Hacking The Afterlife podcast

Another example of the kind of kismet that happens when Jennifer and I meet up. We don't plan a guest list, we have Luana Anders, our moderator on the Flipside who does that for us. In this episode, the first person that comes through is Mr. Bailey, Luana's cat. When Luana was on her death bed, her cat escaped from her house and disappeared. She called me in a panic. My soon to be wife Sherry went with me to see if we could find her. Sherry went into the backyard and said a prayer aloud: "Mr. Bailey, Luana needs you now." The cat appeared in the tree above, and jumped into Sherry's arms, a person she'd never met. Mr. Bailey wanted to talk about how animals have the ability to communicate to the afterlife, and while people may have filters on the brain that prevent them from that awareness, animals do not. Mr. Bailey confirmed what we've heard in the past; "animals understand how incarnation works, but humans do not." Hard for some folks to contemplate; dogs smell cancer, elephants can communicate over ten miles, octopuses have 9 brains, and do more with one year of life than humans can do in 90. Some other pets stopped by to give their support. Then former President Reagan stopped by. He said that our interview with JFK (a number of years ago, it's in the book BACKSTAGE PASS TO THE FLIPSIDE) inspired him to say hello. He pointed out that he's had a number of lifetimes with Nancy in the past - even if he was married to someone else to begin with. (Jane Wyman whom Ronald said "raised him.") I asked who in our classroom of notaries had invited him and he said it was John McCain. John came by some years ago after he passed to ask us to pass along a private message to his daughter, which I did through a producer at Coast to Coast radio. I don't know if she dismissed the message, as I've yet to hear from her. But in those earlier conversations he confirmed a number of things only he could know - or be aware of. People I interviewed in his office for the film "Three for the Road" and later, talked about meeting his victims of the Vietnam war on the flipside - and them understanding each other as players in a drama. He talked about the politics of the era when he passed, and this veiled reference to Steve Schmidt's 2020 comments about the current President were what I was referring to as someone had reposted them the other day. We've heard it often - people act out difficult roles onstage to get others to react and do that thing that they're supposed to do. However, in terms of political debate, the former President deferred from doing so - as he put it "I just came by to express concern for how divide the country is." I asked if there was any advice he could give - some kind of grand gesture or action people could do. His answer was simple, yet profound. Smile. Start smiling to people we know, then more that to people we don't know, then move that to people we may not like. Just the physical act of smiling changes the paradigm, and everyone can do that on their own. It sounds miniscule - but instead of arguing with someone who clearly still exists on the flipside, I think it's wise to consider that they're saying instead of belittling or berating it. He was consider the great communicator - and why not listen to his advice. To be clear; we've communicated with a number of Presidents, both Bushes, Jimmy Carter, LBJ, Nixon, JFK, FDR and Truman. Again - I ask the questions and Jennifer gives verbatim what she's hearing or sensing. It's possible miscommunicate, but when you've been working with someone weekly for ten years, if one is paying attention, we can see that these folks show up often to talk to us. And in this case - Ronnie himself. While people may start with a defensive posture - defending him, or upset that he might speak on our podcast - the point is that anyone can invite him to have a conversation and see what he says. As noted, we have the current President's father and brother on a podcast, and the last...

Another one of those mindbending discussions between Jennifer, myself and folks offstage. In this podcast, we began talking about our previous week, which included Jennifer getting a flat tire at a wedding in Utah. That led to a conversation about a dream I had the night before, where my old mentor Fred Roos (prolific producer, Oscar winner) showed up - and I asked Fred some questions about a documentary that he's appearing in - that hasn't been released yet, but premiered at the Venice film festival last night. When I refer to Mike, I'm referring to the director of that film, when I refer to Ellie, I'm referring to a film director and author who appears in the film (which Jennifer couldn't know) and the questions I ask her are based on my friendship with her since we met in the 1980's. A generous and very profound person while on the planet. The reference to life being like an "electric toothbrush going off" when someone dies, came from her husband. And my questions about that quote were meant for those who would understand who that might be, and why I might ask it. Everyone who has been on the planet is available. They may take time to get back to us, but we can ask them questions, ask them for help, ask them to participate in our journey. Harry Dean Stanton is someone that Ellie knew well, and Fred knew well, and for those familiar with the podcast, we interviewed the great uber skeptic when he passed, and that conversation is in the film HACKING THE AFTERLIFE on Amazon Prime or Gaia. Harry tells us to tell people to "believe in the POSSIBILITY of an afterlife, so then they won't waste another minute of their lives arguing about it like I did." And he did. Anyone who knew him knows that to be the case. Podcast wraps up with an appearance by Prince (I asked Amelia Earhart who impressed her on the flipside) - and he does show up a lot when I ask that question. And Jennifer reminds me that I'm going to be on COAST TO COAST WITH GEORGE NOORY talking about the new book SHE WAS NEVER LOST; THE AMELIA EARHART SAGA - which isn't just talking to her via mediums (there is that) but also new information that shows many people saw her before she left the stage entirely - 7 years after her disappearance. Enjoy.

Odd sequence of events allowed me to see Jennifer today. As she notes in the podcast - someone booked a session which prevented me from seeing her - and then when the day wore on, someone couldn't do their session with Jennifer - so we got together. There's some really mind bending information here. Jennifer tells the story of her son losing his wallet and passport, credit cards - and then dreaming about where they were, and going out at 4 in the morning and finding them. Luana Anders, our moderator on the flipside shows up to talk about a party going on - and the screenwriter, my former boss Robert Towne comes forward to talk about the new book "She Was Never Lost: the Amelia Earhart Saga." I worked with him for three years, and remained pals with him for the rest of his life. He became a fan of our work together and had a number of sessions with Jennifer where he was able to communicate with his mother, father, and dog Hira. (Search that name on our podcast site for some mind bending conversations.) Then on a whim, I asked Robert who surprised him on the other side - and he said (again) it was seeing Will Shakespeare. So I asked Will some questions about the ending of Hamlet. Funny answers. Then, because of a mention of William Blake - I asked to speak with a poet named Allen. I met him in 1996 at a concert for Tibet House in New York City. I was standing by myself in the VIP room (I had traveled with Robert Thurman to India at that time, later we went to Tibet together). But this poet named Allen came over to speak to me - and I wondered why that was. It's a fun answer he gives. Jennifer had no idea who he was, or his pal Jack, or his pal Lawrence. Also was curious about the poet Walt Whitman because many compared Allen to him. Marilyn Monroe stopped by to admonish people for judging others for how they look. Amelia Earhart stopped by to say again how much she likes this new book of mine, Robert said that there's going to be a 'part two' with regard to the book - (we'll see) and Luana pointed out that the story Jennifer told about finding her son's wallet is related to "opening one's mind up to allow for the answer to come forward." This is pretty much what Jennifer and I have been doing for over ten years. Talking to people offstage and learning new information from them. Enjoy!

Another one of those mind bending podcasts that we do. Jennifer is back from her vacation, and Luana wanted to talk about a dream that I had last night - where we flew off to a party event where all her friends were. It happened in the 1980's, and I was revisiting the event, only some of the people at the party are now on the flipside. Luana talks about how to manifest oneself into a dream of a love one still on the stage (she says it's difficult) but she compares doing so with meditation - meaning manifesting something or someone is the equivalent of inviting them to join one's dream. Mind bending. Amelia Earhart stops by to talk about the book SHE WAS NEVER LOST: THE AMELIA EARHART SAGA which is decades in the making. I have to look up what she meant by "Chapter five paragraph three." As I've mentioned, there's an incredible moment that took place ten years ago - when I was holding a book that was written by Vincent Loomis about Amelia, and she said "open it to page 49, as there's something in there about the military aspect of her mission to Howland island." I opened the book to page 49 and found a reference to "Clarence Beelin" who Loomis said was involved with redesigning her gas tanks. I looked up Beelin and it turns out he owned an aviation company in Boston." But then ten years later, I'm transcribing that section in the book, and I think "Why was that so important for me to hear?" I took to ChatGPT to ask about Clarence Beelin and I was told that was likely an error - because it was Clarence "Kelly" Johnson who redesigned her gas tanks for longer travel. What makes that important is that Kelly Johnson went on to create the "skunk works" at the CIA - that he was credited with redesigning her fuel tanks, but further was responsible for all the spy planes in post war history - the U2 spy plane, the SR 71 and other designs - literally the most famous spy plane designer of all time. But the point is - that Jennifer didn't say it - and Vincent Loomis had it wrong in his book. The person who referenced it was Amelia Earhart herself, and wanted to point out why that was an important passage in the book - because it was incorrect! Because the guy who redesigned her gas tanks (so she could make it to Mili atoll where she landed the Electra on an atoll) - and wanted to give him credit for doing so! Anyways, all of it's mind bending, and all of it is in the book. Also Prince stops by to make Jennifer blush. As he often does. Enjoy!

A request for an encore podcast of our conversation with the Late Honorable Representative John Lewis, Prince and Billie Holiday, moderated by Luana Anders on the flipside, and Jennifer Shaffer (.com) on this side... from the liner notes: Another mind bending session. Apologies for the wifi interruptions on audio... there's a moment in here where I ask Representative Lewis about three names - James, Andrew and Michael. Prior to the session - I knew who they were. All freedom riders (like John) and two of them he knew well. When he reported through Jennifer being reconnected with them... and then I asked him to show Jennifer who they were... and she correctly says on camera that they were murdered by the KKK... it doesn't get any more proof of concept than that. The "Emmett" I refer to is the one and only Emmett Till - the 14 year old boy murdered in the South whose death effected John Lewis immensely. Apologies for becoming emotional - but sometimes this information is overwhelming. I can only imagine what he describes to Jennifer - the standing ovation from millions of people who had been hurt, whose lives he honored with his life. Last week - we asked him to come forward but I didn't name him - this week Prince returned to introduce him to the class. He was the one who mentions Billie Holiday and I took the opportunity to ask her some simple questions. It was John who I researched this morning when I realized that he might show up in class today. Apologies to anyone this interview might offend - but in terms of his life, and his journey, I am here to state unequivocally, I film these, I report these for the same reasons that John walked into a wall of billy clubs in order to speak the truth. The part about Jesus is in the transcripts of both "Hacking the Afterlife" the book and "Architecture of the Afterlife." The interviews with Dr. King, James Brown, Ray Charles and others is in "Backstage Pass to the Flipside 3." We're just reporting.

While Jennifer is on a much needed two week vacation, I'll be sharing some of our more unusual podcasts. This was from a year ago.... For those not familiar with this podcast; Jennifer Shaffer is an intuitive medium who works with law enforcement nationwide on missing person cases. She does pro bono work daily for them, and once a week we get together and see what we can learn from the flipside. We've been doing this weekly for 8 years, the last two on our podcast. I'm a filmmaker, have written and/or directed 8 theatrical feature films, a couple of documentaries. Some years ago, my best friend died in my arms and started coming to visit me. Instead of being freaked out by it (and her showing up to friends and family members) I started to dig into how that might be. That's resulted in 10 books (Flipside, etc) and four with Jennifer Shaffer. In this edition, a number of people show up that we've spoken with before. We interviewed Kobe just after his passing, it's the last chapter in the book "Backstage Pass to the Flipside 3" - where he talks about his journey, and I ask him questions in Italian. Eventually members of his family have met with Jennifer - so it's not unusual for us that he might stop by. The construct is this; my friend who passed away is on the flipside, and has organized a "group meeting" or a class as we call it, not to teach folks on the planet, but to teach people on the flipside how to communicate using frequency, images, visualizations on the flipside. Jennifer may get an image, let's say of a character from a TV show, and it may be their way of giving her a thought so that I could say, "Do you mean someone who shares the same name of that character in the TV show wants to speak to us?" That happens often. As noted, Jennifer is doing her best to translate what is coming to her. Like a translator at the UN, the people on the flipside are downloading a lot of information, and she does her best to catch the meaning, syntax and general idea of what someone wants to impart. A number of people stop by who've been interviewed before; Prince ("I was addicted to jumping off pianos, which caused me to use pain killers"), Robin Williams ("Love Love"). Marilyn stops by - refers to something I was writing at MartiniZone.com the other day - and when I asked if she wanted to talk about the manner of her passing, she said she wanted to talk about how she had two children waiting for her on the flipside. Both whom had not come to term. That concept has been repeated in the research - consistently. A number of people in our podcast have mentioned it, the idea of "those we don't have are waiting for us on the flipside." Harry Dean Stanton said the same thing - and I was able to verify it (but don't mention it in the podcast.) It's in "Backstage Pass to the Flipside." Harry came through after he passed and before his memorial. I asked him what he wanted me to impart to his friends (as noted.) He also said that when he passed, "He was in a room with five women" and when he got to the flipside, he was met by a "baby that he didn't have in life." In other words, a child was there to greet him with this profound unconditional love. At his memorial that I went to a week later, I asked someone who was with him at his deathbed to describe the scene. She said "There were five of us with him, all women." I asked if he had said anything unusual while she was in the room. She said "Yes, he asked me to hand him the baby. But there was no baby in the room." I had heard THE SAME THING from Harry on the Flipside via Jennifer a week earlier. At some point, the Alpha and Omega stops by - and mentions the one thing he wishes people would not do, that is "get freaked out by his name." (Jesus). I've had a number of interviews with him via various mediums, different hypnotherapy sessions, and multiple guided meditation sessions. As noted in the podcast, I've finished that book and am doing the audible as we speak. Apparently, they wanted to...

In today's episode, it's a continuation from last week's discussion about process. We begin by talking about Amelia Earhart and the new book SHE WAS NEVER LOST; THE AMELIA EARHART SAGA. Jennifer and I never plan what we're going to talk about, and when Amelia shows up to talk about the book, I can do nothing more than listen. The rest speaks for itself. It's interesting that we invited Paul Rubens to come and speak to us - but he wasn't ready to (Pee Wee Herman), and then Jennifer saw Ozzy and Hulk Hogan entering the classroom - but neither of them were ready to speak to us either. It just shows how we don't plan what we're going to speak about. People show up and speak when they're ready to - or when Luana Anders says they're ready to - after all she's the one with the clipboard. So today's episode was about Jennifer's work with law enforcement and also how the book came together over the past 30 years. I'm not trying to sell anyone a copy - but the point is, we can all speak to, learn new information from people offstage. Hope this helps someone!

Another mind bending episode. We continue talking about process where we left off last week, Jennifer talking about her gratitude meditation that she does every night and again in the morning that keeps her on an even keel. I asked Luana Anders, our moderator on the flipside if she had anyone who might want to chat with us. She said Amelia Earhart was here to talk about the book I've just released; "She Was Never Lost: The Amelia Earhart Saga." Now that may sound weird to some - but we never plan our podcasts. And then Jennifer held up her phone and played a clip of the actress Gwyneth Paltrow reading the Kindle version of my book aloud.. That was MIND BLOWING - it comes from the "speechify app" - where you can choose who is going to narrate your book, and as a writer/director/author - who has taken around Amelia Earhart projects for years... I can't tell you how cool that is to hear GP's voice. Our kids went to preschool with hers and I'd see and her mom around the school. I never spoke with her, but she's got a great voice - and hearing her speaking the lines from the book was... I don't know how to put it other than "otherworldly." Because I've written some of the book in 1st person - based on 30 years of researching AE's story, just "giving it a shot" as to what it might sound like for me to "channel" (it's a loose word, I'm not claiming I'm doing that, but it's like that) the great aviator. Then - Jennifer - who has done this before (it's in the transcripts in the book!) said "She's referring to Chapter Five. Well - that is the chapter where I speak in Amelia's voice. While speaking to her through Jennifer 10 years ago, I had a copy of "Soaring Wings" by George Putnam in my hand - and Jennifer said "Something she wants to point to in pg 49." So I looked it up and read it - and Jennifer said "I could hear her voice while you were speaking as if she wrote that passage." The passage was about a fellow involved with planning her "Last Flight." What makes it so very odd is that I named the name that is in the book - and when I looked him up, I found he was the owner of an aviation company. But a few days ago, before finishing the book, I had a feeling to look that up again. Turns out the name was WRONG! And the person who she met with was a famous spy craft designer - who designed the U2 and other spy planes - head of the "Skunk Works" unit - and this guy redesigned her fuel tanks for her long distance trip! What are the odds that I would hear Jennifer mention a page, then TEN YEARS LATER revisit that page, and then learn that the page was inaccurate, it was referring to the CIA super designer who created all of the spy planes we use! (I know it sounds uncanny, but it happened a couple of days ago!) Anyways, I'm flattered she appreciates the book, I'm flattered that my old boss and mentor Robert Towne says he helped me with the book - and all of it, just every part of it is truly mind bending. Thanks for tuning in!

Every now and then Luana suggests an unusual topic rather than bringing someone forward to speak with us. In this case, she wanted to talk about the process of communication with people offstage. Jennifer speaks about her process, working with law enforcement, and how she gets information from people offstage and passes it along to a particular person who works with an agency - and then they take those visuals, impressions, and dig through the known aspects of a particular case. The law enforcement person is in charge of what information should be followed up on, what aspects of what Jennifer says that should be followed up. Sometimes it's like working on a procedural television series - each week it's more information, more clues... sometimes it's given to her in a download, as much information as possible. Sometimes it's bits and pieces as the person who is offstage is learning how to communicate. Needless to say, the law enforcement cases are also driven by emotions and a time element, especially when someone is missing. Jennifer speaks of how she tries to not judge whatever comes in - and report objectively what she's hearing, sensing or seeing. In our work together, when someone comes in that is known to our "class" or group of individuals we've spoken to on the flipside, they are assisted by friends (and Luana) in how to translate their thoughts into visuals so that Jennifer can pick up what they're imparting and translate that into a sentence. As she notes, she can misinterpret a visual... or later, it becomes clear what that visual was meant to impart. Almost the way a translator takes language and turns it into sign language for the hard of hearing, or those without sound. Each gestures carries meaning, and we string together that is being said or passed along. We never plan what we're going to talk about prior to the session... unless something happens to me (Like sensing someone in the room, and hearing them say something like Brian Wilson did when I felt I heard him say "I'd be honored to be on your podcast." Odd way of saying "I'd like to pass messages along to my loved ones" but Brian was someone who spoke with a different vocabulary as everyone knows. But for those who are curious why we "talk often to celebrities" - that's not always the case. Other than Luana, who is a pretty cool example of someone who is a celebrity on the flipside for her ability to help people communicate with loved ones onstage. To book a session with JenniferShaffer.com or to book a guided meditation with RichardMartini.com - we're both available for private conversations.

We did a podcast in Jennifer's office in Manhattan Beach, lensed by Max Carlson who is in the midst of making a documentary about spirituality. We talk a bit about Jennifer's birthday week - and ask Luana Anders on the flipside how they celebrate birthdays over there. One of Jennifer's friend's son stopped by, the actor Eddie Hassell, and then others weigh in with birthday wishes - Prince,and then a long conversation with Paul Newman about racing, and then a discussion with the actor Charles Grodin about a screening I went to last week about him - the documentary film REBEL WITH A CAUSE by James Freedman. Then an unusual visit from Amelia Earhart to congratulate me on finishing my book about her. It's something we've talked about in the past, but I didn't ask, and Jennifer didn't know that I had finished it and am about to publish it. So that was nice to hear! As noted, we do this podcast to demonstrate to folks how easy it is to talk to people offstage. No reason not to learn how to do that effectively.

It's that time of year when our pal Jennifer Shaffer hits another milestone. In this podcast Luana Anders and Jennifer's parents Jim and Linda stopped by to say hello and remind her of their being close by at all times. A visit from Kobe and Amelia to weigh in on a couple of questions, but mostly a discussion of how to stay in touch with people offstage. Jennifer works with law enforcement agents nationwide on a daily basis and once a week takes time out to talk about the process and what she's learned doing this kind of work. One can book a session with Jennifer or attend one of her "Uncorked" events in Manhattan Beach via her website JenniferShaffer.com - one can book a guided meditation over zoom with Rich via his website RichardMartini.com Thanks for tuning in and Happy Birthday to Jennifer!!!

Another mind bending podcast. In this we begin by talking about our recent appearance at Contact in the Desert. I did a guided meditation with a law enforcement person who reached out to me today to talk about something that occurred to him. He knew someone in the midst of the conflagration in downtown LA, and based on something we discussed at the convention, he did a meditation where he "asked his higher self to ask the higher selves of some of the rioters" to leave the scene. He was surprised to later hear that they had mysteriously shifted direction and wondered if it was possible to affect change with that kind of intent. Jennifer talked about the power of prayer, and I talked a bit about the effectiveness of meditation. Then we asked our moderator Luana Anders if anyone wanted to stop by; and Prince stopped by. We said happy birthday to him, and I asked if he was stopping by because of a recent musician who had left the planet. He said "no." I asked Luana if she was aware of who I was talking about even if Jennifer was not. She said she was. I started to say I had "heard this person's voice" in my kitchen yesterday saying "I'd be honored to be on your podcast." It was such a weird thing to hear, and since I've had a bad cold, I got emotional repeating the story. Apologies for getting choked up. Then Jennifer realized who this "Brian" was. Having been a music reviewer at Variety for some years I talked about a concert I'd reviewed, and am familiar with the documentaries (Frank Marshall's) about his life, and "Love and Mercy" with my Chicago pal John Cusack. I had many questions for Brian, including his mental issues, and he said they were related to the idea that he was "born without musical filters" and like some others we've interviewed, said "He was also hearing music since he was a child." (See the book TUNING INTO THE AFTERLIFE) I asked him if he had a message for our mutual friend Van Dyke Parks (whom I last saw at Sally Kellerman's funeral) and when I asked him who he was surprised to see on the flipside, it was a name we've heard many times in our group; Aretha. I asked Aretha about a story I heard Cynthia Erivo tell yesterday on the BBC about Aretha coming backstage to sing to her. It was interesting to hear Aretha downplay the event, since it was so meaningful to Cynthia. Also Brian said he had met many others, or was in the process of meeting people, including John Lennon (He'd met the Beatles, but said he and John weren't close) but pointed out that he'd just gotten home and there were a lot of people to see. I apologized for peppering him with questions, then tried to tell him about being in a grocery store yesterday in Santa Monica, told the staff he had passed (they all reacted) I shouted to the manager "Can you put on some Beach Boys in honor of Brian?" and he did. And everyone in the store began to sing. It make me think of getting a pick up truck with massive Marshall speakers and drive around the National Guard playing the Beach Boys which they would appreciate and love as well. The music makes people happy. Just another mind bending half hour at the office. Thank you Jennifer for your talents!

Another one of those mind bending podcasts. We begin by reviewing our visit to Contact In the Desert over the weekend, where we did a lecture and a workshop. (Both are available at the ContactInTheDesert.com website) In our lecture members of the audience asked questions from Jennifer and in the workshop, our moderator on the Flipside brought someone who is from another planet. In that case, Jennifer could see this "green glowing light" that turned into a humanoid looking being when I asked for it to "manifests as someone that Jennifer could see." He self identified as "Nojah" - someone who is from the "Pleiadian group of planets." He shows up again in our podcast, after a visit from Prince... when asked what he wanted to speak about, Prince said "well you invited the class to come to Contact in the Desert, so I was there." Jennifer talked about the "crowds of people" that were there - not only the folks walking around to visit the events, but those folks on the flipside "accompanying them." Then our new friend Nojah showed up - spoke about the idea that humans experience things in a tactile way, and how we can share that information, experience with our higher selves, which shares it with people who are curious about it. He spoke about the idea of the multiverse - which I took to mean that there are many dimensions in any given space at any given time, so there's a lot of different people who can access events simultaneously. Jennifer took it to mean the idea the multiverse represents us in different time frames, different profiles. I've heard the proviso "Well, we only get one life at a time, otherwise we wouldn't learn anything." (Which may or may not be accurate, I'm just reporting). We then had a visit from two folks who've visited the podcast before; "Ma Durga" - the 8 armed teacher of astrophysics and other classes, and "5" the self identified "head librarian." I tossed a couple of questions in their direction, and 5 said in order to communicate with him "Pray, but not in the religious sense" - which I assume means a version of "meditate with purpose" - and when asked to clarify, said "I already answered this" and then said "Yes, it helps to have a mediator" (which could be a hypnotherapist, medium or someone doing a guided meditation.) All of it mind bending. Hope this helps!

A Memorial Day weekend podcast. Michael Hutchence, who passed in 1997 stopped by to say hello. He said that he wanted to "talk about death" but it wasn't until I was uploading this I realized he was referring to "a day where we remember people who have passed away." I mentioned that we had spoken to him briefly before, that transcript is in one of our Backstage Pass to the Flipside conversations - if memory serves me it was a brief conversation about his crossing over unexpectedly. In today's podcast he talks about who greeted him on the other side, and what that was like - as well as the perspective he has now after this amount time has gone by. He mentioned how in the interim he's realized that he had planned to "leave early" - not that the events is chosen in advance, but that there's the aspect of "returning home." When asked about that, he talked about already being back on the planet in there different individuals. While this may sound unusual - it's not unheard of. We bring only a percentage of our conscious energy to a lifetime - the average is between 20 and 40% (based on interviews) - but that leaves behind 60 to 80% of our conscious energy - so in essence, we can do multiple journeys at the same time. It's rare, I've only spoken to a few individuals who are aware of participating in that sort of journey - but it has been reported. The point is that those individuals won't meet each other, but they will experience things to learn or teach lessons. In this case, Michael said he was back as a "homeless person" as well as a saxophonist living in London named Louis. (Or Luis). Anyways, we had a lively discussion about that aspect of how consciousness functions or incarnations works. Then Elvis stopped by - and also wanted to discuss his journey. I reminded him how he had returned to visit us a few years after our first conversation to talk about the unborn child that greeted him on the other side, and how he felt such overwhelming unconditional love during that experience. I asked him some questions about that - and then Jennifer's father in law stopped by and had some observations for her - and her father told her that he had told this gentleman that the only time Jennifer "believes she's talking to us" was on our podcast. Another mind bending adventure. Happy Memorial day and thanks for tuning in! And a reminder, we're appearing at Contact in the Desert this weekend, a lecture on Friday at 11 am (May 30th) and a workshop demonstration on Saturday at 11 am (May 31st, 2025). Enjoy!

Our host on the flipside, Luana Anders wanted to talk about our upcoming talks at Contact in the Desert on May 30th at 11 am, and May 31st at 11 am. To those fans of the podcast, Luana is our moderator on the flipside. She passed in 1996, but brought Jennifer and I together and has been moderating our discussions for ten years. Today she wanted to discuss our upcoming lecture and workshop on Friday May 30th at 11 am (See JenniferShaffer.com or ContactInTheDesert.com) or on Saturday May 31st at 11 am. As Luana has suggested (or I suggested it, and she modified it) we'll talk about the process on Friday, how Jennifer can bypass the filters on the brain and talk to people off planet, and how by way of telepathy she's able to communicate with people no incarnate (which includes people who normally incarnate on other planets, as we've met a few.) Then we'll do a demonstration on Friday of how to do that - an upcoming presentation for the workshop on Saturday where we'll dive deeper into this idea of communicating with people offstage. In this instance, Luana has ALREADY LINED UP GUESTS but she's not telling us who they're going to be ("It's a surprise.") Think about that for a minute - it's not a sales ploy or some kind of tool - we honestly don't know who she's going to bring, but whomever she does bring will be ready to talk to us about why they did agree to participate. Mind bending to say the least. Also a visit from the dog Hira (Robert Towne's dog Hira who was actually nominated for an Oscar for getting the screenplay credit for "Greystoke") and Mr. Bailey who has spoken to us before. Robin Williams stopped to say hello and remind us "Whatever you need, send it out." He reminded us to "Pray" - not in a defensive way, but in a positive way. He also said "Get out of your head" which should be the headline for this episode. Meaning get out of your head, get out into nature, get out of the rut we put ourselves in. Wise word from one of the wisest wordsmiths. So again - we will be appearing May 30th at "Contact in the Desert" and May 31st - both at 11 am. On Friday it's a lecture about telepathy and demonstrating how Jennifer does what she does - and on Saturday it's a workshop in showing people how to do the same. Come on down!

This is our 2025 Mother's Day special. We didn't plan it that way, but that's what it become. As we've noted in the past, Jennifer and I don't plan any aspect of our podcast other than asking Luana Anders, my pal on the flipside, who wants to come forward and speak with us. Jennifer and I have been doing this weekly for ten years, the past five on our podcast. In today's episode Mother Teresa came forward to talk about Mother's day - and how women are built like Gaia - the mother earth - for compassion and empathy and whether they have or had children, they should be honored as mothers. I made a fun suggestion to invite Christopher Hitchens to chat with us - we've spoken with both Mother Teresa and Hitchens in the past - both transcripts are in the books BACKSTAGE PASS TO THE FLIPSIDE - but interesting to note that Mother Teresa nixed that idea. As I note in the podcast he was in denial about their being an afterlife - she said she had met him on the flipside, and no she didn't want to invite him to speak. She wanted to talk about the loving energy that people share and should focus on. I asked her about the story of "Pope Joan" and I was startled to hear her confirm that it occurred. That's mind bending - because the Church claims it did not, but if one has ever lived in Rome, they know that some streets are blocked off permanently - and no one is allowed to go down them. According to legend, Via Papalis - between St John Lateran the old Vatican and the city - Pope Joan fainted from loss of blood, either from a miscarriage or from her period - and she was erased from the history of the church. Jennifer didn't know the story, but Mother Teresa does - and said it was true, and is "one of the greatest stories in history." Mind bending because one could argue it presages the story of the film "Conclave" - I asked questions about the new Pope Leo, and we were told it was "meant to be" that he is the "Pope that is needed in this time." They won't alter our future with info - but this was mind bending to say the least. I invited the philosopher St. Augustine to share his opinion because the New Pope is from the Augustinian order - and he said "drink the wine." (Referring to his book "Confessions" and Jennifer's recent post about a client on the flipside who regretted he didn't drink the wines he had collected. Jennifer's father Jim stopped by, and then when asked who wanted to speak, Jesus showed up. Unlike most podcasts, I didn't edit any of the pauses between questions. So if one is listening there will be long periods of silence - if they're watching they will see Jennifer's face go through various emotions when hearing the answers. The answer is love. And Jesus repeats that in his answers to my questions. It's all about love - and "everything is always okay." Happy Mom's day.

On the anniversary of Jennifer's mom's passing, Linda stopped by for a chat about the process. That is - 'How do people offstage reach out to people onstage with coincidence or bits and pieces of memory, so we know they still exist?" In this case, she reminded Jennifer of a dream that she had where she'd seen her parents line dancing - the memory of seeing them doing that cowboy style. That came out of a conversation about how my wife was aware of being visited by someone who popped the lyrics of John Denver's song into her mind - to not only remind her that he's visited her before, but that the lyrics have a special meaning to him. So Sherry went onto this person's web page, and indeed, back in 2012 they'd posted the lyrics to the song as it held some kind of special resonance to them. So the question is - how do you do that? This led to a discussion of how I'd done a guided meditation with a woman (it wasn't asked for, it was a demonstration) where she had all kinds of mind bending people come through, but at the end of her session I casually asked where in Manhattan she was living - and it turned out to bein the same building I lived in for a year back when I was producing pieces for the Charles Grodin show on CNBC. So the question went to Luana - "is that a coincidence, or is it something else?" And that led to a discussion of how time works on the flipside - that people who are offstage often report that it feels like "time doesn't exist" - and a discussion of how Dr. Greyson notes in his NDE research that even those who experience that feeling do so sequentially. That is - time does exist when meeting someone first, then the next person, then having another event occur. As noted, people like Jennifer, who is open to conversing with people offstage, can have a better view of the likely outcomes since so many are aware of what she's doing. However, that doesn't mean that people will learn something that will prevent their plan of learning that experience during this lifetime - or it won't alter someone else's path that is going to involved as well. As usual, mind bending stuff. Then Steve Jobs stopped by. fans of our work know that he's been stopping by since Jennifer and I first met - and subsequently one of his family members has worked with Jennifer, so she's had enough conversations with him so I can kind of "skip down" or ask questions not about him, but about other people. In this case, I asked about people in the tech world who are convinced that consciousness is confined to the brain (someone like Bill Gates or someone like Elon Musk whose focus and aim includes a belief that consciousness is confined to the brain and the "known universe." Jennifer reminded us that the previous week Stephen Hawking had said that he "wished he had been aware of how consciousness worked" while he was still on the planet.. that he could have been able to bypass the filters on his brain and access other dimensions, or previous lifetimes. He's been showing up in our work since he passed - and the transcripts of those chats are in the books BACKSTAGE PASS TO THE FLIPSIDE and also on our podcast by searching for "Stephen Hawking" on the podcast. He also stopped by during a multiple person conversation - I'd invited four scientists, Sagan, Tesla, Einstein and Hawking - all who are available now on the flipside, and can answer questions about "who greeted them when they crossed over" and "what they've learned since being offstage." Interesting enough, Steve had advice for Bill Gates (other than saying "he's been through enough difficulties") - but advised that he'd have to "believe that we could talk to Steve" before he could "hear any advice." As to Elon - about how he might change his attitude about empathy being a hindrance to civilization (as opposed to it's dependence upon it) - he suggested "playing a sport" - and specifically which one, it was "car racing" - as he'll learn he has to depend on others to succeed....

Another mind bending foray into the Flipside. First reminding the audience Jennifer and I will be appearing at the Contact In the Desert conference May 30th at 11 am, then Saturday May 31st at 11 am (ContactInTheDesert.com) Today's podcast included a visit from the actor Eddie Hassell who pointed out that he'd turned the lights on and off at his parent's home in order to get them to reach out to Jennifer. As it turned out, Steve Jobs was involved in this conversation as well. Luana Anders wanted to discuss how people on the flipside manipulate energy - turning lights on and off, related to the power going out in a recent guided meditation, where at a particular point, it seemed as if someone on the flipside had frozen the internet. I asked Hawking some of the same questions we'd asked him before, as well as to have him talk about how it's possible for him to be aware of all of his previous lifetimes now, but at the same time access information that is related to his most previous journey onstage. Jennifer noted that the acclaimed film critics both Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel had shown up - I had met Roger when he was on the planet, and also noted how their review of my film "Limit Up" got it pulled from movie theaters when it came out. It wasn't until later, when I learned about Ebert's own near death experience that he didn't believe in an afterlife - even though he'd literally "spoken to his wife to tell her to convince the doctors he was still alive" - even after that, he wouldn't allow that it was possible that consciousness continued on. So for whatever reason (they said it was an anniversary, although I'm not sure its related to the film Limit Up's reviews) they showed up to give us a "thumbs up" for our podcast and our continued conversations with the flipside. This isn't the sort of thing one might construct - since Jennifer saw all three of them appear at once, and it wasn't until after the conversation with Hawking did I ask them why they'd appeared. Funny to consider. I also got them to review Sean Baker's film "Anora." (How about that? I defy any clip service to add their reviews "brilliant" to their publicity files "from the flipside") Then Jennifer's dad Jim showed up to answer a question she'd had about her mother's appearances in her dreams - and a general discussion of how it's important for people to allow that it's possible for their loved ones to still exist - because even during dreams if we say to them "wait a second, you died" it's a form of denial of their existence and they "disappear" from our ability to see them. Just something to keep in mind if one is visited by a loved one, by lights turning on and off, by the coincidence of seeing numbers on a clock, or hearing a song and then thinking of them at the very moment they want us to... allow that it's possible, and it won't freak people out so much. Hawking also weighed in the recent reports of "possible life on another planet" ("Why not begin with every other planet?") It's ironic because we haven't begun to understand the different frequencies of species on our own planet yet... dogs smell cancer, bees see UV light, birds change mating habits months in advance of bad weather, octopuses do more with 8 brains in one year of life than we do with 1 brain over 80 years... something to consider when talking about "life on other planets." (What about lives we've yet to understand on our own?)

Another mind bending podcast. Jennifer had one of her "uncorked" events in Manhattan Beach this past week, and one of the attendees wanted to speak to her pet hamster who had passed away. Jennifer recounts doing that as well as talking to a "tree" in their yard that was ill and about to pass away. We've had multiple conversations both with animals, and with trees (look for "General Sherman" on the podcast. But we've also had a conversation with a dolphin before. (Look for "Edgar Cayce, Doris Stokes and a dolphin" on the podcast. In this one, Luana Anders, my pal on the flipside who passed in 1996 brought forth a dolphin who wanted to speak with us. The construct is this - the dolphin isn't "sitting in our interview chair" but she's able to communicate directly with Jennifer. And since we've interviewed animals before, I try to ask the same questions I ask everyone that shows up in the research. In this case, Luana gave her the name "Samantha" (which could have been a play on my dog Sam that I've spoken to in the past, I don't know, that's Luana's sense of humor.) And Samantha said a number of mind bending things... that only 5% of her conscious energy is outside herself, "the higher consciousness" that is addressing us directly. Generally people report we bring between 20 and 40% of our conscious energy to a lifetime, and that when we have brain issues (dementia, etc) we only have around ten percent or less of our conscious energy. If I was hearing this correctly, Samantha was saying "only 5% of her conscious energy is offstage" - because dolphin don't have the same filters we do. In terms of what was heard or learned; the dolphin consider themselves the "sheriffs" of the sea, as well as the librarians collecting data. That they are aware of everything going on in the ocean. I asked a simple question about Samantha's opinion of humans - she pointed out that a human had saved her mother's life in a previous lifetime (as a shark) and that she appreciate that aspect of humanity. I asked a question about empathy - since a certain person in high places said some comment about "empathy holding back civilization" - and the dolphin replied that "empathy is the only thing that moves civilization forward." Empathy to help others, to heal others, to find a cure for cancer, illness, etc. It's a mind bending answer, but it's a mind bending comment for someone to make - who clearly has no clue how consciousness functions or incarnation works. Samantha reiterated that "animals understand how incarnation works but humans do not." There are many things humans don't get - in terms of other dimensions, and Samantha said she and others kept tabs on that - including those stories of "UAP's (UFO's)" that shift in and out of the water. I know all of this is mind bending - and it's a perfect reason to stop watching the podcast. If one is having a hard time comprehending this information, perhaps a good time to look into the data, research from UVA medical school DOPS lab that shows consciousness is not confined to the brain. Or to examine the clinical case studies of Dr. Wambach, Dr. Brian Weiss or Michael Newton and the Newton Institute in terms of how people can recall previous lifetimes, or how their own incarnations have worked. Truly one of the most mind bending podcasts we've done - and I'm shocked to say it was only 30 minutes of questions and answers. Hope people take this opportunity to research the topic - because we're touching the tip of the iceberg - literally. We don't understand how animals or plants communicate - but we can learn. And this is a way to ask them questions and get answers.

Today's podcast got crowded! We started off by talking about Jennifer's recent visit to the Oprah studios where she participated in a discussion about menopause and at some point Oprah made her way to Jennifer and put her around her and said "thank you." She was referring to a session that Jennifer had done with a friend of Oprah's and the kinds of unusual details that Jennifer was able to access to help this friend on her journey. Then I spoke about a dinner in a restaurant recently, where someone named Daniel spoke to someone at our table (more on him if he shows up) but when I asked Luana if Daniel wanted to speak to us, someone else took the speaker's chair. In this case, the late young actor Tyler Sanders. Tyler had written on his arm, "Do More" and he lived that motto. He took his father skydiving, did not pass up any adventure that he might have been on. Much beloved by his family, friends, and although we knew him for a short amount of time, he made a large impact on our lives. He passed a few years ago, just prior to a major advance in his career, by experimenting with a drug that he thought was something else, but turned out to be laced with fentanyl. When I heard that he passed, I was traveling with a friend who was a medium, and she described what she saw about his passing - and a few minutes later had Jennifer on the phone and she was telling me the same details. It's unusual to be in such an odd position - to have friends who are mediums, who can access "what happened" almost in real time. So when Jennifer mentioned that he was in our class, she had spoken with him briefly three years ago. He wanted to raise the topic of "sudden passing" and as he did so, other people started showing up, Heath Ledger, Paul Walker and Matthew Perry. Now, for those who may be offended at the "number of celebrities" who show up on our podcast, I try to remind people that we aren't in charge of the guest list. It's Luana Anders, who appeared in over 300 TV shows and films in her life, who worked with everyone from Marlon Brando to John Belushi... so it's not unusual to have a "celebrity packed" classroom, because in the rubric of "everyone is six degrees from Kevin Bacon" (Meaning we're all connected to each other if we look for the connections) sometimes a whole gaggle of people show up about a particular topic. I invited Paul to speak as I know we had a brief chat with him after his passing, and we did a couple of interview with Matthew Perry, so I focused on Heath Ledger and asked him about his journey. Who met him on the other side, what that was like (and if memory serves me we did speak to him briefly years ago - I'll have to look it up - but when Jennifer said that he was "met by his dog" I seem to remember that in one of our "Backstage Pass to the Flipside" books. I'll look it up. He had a message for a mutual friend Phillip Noyce (I said "Phillip" Jennifer supplied his last name, not because she knows him, but because she met his wife for a reading 3 or 4 years ago.) I passed the message on to Phillip and he thanked me for doing so. (Doesn't mean he's a believer or an advocate, but he is a polite Aussie like his old friend Heath.) Then Marilyn Monroe showed up - and I'm sorry to Paul and Matthew, but I focused my questions to her - about her passing. In other podcasts, and in the transcripts of our conversations in the books BACKSTAGE PASS TO THE FLIPSIDE we go into detail about her - about her flings with powerful men - but what makes this worthy of note was the question about greeting her father "that she never knew." While common knowledge that was the case - I'm more interested in what people have to say about that experience, and she reiterated what we've heard before. That her "missing father" agreed to play that role in this lifetime, as it was part of the inspiration that got her out of her "Norma Jean" shell to create this persona that became world famous and was always in search of that "father...