Hacking The Afterlife podcast

Hacking the Afterlife Podcast with Jennifer Shaffer and Ian Stevenson

THIS IS FROM THE ARCHIVES.  BUT FOR SOME REASON WAS NEVER AIRED.

Ian Stevenson was a scientist from UVA who passed away in 2007. He left behind a locked safe in his office, and said that he would share the "phrase" or "word" that would unlock the safe if someone was able to connect to him on the flipside.

In this talk, we begin with a discussion of Dr. Bruce Greyson's new book "After" - Bruce was at UVA when Ian brought him into to the Dept of Perceptual Studies (funded by a grant from the founder of Xerox.) For three decades, Ian travelled the world studying reincarnation.  Dr. Greyson started examining near death experiences along with his colleague Dr. Ray Moody. (Who coined the term "near death experience.")

In this interview, he refers to Dr. Moody, to Bruce Greyson, has messages for him and Dr. Jim Tucker, Ed and Emily Kelly PhD - member of DOPS that I meant when I presented my research from the documentary and book "Flipside" when I visited their offices in 2011.

As noted, I am planning to have three different mediums access Ian Stevenson for the "secret code" to his safe - but in this one, he states that it's E=MC2 written in long hand (E equals M C squared" or perhaps "EEqualsMC2")  I badgered Jennifer about it - and because of knowing how she works with law enforcement agencies about missing person cases, I asked for images that could lead us to the answer.  First she got Albert Einstein ("about four or five times"), then she got "He's showing me a battery or electrical charge" and finally; "he's showing me E=MC2" - I repeated it a few times, and asked about it - and she said "He's saying "spell it out."

Jennifer has no idea there's a puzzle or a contest to open his safe. I never mention the safe - I say that it's like a crossword answer - and it's a phrase or a word that I was looking for.  I have reached out to my friends at DOPS, Dr. Greyson, Dr. Tucker and Ed Kelly to see if we can arrange to film them trying these various combos - of "E equals MC squared" to see if that opens the safe. Or maybe it's simply EMC2 or E=MCsquared - some variation on that theme, as noted in the clip.

This was my idea - my demonstration or experiment - Jennifer didn't know anything about the "contest" or "puzzle" left by Ian Stevenson, and I just asked him to repeat the concept or show Jennifer images that relate to the concept "that I was thinking of."

Will let you know if it opens the safe. (It did not. But am eager to see if variations would work!)

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana Anders and Giordano Bruno

Another mind bending episode of our podcast.

As note in the podcast, Jennifer and I haven't planned our podcasts in advance.  We just kind of "show up" to see who our moderator on the flipside has brought to class.

In this case, it just so happens to be someone that I've researched - the scientist Giordano Bruno.  When he showed up he said I had been writing about him recently - and referred to my latest book, which no one on the planet has read or seen. 

Jennifer did not know who Giordano Bruno is - or was - and so I was able to ask him some specific questions. Bruno's story is that he was a Dominican Friar, who was famous for his memory - he appeared in royal courts doing amazing feats of memory.

He taught in a University in Switzerland, and it was one of his students who reportedly complained to the Church when he talked about how the solar system worked - he claimed he knew that the earth went around the sun.

When digging into his story, I found that he had an experience where he "saw how the heavens worked' and described a classic near death event.  He made the mistake of telling people about it - how he had "seen himself traveling into space and noted how the universe worked." 

The ran him afoul of the Vatican, where he was brought up on charges, tortured beyond imagination or description and a statue of him is in Campo Dei Fiori in Rome.  I have searched through my books, and found that I referenced Bruno in the book "It's a Wonderful Afterlife" where I spoke about his journey - but this was prior to meeting Jennifer and we have never had a discussion about him or with him before. 

So this is new information for Jennifer. His near death event (she said he had two) his ability to speak from memory (he said it was as a result of the event) and he was a friar (which she said he was) that he was tortured and killed by the Vatican. She correctly identified the city where his statue resides. 

I normally edit out the pauses in our podcast, but did not in this case, so that people could hear that despite my interrupting her now and then, for the most part I sit and wait to hear the answers. Plus, the answers are so mind bending, I wanted the audience to be prepared to hear them after a long pause.

So - here we are. Talking to someone who was burnt at the stake February 17th, 1600. Four hundred and twenty two years ago. But he recounts it as if its yesterday.

And for all intents and purposes, the way time works on the flipside, it feels like yesterday. But that doesn't mean that he didn't have things to pass along to the planet - and showed up to tell us a few.

Enjoy.  

 

 

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Emmett Till, Rev. Martin Luther King, Luana Anders

So I got this email the other day: 

 "Dear Richard.

I am a fan.  I listen to your podcasts with Jennifer.  I would like you to contact Emmet Till.  It would interesting to hear what he has to say.   

Thanks.

Regards,

Kathie"

 

I wrote to her that the podcast is controlled by our pal Luana Anders on the flipside, that she is in charge of the "guest list" as she's the one with the "clipboard."

 

Imagine my chagrin, when today, Luana mentioned this question.

 

Dear Kathie,

 

Well, something unusual happened.  Today during the podcast Hacking the Afterlife, Luana mentioned to Jennifer that "someone had asked me a question" that she wanted me to address. I thought of all the questions I get on Quora on a daily basis - and the only one that popped into my head was yours.

 

So we interviewed Emmett today. 

 

It was emotional - hard to do - but like I say, I let Luana decide who the guest list will be. I tried to ask him the same questions I ask everyone - but my emotions overcame me. He's a courageous person to choose a lifetime that included the trauma he experienced.  But I'll let him speak for himself. 

 

No one will ever believe that we've interviewed Emmett - but that's why we do this work, to show people how easy it is to do this on their own.

 

I hope it helps someone somewhere. 

 

Best,

 

Rich

 

Dr. King stopped by as well - we interviewed him a few times in "BACKSTAGE PASS TO THE FLIPSIDE" and I asked him all the questions I ask everyone. He was very profound and eloquent in his answers.

When we started the podcast, I knew we'd have to stop for about half an hour in the middle.  As it turned out, it allowed me to look up a few details about him (while Jennifer worked with a client).

We do this podcast to help people who are suffering with pain and grief - including those who knew the Till family, who to this day suffer over his loss - and to the millions who will be moved by his story yet again when the film comes out. I hope it's a good film, but I appreciate Emmett allowing us to chat with him today.

Again - hope this helps someone to converse with their own loved ones on the flipside. 

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana Anders, Charles Grodin and our friend T

Another mind bending session with Jennifer Shaffer.   In today's episode, we deal a little bit with process, and then specific details.

We start off with a conversation about process - and Luana uses Elvis and Prince as an example - that when someone "shows up" in one's consciousness, it might not be because they're trying to reach out to us, but there's a reference to them that is in our awareness. Like "one of their songs" might related to an issue happening in their life.  "Try not to judge what's coming through."

At some point Luana's dear friend, and my pal of 20 years shows up to converse.  It's mind bending because Chuck showed Jennifer an image of him with his arm around an elephant - knowing that I would instantly know what that reference meant - but she would not. 

Also that he knew things that were going on in my life, and referenced them, including our questions about a friend of a friend who passed suddenly - whose memorial I'm attending this weekend, and all the questions I had about him or the memorial were answered.

It's just another example of how close our loved ones are, how accessible they are - "you don't need a Jennifer but it helps!"

Enjoy. 

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana Anders and Tom Petty

Another mind bending session.   As we start every podcast, I had no agenda or idea of whom we might speak with. In this case, Luana Anders, our moderator on the flipside, wanted to talk about a request I had made to her about helping someone.

Prior to the podcast, in a general conversation about how things are going, just prior to starting, I told Jennifer that a number of chaotic events were occurring, but did not mention anything about a dream or that I had asked Luana for help.  When Luana came through and said "We got your message and the answer was given" - Jennifer did not know, could not have known that when I made this request in my head 'Luana I need your help" she said "I got it."  Before I could think of what I wanted to hear from her - before I could finish the question.  "Luana I..."  and I heard "I got it."

That's the process.  You make a request to loved ones on the flipside and if they can help they will.

Then Tom Petty came forward to expand upon that idea.

For those not familiar with how Tom could be in our podcast and we don't make a big deal about it - it's because he was the one who came up with the idea of calling our book "Backstage Pass to the Flipside." We have three and the fourth is "Tuning into the Afterlife."  Transcripts of our chats with the flipside.

In his case, he came through because he wanted to pass a message along to his family - it was very specific. At the time I said "I don't know anyone from your family" and he replied "you'll figure it out." I did figure it out, send along his message - his family member said "Every day I wish I could converse with Tom, and I don't think you're doing so."

Which is fine - it's not my job to prove anything to anyone, but to pass along information if I'm asked to do so.  Tom is always welcome because he's the one who gave us the concept that there is a "line around the block" of people who want to get into our class, use Luana's ability to help translate thoughts so that Jennifer can hear them.

Like those old offices they used to have in Europe, where if you wanted to make a call from Rome, you had to go to the "long distance" operator in an office building, and place the call from a booth.

Anyways, then Jennifer saw an image of someone named "Chris" and I associated it with not the person she saw, but with a friend of a friend who has had some health issues.  I asked if "Chris" was going to be okay.  Now, to let the audience know - if she had said "no" - I would have edited that out of the podcast. I'm not here to disrupt anyone's path - but if the answer is "yes" - as it was, I'm happy to include it.

Anyone can reach out directly to Jennifer for help and advice. JenniferShaffer.com - and as she points out on the podcast, she has a "Wine and Spirits" group where everyone gets to speak to their loved one in a public setting. I've attended a couple and they are amazing. She's very good at what she does when not helping law enforcement on a pro bono basis.

Oh and finally Hira, Robert Towne's dog with a message about pets being always connected to their owners from the flipside. Hira also appears in BACKSTAGE PASS TO THE FLIPSIDE.

Enjoy.

HACKING THE AFTERLIFE PODCAST ARCHIVE - FROM 2020 WITH BILL PAXTON

Jennifer and I can't swing the podcast this week - both have kids off to college, so I've dug into the archives for two podcasts a year apart.  It just so happen that two years ago, this very week, my old pal Bill Paxton showed up to chat with us.

and then a year later showed up again! Same week.

So in honor of Bill, in honor of the process, in honor of the podcast, I'm repeating two in a row.

One from September 16 2020, and the next from the same week in 2021.

There are plenty of sessions we've filmed over the past seven years - and now here we are in our second year of podcasts.

We appreciate everyone tuning in, and hope that the world is spinning in your favor.

 

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana Anders and James Dean ”BACK TO SCHOOL”

This is another example of the unusual work that Jennifer and I have been doing for seven years.  In this podcast, I ask our moderator on the flipside, Luana Anders what she wants to talk about or if she has someone who wants to come forward to speak.

She begins by showing Jennifer a "toddler" - literally shows her an image of holding up a child.  Jennifer has no idea what that means, nor do I. Is she asking us to talk about a specific child on the flipside? A specific child on this side? Or about some form of process or how the flipside works?

Luana said she wanted to talk about "process."  Which is my way of saying "It's not a specific person per se, but how the process works." She then made Jennifer aware of the topic of how stressed children are... Jennifer assumed she meant "these days, post pandemic."

I did the same, because it is a topic in universities and schools - how distracted people are coming back to school, how the multitasking, multi-focus of social media has "driven some people crazy" making it harder to focus on any particular topic.  How the trauma and stress of the past two years - and the fears involved, are affected students and children alike.

However, that is not what Luana was only talking about. And neither Jennifer nor I knew why she had brought the topic up until the very end of the podcast.

Then she mentioned seeing "James Dean." For those not familiar with the podcast, that's going to be an odd comment - for those who've read "Backstage Pass to the Flipside" they know that he's shown up before. Not only has he shown up, but he revealed to Jennifer that he's already "reincarnated" or returned to the planet.

That means that "a portion of his conscious energy" has returned to the planet. I asked him questions about that, and he revealed the person that he's come back as. Jennifer didn't know his name - but based on James' description, I guessed who he was referring to. 

And then I texted the best friend of this person - meaning I know the person he's "come back as" and know his best friend well enough to text him and ask "Hey, has anyone approached our mutual friend and said he was the reincarnation of someone?" And he texted back "JAMES DEAN." And said "His whole life this has happened."  

Took me a couple of years but I finally put this person in Jennifer's orbit - filmed them having a conversation, filmed his reports of having memories of being Dean his "whole life" - and how others knew it as well.  Suffice to say he hasn't "come out of the closet" because he's had a very successful happy life and career. He has no need to reveal that aspect of his life - and I must respect it - even it if meant "proof that life goes on."  We've learned that's not something for everyone - but it is for those who experience it.

But I asked him if that was why he showed up to the podcast today, to talk about that journey - and he said "No." He wanted also to talk about the process. About how "being aware that life goes on can help people to not end their lifetimes here." That leaving early, while he didn't leave the planet deliberately - but being aware that those who have left the planet can help us is something he wanted to convey.

And then, finally, Jennifer asked Luana "Am I getting this right? Why did you show me holding up a child?"  And Luana answered "because it's the first week of school. Of kids going back to school." 

So everything in this podcast is about lessening the stress of that event - for parents obviously, to open up and listen to their children, to know that there are folks on the flipside who care equally about the mental health and experience of our children, their grandchildren, nephews, nieces - and they want us to allow them to help.

Mind bending.

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana, Magda and Robin Williams

Jennifer and I improvise each week, asking who it is on the flipside wants to chat with us.  Luana Anders is our moderator on the flipside, and whoever wants to come through is up to her.

Her mentioning this woman "Magda" in terms of a book I'm writing, an interview I did with a woman who was able to access this Magda, who claimed to be a Praetor's wife in the cabinet of Herod in the time of Jesus was pretty unusual. 

A note here to say that I've never heard of the word Praetor that I'm aware of, I don't know what it means, but as I was typing this description the word came to mind "Praetor's wife" - which means according to Wikipedia: Praetor ( Classical Latin: was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected magistratus (magistrate), assigned to discharge various duties."

I've heard of the Praetorian guard, but I assumed they only guarded Caesar, and as such the word Praetor is completely unknown to me. But it popped into my head.

Magda Archelaus - I don't know if she was married to Herod, or just someone in his cabinet - but in the research I'd done on the name, I looked up Herod Archelaus. (Famed during the era).  The interview I did with her was mind bending, as she claimed to be privy to events that led to the Crucifixion as well as the recovery of the body of Jesus, and those who attended to him - trying to heal him with aloe and myrrh (also reported in the Bible.)

Luana suggests I dig deeper.  (I had stopped digging after including the article in this book I've written about accounts of Jesus from the flipside perspective.)  I shall endeavor to do some more digging.

Robin Williams came in to talk about process - and indeed, mentioned this woman who reached out to me who had a conversation with him after our mentioning him recently.  She got this idea of a "granny award" or the role of granny - which I at first assumed meant Mrs. Doubtfire, but according to this conversation, may be the one where he played the role of a Granny onstage for Andy Kaufman in the 1970's.  Pretty funny stuff.

As always, enjoy the podcast as an example of how simple it is to reach out to one's loved ones. 

Enjoy. 

Hacking the Afterlife, healing from grief and a visit from Prince

A short podcast today as Jennifer was juggling a number of things including her mom being in the hospital.   We all wish her mom a speedy recovery from hurting her hip!

Today's podcast deals a bit with grief, and the process of helping people recover from grief.  Jennifer's dad Jim passed some years ago, and he's always got an interesting perspective when it comes to helping people with grief.

He was the one who told us "try to move grief to nostalgia."  Neither of us understood what that meant, and he explained (through Jennifer) that "grief is mostly sad memories and nostalgia has both sad and happier memories. When you can move grief to nostalgia you can begin the healing process."

It also helps to realize that this new information is coming from someone no longer on the planet. So there's that - getting new information from someone we love who is no longer here.  Which proves to the person who is getting the new information that life goes on.

Prince showed up, as he had in the past - and because someone complained about us "always having celebrities" I'm afraid I may have cut short what he had to say, because of my comment about "getting insight from Prince instead of an average Jane and Joe."

Not to say that he didn't give us advice, but instead of just asking his opinion from his new perspective, I got caught up in saying "they don't have to access you to get this information, do they?"  It's my way of repeating what we've heard constantly - there is no hierarchy on the flipside, but people are so adamant that hierarchy exists, they can't hear advice from people no longer on the planet because they're judging them as "a celebrity."

Apologies to Prince if I cut him off.  We also discuss a bit about the process of accessing our loved ones on the other side, and then Jennifer had to depart to continue her work which includes pro bono work for law enforcement agencies nationwide on missing person cases.

We've been doing this weekly for over seven years, so I have to let it be whatever it is in terms of what the folks on the flipside want to impart on our podcast.

We'll see her hopefully next week!

In the meantime say hello to whomever it is that wants to say hello.  Could be an old friend, a relative who sent you here to hear this session.

Enjoy!

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Olivia Newton John, brother Jeffry and Robin Williams

We're back after a two week hiatus.  In this podcast we chat with my dearly departed brother, for whom we had a memorial service this past week.  Jennifer was there, as well as some fans of the podcast.

In today's podcast, Jennifer announces that Olivia Newton John wants to chat with us.  For those who've never tuned in before (or their last time ever tuning in) we have a group of individuals on the flipside who have spoken to us before. They are mentioned briefly in the podcast, including our moderator Luana Anders and her best friend Sally Kellerman. 

Sally's husband was Jonathan Krane, John Travolta's manager, my pal and producer of three of my films (including the short film, he's reminding me.)  I met Olivia at their home one night of Mulholland, and as noted, Randal Kleiser, the director of Grease and I went to visit Sally in the retirement home where she spent her final years - oblivious because of Alzheimer's, but completely in the moment whenever we brought her chocolate.

She's another example of someone who while not aware in person, is completely aware on the flipside of everything we do for them here.  Jennifer and I have spoken to the "higher selves" of a number of folks who had it prior to passing.

Olivia talks about what it was like crossing over, who greeted her, what the experience was like - and if it was what she expected.  I'm sorry I didn't ask for a message for her daughter Chloe - but suffice to say it's better for her to have a private conversation in her own fashion, meditation or perhaps giving someone like Jennifer a call.

We have passed along messages in the past - and sometimes I've had to edit them out of the podcast due to their being private conversations.  In this case, I'm sorry I didn't ask her specifically for a message for her daughter - as they were close.

But if she shows up again, I will.

Also Robin Williams stopped by - it's the 8th anniversary of his crossing, and he reminds us to celebrate life in his own unusual way.