Om, Om on the Range

Saw a license plate yesterday - OmWard.  Or maybe it was OmLand.

I forget.

But I thought, hmm. Good idea.

If you want to meditate, a lot of people offer that you can use the word OM.

What does it mean?

ōm

noun

"a mystic syllable, considered the most sacred mantra in Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism. It appears at the beginning and end of most Sanskrit recitations, prayers, and texts."

Okay, let's clear that one up, shall we?

Om can also mean "homage." (aum) As in I pay homage to the spirit within you when I put my hands together and bow to you.

When I say "Om Mani Padme Hum" (as the Tibetans say as a mantra, sometimes all day long) it literally means "Praise to the knowledge in the Lotus Sutra." (It's the same phrase that Nichirin discovered in Japan - the same exact phrase - but he said it in Japanese: "Nam Myoho Regne Kyo."

Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō (南無妙法蓮華経) (also known as Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō) (English: Devotion to the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra or Glory to the Sutra of the Lotus of the Supreme Law) is the central mantra chanted within all forms of Nichiren Buddhism as well as Tendai Buddhism.

Praise to the knowledge in the Lotus Sutra.

If you look it up, or ask a person in SGI you'll hear something else. "it's a magical phrase. It doesn't mean anything, but it brings gifts."  Actually it does mean something very specific.  Praise to Buddha's teaching about non attachment.  It's pretty simple.

HHDL, his translator and Richard Davidson.

If you look up Om Mani Padme Hum:

According to 14th Dalai Lama:

It is very good to recite the mantra "Om mani padme hum", but while you are doing it, you should be thinking on its meaning, for the meaning of the six syllables is great and vast. The first,"Om" symbolizes the practitioner's impure body, speech, and mind; it also symbolizes the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha.

The path is indicated by the next four syllables. "Mani", meaning jewel, symbolizes the factors of method: (the) altruistic intention to become enlightened, compassion, and love.

The two syllables, "padme", meaning lotus, symbolize wisdom.

Purity must be achieved by an indivisible unity of method and wisdom, symbolized by the final syllable "hum", which indicates indivisibility.

So - "Praise to the knowledge of the Lotus Sutra teaching."  You know the Lotus Sutra don't you?  It's the teaching the Buddha gives that teaches how to "detach" or have the ability of "unattachment" to the mundane things in life, because they have "no inherent meaning."  That sounds a bit elevated - but let's just say what he's saying in that teaching is "everything is vanity." (Vanum Populatum anyone?)

That we attach meaning to things out of a desire to own them, be part of them, or because we're inured to wanting them, or we can't get away from the desire to have them.  A bit like the Dopamine Squirt - which is what happens when your cell phone dings, buzzes or rings.

Your brain squirts some dopamine in response - it's the idea of gaining a reward, like Pavlov's dogs waiting for food. We are anticipating some kind of response, and as "60 Minutes" put it the other day, that's addictive behavior, and the tech companies are trying to get you addicted to your cellphone, or your device, or your computer, or your website, because... well, it means money. (Excellent segment - check the link above)

So don't get attached, okay?  Learn to turn it off.  Just as we learn to turn off our attachment to "things" or to "fame" or to "celebrity" or to "beauty" or to any of the other things we seem obsessed with.  Turn it off dude. Just let go.

Back to the Home concept.

As some of you have heard, I've been talking about "home" lately. That's the place where we go between lives, the place where two thirds of our energy always resides - back home, up there in the ether, up there in heaven, back there offstage when we aren't here on stage.




Home.

As I talk about in this book talk: "Home on the Range."

But it occurred to me, that Om and Home are the same syllable.

So why not use one instead of the other?

Try it.  Say "Home" like you would say "Om." They say that "Om" is the primal sound of the Universe, or "Aum." Okay, so let that be the case.

 Just draw it out, let your body resonate, let your voice take hold of the word and then - here's the fun part - allow your mind and heart to open up to the concept of "home" whatever that means to you.

No one has the same idea of what home is.  We all come from different backgrounds and feelings, even twins - so there are no two versions of home on the planet.  That's a strong thing to say - because it shows that we aren't all the same, we aren't all alike, we aren't all one species - that we aren't programmed robots - otherwise when I say "think of home" you'd think of the same place as everyone else does.

BUT NO ONE DOES.




Everyone has a different feeling of what HOME is.

What better way to honor your home then to allow it to be part of your daily life and routine?

So TRY IT WITH ME.

Let it out.  Sing it.  Just use the word as one long syllable ... open your heart, your lungs and say it aloud. Say it so loud that you're afraid someone is going to ask what's wrong with you.

HOME.

HOOOOOOOOOME....

HOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMEEEE....

You get the idea.

If you were from Mars this would be "home." NASA

And now - picture yourself in a space of comfort and peace and unconditional love. Because at its heart that's what home is. People say it all the time - "I feel it's a place of being relaxed, of being loved, of being in comfort." When I ask "what kind of love is it?" They almost always answer

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.

HOME IS UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.

Say it loud, say it proud.

Home.

Connecting to the Flipside with music

Here's a wonderful story about connecting with a loved one on the Flipside. While filming an interview with medium Jennifer Medlyn Shaffer last week, she reported via a musician no longer on the planet, that music can be a way of amplifying the signal between here and there. I asked Todd if i could share his post, as it is powerful, touching and great to hear. Check it out and try to "Stay tuned."

http://toddjeremyjumper.blogspot.in/2017/04/the-ghosts-that-haunt-me-contacting-dad.html?m=1

April 10, 2017
THE GHOSTS THAT HAUNT ME - CONTACTING DAD THROUGH MUSIC

As I jump ahead to more recent times, a lot of life changes have come my way over the past 4 years. One major life experience was losing my father in September of 2012. My father Richard, had passed away in his sleep due to complications from ongoing heart disease.

I had just recently moved 3,000 miles from the east coast to the west coast to the state of Washington.

My father had suffered for many years toward the end of his life, very severe depression, and on occasions had actually attempted suicide.  At times he would just sit and stare at the walls, as if his normal self was not present in his body.  When he was well, he was jovial, witty, liked to joke around, would talk your ear off and tell strangers on the street his entire life story if they allowed it.

Surprisingly a month before he died, he called me out of the blue for my birthday. He was back to his old self, joking with me on the phone and we had made plans for him to possibly move out west and live the remainder of his life with me in some seaside town in Washington, he was very excited as he had not seen me in years. We had joked that Washington state was known for Bigfoot (Sasquatch) and he had asked me if I seen any yet.  I said nope but that would be cool. He then said well if I come out there, I'm gonna get a Bigfoot costume and scare the shit out of you outside your window while you are sleeping.

He had not seen his grandkids since they were little, and they were now teenagers.  He wanted to start a new relationship with them. I told him I would be getting their school photos mailed out to him soon.

At the time of our conversation, my uncle who was also very close, passed away exactly one year earlier suddenly also in September.  I told my father that I had recently dreamed of Uncle Scott. Within that dream, my father was with me, and we went to see Scott at this apartment building, within a valley of grassy hills.  As we entered the building and walked up the stairs to the second floor of the building, the hallway echoed with music. To the sound of Lynyrd Skynyrd, one of my uncle's favorite bands.  The words clear as a bell coming through, and the beat of the music rushing through my body and ears.. "If I leave here tomorrow. Would you still remember me? For I must be traveling on now... because there's too many places I got to see.."

My father and I walked into the apartment, and uncle Scott was painting the walls and getting the apartment cleaned up.  This was a common scene, for as in life, he was a maintenance worker, painted homes, installed windows and so forth.  We all greeted each other as if this was normal life.  My dad and him joked around for awhile.  I asked Scott if he was upset with his girlfriend, as she is the one who gave him too many pain killers which abruptly ended his life.  He laughed and said no, I am not mad at her, but I am glad to be done with crazy bitches.  

I asked Scott who he was getting the apartment ready for.  He looked at my dad and said "Your old man here, this is his new place, he's gonna hang out with me for awhile."

After some time I left the building to return home, I looked at my dad and said "Are you coming with?" and he said "No Jump. I'm gonna be staying, but you come to see me once in awhile."

:: end of dream ::

I expressed my thoughts to my dad over the phone that I think this dream is a foreshadowing, that Scott is preparing a place for you, and that you will pass over in the near future. My dad said "Ha maybe!"


Two weeks later.. my cell phone rang.  I saw the area code was from Utah, where my dad's sister lives. I immediately knew before even answering the call, who it was, and that my aunt was calling to tell me my dad had passed away.  I took a gulp.. caught my breath and answered...  "Hi Todd.. I'm sorry hun, but your daddy passed in his sleep last night."

We talked for awhile.. then hung up.  She had arranged for everything for him.  I felt comforted knowing everything would be ok.  I looked down on my desk and there sat the envelope with the school photos of my kids that I was about to mail to him.. then I broke down crying.

Being clairvoyant, and having seen and heard spirits through out my life, I knew deep down my dad was ok and no longer in pain, but I wanted one last good bye with him, as his passing cut our plans short. 

During this time I had recently come across a facebook group hosted by Richard Martini and had been reading his book, the Flipside.  I found it interesting that he had the same first name as my dad, synchronicity.  In one of the online discussions it was mentioned that an easy way to contact loved ones who had passed was to meditate and listen to their favorite music.

That very night I created a playlist on my Ipod, some Paul Simon song and some of his favorite tunes from Beach Boys the Pet Sounds album. These songs took me back to the earliest memories I had with my dad, when I was about 3-4 years old.  He would place his favorite LP on the turntable, turn down the lights, and get down on his knees and hold my hands as he slow danced with me and introduced me to his favorite artists.  As I scrolled through the playlist, thinking of my dad, talking to him asking if he remembered him singing along with Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings to Mamma Don't Let your Babies Grow up to be Cowboys... I saw something out of my peripheral vision to my right near my bedroom window. 

All the lights were off in my bedroom, aside from the street lamp coming through the blinds, the only light I had was from the Ipod screen itself.  I turned to look to my right, to see the light shining off what appeared to be the outline of a face, in blueish white translucent glow.  As my eyes adjusted to the dark, it was no ordinary face, but a hairy neanderthal looking appeared similar to what can only be described as a Sasquatch!  I said "Holy Shit!" And I threw the Ipod across the room. To which the image immediately vanished.  I thought to myself this can't be real, I must have been falling asleep, and got up and picked up the Ipod from the floor, and tried to relax and lay back down.  I closed my eyes and began to see the image of my father standing at the foot of my bed, not just smiling at me, but what looked like him laughing his ass off.  I felt love and peace and comforted.  He did not talk but I knew without a doubt it was him.. and for a good 20 minutes I had a one way conversation talking about his music as I finally drifted off to sleep.

During this time I was also suffering from severe sleep apnea.  I was yet untreated as I did not have a CPAP machine.  This began to take heavy toll on my body, to the point where I would stop breathing over 60 times an hour during sleep.  During the day would be constantly run down and tired, and had even started to randomly pass out during work, nod off driving, or even while standing up.

Within a day or so after this bedroom encounter, I was sitting taking calls from customers at my desk. It was a slow day, so I loaded up again the same music list on my computer. As I am sitting there drowning out my work day with the headphones on, I saw to the right of me, the door open to my office area and I could tell someone was coming down the stairs. Knowing I was home alone, my kids at school, I thought this was strange. Within a split second, in full 3d, there my dad was standing before me in my office, dressed in blue jeans and a white shirt, similar to how he might appear in life. I was dumbfounded. I took my headphones off. Looked at him standing there smiling at me, as he spoke outloud "Hey Jump... nice house."   I responded, "But.. but.. when, how did you get here.. you are dead!"   My mind was racing, wondering if he faked his death, had someone made a mistake, did someone lie to me to surprise me of his visit?  He responded "No son, I am very much alive."

I began crying uncontrollably and walked over to him and fell into his arms.  He said "Calm down.. It's ok. I'm ok. I feel good. I came to tell you I love you."   He began asking how everyone was doing, how the kids were and asked me to walk with him.   A light opened up beside us.. and then I knew we had to be in spirit.. a green grassy path was on the other side.  We walked for awhile. Talked for what felt like over 10 minutes although this part is fuzzy to what we talked about.. The next thing I remember is him saying he could not stay long but said "Let me help you up off the floor dummy."  To which he kneeled down. I then woke up on the floor beside my desk drooling into the carpet, my head feeling dizzy.  My dad was gone..  The entirety of it seemed as if I had lost consciousness while working and left my body, but it seemed so real, and to this day is the most vivid and real spiritual experience I have ever had in my life, thanks to the power and sound of my dad's favorite music.

He has come to me from time to time in dreams over the last 4 years, but nothing as vivid as when he had just passed away.  

The Blind Can See During an NDE

How can the blind see during an NDE?

I mention in my latest book talk, the case of a man who was on the operating table and had an NDE. "Floated around the room" and was privy to conversations that he shouldn't have been able to access. 

When he came back to consciousness, he teased the doctor about the color of his tennis shoes.  That really shocked the doctor, because his patient had been blind from birth.

Cue the organ music.

How is this possible?

Well, first let's examine consciousness. 

Shall we?

Jammin Shamin commented on the MartiniProds youtube page: "Great talk but I wonder how this NDEr blind from birth would know what color orange was... how does he know names of colors he's never seen before? lol"

My reply:

"First we need to define "before."  Then we need to define "color."  

What most people don't realize is that the eye itself does not see color. Just like the ear does not "hear" sound.  It receives a wave - of energy - and then the brain "translates" that wave into sound or into picture.  

No eye. No ear. So think on that for a second. Bees can see ultra violet light. Why is that? Because their teeny tiny little brains are translating those vibrational wavelengths into information. (If you want to see some great science on this topic, research "blind people seeing with their tongue" as it's a new technique, where people "see" with vibrations on their tongue attached to a camera.)

Now, let's go a step further.  

This isn't the first time you've been on the planet.  It isn't the first time most of us have been here.  You've seen the color orange before. And you've seen, tasted, experienced a myriad of energies while you're here.  We can't "remember" or seem to access those memories unless we our "outside of consciousness" (which is silly really - we are never "unconscious" it's just the parts of our brain that allow us to communicate are not functioning properly.)  

So think about this the next time you hear about someone in a coma.  Their brain is not working. Does that mean they can't "see" "hear" or anything else? I met a woman from Australia on a flight - her brother had been in a coma for years. Considered "brain dead."  Then one day she asked a friend who is a masseuse to go in and give him a massage. During the massage the friend said "I didn't tell you this before, but sometime when doing my work I can sense or "hear" something about the client. In this case, your brother seemed to be asking for "yellow goggles."  

The shocked sister realized her brother was requesting his sunglasses - the kind he used to wear while working out.  So she got his "yellow goggle sunglasses" and put them on him - because the light from the window was blasting into his room.  

Problem solved. Yet, another problem encountered. If he's aware of what's going on and communicate while his body cannot - what does that say about consciousness? Here are some more insights into NDEs from a Salon article by Neuroscientist (interviewed in "Its a Wonderful Afterlife") Mario Beauregard: http://www.salon.com/2012/04/21/near_death_explained/

I must add - not all blind can see during an NDE - some can, but that appears to depend upon the person experiencing the NDE.

From Richard Davidson's work at U of Wisconsin re: meditation

Here's a more indepth article on non-sighted people having sight:

In Near-Death Experiences, Blind People See for First Time By Tara MacIsaac, Epoch Times

"People who were blind from birth have had brushes with death in which they felt themselves leave their bodies and experience vision for the first time. For some, it seemed natural; for others, it was a confusing and shocking experience.

Many people experience this sensation of leaving the body during a near-death experience (NDE). A 1982 Gallup poll found that 15 percent of all Americans who had almost died (under widely varying circumstances) reported NDEs. About 9 percent reported the “classic out-of-body experience,” 11 percent said they entered another realm, and 8 percent said they encountered spiritual beings.
(Actually, the results are higher, if you ask Bruce Greyson's research at UVA - where he's done detailed research in the topic and created the chart that allows other scientists to measure results of NDEs.)

For blind NDEers, the visual perceptions add another level of mystery. Some people say NDEs are hallucinations, though many who study NDEs refute this explanation. Hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation, is one often-cited cause. Another is rapid eye movement (REM) intrusion—when the REM associated with dreaming during sleep happens while one is awake.

One of the researchers who disagrees with these explanations is Robert Mays, who has studied NDEs for about 30 years. He explained during a talk at the 2014 International Association for Near-Death Studies conference that NDEs are very different from the experiences usually reported under the conditions of hypoxia and REM intrusion.  

Mays said: “NDEers almost always report that they have had a hyper-real experience that far outshines our ordinary, conscious experience—that they felt the NDE realm was their true home, permeated by unconditional love, and that they are no longer afraid to die.”

“These characteristic aspects are simply not present with hypoxia, REM intrusion, and so on,” Mays said.

Studies have shown that when blind people dream, they don’t see. Yet in NDEs, studies suggest blind people often see....

A study of blind NDEers led by Kenneth Ring at the University of Connecticut in the 1990s found that 15 out of 21 blind participants reported some kind of sight, three were not sure if they had visual perception, and the remaining three did not see anything. Half of those who were blind from birth said they saw something...

One man, blind from birth, told Ring that he found himself in a library with “thousands and millions and billions of books, as far as you could see.” Asked if he saw them visually he said, “Oh, yes!” Did he see them clearly? “No problem.” Was he surprised at being able to see thus? “Not in the least. I said, ‘Hey, you can’t see,’ and [then] I said, ‘Well, of course I can see. Look at those books. That’s ample proof that I can see.'”

(For Flipside fans - does a "library in the afterlife" sound familiar? I talk about these libraries - no two descriptions are the same - in most of my books.  The question to ask someone who is "seeing a library" is "pick up a book and tell me what's in it.")

Vicki Umipeg, whom Ring interviewed and who has also spoken of her experience in various media interviews, had an overall pleasant NDE, but did describe being suddenly able to see as “frightening.”
(During her NDE) She felt that she had left her body and floated up toward the ceiling in Harborview Hospital. She heard a doctor talking about the possibility that damage to her eardrum could make her deaf as well. She could see a doctor leaning over what she realized must be her body below. She had never seen her own body.

Pulled through a tunnel, she emerged in a place with grass and people of light, she said. In an interview for the BBC Documentary “The Day I Died,” Umipeg said, “I felt overwhelmed by that experience, because I couldn’t really imagine what light was like.”

Umipeg was born prematurely and became blind as a result of too much oxygen in the incubator. She said that, during her NDE, “It was wonderful to be out there and be free, to not worry about bumping into anything.” If she wanted to know something, the knowledge would come to her. When she returned to her body, she said, “It was excruciatingly painful and very heavy.”... (from this article)


So. there you have it.  Some people, while having an NDE, who are "blind from birth" can see.

The point is - what were they prior to birth?  Able to see? Or what are they during the NDE? Sighted? 

If you examine what consciousness is - which appears to be more of a function than an object - i.e., if we think of "back home" as the ocean, and while we're alive, "an experience in a vessel of some sort" - then it makes sense that once we "evaporate" and "go home" we return to that ocean. And while we're in that ocean we've got all kinds of information at our disposal - or fingertips if you will, to mix another metaphor.  So think of water as the medium - as consciousness is the medium.

And while we're little droplets of water in our bodies - we still have access to the big old ocean "back home" - we may not be able to access it completely, but some of us do, either during an NDE, a coma, or perhaps while in a deep meditation, or while under deep hypnosis.  It's as if the blinders are taken off and we can "see again!"

You see?

If you don't, here's some links to my research, where I argue these points and cite the various people who've repeated these observations over and over and over again.

Home on the Range

You know the old song...

Home...

Home on the Range...

where the deer and the antelope play....

where nary is heard, a discouraging word...

and the skies are not cloudy all day.

(Wikipedia: The lyrics were originally written by Dr. Brewster M. Higley of Smith County, Kansas in a poem entitled "My Western Home" in the early 1840s to 1927 and 1940s. In 1947, it became the state song of the U.S. state of Kansas. In 2010, members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.)

Take a trip with me Home.

Talking "Hacking the Afterlife" in San Diego on April Fool's Day

Speaking at the IANDS Group in San Diego on April Fool's Day!

Richard Martini: 4/1 – Going Home
Dates: 04/01/2017 Times: 13:30 - 16:00 Location: Om Center for Spiritual Living. 7941 University, La Mesa, CA 91942


The Subject of the San Diego IANDS talk will be “Going Home.”  “How Near-Death Experiences point to a place that is not here, but a place we all consider home.”

Author and Filmmaker Richard Martini

A filmmaker and author, Martini began his research into the flipside with his documentary and book “Flipside: A Tourist’s Guide on How to Navigate the Afterlife.” In it he examines accounts from people under deep hypnosis who claim to be able to access the afterlife.  

He conducts interviews with numerous hypnotherapists, including author and psychologist Michael Newton (“Journey of Souls”)  His film “Flipside: A Journey into the Afterlife” was picked up by Gaia/Universal, and his six appearances on “Coast to Coast” with George Noory have made all of his titles best sellers at Amazon.

His follow-up books “It’s a Wonderful Afterlife,” volumes 1 and 2, explored Near-Death Experiences, and those who’ve had both an NDE and a between life session with a hypnotherapist to explore the memory of the NDE.  He also includes interviews with scientists, like Dr. Bruce Greyson of IANDS. about the nature of consciousness, and the cutting-edge research in the field.

In “Hacking the Afterlife” he converses with a number of people who claim to have access to the flipside, and delves into interviews with mediums who bring back “new information” from those who are no longer on the planet. In this book, he converses with people who claim to “channel” people on the flipside, as well as prominent mediums who claim to be able to access and ask questions of people no longer on the planet.  Martini offers a number of details that in his opinion “prove” that he was receiving “new information” from people no longer on the planet.  That is, proof of the afterlife.

In his research into NDE’s and other consciousness altered events, (people under hypnosis, via an Out of Body Experience or some other event), he’s often come across the concept that people refer to the flipside as “home.”  In this talk, he’ll examine how it could be that “home” is not here, where we are, but appears to be somewhere else.

Rich is a frequent guest on George Noory’s Coast to Coast AM. His website is  http://www.richmartini.com/

 Tags: death, flipside, Life between Life, messages from the dead, NDE

Hacking the Afterlife in Real Time

I've started to experience and hear some unusual events, and I'm jotting my notes down here, as way of reminding myself to revisit them.

Puzzled? Me too.

I could wait until my next book, and that may be what this line of inquiry turns into.  But perhaps others out in the world are getting the same results.   Since it's been happening to me, and with my line of questions, it feels like it's unique to me.

But as happens in the world we live in, it's more than likely that other people are experiencing the same things I'm experiencing, getting the same results I'm getting, and are writing them as we speak.  Or even putting them into a screenplay as we speak.  

I'm uniquely positioned to do the same, that is take my research and write it into a script and turn them into a movie.  And that film may take life as a documentary, as a series, or even as a theatrical feature.  All I can say, is that something REALLY WEIRD is going on, and I'm reporting it here for those of you who care about this kind of thing.

Really weird? How about the Cubs win the world series?

You should be aware that for the past ten years I've been filming people under deep hypnosis, hearing them talk about the afterlife.  And recently I've been interviewing mediums who appear to be talking to someone no longer on the planet - in all of these cases, it's only if I know the person that they're talking about can I verify if indeed it does appear they're talking to that person.

But recently, in my interviews with mediums, I've taken the opportunity to ask them to examine their own path to this work they're now doing, and while we examine that path, I ask them to take a detour and go to the source of their ability. Meaning, I ask them to speak directly to their spirit guide or guides, and to ask them to show them how their path came about.

Because I've filmed so many sessions (35 so far) I'm conversant with what people almost always report when they get to the flipside - whether it's loved ones who greet them, or visiting their soul group, or a place of healing, or a library, or their council - since I've been before many councils (as every hypnotherapist trained in the Michael Newton method of hypnotherapy has, or can report about in detail) I'm familiar with what a council looks like.

So I can ask questions.  "How many are there? Are they men, women or something else? How are they dressed? What role do these council members represent in terms of your life's journey?"  And recently, I've done the extra step of saying "Go forward to your council member. Take their hand in yours. Describe what that feels like. Now, while you're holding their hand, ask them this question..."

I'm getting some really unusual results.  In the past month alone, I've interviewed four mediums in this fashion, have spoken to people that I know personally who are no longer on the planet, but what they say is consistent with my memory of them, or consistent in terms of what other people have said these same people have said. I've done this same technique in person, on camera, on skype, and in auditoriums.

I've also done the same technique with every day people who have had some kind of experience in their life that they can recount. I've found that once they tell me about an unusual dream, or an unusual event, that becomes the gateway so that I can ask them to take me to the flipside, to meet their council, loved ones and friends.  

I've done that with three people in the past week. One is an airline stewardess who has been reading my books, has never had any hypnotherapy whatsoever, one is a person who had a near death experience 30 years ago, and one is a woman who runs a book club online who reached out to me for an interview.

She said "I've read and listened to all your books."

I'm going to recount in shorthand what each one of them said.

In the case of the stewardess, she lives in another country, so our talk was via google talk.  I'd never spoken to her before, we've exchanged emails, and she's described some unusual dreams.  In one dream, she made a point about seeing an "alien" that was dying, and how she went to his side in the dream, and he gave her "two pills." ("Go Ask Alice?" or "The Matrix?" No) One pill made her see and learn the entire history of the planet he was dying on, and the second pill allowed her to understand and know how the DNA of that planet worked - so when she was stabbed moments later by the same people who were trying to kill him, she was able to heal herself instantly.

Now - those familiar with my work know that I put these dreams into two categories. Either it was completely illusory (made up) or it wasn't. If it wasn't, then we can examine how or why these elements came into the dream and why.  In this case, I used to death of this 8 foot tall "grey" alien as an entry point.  I asked her to "freeze" the memory in the dream, and to examine details in it. She talked about the texture of his skin, how his eyes were closed, etc. I asked her to take his hand and remember if they had any previous life together. She saw the two of them on the bow of a "space ship" where they were traveling to various planets to help out.

She said "I don't understand what this means."  I said "It's okay, I do."  (I have another friend who had a similar dream seeing himself traveling around deep space in a ship where his role was an ambassador of sorts (after a lifetime of fighting in this "other realm" as a general.)  

I try hard not to judge what a person remembers via the filters that are on our planet. "How could I be an alien and be me?" Well, the Newton institute recently reported about 30% of their clients say they've had "off world experience." (As reported by Pete Smith, President of the Newton Institute in "It's a Wonderful Afterlife.") So it's not entirely odd to hear someone remembering a past life as an "alien."

Further, when asked what she was doing on this ship, she said that she and her partner went around helping civilizations in an etheric way. I asked her to explore that, and she said they did not "interfere" with civilizations directly, but worked on the "grid" - or the electrical grid that is related to their existence on their planet. I asked her to describe this grid, and she described something akin to an invisible shield around the planet, and instead of directly interfering, or helping people below, they would work on the grid that surround that planet.  She added that she "didn't know what she was talking about" but was saying it anyway.

I pointed out to her that I've heard these kinds of reports before. (Specifically in the Pete Smith chapter in "It's a Wonderful Afterlife.")  I also heard a similar report recently,when speaking to a man who remembered having an experience with a UFO when he was 25 and had an hour of "Missing time."  When I asked him to examine that hour, he reported that the ship he saw had come to "activate him" so that he could help with the kind of work they were doing, very similar to what this woman was describing.

She said that "there are many alien groups here on the planet."  She said that some are doing their work invisibly, without interference, but there are others who appear to not care about the idea of non-interference and are "treating the earth like it's a possession." I have heard something similar from other folks. That UFO's that we can see - well, we're not supposed to see them - but if we do it's almost like an interference in our development.

In the case of the woman who had an NDE, in front of an audience we explored her near death experience, and she went back to visit her soul group, a place of healing and her council.  She was able to meet and identify people who are on her council, and had a profound experience doing so. She said that she has never done deep hypnosis, and this was an entirely unique experience for her. What made it fascinating, is that her council members gave her "new information" - details that she was not aware of during her near death experience, nor had she any conscious memory of - but while asking her these questions in front of a live audience, she had the profound experience of "remembering all of it."

Then yesterday I did a blog broadcast via Skype with a woman who interviews authors for her writing blog.  She told me she's read my books, had listened to them on audible, and had some incredible stories about her mom's passing and how her mother saw a number of relatives in her hospital room "that no one else could see." 

But, she said she was disconcerted that in the five years since her mother's passing "she never came for a visit."

I pointed out that people frequently say that, but upon closer examination, it's possible the loved one DID visit. Just that they weren't aware of it.

She said that once since her mom's passing, she had a hypnotist try to help her do a past life regression (unsuccessfully) but during the session, she got a glimpse of her mother.  So I asked her to return to that moment. (Fully conscious, we're talking on skype after all.)  She did. I asked her to describe her mother, age, height, etc. She said she looked "younger and more vibrant."

I told her the case of the NYPD detective (on the film "Salt") who asked me why his partner was appearing to his 8 year old daughter as younger and thinner, when he died 2 years before she was born.  I explained "people claim that they appear in the form they were happiest in."

I asked this woman to take her mom's hand and hold it. "What does that feel like?"  She did so - and described a feeling. I asked for her "primary guide" to come forward. She said she saw her mom's mother - but was surprised, as they were not close.  I said "Well, you are now. Take her hand too." I asked her primary guide for help in taking her around. She said she would.

So we went to a place of healing.  She described what that was like, and we went to visit her council.  It was at the council meeting (six individuals) that I asked for her to single out the spokesperson, or person on the council who could answer questions.  She described a gent in a suit, looking like someone in the show "Mad Men."  I asked her to go closer and to take his hand as well.  When she did, she said "Oh. It's my uncle. That's weird."  I asked why. She said "Because he's alive.  And I don't like him."

I explained that people claim roughly a third of our energy is here at any given time, so the two thirds of us could be back home doing this kind of work. I asked why she didn't like him. She said "Because he's the one I went to when I was being molested and he denied it was happening."  I told her about another case that was similar (in "It's a Wonderful Afterlife") and I asked her to hold his hand and send him some love anyway. And she gasped and said "Oh, I see it now. He's showing me how I had asked him to deny my story, I had asked him to pretend to be indifferent with me, that this was all part of my plan."

I asked her council member to describe how that worked.  If people could "agree to a contract" or if they could "break the contract they agreed to."  He said that "it didn't matter.  If they broke the contract, then that was something they'd planned in advance, and if they didn't fulfill what they set out to do in this lifetime, they could always do it further down the road. That "by the end of the entire journey this soul would have found a way to experience whatever it was they had decided they needed to examine."

I thanked him - as it was something I had never heard before, and as she said she had never had anything like what was happening to her happen to her before.  She confirmed (on camera) that we didn't know each other, we hadn't planned to speak in this manner, she had no idea that I was going to take her anywhere, and that she learned a huge amount during our short interview.

I guess I will recount this in a future book - in detail, as I filmed it. Perhaps the transcription of these sessions will bring further clarification.  Also, I will ask these individuals if it's ok for me to post footage from their interviews, so readers can see for themselves precisely what they were saying, how they said it, and whether it offers any solace or clarity.

One can only hope!

Homo Deus; Immortality and Happiness

Immorality and happiness wrapped into one.

"Yuval Noah Harari, author of the critically-acclaimed New York Times bestseller and international phenomenon Sapiens, returns with an equally original, compelling, and provocative book, turning his focus toward humanity’s future, and our quest to upgrade humans into gods." A quote from his latest book Homo Deus.

From his Ted talk. Professor Harari

I don't know Professor Harari (Boker tov!) but I did want to comment on his latest book, where he talks about happiness, and humanity's drive to discover immortality.

In the book, he offers the Buddhist concept that happiness or sadness are emotions that are sensations - confined to the experience that we have on a daily basis.  It's what drives the entertainment industry, Big Pharma, silicon valley, gaming - the desire to create instant happiness or feelings of euphoria.

You can find that drive for "happiness" (for lack of a better term) all around us - so that even "waiting for a bus" can be entertaining via our smart screen.  We've come to want, demand instant gratification, technology and drugs are designed to make us "feel happy" instantaneously.  It permeates our culture and our daily lives.  (I've been told that a high percentage of the people working in the tech industry have SSRI drug prescriptions - from someone who would know - and the reason is not to just "dull the senses" but also to help "focus the mind.")

So let me screech to a halt for a moment.

A cloud screeching to a halt. Pacific Palisades.

He talks about how happiness is a sensation - but he does not ask what causes happiness. He talks about how we seem to be striving for happiness, but neglects to identify the actual emotion of happiness - what causes it?  We can fully understand that it is a fleeting experience, but what causes that fleeing experience?  (And by extension is there a pill for that?)

Let's examine something that has been scientifically proven to cause happiness.  Let's talk about a study that was done at the University of Wisconsin by Richard Davidson over ten years, that scientifically proved that people who want to attain or experience happiness can.

Tonglen.

Wait, what?  

Professor Davidson with a happy fellow HHDL

Professor Davidson's study, using monks with MRI showed that meditation can "cure or alleviate symptoms of depression."  How? By doing the same thing that SSRI drugs do - regulate the serotonin that is directed by the amygdala.

So the simple answer is; "How do I create happiness? Through meditation."  The term has been altered to "mindfulness" because too many skeptics thought it was associated with some kind of esoteric yoga pose they'd have to learn.  The simple answer is "mindfulness" will create happiness. 

But meditation is like saying "dance."  There are many versions of dancing.  And to say "Just dance and you'll get better" is probably accurate, but for those who are interested in designing the "fastest, best way" to that feeling, might consider what dance that Professor Davidson used.

I attended his lecture at UCLA where he presented these results a few years ago. The room was filled with Los Angeles psychiatrists, doctors, eager to find a way to lessen their client's addiction to Prozac or other SSRI drugs. Particularly they asked questions about helping young people to not use SSRI drugs. 

Light at the end of the tunnel.

Why? Well, there's a fairly high percentage of people who have adverse reactions to SSRI drugs. The number is as high as 15% (one Doctor told me) but basically we're talking about suicide, or ideations of violence.  (Every mass shooting since Columbine has had some history with SSRI drugs. It's in the data.)

So what if there was a method with NO SIDE EFFECTS that could have the SAME RESULT?

That takes us back to Tonglen.

I asked Professor Davidson what Tibetan meditation he'd used with his study. He told me "Tonglen, but a non-specific version to not skew the results. I asked them to meditate on the earth as a whole, instead of an individual."

Professor Davidson, University of Wisconsin

The reason for that is - because the meditation itself asks the meditator to imagine an ill person across from them, and to draw the illness out of the, to merge it with a healing light, and to alter that "ill" or "sick" energy and turn it into a "healed" or "Healing" energy and breath it back into the person they're imagining in front of them.  

To ensure that one monk wasn't focusing on one person, he'd asked them to substitute "all the ills of the planet" instead of one particular individual.

Why is this important?

Because as a metaphor, Tonglen is a creative imagining of helping your neighbor get well.

It's asking your brain to be compassionate towards another individual. To imagine their illness, to draw it out of them and into you, to heal it with your inner light, or your connection to a healing light, and to imagine breathing healed light back into the sick person.

Meditation as a metaphor

There is no scientific proof that this technique helps the person that you're meditating on. After all, it's equivalent to "praying for the long life and health" of another individual.  There's no proof that works.

But there is proof that it cures YOU. That doing that kind of exercise changes the shape of your amygdala, helps regulate serotonin, cures you of depression. There is evidence that tonglen cures depression.

Got it?

So when we're discussing how to cure people of depression, how to help focus the mind, how to make the world a happier place.... it's simple. Start with tonglen.

A place where tonglen was practiced centuries ago.

I described it recently in a talk I gave - mind you, I'm not a Buddhist. I'm not a practitioner of meditation, I'm not an instructor. I'm not a teacher. I'm not qualified to teach Tonglen, nor am I trying to teach it to anyone, or give medical advice.

Someone asked me recently if I'm a "credited life coach."  I said "No, but I'm a credible afterlife coach."

Look it up, or discover it for yourself.  But at its essence, this form of dance - this form of meditation is effective at curing depression and MAKING PEOPLE HAPPY.

So let's begin there, shall we?

It's one thing to talk about happiness as a sensation - or merely a fleeting feeling. But if we're going to talk about "how to make people happy" there's a simple easy way to do that for yourself.

Do something selfless.

Sorry, couldn't resist. Minions.

Do something for someone else. Help them. You don't have to meditate on this. Literally stop what you're doing, call someone who needs your help and make them laugh.  Walk an elderly lady across the street. Pet your dog more. Play with your cat.  But do it in the way that is selfless.  "This is what you'd like to do, let me help you to do it."

I know this sounds "Christian."  Because he was talking about the same science.  ("Hacking the Afterlife" goes down an entirely different path with the story of Jesus, and his training in a Buddhist monastery, but I digress.)  What's important is the concept behind what I'm saying.  "Do unto others" is an actually prescription of behavior.

Wait, what? It's that easy to be happy? Who knew?

You don't have to do it all the time. But if you want to be happy, or to experience happiness, give things away. Give away your humor, give away your love, give away your possessions.  People give away things not just because they drag them down, or the energy tails them around - but because by giving things away, by putting intent into the giving away, you've helped regulate the serotonin in your amygdala.

Now... onto the second big topic in this discussion.

Immortality.

In Homo Deus, the author argues that the "next big thing" in the tech and medical industries is the pursuit of "Immortality." He talks about using nano tech, how we eventually will become "part machine" and part human, and that tech will be available to the people with the most money.  That health and immortality will be available to the wealthiest individuals.

Well, I'm sorry to dispute that.  

Record scratch. In outer space.

Immortality isn't something to be attained.  It's something to be realized.

You want to be immortal?  Read the following, and voila, you will become immortal.  I'm granting immortality in this blog, and if you don't want to be immortal stop here. Don't read any further.  Go about your day, and forget that you came here to read this post.  Because... I warn you... if you do, you will become immortal.

How does one become immortal?

By opening your eyes.

Not me in another life.
But a good likeness.
Rodin

There's a wonderful parable, both Buddha and Jesus had a moment when their followers said "What's heaven like?"  In Buddha's case, he touched the ground. In Jesus' case, he showed the other fellows on crosses - heaven.

It's here. It's all around you.  It's in the touch of a loved one, in the eyes of a soul mate. It's in the taste of a mother's cake, the smile in a father's laugh. It's in your child's giggle.

Because here, in life, on earth - this is the play. This is the stage.  Think of it this way - two thirds of your energy is always "back home" - in the between lives realm where we exist forever (immortality anyone?) relatively, and we come here to experience the planet Earth and all its foibles.

So two thirds of your energy is ALWAYS back home - always experiencing other friends, loved ones, classes, realms, teachings, experiences - while here on Earth we experience (roughly) about a third of what our energy is capable of.  People claim that's because the human brain can't handle "that much energy" as we'd blow the circuits.  It's also the reason why people who are avatars on the planet - who brought more of their energy to the planet - had such a profound effect on it.

Things on the planet we miss when not here.

As one avatar told me "It's because my energy is more closely aligned with source, that's why people had such a profound reaction to me in that lifetime, and continue to revere and connect with me." (I was hearing this information come through a medium who was connecting with this particular avatar.)

Immortality - the thing that we seem to seek in life - is literally at our fingertips.  There is no death.  There is only life.  People do not die, they step off this realm and go elsewhere.  Most go "home" (their words) where they return to their natural state, which includes a feeling of "unconditional love."

Not home. But a place we like to call home.

You can experience that immortality while you're on the planet. And it's through the experience of unconditional love.  Because that's the natural state of being. So if you want to know what it's like to be immortal, open your heart to everyone and all things. Allow yourself to feel that unconditional love - the kind of love we don't see in commercials, don't see in literature, but we do experience in a mother's love, or a parent's love, or the love of a pet.

You want immortality? 

Just open your eyes. Then open your heart. But it has nothing whatsoever to do with opening your wallet.

(And you got it here for free. Don't have to have wealth to attain immortality. You just have to have eyes to see, and a heart to open. My two cents.)

Going Home

The latest book talk from the Orange County IANDS group... about an hour. 



Enjoy!

Rich

A virtuoso overnight? Or remembering a previous lifetime?

Here's an interesting story:



Funny. Science scrambles to explain the inexplicable. 

The narrator mentions a connection with "Seratonin" release... 

Hello? it's what the amygdala regulates. And what SSRI drugs inhibit. So you're saying seratonin is involved with his musical ability? (Where do we sign up for that same drug? Just kidding.  It's a claim of synesthesia - or the brain rewiring itself to some unknown place where music plays in fairyland.)

How about just having a scientist offer "we have no clue?" 

Here's what science actually shows. That consciousness is NOT confined to the brain. (view UVA's DOPS talk this past week demonstration that consciousness IS NOT confined to the brain.




Start there. 

If consciousness is not confined to the brain, then there is the possibility that a previous lifetime may be involved with his "spontaneous memory." (See Xenoglossy among other brain "miracles") 

This fellow "likely" played the piano in a previous lifetime. (See Dr. Jim Tucker's books on children with memories of previous lifetimes (and talents) or Carol Bowman's work.)  Their books are filled with people remembering all kinds of things about previous lifetimes.

But here's an interesting option:

Youtube has created robot crawlers (for Terms of Service violations) to search out rhythm and note frequency to identify if someone is "stealing" a previous musician's music (TOS copyright violations.) 

If this gent wants to know "who he was" when he "learned how to play" he can seek the help of a hypnotherapist (I recommend those trained in the Newton Institute method) or he can have a search-bot find the same notes/style he's playing in a music catalog. 

You heard it here FIRST.