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

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

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

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

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

Answered Wed

My reply: 

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

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

Harry Dean and a furry friend

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rich: “Arguing about the afterlife?”

J: It’s so pointless.

R: Well how can we help them?

J: It’s paradise over here.

R: But how can we help them?

J: We can’t.

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

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

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

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

Happy Thanksgiving.'

Book Two - both available on Audible.com

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

George and moi

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

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

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

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

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

Types of Statements a Child Might Make:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other publications on past-life memories:

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

Expanded List of Publications:

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

A Star Wars fighter, 11:11 revised, Wilfred Owen and Anthony Bourdain

My thoughts on the ubiquitous 11:11 (revised).  

Gabriel before he blows his horn

As I've mentioned in "Backstage Pass to the Flipside: Talking to the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer" - my wife Sherry had a dream where she ran into my old friend Luana Anders.  

She asked "How can you be here? You died 20 years ago."  

Luana showed her a spaceship - a TIE fighter that Luana had seen in a toy store hours earlier.  If you look at a TIE fighter it looks like a physical interpretation of 11:11. 

Two sides with a place in the center to meet

Two identical sides with a place in the center to meet.

Sherry pointed this out to me yesterday.  That dream had another detail that I had missed. The TIE fighter. She didn't know what it was called.  But Luana essentially said "I took this to come here."

I thought Luana was joking "I took a space ship to get here."

But she was being SPECIFIC.

Then Sherry asked "How can that be?" And Luana replied "Think of 11:11. We meet at the decimals."

What does that mean?

I take it as this; in my research I've asked people on the flipside (sometimes through Jennifer Shaffer, sometimes while speaking to someone who is accessing the flipside without hypnosis) and they say "I have to slow my energy down" or "I have to adjust my frequency to yours" - and I also have heard "And you have to adjust your frequency to mine."

I just read this, this morning. A physical representation of 11:11. It came from a comment posted to a question I'd answered on the topic; a reply on Quora. 

"Eight-months after my first husband passed away, I had a wonderful dream about him. Back then I was a student of lucid dreaming, so I “awakened in the dream” quickly as I sat on our “dream” living room couch. I could see my husband materializing next to me on the couch, but then he began to disappear. It looked like he was being beamed in, ala Star Trek. Intuitively I knew I needed to raise my vibration in order to connect with him. I did a quick centering meditation in the dream state and was able to meet him in the middle-ground where I was vibrating faster and he, slower.

I asked him how he was, and he said, “Wonderful.” Then I asked if he’d heard all the things I’d said to him as he lay dying in the hospital - how much I loved him, etc, and he said, “Yes, but I didn’t die.” I felt confused and said, “But Michael, your ashes are in the urn in our armoire.” And he said, “I know. But I didn’t die.” And then I understood. Then I asked if it was alright with him that I’d started dating again, and he laughed a little and said, “Of course.” And then I woke feeling wonderful."

Got that? 11:11. Raise your vibration on your side to match theirs on the flipside. They have to lower theirs to match yours to communicate. (Like in a star trek transporter.  You have to match the frequency.)

It does not get any more specific than "I am still alive." Not "partially alive." Not "kind of alive" Not "let's define what that means if i don't have a body." THEY ARE NOT GONE. THEY ARE JUST NOT HERE. (Thanks for sharing Tamra)

From a previous post about Armistice Day:

Armistice Celebration (wikipedia)

11:11:18. At 11:11 a.m. the guns fell silent over the fallen dead 100 years ago. But 11:11 is also a metaphor for how we can resurrect those dead.

Think of the left 11 as a hallway for the flipside, the right 11 as a hallway here. As i was told by someone on the flipside: "We meet at the decimals." They have to slow down their frequency to chat (sense/talk/appear in dreams) and we need to speed up ours (meditate/hypnosis/talk via a medium).

We meet in the middle. You can ask questions. When you hear an answer before you can form the question you'll know you've made a connection.

There. I just blew a trumpet and brought back everyone who died a century ago. Up to you what to ask them or what you can learn from their journey. 

Some years ago Sherry had a dream she saw two WWI British soldiers in our living room. One said "you have a book with some of my poems." She heard a name. We looked up his name and Sherry recognized his photo; an English poet who died during the war. The man with him, his best friend who died as well. His name; Wilfred Owen.

Wilfred Owen

This is the WWI poet who stopped by our home one day a few years ago. Sherry saw him (and a friend) in a dream. He leaned down to look at my library of books and said something like "You have one of my poems." The next day Sherry mentioned this to me, as she had heard his name and saw his face. We looked him up and indeed, we did have one of his poems in a book of English Literature. (Reprinted below) On this VETERANS DAY I'm here to tell you that no one is dead. They are not here, but they are not gone. This is not unique, have been documenting this for ten years now. Not gone. Just not here.

WILFRED OWEN

When war was declared, Wilfred Owen was in France working as a private tutor. He returned to England and joined the Artists' Rifles in October 1915. He was subsequently commissioned into the Manchester Regiment and was sent to France in December 1916. In April 1917, after a traumatic period of action, he was diagnosed with what became known as shell-shock, and was sent back to Britain. While recovering in Craiglockhart War Hospital he met Siegfried Sassoon. There, with Sassoon's support, he found his poetic voice and wrote the famous poem, Anthem for Doomed Youth.

Owen returned to France in August 1918 and was awarded the Military Cross in October. He was killed in action on 4 November, just a few days before the Armistice. (Actor Daniel Day Lewis is the head of his society.)

 https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/9-poets-of-the-first-world-war

Anthem for Doomed Youth

BY WILFRED OWEN

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
— Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells; 
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,—
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds." 

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47393/anthem-for-doomed-youth

(Interesting to note that Daniel Day Lewis is the head of the Wilfred Owen society.  Coinkydink? Perhaps.)

Today, a complete stranger asked me what his rabbi tried to tell him 50 years sgo. I asked him to recall the event. He said he could see him with his eyes closed. 

I asked what his hands felt like. "Soft. Comforting. Unconditional love." I asked if i could ask his rabbi a question directly. "Yes." I asked what he wanted to tell this boy 50 years ago. "Follow the path." I asked if the man now understood what he meant by that. He did.

They are not gone. They are just not here. Up to you what to ask them. They're eager to continue the conversation.

Backstage Pass to the Flipside

(Technique is covered in "Backstage Pass to the Flipside: Talking to the Afterlife with Jennifer Medlyn Shaffer ")

Finally, yesterday on Reddit someone posted a link to the article where the french chef Daniel Boulud says (in his opinion, no evidence cited) that Anthony Bourdain "died of a broken heart."

That's NOT what Anthony says in "Backstage Pass to the Flipside."

Anthony on wikpedia. Straighten that tie dude!

I wrote this reply on his behalf:

"Sorry. That's BS." That's a direct quote from Anthony on the "flipside." We interview him in "Backstage Pass to the Flipside: Talking to the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer." He talks about WHY he split, and who was there to greet him on the flipside (that French chef pal of his who shot himself, his pal Bernard Louiseau.) 

Anthony can tell you himself if you ask him. Yeah, he was broken from the grind of working nonstop and didn't have any support system or mechanism. (Like if this chef was such a good pal, he would have been up in his grill prior to this, knowing he was having a hard time). 

As Anthony put it "Tell people to learn to meditate." I asked "Why?" He said "Because if I knew how to meditate I would fucking still be alive." 

He's not gone, he's just not here. Stop blaming others for his act. I asked if we should ban bathrobes from hotel rooms so people like him couldn't use them to do themselves in. He laughed "You don't want to see me naked." The medium could see him looking pretty much the same, but with no tattoos. And whenever I'm interviewing someone new in our "classroom" and I find it tough going I ask him to help. 

Last week I was talking to someone who had a successful life all the way to the end. I asked Anthony if he wanted to ask this famous guy a question. He said "How did you do it? Stay alive with all the pressure?" And this person said "Because I had a group of friends I could call day or night for help. Which you did not." Touche'. So.... Chef DB; Don't claim he "died of a broken heart" if you weren't there to make him laugh or heard him tell you that himself."

     Which was met with the reply: "Seriously? I wish I had more than one downvote. Go plug your bullshit somewhere else."

      To which I replied:

"Good for you brother. I'll give the opportunity to downvote this comment as well. It's not my theory opinion or belief this is the case. I've filmed people under deep hypnosis for ten years (45 so far) and they claim the same thing. I've examined thousands of cases from Dr Helen Wambach and Michael Newton; they say the same thing. I've presented research to scientists at UVA and subsequently interviewed dozens of NDE cases. 

I'm sorry this post upset you; that's not my fault. I am just quoting what my pal the medium said (who works with law enforcement nationwide on missing person cases.) Whatever: vote away."


I sound like a broken record but it bears repeating:

It's not my opinion, belief or theory that a medium reported what Anthony had to say. I have it on film and anyone can judge it for themselves.  I have film of this particular medium (and others) accurately talking to people on the flipside (dozens of times) about things only they could know, things that are "new information."  It's not my theory that it's new information, I then follow up the research and prove it to be accurate (or not).  You have a problem with what people say on the flipside about their departure, take it up with them.

Anthony didn't die of a broken heart. Sorry. That may be the scenario people want to believe, it may be what makes them more comfortable with their own journey, it may be what they want to take away from the loss of such a smart, erudite and compassionate human.  But hang on - he hasn't gone anywhere, he's not gone at all.  It's only our inability to see/hear/talk to him that prevents us from knowing that he hasn't gone anywhere.

What's more important? Hanging onto the belief that he checked himself out over a broken heart? Or realizing that he's still accessible?  Ask him yourself.  He's happy to reply.

And that's my two cents for the day. 

MEANWHILE... enjoy this tune that I came up with about Luana's visit in a dream describing 11:11.  Something fun I created on my keystation 88 and improvising "whatever popped into my head" while listening to the tune.  Flipside songwriting.

Ghosts of Christmas Passed 2018 - #EltonJohnLewis ��

I LOVE THIS. LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS! This is my frickin' life too - including playing this "Your Song." 



I saw him at 17 in Chicago, blew the roof off the Auditorium opening for Eric Clapton (singing this song with a flashing dildo twixt his legs and playing upside down). I went a year later when he solo'd after the album came out - sang this song to teeny boppers - met Abbie Adams (Mrs. Fred Yaffe) who sang it in our band, played this song in nightclubs across the planet (lesbian bar in Ptown, MA where the bartender slammed the top on my fingers "You're kind isn't allowed in here" - and a week later she had to share a ride in my car back to Boston and apologized profusely, karmically). 



Edna Gundersen took me to see him with Leon Russell and I met Elton at the after party. He looked at me as if I was an old friend (flipside?) and I held his rough calloused piano hand. "Elton. We've never met, but I just want to thank you for all the amazing times I've had playing your songs for people." 



It's true. From Cannes to Paris, from honky tonks in Chicago to Les Deux Cafe in Hollywood. Yesterday I asked Nick Milo (pianoman Tower of Power, Joe Cocker) what his first conscious thought as an artist was, and he said "I was just tall enough to see above the keys to play a song I taught myself." I asked Deron Johnson (Miles Davis) "Where does music come from?" and he said "It's under the surface, like water in a pool, just below the air." 



The choice to become an artist starts BEFORE WE ARRIVE HERE, and the first time we dance, write, pick up a guitar, sing a song, act on stage - we RECOGNIZE THAT'S WHY WE'RE ON THE PLANET. 



It's in every interview I do with people under deep hypnosis or with Jennifer Medlyn Shaffer and artists on the flipside "I knew what I was on the planet for... And I'm still making music on the flipside." Thank you Reginald Dwight Elton John. Wow. My breath is gone.

Paul Allen, Prince and a flying Tibetan

So flipside fans, Jennifer Shaffer and I can't be stopped.

No one has tried to stop us, but I'm just saying. It's continuing on.

As you may know, based on checking out "Backstage Pass to the Flipside" Jennifer and I have been interviewing people in our "classroom on the flipside." We were #1 at audible for most of September. We invite people to come forward and then I ask them some basic questions.  I choose questions that are by their nature neutral, and then I research the concepts in detail.

Questions like "Who was there to greet you on the flipside? What do you miss? What do you regret? Who would you like to give a message to?"

Last week, I suggested a person for us to interview, but did not tell Jennifer who it was. Earlier in the morning, I used the technique mentioned in the books by "calling out the name" of the person we wanted to interview. Because I never met this fellow, nor did Jennifer - a few friends of mine have - I wasn't sure how effective I would be in "calling him forward."

Paul Allen Wikimedia

(This is a rough sketch of what was said over the course of an hour interview, the transcript of which will be available in a future book "Backstage Pass to the Flipside" book three.)

I asked for 3 people to come forward to help us.  One was the father of someone I know, his son is a pal, and his father is on the flipside and has appeared in our class.  So I said his name aloud.  Then I asked for someone else who was in our class, who has appeared before, and who knew this fellow I was requesting.  And the third person I asked for someone famous enough to impress this person - because he would be likely willing to speak to him, even though he doesn't know us.

Jennifer named them each, one at a time.  "So and so is here" - I said "Great, I asked for him."  Then the next person and the third person. (I'll name them all in the book, but it doesn't matter at this point.  She got all three 100% correct.)  

She couldn't get the first name of this fellow, so I gave it to her.  When I said his name "Paul" she said "I know who you're talking about, but I don't know his name; the microsoft guy?"  "Yes" I said. (A note about our ability to confirm details - if you get a chance to view "Backstage Pass to the Flipside" I go over in detail how I am able to verify specific details.  Often the people we interview are friends of friends, so I'm able to ask their family "who was with him or her when they died?" and other details that I've heard from Jennifer.)

I knew little to nothing outside of wikipedia about Paul Gardner Allen.  (After the interview, I did research him, to verify some key details). What I don't know about him could fill volumes. 

I did know that he created a brain science institute in Seattle, and he owned two professional teams; the Trailblazers and the Seahawks.  I knew that he donated 100 million to his brain science institute, because his mother Edna had Alzheimers.  I knew that his autobiography mentioned how Bill Gates had stabbed him in the back when he had cancer - and had no clue if they ever made up or not.

Paul Allen patch via uniswag

I asked "So who was there to greet you when you crossed over?" fully expecting it to be his dad Kenneth or his mom Edna.  He said (through Jennifer) "I'm seeing a football player."  Startled (I thought owning the teams was a trifle, had no idea he was a football fanatic with his father until AFTER this session when I looked it up) I said "Is this a member of the Seahawks? Someone who died?"

She said "no."  But he's "someone who was there to thank him."  She said "I think they met before, they may have been friends."  She said "He's African American - but he's Polynesian."  She said "I'm getting the number 5 - but also the number 2... that could be the number on his uniform, or it could be a date, like May 2nd."

My brain scrambled for a moment, and then I said "Wait a second. Is this someone who suffered from that brain ailment who wants to thank him?"  Jennifer tapped her nose like she does when I've said something right on the money.

I said "I know about the Chicago Bear Dave Duerson, he was the first football player who killed himself and then asked for his brain to be sent to be studied."  She said "I have the chills."  It was definitely related to him.  I mentioned how Boston University, my alma mater was in the forefront of doing this kind of research, and was featured in the Will Smith film.

Dave Duerson NY Times foto

Jennifer said that this player was there to thank him - that his contribution to brain injury was helping many lives. She said that "Paul really cared about him, or cared about his players and felt guilty about the sport causing them to be being injured."  She said "He even worked on designing a helmet to help."

None of this information I'd heard before.  I looked it up - and it's accurate.  There is a new helmet design from a company in Seattle that credits Paul's influence, there is the problem of CTE that has been addressed by his group at the brain science institute. 

It turns out that Junior Seau, the Polynesian African American killed himself the same way that Dave Duerson had a year after his death. (Junior died in 2012).  He shot himself in the chest and they donated his brain to Boston University where they confirmed he had CTE (brain issues from so many helmet hits.)  In fact over 95% of all football player brains examined have this same problem - this same issue. It also turns out that he did wear the #5 (55) and 5-2 is the exact date he died (May 2nd, 2012, he shot himself.)

Junior Seau. #55. Died on May 2nd 2012.

I did not know this information during the session, but learned it later. I knew that Dave Duerson, of my beloved Chicago Bears had killed himself for science - but had no idea that Junior had the exact same problem.  I brought the topic up again with Jennifer this week, asked if it was Junior Seau who stopped by and because I mentioned Dave Duerson, that's why she got a confirmation? She said again "I'm getting the chills - which is the way I confirm things."

So I said to Paul Allen "The kind of work that Jennifer and I are doing, interviewing people on the flipside in this manner, proving that consciousness still exists, and that we can gain new information using this method would be helpful to your brain science group.  He said "Email them."  I said, "Why would they listen to me?" He said "Remind them that I told them to look into this, to look outside the box to find other fields to explore the answers."  He said when they hear me quote him saying this - it will take some time - but they will remember him telling them to do just that.

He said he knew he was going to die after the first bout with cancer. That he knew he wasn't going to survive it, and was "good at lying" to everyone to tell them that he would, or that he was cancer free. But that's why he was in such a hurry to do the kind of philanthropic work he was doing."

I asked about Bill Gates, if Paul was possibly still upset over the slight mentioned in his autobiography. He said "Not in the least." He offered that he "knew instantly, a recognition of what the work was going to be for us, when he first met him. He said "but there was competition there, and it came to head..." I think he's telling me that it was over a girl." She said. 

Bill Gates: WikiMedia photo

(I have no clue, haven't read his or Bill's books.) I asked if he had any advice for Bill; he said "Tell him to retire." Jennifer said "I asked him if he wanted to say something like "you got this?" and he said; "No, he should quit. Tell him to not worry about the latest update." (She said "whatever that means.") 

"He needs to have some fun" he told Jennifer. I asked about regrets and he said "No! I won. I died with the most toys."

Photo from the "cult of Mac" website

He told Jennifer the name of his yacht (the Octopus) correctly - she said "It's a jellyfish... I'm seeing an octopus, but it can't be as simple as that."  I said "Actually it is."  

The Octopus Yacht 

I asked who was with him when he crossed. He said that his last moments were spent with his sister (Jennifer asked if her name was "Tracey?" I said "Jody." Again - I'm not trying to prove anything to anyone here - I've proven so many times that we have heard accurate and new information from the flipside, I try to be as accurate as I can when she hears something different.  If that makes the reader feel that I led her, or gave her information she couldn't have gotten from on her own - that's fine.  No need to read any more of this blog!  These are not the droids you're looking for.)

He said that she was with him when he crossed over (or that she had left the room briefly) but he sent her love, and that she should "trust and get everything checked out because she's fine, she's healthy but doesn't believe it so she worries about it."  (I don't know what that means, but I suspect she will.)

I asked what he was up to now. He said "learning to play the ukelele." He said he was keeping an eye on all the things he cared about back here, but then he would play music with some of the people in class - namely Hendrix and Prince.  Jennifer correctly reported that he had built an institute for Hendrix (the museum in Seattle) and that Jimi thanked him for it.

Easier to construct mentally. Photo Monoprice

I asked why he wasn't playing a guitar like the others. He said "It takes time to learn how to make that mental construct. There are just four strings and simple chords.  It's soft, elegant and easier to play."  He said he had already been playing with another member of the class - Mr. Ukelele himself George Harrison (who speaks to us in "Backstage Pass to the Flipside").

Again - not trying to convince anyone of anything. Just reporting what I'm filming.  He had a private message to a friend of mine that he knew, and I passed it along.  Not here to sell anyone anything.  If you get a message from a loved one, the best thing to do is pass it along - doesn't mean they're going to believe you, but at least you've done the thing they wanted.

If you combine it with all the other research I've done, the ten years of filming people under deep hypnosis, you'll find these reports are in line with those. If you look at the research in "Flipside" "Its a Wonderful Afterlife" "Hacking the Afterlife" and "Backstage Pass" (links to the right of this page) you'll come to the same conclusions.

NO ONE DIES. Their consciousness is accessible.  Doesn't matter if they've reincarnated since (and most take a break for awhile) their mind is always accessible.  And they can answer complex questions about complex ideas - it's just up to the person asking the question to know how to understand what they're reporting.  There's no hierarchy back there - doesn't matter if you're famous, infamous or obscure. Everyone is equal in terms of their role in the universe.

Some more flipside notes:

Later that day I stopped by a Tibetan store. It's a shop in Santa Monica which sells the Nechung Monk CD that I produced for Kutenla the Oracle of Tibet. (The Nechung Oracle)  The CD is selling in the store.  I never ask how the sales are going - I suspect whoever needs to find the CD will find it - in person, or online - but I spoke to the manager.  He's a devout Buddhist, and I always enjoy chatting with him.  We talked a bit about Buddhist philosophy with regard to children remembering "past lives."  

Available at CD baby and Amazon

I reminded him of how when our son had said "whever you hear a bell in Tibetan music, it means peace comes into the world."  When our son said that to me, I had no idea what bells meant in Tibetan music, and had asked this fellow. At the time he said "It means peace comes into the world."

He asked about our son, who is now older and said "at the age of 8 their brains become polluted by grasping and desire, so their memories of a previous lifetime end."

I said, "Well, science tells us that the skulls harden by age 8 - that until then they're more pliable.  So it may be that they have better access to information that may come to them in etheric form, before the filters and limiters are in place. As if it's harder to get the frequency through."  We talked about meditation, and how meditating can help a person to open themselves up better to frequencies.  He said he never saw anything during a meditation, but sometimes in dreams.

 I asked him to describe; One is that he's walking down a street in Katmandu about 100 years ago. He has no idea why he's there, or who is around him, but they look like people from 100 years ago. But he can see a regular street scene with people out walking around - he has no idea what kind of clothing he's wearing, but felt as if he was a man in that lifetime.

In the other dream he was "flying." He said it was thrilling - he just "lifted off" when he wanted to. (From "Backstage Pass to the Flipside" - most folks we talk to tell us the most amazing thing about being on the flipside is "they can fly.")

I asked about the visual, and he said "its recurring. I'm in a forest, which at the base of the trees is open and empty. And then I lift off and I go up through the canopy which is thick. And then I'm over the trees and I fly to a pond. When I look down, I see electrical wires, so I'm afraid of running into them, so I come down.  But in the forest I feel calm, at ease, and unconditional love." The other dream; "I'm in Nepal, near where the Buddha gave his lectures, and I am walking with others, but instead of following the crowd, I go up to the top of a mountain and look back over the clear parts of the forest where monasteries are." He also described a profound sense of calm when looking down at these monasteries from above.

I pointed out that in many of the deep hypnosis cases I've filmed or researched, people talking about constructing a place of "healing" where the go to "pull their energy together" once they've crossed over.  Sometimes it's inside, sometimes it's outside - but covered in trees or waterways. Often people can embrace the trees, or walk in the water - but always they experience that sense of calm, and a feeling of unconditonal love.  He smiled.  "Taishe delek!" I said and wandered down the block.

In India

A few doors down, I stopped by a guitar store in Santa Monica and was playing some of their instruments and struck up a conversation with a worker there.  I had the impression I should ask him the question "who was the most famous person that has come in here?"  He said "Prince.  He comes in all the time."  I asked if this worker, Mike had seen him there?  He asked two other workers.  They both said "No, but he comes in all the time."  I had to ask - "Fellas, why are you speaking in present tense?"  None of them could answer that.  I said "You mean he used to come in all the time?" Yes.  He took over a particular room and the guy who carried his picks would purchase guitars for him.

TrueTone Guitars in Samo

I thought that was pretty funny. Prince had a guy whose gig it was to carry his picks.  Funny.  This guy then took a phone call in the midst of my telling him how Prince showed up for "Hacking the Afterlife" and "Backstage Pass to the Flipside."  When he finished the call, he said "That's funny.  The guy on the phone came in today to sell me a guitar, a Hohner that Prince used to own." He whipped out his cell phone and showed me a picture of him, Mike, holding the guitar "that morning."  Then he showed me a picture of Prince playing the same guitar.

What are the odds?

When you work with stories about the Flipside; pretty good odd something will come up that seems coincidentally, but feels like it's more than that.

Near Death Experience from IANDS

Sharing this amazing account of a near death experience from IANDS.ORG

See the experience below; my comments:

"Love is the engine of the universe." 

Don't take my word for it, although I have been shouting it for some time, here is another eyewitness report from the flipside. Because he didn't meet or see avatars doesn't mean they don't exist; each experience is unique yet not unique. Thousands have reported the same kind of NDE, many have experienced this via deep hypnosis. 

Point is NOW YOU KNOW. How does knowing change your stress level? Change your fury, anger, resentment, fear? What is love anyway? Indefinable, ineffable, an experience we only know when we experience it. 

No pulpit, no song, no bumper sticker or book can define it. But if you can give it you can experience it. "Open your heart to everyone and all things." What have we got to lose? 

"'Love was what everything was made of, came from, returned to."

International Association For Near-Death Studies (IANDS)


"From my first NDE, I only remember vague images and concepts and some vivid images. However, my second one, I remember entirely, and once I was in it, I remembered that what I was experiencing was something I had experienced before, and that my second NDE had a lot of the same features as the first.

First of all, I definitely was aware that I had left my body, but when I glimpsed my ethereal body, I noticed the same physical features I was used to. I later learned that it was akin to a term used in the first Matrix movie: Residual self image. I expected to see the body I was used to, and so I did, to make me more comfortable.

Second, I felt like I was lifted away, though I never experienced a bright light or tunnel, or saw any dead relatives. To that point, I had not lost any relatives in my lifetime--the first familial death I experienced was my paternal grandfather in 1989. The first death I experienced of any kind was my best friend, who was killed by a drunk driver when I was 15 and she was 14.

Third, I experienced being in a place of some sort. Not a room, because it didn't feel closed-in or limited, but definitely a sensation of a physical place. I felt, rather than saw, beings around me, which comforted me and projected peaceful thoughts into my mind. In this realm, talking without speaking seemed perfectly natural to me, as if I'd always done it but was just now remembering how.

I experienced what some have termed a 'life review.' It wasn't like a movie or something, where I was outside of it. It was completely interactive and immersive. I got to see good and bad things I had done. I say good and bad, despite the fact that there was absolutely NO JUDGMENT there. It was more like these beings wanted to show me the path in life that I had chosen, and based on what I wanted to be, how my actions or words had either helped me along that path or hindered me. This review was not from my perspective, but rather from the perspective of those my words or actions had affected. I experienced how I made others feel, or think about me, as if I were them.

Let me stress here that there was none of the Heaven-or-Hell experience for me. No Jesus, or angels, or choirs in clouds. No judgment, no punishment, no fear. Also, no religious overtones at all. This, I will explain later.

I felt the presence of other souls nearby, those who--like me--had recently died and found themselves in this new reality. I know we conversed, but I couldn't tell you the substance of those conversations. In this place, conversation happened spontaneously and without verbalization. And since everything happened with the speed of thought, and everything seemed to work faster, it's difficult to put every concept into words, because it's like trying to capture a cloud with your hands.

Several of us went together on a tour of sorts. We flew at speeds beyond imagining through space and the universe. We were unbound by the laws of Physics or any limitation. If we thought about something, we were there, instantly. There was no passage of time that I could sense. This journey through space was, in a word, freeing. I felt exhilaration, excitement, wonder, awe, like a kid who just got to go to all of his favorite places in the world all at once. I never wanted it to end.

Colors were so much more vivid, blending together like Van Gogh's Starry Night painting. And mixed with the colors were sounds and music. Every star we passed had a specific frequency or vibration--the brighter the star, the higher the tone, and conversely, the darker the star the lower the tone. Globular clusters and groupings of young stars were like a stellar chorus. It was the most incredible thing I have ever experienced, bar none.

I felt connection to everything, all at once. There was no sense of separation, no division between here and there, between me and other beings. My awe was their awe, and their awe was mine.

Unfortunately, the journey came to an end. I was by myself again, but felt the comfort and overwhelming love of others all around me. Love was what everything was made of, came from, and returned to. All-encompassing, unconditional love. It enveloped me like a warm blanket on a chilly day, and I just wanted to stay inside that love for the rest of eternity.

While there were many voices speaking to me throughout this experience, there was one that seemed to stand out from the rest. I want to say it was a male voice, although there wasn't sex here, any more than race or religion or any other distinguishing characteristics. But it 'felt' male to me, if that makes any sense. This voice told me that I had to go back. Upon hearing that, I felt cold and alone. The other voices tried to comfort me more, while still backing up this central voice. They told me that I would remember this experience, and that just recalling it would bring it all back to me. They also stressed to me that one day, my day would come, and that it would be no more than the blink of an eye there.

I didn't want to leave, but the more I tried to stay, the 'heavier' I felt, like I was under water and being dragged down by an anchor. I could sense my body, somewhere else, but it felt like an alien to me. I couldn't imagine ever going back to being so limited again.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up in the emergency room. I felt pain from my head injury, and from falling when I went unconscious, but it was weird to me. I felt the pain, but in a disconnected sort of way, like it was happening to someone else, but I was feeling it with them. I was disoriented and confused, and nothing felt real to me. I didn't respond to the doctor at first, because I felt torn between what I had just experienced and this physical realm."

Reviews are in.... "the afterlife consultant"

After spending a couple of hours with a fellow who had an unusual event happen to him (he heard a voice tell him that he "needed to figure out how to communicate to his children when he is dead") - he sought out some information on what that sentence might mean.

He eventually came upon my books "Flipside" - "It's a Wonderful Afterlife" "Hacking the Afterlife" and reached out to me about doing a session where I could chat with him about that experience.

As I always do - I pointed out that if he wanted to access previous lifetimes and the journey between lives, a Newton Institute trained hypnotherapist (like Scott De Tamble) is the best way to go or if he wanted to speak "directly" to someone on the flipside he might seek out a medium (like Jennifer Shaffer).  But if he wanted something in between, or a way to discuss these things while fully conscious, I've had some success doing that.

We met at my local coffee shop and away we went.

He not only found out what that particular sentence meant, but afterwards, wrote this "review."  

Thanks Terry F from Santa Monica!


"With his many successful books, I always thought Rich Martini was a great storyteller. 

But during an impromptu session sitting at a simple coffeeshop table, I discovered Rich is extremely talented at asking questions. 

His warm and casual demeanor makes him an instant friend, and his skillfully sequenced questions flow naturally. So much so that after a few warm up questions where I thought only my imagination was at play, Rich lead me to a sort of focused gaze where images were coming at me clearly and rapidly. 

Dates were appearing in my mind when Rich asked for them, places, names, clothes, key events. 

I ended up describing people and outfits I was not aware of, but that I could verify with an easy Google search after the session. 

All of a sudden, I was part of chapter of American history that I had never heard of but that was documented. 

Rich’s best talent is actually not storyteller or questions asker. He is the best listener. 

After this session, Rich wrote a recap that contained many more details than I could remember, and I was able to illustrate the story with the images I found on Google that I had “seen” during our session. 

If you are open minded, curious, or simply looking for answers, a session with Rich is like a comfortable walk in the park where you are in touch with the world while daydreaming about your past lives. Highly recommend!"

If you're interested in booking a session with yours truly - either by telephone, skype, or in person, please send an email to MartiniConsulting (at) Gmail

I'll get back to you asap and we'll go from there!

The Afterlife Consultant - Rich Martini

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here are a few examples that I've filmed:

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


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

With Jennifer Shaffer and Scott De Tamble

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

with Jennifer Shaffer and George Noory

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

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