Thoughts on the City of Light

Thoughts on Paris:

As we pick up the shell casings, wash away the blood, turn off the news from the horror of it all. We'll point fingers at others, try to make sense of tragedy, try to remember what Paris was like before. We search for answers, curse god, curse our brothers, curse the bullets, the bombs, the drones, the dead, those who drove us here, those who've driven this bus, our bus into a ditch. 

We weep for Paris, city of light, city of love, crazy city of jazz, of singing, dining, art, stunning beauty brought to its knees by a handful of lost, unhappy, unloved, bereft souls. How did their world become so dark they feel the urge to darken the rest of us? Guns will be reloaded, drones will be sent, warbucks spent, more blood spilled, terror breeds terror. I weep for Paris, i weep for the past, my past, my friends, who live in this city. 

But i weep also for my world, my planet, my children who will never know the Paris i knew, who now live in a world of rage. Would knowing that we dont die, that we choose our lifetimes no matter how difficult, help? I dont know. 

All i can say is, Converse with the ghosts of Per Lachaise cemetery. They can tell you, Paris will rise again. That Paris is okay, and she will recover, standing atop that heap of hate, waving that magnificent banner of red, white and blue. Vive la France!

Was at an event this morning, and the people involved asked everyone to stand and sing "Imagine" in honor of the Paris bombings.

Imagine 
by John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will live as one

Pianist Plays 'Imagine' Outside Bataclan, Uniting Parisians In Moment Of Peace
He rolled up a grand piano and played to a crowd of journalists and onlookers.

Reporter, The Huffington Post
Posted: 11/14/2015 11:12 AM EST | Edited: 1 hour ago

The day after a series of attacks in Paris killed more than 120, a man rolled up a piano outside the city's Bataclan theater and played John Lennon's "Imagine."

CNN's Hala Gorani reported on it live from the scene Saturday during the CNN morning show "New Day." The sounds of the piano can be heard in the background of her report.

"There's a grand piano that was just rolled out in the middle of the crowd and in the middle of this group of journalists and someone playing 'Imagine' by John Lennon -- quite loudly, so perhaps you watching us all over the world, can hear it," Gorani said. 

German news site Sudkurier identified the man as German pianist Davide Martello, based on a tweet in which Martello said he would be playing Paris, rather than appearing as planned on Saturday in the German city of Konstanz. 

Martello, who goes by the nickname Klavier Kunst, then tweeted out a link to the Sudkurier piece with a message in English.

He posted identical messages on his Facebook page.

"Imagine," the title song of Lennon's 1971 solo album, remains one of the world's most famous peace anthems. Its lyrics ask us to imagine a world of unity and harmony. It specifically speaks about removing nationalist and religious prejudices.

"Imagine there's no countries / It isn't hard to do," Lennon sings. "Nothing to kill or die for / And no religion too / Imagine all the people / Living life in peace."

At least 89 people died in the attack on the Bataclan theater on Friday night. It is the site of the deadliest in a series of gun attacks and bombings across Paris that have killed at least 129 people.

Martello has a history of taking his piano to socially significant events. He played an extended set at the protests in Istanbul's Gezi Park in June 2013.

"My goal is to travel around the whole world with my grand piano and to inspire people in the middle of the streets," Martello wrote on his Facebook page. "I compose my own stuff usually in the street or daydreams."

Quantum Weirdness, Biocentrism and the Flipside

Some pals of mine turned me on to Robert Lanza's book "Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe."

Excellent tome, highly recommended.  Some observations based on the research that I've been doing into first hand accounts of people no longer on the planet:


Review of Biocentrism by Richard Conn Henry, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University (Journal of Scientific Exploration)

“The heart of [biocentrism], collectively, is correct. On page 15 they say “the animal observer creates reality and not the other way around.” That is the essence of the entire book, and that is factually correct. It is an elementary conclusion from quantum mechanics.

So what Lanza says in this book is not new. Then why does Robert have to say it at all? It is because we, the physicists, do NOT say it–or if we do say it, we only whisper it, and in private–furiously blushing as we mouth the words. True, yes; politically correct, hell no!

Bless Robert Lanza for creating this book, and bless Bob Berman for not dissuading friend Robert from going ahead with it. Not that I think Robert Lanza could be dissuaded–this dude doesn’t dissuade! Lanza’s remarkable personal story is woven into the book, and is uplifting. You should enjoy this book, and it should help you on your personal journey to understanding.


In Dr. Lanza's book (with Bob Berman) goes into how quantum theory works only when consciousness is added to its mechanics.

That consciousness - and the way that Dr. Lanza discusses it, the observer observing phenomena creates that phenomena (because it's translated into phenomena in the brain.)

I've found the same accounts in the research I've been doing into what people say about the afterlife through eyewitness accounts (near death experiences) via hypnosis sessions (memories of previous lifetimes and the between lifetime arena) and mediums (not discussing predictions, but when discussing architecture of the afterlife.)  

I've found that there are some key maxims that dovetail with Dr. Lanza's work. Here's ten of 'em.

1. Everything is energy.

Just so we're on the same page here, it's important to note that - everything, every thought, deed, action, feeling, emotion has its roots in energy. Thoughts are energy, emotions are energy, matter is energy agreeing to hold together in one place.

2. We are energetic beings.

We influence what we're going to see or perceive, or experience, based on our reception of that energy, like a stereo receiver.  And like a stereo receiver, or tv set, we have certain filters that block out other information - either because it's unnecessary, or it would interrup our functioning properly (or living out our lives as we've planned to do so.)  And by the way, in some of the accounts I've examined, people on the flipside claim that when two individuals come together, they can create any structure over there that they want to - classrooms, schools, homes, a bar - whatever floats their boat.  But it takes focus and concentration of energy. 

("Afterlife of Billy Fingers" by Annie Kagan, "My Life after Life" by Galen Stoler, "My Life After Death" by Erik Medhus all contain the same basic concept.)

3. Time is holographic in nature.

Dr. Lanza talks about people revisiting, as he does, their youth and other time frames, noting that they still exist.  They exist in our minds to be sure, but they exist inherently, since time is a structure of our experience.  So previous time periods exist, as well as people who lived in these time periods also still exist.  

4. No one dies.

He notes that this is what his research has proven to him.  And it is the same thing that I've learned in my research - but to take it a step further, no one dies, but everyone is accessible.  Meaning if you had the coordinates of a person - the time frame when they existed in the form that you want to access (not in a present lifetime, or a previous one) you can access these individuals.  And you can do it consistenly with different people in different places.  it's a matter of asking someone to see if they can access someone who used to be on the planet, and then if they can, to ask that person who is no longer on the planet to answer some basic questions about their existence, or more importantly "their opinion" about what's currently happening at the moment.

5. Everything is relative.

I've found this to be true as well.  So if I ask medium A to access a historical figure, they will do their best to speak or observe or translate what they're sensing or hearing.  I then ask medium B to access the same person - and while I get the same basic answers to events in that person's life, I get a slightly different impression of that person - because of the filter that is being used to access that person.  For example, I've done extensive historical research into the life of Amelia Earhart.  I've worked on two films about her life, and know some intimate details about her life that aren't public knowledge.  I've spoken to "Amelia" or a form of Amelia through a variety of different mediums to ask further questions about her path and journey on the planet - about "what happened" and why.  Depending on the skills of the medium I've gotten detailed answers to questions I know for a fact I'm the only person privy to - and further have been told details ("new information") by her that turn out to be true upon further forensic investigation.  


I bring this up not because I've done extensive research into Earhart's life and death, but because I've been able to use this odd method to access information from her. 

6. Time is relative.

I know how weird that sounds - but I've found it to be accurate. First of all, time and space are a construct of our realm.  That doesn''t mean they don't exist in the realm outside this realm - but that it's inherently different. I've spoken to a number of people about time "outside" of time - and one person said "It's relative. If you look at a string you'll see that it goes from left to right - but if you look at it from the end, it's all one piece.  So it depends upon your point of view."

Got that?  --------- is a linear expression of time.  But O is also an expression of time, if O is the end of the string - and you're looking down it. So time is relative as well.

7. If we don't die, then everyone who has ever lived is accessible.

Hard to get your mind around - but think of anyone in human history. Imagine for a moment that 2000 years to someone outside of time might feel like a couple of weeks.  So talking to someone who existed 2000 years ago isn't that hard to fathom.  So how to reach out to that person?  You merely have to ask for them.  How to ask for them?  You need to access the energetic pattern that once existed as them.  Which is back to the hologram of time.  If once we're outside of time we're outside of time - then it's no problem for me to ask a question to Plato, Cicero, take your pick.  They didn't die, they can't die, they aren't dead, so therefore they still exist.

Have they reincarnated? It's likely, it's possible, but it's up to them.  Can we access all of their lifetimes? Why not? I've interviewed numerous people who've seen or witnessed dozens of their own lifetimes, and remember details from all of them.  If we can access our own memory of various lifetimes, then why not access someone else's memory of their lifetimes?

8. There are no questions that can't be answered.

Ah, but that's the rub. How do you ask the question?  You might want to know how to turn salt water to fresh water. Or coal to gold.  Is it possible?  Well, it may or may not be physically possible - but there's no question that can't be posed to those who would know, to those who are outside our time frame, to those who had a hand in the creation of the universe.

9. If consciousness is responsible for the creation of the Universe, then why can't we ask it questions?

We can. I have. I would argue that if you ask one person, or one entity a question of such magnitude, you'll get a complex answer. But if you ask 100 people on the flipside the same question, you'll eventually see a pattern in the answers.  It could be the human being making up the answer, it could be some kind of universal memory of events - but it could also be the answer.  And there's no point in asking a question you know the answer to.  Ask the questions you don't know the answer to.

10. The veil is thinning.

I don't know why this is, but it's been reported often in many sessions. It's been reported by people under deep hypnosis, by mediums, by people on the flipside who when asked "why is it so easy to access you?" the answer is "because the veil is thinning."

What is the veil?  Is it a filter in the minds of humans that doesn't allow us to access other information, the way snakes and bees can access ultra violet light?  Is it a form of energy that allows dolphin to communicate with each other soundlessly to perform complex maneuvers in synch that haven't been taught? Is it the definition of quantum weirdness? Or quantum entanglement where one photon always knows what's happening with the other photon?

I don't know.

But I bet we'll find out.

Some further thoughts for today:

In "Biocentrism" Lanza has opened up a can of worms, or perhaps a panorama of pandorian perplexity.  He shows (it's a "proof" really, a scientific paper that argues for something to be true) that consciousness - or whatever we call mind - is intimately involved in every part of the universe including but not limited to, its creation. It begins with "if a tree falls in the forest does it make a sound?"  (if your ear doesn't hear the sound wave, then "sound" doesn't exist) and moves into quantum entanglement and describes my new favorite branch of science "quantum weirdness." 

What does this have to do with It's a Wonderful Afterlife: Further Adventures in the Flipside? The books interview people who've been to "this other realm" or scientists who examine this "other realm" through near death experiences, out of body experiences or while under deep hypnosis. 

And what they say about the journey dovetails with what Dr. Lanza (with Berman) is writing about - that consciousness does go on, and quantum science is an explanation for it.  But it's a bit like a scientist standing on the edge of a continent and saying "there's land over here!" Everyone and their brother will deny there's land over there, and will argue for not exploring that land for fear of ... perhaps destroying our land. But when you speak to the explorers who've been there - to that land - you get a consistency of reporting.  

They're saying the same basic things about this territory - "it's vast" "beyond the brain's ability to comprehend" "time doesn't exist" (or it exists relatively different) "I saw my loved ones, held their hands" "I saw all of my various lifetimes at once in a flash" "I spoke to my spirit guide who showed me why I chose this lifetime" "I felt like I was close to source, or God" "I loved it so much I didn't want to come back" "there's a feeling of unconditional love over there" "I see now why I chose this difficult life, to help others out of compassion" "I saw Jesus, and he was wearing jeans and a tee shirt" "I met my spirit guide, who has been with me for all my lifetimes" "It's so awesome I can't use words to describe it."  

I've been getting these reports - on film - for the past six years. At first I didn't know what to make of it - "how could all these people who've never met be making up the same story about the journey of souls?"  "How is it that I, who am not trained in therapy at all, can merely ask a series of questions and get the same answers that people give while under deep hypnosis, or from their subconscious about a near death experience?"  

Here, for the first time in my experience, is a biologist who offers some logical conclusions about how consciousness creates our universe - but I would offer - to what end is that happening?


And from what I've learned in this research is that there is a reason for that - it's not random, it's not karmic and it's not willy nilly - there's a logic (and symmetry and beauty) to the entire program, to the adventure, to what it is we're doing here on the planet. 

And my observations are not limited to my brain capacity, nor my ability to ask people unusual questions, or to have a camera in the right place at the right time - we are all imbued with these abilities, we are all spirits living as human beings, and even though a majority of us (Lanza puts it at 75%) will never have an apotheosis, or experience where we see how "all things are connected" (I haven't, but I've interviewed many who have) in this lifetime - that "spiritual awakening" that the NY Times magazine wrote about in 1976 (He quotes it in the book), that doesn't mean that we can't put our minds around it, hone the abilities we have to sense and feel and emote, and allow that all of this research is being done for the betterment of the planet.  

"On January 26, 1976, the New York Times Magazine published an entire article on this phenomenon, along with a survey showing that at least 25 percent of the population have had at least one experience that they described as “a sense of the unity of everything,” and “a sense that all the universe is alive.” Fully 40 percent of the 600 respondents additionally reported it as “a conviction that love is at the center of everything” and said it entailed “a feeling of deep and profound peace.”


Berman, Bob; Lanza, Robert (2010-02-02). Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe (p. 34). BenBella Books, Inc.. Kindle Edition. 

My two cents with some spare change.

Flipside Book Talks

Here's my 'FLIPSIDE BOOK TALKS' page on youtube.  There's some repetition here, but some of this bears repeating.

enjoy!

Interview with Kevin Moore and the Flipside

for more info on the new book, or to donate: HACKINGTHEAFTERLIFE.COM 

Here's an interview I did with Britain's version of "Coast to Coast" with Kevin Moore.  Kevin's got a cool blog, he's an unusual cat, and at the end, we do an impromptu interview with someone who may or may not be the person mentioned - I try not to judge these things - and you'll see from my questions to this "person on the flipside" that I had a couple of things to clarify with him... be that as it may, it's entertaining at the very least. 

 Enjoy.

Jim Carrey and the Flipside

Came across this cool clip today.


Jim Carrey introduced Eckart Tolle and transcendental meditation

Well... you can get back to the flipside. 

A variety of ways to accomplish it - via meditation, between life hypnotherapy, a near death experience, and other consciousness altering events. 

I've been writing about these reports in "flipside" and "it's a wonderful afterlife." When we experience that apotheosis, there's a reason for that occuring, there's a logic to it, there's a sequence that allows that to occur, and the architecture of those events can be studied, examined, and made sense of. 

Not everyone signs up for that experience and with respect, I've observed that we all choose different paths -- but for those who do want to take that flipside journey, it appears to be something we all can experience when we put our minds to examining, understanding or experiencing it. 

My two cents.

The latest flipside book talk; for more info or to support the research, please visit HackingTheAfterlife.com. "Keep an Open Mind."

The Moore Show in the UK - Interview with Erik Medhus live on camera

I'm talking on this fellow's show next week, "The Moore Show" - here's a cool interview from last week with Dr. Medhus, her son Erik (who is on the Flipside) and Jamie Butler, who does a great job of speaking on his behalf. (For more videos see ChannelingErik.com) 




New information is in here: at one point Erik makes a suggestion that the host says he had just heard from his guides a week earlier. 

Some fun quotes - Erik calls coming back "extreme sport into human life" (the process of making the switch from there to here) refers to the "beauty of being human... the beauty of having the struggle." 

Erik asks his mom for the Schopenhauer quote: 

"Truth goes through 3 phases, ridicule, opposition, accepted as self-evident." 

Erik: "The hot ticket (in the near future) is going to be how science explains energy, and we're all going to have these.. aha moments." 

"Death is kind, death is a transition... we don't have to be so worried about success in a lifetime, focus on the emotions..." 

"Laughter heals... laughter aligns all the energy in the body so the (person) can vibrate higher, and you can perceive that subtle light energy... a wonderful dose of medication." (Same thing I heard in my 1st LBL - "laughter is the fastest way to change a disposition.") 

This is an example of how speaking to people on the Flipside can help enhance and be healing for what we're doing on this side.

for more info, or to donate to my next project, please visit HackingTheAfterlife.com

Saturday Oct 10th, book talk -It's a Wonderful Afterlife- in Tustin, CA

Writer, filmmaker, director Rich Martini is in the house!! Saturday, October 10th, 2015!!

ROBINBARR ♦ OCTOBER 9, 2015 ♦ LEAVE A COMMENT

Featured Speaker

​Rich Martini

Author, Filmmaker, Award-winning American film director, producer, screenwriter and freelance journalist

Date:          Saturday, ​ October 10, 2015

Time:         1:00-4:00 pm

Place:         Unity of Tustin, 14402 Prospect Ave., Tustin, CA
(Drive to the back of the church, turn left, and park.  Enter the 2nd door).

What happens after we die?

One of our most popular speakers, Rich Martini, award winning filmmaker and author of “Flipside: Journey to the Afterlife“, and “It’s a Wonderful Afterlife“, Volumes 1 and 2, is back to talk about the latest research into how near death experiences relate to between lives hypnotherapy, and first hand accounts of the ​flipside from people who are over there.

He’ll talk about evidence for life after death, via the “life between lives,” where we reportedly return to find our loved ones, soul mates and spiritual teachers based on the evidence of thousands of people who claim that under deep hypnosis, they saw and experienced the same basic things about the Afterlife.  And more,  how we are fully conscious between our various incarnations, and return to connect with loved ones and spiritual soul mates, together choosing how and when and with whom we’ll reincarnate;  why souls choose difficult lives in order to learn from their spiritually, no matter how difficult, strange or complex a life choice appears to be, ​how it’s made in advance, consciously, with the help of loved ones, soul mates and wise elders.

​ABOUT RICH MARTINI

After Rich had several “Other” experiences, including the death of a soul mate, which revealed to him that there is more to life than is apparent, he started exploring and looking for more information and answers to the truth about life and death.

Flipside was his debut non-fiction book. The film documentary is distributed by Gaiam TV and Amazon Prime. After experiencing a dream visit with his friend on the other side, Martini went on a literary quest to find out how science and philosophy are currently explaining these phenomena.

He journeyed into Tibetan Philosophy, made documentaries in Tibet and India, and eventually was introduced to the work of the Newton Institute, founded by renowned author and hypnotherapist Dr. Michael Newton (Author of Journey of Souls). The book contains interviews with numerous hypnotherapists who talk about past life regression and life-between-life therapy, using the information to help patients examine their immortal identity.

Flipside went to #1 at Amazon (Kindle, all its genres) and Rich’s follow up series It’s a Wonderful Afterlife also went to #1 due to his appearances on “Coast to Coast” radio. It’s a Wonderful Afterlife expands his research into the afterlife, including interviews with Bruce Greyson, MD, Mario Beauregard, PhD, and Gary Schwartz, PhD, about consciousness existing outside the brain. The author interviews people who’ve had both near-death experiences and between-life hypnotherapy sessions and includes transcripts from between-life sessions….including his own.

In 1978, Rich graduated Magna Cum Laude from Boston University with a BA degree in Humanities. He attended USC Film School and received an MA degree in 2008 from their Master of Professional Writing Program.

Reviews

Richard has written a terrific book. Insightful, funny, provocative and deep; I highly recommend it!
~Robert Thurman (author of Why the Dalai Lama Matters)

Everyone should have a Richard Martini in their life.
~ Charles Grodin (Author of Just When I Thought I’d Heard Everything!)

Inspiring, well written and entertaining. The kind of book where once you have read it, you will no longer be able to see the world in the same way again.
~ Gary E. Schwartz PhD (Author of The Sacred Promise)

We viewed Flipside last night and were blown away about how good it is; the visuals were outstanding – the care taken in putting it all together really shows.
~​Michael Newton, PhD (Author of Journey of Souls)

For more info, see:
www.AWonderfulAfterlife.com, www.FlipsideTheFilm.com or ​www.RichMartini.com

​

The Martian and the Overview Effect

Via Paz on FB

Are you familiar with the "overview effect?"

You should be.

It's what astronauts report after coming back to Earth after spending some time in space, circling the "pale blue dot."

It's important because a number of people have cited it as a "consciousness altering event" that occurred when seeing the earth from outer space.

Carl Sagan mentions it and coined the phrase "the pale blue dot."

Scientist/Philosopher Giordano Bruno had an out of body experience where he "saw the earth" from outer space, and it altered his idea of the heavens (and he was burned at the stake for it.)

Private Manning cited it in the film by Alex Gibney as to why she felt compelled to share the secret military files she's spending life in prison for.

OVERVIEW from Planetary Collective on Vimeo.

"The overview effect is a cognitive shift in awareness reported by some astronauts and cosmonauts during spaceflight, often while viewing the Earth from orbit or from the lunar surface."

In my life of research, a "cognitive shift" is what I'm hearing over and over in interviews with people who either have had a near death experience, an out of body experience, a run in with someone who is no longer on the planet, or while under deep hypnosis. ("Flipside" and "It's a Wonderful Afterlife.")

People who've had these profound experiences claim that they've gone through some form of cognitive shift, where they no longer see their lives, or the lives of those around them in the same way.

During one hypnosis session, a woman was asked "what's the reason behind this shift?" and her "spirit guide" replied - "In terms of the cosmos, it's not a big deal.  However, if you want to understand a shift in consciousness, imagine yourself a crab walking on the ocean floor and you suddenly open your eyes and realize - you're in an ocean. That's a shift in consciousness."

So how is "The Martian" like the "Overview Effect?"

It's in the plant. (Funny. "Plant" and "planet." Can't get much closer than those two words).  

The plant that the "Martian" says hello to on Mars, and later we see a plant on another planet, which the actor in the scene says hello to as well.

How fragile. How precious. How indelibly linked are we to this place.  How incredibly amazing it is that we can actually have food and light and water - when obviously the experiment on Mars didn't have the same effect.  The experiment on Mars, for lack of a better term - we could call it the Universe's ability to turn a planet into a lush place teeming with life - didn't take hold on Mars.  For whatever reason.  And yet it did on Earth.

So when you go to Mars, and inevitably you will go to Mars when you see this amazing film, think for a moment how that sister planet - Mars might be an example of what Earth will look like in the future. 

If we don't take care of it. 
If we don't realize how precious it is. 
If we don't consider, embrace, understand the overview effect.

Here's a booklet from the overview project that is worth reading about space exploration:
http://www.overviewinstitute.org/images/overvieweffect.pdf

Amazing Eulogy Jeffrey Forrester about the Flipside

A good friend sent me this amazing eulogy today. He said it is ok to share it. It's a moving tribute, as its written by the man who passed away, who speaks with great clarity and insight about the flipside. The video of him as a child, posted below, is equally powerful, but the words are quite moving and a revelation. 

In his eulogy he references some first hand accounts of the Flipside from Swami Yogananda, and I've included excerpts below.  I didn't know Hefe, but I compliment him on his courage, his path and his journey.

Sail on brother. 

http://www.jlforrestermemorial.com/

Jeffrey L Forrester
1966 - 2015
September 7, 2015

Dear friends,

I wanted to say a few words that might be helpful in your processing of my death, wherever you are with it in your feeling right now.

First, I want you to understand that the death process itself – to a point anyway – is actually well familiar to me. I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time “off the body” and by that I mean in the etheric body, or ghost body – hovering over it, stepping off it, walking around my room and outside where I could observe my physical body at a distance, also interacting with other ghosts, or so-called “deceased” people, and in a number of cases, helping some of the truly bound into a transition “upward”, into a far greater process than simply meandering around the surface of the earth in a mostly semi-bewildered state. But there have also been an equal number of ghosts who are largely happy where they are, and are conscious, relational, conversational, and 100% as normal and functional as we are. An amusing thing. 

I’ve also spent an even greater amount of time in what is sometimes called the astral or what’s effectively an inter-dimensional domain. This astral domain of life is entirely real and self-existing, as real as anything you think real on this earth, and I think it’s maybe best characterized by a small chapter toward the end of Autobiography of a Yogi, (RM note: see chapter 43 excerpts below *) where Yogananda’s guru, Sri Yukteshwar, elaborates for many pages of detail his experience of this astral domain.

Among existing first-hand accounts from authentic gurus, I’ve found this one to be the most accurate. The astral dimension of life is pretty much like he recounts it. If you strip his communication of some of the culturally Indian mythology and language, it is exactly the way it is.

I’m telling you this not to imply any spiritual advancement on my part or to make any of you think I’ve simply lost control of my faculties. You may find it all preposterous, but you’ll see in time that all of what I’m saying is true. I mention it here because it’s relevant. Exhaustive time spent outside the physical body in either proximate, (ghost and subtle) or distant (astral spaces), profoundly changes your relationship to human death, and even the idea of losing your bodily life becomes a matter of indifference. In some way, death as we conceive it, does not occur at all. You simply transition into new forms of more subtle, yet incarnate experience, and most often a physical rebirth into the form that matches your evolutionary adaptation, typically human in our cases. 

Anyway, all this time spent ‘off the body’ has, over the decades, radically altered my feeling for and understanding of what death actually is – a “transition” – as my Guru accurately puts it – and not at all an ending. What is interesting is that both ghosts and astral or inter-dimensional beings view themselves as “the actually living” and all of humanity as being in a kind of temporary hallucination or dream-state.

The gross physical realm where we live and function is actually felt and seen by beings in a more subtle domain to be less real or even in some ways unreal. So it is the exact opposite of our own point of view, which claims that anything beyond the gross physical is likely illusory or even imaginary. In any case, you’ll see what I’m talking about and have no doubts about it at all when you’re dead. One of the many surprises you’ll find is that the thing that seems least real of all is the very life you just left behind. You turn your head back, looking at all that you have loved, cherished, and been so attached to, and you will laugh, because it seems suddenly and absolutely like a mere dream. And you love it still, without any difference, but it is yet a dream, and obviously so. I’ll leave that with you to contemplate.

Finally, I wanted you to know just how happy and deeply resolved I am about this entire event of transition. The last six months especially and even the last month in particular have been among the most transformative of my life, and in the most precious and positive of ways. Many dimensions of my person that were in any way in conflict or simply not internally resolved, have suddenly resolved themselves to an absolute degree, putting me in a place of such deep joy I can barely communicate it.

Why has this occurred? I can’t say. The depth of peace and love in me within is so deep that I’ve almost felt it as a final spiritual gift of some kind from the source of all such gifts in my life, my still Spiritually-Living Guru. I’ve intentionally pushed away that thought in the last months so it doesn’t become a self-fulfilling prophecy about some kind of deep resolution before an upcoming death—which I’ve been fighting against to the last. But if I am dead, which I will be as you’re reading this, then yes, it was a kind of prophetic event of some kind, but what a happy one!

I mean to say that if I am dead, it could not have come at a better time. That seems strange to say, but it’s logical from where I stand. My life is culminating right now in such an extraordinary way. Whether this moment leads to death, or even more life and the continued offering to the world of whatever authentic gifts I have – either outcome is “right”. Either seems both true and deeply appropriate to me. Of course, I have, and always will choose life. Life is a blessing to always cherish and preserve. But just know that if death came, it came in the most gentle of ways, and with colossal and uncanny gifts to me prior to its to sweet arrival.

I want to say that nothing has fueled my will to live more during this very long trial than how my closest friends and family have responded to this whole drama. The outpouring of energy, service, kindness, contemplative prayer on my behalf, and a river flow of love my way has been of such a volume that it’s been truly difficult to receive at times. I wish I could say in words or poetry how much I love each of you, and just how powerfully that love for you flows inside of me, but I can’t. It’s a thing beyond speech. Just know that I’ve received this love of yours deeply and if there were literally nothing else in my life experience, it alone would have made my life worth living.

I’ve found in all of this that the love we share between us is about as close to the true sacred as it gets. It’s a force to be reckoned with and if you learn nothing else from the ordeal of cancer, you’ll learn this. Nothing breaks my heart more than to feel the loss of my friends in the Way and everywhere. All else seems miniscule by comparison. 

For my friends everywhere, I want them to know that my death was an “easy death”. My life has been Blessed beyond belief, over and over again in a tidal wave of grace. I have nothing but gratitude for it. My death, not unexpectedly is equally Blessed. I find Bhagavan, my Sat-Guru, easily—on this side or the other. Or perhaps better said – He’s Always Finding me. I do not know what else to ask for in this life. Truly, there is nothing else.

I sign this letter with all, all of love to you.

I am at peace, in a deep rest, and my heart is Joyful.

I hope you will always remember how much I loved you.

I loved you with everything I have.

I so much look forward to seeing you again.

And, yes, it will be soon.

With all my love and a heart broken with the sheer joy of all of it, I bow down low, with the humility of my monk’s interior, to my Guru, to my brothers and sisters in the Way, and to each and every one who has ever touched my hand and said without a word, I am with you.

Love,

Hefe


https://vimeo.com/139726219


Hefe from function108 on Vimeo.


RM: I posted this eulogy primarily because he's got a unique perspective on life and the afterlife.  He's spent many hours outside of his body and exploring this other realm.   It's not something everyone can do - we all choose to come to the planet, we all choose our lifetimes, so rest assured that you are doing the thing that you sign up for - to live this life.  But this is a fascinating farewell, as he really elaborates on the journey that he's taken.  This life is wonderful and worth sticking around to explore.  But consciousness does continue on, as we will one day see.

I looked up the references he mentions above, and will post some excerpts from it and where possible, point out how similar this text is to the research behind "Flipside" and "It's a Wonderful Afterlife."

* Autobiography of a Yogi  can be found if you click this link.  If you want to see what he's referring to, scan down to chapter 43, which I will reprint below, courtesy of the Swami. It's a 16 page discussion, it was written in 1946. (All rights belong to Parahamsa Yogananda, this excerpt is here for educational purposes only.)

After the death of his guru, Sri Yukteshwar, Swami Yogananda visited Bombay....

"Sitting on my bed in the Bombay hotel at three o'clock in the afternoon of June 19, 1936.... - I was roused from my meditation by a beatific light. Before my open and astonished eyes, the whole room was transformed into a strange world, the sunlight transmuted into supernal splendor. Waves of rapture engulfed me as I beheld the flesh and blood form of Sri Yukteswar!

"My son!" Master spoke tenderly, on his face an angel-bewitching smile. For the first time in my life I did not kneel at his feet in greeting but instantly advanced to gather him hungrily in my arms. Moment of moments! The anguish of past months was toll I counted weightless against the torrential bliss now descending. "Master mine, beloved of my heart, why did you leave me?"... 

"I left you only for a little while; am I not with you again?"

"But is it you, Master, the same Lion of God? Are you wearing a body like the one I buried beneath the cruel Puri sands?"

"Yes, my child, I am the same. This is a flesh and blood body. Though I see it as ethereal, to your sight it is physical. From the cosmic atoms I created an entirely new body, exactly like that
cosmic-dream physical body which you laid beneath the dream-sands at Puri in your dreamworld. I am in truth resurrected-not on earth but on an astral planet. Its inhabitants are better able than earthly humanity to meet my lofty standards. There you and your exalted loved ones shall someday come to be with me."

(He explains what work he's doing in the afterlife helping new arrivals, and then reports:)

"There are many astral planets, teeming with astral beings," Master began. "The inhabitants use astral planes, or masses of light, to travel from one planet to another, faster than electricity and radioactive energies. "

"The astral universe, made of various subtle vibrations of light and color, is hundreds of times larger than the material cosmos. The entire physical creation hangs like a little solid basket under the huge luminous balloon of the astral sphere. Just as many physical suns and stars roam in space, so there are also countless astral solar and stellar systems. Their planets have astral suns and moons, more beautiful than the physical ones. The astral luminaries resemble the aurora borealis-the sunny astral aurora being more dazzling than the mild-rayed moon-aurora. The astral day and night are longer than those of earth."

"The astral world is infinitely beautiful, clean, pure, and orderly. (RM Note: Same accounts from Galen Stoller in "My Life After life" and Erik Medhus in "My Life After Death") There are no dead planets or barren lands. The terrestrial blemishes- weeds, bacteria, insects, snakes-are absent. Unlike the variable climates and seasons of the earth, the astral planets maintain the even temperature of an eternal spring, with occasional luminous white snow and rain of many-colored lights. Astral planets abound in opal lakes and bright seas and rainbow rivers...."

..."On earth a solid must be transformed into liquid or other form through natural or chemical processes, but astral solids are changed into astral liquids, gases, or energy solely and instantly by the will of the inhabitants."

"The earth is dark with warfare and murder in the sea, land, and air," my guru continued, "but the astral realms know a happy harmony and equality."

"Astral beings (can) dematerialize or materialize their forms at will. Flowers or fish or animals can metamorphose themselves, for a time, into astral men. All astral beings are free to assume any form, and can easily commune together. No fixed, definite, natural law hems them round-any astral tree, for example, can be successfully asked to produce an astral mango or other desired fruit, flower, or indeed any other object."

"Everything is vibrant with God's creative light. No one is born (per se) of woman; offspring are materialized by astral beings through the help of their cosmic will into specially patterned, astrally condensed forms. The recently physically disembodied being arrives in an astral family through invitation, drawn by similar mental and spiritual tendencies." 

..."The astral body is an exact counterpart of the last physical form. Astral beings retain the same appearance which they possessed in youth in their previous earthly sojourn; occasionally an astral being chooses, like myself, to retain his old age appearance."  

..."Friends of other lives easily recognize one another in the astral world," Sri Yukteswar went on in his beautiful, flutelike voice. "Rejoicing at the immortality of friendship, they realize the indestructibility of love, often doubted at the time of the sad, delusive partings of earthly life."

..."Communication among the astral inhabitants is held entirely by astral telepathy and television; (RM note - interesting he uses "television" as in 1946 is was barely in existence) there is none of the confusion and misunderstanding of the written and spoken word which earthdwellers must endure. Just as persons on the cinema screen appear to move and act through a series of light pictures, and do not actually breathe, so the astral beings walk and work as intelligently guided and coordinated images of light, without the necessity of drawing power from oxygen. Man depends upon solids, liquids, gases, and energy for sustenance; astral beings sustain themselves principally by cosmic light."

..."The earth-liberated astral being meets a multitude of relatives, fathers, mothers, wives, husbands, and friends, acquired during different incarnations on earth, as they appear from time to time in various parts of the astral realms. He is therefore at a loss to understand whom to love especially; he learns in this way to give a divine and equal love to all, as children and individualized expressions of God." 

"Though the outward appearance of loved ones may have changed, more or less according to the development of new qualities in the latest life of any particular soul, the astral being employs his unerring intuition to recognize all those once dear to him in other planes of existence, and to welcome them to their new astral home." 

"Because every atom in creation is inextinguishably dowered ("In a way that cannot be extinguished; immortally") with individuality, an astral friend will be recognized no matter what costume he may don, even as on earth an actor's identity is discoverable by close observation despite any disguise." (RM: Note - and why when people say they see "Jesus" it's not because he's wearing a name tag).

..."The astral being does not have to contend painfully with death at the time of shedding his luminous body. Many of these beings nevertheless feel slightly nervous at the thought of dropping
their astral form for the subtler causal one. The astral world is free from unwilling death, disease, and old age. These three dreads are the curse of earth, where man has allowed his consciousness
to identify itself almost wholly with a frail physical body requiring constant aid from air, food,and sleep in order to exist at all." (RM Note - "Curse" is a curious word, but considering the speaker was a guru, would have observed them as such)

..."Physical desires are rooted in egotism and sense pleasures. The compulsion or temptation of sensory experience is more powerful than the desire-force connected with astral attachments or causal perceptions."

..."Causal desires are fulfilled by perception only. The nearly-free beings who are encased only in the causal body see the whole universe as realizations of the dream-ideas of God; they can
materialize anything and everything in sheer thought. (RM: Note: this is often repeated in the research, "everything is energy" and we learn how to "focus our energy" via thought) Causal beings therefore consider the enjoyment of physical sensations or astral delights as gross and suffocating to the soul's fine sensibilities." 

"Causal beings work out their desires by materializing them instantly. Those who find themselves covered only by the delicate veil of the causal body can bring universes into manifestation even as the Creator. Because all creation is made of the cosmic dream-texture, the soul thinly clothed in the causal has vast realizations of power..."

..."A soul, being invisible by nature, can be distinguished only by the presence of its body or bodies.... 

...."A man identifies himself about sixteen hours daily with his physical vehicle. Then he sleeps; if he dreams, he remains in his astral body, effortlessly creating any object even as do the astral beings."

...."Angelic guru," I said, "your body looks exactly as it did when last I wept over it in the Puri ashram."

"O yes, my new body is a perfect copy of the old one. I materialize or dematerialize this form any time at will, much more frequently than I did while on earth. By quick dematerialization, I now travel instantly by light express from planet to planet or, indeed, from astral to causal or to physical cosmos." My divine guru smiled. "Though you move about so fast these days, I had no difficulty in finding you at Bombay!"

"O Master, I was grieving so deeply about your death!"

"Ah, wherein did I die? Isn't there some contradiction?" Sri Yukteswar's eyes were twinkling with love and amusement. "You were only dreaming on earth; on that earth you saw my dream- body," he went on. "Later you buried that dream-image. Now my finer fleshly body-which you behold and are even now embracing rather closely!-is resurrected on another finer dream-planet of God. "

"Someday that finer dream-body and finer dream-planet will pass away; they too are not forever. All dreambubbles must eventually burst at a final wakeful touch. Differentiate, my son Yogananda, between dreams and Reality!"

"My child," his voice rang out, vibrating into my very soul-firmament, "whenever you enter the door of samadhi and call on me, I shall come to you in flesh and blood, even as today."
With this celestial promise Sri Yukteswar vanished from my sight. A cloud-voice repeated in musical thunder: "Tell all! Whosoever knows by nirbikalpa (self realization through meditation) samadhi realization that your earth is a dream of God can... find me resurrected in a body exactly like my earthly one. Yogananda, tell all!" (RM: Note - Okay, we will.)

Excerpts from Chapter 43, "Autobiography of a Yogi"

Hacking the Afterlife via Flipside gofundme campaign

A new GoFundMe campaign for my next book "Hacking the Afterlife: Practical Advice from the Flipside"  (click here to go to the site)

Our grandparents seeing the King of England in 1933. Wouldn't it be great to ask them questions?

Hello!  Please help me to write my newest book "HACKING THE AFTERLIFE: Practical Advice From the Flipside."

After writing "Flipside: A Tourist's Guide on How to Navigate the Aftelife" and"It's a Wonderful Afterlife: Further Adventures in the Flipside" I've continued to gather information and research from people no longer on the planet.  It's occurred to me (and with some encouragement from those "over there") that I should focus on writing a book that helps bring "new information" from people no longer on the planet to help those struggling over here.I'm an award winning film writer/director, documentary filmmaker, journalist, and as of late, an author of books about the afterlife.  I've written and/or directed eight theatrical features, a number of documentaries, and have written for Premiere, Inc.com and Variety. All three of my self published books have been best sellers at Amazon, going to #1 in their kindle categories aftermy appearances on "Coast to Coast" with George Noory. 

Allow me to clarify; I've filmed dozens of sessions of people under deep hypnosis who consistently say the same the things about the journey of souls into the Flipside. 

I've interviewed dozens of people who've made the trip to the Flipside, either through a near death experience, a deep hypnosis session, through out of body experiences, or mediums who have a reputation for helping people in need and report the same details of their journey. I've interviewed scientists who are working on the cutting edge of consciousness studies, who claim that the brain is not the source of all thoughts or memories. 

And many of the people I've interviewed, who've made these trips into these other realms, bring back "new information" - things they couldn't have known consciously, or subconsciously - and the information appears to come from people on the Flipside.

So if it is possible to seek out information from people under deep hypnosis, or after a near death experience, or even while a medium is accessing people on the Flipside, doesn't it make sense to see if there's any life enhancing information that can be accessed from that interchange? Like "How can I make my life easier?" "How can I find my true love?" "How can I help save the planet?" "What or who is God?" "Why am I here?" "Why am I suffering?" "How can I shift my perspective?"

I left out "And what are the lottery numbers?" because I've asked that question a number of times, and actually was given a series of numbers during one session. I went to the nearest lottery and played them - and won.  

I won a dollar.  And as I saw that I'd won my dollar I heard in my head "You didn't say how much you wanted to win. We just wanted to prove to you that you can!"  So, people on the Flipside have a sense of humor as well, apparently.

How could accessing this info help the planet or help people in need?  

Well, of course, logic tells us that if a person asks a personal question and gets a specific answer, there's no way to verify that answer didn't come strictly from their subconscious.  

However, if you ask the same question to a variety of different people - using different protocols - either while they're under hypnosis, or while speaking through a medium - if there's a consensus about the answer, then that's a novel way to gather data.  If the same answer comes up dozens of times - then the data supports the conclusion, just as it would from any survey.

In this book "HACKING THE AFTERLIFE: Practical Advice From the Flipside" I will apply those results to practical applications. Through a series of "life hacks" I'll explore "How to Navigate the Planet," "The Flipside of the Flipside" and other essential questions.  Ways to gain information from over there to help folks over here.  

Having difficulty finding your soul mate? Well, what do people say over there about the process? What they have to say about it is pretty consistent. Having stress over feeling like "I don't belong here"?  Let's talk to some folks who claim that they don't normally incarnate on the planet and see what they have to say.  Having a hard time understanding why there's so much negativity in the world, or fear based reporting going on?  Let's discuss this from those who might have a better perspective on it. Feeling bereft over the loss of a loved one and unable to recover? Well, we can ask those over there about how to lessen that kind of emotional pain and loss.

I've filmed a number of sessions where the person who is under deep hypnosis will suddenly say "And tell Richard to keep up his work, as we appreciate it over here."  

Sometimes I barely know the person who is doing the session, or sometimes I nearly fall off my chair.  But if there is such a thing as divine guidance, this is the fastest way to access and spread that information as I'll post updates of what I learn along the way.

I will be seeking to gain this information from sessions where people discuss these events on the Flipside, from people who've had near death experiences who can recall similar themes or revelations, from those who've had out of body experiences and from people no longer on the planet who appear to be in a continuing dialog with those off the planet.  

"How can we alter our perspective in order to make life easier for us over here? How can we alter our perspective to make the planet safer? How can we use this information from the Flipside to help us on our path and journey here?"

My last books "It's a Wonderful Afterlife" volumes one and two were crowd funded. (Thank you!) Your generous support of my last book allowed me to focus fully on the task at hand, and the response has been terrific. If you'd like to check out my blog "The Martini Shot" there are numerous "Flipside" based essays.  And the documentary "Flipside" and the "It's a Wonderful Afterlife" books are all available online.

So I'm reaching out again to those of you who can afford to support this research, who appreciate the books so far, or just want to support me on my path and journey into the flipside.  (I do like writing about it, I'm just not in a hurry to get there.) Thanks in advance for any donation you can make. It all helps immensely.

Here's the latest book talk I gave in Chicago at the International Association of Near Death Studies in Evanston.  The title of this talk is "SACRED HEART."   It's about 90 minutes.  Thanks for tuning in.  Rich

UW-Madison helps students learn through well-being exercises - suicide prevention month

September is Suicide Prevention month; give a moment of support to all of those who have family problems, health struggles, job issues, worries of any kind and just needs to know that someone cares. BUT BEYOND THAT: depression is regulated by the amygdala. You can cure or alleviate depression thru meditating, for the science behind it, search Richard Davidson, U of Wisc. Learn how to meditate and teach it to your loved ones. Then contemplate the notion that you chose this life for a reason, its not random. In that choice, is all you need to know about why you're on the planet. What lessons you chose to learn, what difficulties you chose to overcome. Meditate on all those you've helped, or who have helped you, and thank them in your heart. Then open your heart to everyone and all things, and know that whatever is bothering you, like a raging storm, will eventually pass, and you can affect its passing via meditation or mindfulness. My 2 cents on suicide prevention month.

Some folks associate meditation with religious or holistic or natural cures. My point is, the science, the actual data, the peer reviewed data, shows that a particular form of meditation ("tonglen") cures or alleviates symptoms of depression by directly affecting the amygdala and its ability to regulate seratonin.

If someone has been using seratonin release inhibitors (for depression, anxiety, nervousness, sleep) theres a safe, no side effect, medically proven alternative to paxil, zoloft, prozac. 

You don't have to be a monk to learn tonglen, but davidson himself told me its what he used in his ground breaking study. 

I believe any doctor who doesn't acknowledge alternates to medication either hasn't read the study, doesn't believe the results, or is addicted to prescribing meds with severe side effects. It's not an "alternative medicine" option, in my opinion, it should be the main prescription, with psychotropic meds reserved to treat the extreme cases. 


We tend to dismiss evidence if it doesn't fit the money making paradigm. It's not an opinion on my part, as i attended a lecture at UCLA where Davidson presented his evidence to a room full of doctors and psychiatrists eager to hear of a way to not "prescribe psychotropics to teens" as one doc put it. "Tonglen can cure or alleviate symptoms of depression." It should be taught in med schools worldwide. My two cents.

Flipside on sale now!

On Sale now!

Kindle version of Flipside is $2.99
Paperback version of Flipside is $14.39

It's a Wonderful Afterlife volumes one and two also on sale in both Kindle and paperback -
Please find links to the right of this page. Thanks!!!