James Twyman and his wife Linda had been separated for many years by the time of her murder, but the two were still close and he had cherished a dream that they would reunite. Not only would this now be impossible, but he was forced to push through the devastation of her death and stay present for their daughter, Angela. Unable to shake the memories and “move on,” he sought resolution, which came in a surprising connection that he details in his new book from Hay House, The Barn Dance. In the book he describes a series of magical evenings spent with Linda after her death, in a barn deep in the Nevada wilderness.
Twyman wasn’t always a writer, but when he visited Bosnia in 1995 as a musician, an “amazing adventure” with an esoteric community of spiritual masters left him feeling compelled to write Emissary of Light, which became a bestseller. He went on to write 12 more books and has also produced or directed four films, including the award-winning Indigo.
Music and books are just vehicles for Twyman’s deeper goals. He created the Emissary of Light website and programs “to help people enjoy the experience of deep inner peace;” and is founder of the Seminary of Spiritual Peacemaking and president of the interreligious Beloved Community, descended from an ancient spiritual tradition. Early Christianity had two main branches: followers of Peter (which evolved into the Catholic Church); and followers of John, also known as the Beloved Disciple. The Beloved Community of John, which represented the feminine energy and the belief that we are all able to directly access the Divine without an intermediary, was persecuted and driven underground. Later groups that were extensions of the Beloved Community, such as the Cathars and the Bogomils, were also persecuted and destroyed. Twyman’s work supports their reemergence.
Formerly a resident of Joshua Tree, Twyman now makes his home in Ashland, Oregon.
You’ve written 13 books; what’s different about this one?
The Barn Dance came from the deepest part of me, much more so than any other book I’ve written. It’s based on the murder of the woman I met and married when I was only 22. Five years ago everything in my life shifted…not so gently. What came from that shift not only changed the way I look at everything, especially death and life after death, but has given me a much deeper appreciation for life.
You write that your reconnection with Linda happened somewhere between Heaven and Earth. Was any part of it actually on earth, or did it all happen in an altered state while your body was somewhere totally different?
All I can say is that everything I wrote was extremely real, and there was no time in which I thought I was in an altered state of consciousness. On the other hand, there were also things that took place that are difficult to describe in normal, sensory terms. The way I look at it now, reality is not based so much on what is physical or tangible, but on what transforms our life. In this sense the experience was a real one, and even though I was in a unique space between heaven and earth, I never really left the ground.
Writing this book must have been cathartic for you.
Writing this book was profoundly cathartic for me, more than I could ever say. I wrote it first and foremost because I needed it. I also didn’t want the writing process to end because it was so wonderful to be back in the barn with Linda after her death.
Do you think you have a special ability to communicate with spirits or is this something available to all of us?
What happened to me may have been unique and wonderful, but I believe we all have the ability to contact our departed loved ones in the afterlife on the other side of the veil, even directly and face-to-face. After I wrote the book I put together a scientific study called DreamDancing, which trained people to do similar work connecting with the afterlife, primarily through lucid dreaming techniques. More than 50 percent of them, after about two months, had very real, very direct—even verifiable—experiences. It’s had a huge impact on many people’s lives, and that’s given me confidence that it really is important.
Are you able to summon such experiences at will, much as someone would encourage an out-of-body experience, or is it just hit or miss?
No, I can’t summon it at will. I wish I could. The experience I had in the barn was really unique, and though I’ve had some other connections with Linda in the afterlife since she died, nothing quite like that has occurred.
Do you think it ever helps to have an intermediary, like a psychic?
I do think it helps to have an intermediary, but people often give their power away to others without realizing that they have it within themselves as well. A psychic or medium may be authentic or a fraud…you’ll probably never really know for sure. But you know what your intentions are, and if you unlock the power that’s within you, it will always lead you in the right direction.
You studied for the priesthood years ago. What did you learn from the Franciscan monks that has served you in the long run?
The main thing I learned was the importance of devotion. This is ultimately a path of love, and if we can focus our devotion in a single direction, then we are always answered with love and grace. Devotion, of course, is not something that is relegated to a particular religion or deity, but to the creative force itself.
The world is currently polarized by religion, with lots of fear and hostility on all sides. How do we get beyond all this insanity?
The heart of my work has always been trying to see our similarities, rather than the differences. That’s why peace prayers from all the different religions have always been so important to me. My connection with the Emissaries, and now the Beloved Community, has been very important because it’s ancient and focused on universal teachings, even when they’ve leaned more in the direction of Christian teachings. There has always been an undercurrent of esoteric and universal thought. Extremists aren’t the real voice. The real voice is the one that proclaims love and understanding. That’s what we all need to reignite in ourselves.
