Tears in Heaven and The OA

"How's life with the dead?"  I ran into my friend again today, and we went off on another tangent that I wanted to share.

Photo by Russ Titelman

I told her about this unusual experience that happened to me. I had an unusual dream some years ago, which wasn't like a dream, it felt real, or more like a vision.  And in this vision, I ran into a woman who was distraught.  She was in tears and sobbing. She was in her 70's perhaps, kind of hunched over and really wailing.  I was conscious of the fact that I stopped and took her shoulders and said "What's the matter? Why are you crying?"

She said "I'm lost. And I can't find my husband."  I said to her "Well, can you show me a picture of him?"  And in her mind's eye she thought of her husband and projected it to me.  I "opened up my consciousness" to include all parts of the universe and did a "search" for him.  I was using the energetic grid or pattern or fingerprint that is unique to this fellow.

And I found him. In his pod, or his tree, or some kind of light apartment complex where he was with his friends, or soul group.  I snagged him, or yanked him out of whatever it was he was doing and pulled him back here to where this woman was wandering a dark street.  I said to her "Is this him?"  She cried out with joy at the sight of her husband and embraced him.

When I woke up, I wondered - "Why wasn't he there to greet her when she passed away?"  I realized even though that's the case with the vast majority of us, it's not the case with everyone.  Because they may very well pass away in a state of distress, either because of events occurring to them at that moment, or by a tragic sense of sadness or loss they've been holding onto.  So they can't "tune in" to their relatives or loved ones because they're just too upset.  

Then I wondered why I was involved in finding him. You'd think that her guides or guide would do that kind of work for her.  All I know is what I experienced. I asked her for an image of him, and from that I was able to see what the energetic grid was for him (1s and 0s I guess) and was able to - like a google search engine - find him where he was located in the universe.

My friend said, "that's so strange."  She had just been listening to the song "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton - you know the song - "Will you know my name? If I see you in heaven?"

I told her that I begin a chapter in Flipside with the song. She said it she had been weeping over the song, and then was thinking about our conversations about the flipside, and how likely it would be that they could recognize us "over there." Then I told her my own flipside moment with that tune.  

Russ

Some years ago, my friend Russ Titelman (who took the photo in my favorite coffee shop that I use in my books and to open this post) invited me over to the Village recording studio where he was mixing a song with one of his artists. Russ is a Grammy award winning producer, has worked with Shaka Khan, won Grammy's with Paul Simon, (friends of the blog may remember that Luana Anders, the genesis for "Flipside" dated Paul) and on this day Russ was producing Eric's song "Tears in Heaven."  

Luana with actor Michael Gough

I went into the Village studios off Santa Monica Blvd in West LA and waited outside the offices for him, and saw Eric leave with a few friends.  I'm told he's a private guy, so I didn't try to say hello... just nodded and smiled as he headed out.  I went into the studio and Russ played me this amazing track he had just laid down.

Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven?
I must be strong and carry on
'Cause I know I don't belong here in heaven

Would you hold my hand
If I saw you in heaven?
Would you help me stand
If I saw you in heaven?
I'll find my way through night and day
'Cause I know I just can't stay here in heaven

Time can bring you down, time can bend your knees
Time can break your heart, have you begging please, begging please

Beyond the door there's peace I'm sure
And I know there'll be no more tears in heaven

Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven?
I must be strong and carry on
'Cause I know I don't belong here in heaven

(Written by Eric Patrick Clapton, Will Jennings • Copyright © Universal Music Publishing Group)

I was one of the few humans who got to hear that song before it came out of the studio.  

The lyrics, written in hand, were still on the music stand where he'd played it. I read the lyrics as he sang the song...oh what a song, like reaching into your heart and squeezing it.  Easily one of the saddest and most powerful songs ever written. (For those not familiar with the circumstances around the song, it was based on the loss of four year old son Conor.) Eric's red guitar pick was still sitting in the chair, the pick he'd used to play the song. (Later Russ gave me one of his picks, it has Eric's name engraved on it.)

So will Eric's son Conor know his name in heaven?  Most assuredly.

What people say consistently is that they travel with us whenever we think of them or mention their names.  Of course it's not the same as holding their hand, hearing their laughter, or hanging out with them... but you can do that in your dreams until it's time to hang out with them for real.

Which brings me to Steve Job's last words.  I was filming Jennifer Shaffer recently and we had a short but sweet conversation with someone who appeared to be Steve Jobs. So I asked him - "What was the meaning of your final words, as reported by your sister; "Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow."  

I thought perhaps he was seeing the flipside, or some wondrous example of it.  Jennifer said simply; "He saw his father, and in that moment understood his journey."

Steve's father had not passed by the time that he passed - but as I've mentioned before, two thirds of our energy is always "back home" so it's possible to greet or be greeted by our loved ones, even though they may still be on the planet.  Their "higher selves" are capable of showing up to embrace us.  And in that moment of seeing his father over there, understood why he chose to be himself over here.... Wow.

And on another note...

Someone wrote me about "the OA" post I did where I mentioned the show was about "angels." (So far, over 160K folks have found the post, which is a testament to how good the show was. I was merely commenting on the loss of one of their writers on the show.  

This one fellow wrote to say he objected to the idea of doing a show about angels, and said that once he realized the show was about angels, he turned it off.

Here is my reply: 

Just a note to say that I have forwarded on your comments, both here and at the condolences site to Allison Wilke's family. I got a note from one of them who mentioned this post. 

I've also gotten comments from people upset about the idea of a show that's associated with "angels." First I'd like to note that the show never mentions angels, nor anything about death or guardians. They seem to be careful to avoid using that kind of nomenclature. 

I've found that by mentioning any number of religious artifacts "angels" "jesus" "divine grace" or even the word "god" there's a kind of brain freeze that takes over people. They have already made up their minds about how those concepts relate to their lives, and it's like walking in cement. 

All I can say about my flipside research, is that I try not to judge any part of it. If someone says "it felt like this person was an angel" - it's because there is no other word we can use to describe that. After all the word comes from somewhere - not thin air. 

The words "ghost" and "afterlife" have the same effect. Obviously we need a new syntax to describe these things. The show "The OA" is about a woman who has had a number of near death experiences. 

Accounts of near death experiences are written about in scientific literature, peer reviewed journals discuss them - I recommend searching for Bruce Greyson's (A Dr. at UVA) talk "Is Consciousness Produced by the Brain?" and Dr. Parnia's "Aware" project. 

Near Death experiences are not confined to the brain, and have been proven to be so. If you're curious about near death experiences, I refer you to David Bennett's "Voyage of Purpose" to Dr. Alexander's "Proof of Heaven" or a number of accounts that have been presented at IANDS.org meetings, including Dr. Anita Moorjani's journey. NDE's exist - and what they have to say about the flipside is consistent with my research, which is examined in my books "It's a Wonderful Afterlife" volumes one and two. 

So when talking about this show - which is scripted and comes from someone's imagination - it is based on fact. Near death experiences happen, and in a high percentage, people meet "spirit guides" or what others might call "guardian angels" - they do experience going through some kind of "light" and they do experience "unconditional love." 

Brit Marling of "The OA"

I would offer that they also come back and struggle with being able to process their experience, the way Prairie's character does. 

Looking forward to another season (I hope!)

My last note: I've had some pretty unusual emails as of late from folks around the globe who've read my books and wanted to share a flipside moment with me. I'll be writing about those in my next post. Stay tuned.