Context and the Flipside

And now... for some 

CONTEXT:

1. The circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed.  The parts of something written or spoken that immediately precede and follow a word or passage and clarify its meaning.

Last night, I was having a conversation with someone who was talking about context.  I either asked him, “Are you asking me to give context?” Or is that something you’d like to talk about?

I don’t recall his answer. I don’t recall who it was I was talking to.  I’ve been having these events often – where I become aware that I’m speaking to someone in a dream – could be a disembodied voice (“Guardian of the Galaxy”) could be a woman’s voice (“Talking to Mary”) or it could be a male voice (“Talking to fill in the blank”).

When I do the sessions I film with Jennifer Shaffer, I don’t provide any context. I just ask if “anyone wants to speak to us?” or if “the person who showed up in my dream last night wants to speak.”  Jennifer has no idea who I’m referring to and she does her best to report directly what she sees. She knows that our friend Luana Anders on the flipside is standing by with a clipboard of who has been invited to speak to us. 

Last night, with regard to our recent conversations I’ve been posting (I’ve been filming sessions weekly with Jennifer for over 5 years, it’s the basis of “Hacking the Afterlilfe” and “Backstage Pass to the Flipside” books one, two and three), I was advised I needed to give context.   

Now – if someone isn’t aware of how that process works, they may need some context for it.  If they go back to the book and film “Flipside” for example, they’ll see that I have had “spirits” or “beings” that have visited me in my sleep my entire life, but I dismissed them entirely as any sane person would.

They’d know that I’ve had any number of “ghostly beings” show up in my room – in hotels around the world, in odd locations. I’ve seen or interacted with ghosts from different time periods, had conversations with ones who had appeared suddenly and asked them what they were doing there.

In Sydney, staying at the home of filmmaker Jan Sharp and her director husband Phillip Noyce, I was greeted by a fellow hanging from the rafters. It was my first night in Sydney, was startled awake by a guy dressed like a painter who was hanging by the neck from way up in the rafters. When I startled awake and gasped, he said “I’m sorry, it’s just something I feel the need to do” and a ladder appeared, he descended it – in his orange smock – and pulled the rope with him.  When he got to the floor, he, the rope and the ladder disappeared.

Later I asked Jan about the ghost in her house. She had no idea what I was talking about. I told her the story. She was incredulous – but said “Well, our house painter committed suicide by hanging, but he lived a mile away.” I said “Well he must have liked your place, because he’s still hanging around.”

Ba dum bum.

It wasn’t until I met Jennifer Shaffer that I realized I could access people on the flipside via a medium.

Up until then, I had been filming people under deep hypnosis accessing loved ones on the other side. Sometimes, rarely, during a session, their “guide” or teacher would refer to me, sitting across the room as the camera filmed the session.  Someone I had never met, referring to me across the room with regard to the person who was doing the deep hypnosis. But I was not having any interaction with them.

And then I realized I could. Without hypnosis. I could ask people the same basic questions a hypnotherapist did – without hypnosis – and see where we could go. I was startled to see that I could speak to guides, council members, visit libraries, other realms, past lives – all without hypnosis. Again – I recorded all of these sessions, either on tape or with a camera. I had no idea where we would go – but I knew the hallmarks.  And nearly every time we had the same journey.

(There was one who brought a crowd with them to watch, one brought a camera to film me “doing it” – and their pal didn’t go anywhere.  It appears to be related to the one on one experience.) But I have done it in public – on the radio, with Dr. Drew, Heather Wade and others. (see MartiniZone.com for examples).  The point being – these folks had no idea they could access their council, talk to a guide, or see a previous lifetime.  But they did.

I did not. I wasn’t seeing anything, just listening to their journey and asking questions. Leading questions – because I was literally “leading them” to visit a guide, council or teacher.  I know they exist, and I shorten the time to help them have direct access. (A typical hypnotherapy session might last four to six hours.) I’ve filmed over 100 of these sessions – half with hypnotherapists, and half without. People all go to the same places – and where they go is contrary to their belief system, or their lack of belief system.  Consistently go to a place where they learn that everything they were told about the process is inaccurate. No other way to put it.

So how can Jennifer and I be speaking to Sammy Davis Jr.?

Well, it went like this. Some years ago, we were doing a session and she said “so and so is here.” It might have been Aretha Franklin.  Aretha came through clear as a bell – and asked us to reach out to her niece to find her hand written will. I did reach out to her niece – not knowing she had one, not knowing she was the executor of the estate, and told her what her aunt told us.  She said “I do believe in the afterlife, as I speak to my mother often, but I don’t believe this medium was speaking to my aunt.”  Which is fine – I wasn’t trying to convince her otherwise. I was passing along a message.

Which included that she would find her will soon – and she did.  And I reached out to her again to say “I’m glad you found her will, but it is pretty much what your Aunt told us” to which she replied “It was logical that she would have a will and that I would find it.”  Which is true. Again – not selling anyone on anything. Aunt Aretha asked, and I delivered.

We’ve done that at least a dozen times – asked to reach out to the relatives of Tom Petty, RFK, Chicago Bear Dave Duerson, filmmaker Sydney Pollack (whom I knew), Bill Paxton (an old friend) Harry Dean Stanton (an old friend) John McCain and others – reaching out to us because they had a specific thing of piece of information they wanted us to pass along to their loved ones. I always say “C’mon man, they aren’t going to believe I spoke to you, why can’t you just reach out to them yourself?”  To which they would reply with a variation “But I’m asking you to.”  

Who am I to say “No?”

I’ve been doing this for so long with Jennifer, I know longer feel the need to prove or provide context. In this case, I asked Sammy Davis Jr. to “show Jennifer where he met Frank.”  And she replied “He’s showing me the Harlem Globetrotters.”

Just think about this for half a second. I asked a question. She got an image. Her reaction was to say “did he have anything to do with basketball?” I said “Tell me what the image is you’re seeing that made you say that.”  She said “I’m seeing the Harlem Globetrotters.”

The answer was “Harlem” or “The Apollo Theater” (or it may have been another theater).  That’s where Frank Sinatra met Sammy.  And he’s searching for an engram in Jennifer’s mind that relates to the answer “Harlem.”  Here’s Jennifer, born and raised in California, has her own frames of reference – has likely never been to the Apollo in Harlem (I used to film segments for the Charles Grodin show there weekly) – and there’s not really a visual that she has reference to that she can use…other than Curly Lemon’s club.

It’s just one tiny detail in a mountain of them.

Now comes the context.

Sammy has lived many lifetimes. He’s “back home” with his friends and family, and when he appears to the folks in our classroom, he’s appearing in that time frame where people knew him as Sammy Davis Jr. If he wanted to appear to someone in his lifetime – he can choose the age, the appearance that person would most likely remember him. He’s the one creating the avatar.  At first Jennifer mentioned his height – and didn’t have his first name.  She eventually got to Davis Jr and I supplied the rest.

I’m not trying to prove this is Sammy Davis Jr. I am trying to allow anyone who “shows up in our class” to speak their truth. Sammy wanted to speak about the recent troubles in Kenosha Wisconsin.  He spoke eloquently and with context about the journey.  

It’s hard for me to not speak about it – because I grew up nearby, have been there many times, and outraged that the Chief of Police, an avowed ideologue, still thinks it’s proper to handcuff a “suspect” who has been shot seven times, is likely paralyzed – to handcuff that fellow to his bed. If I could fly and drive to Kenosha and stand with the people who are outraged I would.  But this isn’t about me or my opinion.  I had someone on here complain that John Lewis came through to encourage people to vote.

To vote for equality, to vote to save the planet.

Someone was upset about that. She was of the opinion that people stop caring about their loved ones, once they cross over. They do not. I have had conversations with people who are considered “right wingers” in their lifetime – including a President who came forward to talk about his path and journey. I don’t pull any punches in these interviews, if anything I edit out the more outrageous things I ask them. Because it’s not about me – as we know – it’s about what they want to say.

That’s just context for the Sammy Davis portion.

Then we have Bill Paxton stop by to say there is an anniversary.  It’s likely he was referring to something to do with his family – and any member of his family that sees this, will know what he’s talking about. It may have been that when we met in London it was around this time period – I don’t recall. But we became pals after that. He may have been referring to some specific anniversary, and we could dig into it deeper by asking him questions – but by Jennifer saying “There’s an anniversary” I knew at that moment that whoever knows him and knows what he’s referring to had the message he wanted to pass along.  (Here's me talking to Bill via three mediums)

I wasn’t giving him the bum’s rush (although he might say I was, that was our relationship.)

Then the portion where Mary comes forward again. Requires context – I know how hard it is to hear “the mother of Jesus” is appearing in someone’s mind’s eye.  The first time I met her was not with Jennifer, but it was during an interview with a minister back east in Connecticut. (It’s in “It’s a Wonderful Afterlife”). We were having this conversation about her viewing her life planning session and she said “Mary’s here.”

I try not to judge what people say, so I asked her some pointed questions.  I asked Mary why when anyone was quoting her while seeing her, she would say things that were simple by design; “Love your neighbor. Just give love.” Etc. She said she “tailored her comments to those who were listening so they could remember them.”  She also shape shifted in front of this woman – at first, as the icon, and then a few minutes later as a normal looking beautiful older woman who has a heart of gold.

That’s disconcerting to some. They’ve been told that she’s an icon on a painting. Or that she ascended into heaven and sits on a chair somewhere. Why people who claim that avatars can traverse all realms, or “behave like gods” would take the time to sit around and twiddle their thumbs waiting for humans to figure out what they’re doing, is beyond me.  Suffice to say, I don’t judge it when “Mary” shows up.

In this case, I asked her to bring forward an old pal of hers. Mother Theresa. I even got a side comment from her about Christopher Hitchens (whom we interview in “Backstage Pass to the Flipside 2”). I have an entire chapter filmed with skeptics and atheists about the flipside. They said basically what the late actor Harry Dean Stanton told us; “Tell people to believe in the possibility of an afterlife, so then they won’t waste another minute of their life arguing about it.” Sage advice.

Harry Dean Stanton and pal

Context.

Each one of these sessions requires it – I don’t expect anyone to watch it and say “Oh my, they really are talking to so and so.” It’s also clear to me that everyone “appears” to their loved ones as they want them to – or in terms of what they “believe them to.”  

That is – if I knew Uncle Pete at the age of 60-80 he’s going to appear in that visual, if I knew Uncle Pete aged 10-15 it would be then – but the essence of who Pete is, is aware of how to construct a visual that fits my perception.  

They’re tuning themselves, frequency wise so we can communicate. (It's reported they are "lowering" their frequency to communicate with us.)

In like form, they may appear to some religious person in a more “regal” or less panoramic fashion. Recently I filmed an interview with a fellow who saw Jesus visiting his council. He described the classic visual of Jesus – long hair, robes, etc.  His eye color (hazel) matched other accounts of him but I asked him (through this fellow who wasn’t under hypnosis) to appear in “casual clothing” to this fellow. And suddenly he transformed into a guy wearing a white tee shirt, jeans and tennies.

I told the fellow later that this is nearly always the outfit he changes into. I mean – it’s not coming from me, and it’s not coming from this fellow – it’s Jesus’ choice.  I didn’t say “Can you put on a white tee, jeans and tennies?” I just asked “Could you appear in more casual clothing?”

Further, this fellow had a memory of being at the Crucifixion.  Just in terms of data, that makes six people I’ve met who claim that they were also there, observing the events.  This particular fellow claimed that he was the one who stuck a spear into the side of Jesus. He used the name "Longinus" - but historically that name didn't appear until the 8th century. So it's likely a mythological story - yet he was seeing the same diorama that others have seen, albeit with different eyes.

However, since blood and water reportedly emerged from his poke into the side of the fellow on the cross, I pointed out that’s an indication of being alive, rather than dead. (Corpses don't bleed.)

So the person who was taken off the cross was apparently alive (and the aloe and myrrh brought by Nicodemus were restoratives, not to "anoint the dead" since it’s not in the Jewish tradition to anoint the dead. Never has been.)  

That sparked a lively discussion – where this fellow was convinced that Jesus did not survive the Crucifixion, was an astral fellow when he went to visit the apostles (80 miles away in Galilee) and the fact that he ate, slept and drank with them (as reported) was what the astral fellow wanted to do. I said "How can it be that I've interviewed a dozen other folks who tell an alternate story?"

He said “You believe what you want to believe.”

At first I thought he was saying to me, Richard, that what I have heard about him surviving the crucifixion, as reported by over a dozen people was something I wanted to believe. 

I said it wasn’t.  Then, he repeated the phrase.  

It took me awhile to realize he was repeating it as information - not a pejorative - it refers to “anyone on the flipside believes what they want to believe as well.” 

That is – if your belief system includes whatever aspect of the afterlife you may have believed, at first, you are going to experience what you believed in.

I must add, “at first” as I’ve filmed numerous interviews with people who at first thought something was occurring or had occurred, and then a few moments later said “Oh, I see, I constructed that experience. That is what I expected to happen. And now it's later on and I'm with my guides and teachers and fellow classmates and family; now I’m home.” 

So that is worth repeating. 

Believe what you want to believe. If the belief system that someone wants to hold onto, that the dead are dead, that they cannot speak, that spirits are demons, etc, etc – that’s their belief system. Not up to me to argue it.  You believe what you want to believe.

Which is why I film these sessions – because, when they say things that they don’t believe – that is, say things that they are observing, experiencing that are not part of their “belief system” – and the reports are consistent and reproducible, then it’s just data.  

As I’m fond of saying “Data doesn’t require belief or faith or disbelief. It’s just data.”

So in this research – what we’re doing accessing folks on the flipside, one can argue we are compiling data.  So far, in the over 5 years doing this with Jennifer – we’ve had the same results. It’s possible we might get a different result at some point, or I might hear an alternate reality – but so far, I am reporting what it is we get.

And that’s my context for the day. 

Or my two cents.