Maverick and Hell and Meghan McCain

Someone posted this comment on my page today regarding the idea that John McCain spoke to me and Jennifer Medlyn Shaffer during one of our sessions:
"If john mccain was talking to Richard there must be hotline to Hell!" It's a funny comment, but my reply to this comment is funnier (see posted below).




Hey, I can fly! (just kidding) In this talk I mention our interview with John (Maverick) 

My reply to the comment that "John McCain must be in hell" -

"Let's be clear. I didn't vote for the guy - so when I "heard" his voice in my apt. say "I understand you're the guy I need to speak with to pass along a message to my family" I was startled. I may even have been in the shower, so it was extra weird.  I first said to myself "Why would I ever heard the voice of John McCain? I'm not a fan - I knew his chief of staff back in the 90's, but never met the fellow."  So I replied; "Get in line.  If you want to speak with me you know what's required. Get a pass from Luana Anders and Jennifer Shaffer and I will speak with you."

I'm not making this up - that's what I said. On my way to my weekly meeting with Jennifer in her office in Manhattan Beach, as I drove along the coast, I said his name aloud "John. McCain."  

Again - I wasn't looking to chat with him, but prior to this meeting did my usual amount of research into his life and journey. What kind of music he liked, how many times he was married, what his journey might have been like.  I know he's a hero - I know he suffered immeasurably by being tortured, I knew he couldn't lift his arm above a certain height.  I have respect for the guy even if I did not agree with his overall political journey.

So when I got to Jennifer's office and turned on the camera, she said "Maverick is here."  At first I thought of the Tom Cruise movie - but then remembered that was his nickname.  Jennifer is apolitical as it is - she keeps her opinions in the confines of our sessions, but for her to blurt out "Maverick is here" meant she could not think of his name. I said "Who's that?" She said "That guy. The Senator who died recently. What's his name."

It's on camera. She didn't know his name - if she had thought he might show up, she might have thought to look up his name. But she didn't know it.  He had stuff he wanted to say - and I asked Luana (on the flipside) why he was allowed to "jump the line" (its our running joke - she holds the "Backstage Pass" list for these sessions.  It was Tom Petty who suggested that Luana "holds the clipboard to the vip lounge" and what inspired the title of the books; "Backstage Pass to the Flipside: Talking to the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer.") She said "He earned it."

I'm answering your comment in full - knowing that you were kidding, or perhaps not - but the idea of anyone "being in hell" on the flipside is a joke. I've filmed over 50 sessions of deep hypnosis, compared it with thousands of other cases (Dr. Wambach and Michael Newton) and they all say the same thing; "there is no hell. It's a made up thing by humanity to keep people in line."  It's not my opinion they say that - not my theory they say that - I film them saying it.

So ain't no hell for John to come from. 

I posted the interview on RichMartini.com - and on Medium.com - anyone can find it.  Anyone who reads it can tell by my questions I was not in awe of the fact he'd shown up - in fact I pressed him on many questions. I asked him if he'd encountered any of the soldiers he'd killed in Vietnam.  I asked him what seeing them was like. I asked him about his torture, about his experience in the Senate - about anything that popped into my head.  And "he" answered the questions with humor, wit and the usual kinds of things he was known for.  At some point, I dropped my skeptical tone - appreciating finally for a moment that it's hard for them to come forward like this in this fashion - they know how ridiculed they would be doing so, or that I would be doing so.

But I have a reputation on the flipside (funny to say it, but I don't know how else to put it) of being someone who when asked to "pass along a message to a family member" I will do so. Even if the family member is incredulous, angry, or somehow thinks I'm exploiting their loved one's memory. ("You're a grief thief" someone wrote to me - as if it was a bad thing to steal someone's grief.  If that's true, I'll wear that badge.)

I think what impressed me most was John talking about the "medals" he had won on the flipside. He mentioned a particular medal I've heard of before, one that is "awarded" to people who've done an incredible service to humanity - and it was mentioned in an interview with a medium, Tony Stockwell.  

Tony had never seen or heard of "medals on the flipside" before - but I had. And he described one of his council members wearing a "star."  I asked if it was a pin or a medal, and he said "no, I'm seeing it now - it's an actual star and it is glowing and serves a function to elevate people to other realms."  The point isn't about the star - it's about the fact that Tony was being shown this star when I asked him if he saw that his lead council member was "wearing anything that he'd earned from a difficult lifetime."

With JenniferShaffer.com during a typical interview session

Apparently Mr. Maverick has earned three - one for his sacrifice during the Vietnam war (he was offered a ticket out and remained to be tortured so he wouldn't be considered above his fellow men), he earned one by his bout with cancer, demonstrating that he could fight through anything, he earned it for his service to humanity with the many people of his home state that he helped that we'll never know.  

When I heard that he had "earned the same kind of medal that Tony earned, but three of them" I knew I should pay closer attention to his simple request.

And that was to pass along a message to his daughter.  So politics aside, if you know anything about the journey we all take - you'll know that it takes a great deal of effort to be able to show up at a stranger's home, "speak loud enough so he can hear you" and then show up at a medium's session a week later, and have specific detailed messages to give.

We all vibrate at the frequency that our work takes us - musicians hang out on the flipside, politicians hang out, as do painters, bankers, etc - they all radiate "the same frequency" of the energy of their endeavors. Again - not my opinion, just my observation from the data.  

So - yes, this is a long reply - and it's because even though I'm not a voting member of Arizona, I respect Maverick's journey - and his desire to communicate with his daughter.  

George Noory of Coast to Coast fame offered to pass along the unedited transcripts - I have no idea what his daughter thinks of them, but if you hear she's running for office; you'll know who suggested it. 
(Not me.)

Home For the Holidays

As we enter the holiday season, there's a certain amount of stress, angst and worry about our loved ones no longer being on the planet - or a feeling of disconnectedness that some feel. They can't be home for the holidays, and so instead they feel awful for the holidays.

Here's the deal.  You can't be home for the holidays unless you're dead.

I've been filming people under deep hypnosis for over a decade, and have had over 50 people reply to the question "so what happens next?" they say "I go home."

They are referring to "home" as being "not here." They're talking about the afterlife. They're talking about where they came from before they were here - and where we all go when the play is over, when the performance is through.

When asked to define "home" they say "a place of familiarity" "a place of non judgment" "a place where I feel unconditionally loved."  I've heard people describe this place after they had a near death experience, I've heard people use those terms when describing the moment they met the "love of their life" - their husband or wife in a kismet moment - where they "knew" (past tense) that the person they're meeting for the first time was going to be their husband, wife, lover, etc.

Happens all the time.

But how do they know? Well, they just do.  It's a past tense form of expression - but when meeting a person for the very first time they report "I knew them."  Which points to where they first met them - home.

Back home.

Yes, I'm aware that the concept of being "home for the holidays" comes from the same root equation.  Home is a place of love, of happiness, of warmth and connection... but I'm telling you that HOME is where we all return after our life is done here.

Home for the Holidays - and all the days.

Until we decide to return.

So when you hear someone say they want to be "home for the holidays" or that they miss being "home for the holidays" appreciate that the phrase has two meanings.  Indeed, we all miss being "home" - however we chose to come here, we weren't pushed out of a car that was speeding by - we choose our parents our path, our journey. (Or so the reports claim).

Yes, I know there are alot of people who are offended by this idea - that they "chose" their lifetime - but I can only point to the thousands of cases from Dr. Helen Wambach ("Reliving Past Lives") or Michael Newton "Journey of Souls" or the cases I've filmed in "Flipside" "It's a Wonderful Afterlife" or "Hacking the Afterlife."

However - if a loved one is gone during this time period and you want to speak with them you can.  You can do a deep hypnosis session (I tend to recommend hypnotherapists trained by the Newton Institute because I've filmed so many of them) but one can visit a medium (I work often with Jennifer Shaffer at JenniferShaffer.com) and have a direct conversation with that loved one who can't be "Here" for the holidays.

They haven't gone anywhere really - they're just not here. And don't take my word for it, speak to them directly yourself.  As Jennifer and I point out in the books "Backstage Pass to the Flipside: Talking to the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer" anyone can do the same.  One doesn't need a hypnotherapist or a medium if they want to reach out on their own.

I write on Quora often and recently a person wrote and said he was a skeptic, but he had "followed" what I recommended (it's in "Backstage Pass") on how to "connect with a loved one on the other side."  He said he had imagined, meditated on the idea of sitting across from his deceased mother for ten minutes, and finally asked her a question. "Who was there to greet you on the other side?"  He was startled to hear her say a name.

He had never heard the name before.  "Hugh Nessel."  He wrote it down and then reached out to his sister, the keeper of family memorabilia and asked if she'd heard of the name - and she replied "Yes. It was her maternal grandfather."  Something this gent didn't know - could not have known - and yet was told by his departed mother.

Not gone, just not here.

So on this holiday season - bring them all close by talking about them in present tense, by allowing that although it's difficult that it's possible to communicate with those no longer on the planet, and ask them in real time "to communicate" in some fashion - could be a dream, a sign (lights going on and off, a particular song or scent) and allow that it's possible for them to reply.  I've heard consistently that they appreciate it.  And they'll let you know they do in the best way they can.

So stay here for the holidays and focus on sending love to everyone you know or who have ever met.  It will eventually find it's way back to you.

Ho ho ho. 

A gift from a ghost

Today my wife was in a local restaurant where we've been going for eons. She said she glimpsed a photo on the wall and time suddenly shifted.

She said it was like the time she was in Washington Heights in NYC and walked into a park and saw a party of people dancing in costumes from 200 years ago. She said they then suddenly disappeared - she was glimpsing something outside of time.

Looking at this photo of a customer on the wall of photos (our kids are there somewhere) she suddenly flashed back in time before the restaurant had been remodeled. (The old Santa Monica "Wahoo's") she could see everyone in the restaurant from back then, like slipping out of time.

When it finished she went to tell the counter woman we've known for decades. She told her about her vision. The woman asked which photo it was.

Sherry pointed to the photo which she'd never seen before. The counter woman gasped and said "that is the photo of our first customer to walk into the restaurant.  I knew him. He died yesterday. "

Santa Monica Wahoo's

Sherry said "well he just gave me a vision of how the restaurant looked as he remembered it."

True story. 

There is No I in Team

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qs74JnaDE0&feature=youtu.be

The title of this talk is "There is no i in team." 

I talk about the latest research into talking to the flipside, the work done by Dr. Helen Wambach and Michael Newton. How we incarnate with a "team" of individuals that help us here, that we help as well. 

I cite cases and examples of the same. There is a Q and A worth watching at the very end, where I invited a person up to ask a question. 

The question turns out to be to her father on the flipside, and demonstrating the technique of "asking questions without knowing if you can get an answer" and "opening ourselves up to whatever it is we see, sense or hear" she gets a direct message from her father to a man in the audience who had told me earlier on that he was involved with a film project about spirituality. 

I wouldn't have believed it if it hadn't happened before.  I asked him why in his vision he provided his daughter on stage, she could see his watch - he replied (through her) that it was to observe that time is relative, and on the other side, the flipside, it doesn't have that much meaning.  

It is a short, concise, five minute example of how anyone can speak directly to their loved ones on the flipside.

Dept of Perceptual Studies at UVA proving that life goes on...

DOPS UVA, where consciousness is studied by scientists. Great to see my pal Gary Schwartz PhD included; data is data after all. Not a fan of the B roll choices, but worth watching. 

Insisting life ends in death or consciousness ends when the brain does just isn't reflected in the research. Happy Halloween.

Perceptual Studies

The UVA Division of Perceptual Studies have been researching consciousness for several years.

https://www.cbs19news.com/video?vid=564128612&fbclid=IwAR0YMgOs_s-X5fPQD1jsiaYzfqusXKBajfCxfXdTY-9gHcmMgm0g7WxL0vU

Howard Schultz "River of Souls" from the film Flipside

Howard Schultz, friend and mentor, exploring his subconscious via a between life session circa 2010.  This is the raw, unedited version of what becomes the chapter "River of Souls" in the book "Flipside."  Someone requested being able to view the raw unedited footage of a session, (in order to understand what I had edited, or what I'm referring to) and since Howard has crossed over to the Flipside, I'm posting it in honor of him.

   A lifelong friend, mentor to many, Howard was responsible for "Extreme Makeover" and many other shows through his Lighthearted Entertainment banner.  In this session, which he often showed to people in his offices in Burbank, he recalls a lifetime where he was a young girl living in Denmark who is deported to Dachau. I was able to find the records of this town, and the arrest of Jewish families there. In terms of his recollection of a lifetime in Tombstone, Arizona, I found an account of his "death" in a newspaper account from the 1800's in that era (it's a footnote in "Flipside") I found the town he recalled being from exists in Arkansas.

  After he crossed over, I interviewed him via Jennifer Shaffer (a medium who works with law enforcement nationwide, who is featured in "Hacking the Afterlife" and "Backstage Pass to the Flipside: Talking to the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer") where he laughingly told us "Good luck convincing people that there is an afterlife.  People say they want to believe it, but they don't, as it would upset their paradigm." (Paraphrasing).

   Howard did this session as a proof of concept exercise for me (and for him) - he proves it was accurate in the details that he gives (that are in the footnotes of "Flipside"). Jennifer is not the only medium he's reached out through - other friends have told me that during a session (and one who was sitting nearby) he showed up to make comments, give advice from the flipside. Howard still exists and has proven it time and again.

   Apologies for the format;  this was filmed for reference for the book - the footage is out of focus,  sound hampered by a guy cutting his grass - but it is the raw footage from which I crafted his chapter in "Flipside."  Howard hired me at one point to write a film about an experience he had - I'm sorry to say we never made that film, but in retrospect, we came together for other reason, spiritual ones, which are evident here.

   If you take the time to listen - about an hour in, his account of dying in Dacau is painful to hear, but his report of visiting the "River of Souls" is beyond compare. It's not something he invented, made up, or created - in real time he's as awed by this experience as I was.

   This session has humor, wit, and a variety of things to share - but in its essence, it's raw - unedited.  What anyone could experience if they took the time to do so.  The session is conducted by Scott De Tamble (lightbetweenlives). He was trained by Michael Newton in this method, and he's graciously allowed me to film a number of his sessions.  He was recommended to me by Paul Aurand, former President of the Newton Institute. (They have a searchable database to find Newton Institute trained therapists worldwide.)

   Howard checked off the planet at the young age of 61.  When we accessed him on the Flipside, he told us that despite leaving his loved ones, his family and dear wife, he felt he had accomplished what he'd set out to do in this lifetime - bringing "lightheartedness" to people. His literal quote to us, which I asked him for to put on the book "Hacking the Afterlife" is: *"Good luck to you for making the unbelievable claim that there even is an afterlife. " He was a notable fellow and is missed by many: https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-howard-schultz-dies-at-61-20141230-story.html

    This session stands outside of time, a small testament to a great human being.  I'm sorry he checked off the planet so early - but I can tell you that he did so on his own terms, sitting on the beach in Hawaii, having a cigar watching the sunset.  He just had a simple heart stoppage - but it didn't stop him, or his ability to speak to anyone who needs to speak with him.

    He and I discussed doing a TV reality show on this topic for, oh, about ten years.  He shot a pilot where he followed around mediums who were assisting people on the planet. We had many lunches where we danced around "how to make this work."  The last conversation I had with him was about us making "Past Life Detectives" together - but now I realize, five years after his passing, we were referring to this work, this footage, this evidence that life has gone on before, life continues to go on.  He's still funny - still witty - still accessible. You don't need a medium or a deep hypnosis session to access him (although that helps) - you just need to say his name and ask him questions. When he "replies before you can ask the question you'll know you're connected."

    Howard. This one's for you buddy.

Contacting Your Spirit Guides w/ Richard Martini

Talking to Bill Paxton on the Flipside - GAME NOT OVER MAN

NEW EDIT OF THIS FILM AT GAIA. 

"TALKING TO BILL PAXTON"

I created this film with three different mediums where we spoke directly to my old friend Bill on the flipside, and asked him about his journey.

"Game Not Over Man!"
From his role in Hatfields & McCoys

I was startled when he spoke clearly, directly and with great detail about what happened, how he crossed over, who was there to greet him when he got there. GAME NOT OVER MAN! (He didn't say that, I did - but it's funny nonetheless).




I posted the film at Gaia.com - but due to a mixing glitch, there was a music track that drowned out the dialog, generally made it impossible to hear.

I took out the music and remixed it so that audiences aren't distracted by the filmmaking, but can listen to the content.

It's a bit like capturing lightning in a bottle.  With Jennifer Shaffer, we get together weekly to discuss things with the flipside, and I record those conversations to transcribe them and put them in books ("Backstage Pass to the Flipside: Talking to the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer").  

In our discussions with Bill Paxton, he said that I should put the footage together into documentary form.  I happened to be interviewing another medium Kimberly Babcock, and during the course of our interview, his name popped into my mind, and I asked "What about my friend Bill?"

I had no intention of filming her talking to Bill - but I did have the camera on in a noisy restaurant.  

If I recreated that event - or even tried to - it would not be the same.  However, the third medium, Raylene Nunes I had interviewed for a chapter in an upcoming book about her journey to becoming a medium. So we met, but she knew nothing about Bill or my relationship with him when she did this interview with Dr. Medhus.

For those not aware, Dr. Medhus' son killed himself, then called her on her cellphone to say he was okay.  She was a skeptic - couldn't believe it - until a medium (Jamie Butler) called her to say "Your son is in my living room and won't leave until I call you." That started a long conversation of interviews between mother and son.  The interviews are all available for free on her site.




Raylene worked with Dr. Elise Medhus on her ChannelingErik.com site - and Dr. Medhus suggested I interview her. Her own personal story is amazing. But when Dr. Medhus reached out a year later and said "Is there anyone you'd like me to speak with?" I suggested Billy.  I supplied the questions, but she had her own as well.  Dr. Medhus didn't know Bill or his work - nor did Raylene. But Bill answered the SAME QUESTION with the SAME ANSWERS the other two mediums recorded.

All three mediums said the same things - how he passed, who was there to greet him, how we met in a pub in London and what movie he was working on when I met him. ("Aliens")  

I've shared the extended version of these interviews (warts and all) with his wife, but have edited it down to something that is just about our relationship.  How we met, why his career took off - despite our trying to make a film together - and what his journey on the flipside is like.

We have the unique window to "hear" his voice when he's talking through this medium. He talks about Jim Cameron, talks about "Titanic" and other events in his life.  For me - and it can only be for me - it's absolute proof that life goes on. Some will be put off by the sound - my apologies - the lightning - or other things that don't fit.  But like I say - trying to catch lightning in a bottle here.

Much better filmmaker than me. Obviously. He likes to remind me.

It just demonstrates why his career rocketed and mine was another path altogether. Perhaps to make this documentary with its wacky sound of a film.

So please, I encourage ALL OF YOU to check it out at Gaia.com -
https://www.gaia.com/video/backstage-pass-flipside-talking-bill-paxton 

Here's a new trailer for the film.  
 https://youtu.be/KTIeNaHjwcc

The film is FREE if you sign up for a month and cancel - but it's worth checking into.  And I don't mind angry comments - just don't tell me the sound is too difficult to hear - 

"If you can't hear what they're saying then you're trying not to hear what they're saying."

So please ignore the comments about the "bad sound" as they PREDATE the newer version.

Personally I feel complaints about me filming a medium in a restaurant are silly - because of the artificiality we have every day when we pretend that someone wearing a uniform, or a cassock or some other prop is "better suited" to speaking from the flipside.  

None of that is needed or required. I film inside a noisy restaurant because THE FOLKS ON THE FLIPSIDE LIKE IT.

They like the smells (that we smell) the food that passes under our noses, the people chatting, the music playing.  People think that doing interviews or "seances" in a darkened room with orbs or crystals and a Theremin playing - that's fine for them - but for me, I can't be bothered with it.

They're not gone. They're just not here.

So without further ado - here's the trailer to this film, and here's the link to it on Gaia. GO AND WATCH THIS FILM. It's free and it will free you as well.

An Afterlife Interview with Christopher Columbus

An interview with the one and only, none other than, Chris.

For those who are familiar with "Backstage Pass to the Flipside: Talking to the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer" they will recognize this format and technique.

I'm not claiming "this is Columbus" answering these questions, but I know it's not Jennifer Shaffer the intrepid medium answering them.  They're being answered by "someone" who claims to be "Columbus."

On the way to our weekly meeting, I looked out the window of my speeding car at the passing ocean, and thought "Gee, I wonder who I should ask to come forward today?" The name "Columbus" popped into my head.  I thought "Really? That guy? Okay, why not?"  In the ever repetetive attempt to demonstrate that "anyone who has ever lived on the planet is still accessible" I asked for our folks on the flipside to "bring him forward."

What follows is his "interview."  (In the upcoming "Backstage Pass to the Flipside Three: "Class is in Session.") There are historical details about Columbus I know - and am asking pointed questions with regard to that knowledge.  Luana Anders, our friend on the flipside, assists with "giving out the backstage pass" and "putting the interviewee in the chair." (As well as helping him/her to "translate" what we want communicated.)

(Note: If someone else asked him these same questions they might get different answeers. When a child asked a parent questions, the parent tailors the answer to the child, when a close friend asks questions, they may kid around and have fun with the answer, when a complete stranger (me) asks questions, the person may reply based on what they think I'm supposed to hear, or what the medium should hear.  However, Jennifer and I have been doing this for so long, we speak in a kind of "short hand" - where I know that the answer could be misinterpreted, or that I'm asking the wrong question based on my prior knowledge of the person involved - but the reason I do this kind of interview is that the overall affect, when one looks at the dozens we've done - there are constants in the material that appear when I interview people on the flipside via other mediums, or when a person is under deep hypnosis and reporting what they recall, or lately, when a person is not under hypnosis at all.)

OSU painting

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you - the explorer known as Christopher Columbus.

(Jennifer and I are mid session. We've just spent an hour chatting with someone else who was a historic icon (which will be in the book).  At this point, feeling that I've gotten what I've asked for, I ask:)

Anyone else? Luana? I did invite somebody else.

Did you invite someone on a boat?

Go with it.

Somebody at sea, almost like a cartoon. (Jennifer aside:) Who’s the guy who took all the animals?

Noah. Does he want to come forward? It’s not who I asked for, but Luana; you’re in charge.

No, something else with the sea, this person feels like a captain of the sea. Feels like 500 years ago.

Okay, that’s accurate. I asked for him – he’s a famous guy.

Columbus?

(Ding!) Yes. I want to ask him some specific questions.

(I said his name aloud prior to arrival. Sometimes it takes her a few tries, but in this case, obviously not. We had no plan to "speak to Columbus" ever - and I had not thought about it at all prior to his name popping into my head.)

He said “He had a bad rap.”

(Note: A rather colloquial comment from someone regarding their reputation.  But Jennifer speaks aloud whatever she hears.  We also have to remember, that he’s not dead – he’s been around all this time, has heard colloquial phrases since then and would be aware of them. “Bad rap” fits.)

There was a priest who kept a diary aboard your ship.

He said “They were getting killed.”

Okay, but you killed a lot of natives for gold; is that correct?

“Yes.”

Those diaries paint you as a nasty motherf&*er.

“Yes, in the British Virgin Isles.”

Let me ask this; were you Spanish? Italian?

It feels like both.  Both Spanish and Italian. His grandmother was from... (listens.) Genoa. But his father was Spanish.

Were you a pirate? Before you went to Queen Isabella or were you just a sailor?

“I was a survivor.”

Good answer. But were you a merchant sailor from Italy?

He says “I was a pirate.” He had a different name for it.

A black marketeer? Let’s put it this way you were someone who operated outside the law – black market?

(Note: There are reports that Columbus was a black market trader (pirate) who created a different persona to gain access to funds from the Queen of Spain. Documents show that he never wrote in Italian, and had no clear family ties to Italy, outside of the claim he was from Genoa. “In Italian he is known as Cristoforo Colombo, which was long thought to be his birth name, and in Spanish as Cristóbal Colón. ... There is even a theory that he adopted the name from a pirate named Colombo.” Brittanica.com)

“He was told that he could.”

You never wrote in Italian; did you speak Italian? Did you know how?

Something he did not like about Italians; I don’t know what it is.

Are you more Spanish than Italian?

"Spanish. Close to France."

Eastern or Western side? Isabella is from the west.

He was from the east.

You were pretending to be Italian to gain favor from the Queen, but you were Spaniards?

"His crew were Spaniards."

Did you pretend to be Italian to get money from Isabella?

“Yes. He was in love with her, it was romantic.”

Were they lovers? Or was it a crush?

There’s something with that...  “Too many clothes,” he said.

(Note: That’s an odd but accurate detail.  Furtive love, or the kind where people are intimate outside of the prying eyes of courts and courtiers – required a lot of clothing in those days.  Took hours to get dressed – not easy to get undressed.  Still, an odd thing to hear.)

Where were you trying to get to?

"India."

What were you trying to get? Were you after gold? Silver?

"Silk." He showed me like drapes.

(Note: “A bolt of silk was worth its weight in gold” according to a biography of Henry Hudson, where the author pointed out “Pirates had granted Portuguese vessels safe passage, but not other Europeans. So they began to look for an alternate route to India.” Henry Hudson: New World Voyager by Henry Butts. 2009. Dundurn Publishers. Pg 20.)

When you arrived, did you think you’d arrived in India?

“It didn’t make sense; it was too short of a trip.”

(Note: Interesting observation. We tend to think of two months at sea as a long time, apparently he was assuming it would have been a lot longer.)

How was he dressed on the journey? How does he appear to you?

He was big – a foot taller than most, he was wide, no beard... (Jennifer aside:) Where’d did he come across the Indians?

I think it was Hispaniola. Though that might have been the third trip.

(Note: He landed on San Salvador first, he had four trips to the Caribbean islands, never setting foot on North America. The third was to Hispaniola.)

It’s the third one.. (trip) with the Indians. He showed me an native chief; big, tall  - “Like a foot taller and he had on that huge headdress.”

Did you kidnap him; take him back to Europe or leave him alone?

“Children. He took his children.” (Jennifer aside:) Asshole...

The report I’ve read was that your men cut off people’s hands for their gold – correct me if i’m wrong.

He’s showing me everything was peaceful until they showed up.

You tortured people to find out where they got their gold. Because no one spoke the language.

"He used kids for that."

(Note: In the People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn published a diary of a priest aboard the ships ((Bartolome de las Casas) who reported the wholesale slaughter and torture of these natives and their enslavement. His diary doesn’t include Columbus using natives to hurt other natives; but that’s what is being said.)

When you died who was there to greet you?

“His mother.”

The Italian mom?

“Yes.”

Was she from Genoa?

“No, a city on the southeast of Genoa... Genoa.”

What do you miss about being on the planet?

“The seas.”

What do you regret about your journey here? If anything?

He says "He regrets not understanding (their) language."

Or other humans?

(Jennifer nods.) I know.

The Mural of Columbus at Notre Dame that they've voted to cover.

Have you had a lifetime since then where you suffered?

(Jennifer listens) “I was a prisoner of war.”

What century was that in?

He showed me as a Japanese prisoner of war.

In World War II? Okay, that must have been difficult. Do you think it’s appropriate they have a holiday after you? Or should it be something else?

“Indigenous people day.”

Duly noted. Well, you’re a man of compassion now; I’d think you’d want the record corrected.

“Yes.”

Luana; I said his name, and Jennifer picked him out of the blue, I was looking at the ocean as I drove to your office.

(Jennifer aside:) And I saw a pirate at first.

Well, apparently he was one. Chris, anything you want us to tell people on your behalf?

“To be free.”  He just showed me chains, then Martin Luther King. “To protect the environment and don’t do the dumb stuff like raping and pillaging.”

Okay, raping and pillaging not so good. Do you want people to know you weren’t Italian?

“It doesn’t matter.” (Jennifer aside:)  The thing is I don’t know if his dad was his dad.

Well he does now. Let’s ask him. Your father was Spanish but nobody knew it. You were raised by your Italian mother?

It was like a half split. He spent his life mostly at sea... half the time on land... the rest of the time at sea. He was like “A son of the sea.”

Okay, very good; we find out that Critoforo Columbo is actually a Columbus..

He might be French. A quarter is what it feels like.

Not Basque?

Feels like half Basque. (Jennifer aside:) What is Basque?

It’s a culture on the border between Spain and France – no longer a country, but the language and people predate Spain.

He wanted to be part of that. I got Portugal in the beginning...

Well it’s close to Portugal. Your were Basque or considered yourself Basque?

“No. I’m a Spaniard.”

Okay, he’s a Spaniard. But his father was not from Spain. Was your father French?

That’s what I’m feeling – there must be something obviously... something with that.

When he presented himself to Queen Isabella, it was as an Italian?

“He lied about that; she wouldn’t have trusted him...”

Did you seduce her to give you a ship or just flirt with her?

“She seduced him.”

So you did have sex with her?

“That’s a little personal.”

Dude, it’s only been 400 years.

(Jennifer nods). I think he did.

Chris either you did or you didn’t – it’s not something that’s an if, and, or but – did you do the nasty with Queen Isabella?

Unusual portrait for the era. Queen Isabella 

He says “Yes.” And then “That’s enough.”

Okay, thanks everyone, thanks class, thanks Chris and thank you Luana.

An unusual chapter, I know.  Rewriting history.  But if I may observe, at the end of this roller coaster of history, from Joan of Arc, to Michael the Archangel, to Jesus, to Christopher Columbus... the point of this chapter is not to claim “We were talking to dead celebrities!”

Although that’s inherent in the reporting of anything from someone so very famous.  It’s to demonstrate that anyone can ask questions of someone who is no longer on the planet, and get answers.  The idea is to take the answers verbatim, then compare it to history, then to go back and ask more questions.

I would also offer that what people are telling Jennifer (who is telling me, or more specifically, my camera) is based on her abilities to decipher visuals, sounds or sensations.  When I ask the correct question – she often taps her nose as if to say “You got it” or “that’s correct.”  I know Jennifer pretty well, her story, her journey, from a variety or perspectives.

She’s not a historian, doesn’t pretend to be. She offers the first and most cogent information she’s “getting” from my questions, and sometimes I ask questions I’m not aware I’m asking until I transcribe the session.  So prior to this session, I had done some research into Columbus, not specifically for this meeting, but I had read the Howard Zinn “History of the United States.”  

As noted, the information from Christopher Columbus was relative to what I had heard about him from Howard Zinn’s “History” and the priest who recounted the horrors inflicted on the natives.  However, the priest was also recalling his journey through the perspective of a man of peace, and we don’t know that much about Christopher other than what’s been written about it.

To hear that he and Isabella may have had a liasion sounds fanciful – but again, Jennifer is only reporting. It’s not her desire to create something that didn’t occur – and perhaps that’s how Chris remembered it.  If we asked Isabella, she may recall it in a completely different fashion.  People recounting their story from the flipside isn’t that different than asking people about what they did 20 years ago.  They may misremember, conflate, mix up dates and stories – but in general, from their new perspective they’ve had time to go over what happened “back then.”

Jennifer Shaffer Medium/Intuitive

It's also why I asked if he'd suffered in another lifetime as he had made people suffer - and according to this account; he claims he did. (Jennifer's not making up that she saw him as a Japanese prisoner of war.)  Jennifer and I are at a stage in our conversations that she allows a visual to come forward and reports what she sees without judging it. According to previous sessions, people on the flipside can't "lie" or "make up" stories - as they won't come through. However, any medium will admit that they may mistranslate or get a message wrong.  In this case, pretty specific answer to my pointed question.

It’s as mind bending to me typing up this chapter as it is for anyone to read it. I apologize for the bending of minds, but again, I’m just the reporter here.  Perhaps in 20 years, someone will come along with another method of accessing the holographic memories of events, or in 100 years, we’ll be able to access these events without mediums.  We’ll see, won’t we?

(Excerpt from "Backstage Pass to the Flipside: Talking to the Flipside with Jennifer Shaffer "Class is in Session" by Richard Martini. Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved).