by Mark Pitstick MA, DC
Note: If you are strongly suicidal, please contact a crisis support center now for help. I also encourage you to tell your dear family, friends, health professionals, and minister so you don’t have to go through this alone.
Note: If you already know the following information scroll down to the article title in maroon below the seven asterisks. However, I strongly recommend reading this introduction until you really ‘own’ it. In addition, post The Great News where you’ll see it every day.
Over the last 15 years, and especially during 2019 – 2024, data from a series of experiments at the University of Arizona have definitively demonstrated scientifically that life continues after physical death. This research was conducted by Gary E. Schwartz PhD, former professor at Harvard and Yale, and pioneer in the fields of behavioral medicine and energy healing.
Dr. Schwartz is assisted in this work by a team of electrical engineers, software developers, research assistants, evidential mediums, and postmaterial luminaries at the Laboratory for Advances in Consciousness and Health. (To learn more about the SoulPhone Project and lab, visit LACH.Arizona.edu. To learn about postmaterial luminaries, see article #31 at SoulProof.com)
The Demo SoulSwitch is a binary (Yes / No) SoulSwitch device that postmaterial persons (the so-called ‘deceased’) can use to answer questions, verify their identity, and begin providing information to help many people and our planet. This device should be ready for beta testing by the summer of 2024. After sessions with project volunteers and larger donors, we will share data that scientifically demonstrates life continues after bodily death. However, this ‘reveal’ will initially occur as an ‘incremental trickle’ versus a ‘sudden splash’. Over time and under optimal conditions, we will gradually amplify how widely this news is shared.
Likewise, demonstrations of this technology will occur in a stepwise fashion. We anticipate, but cannot guarantee, that full announcements and demonstrations will occur by spring 2025. These decisions were made in April 2024 after many strategic planning discussions with core project team members. The many factors involved are much more complex than you might imagine.
See articles #1, 60, and 115 for an overview of the scientific, clinical, and experiential evidence that indicates – with 99.9% certainty – that consciousness survives bodily death. This collective evidence also shows – with very high degrees of certainty – The Great News that you and everyone else:
- continue to live after your earthly body dies.
- can interact with ‘departed’ loved ones now and after you pass on.
- are integral, infinite, eternal, and beloved parts of Source Energy now and always.
- receive guidance and support from angels, guides, master teachers, etc.
- are sacredly interconnected with all people, animals, and nature.
- have special purposes for having this earthly experience now.
- may manifest in other simultaneous time / space realities now and after bodily death.
- have everything you need to enjoy an optimal earthly experience – no matter what your past or current circumstances.
- can find meaning, as well as opportunities for growth and service, amidst your toughest changes and challenges.
- co-create how heavenly your life feels – whether living on earth or elsewhere – by your predominant thoughts, words and actions.
- can likely use SoulPhone technology in the future to communicate with postmaterial loved ones and access wisdom from luminaries who can help us heal our world.
Statements #1, 2, and 11 are based on definitive scientific research. The other statements are based on: (a) clinical research: near-death experiences, past life memories and regressions, perinatal experiences, life between lives sessions, shared crossings, terminal lucidity cases, and deathbed visions; and (b) evidencefrom firsthand experiences: after-death communications, out-of-body experiences, spiritually transformative experiences, electronic voice projection / instrumental transcommunication, and other ways of knowing.
This is, obviously, a new and exciting era for humanity. When understood and internalized – even just a bit – The Great News can help you make the shift:
- FROM thinking, believing, and acting as if your time on earth is unfair, meaningless, cruel, and ends with cessation of consciousness or the possibility of endless suffering.
- TO thinking, believing, and acting as if this earthly experience is a totally meaningful, safe, and magnificent adventure amidst forever.
Conscious language can help you adopt a greater reality perspective and live based on the second bulleted worldview. And that, in turn, can help you create the greatest life YOU have envisioned, fulfill your purposes for being on earth, serve others, and enjoy a magnificent journey. In the pursuit of using more conscious / accurate terms, l:
- Will use the term ‘YOU’ to describe the totality of your energy / being. Your real self may manifest in different spacetime ways simultaneously since only approximately 50% of your consciousness is needed to have an earthly experience. The term ‘YOU’ recognizes both of these possibilities.
- Won’t use the terms ‘die, departed, deceased, or dead’ without single quotation marks since those have strongly entrenched and erroneous meanings indicating an end of life.
- Will use the terms ‘bodily death’ and ‘death of the earthly form’ to remind you that only the earth-suit dies. The rest – all the intelligence, love, personality, memories, preferences, sense of humor, and much more – continues living in other parts of the field of all possibilities.
- Will use the terms changed worlds, passed on, transitioned and others that aptly describe a continuation of consciousness after bodily death.
- Will primarily refer to those who have passed on as postmaterial persons. That term recognizes the points in #3. I also will use soul, consciousness, essence, and awareness.
- Will primarily refer to ‘physical humans living on earth’ as material persons. Why? Because those terms within single quotation marks may apply to postmaterial persons. That is, they can have physicality, visit earth, and are still human in meaningful ways.
- Will use the terms lower versus higher energies, emotions, and ways of being. These descriptors are not critical, judgmental, or subjective; rather, they are based on objective measures by, for example, David Hawkins PhD, MD author of Power Versus Force. He and other researchers found that higher-energy emotions of peace, joy, and love calibrate at 600, 540, and 500 respectively. Conversely, lower-energy emotions of anger, fear, and guilt calibrate at 150, 100, and 30. To be clear, energy / consciousness is who and what you really are, not just how you are feeling. Your predominant energies create the quality of your life and the nature of your earthly or other time-space experience.
- Will use single quotations marks with words such as ‘lose and fail’. The Great News and collective afterlife evidence can expand your worldview about what seem to be losses and failures. We can’t accurately judge the big picture of life – what is lost or how we failed – with our limited human senses.
Note: To recognize and respect different genders and sexual identifications, I will alternate using ‘he’ or ‘she’ and related pronouns. Depending on a person’s orientation, one, both, or neither of those may apply.
The free articles and radio shows mentioned are available at SoulProof.com. To learn more about the collective afterlife evidence and The Great News, read Soul Proof, The Afterlife Evidence, Greater Reality Living (co-authored with Dr. Schwartz) and The Big Picture of Life (for ages 10 – 16 written with Schwartz and Katta Mapes MA, MEd). To experience expanded states of consciousness to optimally heal and transform your life, use audio sessions under Shop at SoulProof.com.
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When You Are Considering Suicide
If you are considering suicide, I am very sorry for all the pain and suffering you have obviously gone through. Thoughts of suicide are fairly common when a person is in physical, mental, and/or emotional anguish. Acting on those thoughts, however, is a much bigger step. Life on this planet can be very difficult at times; severe and chronic hardship can feel like the last straw.
It’s natural to want to escape pain, suffering, depression, meaninglessness, and loneliness. Suicidal persons often want to have peace and be done with all the struggle. Others may—consciously or unconsciously – want to destroy their bodies as a way to express anger, manipulate others, and/or hurt real or perceived offenders.
Many people don’t yet understand the nature of reality – how life is set up. When life gets tough as it inevitably does, they may try to numb out with drugs and/or alcohol which is, obviously, a flawed strategy. Over time, they become even more mentally and physically imbalanced, and may choose suicide to stop the pain. That’s why it’s so important to do everything we can to lessen suffering. At the same time, we need to share article #19 ‘The Great News’ and remember that silver linings always exist after adversity.
I would not judge you if you chose to end your earth-experience, nor should anyone else. Ultimately, it’s your choice. If you really want to take that step, no one can stop you.
However, my message for many people – especially if you aren’t extremely old and ill – is: your life can get better andyou can choose other options. You might see this more clearly as you as you:
- Remember who you are: an integral, ever-expanding, beloved and eternal part of All That Is right now and forever.
- Recall why you are here: to love, serve others, grow and learn, enjoy the fullness of life, and have exciting adventures. (Given #1, your essence may not have cared about things being easy, safe, and comfortable.)
- Realize all the love, support, guidance and assistance you receive – whether you can sense it or not – from higher energy sources variously described as angels, guides, master teachers, soulmates, and the Light
- Recharge, rest, and rehab via optimal self-care and a holistic health team. This likely can – again, unless you are extremely ill and/or elderly – help you feel happy, healthy, and energetic again.
- Receive assistance from family, friends, counselors, and spiritual / religious leaders and open-hearted, enlightened, and service-oriented people.
I know numerous people who were suicidal years ago, but are now happy, healthy, and balanced. Their decision to choose life gave them and their loved ones much peace and joy. You are likely conflicted about ending your earthly experience or you wouldn’t be reading this article. That may feel like you are battling a war within yourself.
Please do the following two-minute exercise before reading further. Whenever you feel as though you can’t continue another moment on earth, stop and take several slow deep breaths. When you inhale, visualize being filled with peace, love, clarity, and joy. As you exhale, release anger, guilt, sadness, and hopelessness.
If you choose to end this earthly experience, your action will probably devastate more people than you realize. What’s more, your suicide attempt may not succeed but cause even worse physical and mental problems. In addition, there is a good chance your soul will choose to go through similar challenges again. Why? To achieve goals chosen for this current time on earth, and find a way to turn challenges into blessings for you and others.
Why not take the high road this time around and avoid future unhappy situations?
A patient of mine provided a great example of how resilient and self-restorative humans are. Cindy suffered with severe depression, frequent migraines, soreness and stiffness throughout her body, nervousness, insomnia, and vertigo. Her life was so unhappy and painful that she had attempted suicide several times. Her family suffered immensely as Cindy’s life spun out of control and they felt helpless to do anything about it.
During her initial consultation, I explained that I would do everything possible to help turn her life around, but she had to do her part. A thorough history and evaluation revealed many sources of her imbalances including that she:
- ate only one meal a day and that was junk food
- drank many servings of pop and coffee each day
- smoked two packs of cigarettes a day
- had misaligned spinal bones with slight pressure on her spinal cord and nerves
- hadn’t released emotional pain about the deaths of several loved ones
- was exhausted, worked excessively, never exercised, and rarely had fun
- felt little connection with Creator and felt that life was hopeless and cruel
Where to begin?
We dived in and addressed each of the above factors. She was motivated to change since rock bottom had been her home for so long. After just six weeks of holistic health care, we re-evaluated her symptoms. She already felt eighty-five percent better: her headaches were gone, she slept well at night, her energy was greatly improved, and her imbalance was better so she wasn’t falling down like before.
Under ‘comments’ on her re-evaluation form, she wrote: “I want to live now!”
There are many people who are seriously imbalanced like Cindy was but they don’t know what to do about it. Suicide rates, especially for young people, are soaring. There is often a better way. I’ll show you.
Good evidence indicates that suicide is usually not the highest path. This viewpoint comes from near-death experiencers, life between lives sessions, past life regressions, after-death communications, and evidential mediums.
There may be pre-planned cases that could result in a greater good. But I do not have any significant certainty about this. However, if the possibility for extreme adversity is designed by a soul before coming to earth, so is the potential for holistic solutions that don’t involve suicide.
Certain souls may have tendencies to leave earth prematurely when things get tough. Impulsively deciding to destroy one’s earth-suit is said to be one of the more common reasons why souls choose to repeat scenarios with similar challenges.
Afterlife reports, from the clinical sources listed above, indicate that those who pass on by suicide often regret their decision. They wish they would have continued living on earth and given it more time before making such an irreversible decision. They feel they could have found a better way forward that didn’t devastate loved ones and delay their soul growth.
Your difficulty living on earth may be worsened if you are sensitive to the energy and feelings of others. Empaths often have to carefully tend to self-care, natural health care, and optimal living – or suffer a litany of physical and mental symptoms. To learn more about this, read article #23 Are You a Sensitive or Empath?
I’ve been involved with every aspect of suicide. In chronological order:
1. A neighbor shot himself in the head when I was ten years old. I saw the impact on his children who were among my best friends. They were happy and outgoing before but very sad and withdrawn afterwards. Their mother couldn’t afford the house and they had to move to a smaller place in another school district. Heart-breaking.
2. I experienced moderate but fleeting thoughts of suicide at age 21 after my first love relationship ended. While driving down a highway and feeling so much sadness, the thought occurred that I could escape that pain by running my car into a bridge abutment. Fortunately, I had the balance and support system to not act on those thoughts. Many years later, I can clearly see why the break-up happened and consider it a blessing in disguise. But it seemed like the end of the world at the time.
3. At age 24 while in theological school, I started counseling people who had suicidal intentions.
4. For six years, I worked as a respiratory therapist technician part-time in hospitals. I was trained to perform cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, intubation, and arterial blood draws. During that time, I worked on numerous patients who attempted suicide or succeeded.
5. After I became a master’s level clinical psychologist, I trained suicide and crisis-intervention volunteers at a mental health center.
6. Since 1985, I have provided holistic health care and counseling to a number of suicidal people. Some of them decided to keep living. I didn’t hear back from others and don’t know if they extinguished their physical bodies or not.
7. Two relatively close friends ended their earthly experience. Despite all my training and experience, I didn’t see it coming and they didn’t reach out to me.
8. I’ve given workshops and written articles for those with a loved one whose body was destroyed by suicide.
9. Several friends are suffering greatly after severe strokes or dementia. If this happens to me, I currently feel I would not want to continue living on earth and would choose to pass on with dignity. I also wouldn’t want to burden my family and waste money that could be better used by family members and good causes.
I do not use the terms “killed himself” or “ended her life” because life is forever. People can end their earth-experience, but they can’t end life altogether. I also avoid using the term ‘committed suicide’ because the word committed is usually used when describing a crime such as ‘committed murder” or “committed a robbery.” Suicide is not a crime; it is often a lack of awareness, resources, and support about better solutions. But, given current laws in most places against euthanasia, it sometimes may be the best solution.
On the surface, it may appear that a suicide is due to one or more external factors: he lost his job, her marriage ended, his investments failed, her child died, etc. But many people experience the same events and don’t resort to suicide. As such, I encourage you to look at inner factors. Good solutions exist to address your fears, physical and mental imbalances, lack of knowledge, loneliness, need for support, etc. Doing this will allow you to bend, but not break during the fierce winds that often occur during an earthly experience.
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Note: My advice about suicide is not ‘one size fits all.’ In my opinion, a wide-range of circumstances make – all things considered – suicide more or less appropriate. Below are two examples at either end of the spectrum.
(A). The most tragic cases are young people who have a loving and supportive family, and so much to look forward to. Common triggers for them may be:
- feeling broken hearted after their “first love” relationship breakup
- conflicts about their sexual orientation or sexual behavior
- suffering from low self esteem and poor self image
- bullying or shaming by peers
- alcohol and / or drug abuse
- physical and mental imbalances that create symptoms that seem hopeless
- side-effects from prescription drugs for depression, acne, and other conditions that natural care can often help
- suffering from mental, physical, and/or sexual abuse
(B). At the other end of the spectrum might be very old people who:
- have progressive dementia with no prospect of improvement
- suffer untreatable severe and chronic pain
- have multiple organ failure
- don’t want to waste money on palliative medical treatment that family members could better use
- want to avoid further bankrupting the country with high Medicare bills that only prolong a poor quality of life while supporting disease-care industries
- and/or choose to end their time on earth with independence and dignity
For people described under (B), recommendations #10 and 11 below aren’t practical because there is no reasonable chance for physical recovery. In such cases, assisted suicide or euthanasia may well be the best solution. It should be a choice – not the decision of the church, government, or disease-care industries that stand to gain the most from prolonging life beyond any semblance of quality.
People in category (B) should not have to die alone and be afraid while trying to pass on by their own hand. When suffering inordinately with no real prospect of additional quality of life, most pets receive a timely and painless death while surrounded by loved ones. Don’t humans deserve at least as much?
For those in category A, these 14 powerful holistic solutions can often help . . .
1. Consider the devastating impact on others. Because of your physical, mental, and/or emotional difficulties, you may underestimate how many family and friends really care. Your suicide will have negative effects on others in ways you can’t imagine. Family and friends are usually devastated—even when not particularly close—when a family or friend dies this way.
our suicide may trigger a lifetime of guilt, shame, anger, and self-blame for them. Even casual acquaintances may think, “If only I had seen it coming. Was it something I did or said, or didn’t do or say that put him over the edge? Was there something I could have done to prevent it?”
Over the years, I’ve worked with many people with a loved one who passed on by suicide. They are often traumatized to the core, even decades later, and begin to tremble and stutter when talking about it. I can’t emphasize enough how huge of a shock your suicide will be to others. If for no other reason, I encourage people who are considering suicide to think of the impact on others.
One way to gauge this is to use the Life Review Technique. You’ve probably heard of this part of the near-death experience (NDE) that many people have reported. The life review is one of most transformative aspects of the NDE: it often helps alcoholics quit drinking, drug users abstain, fundamentalist ministers to preach about love instead of fear, and suicidal people to focus on living instead of dying.
The Life Review Technique allows you to experience this without nearly dying. It uses deep relaxation and visualization to consider what your life review would be like if you changed worlds today. During this session, you can see and feel the impact of your positive and negative thoughts, words, and deeds so far. You can also get a better sense of what the impact would be to you and your loved ones if you go ahead with suicide.
2. Think about the loss of your contributions for good. People who consider or complete suicide are often more sensitive than average. They are keenly aware of the injustices and pain on this planet and feel like they can’t continue living here any longer. But we need ‘all hands on deck’ to bring love and light to the fore. We need more, not fewer people who clearly see what needs changed on this planet and are willing to pitch in and help.
If you are very sensitive or empathic, it’s important to shield yourself daily so you aren’t sapped or zapped by lower energy emotions that abound. Visualize, pray, and affirm that you are surrounded by a cocoon of light that protects you 24/7. This helps you be around others who are suffering or imbalanced without taking on their lower energies of fear, pain, sadness, etc. Shielding yourself allows you to function more effectively IN the world even though you know you are not solely OF this world. To learn more, read article #23 Are You a Sensitive or Empath?
I know that life on earth can be very difficult at times. However, much evidence collectively indicates that struggle is one major reason souls volunteer to come to this planet. Adversity and challenge can be powerful teachers. If you want to move on right now, but can overcome the urge to do so, you can be an event greater force for positive change in the world. You’ll have a chance to better identify your soul’s missions and fulfill them. Doing that will give you a peace that passes all understanding and sense of purpose that so many seek.
3. Realize that your suicide attempt might hurt others and incapacitate you. Suicide attempts can ‘go wrong’ and cause damage or death to others. Standing in front of a train could cause a train wreck. Getting drunk or taking pills and then driving off a cliff might lead a wreck that injures others. Shooting yourself could cause a bullet to travel and kill someone in the next apartment.
Recently, a woman passed on by asphyxiation in the garage with the car engine running. The fumes leaked into the house and killed two of her children. The husband came home and found all of that.
Suicide attempts can cause MUCH worse life circumstances for the person who attempts it. The worst case I’ve seen occurred while I was working as a respiratory therapist in a hospital ICU. Hank’s life seemed so horrible that he thought suicide was the only option. He put the barrel of a shotgun under his chin and pulled the trigger. The barrel shifted and blew off his face, but didn’t kill him. Hank was blinded and couldn’t talk. Most nurses and hospital staff members were justifiably freaked out by this young man’s situation.
I was in theology school at the time and reading everything from Elizabeth Kubler-Ross to Ram Dass. I talked to Hank and acknowledged that he had gone from the frying pan into the fire. I also told him about real-life stories of people who had turned tremendous adversity into blessings for themselves and others. I reminded him that he was surrounded by the Light, his higher energy support team, and health care givers. He motioned that he wanted to write a note and, as best a newly blinded person could, scribbled: “God help me. I’m in hell!”
There are all kinds of ways that suicide attempts can make things worse – one more reason to choose a better option that doesn’t involve suicide.
4. Consider completing your curriculum this time around. Your human personality / ego probably wants life to be safe, easy, and comfortable, but your soul / essence doesn’t care about any of that. Your existing self knows it is one with All That Is right now. Your real self realizes it is an integral, infinite, eternal, and beloved part of Life. Your higher self is focused on love, service, adventure, growth and enjoyment. It enjoys creating challenging scenarios and then victoriously solving them. This creates inspiring stories and helps others do the same.
Just think what a powerful story yours will be if you can take a path that doesn’t involve killing your physical body. After suicide, many souls choose to go through a similar scenario again – on earth or another setting – with the goal of taking a higher path the next time around. Why not do that here and now?
Multiple clinical sources, some religious / spiritual denominations and common sense show there is no external source of judgment or punishment in the next phase of forever for any transgression. You judge yourself based on what you planned to do versus what you did. This occurs via a life review in which you graphically see and feel all the pain you caused others. Why put yourself through all that by choosing suicide until you’ve truly tried every other option and given it time?
Have you ever watched a great adventure movie where the hero or heroine was in a tough situation and said, “That’s it, I give up. I’m going to kill myself!” What kind of lame hero would that be and who would want to watch a movie like that? Well, my friend, here some news: you are the writer, producer, director, and actor in your life’s movie. Why not create an inspiring and victorious action adventure?
5. Look at the big picture. Consider an extreme example of a very elderly woman who: has no family, suffers with multiple organ failure and chronic pain, is losing her mind, and doesn’t want to decay in a nursing home. Some people feel this would be an appropriate case for euthanasia, a term that means a good death. And maybe it is.
However, when viewed from a greater reality perspective, there could be a greater purpose and meaning even to her dire situation. Here are just three of many possibilities:
- Her soul chose to go through this misery so others could practice being care-givers. How can humans – who are really eternal souls – improve their health care, counseling, or ministry skills without having someone to help?
- She knew her suffering could build strength of spirit and patience.
- Others might see her plight and be motivated to better care for themselves and use preventive health care approaches more.
Your five senses, wonderful as they are, perceive much less than one percent of all that exists. As such, you likely have been looking at life through a tiny pinhole and trying to make sense of it all. That’s why Einstein and other great minds have said most people suffer from optical delusions.
Here’s another way to consider the question of suicide from a broader viewpoint. From a limited human perspective, life appears to be chaotic and unfair. But much evidence strongly points to it being lawful and just. Your soul may have chosen to be amidst tremendous adversity for three reasons:
a. karmic learning: you may have caused pain to others in this earthly experience or another time and place. Your inner wisdom chose to experience difficulty – not to punish yourself – but to remember why following the Golden Rule is important.
b. chosen learning: your real self knew that trials and tribulations could build spiritual muscles so it signed up for a challenging earth-school curriculum. Pretending that you can be hurt or killed is a great way to test how much you really know that life is periodically changing, but never-ending.
c. loving service: like the example of the elderly woman, you volunteered to endure suffering because you knew it might help others in some way.
Expanding your awareness of life’s big picture may motivate you to find better solutions than leaving earth by suicide. Lean on others.
6. Lean on others. As the classic song by Bill Withers reminds us, we each need help from others at times. Extreme situations that can lead to feeling suicidal require holistic solutions. Reach out to family, friends, ministers, counselors, health care providers, and others who might help. You don’t have to go through this by yourself. Even if you think you are beyond hope, please ask for help. What do you have to lose?
Excellent organizations can help when things seem hopeless. Greater Reality Living online and community groups provide information and assistance for those who are suffering and struggling. I also recommend a book written by Gary E. Schwartz and myself entitled Greater Reality Living that has many resources listed at the end.
Family members with a child who passed on sometimes consider, attempt, or carry out suicide to escape the immense grief, guilt, anger, loneliness, and other difficult emotions. HelpingParentsHeal.org assists people to transition FROM bereaved parents TO shining light parents. The latter term describes realizing that the child is now literally a shining light who is in another phase of forever. Really knowing this can help parents and family members choose healing, positive transformation, and service to others versus suicide.
7. Find kindred spirits. It’s important to find your tribe, people who have similar levels of evolution, love, and understanding. I would start with the list below but sometimes finding a soulmate can start with something as simple as a smile or eye contact. You might feel that you have known others before or happier around them.
In general, frequent places you most love and enjoy. Your list will likely be different, but these are places I’ve found where more evolved persons congregate:
a. Unity Centers and Centers for Spiritual Living (previously Religious Science and Science of Mind). These wonderfully heart-centered, open-minded, and service-oriented places provide support, enlightened spiritual study, and the opportunity to meet other kindred spirits.
b. Other excellent places include Unitarian-Universalist, Buddhism, United Church of Christ (UCC), Hinduism, Sufism (esoteric Islamic group), Native American spirituality, and Reformed or Liberal Judaism. Each major religion has special strengths and I’ve learned from all of them.
c. Other churches and spirituality centers with open-hearted, open-minded, and service-oriented focuses.
d. Holistic health centers, classes and retreats
e. Meditation, yoga classes, and spiritual movement groups
f. Drum circles, chanting / kirtan groups, and sound healing circles
8. Choose loving religious / spiritual centers. This one is quite simple: find a place that focuses on loving God, your neighbor and yourself, and following the Golden Rule.
Some people have understandably moved away from the religious teachings of their youth – especially those of the fundamentalist, hell and brimstone, and fear-based persuasion. But that can leave a void, a need for wise and loving spiritual lessons and fellowship.
Avoid fundamentalist denominations that teach archaic and erroneous notions of only one way to heaven, fiery eternal hell, judgmental God, born into sin, suicide is a one-way ticket to hell, God required the torture and death of His only son before forgiving sin of His creation, etc. Those fearfully schizoid and bizarre teachings are part of the problem, not the solution.
People with open hearts and minds understandably want nothing to do with such nonsensical teachings. That’s why it’s important to find more loving and aware groups that reflect what your inner wisdom whispered to you as a child. Those with a loving family intuitively know that a wise and caring Creator wouldn’t burn his children in hell forever. And how can people created by Infinite Intelligence be born into sin because one person disobeyed?
Religious teachings have been mightily changed over the millennia for reasons that include control and financial gain. Denominations listed under #7 will help you better understand ancient parables and metaphors that were designed to be taken figuratively, not literally. If you’ve struggled with religious teachings that didn’t make sense to you in the past or now, read article #16 Evidence-Based Spiritual Teachings.
9. Transmute your pain and suffering. Stories of wizards who can transmute straw into gold are entertaining, but people who heal their pain via a process of sacred alchemy are inspiring. Here are two real-life examples of parents I worked with:
- A mother wanted to kill herself so she could be with her deceased baby. My books, CDs, and webinars helped her upgrade lower energy emotions of pain, anger, and hopelessness into higher ones of love, compassion, and service to others. Transformations like this usually don’t happen quickly and aren’t easy, but they are possible.
- After his son passed on, a father created a foundation to help inner city youth enjoy sports. Being involved in this work helped him heal and get back into the flow of life on earth. I asked if he felt sad about his son; he quickly replied: ‘I try not to let myself go there because sadness makes it more difficult for me to feel his presence.’
Here’s a secret to feeling happy and peaceful most of the time no matter what is going on around you: you receive many times what you give to others.
With practice, you can learn to live in the present moment and focus on higher feeling thoughts. Learning that lesson is easily worth the price of suffering and struggle because you become that higher level of awareness. Your enhanced state of being can also greatly bless others as you shine always and in all ways.
Two powerful ways to upgrade your suffering include Holistic Breathing Technique and the Ask Your Soul Technique
10. Know that suicide might actually delay a reunion with ‘departed’ loved ones. You may have considered suicide as a way to reunite sooner with your loved ones who have passed on. This is an understandable expression of anguish that you hopefully won’t act on. They are likely in a higher, finer, and more peaceful state of consciousness. That puts them in a higher realm, a more evolved energy in the field of all possibilities.
Your suicide might actually delay, rather than hasten, a reunion with them. Here’s why . . .
After physical death by more peaceful means, souls usually soon experience a blessed reunion with loved ones who have previously passed on. However, souls of people who destroyed their body by suicide may carry over lower energy emotions such as regret, guilt, and anxiety. Their personal energy / chi may also be depleted or imbalanced. The person who passed on via suicide may require a period of rest, rehabilitation, and counsel before being able to visit with others.
How long this might delay a reunion is difficult to gauge since perceptions of time are reported to be different for those living on earth versus the afterlife.
Further, a person’s beliefs while on earth – especially those about a fiery eternal place awaiting those who change worlds by suicide – may temporarily influence perceptions. This may slow the persons awareness of the Light and willingness to enter it because of fear and other lower energy emotions. This could temporarily put them in a different energy / place than their ‘deceased’ loved ones. This potential energetic mismatch might also delay a reunion.
For example, consider Ruth, a woman who grew up in a church that taught suicide is an automatic ticket to hell. Those beliefs were very deeply seated and difficult to extinguish without working on them. Imagine that Ruth did not question authority but, instead, thought that pastor knew best.
Due to severe depression from a number of causes, she blindly trusted medical doctors. Ruth took the drugs that her doctor prescribed – also without question. These pharmaceuticals did not address the underlying causes of her mental symptoms. (See article #26 Holistic Solutions for ‘Mental’ Symptoms to learn more about common core causes of depression.) In addition, the drugs had severe potential side effects that included suicidal thinking and behavior.
Over time, Ruth developed insomnia, anxiety, and feelings of isolation. She gained weight and had even less energy due to other drug side effects. All of this negatively impacted her marriage and other relationships. Eventually, she saw no other way out except for suicide to lessen her pain and suffering.
Because of all the above factors, she initially experienced a hellish afterlife after physical death. (Hell isn’t a fiery place of torment where a loving Creator would put her. It is, rather, a ghastly state of mind created by the summation of her lower energy beliefs, thoughts, words, and actions.) Ruth believed she deserved to be in hell because of her suicide, guilt, feelings of unworthiness, and more.
Her angels and other evolved beings were always present and willing to help her choose a higher path. They invited her to love herself, and know that she deserved to be happy and peaceful no matter what. But they couldn’t force her to choose light and love over darkness and fear. It took Ruth awhile to realize this great news and feel how highly she is regarded and loved.
As soon as she was ready, a period of rest, healing, recharging, and counseling began. Eventually, she remembered her true nature as an integral, eternal, infinite, and beloved part of Life Itself. Then she was ready for a reunion with her loved ones who had passed on before.
After your body dies, you will – sooner or later – join your group of dear ones you have known for eons. How soon that reunion occurs is determined, in part, by your state of consciousness when you crossed over. This is another factor to consider as you think about whether suicide is the highest choice for you now.
11. Realize that suicide may initially alter the quality of your afterlife experience. What you experience after your body dies may be affected by your state of mind when you pass on. In general, which do you think might create a more immediate awareness of your eternal nature, inseparability from the Light, and a zillion other wonderful realizations?
a. Bodily death due to natural means (or by ways considered to be beyond your control: terminal illness, fatal accident, murder, or unknown causes).
b. Bodily death due to suicide with all the factors that often precede that decision and action.
Again, this may be a generalization since things are often not so black and white, for example . . .
a. Some people who die by disease or an accident increase the probability of that happening after years of abusing themselves with alcohol and drugs
b. the suicide of a very advanced soul may have been preplanned for reasons I’ve mentioned
c. in some cases, one’s karma, soul’s purpose, or energy may attract death by accident or murder
A similar dynamic occurs with after-death communications (ADCs). People who are more peaceful, loving, and joyful generally have more frequent and meaningful perceptions of dear ones who have passed on. The quality of their perceptions is affected by being more on the same wavelength / energy frequency as their dear ones in spirit.
Similarly, it seems to me, an optimal consciousness at the moment of dropping your body may allow you to enjoy a more heavenly experience sooner after crossing over.
12. Benefit from natural and holistic health care. Excellent natural healthcare approaches include specific chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture, personalized nutrition-based healing, and deep tissue massage. Other powerful methods include aromatherapy, homeopathy, hypnotherapy, energy healing, shamanic healing, and sound and light therapy. You can learn more about these approaches in article #26 Holistic Solutions for ‘Mental’ Symptoms and my book Radiant Wellness.
Natural health care can be miraculous for relieving severe and chronic pain that may cause you to consider suicide. To find the best practitioners in your area, ask around about who are the best ones and see what names repeatedly surface. For some people, even a 50% reduction in pain can make the difference between choosing to stay on earth or hastening their death.
‘Mental’ symptoms such as severe depression, panic attacks, and suicidal thoughts are often caused by factors that can be addressed with natural health care approaches. (I use single quotation marks around ‘mental’ because multiple causes are often behind these symptoms.) Stressors such as spinal cord pressure, imbalanced energy, excess heavy metals / chemicals / microorganisms, and nutritional deficiencies can impair brain functioning and one’s mental state.
Likewise, these factors can prevent the gastrointestinal tract and hormonal organs from working normally. And that, in turn, can cause extreme depression, anxiety and other symptoms. Like the brain, the intestines also produce neurotransmitters, chemical messengers that allow communication between the brain and all organs. Many woman know firsthand the severe mental and emotional symptoms that can occur when their ovaries, thyroid, and other endocrine organs are imbalanced.
You may have something as simple as a severe food sensitivities to wheat, dairy, soy, corn, or sugar – the most common ones – that causes ‘mental’ symptoms. Sometimes it’s not the food, per se, but how they are raised that cause the problems. Examples include grains sprayed with herbicides and pesticides, or dairy products from poorly raised animals who are given hormones and antibiotics.
Once identified, avoidance of those foods – or using chemical free and healthfully raised sources – can make a huge difference. It would be a shame to die by suicide, devastate family and friends, and choose to repeat all this because of something so easily treatable.
I highly recommend Nutrition Response Testing or Applied Kinesiology for addressing the underlying nutritional causes of mental symptoms. For additional information about this miraculous approach to helping your body heal itself, see article #26.
I also recommend that you have an integrative medical doctor who recognizes the effectiveness of natural methods and cooperates with those practitioners.
Crises and emergencies may initially require drug or surgical care. Much more often, however, natural methods that don’t have potential negative side-effects will suffice. Anti-depressant drugs have black-box warnings about increased suicidal thinking and behavior for good reason. A holistically oriented medical physician can – along with your natural health care providers – help design an optimal recovery program for you.
13. Practice optimal self-care.
The power of basic health practices done on a regular basis is tremendous. Take time to get adequate rest, relaxation, and moderate exercise. Spend the extra money to buy chemical-free real food with at least 60% of your diet as raw food. Nutrients, enzymes, catalysts, and other co-factors are most abundant in fresh and healthy foods that have not been processed or exposed to temperatures over 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Your organs need those nutrients to function normally.
Learn how to detox your body and minimize exposure to chemicals and heavy metals. Consider protection again electro-magnetic fields (EMF) since that alone can cause severe depression and illness. Use prayer, meditation, yoga, time in nature, and other centering practices to quiet your mind, increase awareness, and remember the great news that accompanies greater reality living.
For more information about this topic, see article #26 Holistic Solutions for ‘Mental’ Symptoms and my book Radiant Wellness.
14. Remember who you are and all the benefits therein.
Many wise teachers over time have advised: “know thyself.” Remembering who you are, why you’re here, and Who walks beside you always can make your earthly experience more sensible and successful. To learn more about the collective evidence that you are an integral part of Source Energy right now, see articles #13, 15, 16, and 52.
Also visit SoulProof.com for other free articles, newsletters, and radio interviews with top consciousness experts.
I especially recommend article #1: Scientific Evidence That Bodily Death Is NOT the End of Life. You can also better realize who you are with an Ask Your Soul hypnosis session. Much scientific, clinical, and experiential evidence now shows – with varying degrees of certainty – that you and everyone else . . .
a. are still alive after the human form dies.
b. do not really ‘lose’ loved ones after their earthly bodies perish since you reunite with them when you change worlds.
c. can enjoy a continued, but different, relationship with ‘departed’ loved ones now.
d. are integral, infinite, and beloved parts of Source Energy / Creator / One Mind.
e. receive assistance and guidance from sources variously described as angels, guides, master teachers, and higher energies.
f. can have different and, perhaps, simultaneous life experiences. That means you may be with ‘deceased’ loved ones right now in a parallel reality / different slice of Life.
g. create how heavenly or hellish your life feels by your predominant thoughts, words and deeds.
h. are interconnected in sacred ways with all people, animals, and nature.
i. have special purposes for experiencing being on this planet at this time. It’s an optical delusion that this time on earth is all there is.
j. can quite probably use SoulPhone devices in the near future to communicate with dear ones who changed worlds
k. will likely enjoy webinars and classes from postmaterial luminaries who want to help us heal ourselves and our planet
None of the above is apparent when you rely on just your five senses. All of the above are essential understandings for having a joyful, peaceful and meaningful human experience.
The bottom line? Your worst nightmare – perhaps the life that you are experiencing right now that makes you think about suicide – can become a blessing for you and others.
That’s why, in most people in category A listed above, I encourage you to find a way to keep on living. An earthly experience is a precious experience. Those who work through the greatest difficulties can become the best teachers, healers, and counselors afterwards. Most importantly, the quality of your life can match that of your greatest dreams when you set that as your goal and regularly follow my recommendations over time.
This is true even if you’ve attempted suicide one or more times. Many people who attempted suicide have learned to enjoy life again, and I’d love to see your name on that list.
The world needs more sensitive and aware people – which you likely are – not fewer.
NOTE: If you still are thinking about suicide after reading all this, I recommend a nine-month window of time before deciding for sure. That’s how long it took to prepare your entry into this world so please give it at least that much time before leaving it.
I hope and pray that you find peace, vitality, and joy again.
* * * * * * *
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 directs The Soul Phone Foundation, founded Greater Reality Living Groups, and assists research on 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 answers and those of top experts 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 that:
- 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.
