Updates

8/2/04
Yesterday evening I was interviewed on "The Conscious Zone" on Atlanta radio station WRFG. Thanks to IARRT, I was joined by two past-life therapists, one local and one joining us by telephone. The given topic was "cross-race reincarnation cases," and the therapist calling in shared her own past-life memories of having been a young black man in slavery in America. I'm afraid it wasn't entirely politically correct, as the lifetime hadn't been entirely unhappy despite a painful separation in childhood. There wasn't much I could do about it, I think she just told it like she remembered it. Certainly many of the past-life recollections of slavery I was able to gather for possible use in the show were more stark, but I didn't end up sharing them, preferring instead to use the opportunities I had to speak to go into some of the elements of proof for past-life memories being at least partly real. I made that choice because therapists as a whole tend to take the position that it "doesn't matter whether the memories are real or not," which is true as far as the effectiveness of past-life therapy is concerned--this type of therapy is effective even if neither therapist nor client believes the memories are real. But it does matter from the standpoint of the documentarian or researcher, so I felt I had to use my limited air-time to make this distinction, by reading cross-race cases which included "xenoglossy" (speaking another language one hasn't been taught), and citing Dr. Ian Stevenson's landmark book, "Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect."

There were a number of technical difficulties, causing the show to start about 20 minutes late and creating various audio problems, but I feel that we still got most or all of the important points across. (One of the technical difficulties was that I couldn't hear the call-in story, and so wasn't able to respond to the issue of it seeming to paint an uncharacteristically pleasant view of slavery.)

I should be able to have the interview archived on this website soon.

On other fronts things have been slowing down. I put a great deal of time and effort into re-authoring the DVD of "In Another Life" in higher resolution, so that it will be crisper visually. This is especially important when it is shown on a large screen or projected. Now, the quality comes close to that of movie DVD's visually.

I also wrote another article for www.omplace.com, a historical piece about my spiritual master, Meher Baba. Because it was a historical article, and because I wanted to be sure everything in it was as accurate as possible, it took a lot of work. (Writing comes easily to me and I'm not used to having to work to do it!) As is typical, members of the "choir" seem to have appreciated it, but no comment from non-followers. The article is still posted on Omplace.com as I write this, and the link will remain in my "articles" page.

Another recent addition to my website was a lengthy response to a column by Billy Graham, who answers a question about reincarnation. I just couldn't sit by and not do something. I have never really challenged traditional Christian views on reincarnation through this website before, but I felt as though this column was the "last straw."

I make very little profit from this project once all the dust settles, and I have no idea who I'm reaching or whether I'm offering a useful service or not. One interesting trend that's been continuing, is that of selling VHS and DVD copies to university professors and university libraries. I was also pleased to see the Theosophical Society's library order a copy. If a copy of this show resides in a university library it is like a seed waiting to germinate, as our community leaders of the future continue to encounter it the classroom or in the library for years to come. Apparently, from the feedback I've received from a few professors, it never fails to generate discussion.

I remember, in my college days, how frustrated I was at the strong undercurrent of materialism in my classes. This is a way for me to reach back and offer a breath of fresh air to students who feel as I did.

With the current popularity and controversy surrounding Michael Moore's documentary, "Farenheit 9/11," I personally feel that my documentary is as radical, and as well done, in its own way. But while Moore may have resorted to various types of cinematic "slights-of-hand," I scrupulously avoided them. I did insert cinematic irony and humor, but not dishonestly. There is only one dishonest visual element in the entire piece. Where the interviewee describes the hall in which Swami Vivekananda spoke, talking about the crowds that attended his speeches, there is a pan across an audience. That audience was actually attending the concert hall, not the parliament of religions, at the Chicago World's Fair. Other than that, I didn't misrepresent anything. I even eschewed a photograph I could have obtained permission to use, of Don Stevens meeting Meher Baba, because Mr. Stevens was describing his first face-to-face meeting in 1952, whereas the photograph in question was taken a few years later. I couldn't see any way to set that straight without being unduly distracting, so I reluctantly kept the fade-to-black in place instead of using the supporting photograph.

I should mention that all the photographs of children in the sections dealing with Dr. Ian Stevenson's work are genuine cases, but not from Dr. Stevenson's own files. Dr. Stevenson declined to give permission for any of his photographs of cases, because when those parents signed the release forms, they only agreed for the photographs to be published in academic journals. So, at Stevenson's suggestion, I obtained photographs from an Indian colleague, Dr. Rawat, of similar cases (since Dr. Rawat publishes in popular magazines in India). Thus, they are not Stevenson's cases, but they accurately portray Stevenson-type cases. Toward the end of that section, the little boy shown in extreme closeup is actually recalling a past life at the moment of the photograph. And the American child shown immediately afterwards did in fact recount past-life memories to her family, and referred to them again briefly, when prompted, in my presence. For that matter, when Chris Shaw introduces the film and talks about his own deja vu experiences, this is his actual account, not something I scripted for him. So everything in the film is as authentic as I could possibly make it.

An example of visual irony is in the statement by interviewee Ron Lehr, the skeptic. He states that he would only be convinced by "8x10 glossies, physical evidence". And he says he can't look someone in the eye and tell them that what they believe they experienced isn't true, but he doesn't have to believe it is true. At that point, I show an image of a child who was born with a deformity, and who was investigated as having past-life memories. Although not one of Stevenson's cases, and although it may or may not have been as thoroughly investigated as his cases of this type have been, once again it represents some of Stevenson's strongest types of proof (as detailed in his book, "Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect.") In short, I was presenting the very 8x10 glossy and physical evidence which the skeptic claimed would convince him, and of which he remained seemingly ignorant.

I built a great deal like this into the film, but these elements are not intended to manipulate anyone. They are intended to be there for people to "catch" if they're paying attention.

I've put so much into this film. It's strange for it to have received such a stony reception in general. It may be grandiose of me, but I can't help but feel it will be appreciated more sometime in the future.

In any case, unless I get more invitations for interviews, or presentations, or to write articles, I'm going to relax a bit and maybe pursue my favorite hobby, photography, a bit more. I haven't gotten out with my cameras--manual focus Canon "FD" gear, for any interested photographers--in months now. Then again, every time I think I'm going to do that, there is renewed interest in the documentary from some quarter or other.

Best regards,

Stephen S., Producer

Previous Updates
3/8/04
3/6/04
2/4/04
11/24/03
10/6/03
7/23/03
3/23/03