Hacking the Afterlife Holiday Edition; Jennifer Shaffer, Luana Anders talk to people offstage about the coming year!

Welcome to the podcast Hacking the Afterlife. I tend to put information here that gives context to the podcast. In that vein, for those unfamiliar with what we're doing: At what point in time is it okay to ask recently deceased people questions on the flipside? When is too soon? When is it inappropriate? Some context: as a filmmaker, I’ve written and or directed 10 feature films, made a number of documentaries about the afterlife, and have spoken at UVA Medical school DOPS regarding how the footage shows consciousness is not confined to the brain. Jennifer Shaffer works with law enforcement agencies nationwide on missing person cases. I’ve interviewed some of those agents from the FBI, LAPD (NYPD) who work with her on a daily basis. A third of her practice is pro bono work with law enforcement. She also works with a number of people who knew Rob and Michelle, and the families of Kobe Bryant and Steve Jobs have allowed her to mention that she works with them. Ten years ago, I began working with Jennifer - we met for lunch and have been talking since then. The past five years on our podcast. Our moderator on the flipside is Luana Anders - who worked with Rob Reiner in the film THE LAST DETAIL. Luana died in my arms, and began visiting me not long after (back in 1996). It took me until 2004 to investigate how it was possible she could communicate with me - and upon meeting Jennifer I realized I could have conversations with her. And indeed - we’ve been doing that nonstop for over ten years. Luana was in many films - worked with Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson and others - and in my case, I worked with Ray Charles in the film LIMIT UP where he plays “God.” The point is that it’s “six degrees of separation.” If Luana knows someone, or I worked with someone, it’s easier for us to verify those details. I knew Penny Marshall, we did a gig together once, I appeared on Laverne and Shirley once (cutting room floor because Harry Dean Stanton’s song went long.) So when this question is asked; “Are you going to be speaking to Rob and Michelle soon?” it comes from the couple of hundred interviews we have on the podcast HACKING THE AFTERLIFE on YouTube. In terms of our podcast, people tend to miss the notion that we aren’t in charge of the guest list. Since Jennifer and I have begun to talk to the flipside, it’s really up to Luana Anders to decide who is “ready to be interviewed.” In terms of how that works, sometimes I “hear” a voice from someone I knew or know - and when that happens, I’ll say to myself “Well, if this person wants to show up for a conversation, they know where to find us.” And then - since Jennifer and I have been doing that for over the past ten years, frequently I’ll show up for a meeting with her - and she’ll say “so and so is here.” That has happened more often than I can recall. I can report that I heard Robert Kennedy’s voice one day saying “I understand you’re the person I need to speak with to get a message to my family.” I had the presence of mind to not judge that I heard his distinct voice - and said to him; “Actually I’m not the guy, you need to find Luana.” The next day I went to meet with Jennifer and she said before I could say anything; “Robert Kennedy is here.” The other day during the Frank Gehry interview, I heard his voice (or had the impression of hearing his voice) saying “Yes, I’ll be on your podcast.” And not believing that it was actually him and not my imagination, I said to him “Well, we met through Sally Kellerman, so if you do want to speak to us, Sally should show up and I’ll know it’s you.” And during that podcast, at first Jennifer said “Luana says you have someone” and then said “Hot Lips is here.” (Sally Kellerman’s role in the film MASH.) So I knew that Frank was available to converse. In this case, we have spoken to Rob Reiner’s ex, Penny whom I was pals with. When she crossed over, we have a conversation with the one and only. We’ve also interview Garry Marshall, whom I knew when he was still on the planet - so it wasn’t hard for us to connect with Penny. Generally - what we’ve learned recently is that Luana Anders is teaching a class in the flipside in how to communicate with us. The class - is large. We’ve spoken to quite a few people in the past ten years. So all that being said, I was wondering if we’d be speaking to Rob and his wife Michelle this week. A friend of mine who has done a guided meditation session with me said “I have the feeling you’re going to be speaking to Rob Reiner this week.” I said “It may be too soon - but I have to be open to whomever does show up.” In other words - I know how tragic the event is, I know how raw his friends feel - and some of them I know well enough to say that I know they’d be upset to hear that we were inviting him to our podcast. This week - I’m about to post it - he does show up. I ask Luana “Who ...