Another mind bending podcast. We begin with a discussion of the article South Bay Magazine did about Jennifer "Open Mind" in their October 2024 issue.  It's a well written article and a link can be found on Jennifer's website (JenniferShaffer.com) Jennifer mentioned the book "Tuesdays with Morrie" - odd for her to do so as I just read it last week (without mentioning it).  It allowed me to reminisce a bit about my film "Portrait of Julian Baird" which is on the podcast "Hacking the Afterlife" page about my old professor at BU> Then Luana brought for an actor to speak to us - we couldn't guess who it was until it dawned on me (or heard from Luana) that it was an actor who played a role of a pilot in a movie, and that movie was an analogy for what we're doing here. For me, personally, that could only be the "higher self" of the great actor Richard Dreyfuss. Before anyone freaks out - Richard is alive and well, and I saw him talking about the hurricane on Facebook yesterday. But there is this unusual aspect of the research that is mentioned... that is that we exist prior to coming onstage, we plan the journey but only bring a portion of our conscious energy to the stage, and the rest is back home. There's no way to prove this is actually Richard speaking other than for Richard to do his own session with Jennifer, or a medium he knows, or using a hypnotherapist or doing guided meditation. I know that Robert Towne spoke often to Jennifer, I know that he learned new information from his dog Hira during those conversations - information only Hira could have known, that demonstrated to the skeptical Robert that the only logical reason she could know these things was if Hira still existed. And he made me promise to interview him on the flipside.  I recall when he asked me - I thought it was the most unusual request I've ever had - but we did so. And if one looks through the recent podcasts, or since he departed the planet, they'll see some interesting conversations with the Oscar winning screenwriter. But it's poignant that the topic was introduced in the way it was - because the Steven Spielberg film ALWAYS was about eternal love, about a pilot who dies while fighting fires, and comes back to help his grieving girlfriend played by Holly Hunter. Jennifer is recalling the performance of "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" by the late JD Souther (who passed just a few days ago).  In the film there's a recording of him singing that love song while Richard and Holly Hunter dance. But again - if it really is Richard's higher self showing up, it's a profound insight into how things work. Jennifer mentions the conversation we had with my friend's father Jack Tracey (there's a link on the RichMartini.com page to that article that was published on Medium.com - just search for Jack Tracey and my name to read what he had to say. Jack had dementia and was in hospice care - but he clearly recalled knowing me and discussed what it was like for him - waiting to depart. In this, the topic is about how love never dies, and that our loved ones are always available - and that we can actually access the "higher self" of an individual if need be. The "higher self" is reportedly the conscious energy (soul) of an individual that is "always back home." People in the research report that we bring only a portion of our conscious energy to a lifetime - the average is between 20 and 40% - and the rest is "always home." So when we lose a loved one - as happens in the film ALWAYS, those individuals are available to us when we need them. And it was a surprise to hear it from someone who is still very much on the planet. So apologies to those who could be offended or disconcerted by this information - but no ill intent is intended here.  We're reporting what people say from the flipside. As noted, Jennifer works with law enforcement agencies daily, members of the FBI, NYPD have worked with her, and I've been filming people talking to the flipside for fifteen yea