Buddhism and the Flipside

Miscellaneous

Friday

Dreams of Home and Tonglen

When people remember a previous lifetime while under deep hypnosis, and are asked at the "end" of that lifetime, where they want to go - they often say "I want to go home."

For me "home" is my nearest cafe.

As noted in my books, I found this unusual phenomenon would happen when filming people under deep hypnosis.  At the end of a week of filming in Chicago at the Michael Newton Institute's training session, I was offered the opportunity to film myself during a session.  Paul Aurand, Pete Smith and Michael Newton all agreed that it would be a novel way for me to test out what I was filming.


At first I thought "Well I can't do that, I wouldn't be objective."  And my next thought was "On the other hand, George Plimpton made a career out of "being thrust into the mix" of what he was writing about ("Paper Tiger," "Paper Lion") and this would be a perfect opportunity for me to "disprove" (or confirm) what I was seeing on camera.

The light at the end of the tunnel

In other words, I hadn't gone to the conference to be filmed under hypnosis. I didn't think I could be "put under hypnosis" and wasn't convinced by any means that what I was seeing was an accurate depiction of the afterlife.  I had an open mind, let's say, but when people said things under hypnosis that were contrary to my experience on the planet ("I see from my perspective that it was easier to choose to play the role of a victim than a perpetrator in this life" "I saw that we had a contract where my friend who allow me to drown in that life, and then save me in this one.") I thought it would make for an opportunity to disprove what I was seeing on camera.

Boy was I wrong.

But I recount that experience in "Flipside' and my other books.  Today I'm focusing on the idea of "going home."  When I got to a point in a past life memory (again, was conscious of what was happening while I was "remembering" a previous lifetime, and I was consciously arguing with myself about it) at the point where the hypnotherapist said "What happens at the end of this lifetime that you're remembering?"  I said "I go down to the river with a bottle of whiskey to commit suicide."  Therapist Jimmy Quast said "Oh, I'm sorry you wanted to do that."  I said "Don't be. They took everything from me. My family, my home, my religion, my people.  I'm a shell of a human being. I just want to go home."

Home?  As I said it - I thought "What the hell am I saying? Where's home?"  I realized I wasn't talking about "home" in this lifetime as a Lakota Sioux, or my lifetime as Rich Martini - I was talking about some other version of home.  Again, I said it aloud, and I had no idea what I was talking about. (One can argue that's an ongoing proposition, but I digress.)  Where the hell is home?

Well, I've filmed 35 sessions now, and that's one of the most common sentiments I hear.  "I'm going home."  When people describe their "home" each description is different.  Some travel a great distance through deep space, some just "appear" in a room on the Flipside where they reconnect with their loved ones.  Their soul group. Their mom and dad, siblings, friends... just depends on what their journey is.

Now that I've been "home" I get a sense of what it is.  Like diving into a pool of water, it's not something I can easily describe to someone who hasn't done any swimming or been in a pool.  But that doesn't mean that a person hasn't had experiences "dreaming" of home - sometimes they experience dreams "that aren't dreams" - or sometimes they experience a "vision" of somewhere else.  And it feels "more real than here."

Through a glass darkly. Or through a fog lightly.

Lately I've referred to "home" as "backstage."  It's useful in terms of talking about our life being "on stage."  It's disconcerting to people who consider life a struggle - a "life and death" proposition if you will - or to people who've never been on stage.  But if you've ever been on stage, or in a theater, the metaphor is apt.  When we come here to life our lifetimes, we choose a part to play.  

We may be joined by actors we've known before. We may not.  It's up to us and to them.  We may insist that we want to be "alone" for this journey so we can learn more from the experience. But ultimately, it's a trip on stage.  Some of our pals are better actors than others - some of our pals don't do a great job at it.  Sometimes we all have to stop to help other actors with their roles. 


But eventually, we all get backstage. We all get home.  There's an old saying "We're all just escorting each other home."  Well, that's accurate.  We are all going home. Some of us leave stage earlier than we want them to.  Some jump off the stage and go running home.  Others of us might be upset about that - because they were supposed to be here for the second act, or they were definitely key to have during the third act.

But what can you do?  Chase the actor down the street and say "Hey! We're in the middle of this play! Where are you going?" 

Ultimately we'll catch up with our loved one after the play is done.  We can discuss with them why they had to leave the stage early. Or they'll explain to us why they left the stage early. After all, they know.

When in doubt, sit under a tree and ask.  Just ask.

The other night I had a dream about healing.

It wasn't a normal dream - it was other worldly.  I'm reporting it here, because someone somewhere may find it useful.

I was shown two strands.  They were multi-colored and full of pulsing light (red, green, gold...).  One was frayed, and the other was whole, or looked new.  I was being shown how to "heal" an illness.  "Visualize the healthy cord on the left.  Picture it as a healed, healthy electrical energetic field.  Then visualize the one on the right - the strand that is not healthy.  And in your mind, fix it, align it, make it whole again so that it matched the one on the left."

Don't know how effective this process might be, but it reminds me a bit of the Tibetan meditation called "tonglen."  This is a meditation that Tibetan doctors use, where they picture their patient in front of them, then imagine their illness as a "color" or "smoke."

They imagine pulling the color or smoke out of the patient during a meditation.  They "breath in" and pull the illness out of the patient and into them. Then they ask for the "healing light of the universe" to heal or change the illness to a healed energy, and then with their out breath, they breath the healed light or smoke back into the patient.
Monks were tested by Richard Davidson
The reason this meditation is so effective, according to Richard Davidson at the University of Wisconsin, is because it changes the amygdala in the person doing the meditation.  And the amygdala is the source of depression (or repository, or regulator) and Davidson has proven in his studies that this simple meditation can alleviate symptoms of or cure depression.

Professor Davidson

Worth looking into isn't it?

I've tried this as a meditation - and it's pretty cool, because if you let your mind choose the color of smoke, you'll find that when you "breathe" it back into the patient in your mind's eye, the color changes.
Don't want to use SSRI drugs to alleviate pain or depression?  Here's a scientifically proven safe way to do so.   Not my opinion or belief, but a fact, if you care to read the science. 

My two cents.

Thursday

A Sampling of reviews from "Hacking the Afterlife"

Thanks for all the positive feedback for the audio, paper/kindle versions of "Hacking the Afterlife." Taking the time to write something positive is just about the only affirmation a writer can get.

The first time we did a sneak screening of "You Can't Hurry Love," in the Del Amo Mall.  I had no idea how the audience might react. It was met by huge laughs, a screening survey that had the same "excellent and very good" responses at 86%, which some executive pointed out "were "ET" numbers." I thought "Wow. Is this how it's always going to go?"
Not so much. Although at a party, a young woman came up to me and said "I saw your film six times. It changed my life."  I thought she was kidding, looked around to see who had sent her up to play this gag on me.  She then said "I really needed to hear the message of your film." 

With Luana Anders, one of the stars of You
Can't Hurry Love, hanging at a cafe in Venice
I smiled, said "Oh, and what was that?"  "That you don't have to pretend to be somebody else in order to be liked. I really needed to hear that at that point in my life."  I thought, "Wow, it turns out after all that work, I had really made this film for one person.  In all of the reviews I've seen before or since, this is the only person who understood what I was aiming at." Others may have gotten the underlying point, I'll never know. But positive feedback really helps everyone.

For those unfamiliar with my books:

1. "Flipside: A Tourist's Guide on How to Navigate the Afterlife."  This is a book of transcripts and observations of what people say while under deep hypnosis about the afterlife.  I interview Michael Newton ("Journey of Souls") about his work (his last interview) and film people during their 4-6 hour sessions with various hypnotherapists trained by Michael.  I also did two sessions myself, to see if I could verify or deny the results.

The book is a companion to the documentary "Flipside: A Journey into the Afterlife." (Gaia/Universal) The documentary shows excerpts of these sessions, where people remember not only past lives, but the "between lives realm."

2. "It's a Wonderful Afterlife: Further Adventures into the Flipside." Two
volume set. Volume one includes interviews with scientists who are on the cutting edge of consciousness research, some near death experiences, and people who've both had a near death experience and done a between life session to revisit or further examine their journey.

Volume two includes some controversial interviews with people who reached out to me about their own journeys and paths, including an attorney who claims that all of her clients have had some kind of experience with the victims they've harmed or killed (second degree murder cases) where the victim said something to the effect of "I'm okay and I can help you."  It also includes scientists working in parapsychology, neuroscience and others trained in the materialist science world, and examines their description of "post materialist science" (including quantum theory.)

3. "Hacking the Afterlife."  In this book, I examine some unusual transcripts from people under deep hypnosis, as well as having mediums whose work I know, directly guide me to answers to questions I pose to people 'on the flipside.'  I show how these accounts can be verified, and not ascribed to cryptomnesia, synesthesia, or hypoxia. I include reports and interviews with people who claim that they know the same person on the flipside, and hear various descriptions of this particular individual.

I try to let the reader of "Hacking" know this research isn't for everyone. It's pretty much contrary to what we've heard to date on the planet (with exceptions.) I do my best to report it without prejudice or rancor, without judgment or criticism... but with an eye towards connecting the other reports from the flipside together.  That the architecture of the flipside, appears to contain similar hallmarks, whether it's between life memories, past life memories, out of body experiences, mediumship accounts, or just plain old "recurring dreams."  They all seem to reflect our experience "back home" or not on this side of the flipside.

Here are some of the recent reviews:

From Amazon:

By Wendy R. Williams on August 13, 2016
Had the privilege to read an advance copy of Rich Martini’s latest. “Hacking the Afterlife” is as thought-provoking and well-researched as his earlier works “Flipside: Tourist’s Guide How to Navigate the Afterlife” and “It’s a Wonderful Afterlife.”

Applaud Rich for the courage it takes to publicly share such a wide-range of controversial topics ranging from have we solved the mystery of Amelia Earhart’s disappearance, and can we truly understand Jesus of Nazareth’s life and “death”? (or eternal life)

Rich presents a rich, unique tapestry of research and approaches in an open-minded yet discerning way. Applaud the high quality past life regression and psychic medium work detailed in “Hacking the Afterlife.” Rich, you are much more than “just the reporter”! You’ve conquered “Catholic Brain Freeze” remarkably well. It is NOT easy to remove limitations too often imposed by our religious, educational, parental and societal conditioning. Those artificial limits all boil down to one word: fear. And the antidote to fear is LOVE. (Thanks for the reminder, Robin Williams! "Love love.")

Looking forward to purchasing my hard copy of “Hacking the Afterlife,” and to more of Rich Martini’s cutting-edge, creative work. Look for Rich's “Flipside" 90-minute documentary film to learn more about Dr. Michael Newton’s approach to healing via past life regression (PLR) and Life-Between-Lives (LBL). My sessions enriched my life beyond measure, and inspired me to become a Past-Life Regressionist."
By Shannon Johnsonon  August 25, 2016
Mr. Martini has brought forth more thought provoking information about the Afterlife and revealing new information from those who are in the afterlife about their lives. Highly recommend for anyone who has been venturing into the rabbit hole of spirituality and the afterlife to read all four of his books in order to finally have a new perspective of possibilities. Not only does he present the transcripts of hypnosis sessions and sessions done with mediums, Mr. Martini does extensive research in which the reader is able to find more information to validate what has been provided from the spiritual dimensions. He does a fantastic job as a skeptic and researcher in delving into the depths of information that brings the reader step by step along with him on this adventure. Thoroughly enjoyed every page of this book and look forward to future publications of Mr. Martini's work and explorations!
ByJoseph Cates - sun27sag15on October 26, 2016
Richard has topped his Flipside Series with Hacking The Afterlife. My favorite chapters were/are the chapter that had the message from Planet Earth and the long chapter about Issa/Jesus. Everything I have read or listened to Richard's Audible Books are truly Awesome Research Material. I have all 3 version of this Book, the Audible.com version, the Kindle Version and the actual book. I am on the 5th listening of the Audible version and the information he shares about Jesus showing up in either a LBL or through a Medium is truly what the World needs to hear. Richard's Catholic Brain Freeze seems to be in the background because the information rings very TRUE to me. I was raised Southern Baptist, but later adopted Non-Denomination/Gnostic Beliefs about Jesus. It makes sense that the Romans would do some rewriting of the Bible when it was put together in 325AD. Richard's Hacking the Afterlife and Flipside series brings out truths that the Protestant Religions would rather keep buried/denied to their believers. As Richard says He is not there to Rock Your Boat or Beliefs. I recommended this book to some friends and they thought I was crazy to believe in such research. I have always wondered about the missing years of Jesus in the 4 Gospels and this book covers those years and it truly makes sense. We all have to test the spirits and I believe the Holy Spirit has allowed this information to be made known to help all of us to LOVE One Another even more and to enjoy our Vacations here on earth. This Book is AWESOME.
ByAmyOnlyon November 27, 2016
After losing my only daughter, Richard Martini's books (and other authors in the same genre) have given me solace. As a practicing Buddhist, I found my mind expanded even farther. Am hoping he continues to write about his dealings with the Flipside, as he was surely always meant to do this work. He is helping to lift the veil and is a gift to those of us who need a peek into the other side.
ByKatherineon December 1, 2016
I enjoy all of Mr Martini's books. This one is great.
ByValerie E. B. Hamiltonon January 6, 2017
Enjoying it. Good follow up to his previous books on the same subject.
ByPaul Kurowskion December 25, 2016
May we all finally be ready for the truth revealed herein...
Bydavid h. brownon January 11, 2017
Great book!
These are a sampling of the Audio book from the Audible version:

Hacking the Afterlife: Practical Advice from the Flipside
Written by: Richard Martini
Narrated by: Richard Martini
Length: 19 hrs and 6 mins 
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:10-10-16
Publisher: HOMINA PUBLISHING
4.60 (41 ratings)

Marcia D.01-05-17
Overall
A true gift to everyone...particularly those whose hearts and minds pursue the "eternal questions" that continue to plague us and our planet...Rich Martini gladly shares the gold from his studies, research documentaries, filmed and radio interviews, personal experiences in the crossover worlds, questions, conjecture, opinions and, among all those facets gathered and recorded from the combined worlds of earth life and Spirit, issues proffered for any perspectives anyone may seek. I find endless delight in the ebook narration of this work simply because he exudes such irrepressible humor, common sense, joyful spontaneity and engaging warmth in the eager, direct conversations-with-a-friend spirit that leaps into the atmosphere and fills the personal space of the listener. In my almost 50 years of traveling these paths, this is surely the best summation I've found to date of the wisest truths that are there for the gathering. Congratulations, Rich Martini...and Thank You!
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BebeCentreville, VA12-30-16
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Performance
Story
Any additional comments?
While the narration is different from other audiobooks I wouldn't say it bothered me. This book felt more like I was listening to a speech which in no way took away from the content. If you're a fan of esoterica or are open minded to discover new materials then this book is a treasure! I've read or listened to 100's on this topic and while some of the information and ideas already exist in print it's the depth of review that appeals to me in this book. Plus, there was plenty of new information. I found the listen to be delightful.
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JoyChimayo, Nm, United States12-29-16
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What did you love best about Hacking the Afterlife?
I love the author's reading of the book. His voice, humor and asides make a subject that is hard to believe very compelling. In studying the afterlife through reading many books, I am still unsure. I like this author. I think that he believes what he's saying. I am not with him as an absolute believer. I'm thinking about taking a deep hypnosis session because I listened to this book. Not sure, but maybe..
The Jesus fixation was a little strange. But I went with it. So many people who were with Jesus at one time or another? Strains credulity to a very, very, very limit. Still, I went with it. Kinda.

What other book might you compare Hacking the Afterlife to and why?
LIfe After Life.

Which character – as performed by Richard Martini – was your favorite?
Richard Martini is very funny and smart, and all of this book is done in his voice. I love his voice.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No. I listened to it in seven parts.

Any additional comments?
Keep going, Richard Martini. If I'm interested, many people are. Maybe less Jesus next time.
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Jamiann12-21-16
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This book resonated with me at such a deep level! I will buy his other audiobooks and listen to this over and over. Thank you ðŸ˜Š
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Books by this author are great and they resonate with me. Looking forward to the next one.
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Fascinating subject!
l love how Richard narrates his books, as if he's taking his own books and life in general with a grain of salt, yet his case studies and extensive research are so compelling. Regardless of your beliefs you feel comfortable reading the subject matter because you don't get the sense that he's trying to preach or convince or force you to give up what you believe. He just reports the happenings & you can draw your own conclusions. It's a comfortable read about an unconventional subject. Take it or leave it!
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JosieAsheville, North Carolina12-01-16
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Story
I thought it was going to be really hard getting past the obvious flaws in the narration and all the apologies that kept coming from the author about the content of his book. At first, indeed, it was difficult.
And then I just pretended Mr Martini was in front of a classroom reading from his journal. At that point I was able to focus on the content. This will not be a book for everyone and probably will infuriate more than a few. I allowed myself to be consumed by this and as ridiculous as it sounds (looks) I think this was life changing. I finished listening about 2 weeks ago and I still feel that way. I keep thinking about this book and have nestled it into my belief system where it might really do some good. Honestly, I have had some kind of soul-sigh - a release of stress I didn't know I had or didn't realize how big it was to me until this. It answered a lot of questions and raised quite a few. Even if I end up dismissing this as truth, it was a fabulous experience and a fun ride. I cannot say I am a true believer in all that is revealed. I am taking the coward's way out and saying it very well might be true. That's good enough for me right now.
I recommend this book and have already told a couple of special people about it. Wow
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Kris11-14-16
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If you are drawn to the idea that death of the soul does not exist, that we are all spiritual beings living physical lives on Earth, then I strongly recommend books written by Richard Martini. His wit, humor and research is both captivating and wise.
Refreshing ideas and noteworthy for inquisitive minds and metaphysical adventurers.
Thank you Richard!
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Would you listen to Hacking the Afterlife again? Why?
I was one of those people who reviewed "Flipside: A Tourist’s Guide on How to Navigate the Afterlife" negatively because of the quality of the audio book and I have to say, I'm sorry. As an author who is also producing his own audio book, I now understand how difficult it is to get the work perfect. It's not easy.

Second, you were correct in stating that the work is more important than worrying about a cat's meow in the background.

I have to say that "Hacking the Afterlife" is pretty great. Keep it up.

Have you listened to any of Richard Martini’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
This is much better than previous book(s).

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
It's all good.

Any additional comments?
Talk a little slower if you can. The words run into each other and the message gets garbled.
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Would you consider the audio edition of Hacking the Afterlife to be better than the print version?
Maybe, I listened while reading the words in the Book.and the Material is very interesting and feels very true.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Hacking the Afterlife?
Listening to the chapters on the Message from Planet Earth and the chapter on Issa. Issa's story is one I have always wondered about.

What about Richard Martini’s performance did you like?
I love the pizzazz that Richard adds to his readings of his books.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
It does not need one, because Richard has already supplied it.

Any additional comments?
Richard has topped his Flipside Series with Hacking The Afterlife. My favorite chapters was the chapter that had the message from Planet Earth and the long chapter about Issa. Everything I have read or listened to Richard's Audible Books are truly Awesome Research Material. I will be listening to this audio book several more times. I finished this book last night and started Richard's Flipside Series again this morning for about the 17th time. This material is truly awesome and consciousness awakening. I Love this information and it truly helps one love the people around one's self.
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Diana10-21-16
Overall
Performance
Story
This is a series of channelings/past life regressions and findings from research. The presentation is very casual - kind of like a podcast where there is only one person talking - but that's okay. The information is very interesting and covers a lot of territory.

This is well worth the price of an Audible credit if you are interested in reincarnation and enjoy reading books such as those by Michael Newton, Dr. Brian Weiss, the Erik Medhus books, Dolores Cannon, and more.

Lighthearted, yet parts of which are deeply researched, this audio book was informative, very interesting and enlightening.



Thanks for the really wonderful reviews!!!