The sessions were conducted in Ms. Elizabeth "Daysha" Gregory's home study. The sessions were scheduled on a weekly basis; however, over the two years of study, only about one in four sessions was productive. Sessions usually took about three hours.
Session 9: 7/18/79-
"Initiation": Astral travel to planes where the experimenter is initiated into the Brotherhood (Sept'79 Psi-M)
Session 10: 7/31/79-
"My First Life on Earth": the scene in Africa long Ago (Dec'79)
Session 11: 9/4/79-
"First Human Life on Earth": the scene in Australia eons ago
(Dec'79 Psi-M) Session 12: 9/11/79-
"Hall of Lives": Scene at the place in-between lives.
Session 13: 10/2/79-
"Healing Dissertation": An unusual direct voice
communication (Oct'79).
Session 14: 6/11/80-"Rich"
Session 15: 6/25/80-"Rich Into Future- 1985/1990":
Visions of the next decade (May'84 mention).
Session 16: 9/12/80-
"Gift of the Lamb": A very inspirational trip to the highest level.
As recalled some four to five years later, the sessions were begun with a brief dialogue about what to seek for and an induction procedure to a rather deep level of altered state meditation. Some sessions used background meditation music such as Halpern's "Spectrum Suite". Induction usually was conducted for about half hour. On some occasions, deepening of the state was required. In most sessions in the series, the experimenter enters into his mental workshop, a la' Silva Mind Control. This imaginary place is a useful tool for enhancing the induction and facilitating the learning by providing a stable setting with access to various resources. Usually, it seemed easy to quickly imagine going into the workshop and getting into the conducive mood for seeking.
For Rich, it's generally a room with a conversation pit for a half dozen or so people, a shower adjoining, a large screen for projecting images, a reference library and laboratory and worktable. Usually, the experimenter intends to sit at the near end of the pit so as to view the screen on the far wall.
While Rich goes into an altered state, he is simultaneously kept in an unaltered state by Gregory's running conversation. This dual state was also experienced during several other psychical experiences, particularly in extended sessions of reading psychometry.
The extended psychometry was encountered during a period when Rich volunteered to serve the public in the "Psychic Forum". The Forum was an arrangement wherein the public could attend a meeting for a small entrance fee ($3) and observe as many as twenty "psychics" in a meeting room, typically at the local convention center or at a motel.
The evening sessions lasted for as long as four hours, during which time Rich accomplished psychometry readings for whomever asked, as many as a dozen or so. During this extended time, the procedure gradually shifted from:
a formalized holding of a token object to the forehead and a very tenuous stream of information seen with the eyes closed ;
to a very tuned-in state where images would form as a superimposition over the normal vision, like a double-exposure.
This dual state has also been reported in the literature in terms of the various brainwave frequencies. One case reported in BRAIN-MIND BULLETIN had an experimenter showing all four major frequencies, with synchronizing. It appears, then, that it is a learnable skill that has the benefit of yielding psychical information as it is obtained.
This is in contrast to the trance medium channel where the medium is only in an altered state and the conscious mind is totally passive, for all practical purposes. Typically, the trance medium does not recall anything that occurred during trance, hence, no learning can be accomplished.
In most of the sessions, the information was presented to Rich via visual-verbal or symbolic forms, as well as visual imagery of specific non-symbolic information. The verbal information was most often seen as words with a scrolling effect, similar to the moving-light displays often seen on buildings that show the news, time and temperature. Sometimes, this was clear and sometimes it was very tenuous, as if one were looking at writing on the bottom of a dish filled with rippling water. Feelings were also experienced on a non-verbal, non-visual level.
As regards the psychical or mystical entities who appeared to Rich, several had been previously introduced to him.
The format for these reports is a transcript of the recorded conversation between Daysha, the guide, and Rich, the experimenter. Our deep appreciation goes to Geri Howard, who spent many, many hours listening to and transcribing the original tapes.
Dialogue is annotated D* for Daysha and R* for Rich. Although a typical
transcript may be read in ten to fifteen minutes, the actual time was much longer, due to pauses. Some summaries and extracts have been previously published; however, there would appear to be some definite advantages in reading the entire transcript for the student, since it has a higher fidelity to the actual experience. Hopefully, reading the verbatim transcript will Psi-M provide a "feel" to the reader of how the process is actually experienced by both participants as a team.
Where another entity communicates, all CAPITAL LETTERS are used for its communication, without punctuation. Editorial commentary is enclosed in parentheses. The transcripts pick up after the standard induction procedure.
The standard induction consisted of a hypnotic-like talk, which was fairly lengthy and was mostly iteration of suggestions for relaxing. Some repeats were necessary during the sessions and are included. For an in-depth discussion of hypnosis-type suggestion, see JASPR, Vol 78, #1, "Hypnotic Induction vs. Control Conditions: Illustrating an Approach to the Evaluation of Replicability in Parapsychological Data", by Ephraim Schecter. The report concludes: "the analyses that have been possible so far are heartening - while it may not be clear how the induction experience affects performance in ESP tests, the effect does seem reliable, which is a step towards improving overall replicability." It should be noted that Rich began using self-hypnosis with wire recording as an aid to enhancing his psi abilities during the early '50's.
Session 1
During the first session, the tape recorder wasn't set up properly and close to the speakers, the tape was improper (120-minute tape) and tore and tangled several times, and Rich mumbled quite often, so the record is incomplete, to say the least. Nevertheless, several useful items were salvaged and are presented here.
We had carefully prepared a list of questions to ask of whatever contact we could achieve. We expected to contact Rich's Guides, six in all, including:
After the relaxation induction, Rich strove to mentally elevate to higher planes. This required an extended period of relaxing and "stretching up and expanding" feeling maintenance. The first image to emerge out of the cloudy fog was that of an arm raised in the traditional infantry signal of "Follow Me". A rising- through- cloud effect was experienced and a cluster of five round objects, like sports domes, appeared. Rich entered one of the domes after a period in a booth type of affair on the outside (ticket booth like a quiz show isolation box). Inside was an auditorium and movies were shown of the future. The place was identified in the moving-script writing as a "RESTORATION PLACE".
The main messages obtained in this session through the script were about after-death life and answers to our carefully- prepared list of questions on these subjects. The procedure followed was that Daysha would ask a question and Rich would channel the response. They are combined with the Q&A from several sessions and summarized below.
Q1- What can be sensed in the pre-natal life, i.e., the existence between lives?
A1- Everything.
Q2- Is there a life selection process and what does it involve?
A2- Yes; one may select the next life's parents, sex, religion, and ego.
Q3- What can be sensed in a previous life?
A3- Everything.
Q4- How can one distinguish between sensing a genuine previous life and bogus inputs such as subconscious, esp/telepathy with meditation guide/hypnotist, influence of other entities?
A4- A genuine previous life may be viewed in its entirety from birth to death, but a bogus view may only cover a portion of a life and is brief.
Q5- Is there any particular "mission" to be fulfilled by the subject in his current life and may it be known?
A5- Yes; there are many missions of learning.
Q6- Is the present life influenced by past lives?
A6- Yes, the psyche is is made up of all of the attributes and lessons of past lives; the other parts of those lives are relatively meaningless. The subject's main attributes to use in this life are: love of all people; star-mindedness; and the gift of the blarney to tell others.
Q7- Is "progression" (opposite of regression) possible?
A7- Yes.
(Note: A brief side experiment was conducted to a time ten years hence. Rich experienced a tightening of the face and brow as if the skin felt older and viewed a room, rich, dark green in color, in which a few pieces of modern furniture were discernable, including an object that resembled a pole-stand TV set. Daysha became concerned with the appearance of strain and ended the side trip.)
Q8- Are all past lives earthly versus extraterrestrial?
A8- No.
Q9- Are there any persons in this life who were known in previous lives?
A9- Yes, perceived in a scene of a swarm of sparkling lights, which was interpreted to mean many spirit lights.
Q10- Are there better ways to explore past lives?
A10- Use logic, systematic process.
Q11- Are there concurrent lives, i.e., are there other incarnations of the subject at this time?
A11- Yes.
(Note: Further questioning resulted in responses of "A MAN AND A WOMAN".
Further, when queried if they might be known, the response was: "No." and a still further question of "Why not?" was answered by "Lethal confusion." During these responses, subject's voice changed dramatically as if an entity were speaking directly.
Q12- What is the objective of this life?
A12- Liberation; to free the psyche to know all of the universe.
Q13- Are there "levels" or "planes" of existence? If so, what?
A13- Yes.
(Note: Rich experienced a lifting sensation and perceived a starry sky with groups of stars surrounded by gossamer-like bubbles and a message was: "You will have one of these, but it won't be easy."
Q14- Is there a steady progression in lives, relative to earth time-scale or to the subject's personal psychic development?
A14- No and Yes.
Q15- Is there any physical evidence now existing of subject's past lives?
A15- Yes.
Q16- For verification, what was subject's most recent past life?
A16- Note: this led to a regression to a past life. The main life lessons learned in several regressions were "humility", "verity", and "sacrifice".
Further investigations revealed a more logical description of the so-called past life phenomena in that the timing is irrelevant and that the individual person not have any past lives but, rather, the OverSelf incarnated in various life roles according to learning needs and that the person contacted other persons as needed for learning. Eventually, the OverSelf melded the various lives and progressed to a higher level. The key point involved a "Grand Incarnation" of three simultaneous incarnations.