I said "So you are seeing that number on a cell phone - okay, it means that someone - likely your subconscious wants you to reach out to me for some reason. What about the wallet?" 

She described a wallet (that unnervingly sounded like mine - I instinctively felt for it - still there...) but when she opened it found credit cards and a photograph.  I asked "Who is in the photo? What's the first name that comes to mind?" She said a name. I said "Where does this person live, what year?"  She said a place and a year.  I asked "How do you know this person? Is she on the planet?"  She said "I don't think so. But I feel like I know her from another place - like from over there on the other side."

I told her to see if she could search this woman's name and find evidence of this person's existence. But perhaps that's the person who sent this message to her, for her to call me.  "What does this person want you to know?"  "That everything is going to be okay is what comes to me."

Everything's gonna be ok.

Then I asked "So what about the keys?" She said "There's big and small ones - one is a car key, the other a door key."  I asked her to draw a symbol, and tell me what it meant. She drew something like the number 8 - "like the symbol for infinity." I said "Take the house key and take it to the door of the house that it unlocks. Describe it to me."  She described a two story house that seemed like it was in Eastern Europe.

I said "Open it. Go inside. What do you see?"  She said she was in the hall, and saw a plant and a mirror." I said "Great. Go to the mirror. Who do you see? A man or a woman?"  She said "A woman."  She got the impression she was in Bosnia (a place she's never been) seeing a woman from the 1800's.  She gave me a name, a town - other details.  I said, "If you were doing a regression you'd spend more time with this woman. But based on what I've experience, look at this person. Is she a stranger? A friend? Or is she... someone else?" She said "It's me."

I said "Ask her. Why have you shown me this vision?"  She said "What I'm hearing is "to show you that you don't have to stress or worry so much. Everything is going to be okay."

As I pointed out to her - that's a pretty long way to get to such a simple sentence. But by making it so complex, and a puzzle, when you get to the answer to the clues, it resonates more.  "Everything is going to be okay."

Can you hear me now?

A woman contacted me from Europe. She works for an airline.  She found me through one of my youtube videos.  She had recently had some very powerful dreams, and wondered if I might help her source them.

She told me that she felt like she was drifting over a desert setting at twilight, 

"My body started to shake, at my spine a tingling sensation (a bit like Kundalini when it's active, mine awakened a few years ago, but I didn't had it under control and it was very painful so I stopped meditating for a few years...but I  know how it feels). 

So I hear this music. It gets louder and louder....music from movies....soundtrack music that I like to listen (like the force theme from Star Wars and so on and many others) and then I heard voices. Whispers first. They got louder and then I could hear them saying "we take care of you all" (I felt they meant my family). And I asked in my mind "What's with my sister...? (Can you) take care of her?" and the voices said "We will take care of her, don't worry". I tried to stand up from bed, but couldn't move and realized I had sleep paralysis. Then I tried to force myself to fall asleep again to wake up from it. When I did, I immediately started to write to you..."

Turns out her sister has had a sudden illness. She's worried about her - so she got this dream where someone told her "it's going to be okay." 

I suggested that she try to meditate on the dream and ask some direct questions to these voices.  As an experiment I suggested she "freeze the frame" and see what she could learn without judging or worrying about whatever she heard.  Here's her slightly edited, complete reply: (grab a cup of tea and savor this if you please).

"Ok. Wow. My first attempt to examine it in freeze mode: I see myself lying on the bed in this situation and I try to freeze the frame. Then I said "Bring me to the place, where the music and the voices came from." At first I see a landscape, like a desert with a sky at the evening. I am kind of flying over it, in the air, then I make a sudden move upwards. I see light and then I see a group of people dressed in white (My conscious mind tries to judge it as something that I have read, but I try to say to myself "don't judge it"). 

I know all these people (not from this life though) and they are super happy to see me, laughing and joking. And they almost crack themselves up about what they did with me with the (Star Wars) music. Like friends who know you very well and who kind of tried to make a surprise party for you.

Surprise party for you.

I ask them "What's the point of always dressing up in white?" They said "Imagine how you would feel, if you saw us and we were all dressed up in black!". Ok - I get it. (This would really scare me.) 

I see that this form (of the spirits) as humans is just one they take for me but it is also convenient for them. As if they know this form very well.

So now I tried to examine the individuals... (previously, in out of body experiences) I mainly heard a female voice, (but) I knew that she spoke for many.... And (in my visions) I kind of saw her hair. Short wavy greyish, but no sharp face. So I tried to find her in this group.

But for some reason I couldn't examine them individually. Instead I (felt I) was sucked into them. I couldn't resist this force almost. I was just "one" with them. As soon as I tried to examine them individually, (it was like) I was spit out of this oneness. But it felt so calm and peaceful and I thought "Ok, just bathe in it for a while". This oneness... I (felt like I) was like a huge galaxy in this moment. I was in the universe. 

Another piece of home.

Then I tried to find people inside of me (from that "oneness") that I know from Earth. And again, as soon as I found them, I (felt like I) was spit out of the comfy zone of me being the galaxy, peaceful and calm. As soon as I found them, I also felt their energy and all the emotions connected to them and I was not in the oneness anymore. Which felt totally awful.

 I couldn't say if the emotions connected to them and the energy connected to them was my own feeling and energy towards them -- or their own which made them individualized from the "oneness." This really interested me, because in this life I have huge problems to differentiate if emotions are my own or if I just feel the emotions of others. Often it's all just a big enmeshed entanglement for me.

The first photograph... 180 years ago in Paris. 

Then I understood. To experience us and others as individuals we need to have all these emotions... especially/also the bad ones. The more "bad" the emotion the more we are separated from the oneness. Or the best term would be "individualized," not separated really, but defined or distinctive. For the first time I understood this now.

So to experience all this earth stuff from the oneness into this play with individuals, we need these emotions that separate/define us.

I thought "this sucks, there needs to be another way". I then knew, this is what we have to try to learn as humanity. To hold this state of mind to be the oneness and individuals at the same time. Which as I understood it, is a certain frequency which is super hard to hold.

I then saw that is the reason for the strong movement of immigrants from the middle east to the west.

The middle east humans have more of a group consciousness, but they tend to disrespect the individual's freedom.

The western humans are individuals, but they forgot they are part of a group.

So these wars that are happening -- there is kind of a balancing out of these two extremes....like two ways to be a human, that clashes now together.

Flipside is in Italian, Spanish

This movement through immigration is a start of a long process of coming together again to learn from each other, so in future we can hold this frequency of feeling oneness and being individuals on Earth at the same time (which I understood will be the end of this cruelty on earth and new kind of experience that will begin here).

I have to say at the same time I also saw myself in front of a bigger group of people. Like a gathering. This kind of "happened" at the same time. My focus was more on the other thing, though. So in front of these bigger group of people --  they were all light and dressed white and they were like listening to what I had to say... I don't know what I said.... but I remember that I asked if i could speak with the part of the soul that is still here (in the light) of someone that I know who is still alive on earth. When I did, the floor under my feet opened up into a dark hole and I was thrown out of wherever I was, and (it's as if) they wanted to send me back to my body. I don't know why this happened. (We discussed this later, it may be related to her "not knowing" how this part of the story would end.)

You can find God in the eyes. Always. There.

I also remember asking if this oneness is all there is. If that is God. I understood that I just felt a tiny part of "all there is." More like a soul group oneness. Which again is part of something -- a bigger oneness -- and that even God as we understand God, and that (concept is) kind of responsible for us as a part of a bigger oneness and it never ends. 

Like circles made of individuals and this circle is again an individual of a bigger circle and every individual in a circle is part of many different other circles. Like clockworks entangled all together. And that's why if there is a tiny eruption somewhere it will effect everything. 

Hope that makes any sense. Hard to put this picture into words."

Stars? Or just shining parts of all of us as one?

Well.....

Wow. How about that? Pretty cool I'd say.

She tells me she has not read any of my books (although she owns a couple, has just started them) and here she lays out an important message for humanity.  (I could wait and write about this in another next book - and maybe I will - but for now, I'm sharing it with all of you.)

Our loved ones are not gone. They're just not here. You're on the planet for a reason.  Only you can examine that reason, but it's worth examining. We're all part of the same energy - and that energy is what God is.

As mentioned in "It's a Wonderful Afterlife" - one person's spirit guide said "God is beyond the capacity of the human brain to comprehend - it's just too much information.  However you can experience God by opening your heart to everyone and to all things."

Got it?

Thanks for tuning in.