Hacking The Afterlife podcast

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.

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana Anders and Bill Paxton

This is one of those podcasts about process. 

 As usual we had nothing on our agenda, but Luana did. At some point she interrupted me (what else is new?) to get Jennifer to say "Luana wants to talk about something." 

I know this is problematic for some people. As I note in the podcast, it's not my opinion, theory or belief that I've been filming people for the past ten years accessing the flipside, it's on film.  It's literally footage.

Take a look at the films "Flipside" or "Hacking the Afterlife" on Amazon Prime. To those who have a problem with this process, find your own. People have suggested I interrupt Jennifer too often; my response is, "Sorry. But book your own session with Jennifer and you can do all the non interrupting you want."

We bring this public service to people because it's not hard to speak to loved ones in the after life. Some claim it is - we're showing it's not.  People pretend it is, but if one takes the time to do the research, look at the clinical case studies, look at the research that shows consciousness is not confined to the brain, their adamant refusal to consider it possible is mind bending.  It is possible. One doesn't need a medium, or a hypnotherapist - but both help.

As to why we do this podcast, as Jennifer notes, about 30% of her time speaking to the flipside is in service of law enforcement. She does that work pro bono - for the public good. It's her version of "tithing."

In my case I've been very clear since publishing "Flipside" in 2012. I've been filming people with or without hypnosis since 2008. 100 cases - half without hypnosis. What they say on camera matches the clinical case studies of Dr. Helen Wambach (a clinical psychologist who did 2750 case studies) or Dr. Brian Weiss (has done 4000 case studies) or Michael Newton and the Newton Institute, who have done over 7000 sessions with people. My version of tithing is to post this podcast, over 100's of hours of footage on this webpage at MartiniZone.com on Youtube.

For those adamant skeptics, look at the peer reviewed science from Dr. Greyson's "After" and his comprehensive NDE research, or Dr. Tucker's "Before" and his 1500 cases studies of reincarnation, or Ed Kelly's "Consciousness Unbound" - peer reviewed science citing how consciousness is not confined to the brain. All gave me a tour of UVA's lab at the DOPS part of the Medical School.  It's directly related to why we do this podcast.

Subjective experience can be studied based on the 100's of examples. If everyone said something different, then we'd have the argument of bias, or projection. Having filmed people saying the same things with or without hypnosis, having mediums report the same things with friends of mine, shows that it cannot be cryptomnesia or my projections. (In the film "Talking to Bill Paxton" on Gaia I had three mediums answer the same questions put to Bill, and all said the same answers, including the one who was asked the questions by a third party. (Triple blind study)

The only thing confined to the brain is opinion, cemented in years of people arguing that experiences mean nothing, that events that occur are meaningless without "mainstream science" weighing in. It took 66 years to go from Kitty Hawk to the Moon, not from the scientists who said people would "never escape gravity" or people who claimed flight was impossible.

Science asks two main things; reports must be consistent and reproducible.  It's the basis of all data.  In this case, we are getting a "hack" from someone who left the planet in 1996.  She has made it a point to wrangle me out of my director's chair (I've written and or directed 9 theatrical feature films) and put me into this podcast chair where I have learned more than I ever could have filming people pretend to be someone they are not.

So enjoy the podcast, at the moment it's free, and given with love. Enjoy a little sage advice coming from the flipside.

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Luana Anders, Charles Grodin and Elizabeth Taylor

Just another day in the park on the flipside.

 In this case, Jennifer got a glimpse of Steve Martin on the Flipside. Because of the people involved, I guessed what that was a reference to.  Not only is Charles Grodin's longtime friend in a successful show on Hulu, so is his pal Martin Short (Clifford.)

As noted in the show, Charles was close to Steve Martin - and despite their close relationship, acknowledges that Steve can't hear him when he's trying to reach out to him.  That's a common refrain, as it's hard for someone to change horses midstream.

As my old boss Robert Towne mentioned after having verifiable evidence of the afterlife (courtesy of Jennifer Shaffer) he said "My whole life I was convinced that the afterlife didn't exist. Now I am convinced that it does exist."

Why is that? 

Experience.  Because no one can talk anyone into believing an afterlife exists, they have to experience it first hand.  Seeing a medium is one avenue, as is hypnotherapy or meditation. All yield the same information and identical results. I know I've been filming people saying the same things about the journey for over ten years.

This isn't for everyone, nor should it be. But the people who need to hear this, or see this at MartiniZone.com on Youtube - will find it. Enjoy.

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Stephen Hawking, James Dean and Helen Keller

We got lucky today as Jennifer was available for a full hour.

 We start off with a question about frequency and how electronics seem to influencing and affecting our lifetimes, and at Luana Anders suggestion (neither Jennifer nor I had planned anything in advance) she brought Stephen forward to talk about frequency disruption. 

We've had chats with Stephen before - they're in the books "Backstage Pass to the Flipside" as well as previous podcasts.  The point is - we might not be able to translate what he's telling us, but someone else might try to do the same. Ask him questions about climate change. Ask him to help us alter the path of the planet.  It can't hurt to ask.

Then James Dean came forward - as noted, we've had a number of conversations as of late with James and his pals, as well as the fellow that James himself told us he had "come back as."  Just to clarify - people report we bring a certain portion of our conscious energy to a lifetime.  Many report between 20 and 40% - and when we first spoke to him (in the book "Backstage Pass to the Flipside 3" he said he had brought "about 30% to this current lifetime."

What makes it unusual is that I happen to know the fellow who told Jennifer he has "returned" as. And to repeat myself, I reached out to this fellow's best pal and asked him if his friend had ever been told by anyone that he was the "reincarnation of someone." His texted reply "James Dean."

Since then I've had the same thing confirmed by other folks, not mediums, who for some reason accessed the same information.  What makes it worth noting is that I've met with this person, asked him about his path and journey, and his "whole life" there have been parallels with him and the late actor.

To be crystal clear - he's not going around telling anyone anything. He's not trading in on this detail in any fashion - the opposite actually. He's already got his own life, family, success in many fields - as if James returned in a fellow who exceeded his own expectations.

So as part of this ongoing research, we'll continue to report.

As seen on the podcast, had no clue I'd invite Helen to the podcast. But I did. And that led me to ask questions about my friend who lived in Helen's house - about her sudden passing and I was able to express my affection and gratitude to her.

This podcast exists so people can see how uncomplicated it is to try and speak with loved ones on the flipside. Anyone who tells us that "my religion forbids me speaking to those on the flipside" is inaccurate - because all religions honor, pray to, ask people to converse with those who've moved on. The fact that a religion might suggest not speaking to one's owned loved ones - and only the folks they deem worthy of conversation, belies the falsehood of that concept.   We can and should speak to our loved ones. We don't have to. But we can if we want to. Even if it's someone as famous as Helen - who never spoke in life, but is able to communicate on the flipside.

I note in the subtitles of the podcast that I had no clue if Helen had a relationship with someone - but as it turns out, it was a cause of concern, as in her 30's she fell in love with her interpreter and nearly eloped with him. He left during her "ailment" which may be related to what is reported during the podcast.

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer and Don Everly and Guests

I met Don Everly once in my career playing pianos in nightclubs around the planet.   The amazing sax player Craig Cole, a member of our band "Imminent Disaster" and I were playing a gig at Les Deux Cafe. It was just me and Craig and as I began singing "Knocking on Heaven's Door" there was the sound of someone singing harmony in my ear.

As I recount in this episode, I didn't know who it was, but I recognized the voice immediately; Don Everly.  So I thought it would be a good chance that we might be able to connect with him.

The session begins with a visit with James Dean. As noted in the podcast, we didn't invite him - but Jennifer and I had a conversation with him last week via someone who has had a lifetime of visitations from him.  So it wasn't odd for us that he would show up and having something extra to add. 

It's always mind bending when someone shows up - like at the end of the podcast when Jennifer says "Janis Joplin is here and she wants to say something to you."  It took us awhile to unpack what she wanted to say - and it was about this book that I'm doing, that she will be a chapter in. It's about music and the afterlife, or music back "home" as they call it.  

But I invited Don to our class, and he does show up. For those who are eager to hear proof of the afterlife, it's not what we're doing - Jennifer and I have been doing this weekly for six years. There's tons of evidentiary sessions - online ("Paul Allen, Junior Seau and Dave Duerson") where it's clear she's talking to someone on the flipside that has new information. The film "Talking to Bill Paxton" has three mediums ask my old pal the same questions.

The film "Hacking the Afterlife" on Amazon Prime is chock full of experiences that cannot be ascribed to cryptomnesia - so I don't spend time in these podcasts trying to prove something. I'm more interested in process, what "Harmony" means - and if people have journeys they planned in advance.

I know that Phil and Don were estranged, and his description of "hearing his brother" before he saw him is priceless. Having been doing this for six years I always hear something new and fascinating when I ask "So what was it like when you crossed over?"

I also took the time to ask his brother Phil some questions, also to ask Craig Cole some questions (I'd interviewed Craig years ago, but he's not in the books "Backstage Pass to the Flipside") - his description of having a "concert in his honor" makes total sense to me. I played with Craig at the House of Blues, he had a huge following in Los Angeles, was a monster sax player, and if anyone wants to hear him play, search "Point of Betrayal Theme" as he came in and recorded that for me, as well as played on the soundtrack for "Cannes Man." (Hope his wife Mariella sees this.)

But for all those folks listening in for the first time - it's not about talking to "famous people" or "celebrities." There is no celebrity on the flipside. There is only love. Only the people we loved, who carry the frequency of our love. Who know that we grieve for them, who want to let us know that life goes on.

Interesting discussion about that as well - as Don points out "inundating people with information that shows life continues can inspire some people to wallow on grief and not move on" - and that by "not talking to them" allows them to grieve and move on.

It's an unusual point of view - in light of how much work we've done to show people that their loved ones are not gone, they're just not here.

But it's what he's saying - and I'm happy to share what he had to say.  Believe in an afterlife, don't believe in an afterlife - that's a choice - but allow for the possibility that it exists, or that life as we know it does not end.  Based on the research we are "fully aware" prior to coming to the planet that we've chosen to be here, when we are here, we are semiconscious of that fact (some bypass filters to experience the flipside or their higher selves via an NDE, OBE, with LSD, meditation or hypnotherapy). 

But this is yet one more example of a conversation with someone no longer on the planet, but fully aware of what he's talking about, even though he passed less than a week ago.

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer and Janis Joplin

Recently on the "Hacking the Afterlife" forum on Quora someone asked me why we hadn't interviewed more women.   I pointed out that I wasn't in charge of the guest list, but offered that perhaps there were more men than women was because of the occupations we've chatted with. Quite a few musicians who invite their pals to our classroom.

That's not to say that we've only interviewed guys - in the books "Backstage Pass to the Flipside" there are excerpts of 100s of interviews, quite a few women of note.  Women who have come forward to share their stories - including Amelia Earhart who has stopped by more than once.  A third of the book "Hacking the Afterlife" is multiple interviews with her via different mediums.

But that being said, I suggested to this poster that if they had someone they wanted to chat with, they should take the time to invite them around to do so.  That in my case, I generally let my pal Luana Anders on the flipside create the guest list.

Fans of the podcast know that it was Tom Petty who suggested that Luana was like someone "holding the VIP clipboard to backstage" - he even commented "You have no idea how many people  want to speak in this class!"

For the record, as noted, I reached out to one of his family members who said "Every day I wish I could speak with my dad, but I don't think you are doing so."  Which is fine - I'm not here to prove anything to anyone. It's just something we stumbled upon after filming Jennifer accessing the afterlife for the past six years.

As noted, she works with law enforcement agencies nationwide on missing person cases, so I'm lucky to snag her for a half hour to do our podcast.   The podcast is to demonstrate the process - how easy it is for anyone to access the other side. One doesn't need a medium (it helps) or a hypnotherapist (it helps) - they can do so on their own with a little effort.

In this podcast, I thought "Well, a friend is planning a film about this person, so maybe I can suggest she come to our class. I said her name out loud this morning - just in case she might want to show up. So when Jennifer said it was related to me, and that this person wanted to speak, I told Jennifer her first name was "Janice."

Well, we all know her first name is Janis, but I didn't spell it for her. So as anyone can see - she had no clue as to who I was talking about.  Eventually she did - and I asked her questions not based on the "celebrity of Janis Joplin" but on the idea that no one dies.  Everyone is on the flipside - we can access anyone, our loved ones, our friends - even strangers in this case.

The only connection I have to Ms. Joplin is Luana who was there at the Monterey Pop festival, invited by the promoters, along with Fred Roos and Harry Dean Stanton..  (As reported in the film "Hacking the Afterlife.") For the record, I never mention Janis in that documentary - I knew she was there, but was reminded she was there watching the documentary about Clive Davis when he said he first went there.

She has a message for Clive Davis as well. So if you know Clive (I don't) please pass it along to him. Pass the clip along to him. He's at an age now where he knows that people can access the afterlife, he likely knows people who have, if not himself. As we all grow older we realize that it's possible.

In this case - it's wonderful. 

Enjoy.

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer speaking of dreams, a Civil War Vet and Ric Ocasek

Another mind bending foray into the flipside.

 As noted in this podcast, we don't come prepped or ready to speak to anyone, unless something odd has happened.

In this case, Jennifer had asked for help from her great grandfather a few days ago - and really didn't  know anything beyond his name.

And like I do with all of my research, I do look this stuff up. As it turns out the Civil War veteran who showed up actually was a Civil War veteran. To demonstrate how mediums have to "translate the information" they're seeing - I asked this guy if he served in the Civil War, because in response to "when were you alive?" she said "It seems like there was a lot of war."

And to see this guy's record during the Civil War (searching his name and "Civil War") it turns out he fought in many battles. The reason she saw him in the medical tent is because he was wounded after Bull Run, and later got dysentery - which put him in a hospital tent until they discharged him.  So he was there a long time before he was let out to return to his family.

He married Fannie who worked for the Queen of England. He had children during the war, died in 1912 (she saw 1902). He was 73 when he passed. 

This is an example of me asking simple questions to someone who has shown up - and he gives her visuals that I try to interpret. 

Then Tom Petty showed up to introduce his pal Ric Ocasek. I didn't know him, didn't review his shows when I wrote music reviews for Variety, but asked him some simple questions based on what I knew about him.  I remember meeting his wife - then girlfriend backstage at the Merv Griffin show around the time they met.

I just happened to notice that yesterday, there was an article online about how he and his wife had split up before he passed, but Paulina missed him terribly.  Unfortunately, he appears to have been less that fatherly to two of his sons, and reading this interview, will likely continue to be mad at him. If I had known how angry they are at him (for disowning them) I would have asked questions about that. If he shows up again, I will.

Again - as noted, we speak to whomever shows up. We ask questions and see what we can learn. The bulk of this podcast is about how to ask loved ones to appear in dreams, or show up to assist us.  Hope this helps.

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer and Luana Anders talking about communication to the Flipside

Jennifer and I have been doing this work for the past six years.

Every week, clockwork, we meet up and chat with people on the flipside.  We've gotten to a point where I can understand the metaphor of what she's seeing or saying.

In terms of the process, it's pretty much stayed the same. Since the first time we met, and someone "showed up" during our conversation, I wondered if this was a "one time thing" or if it was something that could be repeated.

Three books later, "Backstage Pass to the Flipside" possibly 300 interviews we have pretty much honed what we're doing into a half hour to 45 minute podcast. Jennifer and I, with the help of my friend Luana Anders, who left the planet in 1996, we have a chat with people on the flipside about process.

Luana appears to be a conduit on the flipside to help others communicate here. Because she was an actor and worked in over 300 TV shows and over 30 feature films, she knows quite a few people in that industry, and they often stop by to say hello, or to pass along messages to loved ones.

That being said, we've had people show up that weren't invited by her, invited by someone else in the class, and they show up to voice their concerns. Last week's podcast, Anthony Bourdain had much to say about a documentary about him that just came out.  Not planned, didn't ask for him to stop by - but he was adamant about being heard.

A few weeks back, Carl Laemmle, a film producer who passed in 1939 showed up - wanted to talk about the process of what goes on over on the flipside.

In today's podcast, Luana wanted to talk about the process of communication. Helping people on this side to "clear the deck" find a place of "peace" and open up their hearts (and check their disbeliefs) to allow loved ones to come through.

All I can say is that everything she's saying in this podcast is reflected in the research - the thousands of clinical case studies I've looked at from various doctors (Wambach, Weiss) from Michael Newton and the Newton Institute, from the 100 sessions I've filmed.  

Jennifer has done thousands of readings, works with law enforcement agencies nationwide on missing person cases - I already know how talented she is, and we're lucky to access this method.  

Enjoy.

Hacking the Afterlife with Jennifer Shaffer, Anthony Bourdain, Robin Williams, Robert Downey Sr.

Another unusual podcast.

As we've noted in the past, it's rare that people show up to insist on being interviewed.  In this case, it was someone we'd interviewed in the past, in fact a year ago, July 17th, 2020 Anthony Bourdain and Robin Williams stopped by on a podcast named "Exiting Early." (Anthony and Robin appear in the books "Backstage Pass to the Flipside," both interviewed extensively.)

But in this case, Anthony wanted to weigh in on the film about his life, called "Roadrunner." 

He says he was disappointed in it, that the filmmaker "didn't have a clue" as to what happened to him - how he himself didn't have a plan to exit early, and it had nothing whatsoever to do with his relationship with Asia Argento.

He pointed out that he thought the AI of his voice sounded "robotic" (neither I nor Jennifer have seen the film) and the ending, having an artist deface a mural on camera for the film was "shitty."  Again - I haven't seen it, but I took the time to ask him about it. He also called the filmmaker "amateur" but gave the film a "five" out of ten because at the very least, it had footage that he'd shot in it.

I'm a filmmaker myself, member of the DGA/WGA. I was so stung by Ebert's "thumbs way down" review of my film "Limit Up" at the time, when Luana Anders was still on the planet (cowriter of the script) when I asked her to read the review, but to edit out the negativity... over the phone she read "Richard Martini... directed Limit Up."  Took me a year to read the negative review.

So it gives me no pleasure to tee off on this filmmaker - even though I was a music critic at Variety for years, I always tended to give people the benefit of the musical doubt.  If I doubted they're rehearsed, I noted it. In this case, Anthony came forward to tee off on this filmmaker. Wasn't my idea. 

I tried to ask him cogent questions - and to fill in the blanks. "Why no note left behind?" He answers that eloquently. He talks about how to meditate to help set aside negativity. He talks about finding beauty in gratitude.

As I note in the podcast, if you're going to make a film about someone, take the time to see if it's possible to communicate with them. Ask their loved ones if they've had dreams, find three different mediums and ask the same questions (as I do in "Talking to Bill Paxton" on Gaia) take the time and effort to allow the possibility that they might have an opinion on their own story.

I can only report. The only editing in this podcast is done for time if there's a long space between me asking a question and Jennifer getting an answer. . Apologies for having to end it early - Charles Grodin, Prince and Robert Downey Sr. ("Greaser's Palace") all make appearances and report things I've never considered or could have heard of.

I asked about Robert senior because Luana knew him, he directed her in the film "Greaser's Palace" which is on cable, and ran this week in Santa Monica.

Robert Sr. says that his son is already "speaking to him" and the father says he's learning from his son, as well as being proud of him.  Prince reminds us that strings tuned too tightly tend to break, a metaphor about finding a "middle way" between not listening to loved ones, and finding a way to "tighten up the string" to allow them to communicate to us by tuning into them.

The film cited in this podcast is "Hacking the Afterlife" - it's available on Amazon Prime through Gaia. If you have Amazon Prime it's a small five dollar charge to watch it.  It represents ten years of research, and notes the science behind the flipside.

Again - I didn't ask for Anthony to come forward, Jennifer did not either, and he had a mouthful to say about his opinion about this film Roadrunner about his life.  I don't think he's saying "don't watch it" but he is saying "don't buy the conclusions about who he was, as this filmmaker didn't have a clue."

Ask Anthony on one's own. If you knew him, you love him, or even liked him - set the stage for a meditation where he sits across from you and answers questions. An obvious first question would be "So Anthony,  how accurate was this podcast I just heard?"  Enjoy.