Gregory Shushan, Ph.D. author of Near-Death Experience in Indigenous Religions and Conceptions of the Afterlife in Early Civilizations.
On November 26, 2019, Fahrusha welcomed Dr. Gregory Shushan to “Shattered Reality Podcast”. He is an expert on the subject of NDEs (Near-Death Experiences) over time and cultures. He is the author of two books, Near-Death Experience in Indigenous Religions and Conceptions of the Afterlife in Early Civilizations. You can find out more about Dr. Shushan’s work at: https://www.gregoryshushan.com/
Fahrusha has been dismayed over the narrow view of near-death experiences which are held by certain religious groups. In speaking with Dr. Shushan she hoped to uncover what features of NDEs are common over cultures and over time, thinking perhaps there could be some ecumenical agreement. Dr. Shushan rose to the occasion explaining how although there are cultural differences, often experiencers return to life having been healed, with new abilities, or bringing comfort to their communities.
At the end of the podcast, Fahrusha briefly shared an orb experience from listener Jaime and also one of her own orb experiences. Listeners are invited to share their experiences by sending a comment or emailing Fahrusha at fahrusha@fahrusha.com.
Fahrusha was happy to welcome Dr. James McClenon to Shattered Reality Podcast for the second time to discuss the different way that a sociologist researches paranormal and anomalous experiences. He was the guest on an earlier show in which he discusses his excellent book The Entity Letters, A Sociologist on the Trail of a Supernatural Mystery.
We covered a variety of topics from healing to shamanism to UFOs to out of body experiences and extrasensory perception but with a focus on the near death experience (NDE), all from the perspective of sociology. McClenon worked by collecting the extraordinary experiences of individuals by distributing questionaires. He had his students distribute questionaires as well. At first most of the answers came from a rural area in North Carolina where he taught. Later he distributed questionaires from a teaching cruise ship that sailed around the world making stops at a variety of locations. The conclusions he came to were from a different point of view than those of parapsychologists, philosophers or physicists. It was very refreshing to look at these subjects from a differing perspective. Most surprising, perhaps, is his assertion that in other cultures individuals don’t necessarily remember their near death experiences as paradigm changing events that were hyper-real. As a person who has had transcendent experiences but not an NDE, I (Fahrusha) cannot judge this, but it seems counter to other research.
Much of the material we covered on this episode can be found in Dr. McClenon’s book Wondrous Healing.
Wondrous Healing by Dr. James McClenon
Several listeners have expressed interest in participating in our “Listeners’ Corner”. If you would like to relate your paranormal or anomalous experience on “Shattered Reality Podcast”, please email me at fahrusha@fahrusha.com. You can write down your experience and we can read it for you on the show, or you can come on the show and speak it yourself. We also encourage comments.
Fahrusha was pleased to welcome Sharon Hatfield, author of Enchanted Ground: The Spirit Room of Jonathan Koons to “Shattered Reality Podcast”. We covered the history of Jonathan Koons as regards his career as a famous American Spiritualist during the middle of the Nineteenth Century. Fahrusha was pleased to note that the author did not decide on the veracity of Mr. Koons’ claims of physical mediumship. It is difficult enough to vet the claims of those with whom one is contemporaneous, no less the claims of those who are long gone. No one is currently alive who ever met Jonathan Koons so there are no witnesses. There does exist ample critique of this man’s seances in publications of the day, and they are both positive and negative. In addition Mr. Koons, himself, was a prolific, if opaque, writer on matters spiritual.
Jonathan Koons did not charge money to attend the seances, but did sometimes charge board to those who lodged with his family, so his motives were not influenced by personal enrichment. His entire family participated in this endeavor and he had eleven natural children and one adopted daughter, although not all lived to adulthood. One son, Nahum, was often the centerpiece of these gatherings and was considered quite gifted. Magnetic anomalies in the ground on the ridge where the seances took place just outside Athens, Ohio are believed by some to be the cause of the unusual effects produced in the Spirit Room. Others point to poltergeist activity due to the raging hormones of so many pubescent children.
We also discussed other notables of the day, including D. D. Home, the Fox Sisters, and somewhat surprisingly, John Chapman colloquially known as “Johnny Appleseed”. He was a staple character in American history texts in public schools across the US, famed for planting apple trees where ever he wandered, but few know him as the Swedenborgian spiritualist he actually was. Currently physical mediumship is looked down upon in many but not all spiritualist circles in the US, though it receives better treatment in the UK.
“Shattered Reality Podcast” appreciates all comments and “likes” on its various platforms. We respond as quickly as possible. Thanks for your participation.
Enchanted Ground: The Spirit Room of Jonathan Koons by Sharon Hatfield published by Swallow Press.
Fahrusha and Kate Valentine were happy to welcome Rich Martini, who both wrote the book FlipSide and made the film “FlipSide”, which examine the phenomena of life between lives, wherein people visit a spiritual realm between physical lives to evaluate the past life and plan the next life. The person whose work this film and book concentrates on is the late hypnotherapist Dr. Michael Newton, who passed away in September 2016.
The late Dr. Michael Newton, hypnotherapist and author of a number of books on the “life between lives” phenomena.
In the years since his making the film “FlipSide” Rich Martini has branched out into after-death communication. However for this podcast he demonstrated with Fahrusha how the life between lives process might work. This demonstration was a total departure from our usual programming. Rich is extremely enthusiastic and upbeat. Fahrusha verifies that she had seen what might amount to her “Council” in a stadium-like setting on several deep meditations at the Monroe Institute and elsewhere. We at SRP would like to know what our listeners think about the process that Rich Martini took Fahrusha through. She did exactly what he told her at the beginning and said the first thing that came into her mind. Does this constitute proof? Our jury is out. We would like to know your opinion on this.
Fahrusha found out about Life Between Lives therapy through a client who was quite taken with it. Several years ago she read one of his books and listened to an audio from the Michael Newton Institute and she thought the idea was fascinating but frightening. She didn’t want to die and have to go to school in the afterlife. She didn’t want to come back to play parts on Earth. Having studied the works of Robert Monroe rather thoroughly, she worried that if she might be caught in what Monroe called “the belief system territories”. That references the idea that one goes to the place that one believes in after death.
In addition to FlipSide, Rich Martini’s books include It’s A Wonderful Afterlife Volumes I and II, and Hacking the Afterlife.
We were thrilled that Rich Martini came on our podcast to explain the whole process to us and as Kate Valentine opines “We are all dying to find out.” 😉
Kate Valentine and Fahrusha are pleased to welcome Dr. Phillip Davidson to “Shattered Reality Podcast.” Phil started his professional life as an IT professional and spent a number of years at a high level job in Hong Kong. When he returned to the United Kingdom, he decided to retrain and earned a PhD in Psychology. He had a keen interest in the nature of consciousness and became a grief counselor. Coincidentally, like our last guest, Dr. Milton Wainwright, Phil hails from Sheffield, England. Fahrusha had the pleasure of meeting and conversing with Phil at a Monroe Institute’s Professional Division Seminar.
Over the years of being a grief counselor he noted how many individuals he interacted with were unable to move forward after the death of a loved one, particularly if the loved one was a child. Phil takes people from the waking state of consciousness to a place where they can access their unconscious. EVT is that process. Through EVT, Enhanced Visualization Technique, people are able to leave their bodies, meet their higher selves, and communicate with their departed loved ones. Loss of body image or proprioception is key to EVT. With EVT one can stay conscious during the entire experience of exploration of the unconsciousness.
Dr. Davidson specializes in using his technique with grieving people, but psychonaut explorers can greatly benefit from EVT as well. With EVT the grieving individual can learn to communicate with the departed loved one at will and without the services of a medium. We at “Shattered Reality Podcast” like the idea of this method because it appears to bridge the gap between a person’s unconscious and the One that is all individual consciousnesses. We ourselves have not sampled EVT but would certainly like to do so.
Dr. Phillip Davidson can be contacted via email at: phillip.davidson@btinternet.com
Kate Valentine and Fahrusha are proud to welcome Leslie Kean, author of both Surviving Death: A Journalist Investigates Evidence For An Afterlifeand UFOs: Generals, Pilots and Government Officials Go on the Record , to Shattered Reality Podcast. We have a very lively discussion about the implications of a number of phenomena which suggest survival of individual consciousness after death.
Kean’s new book surveys parapsychological studies of a variety of classes of evidential experiences and introduces the reader to Kean’s own personal search for answers to the puzzle of whether consciousness survives death. There are chapters within the book authored by a variety of credible researchers who are tops in their fields. Topics include the past life experiences of young children, near death experiences (NDEs), end of life experiences, and experiences with mediums of various sorts.
If you have had an experience which suggests life after death such as communication from a recently deceased loved one or perhaps you yourself have had an NDE, and you would like to share that experience on the show, please use the contact form below:
Kate Valentine and Fahrusha welcome Dr. Penny Sartori, author of The Wisdom of Near Death Experiences. Dr. Sartori has been trained as a nurse and worked in the Intensive Therapy Unit at hospitals in Wales, UK for twenty years. During her time as a nurse she was fascinated by the death-bed experiences of patients and the near death experiences that some had. She was so intensely interested that she earned a Ph.D. in Near Death Studies. She teaches two original courses at Swansea University on the treatment of ITU patients and their spirituality.
In addition, Dr. Sartori has collected many accounts from people who have divulged their near death experiences to her. The experiences are varied but many have some attributes which are very similar. She is currently working on another book with a near death experiencer named Kelly Walsh about the transformative aspect of NDEs around the world. She has found that those patients who have had a positive near death experience are no longer afraid to die.
In this episode’s Listener Segment, Despina, added a miraculous experience she had on a Greek Island where she made a pilgrimage to the church of a local saint. She walked thirty miles in one day and had a mystical adventure.
Kate Valentine and Fahrusha warmly welcome Lisette Larkins, experiencer extraordinaire and prolific author, to Shattered Reality Podcast. Her alien encounters are numerous and filled with wise advice for those on Earth-plane.
Here at Shattered Reality we believe in giving our guests the podium to express themselves and relate their experiences. We do not criticize the experiences of others that we believe to be expressed honestly from the heart. So kindly suspend disbelief when listening to the real life experiences of a very nice fellow human being. Are you listening, materialistic debunkers and brain as the seat of consciousness advocates? She has come out of these experiences with a great amount of wisdom which rivals many a sage.
Lisette Larkins is the author of five books, the latest of which is Above and Beyond, the Incredible True Story of Extraterrestrial Contact. Lisette has graciously and generously offered to gift three listeners with a three book set of her books. In order to be considered for this contest you, dear listener, must make an interesting and meaningful comment on this blog on this article about Lisette’s interview. This must be accomplished by October 10th, 2016. Winners will be announced on the first October podcast after October 10th. Winners will also be contacted by email. These prizes will be decided by the co-hosts and audio engineer of Shattered Reality Podcast and their decisions are final. Thanks also to the wonderful folks at Rainbow Ridge Books.
Larkins’ latest book Above and Beyond, the Incredible True Story of Extraterrestrial Contact
Russell Targ, renowned physicist and author, joins Kate Valentine and Fahrusha for an amazing conversation about remote viewing. This episode is a MUST listen. Shattered Reality Podcast is honored to present this psychic pioneer and his fascinating story about his seminal work in remote viewing as a contractor for several clandestine alphabet agencies.
Targ is the author of nine books. His latest The Reality of ESP: A Physicist’s Proof of Psychic Abilities he feels is most complete, partially due to the fact that he was able to include both photos and information that were previously, but no longer, classified. He is also the producer of a new film titled Third Eye Spies which is due for release at the end of the year. Fahrusha has seen two iterations of the film in progress and hails it as an important historical document and a gripping narrative of psychic espionage. The award-winning director of the film is Lance Mungia.
One quote from the movie’s home page sums up Russell Targ’s point of view about remote viewing, “The CIA, NSA and DIA used it, your tax dollars paid for it, and now you deserve to know about it.”
An example of Pat Price’s remote viewing of a Russian gantry crane. Courtesy ofRussell Targ.
Russell Targ and Fahrusha at the 2016 SSE Symposium (courtesy of Rosanna Schaffer-Shaw)
P.M.H. Atwater near-death researcher and experiencer and prolific author.
Near-death researcher and experiencer P.M.H. Atwater explains the ins and outs of the near death experience to Kate and Fahrusha. What are the aftereffects of the experience? What different types of experiences are there? Some people go for prolonged periods without breathing but suffer no brain damage. Often experiencers report seeing religious figures from a religion other than their own. Unpleasant experiences (hellish) are reported but are not necessarily considered “bad” but rather instructive or helpful.
P.M.H. Atwater is the author of a number of excellent books. The book on which we focused in this episode was: Near-Death Experiences, The Rest of the Story, however she is a prolific author, with many other worthwhile titles to her credit.
We here at “Shattered Reality Podcast” welcome your feedback and suggestions asd well as your accounts of paranormal experience
Shattered Reality! 