Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Brian Wilson, Prince, Luana, Aretha Franklin

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!