Councils on the Flipside and Wigs in Court

For fans of Michael Newton and the Newton Institute, they know that the idea of "councils" is often reported in the research.  In the work of Dr. Helen Wambach, a decade earlier, her clients referred to them as panels.

I had first encountered a description of them in making the documentary "Flipside." In my interview with Michael Newton, he talks about them extensively.  I wasn't sure what he meant - or what they could be until I did my own session (as reported in "Flipside"). Jimmy Quast of Easton Hypnosis conducted the session. At some point he walked me in to visit with my council.

Council of Clement

It was different than what others had reported. In Newton's reporting, often there was this description of going into a sacred place where people got to explore why they were on the planet in the first place. Many described a "face the music" or judgment fear prior to entering - and that was coupled by people appearing on a dais, or wearing robes, or in some fashion feeling apart from them.  Older, wiser souls who give advice.

In my case I had the distinct feeling of going onstage - that moment before the curtain comes up, and there's a buzz.  A feeling of anticipation - and I was aware that my council was anticipating my conversation with them.  When I began to speak, it felt more like a "give and take" - as I was actually saying things that made them laugh or chuckle.

I was aware I had made them laugh - because at one moment I said something aloud that both the hypnotherapist (Jimmy Quast) and the eight members of the council laughed at.  It was unusual to "get laughs" from two sides of the veil at the same moment in time.

The first time I encountered a description of councils "in the real world" was at the death of Olympian Dave Schultz. His father Phillip spoke at his funeral about the day Dave was five years old, pulled him aside and said "Dad, can you keep a secret?" His father, amused, followed his son.  Then Dave said "Dad, I went to visit my council. They were old men with beards. They said I could come here to teach a lesson in love. But I won't be here for very long."

His father forgot the comment until his son was murdered by John DuPont. Apparently his son had "visited his council" prior to incarnation, and been told what he was going to the planet to learn or teach; "a lesson in love." But he "would not be there very long."

Not this council but similar. Robes and long hair.

Then I started to see or encounter councils in every session that I filmed. I'm in the back of the room, the hypnotherapist (sometimes Scott at LightBetweenLives.com but others as well) and at some point people would "visit their council."

Then when I began to interview people without hypnosis - asking the same questions and getting the same answers, the encounters changed dramatically.

The descriptions are and were always slightly different. The size of the room, the construction of the room. The light in the room. Sometimes not a room but outside. Sometimes a hovering room - sometimes one can see "straight through the floor to land below" - sometimes it's "floating in a cloud." 



The make up of the council is often different - anywhere from 3 to 20 people have been reported (the average is 12 but sometimes they aren't all there when the person is visiting, so they may show up later, or be busy "doing something else.")

Sometimes the council members don't show up because they don't want the person accessing them to "see them" up close - because it might alter their path knowing that "Uncle Bob" is on their council.  It's not "Uncle Bob" per se - only a third of Bob's energy is on the planet at any given time, but two thirds of Bob's energy is always "back home."  So he could appear on a council - and he could change the way he looks as well. "Ancient old Uncle Bob" or even how he might appear to others. "I sense this is my Uncle Bob but he looks like a bright light right now."

Then in "Architecture of the Afterlife" I began interviewing council members directly. That is - the person I'm speaking with is not under hypnosis. We are often drinking coffee. They have a profound memory - could be a dream, a vision or a visitation of someone. I use that memory as a gateway - a key into their memory of that event.

In interviewing council members, I've met young and old. A young girl who "would rather be riding a bicycle" that represented freedom of expression to a writer friend of mine, and ancient, ancient council members. I've interviewed members that look only like "lights" to the person viewing them, but also have interviewed people who look "reptilian" in demeanor.

I've asked council members if they appear on other councils, if they have incarnated on earth, and if they have incarnated with the person we're speaking with.  Sometimes the answers are yes, sometimes no. I ask  them if they are aware of my work - talking to councils - and some members are "very aware" of what I'm doing - and others, on the same council - have never heard of me.

I always ask.  I get varied answers from the same person accessing them.  I also always ask for lottery numbers and that always gets a laugh as well.  No reason not to keep it light.

I know that everything that occurs leaves a packet of information. A holographic floppy disk of everything that happened during that memory. When we access the floppy disk, like a hologram - I know that we can explore other avenues. Like "Who was your guide at the time of this incident? Can we speak to them?" If so, "Can the guide walk us into the council?"

Here's an example where I walk Dr. Drew in to visit his council. A skeptic, he doesn't believe in an afterlife,  wasn't aware he had a guide or a council. Yet, when I asked his guide to "walk us into the council" - Dr. Drew asked "What's a council?" And I replied - "I was talking to your guide. He knows what that is. Can we go there?" And we did.




They know. They walk us in.  The person says "I don't know why I'm seeing this, but what comes to mind is a large room, with marble floors, and a row of people standing in front of me."  I have learned that at first I need their permission to ask questions (the one time we were booted out comes to mind) - and I try my best to not make jokes or tease council members.

But sometimes I can't help myself. Recently, during a session with a fellow in the UK, he said that his council member called me "the troublemaker." 

Simon's Podcast

Then later, when I pressed him on a question about how he looks to others in his council (he looked ominous and dark to the fellow accessing him) and when I asked that he said "Okay, you busted me. I'm just a light."

That's something that Scott De Tamble mentioned once when accessing members of a council. His client saw them as sages, wise, old, imposing - almost too powerful to address - and when Scott asks them what they look like, they "turn into a blob of light."  Something to keep in mind in the following post.

Not a long time ago, Luana Anders waving from Rockefeller plaza.

Interesting dream I want to report.

This wasn't my dream.

But it was the dream of a close friend of mine.  Someone I've known for decades, someone I grew up with.  Someone who has followed my forays into the flipside with interest, and has gone so far as to do three deep hypnosis sessions - which are reported in "It's a Wonderful Afterlife" and "Architecture of the Afterlife."

One in which she recalled living as an accountant in the court of Louis XVII in Versailles, (details of which I was able to find in the royal record) which included the day that she/he had to turn her son over to another family - paying someone to take her son because she knew that the court would not survive the French Revolution.

In her second session with Scott De Tamble, my friend had a recollection of being the captain of a ship in the East India Company - whose name and address I found in the records of the Old Bailey - and after that short lifetime of 25 years, found herself "returning home" in her mind's eye.  

She saw herself returning home to a mountaintop, and as she walked over the hill found a class of about 25 people waiting for her.  They were her students - she was their teacher - (teaching a class in the movement of energy, or teleportation) and she had "gone out to experience that lifetime."  

In the memory of it - she said "It felt like I went out for a smoke" before returning to her class which was mid exercise, mid lesson, waiting for her return. My friend had the distinct impression that the experience of 25 years on earth was equivalent to ten minutes on the flipside.  

Myself, Jennifer Shaffer and Scott De Tamble

Since then, without her knowledge, I've asked this relativity question often to people I've spoken to on the flipside - "Is ten minutes over there like 25 years here?" and I've heard a consistent and resounding "Yes." (Or to ask "Can you give me an example of what time feels like?" One person said, "between our conversation two months ago and today, it feels like a comma.")

So 2500 years on the planet feels like... anyone?  The math is simple - one hundred times ten minutes.  

Not a long time.  

Napoleon

This has been reported across the board. What is two years to us, feels like a few second on the flipside. (As reported in my first and second between life sessions, where in first session I was with my pal Luana in a classroom, and two years later, during the second session, discovered we had walked down to the stage - about a two minute walk - which apparently had happened over the ensuing two years.)

Then some years later - after these incredible two past life memory sessions, my friend stopped in LA with a friend of hers to take the hypnotherapy class offered by Scott De Tamble at lightbetweenlives.com - they both learned and participated a lot - and I offered to film it for Scott because my pal was going to be there, and... why not? It became chapters in "Architecture of the Afterlife."

Not a long time. My grandparents are here waiting  for the King of England.

So at some point both my friend and I did sample practice sessions - both of which are in the book.  Both of those sessions are mind bending, and go beyond what my mind can easily comprehend.

A council of sorts. Peeps in high school

Imagine my chagrin this morning when I got this text:

"Ricardo - I had a vivid dream about you last night. We were on a panel deciding when it was time for souls to depart the earth...

My reply: Oy vey. Was I one of those scheduled for departure? Or was it a general discussion?

She wrote: "Lol - not you. We were discussing others. A group of us were watching images of people in the air and discussing others. A group of us were watching images of people in the air and discussing if they had achieved all they had set out to do in this life time. Them making decisions based on their lifetime.

Was it a friendly discussion? or was it "off with their heads?"  How many were on the panel? Anyone you recognize?

People would appear out and disappear after the decision had been made.

I do recall having a dream about a discussion like this. I tend to argue for folks to stay as long as they can or want to, even if it screw up other plans...

12 people were on the panel in a circle. We were left center. Sitting together. The discussions were very unemotional. More like "Did they accomplish everything? If not, can they do it in this lifetime?" You brought in some great perspective.

In the dream I had, I was with a friend - perhaps you. Aware that I had made this argument for someone to continue their lifetime - to change their plan or their exit strategy... and I remember afterwards, turning to my pal and saying "Well I hope that argument worked" like an attorney with fingers crossed after a case.

I only recognized you and of course me. We all seemed to be floating in the air. Same with the table.

(Note: My pal wouldn't know this, but it is often reported that people visiting their council see the world below and see that everything is "floating in midair.") 

Wow. Any impressions of what I opined about?

You had a very different perspective of each life which everyone on the panel seems to appreciate.

And what was your pov?  Let em stay longer/ or send them home?

My concern was focused on if/how each person could do more of had they grown up.

Did we use examples of the lives in question? Like, "Well that guy was nice to his aunt Betty so let him stick around" Or more like "It's ok to go home and replan the next lifetime."

It was more analytical and focused on goals.

So... Off with their heads then.

Lol.

Giving council to Abe.

At that point the phone rang and it was my pal - and we chatted about it... in person so to speak.

I did what I normally do and asked her to describe the setting. She repeated seeing 12 people, we were in the middle left - I was on her left. She said the room was large, white, and seemed to be "floating in the air."

I asked her to look to the person on her immediate right (center of the group) and she saw an older man - described him as beyond age, just really wise and old - and he was wearing black robes and a wig the way they do in England.  I asked if we could ask him some questions and he said to her "Yes." 

I asked him for a name or a letter to use. He said "Caleb."  I asked him if he had ever incarnated. He said "He was beyond incarnating. He no longer felt the need to do so."  

I said "But you could if you wanted?" He said "Yes, but I don't need to anymore. I'm helping others who incarnate." 

I asked if this council was a part time or full time gig. She said, "He says "It's full time, we are always in session." 


She said the holograms would appear and I would introduce them - and her impression of the way I spoke was both "flowery and eloquent" - a person would appear in front of us, like in a hologram, it didn't seem like they were aware of us, and I would introduce them to the panel, describe their lifetime and path and journey and the trials and tribulations that they went through. 

And then my friend would ask about whether they had learned the lessons they set out to learn, whether they had grown, or learned how to grow, and whether it was the right time for them to return home. "If they could do more or if they had grown up." 

 She said we would point out the reasons for them to continue or to head back home - she said it wasn't an argument, but that she and I did the bulk of the talking.

I asked if everyone was dressed the same and she said that Caleb said "Yes."  

I asked if we were involved in any kind of judgment or decision making - or if we presented the evidence to someone else who made decisions (I.e., handing down a judgment) and Caleb said "That's not how it works. We don't judge anyone. We help them to see the answers for themselves, and they ultimately make the decisions."  

As if we imparted to their "higher selves" the various reasons for staying on the planet - staying alive - or if they had accomplished whatever they had set out to do, whether it made sense for them to "go home" or return home. They made the final decision. Not us.

(Note: Worth repeating. WE DECIDE when it is time for us to depart. No one else.)



I asked Caleb why my friend had this dream - and what value her seeing the dream might be for her own life. And she got "flashes of information" - about different avenues that she should pursue, which include sharing her ability to chart people's lives, as she's been doing that for decades (without my knowing that she had been doing so.)  


Her charting abilities allows her to give solid advice to people about what their best potential career might be - and if they're on that path or not based upon when they were born.  (I've seen Tibetan masters do this same kind of calculations with uncanny skill - and know that my friend is very successful in her career already - this side skill might be something for her to pursue.)

I thanked Caleb for allowing us to ask him questions - knowing that he's always available, that we can reach out to him in any manner of fashion and get more details about this council, about this group.  (And I may revisit this in a podcast with Jennifer Shaffer)

It appears that our council was not just for one particular person - since many appeared - I don't know exactly how the council came into existence - and it may or may not be related to the councils I've already met or encountered through others.

In my research on councils, I know that everyone has one.  In "Architecture of the Afterlife" I demonstrate how people can access their council without any hypnosis - but it didn't occur to me until I wrote this sentence what the perspective of the council might be.

I've asked many council members if they "sit on other councils" and nearly all of them do so.  

Some on thousands of other councils... so it may be that what appears to be a life review (prior to departure) might not be a "visit to my private council" but perhaps a visit to this "general council" where my friend and I were sitting - answering questions about this person's journey or path.

A Council of Sorts

And it doesn't have to be limited to a near death event - at any time a person can come forward to discuss with their council the reasons they might depart.  Like "Exit points" or "Off ramps" that become available. (It's become a standard question when I chat with someone on the flipside via medium Jennifer Shaffer to ask; "Was this one of your exit points that you had available to you?")

Because people on the flipside are "outside of time" it's not that unusual to be able to access an event that is about to happen - and yet have guidance with the teachers and guides and councils whether that event is needed, or warranted, or desirable.

Mind bent thanks to my friend's dream.

For further adventures in councils, I recommend taking a look or listening to "Architecture of the Afterlife" available across all media.

Patron Saint of Donuts

Sonnet 4 a.m. New York City

I was looking for this old sonnet today, something I wrote in college.

Mr. Sonnet himself

When I was 18 I wound up in Manhattan with two friends, Paul Tracey and Cate Conniff. Our first trip to the Big Apple, we had a discount room at the Sheraton, because Cate worked at the one in our home town - but that meant one room only.We were pretty broke - so we three shared one bed.

Not these four -
but here's Kathy D, Paul, Janet T and Me circa 1969

However as we checked in, we met these guys from a rock band in L.A. Long haired fellas with easy smiles. They told us they were playing a gig in Central Park (I had no idea how big or little the park was or where the gig might have been within that park) and invited us to the after show in their room. Cate went, Paul and I did not - she hung out with that band; the Eagles.

Amazing how YouTube can locate actual footage from that particular day. Here's the Eagles in Central Park in 1973 the same day we met them.

But this isn't about the Eagles.. It's about my sonnet.

Later - when Cate came back to the room about 2 a.m., she was flying - and proceeded to chat up a storm... Paul was trying to sleep, she was talking a blue streak (hmm... wonder why?) I tried to sleep on the floor and then gave up - found solace walking the streets of Manhattan at 4 a.m.

It was raining, so there weren't many people. I walked all the way from 57th to Times Square and back again. Saw just a few folks in the rain.

1973 the year the towers were dedicated; when I stepped foot in NY.

A couple of years later, while a Humanities Major at Boston University, one of my roommates, Andre Shashaty had some "space to fill" in the DGE newsletter and asked me to contribute something.  Here's my sonnet. I post it here because I know that one day, if I type in the words "New York City lies in a quaking still" I can find it. Here - in cyberspace.

Me at BU circa 1973. Photo Ellyn Toscano

"New York City 4 A.M."

New York City lies in a quaking still.
Streetlights reply to the silent alleys
while Bowery confessors lie in their swill.
The rain drives the pimps to rat warm'd galleys,
The only doors open boast lewd desire.
The gay movie crowed stays out of the wet
in all night freak shows that never retire.
It's 4 a.m., the hooker ends her set
Back to the corner she finds a dry spot.
Scanning the parked cars for a John to meet
Like erect buildings determined to rot.
The smoke dissipates from cooling concrete.
A city in rain can only perspire
when the city's pulse is the devil's fire.

But I dodge drops from the park to the square.
trying to remain the unseen foot tread,
crossing the street to hear corner girls dare,
I smile wink once and shake my blood filled head.
"Tis too early for love," I tell the wall...
The bricks laughed back at my foolish wishes:
"Don't you know you're not old enough to crawl?
Give yourself time to sleep with the fishes!"
The wet Boulevards will soon fill the ears
With the honking, dodging shouts in the street
Her ghosts disappear from thousand of years
Manhattan returns to staggering feet.
Just as my storm clouds begin to grow few...
the sun soon enough decides to break through.



AbAb, CdCd, EfEf, GG.  Twice.

But it adequately captures the memory. (And the last four EfEf lines are lost, so they were written 45 years later. Kinda like Goethe writing the second act to Faust 57 years after he wrote the First Act.) Cheers.

A message from the Flipside

Needless to say, with so many of our fellow travelers not making it or having their lives ended by something as senseless as a "zombie virus" - it sends the mind reeling. Looking for answers.


If one looks through this blog they'll find some practical advice from none other than Jonas Salk.  Zinc (elderberry) aloe vera (juice) and acai.  Daily. Stay home. Wash hands. Eventually there will be a vaccine, and or the amounts will lessen.  These things take time.

Elderberry, Aloe Vera, Acai
from Jonas Salk

Or we can try to look for value in the pandemic; "Well, I can finish up my books about the afterlife, just in case."  That was on my mind, when I raced to finish both "Backstage Pass to the Flipside 3: Talking to the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer book three" and "Architecture of the Afterlife."   I had these two very large books over 600 pages each, and I knew if I spent the next three months trying to edit them, they might never get done.

So I put them out, then recorded the Audible versions.  That too was a matter of urgency, getting the recording equipment together, finding the right space to record it - and then reading about 40 hours (for both books.)  Then because Audible was in another mode because of the pandemic it took two months to get those versions released.

I'm aware some quality control has slipped through the cracks - a fan wrote today that he found a 100 typos in "Architecture of the Afterlife."  The good news is that once I recorded the Audible, I saw many typos, then edited the copy and submitted new editions (something not available to authors before, but nowadays it's a click of a button to resubmit a new edition.)  So my sincere apologies for any typos I missed. (If you have an "older edition" send me an email to "MartiniProds" at gmail and I'll forward a newer edition (PDF) without the typos.)

Also, I heard that in "Backstage Pass to the Flipside 3" one can hear me "making corrections" while I'm reading the text. (Scribbling in the margins) Which is pretty funny - or a testament to recording. Again - apologies if the sound of a pen is distracting. An early review had one person complain they could hear my "cat meowing" in the original audio of "Flipside." So in subsequent introductions I proclaim "I'm the kind of author that has cats meow in his books. If that's an issue, I sincerely suggest getting a refund. You also might hear me get choked up while reading a passage (often) - I can't help that. Part of what I'm doing is catching lightning in a bottle - and sometimes that includes crickets."

But this post is about something else.  

The other day, I was in my kitchen where sometime I hear folks saying things to me. Robert Kennedy approached me there (I clearly heard his voice say "I understand you're the fellow I'm supposed to speak with to pass a message to my children.") Startled, I said "No, sir, I'm the guy who knows the people who can help you. If you want to speak with us, show up at our weekly session where Jennifer and I speak to the flipside via Luana." 

Luana Anders waving hello.

Then the following week, on my way to see Jennifer - lo and behold when I arrived at our meeting place she said "Robert Kennedy is here."  (What he had to say I did pass along to one of his children.)

That has happened more than once - another time with John McCain - another time with Paul Allen (see "Paul Allen, Junior Seau and Dave Duerson" on YouTube for direct visual evidence of what I'm talking about.)  But again - that's not what this post is about.  





This is about something I heard the other day.  I heard the voice of a friend who had departed, and I heard her say something clear as a bell.

I don't know what she meant by it. I immediately thought it might mean one thing - and I took offense at hearing it. "What are you telling me that for?"  

However - I normally don't have a problem with people reaching out to me from the flipside as I know they do so for a reason.  And despite the thoughts that surrounded what she said - I have to allow that if it's accurate, it's for a reason.

So next week I'm going to address this in a session with Jennifer. 

I've been doing this research for over ten years.  My books are filled with the hows and whys those events have occurred.  They're like bread crumbs to the same place, the same conclusions.  If one wants to take that ride, and reads them in order, they will see the same information that I've seen. 

What I've seen is that everything happens for a reason - nothing happens without the connectivity of all of our previous lifetimes, all of our guides and teachers and loved ones participating. There are no coincidences, and our loved ones can communicate with us from the other side if we're open to the possibility that they can do so.

I've also learned that time exists relatively over there - while some say "there is no time" or that "everything exists at the same time" I've found that not to be the case in terms of the research. We apparently live each life in a linear fashion, we experience them in a linear fashion, otherwise we couldn't learn anything. 

If after every lifetime we said "Oh, I want a do over" - everyone who participated would have to agree. And even then, all the events would be different.  Even the concept is self serving - we live our lives so we can learn things about ourselves, or learn things about love and help others, even if we can't see that's why we chose our lifetimes in the first place.

The most important thing I've learned in this research is that the journey to the planet is about unconditional love. That's easy to say, next to impossible to consider. We all have conditions about why and who and what we're doing on the planet - or opinions, reactions to what other people do on the planet.  

But by "opening our hearts to everyone and all things" we have a shot at understanding the nature of reality. Not that it's a phrase that's a panacea - or an ad campaign - but understanding that the nature of consciousness, the nature of reality is embracing the idea that we are all connected and if one wants to experience that connection they can... by "opening their hearts to everyone and all things."

And beyond that to realize that we chose to come here, that leaving here is just another part of the journey, that no one dies that no one leaves the stage entirely - we are all available on the flipside, even if a portion of us has already come back. Two thirds of "who we are" is always "back home."  If one reads all the books, they'll come to the same conclusion (or I would bet they would.)

By the way there is a "donate" button on the side of the page. If this research has helped in any way, or changed perspective in any way, it would be most helpful if one took the time to donate something to that research - any amount that they can. I sincerely thank everyone for doing so, and also I mention those donors to the gofundme page in the next book and they get PDF's of the books for doing so.

So this post is about paying attention to what people say to us from the flipside. It's also a preamble that the next session I'm going to do with Jennifer I will bring up this person and this message and see if she gets it right.  I'll post it next week. I would say what the message was - but then someone somewhere would say "But Jennifer must have read your post."  I have a larger issue to deal with - Jennifer is often reading my mind, especially when writing about her or her name. My phone routinely rings whenever I write something she said, or was about to say. ("Ring." "I was just writing your name." "Shut the front door." "No seriously. Stop bugging me.")

So do the same with your loved ones. They still exist. Allow them to speak to you. Allow for the possibility that they can. Allow that they still care for you and want you to do well, and have some pretty cool things to impart from the flipside. Live your life with as much love as you can. Love love.

Remember; they're as close as you can imagine, and never far from you despite the illusion they aren't. 

Don't take my word for it. Just ask them. When you hear an answer before you can ask the question, you'll know you've made a connection.

My two cents. 

The true story behind Amazing Grace

In case you didn't know....







and for those who haven't heard it... the song inspired by a dream about 11:11.

Quora and the Flipside

from COAST TO COAST with George Noory

I've been answering questions about the flipside research on quora.com - it's a site where a global audience can ask questions on any topic, I answer those about my "Flipside" research. 

After my appearance on Coast to Coast 6/16, noticed a spike of people reading my posts;  2.33 million in the past 3 weeks. (12 million over the past couple years) Have no clue if any of them buy books, but it's fun to hope they might.

Last three months

Last year


Past couple of years.

Here are links to the books!!!!

Thanks.

BACKSTAGE PASS BOOKS

BACKSTAGE PASS TO THE FLIPSIDE ONE: 

BACKSTAGE PASS TO THE FLIPSIDE TWO: 

BACKSTAGE PASS TO THE FLIPSIDE THREE: 


FLIPSIDE


FLIPSIDE FILM:

IT'S A WONDERFUL AFTERLIFE ONE

IT'S A WONDERFUL AFTERLIFE TWO

HACKING THE AFTERLIFE


TALKING TO BILL PAXTON FILM

ARCHITECTURE OF THE AFTERLIFE:

Here's an example of a recent message:

To me: 

"You are obviously convinced but I see only conviction & belief in your words, not proof so I remain very sceptical. Produce some concrete scientific evidence if you want to be taken seriously."

My reply: 

"You assume I want to be taken seriously. I don't want to be taken anywhere. I film. The footage exists. Look at it. Don’t look at it. The transcripts exist. Read them or don’t. The research still exists.

Two things are required for data. Consistent results that are reproducible. We can debate how data is gathered. But when the data is both consistent and reproducible it doesn't change whether we consider it serious or not.

I've filmed over 50 people saying the same things about the afterlife under deep hypnosis. I don't ask questions. I film. I’ve filmed interviews with about 50 people saying the same things without hypnosis. I did ask the questions. Same results without hypnosis.

What they say is the same (identical/ word for word) to the research gathered by clinical psychologist Dr.. Helen Wambach in the 70s. I've studied her methodology, have her raw tapes. What her 2000 cases said (its 2750 with her 2nd book) is the same as what Michael Newton's 7000 reports say over 30 years published a decade later. The Newton institute continues to report their data. It hasn't changed.

I approached my documentary “Flipside" as a skeptic. I was determined to report nothing if I saw nothing for 4 hours. That's not what happened.

I remain a skeptic. Not about the research - that's just data. I'm skeptical about skepticism.

Research shows we have filters on the brain that prevent people from accessing this information. For a science report on filters I recommend Dr. Greyson's talk “Is consciousness produced by the brain?”  where he cites medical evidence that indicates it is "not only." 

So not everyone is going to be able to access this information.

Shy of a near death event, LSD, OBE, deep hypnosis,guided meditation or some other filter altering event they won’t be able to access this information until the filters die. That's a shame. But not everyone signs up for a lifetime to have that experience or learn that information.

As the late actor Harry Dean Stanton told me from the flipside when asked what he wanted me to say at his memorial - “tell people to believe in the afterlife." (It's in "Backstage Pass to the Flipside" book one)

I laughed. I replied (via Jennifer Shaffer, a medium who works with law enforcement agencies nationwide on missing person cases) “Harry, all your pals are skeptics. None will believe I spoke to you.”

So he gave me "concrete proof." 

Private messages about health issues to three of his closest friends only they would know. Details that only he could know from the afterlife. They were flabbergasted when I told them at the memorial… privately. 

You see - proof is private. I'm not allowed to alter a skeptic’s path unless their dear friend asks me to.

Harry told me to tell them to “believe in the possibility of an afterlife so then they wouldn't waste another minute of their life arguing about it like he did.” (And he did spend alot of time doing so as I knew him and had heard a few hours worth. That's why I asked him "So Harry, what was it like to realize there actually is an afterlife?)

But concrete proof won't change people’s minds or path. I can't do that. They have to do that shift of consciousness on their own. Seriously. Only a person's higher self can make that happen... perhaps by directing them to this page to read this very sentence.

Doesn't get much seriouser than that. Seriously or cereally, or even serially. Enjoy the ride.

Here's the latest stats for "all time content" while on Quora.  Who knew?

Hello Quora folks. I see you.

Hacking the Afterlife Podcast 17 - Edgar Cayce

Here's our latest podcast "Hacking the Afterlife #17"

"Close Encounters" of the Father's Day kind

J. Allan Hynek from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"

On Father's Day,  I had the privilege of being invited to another "Beyond Belief" on Gaia TV, hosted by George Noory ("Coast to Coast")  (Show will air in a few months.)

I didn't know what we were going to discuss, I brought copies of both new books "Backstage Pass to the Flipside 3: Talking to the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer book three" and "Architecture of the Afterlife: The Flipside Code."

It's always a treat to talk to George Noory. He's an excellent interviewer, he's genuinely curious about whomever he has on the show. It's a rare quality and a treat to see him.

Caught him on the way home. 

George in the studio

At the Great Greek lunch

George asked a question about this interview - in it I interview J. Allan Hynek, who was a professor (briefly) at Northwestern, when "Sister Joel" - my science teacher in 7th grade invited him over to my house to talk to me about my science project. The project was "The Psychology and Therapy of Color" about how color as a frequency tends to influence how people perceive reality.  It won the State Science Fair that year, I was awarded a scholarship to the University of Illinois, but I knew even then that my interests lie elsewhere.

Here's a photograph of me in front of my science project.  I did surveys and asked people questions about their experience with color and focused on the scientific research that showed how certain colors affect prison populations (light blue was the most calming) or agitated individuals in hospitals. Basically how color as a frequency affects perception.  

Haven't changed a bit.

I don't know why "Sister Joel" knew J. Allan Hynek - Joel is a funny name for a nun, as her order (Polish/Chicago Sisters of St. Casimir) chose patron saints for some reason, and I always thought of her as being from Krypton (Jor-el). (The Sisters of St. Casimir dropped their male appelations in 1967 - she may have become "Sister Ann" after that.) Years later she left the order (our pal Bill Meyer kept in touch with her, but he's on the flipside, so hard for me to track her down. Maybe I should ask him.)

But she brought this august professor to my parent's home in Northbrook, and the three of us sat in our living room. Me, this 13 or 14 year old kid (I think the meeting took place in 1968, the project won the State Fair in 1969), this brainiac nun, who somehow knew the preeminent scientist in close encounters research. 

J. Allan Hynek from Wikipedia.

I distinctly remember him smoking a pipe with cherry flavored tobacco. It was something professors did and whenever I was called upon to think of someone professorial, he'd pop into mind. Pipe smoking cliche.

But he came to mind while researching something for "Architecture of the Afterlife."  I thought - wait a second - I think I met this fellow 50 years ago.  And so, like I do sometimes, in a session, I brought his name up with Jennifer. She didn't know who he was - and I did some cursory research prior to the interview - but did not remember that he inspired the term "Close Encounters."  




On the "Beyond Belief" episode I filmed on Father's Day, I didn't know George was going to ask about J. Allan Hynek - or show a clip from this interview.  

So that was a fun question. 

"Did you actually speak to him?" George asked. I recalled the story above on air, meeting him in the late 60's. How it's "easier to connect with people on the flipside if you've met them." (Even if they might barely remember the encounter.)

But after the show, I flew back to Santa Monica, enjoying some Father's Day pizza, my wife Sherry insisted we watch "Close Encounters" on Showtime.  

At first I said - "I've already seen it" - not realizing that this was an entirely new edit. I did not know that J. Allan Hynek was an advisor on the film, nor did I know that he was in the film.  

We sat and watched "the original" director's cut - which is wildly different than the theatrical release... everything makes sense in this cut, opening with the government having an encounter. Just like the one that was recently released - it made much more sense, the idea that there were news conferences that were cut from the theatrical release gave the story context - all I can say is, "the film made sense" this time watching it. 

It's hard to believe I hadn't seen this "original cut" or the "director's cut" - because I thought I had seen the film. I had seen a different film that was at times difficult to follow and hard to care about. Not this time.

While watching the film, being aware of the research I've done ("Architecture of the Afterlife" includes a number of interviews with folks who claim to have either "had lives off planet" or with council members who have "never incarnated on the planet") gave the story a completely different perspective.  Yes - they have been trying to reach out to us, no we aren't capable of opening our awareness to them... yet.

And seeing the "ET's" at the end of the film appear this time around for me it's much more like "Oh, yeah, of course, I can't believe this was 1977, and we still haven't figured this out yet. I've talked to a bunch of these entities, and I'm not clear why no one else interviews them in the way I do. "What is it we need to know from you? And is it a cook book?" (Twilight Zone joke).

(By the way it was also fun to see my pal Carl Weathers in a clip trying to stop Richard Dreyfus in a brief cameo before he became a stuperstar - but I digress.)

"Where do you think you're going mister?"

  As I looked up some details of the film while watching, it, telling my wife about this visit from J. Allan Hynek - (1968 or 69, not 1967 as I say in the "Beyond Belief" clip) and was telling her "I remember, he smoked this pipe; as I talked he puffed on it, like Sherlock Holmes." 



But since I've directed a number of feature films (4) I also thought - "I'll bet if he worked as advisor Steven put him in the film somewhere" and sure enough, two minutes later,  there he was. (I now know that if you search for his name and use the title, this same photo appears on the net but I did not then). 

I recognized him instantly - not from any photograph of him, which I had not looked up prior to this viewing, but from my memory of him. I met him when he had brown hair - same beard, shape but thinner - and when he put the pipe in his mouth I jumped out of my chair.

It's one of those details that if you're not paying attention you miss. 

This fellow loved this pipe, had in 1968 when I interviewed him in my living room, still using it 11 years later when making a film with Steven Spielberg.

What are the odds that in the morning, on the Beyond Belief episode, George would ask me that question about J. Allan, and a few hours later, I would see J. Allan Hynek once again in my living room?

Astrofreakingnomical. 

Let's just say that the concept that "there is no such thing as coincidence" is likely the case. Since they exist "outside of time" - they have a better shot at getting the editor at "Beyond Belief" to choose this particular clip for George to comment on (I had no idea), that George Noory is friends with J. Allen's son ("Did I tell you, he's a friend of mine?" "No, George I didn't know that" live on air) and then for me to come home from this sojourn, sit on the couch with my wife on Father's Day and she says "Let's watch "Close Encounters."  I said - literally - "I've seen it, but okay, if you think so, let's." 

And then this new film I thought I'd seen but had not appears before me, completely different context, completely makes sense - honors the work of J. Allan Hynek, tells this story in the way that only Steven can with insight into human behavior, casting people who look real, seem honest, and we root for them. (The child who was kidnapped was a casting coup) and that Richard Dreyfus would replace him as the hero who goes off into the Joseph Campbell adventure. And... look, there's J. Allan Hynek with his pipe.

Boom. Freeze the frame. There he is. Again.

Of course I would watch that.  
Of course I would see that same face of a fellow who graced my living room 50 years ago. 
Of course I would interview him on the flipside about "aliens" if only to report that we are "all aliens" because we all choose to incarnate wherever it is we choose to do so.  
Of course. He is not gone. He's just not here. 

NOW YOU KNOW.

Just had to share this Father's Day tidbit.

On my way to the taping of Beyond Belief

Richard Martini is an award winning filmmaker who has written and or directed 8 theatrical feature films. He's a best selling author of books about the Afterlife, his books have all been to #1 in their genre at Amazon.  His latest book "Architecture of the Afterlife" has spent the past week at #1 in "new releases" in its genre at Audible.