Author and journalist Von Braschler is a writer on such subjects as time, human consciousness, and energy healing. In the first half, he discussed déjà vu experiences, dreams of past lives, near-death insights, and reincarnation, as well as his latest work, which has been published in the form of scrolls rather than a standard book. He was intrigued with the idea of putting wisdom teachings on parchment scrolls, which like some of the ancient writings, would have the potential to outlive the life of a book. Sometimes the feeling of déjà vu, that you've been in a certain location before, for instance, may relate to memories of a past life, he suggested. The dream state provides a kind of time traveling, he mused, where experiences of a past life can trickle through along with occurrences from the future in the case of a prophetic or precognitive dream.
He talked about his work with pioneering past-life researcher Michael Newton, who developed a form of hypnotic regression therapy, and concluded that people reincarnate in soul groups. Braschler characterized the soul as a form of intelligent energy-- "it's the engine inside this shell that we call our vehicle," and it's the part of you that goes out of your body during an astral projection. He also spoke about how we may all be part of one large soul-- "little sparks of one eternal grand flame," and the concept of transmigration of souls-- that we might reincarnate in different forms, including animals.
--------------
After 25 years of problem gambling, Howard Riback overcame his addiction and developed a career as a therapist and motivational speaker to help others conquer this devastating condition. In the latter half, he recounted tales of gambling addiction, and the steps required to break free. Riback said he's learned to recognize the signs of addictive or pathological gamblers at casinos, which might include body language, nervousness, talking to themselves or the machines, or placing higher and higher bets. During the COVID era, gambling really accelerated with online venues, he reported. "Everybody had a casino in their pocket or in their purse or sitting on the desk-- what a way to kill time while we were all at home," he commented.
It used to be that gambling addiction was more of a male problem, but these days he has found that the issue confronts men and women equally. In working with his clients, Riback asks them to make a 90-day commitment to therapy, and generally their sessions end up lasting from 3-6 months before they have kicked the habit. One technique people can do is to have themselves banned from their local casinos-- Riback arranged for such a "self-exclusion" for five years at a casino in his hometown of Montreal. For his clients, he recommends that they stay away from casinos for a minimum of 18 months after they've stopped gambling.
News segment guests: John M. Curtis, Catherine Austin Fitts