Tag Archives: lucid dreaming

How Teaming-up with Other Afterlife Researchers Can Powerfully Trigger After-Death Communication

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Having always been curious about the Afterlife, I have spent most of my life researching it from various angles, by:

Reading firsthand accounts by deep-trance mediums from the 19^th and early 20^th century
Attending classes held by professional mediums
Interviewing people who had had near-death experiences
Reading books and articles by other Afterlife researchers
Exploring the Afterlife with the aid of meditation, lucid dreams (dreams in which we are aware that we are dreaming) and out-of-body experiences
Teaming up with other Afterlife researchers to obtain mutual evidence about our findings

The most moving years involving regular exchange of evidence with other researchers were those ranging from 2002 to 2012, when I was able to actively take part in an American forum with about 20 members from around the world, all with an interest in spiritual matters. It was more than a forum: we were a group of friends, although in most cases we had only met each other online and spoken on the telephone. Each of us had lost at least one person who had been dear to us in life.

The founders were David and Judy Pierce, an American couple whose lives were shattered and changed forever following the sudden loss of their precious 14-year-old daughter Lilli, due to an accident as she was crossing the road on her way back home in the late afternoon of a tragic Friday, on 12 November 1999. David and Judy are also the founders of the social movement Friends Along the Road, which has been working in the field of bereavement support ever since 1999, through the administration of dedicated message boards and Facebook groups and all sorts of activities and events designed to offer sanctuary and caring support to those in grief, a physical or virtual space where to rest and seek comfort along one’s path.

One of the many activities of this very private forum was what we called an ‘Astral Party’, a kind of virtual gathering that could last for several days. It was sometimes held around someone’s birthday, but could also be unrelated to any particular occasion. Each of us took part according to our own inclinations, be it through meditation, dreams, OBEs, and so on. After the event, we would discuss our experiences on the forum. Very often, these meetings allowed us to focus our intentions like a laser beam, which had miraculous effects.

Many people who are interested in after-death communication are put off by the idea that astral travel is not necessarily easy to achieve. Our Astral Parties were a great opportunity to find out for ourselves that out-of-body experiences are in no way essential for ADC purposes: in fact, they showed how the same piece of information can be conveyed in different ways and how apparently different accounts could lead to the same conclusions and shared evidence.

The most fascinating aspects about our Astral Parties had to do with situations in which:

We found we had done something on the astral plane we did not recollect but which another member of the team could describe.

Participants did not need to belong to the core group, as we occasionally invited drop-in guests who could not read or write in English but were nonetheless able to participate and benefit from the gathering. Of course experiences were then reported in the Astral Party thread.

Here are a couple of examples:

In one case I had invited an Italian friend who desperately wanted to have news about her stillborn baby. I explained to her on the phone how the astral gathering worked and simply asked her to tune into the party that night. The following morning I was amazed to hear from her something I had no recollection of. She told me that, during the night, I had been at her side, awoken her from her sleep and taught her how to have an out-of-body experience, something she successfully had even though she had never read anything about it. This had a unique effect on her, because she got firsthand evidence that we are not necessarily one with our physical bodies and are able to travel to other dimensions. Thanks to this acknowledgement, she was able to break out of the mental prison that had prevented her from hearing from her daughter in dreams and lucid dreams, as she has excitedly reported to me over the years.

In another case I invited an Italian friend who had just lost her 39-year old husband in a motorcycle accident. Even though her 15-year old son had had constant dream visitations by his dad since his death, she felt so devastated she only experienced nightmares. So she tuned into our gathering that night, and, as she was dozing off, she had the most striking experience I have ever heard of. She heard her deceased husband turn the front door key, walk into the flat and along the corridor up to the bathroom. After that, she heard the familiar sound of him taking a shower as he used to do at the end of a day’s work. Then she heard him walk towards the bedroom and felt him get into bed and hug her. He also spoke to her before she returned to a full waking state and found she was alone in bed. During the experience, she was fully aware that her husband was ‘dead’, yet this was an absolutely solid experience which permanently deleted the memory of the shocking sight of her husband lying motionless in a coffin.

These two stories are just an example of how teaming up with other Afterlife researchers can enhance results: they go to show how powerful these gatherings are, because of the dedication our small group could direct towards the outcome of each participant’s experience, irrespective of their individual path and circumstances. The forum in question was Lilli Pierce and the Big Trip and a number of the experiences mentioned in my books were the result of teamwork.

The Afterlife: Hereafter and Here at Hand and Looking Beyond the Fishbowl: A New Comforting Perspective on Reincarnation by Giulia Jeary Knap are available from http://amzn.to/2Em3JnS and http://amzn.to/2E4fQmb. Find out more here: http://fracieloeterra.org/en/

Here Is What I Believe about Reincarnation (Part Two)

Here are some of my findings on what we usually refer to as incarnation or reincarnation:

Past life regression sessions are often laden with ‘leading questions’ (i.e. questions that tend to prompt or encourage a specific answer) and hence project researchers’ beliefs in earthly drama into the Afterlife.
Unless we are comfortable about it, there is no need to paint a picture of the Afterlife as a sequence of different lives lived one after another within linear time, ruled by guilt, judgment, punishment and fear.
Discarnate beings have no way of understanding the true nature of human suffering, though they appreciate the heroism of those who choose the leap into the darkness that incarnation involves.
Conversely, those who choose to experience one or more physical incarnations, are not bound by linear time and are always connected with our Divine Source, their Whole Self and their discarnate guides, in a win-win partnership that is free from judgment or hierarchy.

Some of the most important points I make and provide evidence for in my book on reincarnation are:

At all stages of our multidimensional existence we are co-creating with our Divine Source thanks to our unique and eternal personal identity, and are constantly reaping the benefits of past, present and future.
We have boundless reserves of spiritual energy and vitality that we have access to at all times on the earthly plane, provided we understand that unconditional love is the source and end of all things and always see in others the reflection of ourselves.
In spite of death and multidimensionality, we never really lose the people dear to us, not even in our darkest moments. The spirit world is in fact our world and we have amazing creative powers we only need to acknowledge and tap into.
As co-creators with our loving Source, we all have a mission in life, which guides us every day and always, even through the circumstances and with the people who seem to cross our paths by chance.
Once we realise all this, we also realise that our point of power is always NOW: it is now that we can free ourselves of any unhelpful memories or emotions, gain control over our choices, affect any past, present or future outcome, achieve apparently impossible goals and make the most of our physical adventure.
Whenever we catch ourselves regretting the past or fearing the future, it is always a relief to realise how brave we are for being here and now and for taking advantage of the tools that all human beings have on this physical plane to really make the difference for all Creation.

In other words, we are not all robots placed unwillingly in an overpowering and overcomplex system of life, death and rebirth that is beyond our control. At the same time, we are not here because we have been kicked out of the Garden of Eden, but are divine sparks bravely exploring/creating this denser/physical plane to better appreciate aspects that are taken for granted in the finer spiritual dimensions. As Mellen-Thomas Benedict found out in his NDE, ‘we are literally God exploring God’s Self’.

The Afterlife: Hereafter and Here at Hand and Looking Beyond the Fishbowl: A New Comforting Perspective on Reincarnation by Giulia Jeary Knap are available from http://amzn.to/2Em3JnS and http://amzn.to/2E4fQmb. Find out more here: http://fracieloeterra.org/en/

Here Is What I Believe about Reincarnation (Part One)

Like many other people, I have always been fascinated with the idea of time travel: I have come to the conclusion that this stems from a need for confirmation as to whether or not life continues after death and whether or not the soul is eternal. I believe it also comes from a need to have a certain degree of control over our lives, irrespective of what mistakes we make and the misunderstandings we create in our dealings with the people around us, often in spite of ourselves. In other words, it coincides with our interest in the concept of reincarnation. This, in turn, has led to a series of hypotheses concerning karma and the cycle of rebirths.

Moreover, to some extent, the concept of reincarnation provides a credible escape from the fear of judgment after death, much dreaded by almost all traditional religions. As Andy Tomlinson says in his book, Exploring the Eternal Soul – Insights from the Life Between Lives, an examination of discoveries made under hypnotic regression regarding the existence of the soul between lives:

The ancient Egyptians were obsessed with ensuring that they would gain a favorable ruling when they came to the ‘Judgment Hall of Osiris’ and their heart was ‘weighed in the balance’. This would ensure their soul’s immortality because an adverse ruling would necessitate its destruction. Indeed the elite of their society spent considerable sums having inscriptions on the walls of their tombs and their sarcophagi that contained all the spells they would need to pass the ultimate test.

At least in Ancient Egypt they had a sense of how to draw things to a conclusion, with unworthy souls destroyed. By contrast, their Mesopotamian counterparts believed that those who obtained an adverse judgment from the gods who ‘decreed their fate’ were destined to live on in the ‘netherworld’, in a kind of gray limbo state. Even worse, by the time their influence had filtered down through Judaism and into the Christian Church, we find that unworthy souls are condemned to everlasting torment. It seems that the primary motivation for this development was not new spiritual insight, but instead the desire to keep the uneducated masses under control. After all, what could be more successful than to threaten them with eternal damnation and torment if they stepped out of line?

Therefore, since ancient times, the concept of rebirth has been a stratagem to avoid eternal damnation, or even the annihilation of the soul.

However, the traditional concept of karma as a process of ‘action and reaction’ and the ‘payment of debts’ is currently being replaced by those who study hypnotic regression to so-called past lives. A far less reductive and simplistic concept, it is based on the idea that, immersed in the beatitude of what people under hypnosis often define as ‘light realms’, the soul becomes impatient and longs for learning and growth, often through the experience of overcoming difficult circumstances. To do so, it works with a group of companion souls or soul group, to design a custom set of circumstances, challenges and lessons to learn in each incarnation.

Reincarnation also helps soften the blow of losing a loved one. For instance, I have known people who found great relief in the idea that their misfortune may be a way of making up for evil deeds committed in a past life.

However, the accounts provided by near-death experiencers and by discarnate spirits who have described their transition through deep-trance mediums, tell us that three-dimensional space and linear time only govern our physical waking life. This notion is also backed up by the latest findings in the field of quantum physics.

In particular, near-death experiencers who have had access to this notion describe past, present and future lives as all taking place ‘simultaneously’ while they observed them from the point of view of their own indestructible personal identity, which I like to refer to as our Whole Self. When we exclude the notions of space and time as we know them (something we can also experience in our dreams), it is very difficult to find logical, rational, analytical explanations (as prenatal regression researchers feel obliged to do) for the multidimensional nature of the soul. Even the concepts of evolution and growth lose substance once the concept of linear time is removed from the equation. This is because, at least in our dimension, both are inextricably linked to the linearity of time.

As I researched the topic, I realised that, in order to cope with this linearity, we develop the illusory conviction of being separate from our Divine Source and from each other, something that newborn children are unaware of, at least until they are taught the difference between ‘I’ and ‘you’.

I realised that we humans have probably chosen to express our exquisitely spiritual qualities through a limited and limiting view on life, like goldfish who only see what lies just outside their bowl. This is what I call ‘the fishbowl perspective’ in my book on incarnation.

It may sound cruel to deliberately abide by this illusion, which unfortunately includes the fear that death may be the end. However, by examining life as if through a magnifying glass, we can appreciate things that in the world of pure spirit we simply take for granted, even if this means temporarily losing our bird’s eye view.

Here is why I started viewing man not as a an arrogant being challenging God’s authority, but as a hero who is actively co-creating with our Divine Source.

I realise that the issue is not a simple one and that it is often much easier to deal with adversity by turning to the unfathomable plane of the divine. On the other hand, if I had not had direct experiences giving me glimmers of light on this subject, I would most likely have no opinion on incarnation, let alone reincarnation.

How I Came to the Realisation that My Early Passion for Romantic Science Fiction Is Deeply Connected to My Interest in Afterlife Research

I clearly remember there was a stage in my life, until I was around five or six years old, when I was always happy and never felt I really missed anything. Life was filled with bliss and magic and I felt anything was possible. Then, for no apparent reason, there was an almost overnight change and I realised that blissful period of magic was over for good: I guess I had started growing up and sadly started being taught that I was separate and disconnected from the rest of the world.

Nonetheless, my keen curiosity about life’s great mysteries was very strong and I soon started reading all sorts of books illustrating scientific theories about the universe and the history of mankind. In particular, I found it strange that scientific research should be based on the assumption that everything is separate from everything else. I took an interest in romantic science fiction too, for the same reason. For instance, I loved the idea that it might be possible to travel into the past and make a different choice, to avoid an undesirable outcome, such as saving lives.

I remember I was around nine when I started experiencing intense episodes of déjà vu. When the movie Déjà Vu was released in 2006, I realised this was only one of the many sci-fi stories that linked in with my research about our multidimensional nature and my effort to bridge the gap between my early years in which I knew anything was possible and my adult understanding filled with questions. I discuss this matter at length in my book Looking beyond the Fishbowl: A New Comforting Perspective on Reincarnation.

I have recently come across a presentation by author and speaker Gregg Braden, internationally renowned as a pioneer in bridging science, spirituality, and the real world. He explained in plain terms my non-technical mind could understand how for thousands of years ancient, indigenous and spiritual traditions have simply assumed that everything is connected, whereas science and later quantum physics have been struggling for the last 300 years to come to the same conclusion, starting from the opposite assumption: that everything is separate.

The recent conclusions of a number of scientific experiments seem to be coming close to proving that some sort of intelligent field of energy (who some refer to as the quantum field, the matrix or God) actually exists. In Gregg’s words:

The field is the container for all things: from the perspective that science sees it now, everything exists within this field, the universe exists within the field, nothing exists out of the field. So all things that are happening are happening within this field.
The field is a bridge between us and the world around us, between our inner and our outer worlds. This is important, because, when we offer healing energy or a prayer to a person on the other side of the world, we are able to affect things thanks to the field.
The energy of this field is a mirror in the world around us for what we claim to be true in the world within us: we all have beliefs and expectations about what is true and is possible in the world – sometimes they are conscious, sometimes they are not – but, irrespective of this, the world is always telling us what our true beliefs are.

Quantum physics is now studying how and why:

we are all connected;
we do not simply observe reality but actually create it through our emotions;
we can be in more than one place at once and actively travel between dimensions.

These notions really bridge the gap between my inner knowing as a child and my deeply rooted desire to obtain firsthand evidence about the possibility of doing apparently impossible things. These include visiting the Afterlife, checking on my loved ones and opening up to spiritually transformative experiences that have led to further insights about the power of positive expectation.

I now realise that the need to read about these topics and then seek firsthand evidence must have been a reminder set up by my Whole Self for my earthly self, beyond space and time, so that I may not lose track of my real purpose for experiencing this physical life: rediscovering that we are powerful spiritual beings with an eternal and indestructible personal identity… and sharing the good news with as many as possible.

I realise that a person in grief who is seeking confirmation that a departed loved one is alive absolutely needs to tap into the power of positive expectation. Here is why I feel that firsthand evidence confirming my gut feeling that death is just an awakening from a temporary illusion may prove of critical help at such times.

An Expert Astral Traveller, Mediumship and Afterlife Researcher Reveals Why Two-Minute Meditation Sessions Can Lead to Lucid Dreaming and After-Death Communication (Part 1)

I have always been curious about the Afterlife, but when my grandma passed away in 1988 my curiosity turned into the urge to check on her and make sure she was safe. My first discovery was that dreams were a door leading to other dimensions, but, owing to my grief, I seemed to have no control over the nightmares that grief could lead to. Here is why I would like to discuss the power of lucid dreaming and how meditation can help.

A lucid dream is a dream in which we are aware that we are dreaming. On the other hand, meditation is a simple practice, usually performed by sitting in a quiet room or outdoor setting, with the aim of quietening our mind and focusing inwards. How and why are these two states linked to after-death communication?

People often report visitations by their deceased loved ones in dreams. However, in a dream in which we are aware of dreaming it is much easier to actually plan to meet our loved ones on the other side, because we are partly in charge of the experience.

Now the real question is: Why is after-death communication more easily achieved in dreams, lucid dreams and meditation?

In his essay ‘The Doors of Perception’ Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) refers to the theory of French philosopher Henri Louis Bergson (1859–1941) whereby the chief purpose of the brain, the nervous system and the sensory organs is to eliminate information rather than produce it. Here is what the essay says:

“Each person is at each moment capable of remembering all that has ever happened to him and of perceiving everything that is happening everywhere in the universe. The function of the brain and nervous system is to protect us from being overwhelmed and confused by this mass of largely useless and irrelevant knowledge, by shutting out most of what we should otherwise perceive or remember at any moment, and leaving only that very small and special selection which is likely to be practically useful.”

According to such a theory, each one of us is potentially Mind at Large. But in so far as we are animals, our business is at all costs to survive. To make biological survival possible, Mind at Large has to be funnelled through the reducing valve of the brain and nervous system. What comes out at the other end is a measly trickle of the kind of consciousness which will help us to stay alive on the surface of this particular planet.

Therefore, the ordinary or ‘normal’ state of consciousness is a measly trickle of concepts compared to what we are capable of knowing.

Upon physical death, this reducing valve ceases to exist. Hence, many people who have had near-death experiences report the sensation of being inundated with a universal consciousness.

There are other circumstances, however, such as the meditative state or dreams, which allow us to loosen our reducing valve and tune into the spirit world.

[The above section is quoted from my book The Afterlife: Hereafter and Here at Hand]

In order to achieve this goal, it is very important to disconnect from daily tasks or concerns that require our full and/or earthly attention (such as driving a car, cooking a meal, worrying about what so-and-so may be gossiping about and so on) and allow our reducing valve to loosen. In our case, this is not aimed at being inundated with a universal consciousness, but at shifting from our ‘ordinary’ state of consciousness to what scientists call a ‘modified’ or ‘non ordinary’ state of consciousness. Like a laser beam, we will use this opportunity to focus on something specific, such as communicating with a loved one in spirit.

Since meditation can allow us to achieve this goal, and meditation just before falling asleep can lead to lucid dreaming, I have found that this technique can really work miracles.

The Afterlife: Hereafter and Here at Hand and Looking Beyond the Fishbowl: A New Comforting Perspective on Reincarnation by Giulia Jeary Knap are available from http://amzn.to/2Em3JnS and http://amzn.to/2E4fQmb. Find out more here: http://fracieloeterra.org/en/