by Mark Pitstick MA, DC
Introduction
Much scientific, clinical, and experiential evidence now provides a high degree of certainty about the nature of reality, that is, the big picture of life. ‘The Great News’ is that you and everyone else:
- are beings of consciousness / energy who still exists after your earthly body dies.
- can interact with ‘deceased’ loved ones now and after you pass on.
- are integral, eternal, and beloved part of Source Energy / The Light now and always.
- receive guidance, assistance, and love from angels, guides, and master teachers.
- are sacredly interconnected with all people, animals, and nature.
- have special purposes for having this earthly experience now.
- may simultaneously manifest in other space-time realities now and after bodily death.
- have everything you need – no matter what your past or current circumstances – to enjoy the greatest life YOU have envisioned.(YOU = your higher self / soul / awareness)
- can find peace, joy, meaning, growth, and opportunities for loving service amidst your toughest changes and challenges.
- create the quality of your life via your predominant thoughts, words and actions.
- will someday be able to use SoulPhone technology to communicate with postmaterial (so-called ‘departed’) loved ones and luminaries who can help you, all people, and our world.
Very high degrees of certainty exist about ‘The Great News’ . . .
* Statements #1, 2, and 11 above are based on definitive scientific research at the University of Arizona using controlled, blinded, replicated, and multi-centered studies that were published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.(see article #1 Scientific Evidence that Bodily Death Is NOT the End of Life about this and the next bullet point)
* Statement #2 is also based on double-blinded laboratory research with results published in papers at five universities or institutes.
* Statements #3 – 10 are based on clinical research by physicians, psychologists, and / or university professors in the fields of: near-death experiences, past life memories, perinatal experiences, life between lives input, shared death experiences, terminal lucidity cases, and deathbed visions. (see article #60 Clinical Evidence that Life Continues After Bodily Death.)
* Experiential evidence, although not validated like scientific and clinical data, adds further validity about #1 – 10. This category of evidence based on firsthand experience includes: afterlife contacts, out-of-body experiences, electronic voice phenomena / instrumental transcommunication, and other firsthand experiences. (see article #115 Experiential Evidence for Life After Death)
Knowing and showing ‘The Great News’ can literally improve every aspect of your life and those of others. Collectively, this can result in reaching a tipping point for widespread conscious living and making our world a better place.
This will happen most quickly and powerfully when you and others deeply internalize ‘The Great News’ versus merely having a superficial and intellectual knowledge about it. This article provides eleven ways to do that. In addition, you can use the Ask Your Soul, Angels, and The Light audio program to better discern your and their wisdom and guidance about this.
(Note: Articles cited are free at SoulProof.com/Articles; books and audio programs are at SoulProof.com/Shop.)
Eleven Ways to Deeply Internalize ‘The Great News’
1. Ask for Assistance
Sometimes getting what you want can be as simple as asking and staying alert. Just know that the answers may not appear when and how you expect. Who do you ask? Some people prefer getting assistance directly from G.O.D. / The Light. Others are more comfortable with an intermediary such as saints, angels, guides, or master teachers. Still others believe that looking within is best. Since all life is one and interconnected, the distinctions between you and higher energy assistants may not be as great as you think. Why not cast as wide a net as possible and ask for help from all of the above?
I agree with the approach of humorist and writer Art Buchwald. Nearing ‘death’, he asked a rabbi, priest, and minister to preside at his funeral because he wanted to cover all the bases. Buchwald’s humor is also a great example of how you can laugh and joke about the demise of the human body since that is just an entry point into another phase of life.
How do you ask? Again, different strokes for different folks. Some people are more comfortable with prayer while others prefer setting an intention or saying affirmations. Do whatever feels most comfortable and right for you, or use a combination.
Whomever and however you ask, I recommend that you do so consistently for thirty days to create a well-established habit. Send a message to universe that you want to more deeply know the death of your earthly body is not the end of life. Pray that you will always remember this, especially when grieving the bodily death of a beloved person or pet, or going through a very difficult challenge. Then stay alert for synchronicities and signs that arrive in various ways. Give thanks as you increasingly remember the bigger picture of life.
2. Learn the Contemporary Evidence for ‘The Great News’
I suggest reading articles #1, 60, and 115 to thoroughly learn the collective evidence. An overview of this evidence is in the book Greater Reality Living by Gary E. Schwartz PhD and me, and my books The Afterlife Evidence and Soul Proof.
A beautiful summary of this data was provided by Willis Harmon Ph.D., emeritus professor at Stanford and president of the Institute of Noetic Sciences. In Global Mind Change, Dr. Harmon stated: “There is a tremendous amount of empirical, anecdotal, clinical, and traditional evidence suggesting that in some sense the essence of the person survives physical death and that the realm of the after-death is not so discontinuous with earthly life as we might have been led to assume.”
Dr. Harmon continued, “Death appears less as an extinction than as an awakening to ‘where one was all along.’ At death, the center of awareness shifts from the physical to higher planes (with perhaps a period of confusion and / or sleepy restfulness in between.) We don’t go somewhere at death; we are already there.As this new view becomes real in our lives, fear of death disappears. We couldn’t not exist if we wanted to.”
3. Release Needless Fears
Excessive fear can contribute to a variety of physical and emotional problems. Needless worry can also prevent you from enjoying the many benefits of knowing and showing ‘The Great News’.
How can you be truly happy and well if you are worried about you and your loved ones dying? How can you have an optimal earthly experience if you think you may never see ‘departed’ loved ones again? How can you value yourself if you think you are separate from Creator and constantly tempted by a formidable devil?
More people are now looking for contemporary information to address these existential concerns. Those who have a religious background realize that evidence-based knowledge can bolster their religious faith.
Really knowing ‘The Great News’ helps your time on this planet make more sense. Living accordingly – whatever that means for you – can help you live at sublime levels rarely attained when fear and misinformation predominate. When you reach the point of being very sure that all this is true, it becomes much easier to live on earth with peace, joy, clarity, empowerment, and love.
Some people are concerned about ‘dark spirits’ or ‘evil forces.’ I am not an expert on this topic but will briefly address it. Good evidence suggests that, just as with those in human bodies, there are PMPs who act in evil ways. Dying isn’t an immediate panacea that converts unevolved people into fully awakened beings. The personality and consciousness carry over as they continue to learn, grow, and evolve. Some imbalanced entities may try to negatively influence people on earth.
There are anecdotal reports of people being physically and / or emotionally harmed. Most of the cases we’ve heard of involve people who were intoxicated, addicted, and / or involved in satanic rituals. As such, there may be some aspect of opening oneself to lower energies and consciously or unconsciously inviting them in.
Original Aramaic meanings for the word ‘evil’ were the same as ‘devil’: wild, chaotic and imbalanced energy. Millennia ago, it was recognized by wise teachers that love, peace, gratitude, joy and enthusiasm are the highest energy emotions. Those who focus on positive attributes have nothing to fear from imbalanced persons – whether living on earth or elsewhere – who are fearful, less evolved, and relatively weak.
To prevent encountering imbalanced entities, optimally care for yourself. Do not invite them into your life, even as a parlor game. Remember who you are, live accordingly, and don’t spend any time thinking or worrying about this. Shield yourself with prayers and affirmations. Visualize a cocoon of white light that protects you and only lets in good and loving energies.
For those who feel they may have already attracted imbalanced entities, I suggest:
Avoid alcohol and drug intoxication.
* Don’t let yourself perseverate on lower energy emotions such as hatred, anger, bitterness, sadness, and hopelessness. When you find yourself focusing on these, mentally say ‘STOP’ and consciously choose to pay more attention to positive and happy thoughts. (See the A.R.T. technique described later in this chapter.)
* In the name of love, exert your will and forcefully say: “You must leave now. You are from the Light, I am from Light. All life comes from Love and Light.”
* Pray, meditate, spend time in nature, attend an open-hearted church or spiritual center, and serve others.
* Smudge your house by burning sage or sweet grass and praying. If necessary, engage the services of a minister, shaman, or energy practitioner who clears stuck energies.
* Fine-tune yourself using information in chapter 3.
My Ask Your Soul, Angels, and The Light audio program is another way to release needless fears. You can access your inner wisdom with this technique that uses deep relaxation and visualization. Set an intention before the session to discern wise guidance from within and see what floats into your awareness. Take notes afterward and follow up with action steps.
Specialized brainwave entrainment recordings containing binaural beats, such as those produced by Sacred Acoustics, have also been used successfully to help release stagnant energy and old fears. The frequencies seem to activate what is already in the listener’s energetic system. Becoming aware of fears this way offers the opportunity for release. Hemi-Sync audio technology available through The Monroe Institute is another method for going deeper into meditation and accelerating your spiritual growth.
My Holistic Breathing audio program is another excellent way to release old fears and stuck energy. This time-tested technique uses prolonged, noisy, diaphragmatic breathing with music and coaching in the background. Try this powerful and safe way to deeply remember you are a wise, special, and powerful being of awareness now and always. The more you really get that great news, the more you can release fear.
When Native Americans heard about the notion of fear from European settlers, they didn’t understand the concept. Their internalized perspective was, ‘Every day is a walk in the woods with Great Spirit. What is there to fear? What could possibly harm us?’ Their teachings, drumming, and other rituals reminded them about their sacred and never-ending connection to all life. Those teachings are now available to all people.
Enjoying more time with people who are on a love and heart-centered path is another great way to release fear. When you share your deepest concerns with others, you’ll find that they have wrestled with similar ones. You can discuss what has helped, network, and form new friendships. We’ve found more evolved people to be especially abundant at enlightened churches and spiritual centers, yoga and meditation centers, holistic health retreats, service organizations, consciousness and holistic health workshops, and art and theater groups.
See article #66 Optimal Relationships for More Evolved People to see a list of open-minded and open-hearted groups I recommend. Local and online Greater Reality Living groups provide places where people can share and grow in an evidence-based atmosphere that values and respects diversity.
4. Liberate Yourself from Fear-Based Religious Teachings
Many people have struggled with past religious, cultural, and educational teachings that don’t make sense to them now. In the process, some experience varying degrees of guilt, fear, anxiety, confusion, and anger. I will discuss religion here, but the same principles apply to past cultural and educational influences.
Religion is a positive influence for some, but it has driven others further away from wanting to learn more about G.O.D. or ‘afterlife.’ There are over 10,000 religions in the world with more than 38,000 different cults, sects and denominations in Christianity alone. So, the stage is obviously set for differences of opinion.
I encourage honoring and appreciating other reasonable viewpoints. Everyone wins when we remember our interconnectedness and learn from one another. As the Dalai Lama said, “All traditions carry the same message: love, compassion, forgiveness, self-discipline, and contentment.”
Very conservative denominations may claim that their particular scriptures were fully inspired by the one true Supreme Being and should always be taken literally. These groups often believe that their way is the only way and anyone who isn’t a true believer will suffer forever. Their beliefs have been used to justify mistreating or killing those who look, believe, or act differently. One example was the belief in Manifest Destiny by European settlers who justified nearly exterminating Native Americans.
More moderate and open-minded denominations, on the other hand, recognize that holy books were written by fallible humans and have been changed over time. They know that these writings contain parables and symbolic teachings that were not meant to be taken literally. Their messages encourage focusing on the golden threads that run throughout all great religions.
Ancient holy books have been changed extensively over the millennia by additions, deletions, interpretations, and translations. Some of these changes were motivated by the desire for more power, money and control. Transcription errors were sometimes accidentally made by scribes. Other purposeful changes were made to render messages more relevant for their generation.
The following might help you release limiting religious teachings that are not evidence-based and no longer make sense to you:
a.) Most religious teachers did the best they could with the information they had. Just five hundred years ago, most people believed the world was flat, the sun revolved around the earth, and other misconceptions. Just imagine the struggle of ancient religious teachers who tried to fathom the mysteries of what happened after bodily death. You can honor their efforts and benefit from their wisdom while discarding the obviously nonsensical parts.
b.) You benefit by forgiving leaders who abused the trust of others. Powerful church officials sometimes succumbed to the temptation of power, fame and fortune. As a result, many people were oppressed, hurt, or killed. You can upgrade your personal energy by forgiving them. And that, in turn, can help you release erroneous teachings.
c.) You can now focus on common threads of great religions and spiritual wisdom sources:* Love your neighbor and
* Treat others the way they would like to be treated.
* Serve others and share your unique gifts.
* Know that you are one with and an integral part of Life Source and live accordingly.
* Realize that death of the human body is not an end, just an entry point into the next phase of life.
d.) Creator is not a big mercurial guy in the sky. Rather, It appears to be the summation of energy, information, peace, creativity, joy, wisdom and love. You don’t have to fearfully fawn before or flatter the Ground of All Being.
e.) You are part of One Mind right now. This realization addresses any question of there being only one true religion, just one way to eternal life, a fiery eternal hell, or being born into sin.
f.) Heaven’ and ‘hell’ are primarily states of consciousness. Your degree of awareness about who you are – and how you live and treat yourself and others – directly determines whether your life feels more heavenly or hellish. The only hells that exist are temporary ones created by your lower energy thoughts, words and deeds. You have endless opportunities to choose higher energy ones and, thus, a more heavenly life whether you are on earth or elsewhere.
g. There are no unforgivable sins. Would you send your children – no matter what their transgressions – to eternal torment? Of course not. Don’t you think that the source of all love is at least that caring and understanding?
More people are coming to the conclusion that they can no longer participate in excessively fear-based, dogmatic, and judgmental churches. Some have tried to change such institutions from within and found it difficult or impossible. If your church just needs a tune-up instead of a complete overhaul, you may want to try improving it.
Some people are looking for a new home church that reflects their enhanced state of consciousness. Others don’t feel the need for a church and can best get in touch with Unitive Consciousness in nature, serving others, spiritual study, and centering practices.
Centering practices are simple ways to quiet the brain’s frenetic activity and increase your awareness. Examples include: spend time in nature, listen to music, play with children, garden, read, make love, watch a great movie or play, enjoy pets, soak in a hot tub, exercise, meditate, do yoga / tai chi / qi gong, enjoy time with loved ones, serve others, study topics of interest, pray, cook, sew, sunbathe, or relax in a hammock.
What spiritual wisdom source do I recommend? Given my worldwide audience and emphasis on appreciation and respect for diversity, it is not our place to offer recommendations. What works best for you will differ depending on your upbringing, personality, development of consciousness, and other factors.
Any denomination or individual church can be great when the focus is on compassion, love, forgiveness, peace, non-judgment, and service to others. The bottom line is: what place nourishes your heart and mind? What teachings make the most sense and inspire you? What approach makes you feel closest to your Higher Power, yourself, and others?
5. Heal Old Wounds
Let’s face it, life on planet earth can be very difficult at times. Many people have been physically, sexually or mentally abused. Nearly everyone has been the target of ridicule, bullying, judgment, prejudice, hatred, or violence. These wounds can block you from opening to and internalizing new information.
Emotional trauma, for example, may contribute to chronic tension in muscles of the neck, upper trapezius and base of the skull. Patients sometimes report meaningful insights, spontaneous memories, or cathartic dreams after acupuncture, deep massage, or chiropractic adjustments.
Shamanic healers consider that trauma can cause part of your energy to separate and become stuck. They use soul-retrieval techniques to remedy the problem. Caroline Myss M.A., author of Why People Don’t Heal and How They Can, said that when people are wounded, part of their energy may turn off much like a circuit breaker. This may protect them from pain for a while, but isn’t a good long-term strategy for handling emotional wounds.
A song by Pink Floyd popularized the concept of becoming comfortably numb. Many people have unsuccessfully tried to do that via excess alcohol, drugs, materialism, sex, or gambling.
Fortunately, there are time-tested ways to heal old wounds. Prayer and meditation are on our list for many different needs. The Holistic Breathing and Ask Your Soul, Angels, and G.O.D. techniques described above are excellent ways to nurture higher energy emotions.
Cathartic techniques include releasing old wounds and negative emotions. Native Americans had a unique method: they dug a hole in the ground, yelled their problems into it, then filled the hole back up. Emotions released, no drugs with potential harmful side-effects, no therapy bill.
Be creative. To release blocked feelings and heal old wounds, hold a pillow over your mouth and scream. Use your hands or a whiffle ball bat to beat up a pillow. Trace your concerns in the sand by the water’s edge and watch the waves erase them. Write out your concerns since seeing those on paper makes them seem more clear and manageable. Then burn or tear up the paper.
Service to others is a powerful way to transmute lower energy emotions – pain, sadness, guilt, or discouragement – into joy, peace, love, enthusiasm, and gratitude. We’ve seen this sacred process of alchemy occur with many people. It is wondrous to behold, for example, when achieved by deeply grieving / shining light parents in groups like Helping Parents Heal or The Compassionate Friends. Parents of ‘deceased’ children often feel like dying themselves, but some choose a higher path of creating meaning through helping others.
Note: When describing family members with a child who is a PMP, I will use the term shining light. This describes how very sad and suffering people can, over time, increasingly become shining light parents and family members. This newer term can be used for anyone who realizes their ‘departed’ loved ones really are shining lights now. PMPs are enjoying high levels of love, peace, joy, and clarity – and want their earthly dear ones to do the same. (To learn more, see article #82 Greater Reality HEALING Program: Journeying FROM Deeply Grieving TO Brightly Shining.)
Whatever the cause of your wounds, adversity can make you better or bitter. What you focus upon is a moment-to-moment choice that can be monitored and upgraded. When you notice feeling self-pity, anger or resentment, upgrade by asking, “How can I feel better and serve others?” Then expand and improve your world. Many people have done this and you can too.
Being more aware can also help you release old wounds. For example, hearing an old “love song” – these often support co-dependent, disempowered, and dualistic thinking – might trigger memories of a past relationship. That, in turn, could tempt you to forget life’s bigger picture and feel sad and lonely. Those feelings can drain your energy and negatively impact your world view .
As you become more aware, you may notice a now moment, a better option, before a downhill slide occurs. You might remember that you always have a choice: you can feel like a helpless victim, or you can remember who you are and live accordingly.
It’s up to you. You can learn to be a conscious and active creator of your life instead of an unconscious and passive recipient who wonders why life seems so unfair. For example, instead of feeling miserable when you hear an old “love song”, you can:
- bless her for the lessons and great memories.
- forgive him in your heart.
- reach out, if appropriate, to communicate in person.
- share the love you feel with others.
- remember we are all interconnected and one.
To learn how to best live, observe babies and children. They live fully and joyfully in the now moment unless they are hungry, tired, sick, frightened, lonely, or need changing. Perhaps little ones partially remember the greater reality and thus appreciate the richness and beauty of life.
You were like that at some point, but maybe something happened to make you shut down. Maybe you were brainwashed by “you’re just a weak and lowly human” training and forgot the big picture. Quite likely, your heart has been broken and you have been hurt and disappointed more than a few times. Perhaps others put you down and made you doubt your inner magnificence.
Whatever happened to you in the past, you can take action steps now to heal and transform yourself. You deserve to feel happy, healthy, and enthusiastic. And the world needs your greatest gifts that naturally flow when your life force does.
You are like an ornately decorated golden bowl from which love and light shine endlessly. But you may not remember this if your bowl is filled with mud and crud from old wounds and other causes. Changes and challenges are part of life on earth; you now possess powerful strategies for handling them with style.
An old African proverb stated, “The blessing lies close to the wound.” Heal your old wounds so you can find the blessings, share them with others, and be able to joyfully participate in every precious moment of life on earth.
6. Fine-Tune your Body and Mind
It’s difficult to really know and demonstrate that you are a timeless being of energy when you are chronically and / or significantly in pain, depressed, anxious, or ill. Holistically revitalizing yourself is one key to deeply internalizing ‘The Great News’ of your eternal nature. This topic will be covered in Chapter 3 and Appendix H.
It’s easier to think, speak, and act optimally when you are truly well and balanced. Why is that so important? A verse from The Dhammapada, a collection of Buddhist teachings, stated: “We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thought. With our thoughts, we make the world. Speak and act with an impure mind, and trouble will follow you as the wheel follows the ox that draws the cart. Speak or act with a pure mind, and happiness will follow you as your shadow – unshakable.”
7. Love, Accept and Forgive Yourself
Some people inwardly dislike or even hate themselves. They feel that they are unlovable, undeserving of a great life, and worthy of punishment. Children don’t feel that way until they are taught otherwise. Self-loathing is learned from family, schoolmates, churches, or other sources that focus on fear, guilt, and negativity.
Bernie Siegel M.D. suggested a simple solution for this: put baby pictures of yourself where you’ll see them each day. When you start to condemn yourself, look at those photos. Take a moment to remember that you and everyone else are precious and parts of All That Is. Doing this may also remind you that, much like a child who must learn to walk, you and they are still evolving.
There are many forks along the road of life and sometimes it’s not at all clear which one to take. It’s often easier to look back and see the better choice. However, judging yourself harshly and excessively focusing on what you could have done differently serves no one. Over time, self-defeating thoughts can prevent you from being happy, healthy, and successful.
No matter what you’ve said or done to yourself or others, you can repent. This means:
* Become aware of how you hurt others.
* Say you are sorry, and really mean it.
* Make amends as much as possible.
* Do better the next time.
The Love, Acceptance, and Forgiveness audio program is useful whether:
a. Someone hurt you. If this is the case, sense him as he looked at the time or in a less threatening way: as a baby, a very old person, or lying in a coffin.
b. You hurt someone. See yourself and the other person as you appeared at the time.
c. You hurt yourself. If your past actions negatively affected you, visualize the current and earlier versions of you interacting.
d. You and another person hurt each other. If you both contributed to the problem, see expressions of love, acceptance, and forgiveness to each other.
Get deeply relaxed using one of the methods described in Appendix D. Use as many of your senses as possible to increase the effectiveness: feel, hear, see and know, as clearly as you can.
Say a prayer or set an intention that this approach will help you love, accept, and forgive yourself and others. With your eyes closed, picture the person(s) involved. If it’s difficult for you to visualize, you can feel their presence, smell an associated fragrance, hear the voices, or have a clear knowing. Using different sense perceptions can increase the power of the technique.
Mentally say, “I forgive you for what you did.” You can make your statement general or specific. It doesn’t matter if you actually feel forgiveness yet. Just say it whether you really mean it yet.
Then say, “I accept what happened. It’s in the past and I can’t change it.” Again, your statements can be general or specific. See yourself accepting what happened instead of carrying that millstone of regret around your neck forever.
Finally, say: “I love you.” That can be as general as, “I love you as part of creation.” This is not an expression of affection or in any way condoning whatever wrong was done. It is a recognition that we all do the best we can, given our awareness, maturity, and intelligence at the time. Some people become imbalanced and, as such, so are their thoughts, words, and actions.
Now it’s time to imagine the other person – whether it’s scenario (a – d) – expressing love, acceptance, and forgiveness to you.
You may need to repeat this a few times for each situation using different words or images. At some point, you won’t feel any unfinished business. Do this with as many people as necessary, especially if there has been no closure about past difficulties.
So much precious time and energy is wasted when you hate, hold on to the past, and blame others or yourself. There’s a better way. This technique allows you to integrate all parts of yourself so you are operating on full power. It also helps you laugh at all the melodrama humans immerse themselves in when they forget to view life from a greater reality perspective.
8. Stay Focused and Grateful When a STE Occurs
A spiritually transformative experience (STE) deepens your knowing about life’s bigger picture. STEs have been triggered by: near-death experience, bodily death of a loved one, out of body experience, afterlife contacts, synchronicity experience, childbirth, mystical or revelatory experience, evidential medium session, shared-death experience, precognitive incident, intuitive event, exposure to violence, deep feelings of love, loss of money or health, listening to music, and a unitive moment in nature.
The saying, “The teacher appears when the student is ready,” is apropos here. Each moment offers a new opportunity to awaken
to all ten items in ‘The Great News’.
Whatever triggers your STE, it’s important to stay relaxed and focused afterward. Express gratitude for the sign, synchronicity, or experience that deepened your expanded awareness.
When a STE occurs, your analytical brain may judge it as merely a product of your imagination. You may conclude that you were just making it up or having a daydream. Indeed, spiritually transformative experiences may seem more ethereal and fleeting than your usual waking reality. That is, STEs usually don’t seem as solid as stubbing your toe on a concrete block, nor do they last as long as the pain.
But STEs can be very real nonetheless. That’s one of many reasons why it’s wise to regularly access alternate states of consciousness via centering practices. Meditation, for example, hone your senses so you are more likely to detect more subtle aspects of reality. When you do perceive beyond your usual range, I suggest the following:
- Take a few deep breaths to calm and center yourself.
- If you sense a postmaterial person (PMP), ask basic questions such as: “Who are you? What message do you bring?”
- Be aware of subtle and rapid, but clear, gentle and wise responses.
- Take notes so you have an objective record of what happened.
- Consider what action steps you might take to follow up on this experience or increase the chance of similar ones.
- Share your experiences with others.
- Give thanks for this new experience and use it to help yourself, others, and our world.
To learn more, read Article #17 Internalizing Your Spiritually Transformative Experience. (at SoulProof.com)
9. Upgrade and Balance Your Energy
Your emotions directly affect the quality of your life. Is your energy mostly high and positive with lots of love, peace, joy, gratitude, and enthusiasm? Or is it lower and negative much of the time with hatred, anger, hopelessness, resentment, and guilt?
You can upgrade both the quality and quantity of your energy. And that, in turn, greatly affects how you think, feel, look, and function.
As discussed, centering practices such as meditation, prayer, yoga and time in nature are powerful ways to remember who you are and how best to live.
There are several possible reasons why time in nature can be so restorative. A magnificent creation implies an equally amazing underlying creative energy. Regularly enjoying peace and quiet is part of the equation. Universal energy or chi is said to be more abundant from the sky, sun, wind, water, and earth.
When possible and safe, shuffle barefoot in the water, grass, sand, or dirt to remove negative energies and absorb more positive, grounding ones. (Avoid walking barefoot on grass that has been sprayed with harmful chemicals.) Walking in the rain or surf allows you to enjoy a combination of these.
Take time to enjoy centering practices that make you feel more clear, peaceful, and energetic. Enjoy just being for a while without worrying, analyzing, or otherwise dissecting the experience.
Identifying and following your heartfelt missions is another way to increase and refine your energy. For more information, see the Meaningful Lifework section in the Awareness chapter of my book Radiant Wellness.
High and refined energies are always readily abundant and – as the Beatle’s song Within You, Without Youdescribed – flow everywhere. Pursuing your highest purpose connects you with this optimal life-force so it flows through you. You are most in alignment with One Mind and your highest nature when you follow your highest callings.
My Life Review Technique audio program is another way to upgrade your energy. After a near-death experience (NDE), many people report a life review in which they saw, heard, and felt the good or bad they created while on earth. The life review is not meant to be punitive or judgmental. It is designed to help you examine your past thoughts, words, and deeds and how you can improve them.
Surviving clinical death and remembering the Light can awaken and improve a person in many ways. After a NDE, many people return as a new and improved version of their former selves: alcoholics get sober, abusive husbands become loving, and fear-based preachers really follow the teachings of Jesus.
However, you don’t need to nearly ‘die’ to have a life review. Ken Ring Ph.D., was a pioneering researcher of NDEs at the University of Connecticut. His studies using deep relaxation showed that visualizing what your life review might be like can produce transformative effects similar to those of people who clinically died. Dr. Ring gave me permission to share this technique with others.
Past events that have stuck energy are like uncooked seeds that float up and come to your attention. For example, you may remember a time when you were unkind to a loved one. Using the Life Review Technique, you can visualize how you could have done better and make a commitment to do so the next time. After the session, you can make amends outwardly or inwardly as appropriate.
Trusting your feelings is another way to upgrade your energy and internalize ‘The Great News’ that life is forever. As the musician Sting said in Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot, “Let your soul be your pilot, let your soul guide you, it will guide you well.” Your consciousness guides you via feelings that indicate whether you’re moving closer to or further from greater reality living.
Esther and Jerry Hicks taught this law of attraction concept in their book Ask and It Is Given. Your emotional guidance system tells you when your thoughts, words and deeds are aligned with your highest nature and missions. You feel more happy, positive and energized when you live more congruently with your higher self. When you forget who you are and live out of sync with Source, you are more likely to feel sad, negative and tired.
This internal feedback allows you to steer, moment by moment, toward the most wonderful life you have envisioned. For example, if you notice excessively reliving the past and feeling like you failed, silently say ‘STOP’ and reset your mental compass.
Learn lessons from the past, but don’t spend too much time and energy rehashing what could have, would have, or should have been. As Garth Brooks noted in his song The Dance: “You could have missed the pain, but you would have missed the dance.” Express gratitude for the experiences, memories, and lessons. Then make a commitment to learn from them, improve your life, and help others.
Here’s a real-life example of a man we’ll call Fred who lost a lot of money due to poor investment decisions: listening to ‘the experts’ when he shouldn’t have, not listening to them when he should have, not listening to his inner guidance system, and not learning from past lessons. Fred often chastised himself since these financial setbacks affected his life and those of his loved ones. He frequently told his sad story to anyone who would listen.
As such, he kept the energy of losing at the forefront of his awareness and attracted more of the same. Unknowingly, he was setting himself up for repeating patterns and more loss. Eventually, he learned a better way. Like Bill Murray’s character in the movie Groundhog Day, Fred realized his old habits weren’t working. They made him feel hopeless, angry, and stuck in a bad dream until he applied four simple concepts:
- Focus on what you want, not what you don’t want.
- Be grateful for the many blessings in your life instead of bemoaning the few bad parts.
- Ask your inner wisdom / Higher Power how you can upgrade your pain and loss into loving service and a happier life. Then take actions steps.
- Look for the silver linings in life’s dark clouds.
Not surprisingly, his life improved as he attracted more of what he wanted. Where your attention goes, your energy flows.
Whenever you catch yourself lamenting the past, remember the words of Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich: “Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.” Focusing on this higher thought will help transmute your sadness and difficulties into greater blessings and service to others.
When you feel de-energized or depressed, review your recent thoughts. Consider whether you might be creating and sustaining those lower energy feelings. Over time and with practice, you can learn to stay in a positive groove. Just remember: reach for the highest feeling thought each moment.
10. Get Bigger Eyes
While presenting at a Helping Parents Heal group for family members with ‘departed’ children, twenty parents shared the names of their children, and what they were doing to cope and heal. Sandra shared that both of her children were PMPs: her daughter from leukemia, then her son from suicide after struggling with bipolar symptoms and his sister’s passing. The group sat in stunned silence.
Sandra quickly interjected that she was doing OK after perceiving both her children numerous times via afterlife contacts. The first visitation, she said, occurred when she was going to bed. She heard her daughter’s voice asking, “Mom, can you see me?” Sandra answered, “I can hear you, but I can’t see you.” Her daughter replied, “Mom, you need to get bigger eyes.”
This story provides an incredibly powerful teaching moment. It beautifully conveys the essence of this chapter: to internalize ‘The Great News’ that life is eternal, expand your awareness. Learn the evidence. Let yourself believe in the data. Look, hear, and feel beyond what you usually perceive. Use the various steps listed above until you really know the truth of your immortality.
Don Hoffman Ph.D., author of Visual Intelligence: How We Create What We See, is featured in TED, PBS, and YouTube videos. These vividly demonstrate: we don’t really see reality; we see what we have been trained to see, and what we need to see to survive. This scientific fact highlights the importance of expanding your perception of the greater reality.
For now, remember to get bigger eyes, share your highest visions with others, and live accordingly. This simple formula is humanity’s greatest hope for many people and our world.
11. Use the A.R.T. Technique
After his body ceased to function, I really missed my dad who was – and still is – one of my best friends. Soon after, I awakened in the middle of the night with the following question in my mind: “What is the next step after acceptance?”
I recognized acceptance as the fifth stage of grieving as taught by Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. Next, the word art popped up into my awareness. I wrote these two keywords on the notepad I keep on my bedside stand and went back to sleep.
The next day, I pondered how art could be a next step of healing after acceptance. Creating art in different forms can certainly be healing and transforming. However, it seemed those three letters might be an acronym so I contemplated their meaning. Immediately, three words came to mind: appreciate, realize, transform. I felt that perhaps this was a lesson from my dad.
Many people have been trained to selectively focus on the negative. As children, they learned to perseverate on the sad and difficult parts of life. Some persons may derive secondary reinforcement from the pity and attention from others. I am not criticizing those who rehash ‘ain’t it awful’ stories, nor am I minimizing their suffering.
However, you can learn a different way to respond when confronted with challenges and disappointments. The A.R.T. audio program works well for any type of ‘loss’: when a loved one passes on, relationship ends, financial downturns, broken dreams, and physical injury or illness.
Here’s the formula: A = Appreciate; R = Realize; T =Transform.
An example of how to use this technique can be when a loved one changes worlds. It’s normal to feel quite sad for some time when a loved one’s body dies. However, some people remain in deep grief for many years afterwards. Moreover, they focus predominantly on sadness, regret, fear, anxiety, anger, guilt, loneliness, and blame. Their lives become defined by their losses.
Excessively focusing on negative emotions for too long can cause major problems. It can prevent you from internalizing ‘The Great News’ that ‘death’ is not an end, you will see your postmaterial loved ones again, and the other eight items. Choosing higher energy emotions with the A.R.T. audio program assists perceiving your PMP-loved ones and experiencing more peace and joy now.
A = Appreciation for all your wonderful times together and great memories. Whenever you catch yourself thinking about their illness, accident, dying, or apparent absence, inwardly say “STOP!” Then shift to a precious memory from the past and feel gratitude for good times.
R = Realize your postmaterial dear ones are, or soon will be, having a wonderful experience full of love, peace, joy, gratitude, hope, and enthusiasm. In addition, realize that you will see each other again after your bodily death – and maybe even before that.
T = Transform yourself and our world by choosing a higher energy path of serving others, creating more meaning, and finding the silver linings. Whenever you experience adversity, you can go to your grave wallowing in the negative. Or you can have a spiritually transformative experience. It’s up to you.
Remember, whenever you find yourself focusing on lower energy emotions, immediately shift to A.R.T. and higher energy ones. You can survive and even thrive through all of life’s changes and challenges with style. And you are not alone in this endeavor; reach out to caring people who are willing to help you find the high road and stay on it.
Again, I hope you do whatever it takes to deeply internalize ‘The Great News’ and live accordingly . . . whatever that looks like for you. Doing that and sharing the information with others can literally result in the greatest life you have envisioned. It also takes humanity one step closer to widespread conscious living and world harmony.
* * * * * * *
Your life, and that of others around you, will be more enriched when you:
- read this article again within a few days so you really own it.
- discuss it with trusted family members and friends.
- take recommended action steps that seem right for you.
- share it with others who can use it.
Let it shine,
Mark
Mark Pitstick MA, DC is an author, master’s level clinical psychologist, holistic chiropractic physician, frequent media guest, and webinar / workshop facilitator. He has also helped others in pastoral counseling and suicide prevention / education settings. Mark directed The Soul Phone Foundation for 8 years, founded Greater Reality Living Groups, and assists research and strategic planning for the SoulPhone Project. To learn more about how Dr. Pitstick might help you, visit SoulProof.com/About.
Dr. Pitstick’s goal is to help you know and show– no matter what is happening to or around you – that this earthly experience is a totally safe, meaningful, and magnificent adventure amidst eternity. Visit SoulProof.com for free articles, newsletters, and radio interviews with top consciousness experts. Other resources include his very reasonably priced books, audio-products, and documentary film.
Note: Because of his many outreaches, Dr. Pitstick can no longer answer complex and/or multiple questions. However, he has created many resources to answer your biggest questions and provide holistic solutions for your toughest challenges.
FREE ARTICLES, RADIO SHOW, AND E-NEWSLETTERS
– Articles for Transformation and Healing (top tab Articles at SoulProof.com) address the most common questions, concerns, and challenges about life, death, and afterlife.
– Radio Shows (top tab Radio Shows at SoulProof.com) share his and top experts’ answers to life’s biggest questions: “Who am I? Why am I here? What happens after I die? Is there a God? Why is there so much suffering? Why do children die?” and others.
– E-Newsletters (sign up on any page at SoulProof.com)
AUDIO-PRODUCTS, BOOKS, AND DOCUMENTARY FILM
– Transformational Audio Products (see Shop at SoulProof.com) provide quality sessions at home for a fraction of the cost of an office visit. These CDs and digital audios use deep relaxation, visualization, breathwork, and/or other techniques to: access your inner wisdom, visit with “departed” loved ones, release old wounds and lower energy emotions, evaluate your pre-birth planning, have past life regressions, and other goals.
– Books and Documentary (Shop at SoulProof.com) provide information and strategies to help you more deeply realize and demonstrate:
- you are a forever being of energy / consciousness
- the many wonderful benefits of realizing this
- how to reflect this great news in every aspect of your life — even when confronted with big challenges and changes
Webinars and Workshops: to learn about these, subscribe to newsletters at SoulProof.com and SoulPhone.org (Classes & Interviews at SoulProof.com)
Greater Reality Living Groups: these local and online groups share information from Dr. Pitstick, Dr. Gary Schwartz, and other experts on consciousness and holistic wellness topics. (Visit Greater Reality Living at SoulProof.com)
Coaching / Counseling Session: meet with Dr. Pitstick by Zoom to gain answers to your toughest questions and holistic solutions to your biggest challenges. (Shop at SoulProof.com)
Disclaimer: This information is not designed to replace medical or psychological care. Dr. Pitstick’s remarks are based on his personal and professional training and experience during forty-eight years of helping many thousands of people. Collective clinical, scientific, and experiential evidence supports some, but not all, of what he shares. Mark’s views may change over time, and he does not claim to have all the answers or the only answers.
Dr. Pitstick encourages you to consider this information and decide for yourself what makes the most sense. Note: the articles and other resources at his SoulProof.com site are NOT purely based on scientific research as is the SoulPhone Project.
