Last shot of the day on a film set, also the last name of the author of this blog. Martin - Latin singular, those soldiers who work for Mars, God of War. A smith. In this lifetime of words, music and film. AKA "The Afterlife Expert" (Coast to Coast AM) If you want to reach me, I can be found on FB, LinkedIn, or Gmail under MartiniProds (my youtube channel)
Luncheon with Coast to Coast's George Noory and "The Afterlife Expert" Rich Martini
Enjoy gathering with other like-minded people as you have fun at lunch and meet some of your favorite people in the world of the unknown and curious. Tickets will go fast, so reserve a spot now! Email your name and phone number to: lunchwithgeorge@gmail.com. You will be called back with details. The following dates are available: Tuesday, June 27, 2017 – Lunch with George Noory & author/researcher Rich Martini Special Event Series: "Eat & Greet" Luncheons at the Great Greek Restaurant in Sherman Oaks, California
Obsessive compulsive disorder. He's had it since he was a youngster; it may or may not be related to a car accident he was in as a youth. I have relatives who have variations of the same - inability to throw stuff away is one of them, I know it's part of who I am as well. But in this case, I'm here to examine the genesis of "states of mind." We all know people who have this "disorder" as medicine calls it - it's where the brain is firing willy nilly across a part of the brain, misfiring is more accurate - where a "loop" can be created and it causes them to wash their hands obsessively, count money obsessively - and a whole host of phobias, including not being able to get out of the house. Or perhaps is causing a "tic" that can be identified as "tourette's" in extreme cases, as a twitch in those less so. One could argue that we all have varying degrees of this "disorder" - which would make it not a disorder, but a natural example of how the brain works - like many flowers in the garden - it's why some of us can't stand crowds, can't stand certain foods, can't stand not being able to not stand something.... But today we were having this discussion, and some of the flipside notions discussed here began to line up.
An unusual state of mind in DC these days.
Bear with me.
While discussing "partitions" in the mind - Dr. Bruce Greyson notes (in "It's a Wonderful Afterlife" and in his public talk "Is Consciousness Produced by the Brain?") that in the reports from the British Health system, 70% of the Alzheimer care givers reported a moment when their patient's memory would come back to them just prior to passing. It could be "a few minutes, an hour, sometimes months" where people whose brains have atrophied - suddenly rally and remember everyone around them, and it's as if they've come back to say farewell. Come back to say goodbye to their loved ones. But when the patient dies, autopsies show that the brain should not have been able to function - it's as if the "partitions" that kept us from accessing our higher consciousness - or past memories - have fallen, or died as well. The brain was dying, so perhaps the partitions died as well. And for that brief moment, we're able to access some form of higher consciousness which appears to retain those memories.
Dalai Lama and Richard Davidson
So in discussing OCD today, my pal was talking about his own "partitions." And pointed out that when he was a young person, he'd "created" an alternate persona - someone who didn't have OCD, someone who could handle navigating the world. He said that he knew a "tough guy" at work - and while his mind was worrying about the smallest details ("did I count that person's change correctly?" "Maybe I'm responsible for someone getting sick when I served them food...") he adopted this "tough guy" persona to be able to navigate the world.
My film director persona
He says he borrowed another person's persona, someone at word he knew that was tough, and didn't care or worry about the small things he normally worried about during an OCD event. Then he pointed out that at another time in his life, he had another persona that would appear - and this person was entirely selfless, would literally give the shirt off his back to someone in need, invite homeless people over to stay who needed a place to sleep. Then he'd wake up and wonder "what did I do? I let this homeless person in my house, am I crazy?" I pointed out that perhaps that the selfless fella, was actually giving him a glimpse of what it's like "between lives." Because back there, people report (consistently) a place of selflessness, where we give and share love equally, without judgment. That when he was acting without judgment, but just out of love, he was actually tapping into the nature of who we are when we're "back home."
Literal states of mind.
I pointed out that perhaps his brain was giving him a glimpse of another side of himself (and not what psychiatry might categorize as an illness.) In like form, adopting the tough guy persona was a way to deal with issues of the brain - and if someone could figure out to do that, how to actually get the brain to compartmentalize, or create partitions from the parts of it that cause problems (auto immune illnesses, viruses, OCD, things that occur as a result of certain pathways) then whoever figured out how to do that would win the Nobel Prize for medicine.
The seat of consciousness in Tibet, the Potala Palace
So let's look at some people who can do that. Tibetan Monks for example. They've perfected the art of meditation in such a way as to change the body's reaction to pain, to cold, to any number of things that cause problems. (see "tummo" on youtube for examples.) They've also perfected the meditation that directly affects the amygdala in the brain, which regulates serotonin release. (see Richard Davidson's work on it at the University of Wisconsin.)
Davidson with his pal HHDL
Davidson's work is monumental, because he shows that a single meditation session (and the one he used with Tibetan monks was "Tonglen" but a "non specific version" which he told me at a conference at UCLA years ago.) What's a specific version of Tonglen? I talk about it in "Flipside" and my other books. In essence it's imagining being a "mental physician" where you conjure up a vision of someone who is ill, you draw their illness into you as you breathe in, and then blast it with the "healing light of the universe" before you breathe the cured energy back into the patient. (In Richardson's study, he had the monks substitute the whole planet for a single individual - making it "non specific.")
But hang on.
So if its possible to mentally change the shape of the amygdala in one meditation session (according to Davidson's study) then that means that any one of us can do the same kind of work to change pathways in our brain. You've heard of those cancer studies where a person helps the healing process by imagining a real "battle" against cancer cells. I've heard the same from a doctor who talked about teaching his patients to imagine a "loving affection" towards cancer cells, to isolate and eliminate them using "love." That doesn't mean that someone should stop doing traditional therapies - surgery, chemo, etc - but it does mean that there are ways that you can use your brain to affect healing.
No longer the lovable losers. They earned that.
It does mean that you can use your brain to change OCD behavior. It does mean that you can use your brain to eliminate phobias and other issues. Because when you examine the mind more fully - you may find that the phobias are related to a past life experience - not a past life experience based on your DNA, as science is trying to prove that DNA has a "fear" memory - which may or may not be accurate, but is not necessarily the source of your fear - but being able to examine your previous lifetimes, and further, the life between lives, where you can access and understand all your lifetimes, and by doing so, pinpoint precisely when the phobia began, and more importantly... Why you chose this lifetime to experience this phobia (again, or for the first time - it's really up to you.) Why you chose this lifetime to experience this problem or dilemma, or illness, or whatever it is that's the stone in your path. It's hard to see that the stones in our paths turn to diamonds after we've overcome them. And it's hard to see that we may appear to be "crushed" by the stone in our path - and it actually may be in a future lifetime that we've overcome them - we can't think of our lives in that fashion, that each one is part of the overall journey we've signed up to take. That even the most difficult of stones, in this context, may be the stone we revisit over a couple of lifetimes in order to master it. Which brings us back to states of mind.
If you can partition your mind to create a better happier healthier you - it doesn't mean you have to lose who you are to do so - it means that you've mastered the ability to see all your states of mind as what you've created to deal with your reality on a day to day basis. And realizing that everything is part of your consciousness dealing with what's in front of you on a day to day basis, is a path to an enlightening way to view your journey on the planet. N'est pas?
That danged afterlife "council" again. Same council I report in "Flipside" and "Hacking the Afterlife" and visit LIVE ON AIR during my interview with Heather Wade on Art Bell's radio show last week.
A council of my peeps in Ladakh
You don't need a Near Death Experience to get your life upright again. It helps but so does learning why you're here on the planet.
MAY 25, 2017 A Near-Death Survivor's Advice On Knowing What You Should Do With Your Life
What jumped out at me is this mention of meeting with her "council." The question I have is "What council?" Turns out, according to Michael Newton's career of writing about this "between lives" arena, we all have a council. We meet with them prior to coming to our lives, and then upon our return, where they ask us "So? How did you do?" They appear to serve as a kind of doctoral thesis panel - experts in their field who keep an eye on you and all your lifetimes, and show you images of what it is you did or experienced during your life that reflects what you "set out to do." A little bit like Albert Brooks' film "Defending Your Life."
The council reference is consistent with the reports I've been cataloging for the past decade, that Michael Newton cataloged in his books for 30 years (Journey of Souls). Everyone - every single one of us - has a council, and we encounter them when we're off the planet - that could be because we've had a traumatic injury - a near death experience. Some people encounter that group with hallucinogens, some run into them through deep hypnosis hypnotherapy - and I've been showing people how you can access your own council without any drugs, hypnosis or meditation. And I did so on the radio show "Midnight in the Desert" with Heather Wade, and I visited my own council in the first of five between life sessions - which I filmed for "flipside" and transcribed the session for the books, which include "it's a wonderful afterlife" and "hacking the afterlife." The fact that Forbes would choose to print this - is because after her near death experience, it altered her business acumen, gave her insight to what she was doing on the planet, and made her life a more enjoyable adventure. That's not true with everyone who has a near death experience, but it is true with those who are able to remember, process, and eventually learn from the experience. Even the readers of Forbes. There's a council story I mention in "flipside."
When wrestler Dave Schultz was killed, his father's eulogy included the story when his son came to him as a little boy and asked if he could tell him a secret. His father, Philip said "sure, Dave." He said "I went to my council and asked them if I could teach a lesson in love." His dad asked who the council was. He told him "old men with white hair." His father said "and you came to teach a lesson in love?" Yes, his son said "but dad, I won't be here very long." I stumbled across this story printed in the Philadelphia newspaper account of the funeral. That wasn't an NDE or a hypnosis account but a memory of a young boy sharing a secret with his father - a story forgotten until his son was taken from him. I've taken dozens of trips to visit councils. My own I've visited twice in the five sessions I've done. Not everyone visits their council in their near death experience, or in their between life hypnotherapy session. I've found that if you can access some portion of your between life world - which apparently is accessible while you're fully conscious - you can ask your guide(s) to help you access your council.
And it's there where you begin to see who or what you are. Don't take my word for it. Ask your council.
For those of you who did not get a chance to tune in to my interview with Heather Wade on Art Bell's "Midnight in the Desert" show - you can find it here: It's worthy of note for a number of reasons. Heather was familiar with her own near death experience (which I was not aware of) and she was passingly familiar with the accounts people had during a "Life Between life" hypnotherapy session, the kind done via the Newton Institute. But she noted that in her near death experience, she had a profound past life review - where she got to "experience" everything good or bad she's done in this lifetime, and saw her journey in an instant. "Flashing before her eyes" so to speak.
But she didn't meet anyone during this event. Nor did she see any of the hallmarks associated with a between life hypnotherapy session (meeting your spiritual guide(s), seeing your soul group, or visiting your council to meet those who've been keeping an eye on your for all of your lifetimes.) These are common experiences for those who've done a between life hypnotherapy session, but not common in near death experiences. I think the reports show that a percentage of people "meet" others, or "higher consciousnesses" during their near death experience, but rarely to people spontaneously remember a visit to their council - at least not in the way that people who've done between life therapy had.
I can speak from experience - because I was skeptical of going anywhere during a between life session - and I went to see all the hallmarks of these sessions, including my soul group, my guides, and meeting my council. It was a humbling experience which I recount in "Flipside: A tourist's guide on how to navigate the afterlife." But Heather had not seen anyone in her between life experience.
Until now.
I asked Heather if she wanted to "try" to revisit her near death experience "live" on the air while we were talking over three hours. She said she would like to. I preface the following with this technique that I've honed from having filmed 40 between life sessions, having read Michael Newton's books, looked over Dr. Helen Wambach's cases where she asked people about "choosing their lifetime" under hypnosis. I've also spent some time interviewing people who've had near death experiences, and as of late, using my knowledge of the between lives realm to interview (through mediums) people who are no longer on the planet to see if they can confirm or deny some of these reports. So when I said "would you like to explore it?" I meant - "I've been exploring this awhile, and if it's possible to find something - we might find it." I had no idea if Heather would "find" anything or anyone. She had no idea I was going to ask her to do this. Again, I had no knowledge of her near death experience, other than her mentioning it on the air - and saying that she had this "incredible past life review." I asked if we could go to the moment just prior to the review. To a moment that still had clarity in her mind, like flying or traveling through space in spirit form. She said she could access that and I asked if she was floating, zooming, or being pulled. She described a zooming sensation, but that it was not deliberate - as if she was being drawn somewhere. I asked if it was like "metal fillings" being drawn across a table. (a description I'm familiar with.) She said "Yes." She then said she felt after passing tiny pinpoints of light, it was as if she was slowing down. She stopped just shy of a brightly colored cloud.
Now at this point, most scientists stop their inquiry. They'll ask "did you go through the cloud?" speaking in past tense. It's at this point, because she's being so descriptive, I asked "Can you put your hand in the light? And if so, tell me what it feels like?" She said it was warm, almost hot, but not uncomfortable. In fact she said there was a feeling of "contentment" associated with it. After getting her to describe the colors inside this cloud, I asked her to "go through the cloud" in her minds eye and describe that feeling. She did. As she came through the other side she said she felt a "presence nearby." I asked what it was - male or female, and she said she didn't know - just that it was a presence that felt familiar to her.
Because of my familiarity with these surroundings - and because we were live on air - I asked her if she minded if I "skipped ahead." She said no. I asked whoever it was that is the presence nearby if he could shift his energy to appear to her in a form she could recognize and we could ask questions to. She said "I see a male. He's old, looks Asian, has long gray hair and a long gray beard." I asked if there was anything he wanted to tell her - and she said "He's telling me "it took you long enough to come back here."
Now I don't know what the means, because I don't know how long ago her event was. I do know it wasn't what she expected to hear - and noted that it was "new information" for both of us. A guide laughing and saying "It took you long enough to come back here to see me." Pretty funny. But we came up on a commercial break. As Heather said "I'm afraid if I break I'm going to lose this connection" and I said "Let me ask your friend to stick around until we come back." When we came back after a few minutes, she said "during the break he was laughing, and become more and more clear to me. I feel as if I have one foot in the radio studio, and another in this other realm."
I thanked him for doing so - asked him his name. He gave her "Mr. Chown." I thanked him for "putting that name in her head." Then I asked some simple questions about her path and journey. "How is she doing?" He said essentially that she's doing great, that she's doing what she set out to do, and even though it was a surprise (for her to take over this Art Bell show) it was the right thing for her to do.
She said he looked a bit
like Pai Mei - character from "Kill Bill"
I asked if she knew this person, and asked him if he was her guide. He said "Yes" and she said "no, I've never seen him before, but I feel like I know him." I asked him how many people were in her soul group. She said "18." We could have gone to visit the soul group, but knowing we only had so much time on the air, I chose to ask him to take her to the place that she was skeptical about - the place that she'd read about but didn't quite believe - her own council.
Skid Marks on Mars.
I asked her to describe if we were "inside or outside." She said "Odd. We're outside, but we're in outer space." I asked how many people were in her council. She said "12." (Newton said the average is from 6-12, and the more people on a council reflects more accolades earned for difficult lifetimes.) I asked how they were arrayed. She said "In a circle." She was standing, they were seated.
I asked her to approach whomever seemed to be the leader of the group. (there's usually a spokesperson who speaks on everyone's behalf.) She said a woman, also asian, long grey hair was holding a book and she felt herself come forward to her. I asked the woman to show her the book she was holding in her hands. Heather said when the woman opened the book, it was as if each page had a moving hologram inside of it - that she could see the world inside, and it was her life story. She got about a third of the way into the book and said "I see my house on the page. I'm sitting on a rocking chair on the porch, I have long grey hair." This was also "new information." I've never met anyone who saw a book in the afterlife that was holographic in nature, or that could show us images of something in the future - or was as she described it. It was something she had never seen of, heard of, and had never experienced before. NEW INFORMATION. Not from anyone or any source on this planet, or cryptomnesia from any book or TV show, or any other device. No one has depicted a book of your life that you could open and see holographic/moving images of your life. That I'm aware of anyway, or that Heather is aware of. Which is what new information requires.
Hans Holbein - in costume
Now if she was in a session with a hypnotherapist, she could explore this in detail - why this moment in time perhaps? But I wanted her to hear or feel from her council. I asked if they could give her a sensation in her body that would reflect on their appreciation for the job she's doing. She said "I'm in this very cold recording studio and I just saw them all stand up for me, and the entire room I'm in feels like it's now crowded with people." I asked her lead council member to put a sensation in her body that she could remember, so that when she felt it, it would trigger a memory of this event. She said she had one.
I told Heather that it would likely take a few days for her to "return" fully to her self. That walking into this event does feel like you've stepped off the earth - a physical sensation of concomitance - existing in two places at the same time. I said it would eventually wear away, but you will remember more clearly the things that you've seen here. Again - she was not under hypnosis. I am not a hypnotist. It was live on the air. Everyone in the audience heard what she was seeing as she said it... and she said "she felt naked" by the experience.
Goddess of Memory
I've done this live with other folks, in a couple of IANDS talks, which I haven't posted them because it does feel like a journey into your most private place to see yourself as you truly are. I asked her guide to show her how he sees her - as a ball of energetic light, peach in color. I asked her to describe the "cloak" she saw her council member wearing - it was white, or filled with reflective light that made her face glow. These are also pieces of new information. I imagine there's a art director out there who can imagine an article of clothing that's white, yet adds light in a shimmering way - but it's not me, and it's not Heather. It's the kind of visual I could not make up - and it's the kind of visual Heather would argue that she did not make up. It was shown to her.
What to make of this? Well, it's just a way of demonstrating that the nature of reality is not what it appears to be. It's a way of demonstrating that we all have guides looking over us, loved ones keeping an eye on us - we are never alone. And on this day - Memorial Day 2017 - it's important to realize that we can access anyone we've been missing, any loved one who is no longer on the planet - they won't show up to disrupt your reality, but they will show up to help you with this one. Just say their name aloud and ask them some questions. And that my folks is my two cents for the day.
