I am somewhat confused - hopefully someone can shed some light on this subject. In the online resources - I read Bruce's technique for interacting with a deceased person:

1. Bring to mind the person you wish to assist. Let’s call this person Betty. Obviously you will use the name of the person you wish to assist. Pretend to remember a scene in which you and Betty were talking pleasantly while she still lived Here.
2. Bring to mind another person, one both you and Betty know, who previously entered the Afterlife. Let’s call him Paul. Invite Paul to join the two of you.
3. Pretend a conversation in which you tell Paul that you would like him to assist in moving Betty to the best place for her. You can use any name for this place that fits with your beliefs.
4. Pretend a conversation in which you introduce Betty to the fact that Paul has joined the two of you.
5. Pretend a conversation between Paul and Betty in which they acknowledge each others’ presence.
6. Pretend Paul and Betty leave together.
7. Pretend you thank Paul for coming.
8 Write down in your journal any impressions you had during the experience


If these experiences are based on ***pretending***- where is the evidence that they are real? Has anyone gained knowledge from such techniques or learn t about things that they did not previously know.

I mean- anyone can pretend to talk to Mother Teresa, etc. Can someone please elaborate a bit?

Hi Smac-
Here's my personal aproach - I'd start with centering. Notice that you are in the center of your own universe, shared by all others, yet your own. From the instant of the Beginning, the point of Oneness from which all emerged, you have embodied a spark of the Divine, and in a very valid sense you are God. This is especially true within the spirit world, as we are free to create there. So center yourself in the unity that you share with everyone and everything else.  So long as you operate from that perspective, whatever you project is valid, at least in the spirit world.

For "pretend ..." read "project the situation in which ..."

The basic idea is to notice what is sticking these people into immobility. Once you have an idea about that, alter the definition of the situation in such a way that it is no longer necessary to be stuck. (That's called "reframing" in hypnosis work.) The easiest way is often to descrbe a way to fulfil the needs of the stuck person.

For example, a person who is frightened and hides because of shame over some past action might be reminded of the story of the Prodigal Son.

A person who is terrified of being sent to hell because of some fire-and-brimstone preacher in the past might be reminded that the essential nature of God is love. Nobody has found a place called "hell", but a lot of us have created our own private versions because we felt unworthy. The solution is to feel loved and simply resolve to not mess up again.

The techniques useful in this kind of thing are essentially those of "Rational Emotive Therapy" if you want to look it up elsewhere. But the key is to be loving, caring, and patient while calming the fear and other negative emotions.

Hope this helps-
dave

Smic,here is another way that I tryed and it worked.I lay on my bed,and I would imagin that on the other side of the bed rome door is the the spirit world.before I go on with this,a woman asked me if I could find her husband,who died of a heart atack a short while ago.I will call him tom moss.So What I do is perject my mind on the other side of the bedroom door.Then in my mind I would pretend I am walking in the spirit world.I ask for a helper to help me find this tom moss,As I am walking along,my mind tells me I have found him.So I stop and say are you tom moss,in my mind I hear him crying,so I ask why are you crying.Again my mind tells me,he is saying me that he cheated on his wife,but he said that he loved her more than the other woman.I did not know this man or even saw him.than a few weeks after I met his wife.I asked her if her husband ever cheated on her.she told me right up to the time he died.Hope this helps.George

That is a really interesting experience. So all communication really occurs within the mind - but people (like you) gain knowledge from it -- proving that there is something really occurring.

Does anyone else have such stories?

I've got roughly 200 hours of recorded past life regressions if anyone wants to do a content analysis and get a Masters Thesis on the topic.

But I like George's idea! Simple, direct, real.

Enjoy
d

My theory of work is, when pretending such things, you actually send out a request in nonverbal language, and, hopefully, get answers in the same language. Bruce says, "imagination as a means of perception".
Proofs can be for example, when informations are permitted to you in this "pretended" scene, which match with informations you get from other, physical sources, informations you couldn't have had through physical ways.

Spooky