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

Hacking The Afterlife podcast

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.