Saturday

Hacking the Afterlife on "Beyond Belief"

I'm going to be on "Beyond Belief" next weekend with George Noory. (Oct 9th) That's his show on GaiaTV.


Hacking the Flipside

It should be another fun adventure - George is one of the greatest interviewers of all time, I haven't a clue as to what he wants to talk about, but he's invited me onto his show.


Couple of dudes talking Flipside.

As I've tried to tell him and his staff - I'm not selling or promoting the idea that people should read or buy "Hacking the Afterlife."  In fact I'm warning people NOT TO BUY THE BOOK.

Why?

Because it's not for everyone.  It's going to be disturbing to some people who don't want to hear what people say about the flipside.  It goes down paths that I've never gone down before, and it is what it is.

What's in the book?
Edgar Cayce
Oh, an interviewer with a channeler who claims to channel Edgar Cayce.  Why is this interesting? Because I ask Edgar why he was so wrong in his predictions of the future.  I also ask him who was supplying the information for his trance sessions - and his answers dovetail completely with the research in "Flipside" and "It's a Wonderful Afterlife."


No caption needed.
I include interviews with three different mediums who claim to be able to access Amelia Earhart.  The first one came to me out of the blue - and told me information about her that I could not find in my extensive research into her life (for my own films, and later for the Fox film "Amelia") - the medium Pattie Canova gave me tips about secrets in her life that were not public.

Some years later, I supplied the questions to a medium who was going to interview her - and that was interesting, because neither the medium or the woman asking the questions (Dr. Medhus and Jamie Butler of "Channeling Erik" fame) knew anything about Earhart's life and death.  But I did.

During that interview, Amelia confirmed a number of the secrets about her - gave new information about them, but refused to answer a question about how she died.  She actually said "If the person who supplied these questions wants to ask me privately I'll tell him."  I missed that detail when I heard the session, but it wasn't until I transcribed it for the book that I became aware of the offer.


Me, Jennifer Shaffer and Scott De Tamble (all in the book)
Out of the blue, medium Jennifer Shaffer (.com) who works with law enforcement on missing person cases (including the FBI and others that I've verified) called me, and on a lark I said "how'd you like to be involved with the most famous missing person case in history?"  Her interview with Amelia confirmed details I knew, but also gave me new information - which has proven to be accurate AFTER the session.  So Amelia gave me clues about her that no one on the planet knew... until now.

Finally, the last third of the book is examining the many reports I've gotten about Jesus still existing on the Flipside, still helping people during a near death experience, and showing up in all kinds of random places.  I decided to let that be part of this book because who am I to hide this information?

So that's why it's a controversial book.  That and I include interviews on the Flipside with Prince Rogers Nelson and Robin Williams.

Again....

I'm not talking to the dead.  I DON'T CLAIM TO SPEAK TO THE DEAD. Jennifer talks to Prince and Robin, but I supplied some of the questions.

I have no abilities in this area. I'm not a hypnotist. I'm not a medium. I'm not a scientist. But I know a few who are.  

I film and report all of these interviews.  So that's what we're talking about next weekened (Oct. 9th - Gaia TV) on George Noory's BEYOND BELIEF.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Giordano Bruno. Warning you. (George was burned at the stake for reporting his out of body experience where he saw the earth going around the sun, and other solar systems)

Wednesday

Robert Lanza on theory of Biocentrism





"We're still operating in an outdated paradigm." Lanza's book "Biocentrism" is groundbreaking, his theory underlines how consciousness is not confined to the brain. 



He doesn't explore the nature of non-reality (existing outside this realm or paradigm, which folks do in "Hacking the Afterlife") but he examines the "nature of reality" from a scientist's pov using quantum logic (which echoes Buddhist philosophy) 



Worth watching if you have 20 minutes to examine the nature of reality. He argues convincingly how the old model of how the universe works is outdated, how "something" outside our realm directs life ("Consciousness" or "God" or "The Enthropic Principal"). Part two appears next to it on youtube...

Friday

A giant has fallen... the passing of Michael Newton

Fans of Michael Newton are mourning his passing....

 RIP Maestro!

As I'm fond of saying: "Not gone. Just not here."

In 2007 I contacted the Newton Institute about doing a documentary on the topic.  I was surprised that no one had considered doing one to date.  I wasn't entirely sure what was happening in the sessions, but I'd read his books "Journey of Souls" "Destiny of Souls" prior to the interview. And I guessed (correctly) that if I could film a "between life session" the camera would quickly reveal if there was anything about the interviews that were "leading" or could be based on "cryptomnesia." 

Basically Michael Newton wrote in his books that he'd had 7000 clients over 30 years say relatively the SAME THINGS about the afterlife during his hypnosis sessions. How could that be? I set out to find out if it could possibly be true. (My documentary "Flipside" goes into greater detail

Here's the original transcript of my interview with Michael Newton, published here in honor of his journey on the planet. When I asked about doing an interview with Michael, his office said no, that he was retired, but I was welcome to come to Chicago, meet him and film some of their teaching.

I flew into Chicago and showed up on their third or fourth day - they'd already done the preliminaries, and they were getting into the deeper teachings.  I met Michael prior to one of his sessions, he shook my hand and I think got the sense from me that I wasn't there to prove or disprove anything he'd written or said, that I was just trying to document the process so people could understand his technique. He said he would grant me "his last interview" (his words.)

A still from the film "Flipside: a Journey into the Afterlife"

From 2007 in a hotel near Schaumburg, Illinois. 


INTERVIEW WITH DR. MICHAEL NEWTON

(Excerpted from "Flipside: A Tourist's Guide on How to Navigate the Afterlife" by Richard Martini. Homina Publishing 2011. All Rights Reserved.)


RichMartini: Is hypnosis a valid scientific tool?

Dr. Michael Newton. A lot of people don't feel it is. Hypnosis is a study of human behavior, adequate scientific proof depends on your willingness to accept self-reports from the mind as data. When someone is in deep hypnosis, it’s not something that can be programmed. Under hypnosis, people are very aware of who they are and have great insight into what they're telling you. Over thousands of cases there was consistency of reporting; it didn't matter whether a client had a deep religious belief system or not; once we had them in deep hypnosis, they all told us the same things.

What was your first past life regression?

I began practicing in 1956, a traditional psychotherapist using hypnosis to try to uncover childhood emotional and physical trauma. It was the year of the famous Bridey Murphy case - the Colorado housewife who remembered a previous life in Ireland. I’d get calls, "May I come for a past life regression?"  I’d say "No, I’m traditional, not involved with “new age” thinking." I was very naive, really. 

But then a client asked if I could see him about pain he was feeling in his side.  He'd been troubled since childhood, and doctors said it was psychosomatic - they'd done x-rays and could find no physical symptoms. They told him he should see a psychiatrist.  When he came, I couldn't find any earthly origins at all, so I gave him the command “Go to the origin of this pain.” 

Well, he jumped into the life of a soldier in World War I, when he was a British Sergeant and was being bayoneted. I couldn't believe it; this fellow was lying on the couch groaning while I was more interested in verifying if it was real – asking him the British unit he claimed to be with and a number of other facts - instead of desensitizing this horrible trauma he was going through. Eventually I did do that.  

He called a few days later to say "There's no more pain, thank you.” Well that didn’t satisfy me, so I contacted the British war office and the Imperial Museum in London to find out if this British Sergeant ever existed and sure enough he died in 1916.  From that case, I began taking past life clients. So I came kicking and screaming into this movement.  

Sometime later, a woman came to me, depressed over having no friends and couldn't seem to connect with anybody. I reached a point of frustration when I couldn't seem to find any help, so I said "Go to the origin of your loneliness, especially if there's a group of people around you."  I didn't know it, but “group” was a trigger word, because we exist between lives in soul groups - “cluster groups” we call them.  Her face lit up. She got tears in her eyes and pointed to my office wall and said "I see them all." 

I was thinking "Is she seeing them in this life? In a past life?" "Where are we?" I asked. "Oh," she said, "We're in the spirit world. I'm seeing all my soul companions, they're wonderful," and she began describing them. 

I probed more, took a lot of notes, and had a recording of the session. I found none of her soul companions in her life today and she was lonely because of it. After she left, I said to myself This can't be happening to me.  

I'm the world's worst cynic, skeptic, and past lives was enough of a jolt of cold water, and now this? I studied my notes and the tape for a long time, and then with other clients, I began exploring it more and more. Once I started, I couldn't stop. 

I closed my practice to all other forms of hypnotherapy and worked quietly and alone. I didn't go to hypnosis conferences, I didn't want to read metaphysical books, and I just wanted to do the research by myself. After twenty years I realized I should write a book, so I began collecting better case notes with an eye to writing "Journey of Souls." 


What was the reaction from colleagues or your wife when you came home with this information?

Frankly I didn't go public until the first book was published. I had a lot of criticism from my colleagues; "How dare you keep this information from us, you didn't get our input.” I said “I did not want to be influenced by your thoughts; I didn't want to introduce bias into my work.” 

My wife is a nurse trained in psychology, and she was, like myself; initially skeptical. I had to talk to somebody, and what better person than my soul mate, who didn't tell her friends, but quietly absorbed all this. Eventually she came to really believe in what I was doing. 

A TYPICAL SESSION  

Can you walk us through a typical Life between Life session?

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. 

The first hour we pick a couple of childhood memories to get a sense of them recalling events earlier in this life, to prepare them to answer questions on a deeper level. Then we take them into their most immediate past life, because it's their most recent experience. It's very brief as it’s not intended to be a discourse on past lives. 

There are a number of past life therapists that don’t have a clue about Life between Lives therapies - they think it's grayish ‘limbo’ that has no significance. But we then cross from the death experience into the spirit world, into the afterlife; it's an interesting and exciting time for the client because they begin to really see their soul.

Friends, relatives or their spirit guide, usually both, come to greet them - when a client sees their immortal teacher for the first time they’re usually blown out of their minds. Some religious people think they see Jesus or Buddha or Mohammad coming towards them but they quickly realize, “Oh, no, no, no… this is my personal teacher who’s been with me since I was created as a soul.”

From there, we move to interesting aspects of the spirit world, perhaps soul groups which range from 3 to 25 souls, the average client has about 15. These are all friends, relatives, spouses, dear friends in this life and some clients are shocked by who’s there. There are other soul groups, nearby affiliated souls, that may play an important part in certain lives. There are reasons for that, and we try to explore it. 

From there, they typically go in front of a group of wise beings - some call them “The Elders” or “The Wisdom Makers” - wise beings who are a step or two above their guides. 

These are non-incarnating beings, they’re about as close to God as we get, and there’s usually a very interesting discourse. They may ask the patient “How do you think you did in your last life?” They’re very gentle people. 

An interesting thing happens when they’re ready to return in the next incarnation; there’s a life and body selection library where people choose different kinds of bodies and who they think they can work best with. Their elders and guides have a hand in their selection before they come forward into the next life. It’s a fascinating process. 

What’s key is there’s such order and discipline there and yet it’s a very compassionate loving relationship. It isn’t one that involves the kinds of things we see on Earth with a hierarchy of beings who lord over you and engender fear. 

There is infinite forgiveness and understanding there. We all make mistakes, some of them terrible, and that’s all forgiven once we cross over. 

When the clients wake up after one of these long sessions, some of them are crying and some of them are laughing, some of them can’t talk - and generally there’s just this “Wow. I can’t believe it.”  Trying to process what’s happened.


AFTERLIFE CLASSROOMS AND THE COUNCIL OF ELDERS

I’ve spoken with a few people who’ve referred to their own recurring dreams of being in a classroom somewhere in the Universe, some working with or without energy. Also, I’d like to know more about “The Elders.”

We get flashbacks from time to time that break through that amnesiac block, folks who’ve had no LBL experiences, and just ordinary people that don’t know about our work. Suddenly they’re in a classroom in their dreams and they think “Hmm. That’s a strange image; where’s that coming from?” 

Most of us between lives spend time in a spiritual classroom. They are usually described as buildings, a library, or the place where they meet their council looks like a beautiful domed structure and in some cases a temple. 

Of course, there aren’t buildings in the ethereal space between lives, but people free-associate or have flashbacks of buildings; “I’m in a classroom, I have people around me that I know, there’s a teacher…” 

Essentially we’re given instruction by a Specialist Soul in areas we may have a talent or affinity for.  They may be areas we’ll specialize in after our incarnations are over - when we will be helping others.  I often hear about an energy creating class where they’re working with raw energy to create certain things.

 I have the theory a lot of what we see on Earth in terms of plants and animals and geographics has been created by groups of advanced souls.  

When we visit the Elders, we talk about our lessons and what we might do differently in the future. We’re not standing before God or a Creator or a Source - But people describe feeling kind of a God like presence at these meetings. It’s hard for people to describe it; I need to speak to someone who’s not incarnating anymore to give me answers to that sort of thing. 

Once in a while I got a highly advanced client who was in their last series of incarnations, who’d open the door a little bit, and it’s beautiful to listen to. 


What kinds of questions would you like to know the answers to from this work?

When I get an advanced client in my chair, I feel sorry for them because I’m a relentless inquisitor. I’ve asked the question “What does it all mean?” with certain advanced clients. 

One thing I’ve learned is that we are only one of many universes. I’ve been able to hear about nine or ten dimensions, either parallel universes or universes that overlap in timelines, through patients.  (He later told me that he'd visited as many as 27 in his work.)

Once you leave Earth, of course, you’re not in linear time anymore, you’re in what we call ‘now time
 - which is past, present and future... that’s the best I can do on the question about creation - I wish I could tell you more.


QUANTUM PHYSICS AND THE AFTERLIFE

What do you think about the concept that photographs may be captured time?

It feeds into what we know about quantum physics - the Cherokee Indians believe no event in time is ever lost. I think from what I have discovered, nothing is ever lost; every moment of time represents particles of energy. 

It’s like a movie that’s being shown. That frame is there forever and can be recalled in the spirit world.  Souls are able to go back to any event in any past life and review it completely. 

This is one of things we do that is so valuable. When they’re in the spirit world, in a library or a classroom, they’re able to recall everything from their past; nothing ever dies and when you have past, present and future all conjoined into “now time” think of the advantage that brings to studying and reviewing what you’ve done and how you can make it better.  

There are possibilities and probabilities in the time continuum and there have been wonderful books about parallel universes, the “Holographic Universe” by Michael Talbot for example. 

It’s very much in synch with reports we get from clients who’ve never read the books, so I feel the knowledge we’re gaining now is greater than it’s ever been about our inner being and the forces behind our creation.

Why hasn’t this information been available earlier in our history? 

I think there are a couple of reasons.  We've never been so over-populated in history, with so many of us running in so many directions. Second, I think it's the pervasive use of drugs which has even reached our elementary schools - when someone is taking drugs to "escape from reality” it shuts down the soul. 

And maybe the powers that be decided it’s time to loosen up this amnesia bloc we all have when we come into this world so we're able to gain information that perhaps earlier was not really available.” 


INTERVIEW WITH PEGGY NEWTON

I spoke with Dr. Newton’s wife, Peggy. Michael told me his entire life he’d had a vision of meeting a woman dressed in a white uniform named Peggy. After he came out of the service, he saw an ad in a magazine that reminded him of his lifelong vision. 

A poor grad student on the G.I. Bill, he caught a bus and asked the driver to “Let me know when we are near the largest hospital in Phoenix.”  The driver let him off next to a dormitory, which was fortuitous as he thought it was the main entrance. 

When he walked inside and asked “Do you have a nurse named Peggy?” a woman brought her out to meet him.  He knew the moment he saw her she was the woman in his dreams, and they’ve been together ever since.


RM: How did you meet Michael?

Peggy Newton: I was a student nurse and he was in graduate school. He had this feeling about a woman with dark hair dressed in white he was supposed to meet named Peggy. Off he went looking for a dark haired Peggy in a white uniform; he maintains from the moment we met he knew I was going to be with him for this life. And had probably been with him for many lives.

Can you remember that day?

He came to our dorm and we had a charming house mother on duty. He said "I can’t remember her last name but I’m looking for a Peggy with dark hair." 

Then he told me this rather crazy story I won’t repeat, because it made no sense to me at the time, when I asked him to sit down and clarify why he was there. 

We wound up talking for four hours; I went upstairs and told my roommates I’d met the man I was going to marry. We’ve been married almost 51 years.

What was it like when he first came home to tell you about a past life regression?

I thought it was too bizarre. "Past lives?"  I had my medical scientific brain and I tended to put that to one side. I did think he might be ‘over the bend’ though, and worried about his sanity.  But then he played me the tapes. His clients’ tapes are private, so anything I heard never left me, but I realized these people were all saying the same things about the spirit world. 

Seeing the same things, saying the same things, how could that be if it wasn’t true? You just can’t take strangers through an experience where they relate stories that are all the same. I became a real believer at that point, and then I became a true fan.”

*** 

"I know I am deathless. No doubt I have died myself ten thousand times before. I laugh at what you call dissolution, and I know the amplitude of time." 
                                    Walt Whitman


(Excerpted from "Flipside: A Tourist's Guide on How to Navigate the Afterlife" by Richard Martini. Homina Publishing 2011. All Rights Reserved. Not to be reproduced without written permission.)



Bon voyage Michael!!!!

(The Newton Institute is an organization that teaches his method of hypnotherapy to therapists around the world.  Their website at NewtonInstitute.org has a searchable database for all the people who have been trained in his method and where they are located.  If you want to consider doing this form of hypnotherapy, I highly recommend going through them, meeting with the therapist to see how much synergy is between you, ask for recommendations from others, and do the exercises and read as much as you can prior to doing a session, in order to gain the most benefits. Pete Smith, the current worldwide President of the organization is located in Australia, but to date there are hundreds of practitioners in their organization worldwide.)


Wednesday

Past Life Regression training and certification via Scott De Tamble

Scott De Tamble doing a new training and certification class in past life regression Oct 7-9th in La Verne, CA. If this is something you're curious about learning, I highly recommend his class. http://prohypnosistraining.com/



Past Life Regression
~ Training & Certification ~
Welcome to the Magical World of Past Life Regression!
Answer your soul's call by becoming a Past Life Regression therapist.
Past Life Regression Training
Join us for an intensive three-day immersion into the fascinating world of guiding Past Life Regression sessions. Learn related Spiritual Hypnotherapy techniques, including Age Regression & Regression to the Womb, Meeting & Working with Spirit Guides, and so much more!
This Professional Past Life Regression Certification Course consists of classroom lectures, written assignments, live demonstrations, and supervised student practice of techniques, including facilitating full Past Life Regression sessions.
Scott is a Clinical Hypnotherapist in Southern California, specializing in Past Life Regression and Life Between Lives Spiritual Regression. For the past 15 years he has dedicated himself to guiding hundreds of clients to a deeper understanding of their eternal soul and their current life's mission.
Classes Forming Now! Next Course: October 7-9, 2016. ‘Early Bird’ & ‘Bring a Friend’ discounts available!
Scott Fitzgerald De Tamble, C. Ht., C.M.T.
scott@prohypnosistraining.com • (909) 241-2844

Scott is also a Certified Master Trainer of Hypnosis & Hypnotherapy, offering education and certification for students under the banner of IACT, the International Association of Counselors & Therapists.
For more info: prohypnosistraining.com


Sunday

Jesus in the Qur'an and Hacking the Afterlife


For readers of "HACKING THE AFTERLIFE" -- a confirmation about the information about Jesus, mentioned later in the book, but not included in the current edition.

Was chatting about this the other day - Jesus is mentioned more in the Qur'an than Mohammed... and this one hadith translation is interesting: (with relation to "Hacking the Afterlife") (cited in the article below)

And [for] their saying, “Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah (God).” And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain.

Jesus (Issa) is mentioned a whole bunch more times than Mohammed in the Qur'an. Funny how Abraham had two wives, one had a line of prophets that included Moses and later Mary and her son (Jesus) Issa... and the other had a line that included Mohammed and his prophets. Brothers... cousins... everyone genetically linked. 

This interpretation, widely quoted, sounds like a stretch as it's like the Dickens device in "Tale of Two Cities" - the idea that someone else took Jesus' place ("Tis a far far better place that I go than I have ever been...") 

But there's another interpretation I've found courtesy of the translation from USC.edu (Since "Allah" means "God" in English, I've added it, and any reference to Mohammed in any post, is mean to include the traditional phrase "Peace Be Upon Him" - but I may have missed one, if his name is mentioned, it's with respect.)

004.157 "PICKTHAL: And because of their saying: We slew the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, Allah's (God's) messenger - they slew him not nor crucified him, BUT IT APPEARED SO TO THEM; and lo! those who disagree concerning it are in doubt thereof; they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain." 

Did you catch the subtle difference in this other translation of Arabic? "They.. crucified him (not), but it appeared so unto them; those who disagree... have no knowledge thereof(,) save pursuit of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain." 

The hadith says that Jesus didn't die on the cross, but "it appeared that he did." 

Because he shows up in the Qur'an later as a teacher in India, and also shows up in India in the gnostic gospels of Thomas. (As well as in other accounts in Asia, cited in "Hacking the Afterlife." This just popped onto my page, couldn't resist posting it.  

See below for the original article on Jesus being mentioned in the Qur'an:


                            The Qur'an at the Metropolitan Museum

Jesus in the Qur'an

"Muslims acknowledge Jesus (peace be upon him) as one of the greatest prophets in Islam. In the Qur’an, God All-Mighty mentions Jesus by name no less than 35 times; 27 times as ‘Jesus’ or ‘عيسى’ in Arabic and 8 times as ‘the Messiah’ or ‘المسيح’ in Arabic.

The following are all the instances in which Jesus is mentioned in the Qur’an. Please note: The verses have been mentioned in isolation and you may need to read the preceding or consecutive verses in order to understand the context.
[2:87] And We did certainly give Moses the Torah and followed up after him with messengers. And We gave Jesus, the son of Mary, clear proofs and supported him with the Pure Spirit. But is it [not] that every time a messenger came to you, [O Children of Israel], with what your souls did not desire, you were arrogant? And a party [of messengers] you denied and another party you killed.
[2:136] Say, [O believers], “We have believed in Allah and what has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Descendants and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him.”
[2:253] Those messengers – some of them We caused to exceed others. Among them were those to whom Allah spoke, and He raised some of them in degree. And We gave Jesus, the Son of Mary, clear proofs, and We supported him with the Pure Spirit. If Allah had willed, those [generations] succeeding them would not have fought each other after the clear proofs had come to them. But they differed, and some of them believed and some of them disbelieved. And if Allah had willed, they would not have fought each other, but Allah does what He intends.
[3:45] [And mention] when the angels said, “O Mary, indeed Allah gives you good tidings of a word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary – distinguished in this world and the Hereafter and among those brought near [to Allah ].
[3:52] But when Jesus felt [persistence in] disbelief from them, he said, “Who are my supporters for [the cause of] Allah ?” The disciples said,” We are supporters for Allah . We have believed in Allah and testify that we are Muslims [submitting to Him].
[3:55] [Mention] when Allah said, “O Jesus, indeed I will take you and raise you to Myself and purify you from those who disbelieve and make those who follow you [in submission to Allah alone] superior to those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then to Me is your return, and I will judge between you concerning that in which you used to differ.
[3:59] Indeed, the example of Jesus to Allah is like that of Adam. He created Him from dust; then He said to him, “Be,” and he was.
[3:84] Say, “We have believed in Allah and in what was revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Descendants, and in what was given to Moses and Jesus and to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims [submitting] to Him.”
[4:157] And [for] their saying, “Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah .” And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain.
[4:163] Indeed, We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], as We revealed to Noah and the prophets after him. And we revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, the Descendants, Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon, and to David We gave the book [of Psalms].
[4:171] O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers. And do not say, “Three”; desist – it is better for you. Indeed, Allah is but one God. Exalted is He above having a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs.
[4:172] Never would the Messiah disdain to be a servant of Allah , nor would the angels near [to Him]. And whoever disdains His worship and is arrogant – He will gather them to Himself all together.
[5:17] They have certainly disbelieved who say that Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary. Say, “Then who could prevent Allah at all if He had intended to destroy theMessiah, the son of Mary, or his mother or everyone on the earth?” And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them. He creates what He wills, and Allah is over all things competent.
[5:46] And We sent, following in their footsteps, Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming that which came before him in the Torah; and We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light and confirming that which preceded it of the Torah as guidance and instruction for the righteous.
[5:72] They have certainly disbelieved who say, ” Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary” while the Messiah has said, “O Children of Israel, worship Allah , my Lord and your Lord.” Indeed, he who associates others with Allah – Allah has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers.
[5:75] The Messiah, son of Mary, was not but a messenger; [other] messengers have passed on before him. And his mother was a supporter of truth. They both used to eat food. Look how We make clear to them the signs; then look how they are deluded.
[5:78] Cursed were those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel by the tongue of David and of Jesus, the son of Mary. That was because they disobeyed and [habitually] transgressed.
[5:110] [The Day] when Allah will say, “O Jesus, Son of Mary, remember My favor upon you and upon your mother when I supported you with the Pure Spirit and you spoke to the people in the cradle and in maturity; and [remember] when I taught you writing and wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel; and when you designed from clay [what was] like the form of a bird with My permission, then you breathed into it, and it became a bird with My permission; and you healed the blind and the leper with My permission; and when you brought forth the dead with My permission; and when I restrained the Children of Israel from [killing] you when you came to them with clear proofs and those who disbelieved among them said, “This is not but obvious magic.”
[5:112] [And remember] when the disciples said, “O Jesus, Son of Mary, can your Lord send down to us a table [spread with food] from the heaven? [Jesus] said,” Fear Allah , if you should be believers.”
[5:114] Jesus, the son of Mary said, “O Allah , our Lord, send down to us a table [spread with food] from the heaven to be for us a festival for the first of us and the last of us and a sign from You. And provide for us, and You are the best of providers.”
[5:116] And [beware the Day] when Allah will say, “O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, ‘Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah ?’” He will say, “Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen.
[6:85] And Zechariah and John and Jesus and Elias – and all were of the righteous.
[9:30] The Jews say, “Ezra is the son of Allah “; and the Christians say, “The Messiah is the son of Allah .” That is their statement from their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved [before them]. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded?
[9:31] They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah , and [also] the Messiah, the son of Mary. And they were not commanded except to worship one God; there is no deity except Him. Exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him.
[19:34] That is Jesus, the son of Mary – the word of truth about which they are in dispute.
[33:7] And [mention, O Muhammad], when We took from the prophets their covenant and from you and from Noah and Abraham and Moses and Jesus, the son of Mary; and We took from them a solemn covenant.
[42:13] He has ordained for you of religion what He enjoined upon Noah and that which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what We enjoined upon Abraham and Moses and Jesus – to establish the religion and not be divided therein. Difficult for those who associate others with Allah is that to which you invite them. Allah chooses for Himself whom He wills and guides to Himself whoever turns back [to Him].
[43:59] Jesus was not but a servant upon whom We bestowed favor, and We made him an example for the Children of Israel.
[43:61] And indeed, Jesus will be [a sign for] knowledge of the Hour, so be not in doubt of it, and follow Me. This is a straight path.
[43:63] And when Jesus brought clear proofs, he said, “I have come to you with wisdom and to make clear to you some of that over which you differ, so fear Allah and obey me.
[57:27] Then We sent following their footsteps Our messengers and followed [them] with Jesus, the son of Mary, and gave him the Gospel. And We placed in the hearts of those who followed him compassion and mercy and monasticism, which they innovated; We did not prescribe it for them except [that they did so] seeking the approval of Allah . But they did not observe it with due observance. So We gave the ones who believed among them their reward, but many of them are defiantly disobedient.
[61:6] And [mention] when Jesus, the son of Mary, said, “O children of Israel, indeed I am the messenger of Allah to you confirming what came before me of the Torah and bringing good tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is Ahmad.” But when he came to them with clear evidences, they said, “This is obvious magic.”
[61:14] O you who have believed, be supporters of Allah , as when Jesus, the son of Mary, said to the disciples, “Who are my supporters for Allah ?” The disciples said, “We are supporters of Allah .” And a faction of the Children of Israel believed and a faction disbelieved. So We supported those who believed against their enemy, and they became dominant.

Tuesday

Hacking the Afterlife, hearing what Jesus had to say about women


I'm in the process of recording the audio for the book "Hacking the Afterlife."  This is an excerpt from the book "HACKING THE AFTERLIFE" where I include the "The Life of St. Issa" - a book that resides at the Hemis monastery in Ladakh, India.  The book has been seen by over a dozen witnesses, and there are at least two translations of it.  

(As recounted in the book, I was in Ladakh with Robert Thurman, head of Tibetan Studies at Columbia. We attended a festival at Hemis, and the abbott of the monastery told me that "Jesus studied here at this monastery."  My brain froze with the Catholic brain freeze associated with anyone named Jesus.  I said "Who?"  He said "He's known as Issa in Asia, but it's the person you refer to as Jesus. He studied here in Hemis."  I smiled, nodded, thought I wasn't hearing him correctly. And then I started doing research, and found a lot of references in different countries, to this Issa fellow. I tracked down a copy of the book "The Life of St. Issa" author unknown, but that exists as a Tibetan text in the monastery (and there's a copy in Lhasa.)  

The book claims to be an account of the life of Issa, as Jesus is known in Asia. You'll find quite a bit of vitriol if you search out this document, but again, it exists, (Gutenberg.org) and has been translated twice by two different people; a Sherpa from Nepal (who translated it for Nikolai Notovitch, who later had that translation made from Russian to French) and by an Indian Saddhu, Swami Ahbedananda, who translated the book in the 1960's from its original Sanskrit.  The translations are the same.
Swami Ahbedananda

Nikolai Notovitch

But I'm reprinting an excerpt here, where Issa is followed by Roman "spies" sent by Pilate to see if he's preaching against the state.  The text claims that he knows who the spies are, identified here as "the disguised men."  But after I read this passage aloud, I realize this is one of the most profound statements about motherhood ever made by anyone in any religious text.  Set aside for a moment that it is being ascribed to Jesus, that it exists in a book at all is pretty mind blowing - as the sentiments expressed can't really be found in ANY RELIGION on the planet - not in Buddhism (Buddha denied women entry into the Sangha at first, later changed his mind), not in Hinduism (there were many adherents in the region when this was supposedly written), you can't find these sentiments even in any text written about Christianity.

But it bears repeating - whoever said it.  Whoever wrote it in this book, quoting the man known as Issa or Jesus.  
Ladakh, formerly Tibet, now part of Kashmir in Northern India, was part of the silk route
He's preaching, when this happens:
"8. Upon this, an old woman who had approached the group, to better hear Issa, was pushed aside by one of the disguised men, who placed himself before her.
9. Then said Issa: "It is not good for a son to push away his mother, that he may occupy the place which belongs to her. Whoso doth not respect his mother—the most sacred being after his God—is unworthy of the name of son.
10. "Hearken to what I say to you: Respect woman; for in her we see the mother of the universe, and all the truth of divine creation is to come through her.

11. "She is the fount of everything good and beautiful, as she is also the germ of life and death. Upon her man depends in all his existence, for she is his moral and natural support in his labors.
12. "In pain and suffering she brings you forth; in the sweat of her brow she watches over your growth, and until her death you cause her greatest anxieties. Bless her and adore her, for she is your only friend and support on earth.
13. "Respect her; defend her. In so doing you will gain for yourself her love; you will find favor before God, and for her sake many sins will be remitted to you.
14. "Love your wives and respect them, for they will be the mothers of tomorrow and later the grandmothers of a whole nation.
15. "Be submissive to the wife; her love ennobles man, softens his hardened heart, tames the wild beast in him and changes it to a lamb.

Sassoferatto's Mother Mary
16. "Wife and mother are the priceless treasures which God has given to you. They are the most beautiful ornaments of the universe, From them will be born all who will inhabit the world.
17. "Even as the Lord of Hosts separated the light from the darkness, and the dry from the waters, so does woman possess the divine gift of calling forth out of man's evil nature all the good that is in him.
18. "Therefore I say unto you, after God, to woman must belong your best thoughts, for she is the divine temple where you will most easily obtain perfect happiness.
19. "Draw from this temple your moral force. There you will forget your sorrows and your failures, and recover the love necessary to aid your fellow men.

20. "Suffer her not to be humiliated, for by humiliating her you humiliate yourselves, and lose the sentiment of love, without which nothing can exist here on earth.
21. "Protect your wife, that she may protect you—you and all your household. All that you do for your mothers, your wives, for a widow, or for any other woman in distress, you will do for your God."


(Wow. Here’s an incredible argument on behalf of women from someone who was considered the most important person on the planet.  Imagine if this had been in the Bible instead of the redacted version we've come to know so well. Imagine if these concepts had filtered into the religions of the world as well. Hard to imagine, but worth contemplating.)

***********
And the following is also from the same book, where Issa is talking about the caste system, and how it should be done away with.  Listen to how his words echo what Jesus reportedly says in the Bible:

This is from the section where he's returned to Jerusalem after spending time preaching and studying with a variety of religions, and lecturing (admonishing) them when he found them lacking.

(Note: Shu·dra noun plural noun: Sudras
a member of the worker caste, lowest of the four Hindu castes.)

"1. In his fourteenth year, young Issa, the Blessed One, came this side of the Sindh (India) and settled among the Aryas, in the country beloved by God.
2. Fame spread the name of the marvelous youth along the northern Sindh, and when he came through the country of the five streams and Radjipoutan, the devotees of the god Djaïne asked him to stay among them.
3. But he left the deluded worshippers of Djaïne and went to Djagguernat, in the country of Osiris, (The Jagannath Temple of Puri is in Odisha, India) where repose the mortal remains of Vyassa-Krishna, and where the white priests of Brahma welcomed him joyfully.[1]

(Note: Buddhism spread to India in the latter half of the first millennium: "Buddhism arose in Greater Magadha… to the east of aryavarta, the land of the Aryas..." (Wikipedia) For Notovitch, whom many consider some kind of hoaxer, to correctly identify these various religious sects back in 1896, unknown to the West, is a stretch. If he’s constructing a hoax, he didn’t need to include these details, some of which are mistaken, and other are correct.) 

4. They taught him to read and to understand the Vedas, to cure physical ills by means of prayers, to teach and to expound the sacred Scriptures, to drive out evil desires from man and make him again in the likeness of God.
5. He spent six years in Djagguernat, in Radjagriha, in Benares, and in other holy cities. The common people loved Issa, for he lived in peace with the Vaisyas and the Sudras, to whom he taught the Holy Scriptures.
6. But the Brahmins and the Kshatnyas told him that they were forbidden by the great Para-Brahma to come near to those who were created from his belly and his feet; (slaves with a darker skin color, believed to come “from the feet”)[2]
 
Castes in India. Sudras.
7. That the Vaisyas might only hear the recital of the Vedas, and this only on the festal days, and
8. That the Sudras were not only forbidden to attend the reading of the Vedas, but even to look on them; for they were condemned to perpetual servitude, as slaves of the Brahmins, the Kshatriyas and even the Vaisyas.
9. "Death alone can enfranchise them from their servitude," has said Para-Brahma. "Leave them, therefore, and come to adore with us the gods, whom you will make angry if you disobey them."
10. But Issa, disregarding their words, remained with the Sudras, preaching against the Brahmins and the Kshatriyas.

(Note: This was an era when disagreement with the Brahmin “high priests” could lead to death. Issa is stating here that the caste system is wrong.  He refuses to obey the Brahmins, preferring to stay with the poor.  Sounds a bit like the same “Blessed are the poor” fellow who later shows up in Jerusalem.)

11. He declaimed strongly against man's arrogating (claim the privilege of) to himself the authority to deprive his fellow beings of their human and spiritual rights. "Verily," he said, "God has made no difference between his children, who are all alike dear to Him."
12. Issa denied the divine inspiration of the Vedas and the Puranas, for, as he taught his followers, —"One law has been given to man to guide him in his actions:
13. "Fear the Lord, thy God; bend thy knees only before Him and bring to Him only the offerings which come from thy earnings."

14. Issa denied the Trimurti and the incarnation of Para-Brahma in Vishnu, Siva, and other gods; "for," said he:
15. "The eternal Judge, the eternal Spirit, constitutes the only and indivisible soul of the universe, and it is this soul alone which creates, contains and vivifies all.

(Note: Para Brahman(Sanskrit:परब्रह्मन्) (IAST: para-brahman) is the "highest Brahman," that which is beyond all descriptions and conceptualisations. Wikipedia)

(Note: Interesting he's clarifying who "God" is here - the eternal spirit which creates, contains and "animates" all. Not a being per se, but the indivisible “soul of the Universe” - reminiscent of the reports where people claim “God can be experienced by opening your heart to everyone.”) 

16. "He alone has willed and created. He alone has existed from eternity, and His existence will be without end; there is no one like unto Him either in the heavens or on the earth.
17. "The great Creator has divided His power with no other being; far less with inanimate objects, as you have been taught to believe, for He alone is omnipotent and all-sufficient.
18. "He willed, and the world was. By one divine thought, He reunited the waters and separated them from the dry land of the globe. He is the cause of the mysterious life of man, into whom He has breathed part of His Divine Being.

(Note: Another reference to divine breath - father/son and "breath" from the original Aramaic, or Greek. “Pneuma” became “Spiros” (to breathe) but was later translated as “Spirit” and then “Ghost.” “Holy Ghost” would refer to the etheric spirit that animates humans.)

19. "And He has put under subjection to man, the lands, the waters, the beasts and everything which He created, and which He himself preserves in immutable order, allotting to each its proper duration.
20. "The anger of God will soon break forth upon man; for he has forgotten his Creator; he has filled His temples with abominations; and he adores a multitude of creatures which God has subordinated to him;

21. "And to gain favor with images of stone and metal, he sacrifices human beings in whom dwells part of the Spirit of the Most High;
22. "And he humiliates those who work in the sweat of their brows, to gain favor in the eyes of the idler who sitteth at a sumptuous table.
23. "Those who deprive their brothers of divine happiness will themselves be deprived of it; and the Brahmins and the Kshatriyas shall become the Sudras of the Sudras, with whom the Eternal will stay forever.



[1] The “five streams” may refer to a Hindu expression of five sacred rivers in the Himalayas… The “Djaïne,” known today as the Jain religion dates back to the 1st century; they espoused a belief the universe had no beginning or end, practiced extreme non-violence (sweeping the path in front of them so they wouldn’t accidentally step on an ancestor). “White Priests” appears to refer to "white flag Brahmins" who were a class of Hindu Brahmin priests and Ayurveda teachers and practitioners, with significant concentrations of their populations occurring in Western and Northern India." Again, not something Notovitch would likely be aware of, and the writers of this document left out the world "flag" in the original text or in this the translation.  If Jesus had met "white priests of Brahma" it's likely they're referring to the “Maga Brahmins” of Northern India who were Persian in origin who wore all white clothing.)
[2] Vaisyas are the "merchant and farmer" caste of Hindus, and Sudras are the lowest caste - but still the caste above the "untouchables" who do all the lowest forms of work in Hindu society. Also not likely a detail that Notovitch or his Sherpa would have been aware of.

**********
I'm almost done with the audible version of the book, soon to be available at Audible.com - but I had to stop and reprint this dialog attributed to Issa. I've never heard anyone describe women this way - other than the Dalai Lama's argument that we should meditate on the idea that we were all each other's mothers in a previous lifetime, and that mother's are the planet's example of unconditional love.

I must say, I think Issa's version, although it's buried in a document that has remained on the outer edges of study - is so powerful that it should be included in the lexicon of great quotes about women.  (Even if it was supposedly made up by a Buddhist monk or monks living in a monastery near the border of Tibet in northern India.) 

Farewell to an old friend Over the Rainbow

A good pal checked off the planet a few weeks ago.  Today I hear of the passing of Gene Wilder, an old dear friend of an old dear friend of mine - and sorry to hear of his checking off the planet.  I know that he was madly in love with Gilda Radner, and since she's off the planet already having her adventures, I can only say it's great they get to hang out together again.

His stepson Jordan wrote an eloquent testimonial to Gene, and noted that as he passed, he was listening to Ella Fitzgerald's "Over the Rainbow."


 

In the case of my old pal, I went to his home with some friends and we celebrated his life.  His life was about the length of mine - which anyone will tell you is WAY TOO SOON for anyone to be checking off the planet.  But what can you do?


Jonathan Krane
I met Jonathan Krane over three decades ago - and for some godforsaken reason he saw potential in me,and hired me to write and/or direct four films.  

We had many laughs while making those four films.  I'm aware that he was considered a tempestuous fellow - all I can say is what I experienced was someone who made me laugh alot.  It's hard to make one film together, but there has to be a certain amount of shared insanity to be able to make four together (one short and three features.)

I was thinking about this at his home the other day when we did a memorial.  One of his old friends, the actor Bud Cort brought some white balloons and handed them out.  And a few of us told stories about him and his journey.  When it came to me, I told of how I had met this fellow, how we had worked together, and how I had seen him only a few weeks ago,happy and looking foward to our making another film together.  

That while Jonathan had made many films with A list movie stars (John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Blake Edwards) I represented that group of odd filmmakers and artists he supported and gave their first start to. (Keith Gordon, Steve Summers, Paul Feig among others.)  I said just because no one has seen our four films doesn't mean they aren't fun films (I don't have to hide my head, can still watch any of them) and they wouldn't exist without his support.


With Randal Kleiser, Helena Bonham Carter
I remarked that Jonathan reminded me a bit of a rainbow. 

 A rainbow is something that we all see individually - according to Neil deGrasse Tyson - no one sees the same rainbow that another sees.  

It depends on our perception, where we are standing etc.  Each rainbow is unique to whomever is seeing it, and how we experience it.  

I submit that applies to basically everyone that we meet on the planet.   We experience them differently than many others do - sometimes postively sometimes not - but in my case, my friend and I had many laughs together. 


Great pic - he's searching for an answer
But then I thought about - "What happens to the rainbow when it's done?"  Does it die?  No. It just shifts form. You can't see it any more.  All the same elements are there - moisture in the air, light, etc.  But for some reason you can no longer see the rainbow.  It's not gone - it existed, relatively, and it no longer can be seen the way that it was seen before.  But it's just changed in perception.  Not gone, just not visible.

Like life.  When we depart, we're not gone, we're just not visible.


With his wife, my old pal Sally Kellerman
I thought about what might have been the pot of gold in this lifetime for me friend. What was the reason for his being on the planet, and where did he find his gold? And I realized it was his family - his wife Sally, his kids, they were the things most important to him... as it was the one thing he always came back to. That even though he had gained and lost fame and fortune... what really mattered to him was his family.

We all have a different definition of what a family is. I don't know any two people who have the identical definition.  But it was pretty much what he tried to focus on when he was on the planet.  People can argue how that played out - but if you understand the journey and path of souls - we come here to play a particular role, we come here to learn lessons in compassion and love, and we also come to teach those same lessons.  And once we're off stage, we return "home" to who we've always really been.  Someone in a place of unconditional love. Someone who is connected to their soul family.

Which was his pot of gold.

So adieu my friend, I'll catch you on the Flipside - and don't forget to save some of that rainbow for me over there.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

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