1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:03,480 Speaker 1: And you're here. Thanks for choosing the iHeartRadio and Coast 2 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:06,760 Speaker 1: to Ghost Day and Paranormal Podcast Network. Your quest for 3 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:10,640 Speaker 1: podcasts of the paranormal, supernatural, and the unexplained ends here. 4 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: They invite you to enjoy all our shows we have 5 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:16,440 Speaker 1: on this network, and right now, let's start with Chase 6 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 1: of the Afterlife with Sandra Champlain. 7 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:25,200 Speaker 2: Welcome to our podcast. Please be aware the thoughts and 8 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:29,280 Speaker 2: opinions expressed by the host are their thoughts and opinions 9 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:34,520 Speaker 2: only and do not reflect those of iHeartMedia, iHeartRadio, Coast 10 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:38,960 Speaker 2: to Coast, AM employees of Premiere Networks, or their sponsors 11 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:42,159 Speaker 2: and associates. We would like to encourage you to do 12 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:45,840 Speaker 2: your own research and discover the subject matter for yourself. 13 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: Hi. 14 00:00:53,159 --> 00:00:57,200 Speaker 2: I'm Sandra Champlain. For over twenty five years, I've been 15 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:00,720 Speaker 2: on a journey to prove the existence of life after death. 16 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:04,840 Speaker 2: On each episode, we'll discuss the reasons we now know 17 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:09,040 Speaker 2: that our loved ones have survived physical death and so 18 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:13,560 Speaker 2: will we welcome to Shades of the Afterlife. What is 19 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:18,160 Speaker 2: the biggest, most profound question we can ask as human beings. 20 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:24,480 Speaker 2: For centuries, philosophers, spiritual leaders, and scientists have all wrestled 21 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:29,119 Speaker 2: with it. What is consciousness? Is it just an accident 22 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:32,880 Speaker 2: of biology, a trick of the brain's complex wiring that 23 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:37,520 Speaker 2: simply powers down when our bodies die. Or is it 24 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:41,320 Speaker 2: something more? Is it the very source of our reality 25 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:46,040 Speaker 2: and eternal essence that exists beyond the limits of our 26 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 2: physical selves. Today, we're going to dive deep into that 27 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:54,040 Speaker 2: very question of consciousness, and we're going to do it 28 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 2: through the eyes of someone who has stood firmly on 29 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 2: both sides of the debate. Our journey begins the secret 30 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:06,160 Speaker 2: one held for years by a brilliant neuroscientist and medical doctor, 31 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 2: a woman who had spent her entire life in the 32 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 2: world of logic, data and the provable material world. She 33 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:16,960 Speaker 2: was a person who is part of medical teams that 34 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:21,079 Speaker 2: had locked people up for saying things that she herself 35 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:25,560 Speaker 2: would later experience. Her story is one of profound loss, 36 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:29,280 Speaker 2: of a world shattered by grief, and of a series 37 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:34,080 Speaker 2: of unexplainable events that forced her to question everything she 38 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:37,680 Speaker 2: thought she knew as a scientist. It's a journey that 39 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:41,200 Speaker 2: took her from the sterile logic of a hospital to 40 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 2: the mysterious frontier of spirit communication. She went looking for answers, 41 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 2: and she says, now she is one hundred percent certain 42 00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:56,799 Speaker 2: that communication after death is possible. So get ready, because 43 00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:59,800 Speaker 2: this is the story of doctor Ta Swart, and it 44 00:02:59,880 --> 00:03:04,400 Speaker 2: is a powerful testament that sometimes the greatest truths are 45 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 2: found not by looking through a microscope, but by looking 46 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 2: deep within our own hearts. Doctor Swart is a neuroscientist 47 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:17,919 Speaker 2: and a medical doctor who specialized in psychiatry. Her entire 48 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:22,360 Speaker 2: life and career were built on the foundation of science. 49 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:27,519 Speaker 2: She understood the brain, its chemistry, its electrical signals, and 50 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:31,880 Speaker 2: its pathologies. She was a person who could diagnose mental illnesses, 51 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:35,240 Speaker 2: who understood the line between a healthy mind and a 52 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 2: mind in psychosis. In her world, if something couldn't be measured, studied, 53 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:45,040 Speaker 2: and replicated, it was not real. The idea of a 54 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 2: soul or consciousness existing outside the physical brain was a fantasy, 55 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 2: a topic for religion, not for science, she says. Then 56 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:59,520 Speaker 2: her world of logic and order was completely shattered. She 57 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 2: lost her beloved husband, Robin, to leukemia, just two days 58 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:08,840 Speaker 2: before their fourth wedding anniversary. The loss was, of course 59 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:13,560 Speaker 2: absolute and devastating. As she said herself, everything she believed 60 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:17,400 Speaker 2: in had gone wrong. She was totally lost and broken. 61 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:21,360 Speaker 2: She was reading condolence cards on what should have been 62 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:25,040 Speaker 2: a day of celebration for her. She credits the fortress 63 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:28,599 Speaker 2: of friends and family around her with her very survival 64 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:32,360 Speaker 2: in those earliest of days. But in the midst of 65 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:37,359 Speaker 2: this profound grief, something strange started to happen. She began 66 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:41,000 Speaker 2: seeing robins in her garden every single time she went 67 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:44,040 Speaker 2: to the window. Not just one or two, but an 68 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 2: unusual noticeable number of them. She had never seen so 69 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:53,320 Speaker 2: many robins in her life before or after. Her logical 70 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:56,920 Speaker 2: mind immediately tried to explain it away. Of course, that's 71 00:04:56,920 --> 00:04:59,760 Speaker 2: what I want to see, she thought. Her husband's name 72 00:04:59,839 --> 00:05:02,839 Speaker 2: was Robin. It had to be a coincidence, a mind 73 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:06,520 Speaker 2: trying to find meaning where there was none. Then, about 74 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 2: six weeks after he passed away, the strange occurrences became 75 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:14,960 Speaker 2: impossible to ignore. One night, around four in the morning, 76 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:19,200 Speaker 2: she was jolted awake by a massive thump to her shoulder. 77 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 2: As she described it, it wasn't a gentle tap, it 78 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:27,440 Speaker 2: was a forceful physical blow. Startled, she opened her eyes, 79 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:31,560 Speaker 2: and there next to her in bed, she saw him. 80 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:35,919 Speaker 2: It was a vague, hazy version of her husband Robin 81 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:40,320 Speaker 2: as if he were pushing himself through a thick fog, 82 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:44,600 Speaker 2: just trying to be seen. She was transfixed, watching in 83 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:48,640 Speaker 2: a state between shock and awe. She saw him become 84 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:52,120 Speaker 2: clearer and clearer, the outline of his hair and his 85 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:57,840 Speaker 2: face becoming recognizable. Then, just as suddenly, he dissolved from 86 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 2: the top down, and she shrieked out loud as she 87 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:07,560 Speaker 2: saw his shins and feet disappear. Last, what does a neuroscientist, 88 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 2: a psychiatrist, a medical doctor do with an experience like that? 89 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:17,160 Speaker 2: Her two worlds were at war. The scientist in her 90 00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:22,520 Speaker 2: knew that this was a classic grief induced hallucination. The 91 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:26,280 Speaker 2: grieving wife in her new with every fiber of her 92 00:06:26,360 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 2: being that she had just seen her husband. In her desperation, 93 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 2: she did what she called the kind of thing that crazy, 94 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:39,240 Speaker 2: desperate people do. She consulted a couple of mediums, but 95 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:43,480 Speaker 2: she was not impressed. The information was general, vague and 96 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:49,479 Speaker 2: offered none of the specific, evidential proof her scientific mind craved. 97 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:53,560 Speaker 2: The experience left her feeling even more alone. But it 98 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:57,000 Speaker 2: was in that moment of disappointment that a new powerful 99 00:06:57,080 --> 00:07:00,839 Speaker 2: thought emerged, a thought that would change which the course 100 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:05,120 Speaker 2: of her life. She thought, if it's possible to communicate 101 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:09,120 Speaker 2: with someone that's passed away, and he was my husband 102 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:13,440 Speaker 2: and my best friend, and I am all about optimizing 103 00:07:13,440 --> 00:07:17,600 Speaker 2: my brain and expanding my consciousness, then I should be 104 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:21,840 Speaker 2: able to do it myself. That single thought was the 105 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:24,920 Speaker 2: start of her journey, a deep dive into the rabbit 106 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 2: hole of consciousness, quantum physics, and ancient wisdom, all in 107 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 2: a quest to find a scientific framework for the impossible 108 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:38,560 Speaker 2: thing that was happening to her. Her journey began not 109 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:43,920 Speaker 2: with blind faith, but with a hypothesis. As she explained it, 110 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:47,440 Speaker 2: it was like two people who speak different languages needing 111 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:52,240 Speaker 2: to learn a new shared language to communicate. She believed 112 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:55,920 Speaker 2: that both she here on earth and her husband Robin, 113 00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:59,240 Speaker 2: in the spirit world had to learn how to bridge 114 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 2: that vibrationational gap. As a scientist, She started by observing 115 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:08,000 Speaker 2: the data of her own experience, and so began her 116 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:12,920 Speaker 2: training her going to the gym to build her spiritual muscles. 117 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:16,800 Speaker 2: She began to ask for specific signs and got them 118 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:20,560 Speaker 2: first over a period of time, and then with practice, 119 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:25,040 Speaker 2: almost instantly, she learned to trust that inner voice to 120 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:28,720 Speaker 2: differentiate between her own thoughts and the loving messages from 121 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:32,040 Speaker 2: her husband. She had found the answer she was looking for, 122 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:36,000 Speaker 2: and she is now, as a neuroscientist and medical doctor, 123 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:40,560 Speaker 2: one hundred percent sure that it is possible to communicate 124 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:44,320 Speaker 2: with someone who has passed away. Doctor schwartz journey is 125 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:48,360 Speaker 2: so powerful because it wasn't unique. She follows in the 126 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:51,959 Speaker 2: footsteps of other brave scientists who are forced by their 127 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:57,040 Speaker 2: own experiences to question the rigid materialism of their profession. 128 00:08:57,480 --> 00:09:01,319 Speaker 2: Take the story of doctor Marjorie Woollcott. Like doctor Swartz, 129 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:05,240 Speaker 2: she was a neuroscientist, a professor who had spent decades 130 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:08,439 Speaker 2: studying the brain. As a young student, she had hoped 131 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:11,200 Speaker 2: to find where the soul resided in the human body, 132 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:14,959 Speaker 2: but her professors convinced her it was a silly question. 133 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:19,640 Speaker 2: She then became a materialist. Then, at the age of thirty, 134 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:23,840 Speaker 2: she went to a meditation retreat, and during a deep meditation, 135 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:28,400 Speaker 2: she had a profound spiritual awakening. She felt a divine 136 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:34,079 Speaker 2: consciousness that was vast, loving, and completely independent of her 137 00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:38,960 Speaker 2: physical body. She knew with a certainty that went deeper 138 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:44,080 Speaker 2: than any scientific fact, that consciousness existed beyond the brain, 139 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:47,280 Speaker 2: but she was terrified to speak about it. It was 140 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:51,080 Speaker 2: in the nineteen seventies, and she knew that sharing her 141 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:55,440 Speaker 2: experience with her scientific colleagues could end her career. For 142 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:58,920 Speaker 2: over thirty years, she lived a double life, the rigorous 143 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:03,000 Speaker 2: neuroscientist in the lab and a spiritual seeker in private. 144 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:07,040 Speaker 2: It wasn't until she was nearing retirement that she felt 145 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:10,960 Speaker 2: finally safe enough to come out of the closet and 146 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:16,120 Speaker 2: write her incredible book, Infinite Awareness, bridging the gap between 147 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:20,120 Speaker 2: her two worlds. And these two brilliant women are not alone. 148 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:23,680 Speaker 2: They follow in the footsteps of other brave scientists. Take 149 00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:26,480 Speaker 2: the story of doctor Alan Hugueno, a man with a 150 00:10:26,559 --> 00:10:30,920 Speaker 2: doctorate of science and mechanical engineering and a nationally recognized 151 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:36,400 Speaker 2: expert in physics. In nineteen seventy, after devastating motorcycle accident, 152 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:40,200 Speaker 2: he had a profound near death experience rejourneyed to a 153 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:43,920 Speaker 2: realm of pure light and unconditional love. He tried to 154 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:47,960 Speaker 2: explain this experience to the hospital psychiatrist, but they told 155 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:52,360 Speaker 2: him he was delusional. For years, he kept his story quiet, 156 00:10:52,679 --> 00:10:56,280 Speaker 2: building a successful career in science and engineering, all the 157 00:10:56,320 --> 00:11:01,520 Speaker 2: while knowing that a greater reality existed. Like Swarden, doctor Woollcott, 158 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:04,760 Speaker 2: it was only later in life that he could integrate 159 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:09,560 Speaker 2: his scientific knowledge with his spiritual experience, and now he 160 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:15,640 Speaker 2: works as a research medium with top universities. Doctor Rupert Sheldrake, 161 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:20,520 Speaker 2: author of the book The Science Delusion, argues that science 162 00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:24,760 Speaker 2: is being held back by centuries old assumptions that have 163 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:30,960 Speaker 2: hardened into dogmas. And cognitive scientist doctor Donald Hoffman, author 164 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:35,319 Speaker 2: of the book The Case Against Reality, applies this concept 165 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:40,800 Speaker 2: to the whole of human consciousness. How we see, think, feel, 166 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:47,040 Speaker 2: and interact all impacts the world around us. The journeys 167 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:51,000 Speaker 2: of these scientists all point to the same revolutionary conclusion. 168 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:55,160 Speaker 2: The brain does not create consciousness. It is a filter. 169 00:11:55,679 --> 00:11:59,400 Speaker 2: It is a radio receiver tuning into a consciousness that 170 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:03,240 Speaker 2: is vast, eternal, and all around us. This one idea 171 00:12:03,440 --> 00:12:07,760 Speaker 2: changes everything. It means that the experiences of mediums, the 172 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:11,959 Speaker 2: visions of the dying, the impossible knowledge from near death experiences, 173 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:14,840 Speaker 2: they're not tricks of the brain. They're moments when the 174 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:18,440 Speaker 2: filter is simply turned down, allowing us to glimpse the 175 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:21,880 Speaker 2: greater reality that has always been there. Coming up in 176 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:25,920 Speaker 2: our next segments, we'll hear the specific mind bending signs 177 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:29,800 Speaker 2: A doctor Tara Swart asked her husband for and how 178 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:32,480 Speaker 2: they appeared in her life. Will dive deep into the 179 00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:35,959 Speaker 2: idea of the brain being a filter and learn what 180 00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:41,160 Speaker 2: this confirmation bias is all about. We'll explore the surprising 181 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:45,320 Speaker 2: importance of gut health to receive our own messages from spirit, 182 00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:49,000 Speaker 2: and finally, we will tackle the biggest question of them all, 183 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:53,240 Speaker 2: what is consciousness. We'll be right back. You're listening to 184 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:57,000 Speaker 2: Shades of the Afterlife on the iHeartRadio and Coast to 185 00:12:57,080 --> 00:13:24,560 Speaker 2: Coast AM paranormal podcast at work. Welcome back to Shades 186 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:28,120 Speaker 2: of the Afterlife. I'm Sandra Champlain. In our last segment, 187 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:31,680 Speaker 2: we heard the incredible story of doctor Terra Swart, a 188 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:36,360 Speaker 2: neuroscientist and psychiatrist, who, after the devastating loss of her 189 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:41,400 Speaker 2: husband Robin, was confronted with experiences that defied her entire 190 00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:45,960 Speaker 2: scientific worldview. She saw him in her room, received signs, 191 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:51,160 Speaker 2: and made the brave decision to investigate the possibility of communication, 192 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:54,920 Speaker 2: not with blind faith, but with the rigor of a scientist. 193 00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:58,280 Speaker 2: This decision plunged her into one of the most difficult 194 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:02,680 Speaker 2: and terrifying dilemmas a person of her profession could ever face. 195 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:05,920 Speaker 2: It forced her to confront the very nature of the brain, 196 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:10,679 Speaker 2: of grief and of reality itself. Her journey provides a 197 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:14,520 Speaker 2: fascinating look at the science of a grieving brain and 198 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:18,960 Speaker 2: leads us back to that powerful central question, is the 199 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:23,680 Speaker 2: brain a creator or is it a filter? As a scientist, 200 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:27,960 Speaker 2: doctor Swart began by observing the data of her own experience, 201 00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:30,960 Speaker 2: and the first thing she noticed was that her body 202 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:34,240 Speaker 2: seemed to have a memory all of its own, a 203 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:37,880 Speaker 2: memory that was deeper and more primal than her conscious thoughts. 204 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:41,760 Speaker 2: Months after Robin passed, she was preparing for the first 205 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:44,720 Speaker 2: anniversary of his death. She was trying to be strong 206 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:48,360 Speaker 2: to mentally prepare for the wave of grief she knew 207 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:52,080 Speaker 2: was coming. But a few weeks before the anniversary, on 208 00:14:52,120 --> 00:14:56,240 Speaker 2: October fourth, her body was suddenly racked with aches and pains. 209 00:14:56,680 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 2: The pain was so intense that even a gentle massag 210 00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:03,720 Speaker 2: was unbearable. She had no idea what was happening. She 211 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:07,000 Speaker 2: was also hit with a wave of depression so heavy 212 00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:11,320 Speaker 2: that she, a trained psychiatrist, had to look in the 213 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:15,400 Speaker 2: mirror and go through the clinical criteria to see if 214 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:19,880 Speaker 2: she was having a breakdown. Confused and in pain, she 215 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:22,880 Speaker 2: looked back through the calendar on her phone, and then 216 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:26,880 Speaker 2: she saw it. October fourth was that exact day, one 217 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:30,480 Speaker 2: year earlier that she had brought her husband home from 218 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:34,480 Speaker 2: the hospital to die. Her conscious mind had not yet 219 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:39,520 Speaker 2: registered the date, but as she said, her body had remembered. 220 00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:43,360 Speaker 2: This led her to explore the work of scientists like 221 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:48,000 Speaker 2: Besil Vanderkolk, author of the famous book The Body Keeps 222 00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:51,720 Speaker 2: the Score. This is the idea that trauma isn't just 223 00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:55,320 Speaker 2: a memory in our mind, It's an imprint stored in 224 00:15:55,400 --> 00:15:59,160 Speaker 2: the very tissues of our body. Doctor Swart explained that 225 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:02,800 Speaker 2: there's even a part of the brain responsible for speech 226 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:06,200 Speaker 2: that gets shut down by trauma. This is why we 227 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:10,040 Speaker 2: have phrases like I'm speechless or I have no words. 228 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:14,240 Speaker 2: There are some experiences so profound that they can't be 229 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:18,479 Speaker 2: processed through talking alone. They have to be released physically, 230 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:23,560 Speaker 2: through bodywork, dance, or even crying. This understanding that there 231 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:27,800 Speaker 2: was a consciousness in her body, a cellular memory that 232 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:32,040 Speaker 2: was operating independently of her mind, was the first crack 233 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:36,640 Speaker 2: in her purely materialistic worldview. It opened her up to 234 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:40,600 Speaker 2: the idea of a deeper, more mysterious level of our being. 235 00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:45,240 Speaker 2: Her next experience was even more unsettling. For weeks after 236 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:48,760 Speaker 2: Robin's passing, she would wake up in the morning freezing cold, 237 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:52,480 Speaker 2: shivering so violently she would have to blast the heat on. 238 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:56,120 Speaker 2: She later realized the room was like a sauna to 239 00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:59,560 Speaker 2: anyone else. It was only later that she made the 240 00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:04,680 Speaker 2: connection her husband always had hated the cold, and during 241 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:08,720 Speaker 2: those exact weeks his body would have been refrigerated in 242 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:13,000 Speaker 2: a drawer in the morgue. Again, her logical mind could 243 00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:16,879 Speaker 2: have dismissed it, but the feeling was too real, too specific. 244 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:20,639 Speaker 2: It was a strange and unsettling form of clare sentience, 245 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:24,240 Speaker 2: the ability to feel something at a distance. It was 246 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:27,680 Speaker 2: as if her own body's filter was breaking down, allowing 247 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:31,040 Speaker 2: her to tune into the physical state of her husband's 248 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:35,320 Speaker 2: body miles away. It was another piece of data that 249 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:40,280 Speaker 2: simply didn't fit. But the most challenging and terrifying experience 250 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:44,000 Speaker 2: for her as a psychiatrist was what came next. She 251 00:17:44,119 --> 00:17:48,639 Speaker 2: began to experience something called thought insertion. This is a 252 00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:53,600 Speaker 2: classic textbook symptom of schizophrenia, where a person has thoughts 253 00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:57,760 Speaker 2: in their head that they know with absolute certainty are 254 00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:01,560 Speaker 2: not their own. Imagine that terror of that here she 255 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:04,360 Speaker 2: was a medical doctor who had been part of teams 256 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:09,119 Speaker 2: that had institutionalized people, had them medicated against their will 257 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:12,639 Speaker 2: for describing this very symptom, and now it was happening 258 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:16,800 Speaker 2: to her. The thoughts were not her own. They were loving, 259 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:20,159 Speaker 2: they were reassuring, and they felt like they were coming 260 00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:24,719 Speaker 2: from her husband. But the experience itself was a direct 261 00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:28,480 Speaker 2: challenge to her sanity. This is the ultimate test for 262 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:31,919 Speaker 2: a person of science. Do you follow your training and 263 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:36,119 Speaker 2: label your own experience as a pathology, a sign that 264 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:39,320 Speaker 2: your brain is breaking down under immense stress or grief, 265 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:44,800 Speaker 2: or do you entertain another more radical possibility that you 266 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:48,600 Speaker 2: are not going insane, but you are in fact opening 267 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:52,119 Speaker 2: up a new form of communication, that your brain's filter, 268 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:57,359 Speaker 2: weakened by trauma and love, is now allowing you to 269 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:03,560 Speaker 2: perceive something that has been there all along. Doctor Terraswart 270 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:06,639 Speaker 2: chose the latter. She chose to be a true scientist, 271 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:10,400 Speaker 2: to follow the data of her own experience, even when 272 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:13,840 Speaker 2: it led her far beyond the boundaries of the known world. 273 00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:18,040 Speaker 2: She chose to believe that what she was experiencing was 274 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:21,960 Speaker 2: not a symptom of psychosis, but a true connection with 275 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:26,479 Speaker 2: her husband. This led her to the revolutionary conclusion that 276 00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:30,200 Speaker 2: has been echoed by so many other scientists and near 277 00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:34,560 Speaker 2: death experiencers who have glimpsed the other side. The brain 278 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:38,119 Speaker 2: is not the creator of the mind. The brain is 279 00:19:38,119 --> 00:19:42,400 Speaker 2: a filter. As she put it, the brain actually filters 280 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:46,040 Speaker 2: down the capability of the mind so that we can 281 00:19:46,119 --> 00:19:51,440 Speaker 2: exist on this material plane. The one idea changes everything. 282 00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:55,719 Speaker 2: It means that our true consciousness is vast and unlimited. 283 00:19:56,320 --> 00:19:59,639 Speaker 2: It means that in our normal waking state, we are 284 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:04,240 Speaker 2: only perceiving a tiny fraction of reality. Our brain's job 285 00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:07,640 Speaker 2: is to filter out the rest so we can focus 286 00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:11,199 Speaker 2: on the tasks of earthly life. But in moments of 287 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:17,760 Speaker 2: intense love, deep meditation, or profound grief, that filter can loosen, 288 00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:21,560 Speaker 2: The walls of our perception can become thin, and we 289 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:25,320 Speaker 2: can get a glimpse of the greater conscious universe that 290 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:28,560 Speaker 2: we are part of. This is why a grieving mother 291 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:32,280 Speaker 2: can suddenly smell her son's favorite cologne in a room 292 00:20:32,680 --> 00:20:36,600 Speaker 2: where it couldn't possibly be. It's why a father sees 293 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:40,760 Speaker 2: a specific, meaningful bird tap on his window the morning 294 00:20:40,880 --> 00:20:45,200 Speaker 2: after his daughter passes. It's why doctor Swart could feel 295 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:48,480 Speaker 2: the cold of the morgue and hear her husband's thoughts 296 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:52,359 Speaker 2: in her mind, It's not a broken brain, it is 297 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:56,600 Speaker 2: an open filter. This scientific model, the idea of the 298 00:20:56,640 --> 00:21:01,200 Speaker 2: brain as a receiver, provides a logical framework for all 299 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:04,800 Speaker 2: the phenomena we talk about on this show. It honors 300 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:09,639 Speaker 2: the reality of these experiences without dismissing the science of 301 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:15,679 Speaker 2: the brain. It suggests that science and spirituality are not 302 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:20,040 Speaker 2: at war. They have just been describing the same mystery 303 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:24,720 Speaker 2: from two different sides of the veil. Doctor Schwartz's journey 304 00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:28,600 Speaker 2: into this mystery led her to explore the fascinating link 305 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:34,200 Speaker 2: between creativity, mental health, and spiritual openness. In her research, 306 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:40,800 Speaker 2: she came across a concept called shared trait vulnerability. It 307 00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:45,199 Speaker 2: shows that there is a high correlation between creativity and 308 00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:50,040 Speaker 2: certain mental health challenges. She explains that this is because 309 00:21:50,119 --> 00:21:55,040 Speaker 2: both creative geniuses and people struggling with their mental health 310 00:21:55,640 --> 00:22:00,760 Speaker 2: share a similar brain trait, a loose filter. This is 311 00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:05,760 Speaker 2: what scientists call low latent inhibition. It means their brains 312 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:09,840 Speaker 2: allow more information from the outside world to come through 313 00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:14,200 Speaker 2: things that most of us would normally filter out as irrelevant. 314 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:18,879 Speaker 2: For someone with a very high IQ and mental flexibility, 315 00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:23,240 Speaker 2: this loose filter is the source of creative genius. They 316 00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:26,399 Speaker 2: can connect dots that no one else sees and come 317 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:29,639 Speaker 2: up with brilliant new ideas. But for someone with a 318 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:34,000 Speaker 2: lower IQ or less mental stability, that same flood of 319 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:38,840 Speaker 2: information can be overwhelming and lead to a psychological crisis. 320 00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:42,639 Speaker 2: Doctor Schwart realized that her grief was putting her in 321 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:46,080 Speaker 2: a vulnerable state, but it was also making her more 322 00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:51,000 Speaker 2: creative as she opened up her brain's filter. She wondered 323 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:54,640 Speaker 2: if she could consciously use this process. Could she use 324 00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:58,560 Speaker 2: creativity through art, music, or writing as a safe way 325 00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:03,560 Speaker 2: to intentionally loose that filter and become more receptive to 326 00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:08,520 Speaker 2: the subtle messages and signs from the other side. This 327 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:12,240 Speaker 2: is a revolutionary idea. It suggests that our ability to 328 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:15,720 Speaker 2: connect with the unseen world isn't just some random gift, 329 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:19,119 Speaker 2: but it is a skill that can be cultivated. It 330 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:23,119 Speaker 2: implies that by engaging our creative minds, we can strengthen 331 00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:27,560 Speaker 2: our intuition and open ourselves up to a deeper level 332 00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:31,280 Speaker 2: of consciousness. It's another powerful piece of the puzzle, a 333 00:23:31,359 --> 00:23:34,960 Speaker 2: scientific explanation for how we can learn to tune our 334 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:39,800 Speaker 2: own radio receiver to the frequencies of the spirit world. 335 00:23:40,359 --> 00:23:43,680 Speaker 2: Doctor schwartz journey through the science of her own grieving 336 00:23:43,720 --> 00:23:47,639 Speaker 2: brain led her to a place of profound understanding. She 337 00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:51,600 Speaker 2: realized that her quest was not about proving something to 338 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:55,280 Speaker 2: the outside world, but about learning a new language of 339 00:23:55,320 --> 00:24:00,240 Speaker 2: the soul, a language of signs, intuition, and love would 340 00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:04,280 Speaker 2: allow her to continue her relationship with her husband Robin 341 00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:07,600 Speaker 2: in a new way. Think of it this way. For 342 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:11,000 Speaker 2: most of her life, doctor Swart believed the brain was 343 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:15,479 Speaker 2: the radio station creating the music of consciousness itself. Her 344 00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:18,879 Speaker 2: journey forced her to consider a new reality that the 345 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:23,480 Speaker 2: brain is simply the radio receiver, a device turned to 346 00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:28,200 Speaker 2: a single frequency called everyday life. What she was discovering 347 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:32,600 Speaker 2: is that profound grief and love can act like a 348 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:37,000 Speaker 2: hand on that dial, suddenly scanning through the static and 349 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:40,639 Speaker 2: landing on other stations that are broadcasting all the time, 350 00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:45,560 Speaker 2: just beyond our normal perception. When we return from the break, 351 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:48,879 Speaker 2: we'll travel from the science of the brain to the 352 00:24:48,920 --> 00:24:52,760 Speaker 2: wisdom of the soul. We'll explore the practical ways doctor 353 00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:57,879 Speaker 2: Swart learned to open her own filter to strengthen her 354 00:24:57,920 --> 00:25:03,560 Speaker 2: intuition and to tap into the greater consciousness that surrounds us. 355 00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:06,480 Speaker 2: All there's a couple of brand new terms you'll learn 356 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:09,639 Speaker 2: that were very new to me. And we'll ask the 357 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:14,000 Speaker 2: big question, what is consciousness and where does it come from? 358 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:17,919 Speaker 2: We'll be right back. You're listening to Shades of the 359 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:23,080 Speaker 2: Afterlife on the iHeartRadio and Coast to Coast AM Paranormal 360 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:47,400 Speaker 2: Podcast Network. Welcome back to Shades of the Afterlife. I'm 361 00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:51,280 Speaker 2: Sandra Champlain. Here's the thought for you. Did you know 362 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:55,160 Speaker 2: that your brains filter, the part that keeps you focused 363 00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:59,920 Speaker 2: on the physical world, is called the reticular activating system. 364 00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:03,520 Speaker 2: It's like a bouncer at the nightclub of your mind, 365 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:08,080 Speaker 2: deciding which information gets in and which gets ignored. But 366 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:10,600 Speaker 2: what we're learning today is that we can actually make 367 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:14,560 Speaker 2: friends with the bouncer. In our last segment, we heard 368 00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:19,760 Speaker 2: the incredible stories of people whose brains filter was temporarily 369 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:23,199 Speaker 2: shut down, allowing them to have a stunning glimpse of 370 00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:28,560 Speaker 2: a greater reality. These experiences, while profound, often come through 371 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:33,760 Speaker 2: extreme circumstances, like a terrible accident, a life threatening illness, 372 00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:37,240 Speaker 2: or a radical surgery. But what if we don't have 373 00:26:37,359 --> 00:26:40,080 Speaker 2: to wait for a crisis. What if we can learn 374 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:44,439 Speaker 2: to gently and intentionally loosen our own filter to open 375 00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:48,919 Speaker 2: ourselves up to the subtle messages and the expanded awareness 376 00:26:49,119 --> 00:26:52,680 Speaker 2: that is our birthright. This is where doctor Terra swartz 377 00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:57,359 Speaker 2: journey takes a practical and empowering turn. After coming to 378 00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:01,240 Speaker 2: terms with her own unexplainable experience is she didn't just 379 00:27:01,359 --> 00:27:06,120 Speaker 2: accept them as a scientist. She began to deconstruct them. 380 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:10,359 Speaker 2: She asked the question, how does this work? And more importantly, 381 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:14,520 Speaker 2: how can we learn to do it ourselves. Her insights 382 00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:18,000 Speaker 2: offer a roadmap for anyone who wants to tap into 383 00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:22,600 Speaker 2: their own consciousness and strengthen their connection to the unseen world. 384 00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:26,679 Speaker 2: Her journey began with a simple but powerful decision to 385 00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:32,200 Speaker 2: believe that communication was possible and that she could learn 386 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:36,480 Speaker 2: the language. As she said, it's like two people who 387 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:40,040 Speaker 2: speak a different language having to learn a language that 388 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:43,560 Speaker 2: they can both speak. She realized it wasn't just about 389 00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:46,560 Speaker 2: her husband Robin, learning how to send messages from the 390 00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:51,160 Speaker 2: other side. It was about her learning how to receive them. 391 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:53,880 Speaker 2: She began to think of it like training a muscle, 392 00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:57,199 Speaker 2: like going to the gym. She started by asking for 393 00:27:57,280 --> 00:28:00,840 Speaker 2: specific signs. This is something we talk about all the 394 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:04,320 Speaker 2: time on the show, but hearing it from a neuroscientist 395 00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:08,440 Speaker 2: adds another layer of validation. She would ask her husband 396 00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:11,679 Speaker 2: in her mind to send her a sign. At first, 397 00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:13,840 Speaker 2: it might take a while for the sign to appear, 398 00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:19,000 Speaker 2: but with practice, the connection became stronger and faster, until 399 00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:24,000 Speaker 2: the signs would almost appear instantly. She shared one incredible 400 00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:26,959 Speaker 2: story about this. It was coming up on the second 401 00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:31,000 Speaker 2: anniversary of Robin's passing. She was traveling for work and 402 00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:36,560 Speaker 2: feeling particularly vulnerable. In her mind, she had an image 403 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:40,720 Speaker 2: of a phoenix rising from the flames, symbolizing her own 404 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:44,479 Speaker 2: journey of re emerging from the ashes of her grief. 405 00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:48,480 Speaker 2: So she gave Robin a challenge. She said to him, 406 00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:54,480 Speaker 2: in her mind, Darling, send me the sign of a phoenix. Now, 407 00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:57,960 Speaker 2: as a scientist, she was very clever about this. She 408 00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:03,360 Speaker 2: intentionally chose something very unusual. But she said if she 409 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:06,240 Speaker 2: had asked for a dog, she would see a dog 410 00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:10,120 Speaker 2: on the street every day, but a phoenix that was 411 00:29:10,360 --> 00:29:14,000 Speaker 2: a much higher bar. The very next day, while driving 412 00:29:14,040 --> 00:29:18,000 Speaker 2: through Chinatown in Oklahoma City, she passed a restaurant with 413 00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:23,400 Speaker 2: a huge emblazoned sign, the Phoenix Garden. It was a 414 00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:27,200 Speaker 2: direct and immediate hit, but the universe wasn't done. Her 415 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:30,800 Speaker 2: work trip was taking her through the Navajo Nation, and 416 00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:33,840 Speaker 2: her flight home to Los Angeles was scheduled for the 417 00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:39,200 Speaker 2: exact day of Robin's anniversary. Her team, knowing how important 418 00:29:39,240 --> 00:29:42,840 Speaker 2: it was for her not to miss her next engagements, 419 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:46,480 Speaker 2: had promised her a direct flight, but due to the 420 00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:50,840 Speaker 2: remote location where there were no direct flights available, she 421 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:56,160 Speaker 2: discovered her layover would be in Phoenix, Arizona. On the 422 00:29:56,200 --> 00:29:59,920 Speaker 2: anniversary of his death, she flew through a city named 423 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:03,120 Speaker 2: for the very sign she had just asked for. Now 424 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:07,400 Speaker 2: I can hear the skeptics, and doctor Swart addresses us beautifully. 425 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:12,560 Speaker 2: She talks about the concept of confirmation bias and the 426 00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:16,840 Speaker 2: brain's filtering system. It's true that when you're thinking about something, 427 00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:20,200 Speaker 2: you're more likely to notice it. If you're going on 428 00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:24,120 Speaker 2: a trip to Hawaii, you'll notice Hawaiian shirts, or if 429 00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:27,640 Speaker 2: you're buying a certain new car, you'll start seeing them everywhere. 430 00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:31,280 Speaker 2: But she says we should use this to our advantage. 431 00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:34,600 Speaker 2: The practice of asking for a sign is what she 432 00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:38,960 Speaker 2: calls the art of noticing. Our lives are passing by 433 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:42,680 Speaker 2: at one hundred miles per hour, and we are constantly 434 00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:47,560 Speaker 2: filtering out information by asking for a sign. We are 435 00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:52,560 Speaker 2: telling our brains filter that particular activating system. Hey, I 436 00:30:52,560 --> 00:30:55,800 Speaker 2: want to pay attention to this. This is important. We 437 00:30:55,840 --> 00:31:01,800 Speaker 2: are consciously directing our awareness. She suggests setting very specific 438 00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:06,160 Speaker 2: criteria to test this. For example, she might say, I 439 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:09,600 Speaker 2: need to see a button, the word button, or a 440 00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:14,600 Speaker 2: symbol of a button three times by eleven PM tomorrow. 441 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:18,040 Speaker 2: By setting these clear intentions, we are training our minds 442 00:31:18,280 --> 00:31:22,440 Speaker 2: to notice the subtle synchronicities that are happening around us 443 00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:25,520 Speaker 2: all the time. It's a powerful way to build that 444 00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:28,920 Speaker 2: muscle of belief and to see the evidence pile up 445 00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:32,120 Speaker 2: in your life. Also, and this brings us to what 446 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:35,600 Speaker 2: doctor Swart believes is the foundation for all of this, 447 00:31:36,320 --> 00:31:40,160 Speaker 2: our intuition, or what she calls our gut instinct, and 448 00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:43,480 Speaker 2: she means that quite literally. She explains that the brain 449 00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:48,040 Speaker 2: and the gut are in constant communication through a super 450 00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:52,680 Speaker 2: highway of nerves, hormones, and chemical signals. The most important 451 00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:56,560 Speaker 2: of these is the vagus nerve, a long wandering nerve 452 00:31:56,920 --> 00:32:01,080 Speaker 2: that connects the brain stem directly to our intents. This 453 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:04,280 Speaker 2: isn't just a one way street. In fact, most of 454 00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:09,440 Speaker 2: the information travels from the gut to the brain Your 455 00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:12,920 Speaker 2: gut is like a second brain and is where your deepest, 456 00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:17,120 Speaker 2: most primal wisdom is stored. That feeling of butterflies in 457 00:32:17,160 --> 00:32:20,520 Speaker 2: your stomach when you're nervous, or that deep gut feeling 458 00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:23,440 Speaker 2: that tells you something is right or wrong, that is 459 00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:28,640 Speaker 2: real biological information being sent to your brain. Doctor Schwartz 460 00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:33,040 Speaker 2: says that to sharpen our intuition and become more receptive 461 00:32:33,480 --> 00:32:38,040 Speaker 2: to spiritual signs, we must first take care of our 462 00:32:38,120 --> 00:32:42,000 Speaker 2: physical foundation, and the most direct way to influence your 463 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:47,480 Speaker 2: brain is through your gut. A healthy gut microbiome, the 464 00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:52,440 Speaker 2: trillions of good bacteria living in your intestines, reduces inflammation 465 00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:56,840 Speaker 2: throughout your body, including your brain. When your system is 466 00:32:56,880 --> 00:33:01,160 Speaker 2: in a state of balance or homeostasis, your brain has 467 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:06,280 Speaker 2: the extra resources it needs for higher mental functions, including 468 00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:11,440 Speaker 2: that expanded awareness we call intuition. This is where ancient 469 00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:18,600 Speaker 2: wisdom and modern science come together beautifully. Practices like meditation, yoga, chanting, 470 00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:22,440 Speaker 2: and even deep rhythmic breathing have been shown to have 471 00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:28,480 Speaker 2: a beneficial effect on our gut microbiome and to stimulate 472 00:33:28,560 --> 00:33:33,960 Speaker 2: the vagus nerve. Our ancestors knew this intuitively. They knew 473 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:38,280 Speaker 2: that these practices calmed the mind and opened the spirit. 474 00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:42,160 Speaker 2: Now neuroscience is showing us how it works on a 475 00:33:42,200 --> 00:33:46,480 Speaker 2: biological level. By taking care of our gut health through 476 00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:50,920 Speaker 2: good nutrition, and by engaging in these ancient calming practices, 477 00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:55,520 Speaker 2: we are physically tuning our radio receiver to be able 478 00:33:55,560 --> 00:33:59,920 Speaker 2: to pick up on the more subtle frequencies of consciousness. 479 00:34:00,880 --> 00:34:02,920 Speaker 2: For those who want to take this journey to its 480 00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:07,840 Speaker 2: deepest level, doctor Swart even explored the ancient practice of 481 00:34:08,040 --> 00:34:13,080 Speaker 2: dark retreats. This is a profound practice from Tibetan traditions 482 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:17,000 Speaker 2: where a person spends several days or even weeks in 483 00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:20,759 Speaker 2: a room or a cave in complete and total darkness. 484 00:34:21,440 --> 00:34:24,799 Speaker 2: It is the closest one can have to emulating a 485 00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:28,800 Speaker 2: near death experience. At first, the person sleeps a lot, 486 00:34:29,280 --> 00:34:32,760 Speaker 2: but after a few days the brain starts to create 487 00:34:33,120 --> 00:34:38,800 Speaker 2: its own light. People report seeing sparks, then dimly lit walls, 488 00:34:39,239 --> 00:34:45,360 Speaker 2: and eventually vivid visions of animals, deities, and spiritual beings. 489 00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:48,640 Speaker 2: They come out of the retreat with many of the 490 00:34:48,680 --> 00:34:53,920 Speaker 2: same after effects as near death experiencers, a loss of 491 00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:57,799 Speaker 2: the fear of death, a deep sense of compassion, and 492 00:34:57,880 --> 00:35:02,640 Speaker 2: a feeling of profound For life and as these near 493 00:35:02,680 --> 00:35:06,920 Speaker 2: death experiences that provide some of the most compelling scientifically 494 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:13,160 Speaker 2: documented evidence that consciousness can operate entirely outside a functioning brain. 495 00:35:13,719 --> 00:35:18,200 Speaker 2: Doctor Swart was particularly moved by thousands of cases researched 496 00:35:18,400 --> 00:35:22,760 Speaker 2: by doctor Bruce Grayson, a professor of psychiatry. He shared 497 00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:27,640 Speaker 2: one incredible story that is impossible to forget. A patient 498 00:35:27,680 --> 00:35:31,560 Speaker 2: in the ICU kept going into cardiac arrest. He had 499 00:35:31,560 --> 00:35:34,560 Speaker 2: a very close bond with his primary nurse, a young 500 00:35:34,600 --> 00:35:38,120 Speaker 2: woman in her twenties. One weekend, she had time off 501 00:35:38,600 --> 00:35:41,759 Speaker 2: and a different nurse was looking after him. The man 502 00:35:41,920 --> 00:35:46,279 Speaker 2: went into cardiac arrest again and had a near death experience. 503 00:35:46,920 --> 00:35:51,080 Speaker 2: In that state, he saw his primary nurse. She told him, 504 00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:53,680 Speaker 2: your life is an over. You have to go back 505 00:35:53,719 --> 00:35:57,280 Speaker 2: and get better, and please tell my parents I'm sorry 506 00:35:57,320 --> 00:36:01,920 Speaker 2: about the Red MG. Woke up in the ICU and 507 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:05,640 Speaker 2: told the temporary nurse what he had seen. The nurse 508 00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:09,080 Speaker 2: burst into tears and ran out of the room. A 509 00:36:09,160 --> 00:36:13,000 Speaker 2: moment later, someone else came in and explained to him 510 00:36:13,360 --> 00:36:17,680 Speaker 2: the devastating news. His primary nurse had been given a 511 00:36:17,800 --> 00:36:22,200 Speaker 2: Red MG sports car for her twenty first birthday by 512 00:36:22,239 --> 00:36:26,360 Speaker 2: her parents just days before she had taken it for 513 00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:30,520 Speaker 2: a drive, crashed into a tree and was killed instantly. 514 00:36:31,239 --> 00:36:33,600 Speaker 2: The patient had no way of knowing she was dead, 515 00:36:34,239 --> 00:36:36,919 Speaker 2: yet he saw her on the other side and came 516 00:36:36,960 --> 00:36:40,840 Speaker 2: back with a message for her parents that was impossible 517 00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:44,520 Speaker 2: for him to have known. Now you and I don't 518 00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:46,520 Speaker 2: have to go sit in a dark cave for a week. 519 00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:49,680 Speaker 2: But what all of these practices, from asking for a 520 00:36:49,760 --> 00:36:54,200 Speaker 2: sign to engaging our creativity to taking care of our 521 00:36:54,239 --> 00:36:58,440 Speaker 2: gut health teach us is that tapping into consciousness is 522 00:36:58,480 --> 00:37:02,360 Speaker 2: an active process. Yes, it's a skill we can learn, 523 00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:06,480 Speaker 2: a muscle we can build. It's about making a conscious 524 00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:11,160 Speaker 2: choice to open our filter and listen with our whole being, 525 00:37:11,640 --> 00:37:14,840 Speaker 2: with our minds, our bodies, and even our hearts to 526 00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:19,080 Speaker 2: the beautiful, loving, and ever present reality that surrounds us. 527 00:37:19,800 --> 00:37:22,680 Speaker 2: When we come back for our final segment, we will 528 00:37:22,680 --> 00:37:26,600 Speaker 2: bring this all back home. We will explore the biggest 529 00:37:26,680 --> 00:37:30,960 Speaker 2: question of all. If consciousness is not in our brains, 530 00:37:31,520 --> 00:37:34,480 Speaker 2: where is it? Could it be the very fabric of 531 00:37:34,520 --> 00:37:38,080 Speaker 2: the universe itself? And we will talk about how we 532 00:37:38,120 --> 00:37:41,719 Speaker 2: can use the power of gratitude to begin creating the 533 00:37:41,800 --> 00:37:45,960 Speaker 2: reality we most desire. We'll be right back you're listening 534 00:37:45,960 --> 00:37:49,760 Speaker 2: to Shades of the Afterlife on the iHeartRadio and Coast 535 00:37:49,800 --> 00:38:13,200 Speaker 2: to Coast AM Paranormal Podcast Network. Welcome back to Shades 536 00:38:13,239 --> 00:38:16,799 Speaker 2: of the Afterlife. I'm Sandra Champlain. Here's our final thought 537 00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:19,800 Speaker 2: for the day, in the biggest, most mind bending question 538 00:38:20,200 --> 00:38:23,920 Speaker 2: of all. If consciousness is not in our brains, then 539 00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:26,719 Speaker 2: where the heck is it? Could it be that we've 540 00:38:26,719 --> 00:38:31,200 Speaker 2: had it all backwards? Could consciousness be the creator of everything? 541 00:38:31,719 --> 00:38:35,000 Speaker 2: For centuries, science has operated on the assumption that the 542 00:38:35,040 --> 00:38:39,240 Speaker 2: physical universe is the ultimate reality. The Big Bang happened, 543 00:38:39,560 --> 00:38:43,960 Speaker 2: matter formed, planets cooled, and eventually, through a random process, 544 00:38:44,360 --> 00:38:48,200 Speaker 2: life emerged, and very late in the game, consciousness sparked 545 00:38:48,520 --> 00:38:53,560 Speaker 2: into existence as a byproduct of complex brain chemistry. In 546 00:38:53,640 --> 00:38:58,640 Speaker 2: this view, consciousness is a small, temporary accident and a vast, 547 00:38:58,920 --> 00:39:03,319 Speaker 2: unfeeling universe. But what if that's not the case. As 548 00:39:03,360 --> 00:39:07,120 Speaker 2: we heard the father of quantum theory, Max Plank, said, 549 00:39:07,560 --> 00:39:12,799 Speaker 2: I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative 550 00:39:12,960 --> 00:39:17,160 Speaker 2: from consciousness. This is a complete reversal of everything we've 551 00:39:17,160 --> 00:39:22,319 Speaker 2: been taught. It suggests that consciousness was here first. It 552 00:39:22,400 --> 00:39:27,399 Speaker 2: is the canvas upon which the entire physical world is painted. Now. 553 00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:30,800 Speaker 2: I know this can sound like a wild philosophical idea, 554 00:39:31,040 --> 00:39:33,680 Speaker 2: but it actually lines up with what modern science is 555 00:39:33,719 --> 00:39:38,240 Speaker 2: discovering about the universe. Did you know that scientists today 556 00:39:38,360 --> 00:39:42,080 Speaker 2: admit that everything we can see, every star, every galaxy, 557 00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:46,120 Speaker 2: every planet, every single thing in the entire universe makes 558 00:39:46,239 --> 00:39:50,040 Speaker 2: up only five percent of what's actually out there. The 559 00:39:50,080 --> 00:39:53,839 Speaker 2: other ninety five percent is a complete mystery. They call 560 00:39:53,880 --> 00:39:57,600 Speaker 2: it dark matter and dark energy. They know it's there 561 00:39:57,840 --> 00:40:00,960 Speaker 2: because they can see its effects, the gravity that holds 562 00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:05,160 Speaker 2: galaxies together, but they have absolutely no idea what it is. 563 00:40:05,960 --> 00:40:09,719 Speaker 2: Ninety five percent of reality is an invisible mystery to 564 00:40:09,800 --> 00:40:13,640 Speaker 2: modern science. Could our loved ones, could the afterlife? Could 565 00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:17,680 Speaker 2: the very field of consciousness itself exist in that vast 566 00:40:18,040 --> 00:40:22,719 Speaker 2: unseen reality. It's a question science can't answer yet, but 567 00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:26,240 Speaker 2: it's a powerful reminder that the material world we see 568 00:40:26,680 --> 00:40:29,239 Speaker 2: is just the tip of the iceberg. It is a 569 00:40:29,320 --> 00:40:33,759 Speaker 2: profound scientific mystery, and it's why many researchers believe we 570 00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:37,640 Speaker 2: might find the afterlife. They ask a simple question. If 571 00:40:37,760 --> 00:40:41,560 Speaker 2: ninety five percent of the universe is an invisible, energetic 572 00:40:41,640 --> 00:40:45,239 Speaker 2: reality that we can't directly perceive, why is it so 573 00:40:45,400 --> 00:40:49,000 Speaker 2: hard to imagine that consciousness and the souls of our 574 00:40:49,080 --> 00:40:53,200 Speaker 2: loved ones could exist there too. Think about the invisible 575 00:40:53,320 --> 00:40:55,719 Speaker 2: energies that are filling the room you're in right now. 576 00:40:56,320 --> 00:41:01,200 Speaker 2: Radio waves from countless stations, Wi Fi signals carrying information 577 00:41:01,440 --> 00:41:05,200 Speaker 2: from all over the world, GPS signals from satellites in space. 578 00:41:05,680 --> 00:41:09,360 Speaker 2: They are all passing through your body at this very moment, 579 00:41:09,640 --> 00:41:12,000 Speaker 2: but you can't see them and you can't feel them. 580 00:41:12,360 --> 00:41:15,000 Speaker 2: But you know they are real because you have a device, 581 00:41:15,400 --> 00:41:18,839 Speaker 2: a receiver that can tune into their frequency and make 582 00:41:18,920 --> 00:41:22,720 Speaker 2: them visible or audible. Could this spirit world be the same? 583 00:41:23,200 --> 00:41:26,440 Speaker 2: Could our loved ones be coexisting with us in this 584 00:41:26,680 --> 00:41:30,440 Speaker 2: very room, just on a different frequency and a different vibration, 585 00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:34,160 Speaker 2: And could our consciousness, our soul be the receiver of 586 00:41:34,239 --> 00:41:39,279 Speaker 2: that when tuned correctly through meditation, grief or love can 587 00:41:39,360 --> 00:41:43,160 Speaker 2: briefly pick up their signal. This is a question being 588 00:41:43,200 --> 00:41:47,120 Speaker 2: explored by a growing number of brave scientists today who 589 00:41:47,120 --> 00:41:50,720 Speaker 2: are building on the work of pioneers like Max Planck. 590 00:41:51,200 --> 00:41:55,719 Speaker 2: There is doctor Rupert Sheldrake, a biologist from Cambridge University, 591 00:41:55,920 --> 00:42:00,320 Speaker 2: who proposes the theory of morphic resonance. It's the idea 592 00:42:00,320 --> 00:42:04,000 Speaker 2: that there is a collective, invisible memory field for all 593 00:42:04,080 --> 00:42:08,120 Speaker 2: of nature. He suggests, for example, that when a crystal 594 00:42:08,200 --> 00:42:10,480 Speaker 2: forms in one part of the world, it makes it 595 00:42:10,520 --> 00:42:13,839 Speaker 2: easier for the same type of crystal to form elsewhere 596 00:42:14,200 --> 00:42:18,680 Speaker 2: because it taps into this shared field. He believes our 597 00:42:18,719 --> 00:42:22,279 Speaker 2: own memories may not be stored inside our brains, but 598 00:42:22,400 --> 00:42:26,720 Speaker 2: in this external, non local field that our brains simply 599 00:42:27,040 --> 00:42:31,600 Speaker 2: tune into. There is also doctor Donald Hoffman, a cognitive 600 00:42:31,640 --> 00:42:36,080 Speaker 2: scientist at the University of California. He argues, based on 601 00:42:36,120 --> 00:42:41,520 Speaker 2: mathematics and evolutionary theory, that our physical reality is not 602 00:42:41,680 --> 00:42:44,960 Speaker 2: the real reality at all. He compares it to the 603 00:42:45,040 --> 00:42:49,680 Speaker 2: desktop icons on a computer. The icon for your document 604 00:42:49,960 --> 00:42:53,560 Speaker 2: isn't the real document. It's just a simple symbol that 605 00:42:53,680 --> 00:42:57,719 Speaker 2: helps you interact with a much more complex reality of 606 00:42:57,840 --> 00:43:01,799 Speaker 2: code and circuits. Doctor Hoffmann believes our physical world is 607 00:43:01,960 --> 00:43:06,880 Speaker 2: just that a simplified interface that helps our consciousness navigate 608 00:43:06,960 --> 00:43:10,480 Speaker 2: a much deeper, more complex reality that is made of 609 00:43:10,560 --> 00:43:14,439 Speaker 2: consciousness itself. For anyone who wants to dive deeper into 610 00:43:14,440 --> 00:43:18,239 Speaker 2: this fascinating intersection of science and spirit, there are some 611 00:43:18,320 --> 00:43:22,360 Speaker 2: incredible books out there. You could explore. Doctor Sheldrake's book 612 00:43:22,640 --> 00:43:27,960 Speaker 2: the Science Delusion, or doctor Hoffman's book The Case Against Reality. 613 00:43:28,280 --> 00:43:31,920 Speaker 2: Another fantastic resource is the work of doctor Gary Schwartz 614 00:43:32,120 --> 00:43:36,600 Speaker 2: at the University of Arizona, whose laboratory has conducted groundbreaking 615 00:43:36,719 --> 00:43:41,879 Speaker 2: experiments on mediumship and afterlife communication. What all of these 616 00:43:41,920 --> 00:43:45,320 Speaker 2: brilliant minds are telling us is that the old materialistic 617 00:43:45,440 --> 00:43:49,760 Speaker 2: view of the world is crumbling. Science itself is pointing 618 00:43:49,800 --> 00:43:54,040 Speaker 2: to a reality where consciousness is not a small accident, 619 00:43:54,360 --> 00:43:58,600 Speaker 2: but a fundamental force of the universe. If consciousness is 620 00:43:58,719 --> 00:44:02,560 Speaker 2: truly fundamental, if it is the source of all things, 621 00:44:02,960 --> 00:44:07,120 Speaker 2: then that means that our own consciousness, our thoughts, our feelings, 622 00:44:07,320 --> 00:44:12,359 Speaker 2: our beliefs, is not just a passive observer of reality. 623 00:44:12,440 --> 00:44:17,720 Speaker 2: It is an active participant, and it has creative power. 624 00:44:18,320 --> 00:44:21,400 Speaker 2: We see this in the stories of near death experiences. 625 00:44:21,719 --> 00:44:26,880 Speaker 2: People describe creating landscapes with their thoughts, communicating telepathically, and 626 00:44:26,920 --> 00:44:30,160 Speaker 2: moving from one place to another simply by intending to 627 00:44:30,200 --> 00:44:35,440 Speaker 2: be there. In the afterlife, it seems thought creates reality instantly. 628 00:44:35,920 --> 00:44:39,160 Speaker 2: This leads to a fascinating question, is it possible that 629 00:44:39,239 --> 00:44:42,640 Speaker 2: we humans have the exact same power, the same creative 630 00:44:42,680 --> 00:44:46,719 Speaker 2: power of our souls right here on earth? Now, maybe 631 00:44:46,760 --> 00:44:49,560 Speaker 2: it just takes a little longer to manifest here because 632 00:44:49,600 --> 00:44:52,080 Speaker 2: of the dense physical nature of our world and the 633 00:44:52,120 --> 00:44:55,799 Speaker 2: illusion of what we call time. This brings me to 634 00:44:55,920 --> 00:44:58,640 Speaker 2: one of the most powerful tools we have for shaping 635 00:44:58,680 --> 00:45:03,040 Speaker 2: our reality gratitude. And I'm not just talking about being 636 00:45:03,120 --> 00:45:05,680 Speaker 2: thankful for the good things in our lives. I'm talking 637 00:45:05,760 --> 00:45:11,320 Speaker 2: about a specific practice, a powerful technique of feeling gratitude 638 00:45:11,480 --> 00:45:17,640 Speaker 2: for things before they happen, as if they have already occurred. 639 00:45:18,080 --> 00:45:21,080 Speaker 2: I've done these experiences in my own life, and the 640 00:45:21,160 --> 00:45:24,680 Speaker 2: results give me goosebumps. The first one happened on a 641 00:45:24,719 --> 00:45:28,239 Speaker 2: planned weekend trip with my mother to Las Vegas. My 642 00:45:28,440 --> 00:45:31,160 Speaker 2: flight left from Boston and I had a three hour 643 00:45:31,280 --> 00:45:35,080 Speaker 2: layover in Salt Lake City before my final flight to Vegas. 644 00:45:35,320 --> 00:45:37,799 Speaker 2: I was so unhappy about sitting at an airport for 645 00:45:37,840 --> 00:45:40,719 Speaker 2: three hours. I had a very strong desire to just 646 00:45:40,840 --> 00:45:43,959 Speaker 2: get there. But on the flight, a passenger became ill 647 00:45:44,200 --> 00:45:46,760 Speaker 2: and we had to make an emergency landing in Iowa. 648 00:45:47,120 --> 00:45:49,880 Speaker 2: We were on the ground there for over three hours. 649 00:45:50,200 --> 00:45:52,320 Speaker 2: I was not happy. I can tell you that I 650 00:45:52,400 --> 00:45:54,919 Speaker 2: knew I would miss my connecting flight and I would 651 00:45:54,960 --> 00:45:57,239 Speaker 2: probably have to wait till the next day to meet 652 00:45:57,320 --> 00:45:59,760 Speaker 2: up with my mom. But then I remembered the power 653 00:45:59,800 --> 00:46:02,760 Speaker 2: of intention. I thought, maybe I can change my thoughts 654 00:46:02,760 --> 00:46:06,000 Speaker 2: and have a different result. For the entire flight from 655 00:46:06,080 --> 00:46:09,640 Speaker 2: Iowa to Salt Lake City, I did a powerful visualization. 656 00:46:10,120 --> 00:46:13,880 Speaker 2: I pictured with full gratitude and excitement, as if it 657 00:46:13,960 --> 00:46:17,480 Speaker 2: had already happened. I saw myself landing in Salt Lake 658 00:46:17,520 --> 00:46:20,800 Speaker 2: City and seeing on the monitor that my Las Vegas 659 00:46:20,800 --> 00:46:24,120 Speaker 2: flight had been delayed by an hour. I saw that 660 00:46:24,200 --> 00:46:26,959 Speaker 2: the departure gate had been changed to the one right 661 00:46:27,040 --> 00:46:30,319 Speaker 2: next to my arrival gate. I pictured myself handing the 662 00:46:30,360 --> 00:46:33,240 Speaker 2: boarding pass to the gate agent, and to my delight, 663 00:46:33,640 --> 00:46:38,640 Speaker 2: receiving an unexpected upgrade to first class. I saw myself 664 00:46:38,760 --> 00:46:41,319 Speaker 2: arriving safely and my mother waiting for me in the 665 00:46:41,360 --> 00:46:44,600 Speaker 2: baggage claim area there in Las Vegas. It was a 666 00:46:44,719 --> 00:46:48,240 Speaker 2: very difficult vision to hold my inner critic. That voice 667 00:46:48,280 --> 00:46:50,279 Speaker 2: in my head just kept jumping in, telling me it 668 00:46:50,320 --> 00:46:53,239 Speaker 2: was stupid, ridiculous. You know that this stuff doesn't work. 669 00:46:53,520 --> 00:46:56,480 Speaker 2: But I kept gently pushing that voice aside and focusing 670 00:46:56,520 --> 00:47:00,120 Speaker 2: on the feeling of gratitude. Over an hour later, we 671 00:47:00,200 --> 00:47:02,759 Speaker 2: landed in Salt Lake City, looking at my watch. I 672 00:47:02,840 --> 00:47:05,879 Speaker 2: knew my connecting flight should have already departed, But when 673 00:47:05,880 --> 00:47:07,840 Speaker 2: I got off the plane, I looked at the monitor. 674 00:47:08,120 --> 00:47:11,120 Speaker 2: The flight from Las Vegas had not yet left. It 675 00:47:11,160 --> 00:47:14,160 Speaker 2: was delayed, and they had changed the departure gate to 676 00:47:14,200 --> 00:47:16,680 Speaker 2: the one right next to where I was standing. They 677 00:47:16,680 --> 00:47:19,239 Speaker 2: were doing the final boarding, and as I walked over 678 00:47:19,480 --> 00:47:22,160 Speaker 2: and gave the gate agent my boarding pass, out of 679 00:47:22,200 --> 00:47:25,800 Speaker 2: the machine popped a first class ticket. And when I landed, 680 00:47:25,880 --> 00:47:27,960 Speaker 2: my mom was there to meet me in the baggage 681 00:47:27,960 --> 00:47:31,839 Speaker 2: claim area. Every single detail I had visualized with gratitude 682 00:47:32,120 --> 00:47:36,680 Speaker 2: had manifested perfectly. The second story involves my good friend, 683 00:47:36,880 --> 00:47:40,799 Speaker 2: the legendary race car driver David Brabham. David had a 684 00:47:40,840 --> 00:47:43,520 Speaker 2: lifelong dream to win the twenty four Hours of Lama. 685 00:47:43,960 --> 00:47:46,800 Speaker 2: The race was the following month, and he joined me 686 00:47:47,120 --> 00:47:50,640 Speaker 2: in an experiment. David told me in great detail everything 687 00:47:50,680 --> 00:47:53,880 Speaker 2: he wanted, how the race would start, whose main competition 688 00:47:53,960 --> 00:47:56,640 Speaker 2: would be, when he would take the lead, and how 689 00:47:56,760 --> 00:48:01,759 Speaker 2: he would win. He included every bit as detailed as possible, 690 00:48:02,040 --> 00:48:05,360 Speaker 2: and we sat there and pictured it together, full of excitement, 691 00:48:05,400 --> 00:48:09,120 Speaker 2: gratitude and desire. I even imagined him in the winter 692 00:48:09,280 --> 00:48:13,240 Speaker 2: circle spraying the bottle of champagne and celebrating the victory. 693 00:48:13,560 --> 00:48:17,040 Speaker 2: The race fell on June thirteenth and fourteenth. I watched 694 00:48:17,040 --> 00:48:20,040 Speaker 2: from home, and I was fascinated to witness David taking 695 00:48:20,120 --> 00:48:23,320 Speaker 2: the lead, just as he had described in our visualization. 696 00:48:23,800 --> 00:48:27,719 Speaker 2: And after that the miracle occurred. My friend David won 697 00:48:27,880 --> 00:48:30,880 Speaker 2: the race. I cried with tears of happiness, and I 698 00:48:31,000 --> 00:48:34,320 Speaker 2: watched him as he received a wreath of flowers in 699 00:48:34,400 --> 00:48:39,080 Speaker 2: winter circle and sprayed champagne and celebrated with his teammates 700 00:48:39,120 --> 00:48:42,880 Speaker 2: the victory. These experiences make me wonder was I predicting 701 00:48:42,880 --> 00:48:45,640 Speaker 2: the future or was I creating it? Does it help 702 00:48:45,680 --> 00:48:48,440 Speaker 2: if two or more people are giving gratitude for the 703 00:48:48,480 --> 00:48:52,360 Speaker 2: same thing, does it supply more power? If consciousness is 704 00:48:52,600 --> 00:48:56,880 Speaker 2: the fundamental reality, then perhaps there is no difference. Perhaps 705 00:48:56,880 --> 00:49:00,520 Speaker 2: by aligning our thoughts and feelings with a desired outcome, 706 00:49:00,680 --> 00:49:04,120 Speaker 2: by feeling the profound gratitude of it already being real, 707 00:49:04,320 --> 00:49:08,080 Speaker 2: we are sending a powerful signal into the field of consciousness, 708 00:49:08,320 --> 00:49:13,400 Speaker 2: a signal that organizes reality around our intention. This is 709 00:49:13,440 --> 00:49:16,640 Speaker 2: the ultimate secret. The journey that started with doctor Terra 710 00:49:16,800 --> 00:49:20,160 Speaker 2: Swartz grief and her search for answers has led us 711 00:49:20,160 --> 00:49:23,320 Speaker 2: here to the understanding that we are not just passive 712 00:49:23,520 --> 00:49:29,960 Speaker 2: observers in a random universe. We are powerful, creative beings. 713 00:49:30,520 --> 00:49:34,000 Speaker 2: We are sparks of a divine conscious reality, and we 714 00:49:34,160 --> 00:49:38,560 Speaker 2: have the ability to shape our lives through focus, our intention, 715 00:49:38,960 --> 00:49:42,719 Speaker 2: and our gratitude. This is the greatest lesson the afterlife 716 00:49:42,920 --> 00:49:45,560 Speaker 2: has to teach us that the creative power we will 717 00:49:45,600 --> 00:49:48,719 Speaker 2: experience instantly in the spirit world is a power we 718 00:49:48,800 --> 00:49:52,359 Speaker 2: possess right here, right now. It just takes a little 719 00:49:52,440 --> 00:49:55,719 Speaker 2: more focus, a little more belief, and a whole lot 720 00:49:55,760 --> 00:49:59,040 Speaker 2: of gratitude. So, my friend, I know this was packed 721 00:49:59,360 --> 00:50:01,719 Speaker 2: with things that think about and I thank you for 722 00:50:01,760 --> 00:50:04,719 Speaker 2: taking the time. Please come visit me at Wee Dontdie 723 00:50:04,800 --> 00:50:07,719 Speaker 2: dot com, join one of our medium classes, or come 724 00:50:07,760 --> 00:50:11,440 Speaker 2: see me on a free Sunday gathering inspirational service with 725 00:50:11,600 --> 00:50:16,160 Speaker 2: medium demonstration included. I'm Sandra Champlain. Thank you so much 726 00:50:16,200 --> 00:50:20,400 Speaker 2: for listening to Shades of the Afterlife on the iHeartRadio 727 00:50:20,719 --> 00:50:24,840 Speaker 2: and Coast to Coast am Heironormal podcast Network. 728 00:50:33,400 --> 00:50:35,919 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to the iHeartRadio and Coast to Ghost 729 00:50:35,960 --> 00:50:38,959 Speaker 1: Day and Paranormal podcast Network. Make sure and check out 730 00:50:39,000 --> 00:50:42,279 Speaker 1: all our shows on the iHeartRadio app or by going 731 00:50:42,320 --> 00:50:49,120 Speaker 1: to iHeartRadio dot com