by Mark Pitstick MA, DC
If you’ve not already, please read . . .
- ‘The Great News‘ (article #19 at SoulProof.com/Articles)
- ‘Eight Developments for Widespread Conscious Living Now’ (#125)
- Greater Reality LIVING Program: Integrating ‘The 8 Developments’ Into Your Daily Life (#72)
- Greater Reality HEALING Program: Journeying FROM Deeply Grieving TO Brightly Shining (#82)
The evidence-based information and holistic resources outlined in these articles will help you to:
- realize your true nature as an eternal being of consciousness / life-force / energy
- receive guidance and assistance from highly evolved energies and Source / The Light
- heal old wounds, release lower energies, and update erroneous teachings
- create the greatest life YOU have envisioned (YOU = your higher self / soul)
- help others by sharing your greatest gifts
- make our world a better place
As enough people do this, widespread personal and planetary change will naturally unfold.
What Is the Afterlife Like?
The afterlife isn’t the same for all people since it is shaped by your level of consciousness and religious beliefs you’ve acquired. The quality of your next phase of life also depends upon your goals: what you want to learn and how you desire to grow. Your afterlife is also affected by your predominant thoughts, words, and deeds. If your time on earth was mostly loving, peaceful, and joyful, your afterlife experience will likely be much the same. You take to the afterlife all you learned while living on earth. If you were a rocket scientist on earth, you can remember that knowledge and go from there.
A caveat: It’s fine to learn about other planes of consciousness, but I encourage you to live fully in this one. One of the most unbalanced and unhappy people I’ve met spent a lot of time learning about past lives. She had thick journals of notes and drawings about these. Looking back, I’m thankful for her teaching about the importance of the here and now.
To best address this topic, I will answer the most common questions I’ve received over the last 25 years from people around the world. The following resources can be very helpful . . .
Related Articles
#42 What Is the Afterlife for Evil Doers Like?
#45 The Life Review Technique: How Would Yours Feel Today?
#98 Life Between Lives
#100 Enlightenment
Audio Programs to Learn More about the Afterlife: Ask Your Soul, G.O.D., and Angels; Life Review Technique; Facilitated ADC Technique
Q#1: Will I really be with my loved ones after I die? If so, how soon after my death? Can I stay with them for a long time or just for a few moments?
A#1: Clinical data about after death reunions comes from near death experience reports, after death communications, evidential medium input, and Life Between Lives(R) sessions. All of these sources report the possibility of visiting loved ones after bodily death. I say ‘possibility’ because reunions only occur if both parties want that.
Regarding how soon such visits might occur, that may depend on several factors:
- Do the people who want to visit have beginner, intermediate, or advanced energies?
- What was the physical and mental state of the ‘recently deceased’?Healthy, joyful, and peaceful? Or very ill, depressed, and distraught?
- How did the recent person pass on? Peacefully after a long illness so she had time to prepare before changing worlds while surrounded by loved ones? Or unexpectedly and violently so those positives didn’t happen?
- What are the goals and intentions of both people?To meet as soon as possible or let the recently arrived PMP rest, recharge, and reorient first?
As for the duration of your visit, that could also vary depending on a number of variables. It might be as simple as how long you both want and need to be together. One of you may have other priorities to attend to that limit the length of your visit. However, if multilocation is indeed operative, you could visit and attend to other tasks at the same time.
Q#2: There seem to be different views about what the afterlife is like.
A#2: This is partly because the afterlife is a reflection of the person’s consciousness / energy. Everyone is unique and so is the reality they have co-created. We create the quality and nature of the next phase of life by our awareness, past, personality, and intentions at the time of passing.
Another reason for different views about the afterlife is that reports by authors, mediums, and researchers are based on what they experienced or observed. They may be like the blind men describing what an elephant is like since, given its size, they each can only study part of it. Their answers may be correct for a subset of people, but not for everyone. As such, their descriptions of the afterlife shouldn’t be mistaken as representing what it’s like for everyone.
Q#3: My beloved wife changed worlds – I love that way of putting it – two years ago. Can she see what I’m doing? How about when I am ready for a new relationship and intimacy?
A#3: Postmaterial persons can likely perceive more than material persons because their senses aren’t limited by an earthly brain that filters out so much of reality. Your wife’s consciousness is nonlocal, that is, not impeded by space or time
Your questions about intimacy in a new relationship are common. Can postmaterial loved ones see you having sex? Those who could see that wouldn’t disrespect your privacy, and those who want to aren’t able to.
She likely can see you – especially if you have continued a close relationship – but she won’t infringe upon your privacy. Those on ‘the other side’ who could observe intimacy on earth wouldn’t take advantage of that. They only respectfully visit when it’s appropriate and timely. Imbalanced PMPs, who may want to be a ‘peeping Tom’, don’t have the ability to do so.
Not only is your wife likely following how you are doing, she is also rooting you on to see through the illusion of separateness and death. If you two were that close, you likely are soulmates. I use this term in the sense that we each have 25 or so primary and a larger number of secondary soulmates. So it’s not as though your ‘one and only’ is gone.
Q#4: Our baby girl recently died. Will she continue to grow as a child on the other side?
A#4: Your question reflects so much pain and yearning. I am sorry for your sadness and suffering, but glad you are asking great questions so you and others can heal and move forward.
The answer to your question depends on whether you are observing her with brain-induced myopia or from a greater reality perspective. Babies have appeared to progress through developmental stages when observed via ADCs and evidential medium readings. Parents are sometimes comforted by the thought that their baby gets to go through the different stages and not miss out on anything. The postmaterial person – who previously played the role of a baby on earth – can appear that way to comfort the parents.
However, from a more expansive view, your ‘baby’ is a deathless being of energy / awareness who can manifest in various ways. After moving into a different realm, she can continue having childhood developmental stages, or not, as preferred. If she had visited earth before, she may not be interested in experiencing grade school, junior high, high school, proms, graduation, etc.
(Note: I use the feminine pronoun ‘she’ even though gender can shift and blend in different time / space scenarios. Reports are that some PMPs retain their prior masculine or feminine emphasis. Others are more androgynous and some may be asexual. Kind of like on earth.)
If you haven’t already, I strongly encourage you to visit the Helping Parents Heal website and enjoy the wonderful support, networking, and information from their local and on-line groups.
Their Caring Listeners will talk with you at no charge and share how they journeyed FROM sad, depressed, and suffering bereaved parents TO happy, enthusiastic, and service-oriented shining light parents. They realize their ‘departed’ child is a shining being who is – or, depending on factors at the time of passing, soon will be – happy, whole, and peaceful. Caring Listeners learned how to focus on those higher energies and are honored to help you do the same.
Put another way, the term ‘bereaved / shining light’ describes how you can respond after the bodily death of a loved one. The first word honors the mourning that precedes transformation; the second describes opportunities that await. That shift can occur more quickly after:
- knowing that bodily death is not an end. (articles #1, 60)
- having meaningful contact with your postmaterial loved one via an after death communication and / or evidential medium session. (articles #6, 9, 28)
- using the A.R.T. formula. (article #41)
- other information discussed in article #82 Journey from Bereaved to Shining Light.
This transformation should become much more rapid and complete after SoulPhone sessions are available. (article #35)
Q#5: What is the afterlife like for children?
A#5: To fully understand my answers, it’s vital to remember: they only appeared to be children in that particular earthly experience. Actually, they are timeless beings of consciousness / energy just like you and me. Over time and in different realms, they may have played the role of people with varying ages, gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, etc. As such, they likely have experienced being born and dying many times.
When the body of a child passes on, the seeming horrible tragedy can make it difficult to remember basic information about the nature of reality. It’s possible that only part of the soul’s energy was appearing as a child. Even if a recently ‘departed’ soul appears as a child to a medium or during an ADC, they are not limited to that role all the time.
The other 80% or so of their energy may also experience life as an adult, formless being, or Homebody. (The latter term with a capital ‘H’ refers to the part of a person’s energy that never leaves Home / Oneness.) Understanding these distinctions can help you handle life’s biggest challenges – even the bodily death of a child – with peace and grace.
My answers to your question may be difficult to grasp since little ones seem so vulnerable. The usual illusion of death can amplify when a child changes worlds. But that limited viewpoint does a disservice to the powerful awareness / soul who visited earth for just a short time.
Some people envision nurseries and schools in the next stage of life where children can continue developmental stages similar to those on earth. That has been reported by NDErs, evidential mediums, and clients after Life Between Lives sessions. Perhaps some souls, especially beginner ones, want to continue playing the role of a child even though they are no longer living on earth. Continuing to manifest as a little one in the afterlife might allow healers in training there to practice their childcare skills.
However, my sense is that appearing as a child is often a temporary manifestation to lessen the parents’ grief. Later, they may not need or want to see their child in such a limiting way.
As always, what the afterlife experience is like depends on the PMP’s level of consciousness and intentions. The bottom lines? You can be assured that children in the afterlife are lovingly cared for and are in good hands. A marvelous array of experiences awaits them. They can enjoy relationships with ancestors and family pets even if they didn’t meet while on earth. And you can see them again.
Q#6: My former husband passed on eight years ago and has stayed in touch by different signs. I remarried five years ago. How will that work after my current husband and I pass on?
A#6: Oh my, that could be one big celestial cat fight! Seriously, the short answer is that you can spend time with either husband or both. What? First recall the possibility of simultaneous realities. Then realize that relationships in other realms can be quite different from those on earth. You may be able to manifest so part of you is still married to each of them. If that seems too strange or difficult, know that lower-energy emotions such as jealousy and insecurity can be less common in non-earthly dimensions. This is especially the case for those with intermediate to advanced energies.
Your husbands in this earthly experience may have ‘tried on’ a primary masculine role but mainly manifest more feminine energies. And vice-versa with you. As such, you may be their husband in the next phase of life instead of, or in addition to, their wife. Considering such mind-boggling possibilities can open our minds to the myriad of interesting possibilities.
From the most absolute view of reality, we each are sacredly interconnected and essentially One. Forever is beyond time so there’s no end to love and life. As such, there will be plenty of opportunities for the various scenarios your heart and mind desire. This will work out just fine, especially when that is your intention.
Q#7: I lost my wife two years ago. She was cycling when a driver who was texting hit and killed her. If she can see me and be near me, can she feel my sorrow?
A#7: Even though it may not seem like it, there is meaning behind the timing and way of her passing. One of the most convincing stories I’ve heard about this came from a bereaved mother at a Helping Parents Healconference. Her experience, that she described to me right after the session, still gives me goosebumps –AKA truth bumps – when I recall it.
I led a Facilitated ADC session with several hundred parents and family members. The goal of this technique is to increase the chances of meaningful perceptions of loved ones who changed worlds. The mom’s intention was to visit with her teenage daughter whose earthly form was killed by a hit-and-run driver. After reaching a deeply relaxed state, she was surprised to see a man who she intuitively knew was the driver. She started to react angrily toward him, but then looked into his eyes. ‘All I saw was love and sadness’, she said.
As the session proceeded, she came to believe that he, like her daughter, was a primary soulmate. They all agreed, out of love, to experience a brief earthly experience in which the daughter’s body might be killed by this man. Why? Because the mom had a history of remaining in spiritual amnesia when she visited places of learning like earth. The souls / energies of the daughter and man agreed to help the mom wake up in this earthly incarnation so she could complete her curricula and share her greatest gifts.
It worked because the mom had a spiritually transformative experience after the ‘accident’. She became a force for good on our planet, learned important lessons, and fulfilled her reasons for being here. The mom realized that she was at least partly responsible for her daughter’s passing. (I say partly because her daughter also likely benefited from the mode and timing of her seemingly premature passing.)
The mom also saw that playing this role broke the human heart of the driver and he died soon afterwards. But they all knew it was a relative illusion lasting only a blink of an eye that could yield much growth and service. As such, they volunteered to have that brief virtual reality experience that appeared, from a limited human view, to be a horrible and random accident.
I hope her experience helps you fathom the depth of love, meaning, design, and timing behind ways of passing on that seem to be senselessly tragic and random. Returning to your question, depending on her level of consciousness and the strength of your connection, your wife may know you are sad. However, she may not feel sad because she knows ‘The Great News’ that:
- Life and love continue after bodily death.
- Everyone is part of Source and sacredly interconnected with all of life right now.
- You two can have contact with each other now and when you pass on.
- This earthly experience lasts just a nanosecond in the span of eternity.
- Her bodily death, while tragic from a limited earthly perspective, was her ticket back Home. She was ready to graduate from earth school and needed a way to leave earth.
For all those reasons, your wife is probably not sorrowful when you are sad. She is rooting you on to remember life’s big picture and focus on higher-energy emotions and ways of being. If you can adopt this view of life, you will increasingly grow, serve others, and enjoy life again.
Q#8: I’ve heard that if we experienced trauma on earth, we’re provided with a healing shower after passing on. If this is true, why do some people carry past life traumas into their current time on earth?
A#8: Thanks for that great question. Healing showers are described as washing away lower-energy emotions– fear, pain, anger, hopelessness, etc. – that accumulated on earth. Then higher-energy emotions – peace, joy, love, etc. – are transmitted to help recently arrived persons recharge, remember, and heal. This allows them to be more clear and vital while entering the next phase of life.
However, healing showers may provide only a temporary release and recharge to allow the newly ‘deceased’ person to optimally enjoy reunions and get reoriented. That doesn’t provide complete and lasting healing and transformation. If that were so, it would:
1. Negate growth and learning. Why work on earth if everything is totally and forever made perfect after bodily death by a healing shower?
- Bypass free will and personal responsibility.Creator is not in the business of making robots. Perhaps retaining some past life trauma is part of that soul’s plan to evolve and serve.
- Some people may not be ready to re-enter the mainstream of life.A mass murderer, for example, may need extensive sleep and rehab before beginning the healing process.
The degree to which recently arrived postmaterial persons benefit from healing showers is probably dependent upon their state of consciousness. More advanced souls, who only need a healing sponge bath, can quickly internalize the higher energies. Beginners might be in shock, reject the revitalization, and need a very long healing soak.
Q#9: Do we start each earthly experience refreshed?
A#9: I used to work in a hospital with pediatric and maternity wards. Based on being around many babies and children – both professionally and personally – it seems that most new arrivals to earth arrive relatively refreshed. Babies are usually quite energized and blissful. In addition, they may still remember who they are, why they’re here, and Who walks beside them always.
However, that does not appear to always be the case. Some beginner souls / people may make impulsive choices in their pre-birth planning. They may choose poor body-brain matches that aren’t optimal for their level of consciousness. Others may choose family members and geographical place of origin in cavalier ways. These factors can result in lower chi / life force energy, imbalances, illness, birth defects, carry over of lower-energies, ongoing spiritual amnesia, and not fulfilling their purposes on earth.
I’m not at all suggesting that all congenital anomalies, pediatric illnesses, and severe childhood injuries are the result of not arriving to earth refreshed. Those challenges could be chosen by the energy / soul within for spiritual growth, adventures, and service to others. An account of an amazing young man illustrates why people might choose adversity early in life. At age eight, Joshua Dixon was attacked by two pit bulls and his face was basically torn off. At the age of 18 – and 59 surgeries later – he started art school.
Looking back at the attack, he stated: “I wouldn’t take it back. I’ve met so many people that a regular person wouldn’t have met in a lifetime.” Joshua’s dream is to become an art therapist and help others recover from crises. He is one of my heroes and teachers. Could it be that he volunteered to go through this horrible tragedy, in part, so his story could inspire others?
Q#10: I’ve read stories of people bringing phobias or health conditions into this life that seem to be a direct result of an experience / trauma from a previous life.
A#10: Yes, I’ve experienced this with patients who required past life regression therapy to release the underlying causes. That carryover may be due to:
- severe emotional and / or physical trauma.
- sudden and unexpected bodily death.
- volunteering to have those symptoms so fledgling caregivers can practice on them.
- willingness to provide a clinical case that contributes to the afterlife evidence.
Q#11: Some ‘astral travel’ authors say we bring our state of consciousness with us when our body dies. If we are ignorant on earth, we don’t magically become wise and enlightened in the next realm. If that is the case, I want to develop myself and be around higher souls now. Wouldn’t that benefit me now and in the afterlife?
A#11. I agree with those authors and applaud your plan. While living on earth, it’s tough to remember the big picture of life and work on oneself. But doing so is a huge part of creating the greatest life you have envisioned here and in the hereafter. As the old saying goes, wherever you go, there you are. Another motivating thought is: ‘Do you want to carry your dirty earthly laundry into your next phase of life?’ Of course not.
Bravo for recognizing that refining yourself holistically and spending time with kindred spirits can improve your quality of life on earth and beyond. To learn more, see articles #12 and 66.
Don Marsh, a retired engineer and longtime supporter of the SoulPhone Project, told me the following story that suggests there is still work to do on oneself in other realms. He and his cousin Tom were very close, like brothers, when they were young. Tom, who became a Marine in Viet Nam, was required to kill many Vietnamese in the line of duty. He could not live with the guilt and overdosed on heroin shortly after returning to the States. Don, who is able to sense spiritual realms at times, felt the presence of his beloved cousin at times. 5
For many years, especially during deep meditation, Don talked with his cousin and felt that he received telepathic replies. One day, Don received my article #4 at SoulProof.com: When a Loved One Passes On by Suicide. Soon after, Don received a message from his cousin:
Please thank Mark for writing that article. I have felt some regret about my drug use and how it destroyed my earthly life. I know it hurt a lot of people deeply and I wish I could change things. His article helped me forgive myself and accept what I did so I can I grow and serve from the other side.’
Q#12: Can I keep my earthly name after crossing over?
A#12: My sense is you can continue to use that name, especially when interacting with someone you knew on earth. But that might get confusing if you’ve had many experiences with the same souls while playing different roles. Perhaps you have an overarching name that captures your essence, AND also can keep your current one. Enhanced communication in nonearthly realms – via telepathy and inner knowing, for example – might make permanent names less important.
Whatever the case, keep asking great questions and searching for meaningful and sensible answers. Life is so vast and magnificent. The more I learn about it, the more grateful and safe I feel. Increasingly, I understand William Blake’s awe of seeing ‘a world in a grain of sand.’
Q#13: My aged and chronically ill mother passed on while heavily sedated with morphine and other drugs. Will that affect her afterlife experience?
A#13: Thank you for this great question. From what I know, the following factors may impact how much or little those drugs affected her:
- What was her level of awareness at the time of bodily death? Did she clearly know that life continues after bodily death and she would be lovingly tended to by The Light and her spiritual support team?Did she know that dropping the body can be a wonderful experience and nothing to fear? The more she knew this great news, the less that earthly drugs would likely slow down her perception of the afterlife.
- What were her intentions and desires after transitioning from the earthly realm?I agree with the old saying ‘Where there’s a why, there’s a way.’ For example, was she very much looking forward to sending signs to loved ones on earth? If so, that higher energy could ‘trump’ any obtunding effects of the medications.
- What was the energy of her beloved family and friends? Were they actively praying for her to enter The Light and release her no-longer-needed earthly form? Those higher energies could minimize downsides of the medications.
- What was her general health and mental status?
- Where was she on the medication schedule, that is, recently dosed or soon due for more?
As you can see, there are a number of factors that might determine whether the drugs diminished, or not, her clarity upon entering the next phase of life. The bottom line is that, sooner or later, the drugs wouldn’t be a factor and she could progress as her level of consciousness allowed.
* * * * * * *
Thank you for telling others about this article! Your life, and that of others around you, will be more enriched when you:
- read the article again so you really know it.
- discuss with close family and friends to more deeply internalize it.
- take action steps that seem right for you.
- share it with others via social media, discussion groups, and other ways.
Hugs, love, blessings, and let it shine!
Mark
Mark Pitstick, MA, DC
author, lecturer, counselor, and holistic chiropractic physician; spokesperson, research assistant, and strategic planner for the SoulPhone Project; founder of Greater Reality Living, Healing, Helping, and Sharing Programs
SoulProof.com SoulPhone.org GreaterRealityPrograms.com
Mark Pitstick, MA, DC is a master’s clinical psychologist, holistic chiropractic physician, and clinical nutritionist. He has also helped others in pastoral counseling and suicide prevention / education settings. His goal is to help you know and show that this earthly experience is a totally safe, meaningful, and magnificent adventure amidst eternity.
To learn more about the Greater Reality LIVING, HEALING, HELPING, and SHARING Programs, visit ‘Greater Reality Programs’ top tab at SoulProof.com and SoulPhone.org. Also see articles #19, 72, 82, 119, 122, and 125 at SoulProof.com/Articles.
SoulProof.com provides many FREE resources:
- 8 e-books Radiant Wellness, Soul Proof, The Eleven Questions, Greater Reality Living, The Big Picture of Life, The Afterlife Evidence, Ask the Soul Doctor, and Shining Light Parents Speak
- 10 audio programs Holistic Breathing; Afterlife Contact; Ask Your Soul, Angels, and The Light; Pre-Birth Planning; Identify and Fulfill Your Purposes AND Enjoy Your Greatest Life; Your Life Review; Appreciate, Realize, and Transform; Love, Acceptance, and Forgiveness; Past Life Regression; Heal and Transform Your Suffering
- 4 audio books (Greater Reality Living, Soul Proof, Radiant Wellness, and Shining Light Parents Speak; we don’t have control over the others)
- 125 Articles (as of 3/1/25) answering the most commonly asked questions and providing holistic solutions for your toughest challenges
- 25 Radio Shows: interviews with experts on consciousness, afterlife, and creating an optimal earthly experience. These include Wayne Dyer, Brian Weiss, Anita Moorjani, Raymond Moody, Michael Newton, Caroline Myss, and others.
- 27 Videos on different pages
- Monthly newsletters (subscriber sign-up at bottom of each website page)
Instead of payment, he asks that you: (1) fully use and appreciate the products, (2) share them with others, and (3) help others in ways you feel called, that is, pay it forward.
The following are also available for a fee:
- 8 printed books Radiant Wellness, Soul Proof, The Eleven Questions, Greater Reality Living, The Big Picture of Life, The Afterlife Evidence, Ask the Soul Doctor, and Shining Light Parents Speak
- Coaching / Counseling Sessions with Dr. Pitstick by Zoom to gain answers to your biggest questions and holistic solutions to your toughest challenges.
Note: This article is intended as a reference source, not to replace professional treatment for physical, emotional, or mental problems. The author disclaims any liability arising directly or indirectly from the voluntary use of action steps discussed in article.
I created this article while ‘wearing the hat’ of a clinician, counselor, and educator. My statements are based upon some scientific research; much clinical and experiential evidence; my personal experiences; and my best current understandings. This program does not reflect my roles with the SoulPhone Project since those require solid scientific data for all statements.