Hacking The Afterlife podcast

Hacking the Afterlife Anniversary Special with Jennifer Shaffer and Billy Preston

It's our Anniversary Special!

 Jennifer reached out to me 7 years ago, after listening to the audible for my second book "It's a Wonderful Afterlife." At the time I didn't know anything about mediums, other than I'd met a few who were spot on and amazingly accurate. I didn't realize that it was another methodology for accessing information on the flipside.

So we spent three hours together our first meeting - me filming her accessing people on the flipside. Me asking her questions about her path and journey - all on film.  She knew more about a person on the flipside (Amelia Earhart) than anyone I'd ever met - and I'd worked on two feature films about her.  Not because Jennifer knew about Amelia - but because it was like having Amelia in the room answering my pointed questions.

After that we began meeting weekly for seven years.  Let me say that again - for some reason, for seven years, she and I have been conversing with the flipside for seven years.  Excerpts of those conversations are in the film "HACKING THE AFTERLIFE" full transcripts are in the book "Hacking the Afterlife", "Backstage Pass to the Flipside 1, 2, 3" - as the latest book "Tuning Into the Afterlife."

That is all a prelude to what happens next.

A day before, a friend of mine posted a photograph of Billy Preston referring to the trauma he'd experienced as a child. I wrote under his post, "Not gone, just not here."  It's hard to say to people that our loved ones are "not gone" - but to raise awareness that they are somewhere else.

Which made me think, "I would like to interview him on the flipside."  Lo and behold, the next day, doing this podcast, Jennifer says "I'm seeing Nat King Cole."  We had interviewed him before (I spent a semester at his high school when I was in high school in Chicago) so that wasn't odd to hear.  However, she said "He's singing that song "You are so beautiful."

Most people don't know that Billy Preston wrote that song. (with Bruce Fisher, not Diane Warren as I say in the clip). But because she mentioned it - I realized that Luana had put an image of Nat in Jennifer's mind to get me into the ballpark, and by having her hear "You Are So Beautiful" was to allow me to connect those dots.

And it happens live on camera. But Jennifer doesn't know who "Billy" is and I don't say his last name until the end of the podcast. That allowed me to ask her specific questions about Billy and his journey. I knew that Eric Clapton was a close friend, so when I asked her to ask him about his friend Eric's visit to his deathbed, she said "I'm seeing Eric Clapton."

I didn't say his name. She did.

Because we've interviewed John and George before - as Jennifer notes in the podcast she did a session with one of George's friends who was able to access him - (Gary) - and we've chatted with John a few times (anyone can) - I asked for Billy's impression of John and George.

Again - she hasn't seen the film "Get Back" she isn't aware of the relationship between the three of them. So what we get to hear is unadulterated reactions to my questions from someone no longer on the planet.

Everything is interpretation - everything is frequency. So some of the answers may be skewed by interpretation, some may be skewed by my asking them inappropriately. For example, I didn't know that Billy had a sister - so when Jennifer says "the love of his life was the husband of his sister" - that may mean "a boyfriend his sister had at a young age" it could mean someone closely associated with his sister.  

And his sister is alive - so if she's reading this, my apologies for asking a question that I didn't know what he would reply - and we tend to not edit or change what comes through. It's an impression that Jennifer got, that the "love of his life" was his first love, which was someone associated with his sister.  Whether they were together or not isn't important.

The portion about the abuse - looking up the details after the sessions, I learn that it was by someone in a church band - not someone in the church per se, but someone who molested and abused him as a child. (When he was forced to move to a new city and be part of this band in Los Angeles.) Jennifer asks if he was an orphan - and the answer was that he "had the feeling of being an orphan" when he was moved abruptly to the new city.

Having been doing this for so long with Jennifer, when it seems as if I'm "leading her" it IS THAT I'M LEADING HER. I've been doing this for so long with her, I'm anticipating what she might say, and as you can hear, I interrupt her to focus on questions I can verify. (Like "did he play drums?" - he did play other instruments, the drums reference might have been about Ringo, but I focused on things I can verify about Billy's life.)

Needless to say - anyone who has seen Get Back will see what I'm talking about when his presence in the band is treated with reverence. I saw it, but Jennifer did not.  And the answers are mind bending if not mind blowing in scope.  

So this is an appropriate Anniversary Special.  It shows what seven years of constant conversation with the flipside can do.  Allow people to open themselves up to the possibility that people live on.

Again - because we live in a world of celebrity, I'm not posting this to connect myself or Jennifer with famous musicians or people. We are doing this specifically to show, demonstrate to everyone that it is possible to connect with loved ones, it is possible that they still exist, it is possible to converse.  All of this work - the seven years of it - has been to open up that door for people.  

Because it's time. It's time to realize that life goes on. That consciousness goes on. That are loved ones still care about us, still want to assist or help us, and we are the ones who either prevent them from doing so - or can open the door for them. 

So open the door by opening one's heart.  "That's the Way God Planned it" "Will It Go Round In Circles" "Nothing From Nothing" "A Change is Gonna Come" "Love the One You're With" (based on a comment Stephen Stills heard from Billy) "You Are So Beautiful" - all these titles are about the beautiful journey Billy took and that we all take.

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Stephen Hawking, Mino and Luana

This is something filmed in April of 2019.   It was on the heels of a conversation with Hawking, Sagan, Tesla and Einstein. That interview is in the book "Backstage Pass to the Flipside 3" - this one is reproduced in the new book "Tuning into the Afterlife."

There's a number of unusual concepts covered in this session, talking to Stephen Hawking about how to access a "slice of time." The story that I'm referring to was told by the actor Hank Azaria on the Stephen Colbert show - prefaced by the "funniest thing I ever heard."

He said it was during a table read, and Harry Shearer, the comedian and many voices on the show, was waiting for Hawking who was an hour late to the table read.  Harry said "The man has no sense of time."

I asked how he was able to know what the punchline to Shearer's joke was, since he wasn't in the room when he said it. Hawking talks about the akashic records as "floppy disks" that retain all the events from a slice of time and refers to them as mathematical numbers (like sequences, like algorithms, like CGI on a computer screen is all 1s and 0s.)

At one point Jennifer mentions the physicist Michio Kaku and a violin - something she's not aware of but recently, years after this was filmed, Kaku came out with this latest book about string theory.

All I can do is ask questions and report as best I can. Certainly we're going to get some of these answers wrong - but it's worth noting that some of them we get right.  I mean - that I ask the right question at the right time to get a mind bending response.

Enjoy. Tuning into the Afterlife is out on Audible, Kindle, Paperback and Hard Cover via Amazon.

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer - Talking to Pets on the Flipside

This is one of those unusual podcasts where again, no plan, just chatting with Jennifer.  And in this case, a dog came through that I knew 30 years ago - that I walked for three years for my then boss Robert Towne, Oscar winning screenwriter.

Hira was a unique pet - treated me like a vassal, had a persona that I can remember thinking "this isn't a dog. This is like a person who allows me to walk with him, rather than walk him."  Robert and Hira had a terrific bond, even though Robert had other dogs before and since.

Some years ago, when I was talking to Robert about my research, he told me he was a skeptic, didn't believe in any version of there being an afterlife. And so, as a proof of concept, I scheduled a conversation with Jennifer and our mutual friend Ed Taylor, who passed away, but knew Robert from college.

He came through clear as a bell, and towards the end of the interview, I asked if I could "speak to Hira."  Jennifer had no idea who that was - but realized it was a dog. We had a detailed conversation with him - and have since then numerous times. Hira recalls so many events with specificity that I could not know, it forced Robert to say to me "I was convinced my whole life that the afterlife didn't exist, and now I'm convinced it does. What happened?"

Experience happened.  Hira is only known to Robert - and not to me, really. But Robert and him spent time together, he credits Hira with Robert writing "Chinatown" because of the way he used to smell the air on Catalina.  He credits Hira with his writing "Greystoke: Tarzan" - because he realized how sentient of a being Hira was.

So the idea that Hira would "come through" because he wanted to speak to us about "how to communicate with animals" is mind bending. I didn't invite him, wasn't thinking about him - nor was Jennifer. Luana Anders, our moderator on the flipside, the person with the clipboard, knew Hira.  And here he is - giving us new information about "how to speak with your pet no longer on the planet."

It's mind bending, and I know it's accurate because I've been doing this work for ten years.  It's fine for people to dismiss it, ignore it, even laugh about it - it doesn't change the fact that I've been getting new information from animals no longer on the planet during many of my filmed sessions. 

There are a few examples in the documentary "Hacking the Afterlife" on Gaia, and in the book "Architecture of the Afterlife." Anyone can do the same - doesn't need a medium (it helps) doesn't need a hypnotherapist (it helps) or me giving them a guided meditation. 

Our loved ones are not gone, and our pets are not gone either.  

”Hacking the Afterlife” with Richard Martini ”Eleven Eleven”

This is a book talk that I gave in Laguna Woods about "Eleven eleven" in 2019.

 The information still applies.  Jennifer was busy today and could not participate in the podcast. This is a 90 minute book talk, so for those who can handle me speaking non stop for two hours, this is for you.

Talk was given for the "Life After Life" club in Laguna Woods that covers my journey into the flipside, as well as some of the latest reports.  

Refers to books "Flipside" "It's a wonderful afterlife" "Hacking the Afterlife" and "Backstage Pass to the Flipside: Talking to the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer."  Cites sessions from Scott De Tamble (lightbetweenlives.com) and Jennifer Shaffer (JenniferShaffer.com). 90 minutes of Flipside tales.

By the way, during the talk, I mention how Dr. Eben Alexander was guided around his near death experience by his sister who "died before he was born."  I'm told that she died "a month before his birth family reached out to him."  

So he did not know her, could not have known her, but when he met her during his near death event, felt "as if he had known her forever."

Enjoy. 

 

”Hacking the Afterlife” with Jennifer Shaffer and Luana Anders -DAY OF THE DEAD

This is another one of those podcasts about process.

In this case, Jennifer recounts going to someone's house to do some mediumship work, and this person added a wall of photographs to their home.  The idea was to "remember where we came from and how we got here."

Along those lines, a discussion of how Jennifer's father had come through and given us advice from the flipside about how to deal with grief.  He said "grief is only sad memories, but nostalgia is both sad and happy memories - when you can move grief to nostalgia you begin the healing process."

Luana, our moderator from the flipside, wanted to talk about "the Day of the Dead."  While having both Basque and Swedish roots, Luana had relatives who had lived in both Mexico City as well as in Santa Fe.  Her Basque relatives came from a long line of people who lived near Spain - and their culture predates the Roman era.

She wasn't close to the Mexican side of her family, but we did spend some time in Mexico together - both when we met and then years later with frequent trips south of the border.

She's relating to the idea of "putting up photos of loved ones" around one's home in order to stay in touch with them. Luana also speaks about the concept of "moving on" but at the same time, realizing our loved ones have moved on as well, but want to continue to stay in touch with us.

A shortened podcast due to a wifi issue, but hopefully next week we'll spend some more time "with the dead" realizing that they can't be dead if they can answer our questions with new information.  There's a mention of the forum on Quora "Hacking the Afterlife" - which is here: https://hackingtheafterlife.quora.com/

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Jesse Owens and Muhammed Ali

Unusual podcast today - first a conversation about dreams, and how dreams are created, both with folks no longer on the planet, and our memories of them.   A dive into how consciousness functions.

And then, when asked if our moderator on the flipside Luana Anders has brought anyone in to speak with us, she introduces Jesse Owens, because "there aren't enough athletes in our class."

Which is pretty funny - Jennifer knew little about Jesse, I knew a tad more that she does - but look up some details while we are doing the show.  He wanted to stop by and talk about health, and how the "media we consume" can be a health hazard (without saying it in exactly those words.)

At some point I ask him about his famous achievements, and why he might have chosen a difficult lifetime, what he wanted to show people, and he says "Hope."

He was only 66 when he departed in 1980, but it was fun to be able to chat with him. Muhammed Ali stops by for a few choice words ("I'm still the prettiest") and again - Jennifer is less aware of his journey than I am.

Which makes for an unusual and interesting podcast. Thanks for tuning in.

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer and Luana Anders, back from the UK

Jennifer is back from the UK and worlds beyond!

 In this shortened episode, we discuss some things with our moderator on the flipside Luana Anders, who talks about her observations of the planet.

It bears repeating that Luana was my 20 year companion, who passed to the flipside in 1996, who started showing up in dreams, visions, and then to members of my family prior to doing any of this research into the Flipside. As noted in the book "Flipside: A Tourist's Guide on How to Navigate the Afterlife" it was her appearance that inspired this journey.

I spent ten years filming people under hypnosis accessing their own loved ones on the flipside, and then, when meeting Jennifer Shaffer, it was Luana who made that connection. And now, she's like the "hall monitor" on the flipside, who has a guest list that allows specific individuals into our classroom to discuss the process.

Jennifer and I haven't spoken for at least three weeks, so I have no idea what we're going to discuss prior to the session. In this one, Luana correctly (mind bendingly) points out that "She and I took a trip to Portugal together."

Except when we went together, she was ashes in a pouch in my suitcase. It was just after she had passed, and I was dutifully scattering her ashes in different places around the globe. I had been invited to Bilbao, and stopped by to see Luana's friend (and "group member") Frank Gehry's design of the Guggenheim.

I didn't know there was a pond outside the museum, but when possible, I scatter a small handful of her ashes in waterways that I go to visit - thinking of her when I do so, thinking of all those tiny particles floating around the water, swallowed by a passing fish or whatever metaphor one might want.

I do have the photograph mentioned of me scattering her ashes in Sydney, and having the wind blow them all back into my face (just like in the Cohen brother's film with Jeff Bridges) but then a spotlight appeared out of the clouds right onto me. I'll have to track it down and post it on my blog RichMartini.com - when I write about this unusual podcast.

Anyways, more to come, just a short trip into the flipside today.

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Tom Petty, Amazing Randi, Regis and Paul Newman

This is a podcast from a year ago - when we first started to do zoom sessions and put them on MartiniZone.com at the YouTube channel.  Oldie but goodie while Jennifer is traipsing around the planet.

I begin the segment with me on camera mentioning the two folks I invited to come to the session. Jennifer knew the face of Tom, one of them, didn't know the second one Randi at all.  However, we spoke to Tom before, and this conversation is in honor of his 70th birthday.  We talk about his birthday party on the flipside, and talk about music in general and a little bit of his bio.

Then we shift to Regis Philbin, someone I knew, met through Charles Grodin (had dinner with outside of when he first met me and commented on the air about my mixed striped outfit) and he had a couple of things to say to his friend Chuck.  

Then I interview "the Amazing Randi" - a terrific magician in his own right, who later became the preeminent debunker of all things paranormal.  As was our interview with atheist Harry Dean Stanton (and Carl Sagan) both in the "Backstage Pass to the Flipside" books, he had some amusing anecdotes to say, as well as messages to both Penn and Teller.

Finally Paul Newman strolled by - and we got fifteen minutes with the icon who has a message for John Cusack of all people (someone I know).  We'll speak in more detail to Paul if he desires it - but it's another mind bending hour of your time.

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer

Jennifer is away from the desk for a moment or three.   In the meantime, I was looking through our old interviews.  These were not made for the podcast - they follow the same format, but were not meant to be shown.

The idea was that Jennifer and I would have lunch once a week and see who came forward. These recorded conversations are part of the book "Backstage Pass to the Flipside."  If you haven't read any of them, it's a good place to start.

By this time, we are speaking in short hand.  I know that the restaurant is noisy, but I'm not filming for broadcast. I'm just filming so I have a record of what she is saying.

This clip is part of the film "Paul Allen, Junior Seau and Dave Duerson" on YouTube (free).  But this is the raw footage - the uncut version of what happened that day. I went to the restaurant with the idea that I wanted to speak to someone  I'd never met before, Paul Allen - to see if it was possible to do so.

I have friends who know him - so I asked John Lennon for help because I know his son (He's in Cannes Man), I asked Anthony Bourdain for help guessing he might have met Paul and asked Steve Jobs for help. All three of these people we've interviewed in the past.

So if you're not aware of the process, or have seen our podcast, this clip won't make any sense.  It will seem entirely random and all over the map. I mean at some point I ask Abraham Lincoln to come forward to clarify a point from a previous interview we'd done with him. I wanted to ask him what his favorite poem was.  ("Mortality" - he knew it by heart.)

There are more jumps around the map - George Washington stops by. If you can't imagine how that can work, then start over at the first podcast to understand how it works. But since she's not available, and some are addicted to listening to her - her is 80 minutes of Jennifer. 

Will Shakespeare shows up at the end.  Is it really Will? I don't know. But I ask him the same questions and the answers are just as mind bending as every other one in this session.

Enjoy.

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer and Luana Anders about dreams

Another mind bending session with Jennifer Shaffer and Luana Anders on the flipside.  I posted some photographs on Facebook of Luana who appeared in Francis Coppola's first film "Dementia 13" as it's being released on Blue Ray this week with a commentary by Francis.  And when mentioning that on our podcast, Jennifer revealed that she's been "reading" a member of the Coppola family since 2009. 

I have no idea of how that came about - it clearly didn't have anything to do with me or Luana since Jennifer and I didn't meet until 6 years ago, and I had not known that she had "met" or helped someone from the family meet with folks on the flipside.

Luana was close with Eleanor and Francis, and we spent many years at their home for Thanksgiving, and as noted in the podcast, Luana spent many times going up there to visit on her own. Francis not only cast her in Dementia 13, she did voice over work for him the Godfather (she's the voice of the nurse who moves Marlon Brando in the film), and also contributed to the script of "One From the Heart."

Fans of this podcast know that Luana was instrumental in dragging me into the flipside, since passing in 1996 in my arms.  She started showing up visually, audibly, in dreams - until I made a concerted effort to "find her."  If she was able to visit me, why couldn't I visit her? And have been doing so since I fell into the research behind "Flipside."

Then, Luana become our conduit for our "classroom" on the flipside. As noted, it was Tom Petty who said "Your friend Luana is like the bouncer at the stage door with the list of people who get into the VIP lounge. No one gets to speak to you unless she approves it."

Today I got an email from a woman in Italy who asked Luana for some help with a classroom she is teaching, and had the distinct impression that Luana said she would, and directed her to look at a video on my YouTube page ("Going Home" a talk I gave at an iands event.)

Anyways, this is a podcast about "Hacking the Afterlife." And Luana gives a number of "Life Hacks" in this one, talking about how to interpret dreams, and how to allow that the visuals we see may be related to other lifetimes as well as other adventures.

Mind bendingly so.