Talking to Harry Dean Stanton on the Flipside on Coast to Coast Radio

It's always a treat to be invited onto Coast to Coast radio.

This interview was after Harry Dean Stanton passed away, and Jennifer Shaffer and I had a chat with him about his arrival on the flipside.  Harry Dean was famous for being a skeptic and atheist - but he has some funny things to say about his arrival over "there."

Here's the book "Backstage Pass to the Flipside: Talking to the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer" 

Jennifer Shaffer, medium extraordinaire

And as an addendum to this post:

For "Chris C", who wrote the following to me on "The Book of Faces:" 

"So when will you tell me about Art Bell in afterlife, it was a request made on Coast to Coast with George Noory"

Indeed, I remember one of the callers asked a question about Art Bell - I didn't know Art, but he did reach out to me about appearing on his radio show after hearing me on "Coast to Coast" (a show he created) which I did with his Heather Wade (and posted below).  But to this fellow on the Book of Faces I replied:

"Honestly bro i dont have any questions for art bell. If you do you can ask him. Just say his name. Ask your questions.  When you hear an answer before you can form the question you'll know you've made a connection."

(I'm not ducking the question.  I get asked all the time; "why don't you talk to so and so?"  I also offer that "so and so" is welcome to come to one of the times that I'm filming a medium speaking - (including my weekly chats with JenniferShaffer.com) - but I really don't have much to ask Art - "Why did you get involved in this kind of research?"  "Who was there to greet you when you crossed over?"  I didn't know him - so I couldn't verify any of his answers.  The answer that I gave Chris came directly from someone on the other side as a "method of how anyone can speak to us over here.")

To which Chris replied:

"You led us to believe you could talk to the dearly departed, I will bring this up on Coast to Coast during open lines, I am sadly sorry you sound like a fake, I thought maybe you were real."

 Ok. Chris C - since you weren't listening; I don't speak to the afterlife; I film people who do.
As per one of those conversations, we can all communicate with the afterlife - not just mediums. 

Art Bell is waiting for you to reach out to him. Tell him I said hi. (Not knocking Art, he reached out to me to be on his show before he died - but find it ironic my reluctance to talk to him would piss off one of his fans.)

And because I didn't answer your question the way that you preferred ("Wait, hold on,  yes, let me get on my headphone and speak to Art on your behalf") you are promising to go to "go on Coast to Coast" and tell everyone what a fake I am.

Too late. I'm way ahead of you bro.

Again. I'm not claiming to "talk to the dead." I've been filming people for ten years "talking to the dead" "talking about the dead" "talking about how the dead are not dead" "talking about how we don't die." 

So in that vein, "Hey Art Bell, do me a favor and "ping" this fellow so he can know that you still exist, so he can ask you questions - because as we both know, no one dies, no one is gone, everyone we've ever known or loved is accessible if we take the time to ASK THE QUESTIONS."

(Of course Art is welcome to join our chats, just not going to seek him out without a booker paving the way. I'm sure he's a busy man even on the flipside, answering all of the questions everyone has for him.)

So here's the interview I did for Art Bell's show with Heather Wade (his hand picked replacement). Heather reached out to me on his behalf years earlier, but it took a couple of years before they had me on his show, and sadly, Art passed a few months after this aired.  But Heather goes to a place pretty unusual during this interview - visits some things that are pretty unusual - so it's a fun listen either way. I know he enjoyed hearing it.

Enjoy.

Coast to Coast on Sunday Dec 2nd

My dulcet tones will be back on the radio this Sunday night Dec 2nd, promoting our book "Backstage Pass to the Flipside: Talking to the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer."

The two books cover our conversations with people on the flipside over the past two years. At some point, we had a group of people that were "coming in" to see us, and Luana Anders, my pal on the flipside who inspired the books after her passing 20 years ago, is the moderator for our "group."

Luana Anders in a photo I took of her in NYC.
Aptly prescient of how we see her now!

It's easier to call it a "class" because on one level, Luana is helping people on the flipside to converse with us.  Apparently many people have a hard time doing it for a variety of reasons - could be that their loved ones don't believe they still exist, could be that they can appear in their dreams, but when they wake up they dismiss them.   From what Jennifer and I have learned is that people on the flipside "know that they still exist."  They want to connect and be part of the lives of their loved ones.  

And Luana helps them to do so, in her "classroom."  As Jennifer once put it; "She me over there.  She has the ability to help them alter their frequency (slowing it down) so that they can communicate with us.  

Jennifer appears in "Hacking the Afterlife" too
links to the right of this post.

In my case, I'm someone who's been filming people under deep hypnosis for ten years and have heard a consistent story about the architecture of the afterlife.  Not that it isn't vast, complex and beyond comprehension - that's accurate - but I've heard enough stories from people who've visited there (through an out of body experience, a near death event, while under deep hypnosis or some other consciousness altering event) that I'm familiar with the process enough to ask them questions.

Happy Birthday Garry Shandling.

I start with the most simple of question that no one back on the planet could answer.  "Who was there to greet you when you crossed over?"  And then later I can either look up or in the case of friends, ask their family who they think would be there to greet them.  In some cases we hear unusual answers - like in Paul G Allen's case, he said one of the football players who had taken his life due to CTE was there to greet him... not one of his own players, but Junior Seau (or as best as I could decipher who it was - a polynesian player who had killed himself the same way Dave Duerson had.)

Then I ask questions like "What do you miss if anything?" "What do you regret if anything?" If I know intimate details of their life, I'll ask questions about them - I've found that they can't prevaricate from the flipside. They can refuse to answer a question, but they can't make up something inaccurate, or something that they prefer I not know. 

always a little giddy after talking to George Noory.

Often they tell me things that I choose not to repeat because they kept these things to themselves during their lifetime, and it's not up to me to alter that perception.  But it is important that what they do say I repeat verbatim and then look it up to see how accurate (or inaccurate) it is.  The truth sets everyone free.

Gaia has just picked up my film "Talking to Paxton on the Flipside" where I filmed a number of conversations with mediums, mostly Jennifer Shaffer, where we talked to my old friend, the actor Bill Paxton.  Bill had a number of things to say, messages for his family, as well as some comic ribbing that he used to do when he was on the planet. So that will be available on Gaia.com in a few weeks.

Bill Paxton

I don't know what we're going to talk about on Sunday night, I try to keep myself open to whatever needs to be said, and am always rewarded with an interesting couple of hours with George Noory.  If you're a night owl, the show interview will begin on Sunday night at midnight Pacific Coast time.

See you on the radio!

Link to Book One at Amazon:

Link to book two at Amazon:

Carl Sagan, a visit to Coast to Coast and "Children's Past Lives"

A question asked on Quora the other day....

Hacking the Afterlife - link to the 
book "Hacking the Afterlife"

Why are Richard Martini's books labeled under New Age, not science in Amazon?

Richard Martini, Film Director Writer at Internet Movie Database (1985-present)

Answered Wed

My reply: 

"Ha! That’s an easy one. Because I label them, Amazon does not.

If I could label them under “science” I would get a lot of people arguing about the research. So why bother with arguing? As I’ve heard consistently in this research from folks on the Flipside: “Tell people to believe in the possibility of an afterlife, then they won’t waste any more of their time arguing about it.” 

Harry Dean and a furry friend

(That's a quote from Harry Dean Stanton from  "Backstage Pass to the Flipside: Talking to the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer")

But let’s consider what you’re asking for a moment. Have I been able to present my research to scientists? Yes, I have. It happened after I finished “Flipside.” I was invited to the University of Virginia’s Dept of Perceptual Studies to speak about what I’d learned by filming people under deep hypnosis about the afterlife.

In the room were some of the top scientists in the world with regard to consciousness studies, including Dr. Bruce Greyson (NDE), Dr. Jim Tucker (reincarnation) Ed Kelly PhD (Psi) and others. They had all read the book, and began our conversation with telling me that “hypnosis is not considered a valid scientific tool.” (And Ian Stevenson, the founder of DOPS had written about why that’s the case.)

(A good place to take a look at near death experiences is IANDS.ORG - The website for DOPS is here: (see article below)

Fortunately, I was aware of Ian’s prejudice against the practice, and agreed wholeheartedly that “hypnosis as it was practiced by Freud” is not a valid tool. Too many factors can influence the process, including the desire of the patient to be cured, the doctor wanted to effect a cure, as well as the time element - “in the next hour please tell me why you’ve got a phobia.”

I pointed out that in Michael Newton’s case (before I was aware of Dr. Helen Wambach’s identical research a decade earlier) the time element was gone - as the sessions took from four to six hours. The questions by design were neutral; “What do you see if anything? Where are we now? Is it day or night? Are you a man or a woman?” But most importantly, and this was my point of pursuing this line of research, it didn’t matter who the person was asking the questions, it didn’t matter who the person was answering the questions, they all said relatively the same things about the journey; having a guide or guides, seeing their friends or loved ones in a “soul group,” all visited a “council” where they saw their life review, etc.

I argued that the fact that thousands of people across the globe said the same basic things during their session created a database of research. I gave them a challenge; to take any person off the street, or anyone that they chose, a skeptic, didn’t matter, and have them do a session; if they got contrary results, then fine the experiment was over; end of discussion. 

But if they got the same results that Michael Newton did, or that I was claiming anyone could, then it was up to them as scientists to prove why that is the case.

Because I am not a scientist. I’m a filmmaker. All I was doing was filming these people (which no one had done before) and transcribing exactly what they said, and comparing what they said - different hypnotherapists, different people from across the globe. Everyone said relatively the same thing.

Ultimately, I’ve learned second hand that indeed they have done that - that someone who is in the film “Flipside” has done sessions with scientists and had the same results. As I said at the time “It’s not up to me to prove why that’s the case, I’m just a filmmaker. If you guys are scientists, then it’s up to you why that is the case.”

They pointed out that it was nearly impossible to mount a university based study on what I was proposing. It would cost money, and the people who sponsor these kinds of studies are by and large pharmacological entities who want the results of the tests to help them market and sell their products. That’s not a pejorative - it’s just stating the facts. Very hard to mount a study about something if someone isn’t financing it. (I’m glad to see that DOPS has just published results of a study about reincarnation in children.) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/...

Now that study is science. (I don’t need to be a scientist to stand outside the school and point in the right direction.)

This topic came up the other day when I was filming an interview with a medium who was answering questions I was posing to people on the flipside. (Jennifer Shaffer - “Backstage Pass to the Flipside: Talking to the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer”) At some point, I was asking questions directly to Carl Sagan. (Yes, that Carl Sagan.) I asked “Carl” if he had any advice for his fans.

Jennifer: “He says tell them to stop wasting time doing what he did.”

Rich: “Arguing about the afterlife?”

J: It’s so pointless.

R: Well how can we help them?

J: It’s paradise over here.

R: But how can we help them?

J: We can’t.

R: So these books are not helping. Is that what you’re saying, these books are a waste of time Carl, “Mr. Blue Dot?” (I have a tendency to tease whomever I’m talking to).

J: They’re all laughing. “No. The books are timeless, people can come or go and think what they’ll think and they’ll find them… like if I (Jennifer) had come across your book “Flipside” in my 20’s I wouldn’t have been ready for it, but coming across it when I did was the perfect time for it.” 

(Excerpt from upcoming Third Book of “Backstage Pass to the Flipside: Talking to the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer.” All Rights Reserved. Copyright Rich Martini 2018)

So I’m not concerned AT ALL whether people find this research annoying, promising, science or fantasy. I know what I know, and I can only report what I’ve experienced, what I’ve filmed and transcribed. I’ll leave it up to posterity to figure out whether or not any of it is accurate. But thanks for the shout out! 

Happy Thanksgiving.'

Book Two - both available on Audible.com

I'll be appearing with George Noory this coming Dec. 2nd at 10 p.m. PST.  Tune in if you'd like to hear the latest about whatever the latest thing is that's on my mind.  Always a treat to talk to George.

George and moi

Here's the article from DOPS on the scientific research regarding children remembering past lives:

https://med.virginia.edu/perceptual-studies/research-area/children-who-report-memories-of-previous-lives/

"Some young children, usually between the ages of 2 and 5, speak about memories of a previous life they claim to have lived. At the same time they often show behaviors, such as phobias or preferences, that are unusual within the context of their particular family and cannot be explained by any current life events. These memories appear to be concordant with the child’s statements about a previous life.

In many cases of this type, the child’s statements have been shown to correspond accurately to facts in the life and death of a deceased person. Some of the children have birthmarks and birth defects that correspond to wounds or other marks on the deceased person whose life is being remembered by the child.  In numerous cases postmortem reports have confirmed these correspondences. Older children may retain these apparent memories, but generally they seem to fade around the age of 7 .  The young subjects of these cases have been found all over the world including Europe and North America.

For the past 16 years, Dr. Jim Tucker, now the director of the Division of Perceptual Studies, has focused mainly on cases found in the United States. His most recent book Return to Life offers accounts of  very strong American cases of young children who remember previous lives.

Types of Statements a Child Might Make:

Statements made by a child who seems to be remembering a previous life can be quite varied. The following is not an exhaustive list by any means. It is designed to give an idea of the kinds of things a parent or caregiver might hear, and in our Western culture, tend to dismiss as fantasy. It is also true that a child might say one or more of these things and not be remembering a previous life. It is probably best not to pump a child for information, nor to try and prevent him or her from saying such things.

• “You’re not my mommy/daddy.”
• “I have another mommy/daddy.”
• “When I was big, I …(used to have blue eyes/had a car, etc.).”
• “That happened before I was in mommy’s tummy.”
• “I have a wife/husband/children.”
• “I used to…(drive a truck/live in another town, etc.)”
• “I died … (in a car accident/after I fell, etc.)”
• “Remember when I …(lived in that other house/was your daddy, etc.)”

Please contact us if your child appears to be having memories of a previous life:

• We are very interested in hearing about cases of young children who are currently spontaneously speaking about memories of a previous life.  If you are a parent or a caretaker of a young child, please contact us to submit your observations and experiences of your child’s behaviors and statements about memories of a previous life.

Advice to parents of children who are reporting memories of a previous life.

• If you are a parent seeking advice about your child who seems to remember a previous life, please refer to Advice to Parents.

Books about the research being done at DOPS into memories of previous lives:

We invite you to view a list of books on reincarnation written by our faculty. The list includes books written by our director, Dr. Jim Tucker, as well as the long list of books authored by our founder, Dr. Ian Stevenson.  Among the many ground breaking books by Dr. Stevenson is his comprehensive two volume set, Reincarnation and Biology: A Contribution to the Etiology of Birthmarks and Birth Defects, Volumes I and II. In this 2268 page, two volume set, Dr. Stevenson wrote about his extensive research into cases of birthmarks and birth defects which appeared to strongly correlate to memories of a past life in particular subjects. Dr. Stevenson also wrote an abridged version of this research called Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect.

In 2013, Dr. Jim Tucker, appointed director of the Division of Perceptual Studies in 2014, authored his second book on the topic of cases of children who report memories of a previous life. In his most recent book Return to Life, Dr. Tucker describes the research into strong American cases being carried out at DOPS. In Tucker’s first book, Life Before Life, he reviews forty years of research into children who report memories of previous lives. This book contains some accounts of interesting American cases, as well as descriptions of Dr. Ian Stevenson’s classic cases in Asia.

(RM: I'd include Carol Bowman's work "Children's Past Lives" in this list) 

Other publications on past-life memories:

For a list of academic papers specifically on the study of past life memories written by our faculty, please see Publications on Past-life Memories.

Expanded List of Publications:

To view the expanded list of publications generated by the UVA Division of Perceptual Studies researchers, go to the Academic Publications Page.

The Afterlife Consultant - Rich Martini

At the insistence of my colleague and pal Jennifer Shaffer, I'm announcing (trumpets please) that I am starting consultations "about the flipside."

If you've heard me speak on the topic at "Coast to Coast AM" or on "Beyond Belief" you know that George Noory calls me "The Afterlife Expert."

I can't do what Jennifer Shaffer does as a medium - speak directly to folks on the flipside, and I can't do what Scott De Tamble does - spend four to six hours speaking directly to your guides on the other side while you're under deep hypnosis - but I can do something that touches on aspects of both.

And that is "talk to you and your guides about the afterlife."

I know that sounds odd. But in my experience, people are attracted to this field not because they're "just curious" - but because either someone on the flipside needs to speak with them, or one of their guides wants them to access this information.

And I do so without hypnosis of any kind.  In fact, it's often over coffee, in my favorite coffee shop.  So no one is hypnotized during these sessions, however, they all say that they "feel as if they've been hypnotized" because they see, sense or experience things they've never experienced before.

Here are a few examples that I've filmed:

1. Santa Barbara
2. Dr. Drew 
3. Live on the Radio


I always insist - to the point of being annoying - that anyone who seriously wants to examine or put themselves deeply into this research should seek out a trained hypnotherapist who does this kind of work.  I recommend finding a hypnotherapist who can take them further and much deeper than I ever have the patience to do so - and in that case, I recommend hypnotherapist trained by the Newton Institute. I do so because I've filmed dozens of sessions from folks who were trained by them.

With Jennifer Shaffer and Scott De Tamble

In Los Angeles, I often work with Scott De Tamble, who is an expert in this field. He has done hundreds of between life sessions, and I've filmed a few dozen of them.

When a person wants to have direct contact with a loved one on the flipside, I recommend reaching out to Jennifer Shaffer.  I've worked with Jennifer, she works with law enforcement and has done over 3000 cases already.

I've been on "Coast to Coast AM" as the "Afterlife Expert."  So if I'm expert at anything, it's at asking questions that elicit answers we don't think we're aware of.

So if you're in search of understanding the architecture of the afterlife, I can help you do that, as well as to help you access certain elements of that journey from dreams or other events.  If you've had a near death experience, or some other consciousness altered event, I can help you access the event on a deeper more profound level than your memory can.  

I've done this with a number of individuals live on stage (see above links) and recently I did so with a fellow who reached out to me here in Santa Monica.

This man had a dream one night where a voice said to him "You need to learn how to speak to your children after you're dead." 

The sentence startled him, had no idea who said it or why. He began to research the topic and found me living in the same town. He contacted me after reading a few books on the topic.

He was startled by the sentence.  It wasn't a topic he was researching, it wasn't something he was focused on, and needless to say, the sentence, as clear as it was, disturbed him.  Who said it?  Why did they say it? Was it a warning of some kind?

We met for coffee and discussed it.  He told me about his life growing up, the journeys he had been on, and nothing from what he described seemed to prompt this kind of message.  I broke it down into three pieces for him; 1. The sentence was said at a time when he wasn't stressed.  If he had been, had a health issue or some other stressful event, he would have associated it with that problem.  But since it was not, he would have no associations to attach to it.  2. It mentioned his children, which made it a more heartfelt message - if he had heard "you need to learn to speak to people on the other side when you're dead" it might have been dismissed as a generic "message."  But since his children were attached to it, it gave import.  3.  The message, for good or bad, had caused him to find me so I could walk him through it.

Then we began to talk about who the person was who might have sent the message.  He said he did not know who the voice was - but I asked him to "open himself up to the possibility that he might know who that was" and to "allow an image of that person to come to mind."  (Again, no hypnosis, just coffee.) At some point, he glanced over my shoulder and began to describe someone he saw in his mind's eye. A friend. Not from this life, but from previous lifetimes. 

We examined those lifetimes.  He remembered being a soldier with this fellow back in the 1300's in France, where they were comrades that helped people in the countryside to fight against other marauding people.  Like a mercenary, but the word "musketeer" came to mind.  He had a name and a place for these activities, and I was able to research and find them to be accurate.

We walked through another lifetime memory, that of him and this fellow fighting alongside soldiers in "red coats" against soldiers in "blue coats."  They were fighting for survival mostly, but in this case when asked to say his name back then, he spelled it as Pawnee. 

This fellow is not from the U.S. so he was not aware of the British soldiers paying the Pawnee to fight alongside of them against the Americans during the revolutionary and War of 1812.  He later looked up the outfits that he had seen in his mind's eye, and found accurate descriptions of what he saw.

Pawnee as described by this man who had never heard of the tribe.

But it's not enough to ask about previous lifetimes - more important is "What did these lives have in common?"  Or "how do these lives relate to your overall journey or theme of your life?"  He examined that as well, and at some point I walked him into visit his council.  

It was there that he met some of the guides that have been overseeing all of his lifetimes, and I asked the members of his council detailed questions about their own path and journey.

We also spoke to an "entity" that appeared that incarnates here on the planet as a tree. We asked her questions about that journey and when asked about opinion of humans this feminine entity said "She feels sad." I asked "Why?" She said "Because humans have lost their ability to communicate with trees. Thousands of years ago they had the ability. But they have lost it. Not many humans can communicate with us."

I didn't invent this conversation. The man I was speaking with, fully conscious, had never heard of anyone "communicating with a tree."  But there, over coffee, we had this unusual conversation (from the man's subconscious answering my questions, like "Can we talk to this entity? Is it male or female, neither or both?") that allowed us to get an answer to a question that neither of us had ever thought to ask, or ever thought could be answered. 

Trees are sad on our behalf. At least this one was.

All of this took about two hours over coffee at my favorite spot.

Jennifer insists that people will want to "sign up" to do something like this with me on a regular basis. We'll see.

with Jennifer Shaffer and George Noory

So I'm offering this service to anyone who might be in Santa Monica who wants to reach out and talk about the flipside. I can so via phone, skype or in person.  

If you'd like to schedule a consultation, send an email to me at MartiniConsultants (at) gmail - and we can figure it out from there.  Thanks for tuning in!

New Beyond Belief with George Noory "Talking to the Flipside"

https://www.gaia.com/video/tales-flipside-richard-martini

PREVIEW: https://www.gaia.com/video/tales-flipside-richard-martini?fullplayer=preview

"Life after death may be far more fantastical than you can believe. Richard Martini presents us with a new perspective of the afterlife, based on his documentation of countless Between Life sessions, including contact with the late Bill Paxton. We listen in on several of these sessions to glean the uncanny commonalities of the accounts, giving us a clearer picture of what awaits us on the flipside of life.

After a dream vision of visiting his friend in the Great Beyond, author and award winning filmmaker Richard Martini went on a literary quest to discover the prevailing science and philosophical opinions on the afterlife. Eventually he was introduced to the work of author and hypnotherapist Dr. Michael Newton. FlipSide: A Tourist's Guide to the Afterlife is his debut non-fiction book on a topic that's been haunting him since the death of a soul mate."

Instructor/Host: George Noory

Featuring: Richard Martini

Video Language: English

Ghost Stories Beyond the Light

I answer questions on Quora now and then, and one of the most common is "Do you believe in ghosts?"

Per LaChaise Cemetery in Paris

I asked that question to my father as a toddler and his reply still holds up; "Ghosts don't exist."

Which I agree.  Ghosts, per se, do not exist.  Because they aren't "ghosts." They're just folks who are no longer on the planet.  They're people. They're still here.  Get over it.

I've seen ghosts most of my life - but didn't concern myself about it. Honestly.  It wasn't until they started to bug me that I actually thought about who or what they might be.

Like the fellow who used to live in my apartment in Santa Monica. I used to see him sitting on the edge of my bed.  "Who are you?" I got the impression he'd lived there before. Then I woke up to find him lying next to me on the bed. Naked. I jumped out of it (he disappeared).  I said "Dude. I don't mind you hanging out in your hold apt, but do not wake me up with your naked ass!"

He stopped. Then one day a new tenant ran in from next door.  Apt had been empty for years.  She screamed. "I was brushing my teeth and I looked up and a guy was standing behind me in the mirror!"  I said "Oh, was he about 5'10, sandy hair?" She said "Yes!"  I said "Oh, he's just the fellow who used to live here.  If you just tell him to stop doing that, he will."

Years later, I was in the post office standing next to a guy writing his return address on an envelope and recognized the address. (What are the odds?) I said "Dude, you live with a ghost."  He said "What?"  I told him the story... he didn't like hearing the story.  Too bad.  He lives with a ghost. Get over it.

I was in Sydney visiting the home of a friend who'd just sold his house. (Phillip Noyce and Jan Sharp in Darlinghurst) It was empty save for a bed which they left behind so I could camp out for a couple of fun filled weeks.  

One morning I awoke to see a man in a painter's outfit hanging from the rafters.  When he saw me react, he reacted - and said in an Aussie accent; "Terribly sorry mate, it's just something I feel the need to do." Then a ladder appeared, and he pulled the rope from his rafter and CLIMBED DOWN THE LADDER.  I blinked... and it was gone.

Not his ladder

I spoke to Jan Sharp later that day "What's up with the ghost?" She asked what I was talking about. I told her.  She said "Well our painter did hang himself but he did so in his own home."  I said "Well, he must like your home better because he's still hanging around."

I originally thought he was Mohawk
but research tells me he was Iroquois.

I was teaching in Maine - I woke to find a native american in full battle gear standing over me with an axe and a knife.  His arms were dripping something - looked like blood - could have been paint.  He was SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER in my face.  Like "Get out!" but in Mohawk or Iroquois. I jumped up and he disappeared.  I said "Look, I'm only teaching here in Maine for a week - I'll be gone then, okay?"  And for that entire week slept with every light on, tv on, radio on. He didn't bug me again.

Like I say - just didn't bother with them. If they don't bother me, why bother them?

Can you hear me now?

Until I was staying at a friend's place in Connecticut.  And my wife and I heard "knocking" "tapping" outside the wall - where no one could knock. And then the lights going on and off - and a groan... whenever it rained.  

One night I had a vivid dream where I met this "angry presence" - which I saw covered in blood, in a british uniform - old, tattered, beard... angry fellow showed me the horrors of his situation.  Dead bodies all around - moaning and general horror.

I did some research, found the home was built on a British garrison from 1812. I think I was being shown the hospital - or the dungeon - I don't know.  It was pretty nasty.  

But the next time this fellow appeared - sensing his presence "enter the room" in a cloud of anger. I said "Hi. Look. I know you're upset that we're staying in your home.  I apologize. However, if you look around you'll see a light, and beyond that light is everyone you've ever loved. Just go into that light and you'll see what I'm talking about."  I was guessing this to be the case - I had just started this research, and it seemed like the most logical, compassionate thing to say.

Typical 1812 uniform

He didn't bother us again that trip... and I thought, "wow, cool, it worked." (We'd tried sage and any other number of suggestions... never told our hosts about it. Why tell them "There's a scary ghost in your guest house?")  

But a year later we were back, and this time I had a dream where this young handsome guy came to visit - he was wearing 19th century clothes, three piece suit - trimmed beard. He came up to me and said in the most proper English; "I just wanted to come back and thank you for sending me home."

Mind you - I ASSUMED this was make believe - wishful thinking.  But I also allowed it might not be.  I may have mentioned this in my books - but maybe not. I'm writing this down, because I tried this technique a few weeks ago.

George Noory of "Coast to Coast" fame.

I was in Boulder shooting "Beyond Belief" with George Noory.  The episode hasn't aired yet, but will soon. I was in the makeup room with the very talented makeup artist, and we were catching up since my last appearance.  

A producer came in and said "Tell him about the ghost!"  She said "Oh yeah, there's a ghost in the studio."  I asked about him. She said she saw him one day - walking in to a locked set - hiding behind some lights.  She said the crew all knew "someone" was moving lights around, breaking them, doing stuff in a locked room - but she also "saw him."

George Noory and Jennifer Shaffer

I asked if she'd seen ghosts before. "When I was younger."  I said, "Let's try an experiment, shall we?" Who is this guy?  She said "No idea."  I said, "Let's ask.  Try to remember what you saw. Can you freeze what you saw as a photograph? or a hologram?" 

She said "Ok."  "Move closer to him, what does he look like?" She described a young man in his 20's, sandy hair, eyes, etc.  I said "Let's ask him. Who are you?" She "heard" a name - told it to me, and we "asked him" what he was doing there. She said her first impression was that he died nearby in a fire in the 1950's. 

She said "he's very angry." I said "What about?" She said... "Oh my god! About our show! He's angry because he says the people who come on the show are not telling the truth about what it's like over there!"  

She laughed - the producer was still in the room, and they both laughed at that idea; a critic from the flipside.  I said "What is it they're getting wrong?"  She said "He says "Everything."

I said, "Look around you my friend. There's a light. And beyond that light is everyone you've ever loved and who ever loved you. Do you want to go and see it?" She said "No, he's too angry."  

I thought okay, try another tack.  I said "Well, can you see the light?" "Yes." "Can you go closer to it?" "Okay." "Describe what you feel."  He said "It feels warmer."  I said "Okay, step through the light."  He said "No, I don't want to let go of my anger."  

I said, "It's okay. Your anger will stay here.  You can always come back and retrieve it.  Just put your hand through the light, how does that feel?"  "Warmer."  I said "Now stand in the light, what's that feel like?" She/he said "I feel less angry."  I said "Okay, step on the other side of the light - you can always come back here, this sound stage isn't going anywhere."  (If I were filming this, this is the moment I would have shoved the fellow "through the door." But I didn't. I just asked him to check out the other side.)

He said "Okay." I said "Describe what you're seeing."  He said "I'm seeing everything differently..." I said "Look around. Do you see your family?"  He said "I hate my family. I wouldn't go to them if I saw them."  

I pressed him; "But look carefully. See anyone?" He said "I see my uncle. He's the only person who loved me."  I said "Can we ask your uncle to come over here?" He said "okay."  

Home. 

I said "Take his hand. What does that feel like?"  He said he felt love, comfort, safety.  I asked if the uncle would show him around a bit?" The uncle said, "Sure." (She said, "He's saying "sure.")

I said "Look, you can always come back - do you want to come back?" And he said "No, I want to stay here with my uncle for awhile."

With George in the makeup room.

George popped his head in and off I went to do the show.  After the show, I went back to get my bag and the make-up artist said "He came back!" 

I thought... "Oh no, it didn't work. Their ghost had returned."  I said "It didn't work?"  She said "No, he just came back to thank me for helping him."  

It did work.

So in answer to the question "What would you say to a ghost now that you know the architecture of the flipside?" that's what I'd say. "Everyone who ever loved you, or whom you loved, is on the other side of that light."  

We don't need to push them out the door - it's up to them to take it. But that's one method of how to do it.