Updates

5/31/06
As I write this, I am still waiting to receive and approve the Greek translation of "In Another Life." I'm also waiting for some word from Legacy Films in Canada, who will be presenting it to some broadcasters there; and I'm waiting for Version 3 to be released for sale by Films Media Group to their market, universities and libraries. The film has also been sent to three or four other distributors worldwide, and one local film festival. I haven't heard from any of this last group in awhile and won't be surprised if I don't.

Meanwhile, my video production business, GTVP, is not getting much work, either. On that website, I've taken a big risk by "coming out" with my real philosophy of video production, trying to attract a clientele which thinks as I do. I'm thinking they must be out there, and I'm tired of trying to be something I'm not. But perhaps I'm wrong, perhaps everybody in this society is dazzled by special effects and overstimulation, and nobody wants real art.

Or, it has also crossed my mind that if potential clients routinely "Google" your company name or personal name, or both, my reincarnation education work being prominently displayed in the search engines may be scaring people away. I am beginning to see why some people publishing on these topics used a pseudonym. Or, that could have nothing to do with it.

What I'm doing, besides marketing, is to go back and train myself on all the special effects you see on television. Not that I can't do them now--much of it is button-pushing--but I want to get really adept at it so that I can compete in this arena effectively. If that is what people are paying for, I need to have it in the store. (Rumi remarked, as I have read, that the reason he wrote poetry was when the guest wants tripe, you serve him tripe. Can you imagine? As sublime as his poetry was, compared to his state of God-Realization, the poetry was "tripe" to him...)

What has happened in my spiritual and professional life is something I couldn't have dreamed of. I have been commissioned to edit an introductory video for visitors to the Meher Spiritual Center. I won't even try to explain what this means to me personally. I have been a follower of Meher Baba since 1974, and have been going to the Center in Myrtle Beach, SC since 1975. The Center is for followers, and for people who know of Baba and would want to know more. One requirement is that you not have used psychotropic drugs for at least six months. Meher Baba's presence is literally felt on the entire Center, and most especially in the places where he stayed and met visitors.* It is not for the faint of heart--one's karma is shaken loose and you don't know what will get dredged up in the purification process. One will meet who one is meant to meet there. It is the one place on earth I've been to that I can truly say is magical. It is situated right across the highway from a mall, and until recently you wouldn't even know it was there. Anyway, Meher Baba apparently veils himself from anybody he doesn't want to recognize his spiritual greatness. To me, I can't imagine how anybody can miss it, but there are stories of his books being sent to various notables when they first came out, and how they were ignored. (Or, almost ignored, because on rare occasions Baba would apparently lift the veil for someone, as for Dr. Evans-Wentz.) I will tell you that if you have some negative reaction to Meher Baba, it is your own self you are seeing. To actually catch a glimpse of a glimpse of him is like seeing into infinity.

On this website as a whole, which I've been running for some eight years now (starting, I think it was, in late 1997 or 1998), I have gotten to where I just put it out there. I worry less and less about how it will be received, and that's especially true when it comes to this "Updates" page, which is essentially my "blog." Perhaps as a result, my website hits have now dropped from a high point of 120/day, to some 65/day. I don't know who might have pulled the link plug, because my search engine ranking for keyword "reincarnation" is still as high as ever--on the first page of Google and Yahoo, and normally on the first page of MSN (though it's dropped recently). I was thinking, that if my daily hits get up to 120, I'm not doing my job. I'm not offending enough people if it gets that high, and I'm probably not saying what I really believe to be true. That doesn't give me an excuse to be obnoxious. If I was, as I tentatively believe, Matthew Franklin Whittier in a recent past life, then I have learned my lesson about satire and sarcasm. But I have not lost my edge in terms of my willingness to shock people,** I suppose--I just try to be careful not to hurt anyone feelings while I'm shocking them ;-).

What's fascinating is that in many ways my life is so much the same as Matthew's. I am obscure and can't seem to make a stable living, and neither could he. Paradoxically, I have also achieved a certain amount of public readership and influence, without being particularly prominent myself, and so did he. I probably have just about the same readership he did when he published his "Ethan Spike" stories. Isn't that interesting? I have very much the same sense of humor (see my most recent book review, which Dr. Tucker asked me to reproduce on his Amazon.com listing); and I also have put myself behind a cause, that of educating society about reincarnation (whereas he was an Abolitionist). I have contact with some prominent people in this movement, like Carol Bowman and Dr. Jim Tucker--Matthew had contact, through his more famous brother, with notables among the Romantic writers and also the Abolitionists of his day. So, as I've said before, either this was very much a parallel character or it was me, and not so much has changed. See a sample of Matthew's writing--one of my favorites, and this one I could swear I remember being especially proud of, since it's a meta-piece--it addresses two entirely different topics at once, by poking fun at ignorant scientific lectures, on one level, but also containing an oblique reference to himself and others like him as "wild comics" who various experts underestimate and misunderstand (see also my previous update regarding certain musicians; or, see this film short I created back in 1990, when I was first learning television production, which, like Matthew's piece on "Wild Comics," is structured in meta-layers--and remember, Matthew was very much underemployed and bounced from job to job much of his life). Also, you will see that he characterizes science as being quite proud of its assessments, while actually severely underestimating its subjects, which is a theme I harp on today on this website. (Note the mischievous reference to the "heavingly bodies"--it's amazing he got some of that stuff accepted for print in a newspaper!) Or, here is another one about "Botheration Bartlett" which also seems familiar. Strangely, the political commentary seems less familiar to me than the writing that goes outside that subject. Maybe, like his brother, he did the political writing as part of his Abolitionist work, but he poured his pure creativity into the others? I also feel that Matthew wrote on serious subjects, but either didn't risk publishing it, or else got it published under other writers' names. I have seen nothing in the history books to suggest that this was a practice at the time, however.

Matthew was capable of much more--this humorous writing was just play for him. I'll bet hardly anybody caught his autobiographical analogy to "wild comics"--he had to come back and explain it now! His real talent went unrecognized, I feel (even by his brother, who characterized Matthew's writing as "clever"), and in the worldly sense he was a failure who was tied to a clerical job (as I was for many years) where he was overworked and underpaid, in what I suspect were physically unhealthy conditions that led ultimately to his death. Except that in this life, my life, he found the Avatar of this age, and nobody knows it or appreciates that, either. Why he had that amazing good fortune, I don't know. Perhaps because as painful as Matthew's life was, and as much as he was a social misfit and the "black sheep" of the Whittier family, he was deeply sincere in his love of Truth. So Matthew appeared to have lost in life, but since life is not constrained to one incarnation only, in point of fact, he had won.

Here's something that might be useful as evidence. I have a strong feeling that I had some impact or influence on Charles Dicken's writing of "A Christmas Carol," as Matthew Whittier. But I have seen absolutely no evidence in that regard.*** I know that his brother, John Greenleaf Whittier, attended a reading in America by Dickens, and that is the closest I can put them. So if it ever comes out that Whittier corresponded with Dickens while Dickens was in the process of writing that work, there will be a public record of my having had that intuition. (See update 6/6/05 below for a discussion of how I first discovered this possible match, with comparison portraits.)

Addendum, 6/13/06: I just received the third volume of John Greenleaf Whittier's "letters." I had previously read in this volume, when I studied it through interlibrary loan, that Matthew Whittier had died of "inflammatory rheumatism," which didn't quite make sense to me since according to what I've read of that illness, it is not usually fatal by itself. I do have a bit of enlargement of the thumb joints, with no apparent cause, and I feel a particular concern about them, in terms of vanity, but nothing approaching a fear of death. (I have a feeling that Matthew's rheumatism came from overwork and conditions at his clerical job.) Meanwhile, my feeling, from various clues about my own habits and inclinations, and a vague memory, was that I had died in a past life from lung problems, i.e., that toward the end of whatever life it was, I felt safer sleeping upright in a chair because I was afraid of my lungs filling up if I slept lying down. Now, on page 418, in a footnote, I read: "Matthew Franklin was ill from what Whittier called lung trouble and inflammatory rheumatism." I think it often happens that when one has past-life memories or past-life intuitions, and one compares them to historical accounts, at first they appear to be wrong, because the historical information is incomplete. If my intuition and guesswork is correct, it may be recorded somewhere that as Matthew's illness progressed, he slept sitting up for fear of dying in his sleep from not being able to breathe.

Addendum, 6/25/06: There is a written account of a fan looking Matthew Whittier up and visiting him at his workplace. The writer relates: "I had heard so much about him and had derived so much pleasure from his comic writings that I gratified a long-pent curiosity by calling on him at the custom house... Explaining the reason for the intrusion I was cordially received by the solumn-visaged humorist. Laying down his official pen, and taking up a page of freshly written manuscript, Mr. 'Spike' proceeded to entertain his caller with his sprightly chat." Further in the account, he adds: "When about taking my leave I remarked that I had heard more or less discussion as to his relationship with the poet, and though I well knew just what it was I wished to carry from him an 'official' statement thereunto. His answer was characteristic of the man. 'The only relationship existing between John Greenleaf Whittier and myself,' he said in solemn deliberate tones, 'is we both had the same father and mother.'" When I first read this, I was puzzled--it sounded too harsh. I don't think I ever would have said something with so much venom (though I think I was more likely to say things like that back then than I am now). Still, I am pretty sure what I actually said was, "The only thing I have in common with John Greenleaf Whittier is that we both had the same father and mother." I think the reporter, expecting a more acidic, colorful response from me, rephrased it and reported it according to his own expectations.

There are several key characterizations in this eye-witness account. The account in which this meeting was quoted describes Matthew as "a man of somewhat striking appearance--tall, massive, dark hair, and dark, heavy beard, and of sedate ministerial mien, the very antithesis of a fun-loving, humorous character." In this life, the contrast in demeanor would fit exactly (see my portrait on the "Allexperts.com profile"), as does the style of humor; the striking appearance and beard is still here. I am smaller physically than Matthew, and I feel it--I feel as though I should be larger. Elsewhere in the article, his handwriting is described (and I have a sample) as a "fine, handsome bookkeeper's hand." This handwriting is almost the opposite of mine now--it was sharp and precise, whereas mine is rounded and sloppy, to the point that I have to concentrate to create a decent-looking signature. But all my life the handwriting style I've wanted has been what Matthew had.

The answer to this mix of some things being right-on, and some things being opposite, is two-fold, I believe. First of all, I think there was at least one other incarnation in-between Matthew and myself, and I think one of them was as a woman. So now I have some influences from the female incarnation, including being smaller, and having a more rounded, feminine handwriting, although I very much would like it to look like Matthew's did. Secondly, it is characteristic of karma, apparently, that from one lifetime to another, some things remain very much the same, and some things shift to a polar opposite position. Certain "spheres" of life will remain constant, but in a few select areas, the pendulum will swing to the other extreme. It is not entirely random, but it may superificially appear to be random if you don't understand this principle. One other thing I should mention is that in this life, I absolutely loathe bookkeeping or accounting. I use the simplest possible method for my own small business, and I hate every second I have to be bothered with it. I am not good with figures. Matthew, apparently, had to force himself to learn his bookkeeping job. He was able to do it, but I doubt he liked it. He complained, good-naturedly, that when he got first got this post, he was given the hardest job. He was naive (and known for being naive)--it is clear enough to me, now, that he was given it deliberately because his brother had forced the situation to get him the appointment, and the employer resented him being there--and things didn't improve much when Matthew started publishing his satirical columns. In this life, I started doing clerical work when I was in college, and ended up doing it for many years afterwards because (like Matthew) I couldn't get a job that really utilized my full abilities. I forced myself to learn various types of machines (remember the IBM "Mag-Card," anybody?) And that led eventually to my being able to work with computers and software for things like web-design and video editing. But I am not naturally technical, and it's all something I've had to force myself to learn. Printing and writing, however, is something that, in one form or another, has always been part of my life, including on this website, where I could simply write until I fell over, so I'd better close this comment...

Best regards,

Stephen S., Producer

*I am not speaking metaphorically, as we are accustomed to assume in this society. It has been remarked upon by any number of followers over the years, and as much as such a thing could ever be taken for granted, it is accepted without being discussed very much there. The Center is not the only place in the world where this occurs; you might find it, for example, at the tomb of St. Francis (who, Meher Baba said, was God-Realized).

**"Oh, that's so nice. How near the hymenial altar did you get, uncle?" "I don't know nothin' about your high men all halters, but the change of a single sylable in a talk I had with that ere gal, would hev tied me up faster'n----" uncle Daniel was at a loss for a simile, so he said, "get out." from "Uncle Daniel's Courtships" by Ethan Spike (Matthew Franklin Whittier), published in the Portlant Transcript, October 27, 1860, Vol. XXIV, No. 30.
AND (speaking in character as "Nathan Spike"):
"--There's old Lige Libby naow, he hollered hisself hourse at a temprunce meetin one night an went to Boston next day to see to sellin a cargo of saour merlassis that arruv thar in a vessel that he an a Portland man owns. He sold that ere merlassis to a Boston stiller, an it's naow new Rum! That ere same old critter is naow splittin his throte in favor if niggars an yet that ere vessel of his'n is carryin Ginny niggars to Kewby!!" Portlant Transcript, 17 June, 1954. (It's no wonder Matthew couldn't get a good job and only hung on to the lousy one he had due to John Greenleaf's active intervention.)

***The historical information on Matthew Franklin Whittier I've been able to obtain comes from the internet, the published letters of John Greenleaf Whittier and other biographical information about him, and one college dissertation on Matthew. There are more references in that dissertation for me to follow up on. I was able to obtain Xerox copies of two letters from a private collection in a university in New England. Apparently, some of his papers may exist in various collections in various universities in that region. I can't afford to travel, but if I ever can, I may spend a couple weeks up there. If someone lives in that area (especially, Portland, Maine) and would be willing to do some research on Matthew, that would be very much appreciated! I have written the few impressions and hunches I have had down in journal entries and such, and could print them out ahead of time so they can be compared with the findings, although to date I have had no flashback memories or past-life dreams about his life. I am also willing to undergo past-life regression if a (competent) therapist or researcher wishes to try this technique before comparing with the historical findings. One thing is certain--my inner reaction to the one portrait I have of Matthew grows stronger each time I look at it, which isn't very often these days because it's getting kind of uncomfortable. It's like the feeling I have of not wanting to watch my own video production work, somehow.

Previous Updates
4/26/06
1/23/06
11/20/05
10/18/05
7/13/05
6/6/05
2/12/05
1/6/05
11/20/04
8/2/04
3/8/04
3/6/04
2/4/04
11/24/03
10/6/03
7/23/03
3/23/03