by Mark Pitstick MA, DC

My e-books, ​audio books, audio programs, documentary film, radio shows, articles, and ‘Greater Reality Healing, Living & Helping Program’ are ​all FREE at SoulProof.com.  In lieu of payment, I ask that you fully use the products, share them, and help others as you feel called.

This evidence-based information and holistic resources will help you . . .

  1. Adopt a more accurate worldview based on contemporary understandings about ‘the big picture of life’ and live accordingly – whatever that means for you. (see article #19 ‘The Great News’ about the Nature of Reality at SoulProof.com)
  2. Experience shorter and lightened grieving after loved ones change worlds and other big changes that seem like losses.
  3. Fine-tune yourself physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually so you have the vitality to handle life’s demands AND share your greatest gifts / soul’s missions.
  4. Become more aware of, benefit from, and share life’s silver linings that always accompany opportunities masquerading as adversity.
     
  5. Create the greatest life YOU have envisioned. (The term ‘YOU’ refers to your higher self / eternal consciousness / soul)
  6. Fulfill your highest purposes for being on earth and help make our world a better place. This is now practically possible as discussed in article #125 Eight Developments for Widespread Conscious Living Now. As enough people do this, widespread personal and planetary change will naturally unfold.

To learn more about how you achieve these lofty goals, read the following articles at SoulProof.com/ArticlesAND watch videos at SoulProof.com/Greater Reality Program.  

     #131 Greater Reality Healing, Living & Helping Program; videos Greater Reality Program

     #82 Greater Reality HEALING; videos at Greater Reality Healing

     #72 Greater Reality LIVING; videos at Greater Reality Living

     #119 Greater Reality HELPING; videos at Greater Reality Helping

 

Has a ‘Departed’ Loved One of Yours Returned to Earth?

Have you wondered if a new arrival – the baby of a close family member or friend – might be the soul of a loved one who passed on earlier? 

If that question sounds too strange to you, know that much clinical data supports the possibility.  In addition, many people have reported experiential evidence based on their firsthand experiences.  In 1998, I was certified by Brian Weiss MD to facilitate past life regressions.  A graduate of Columbia University and Yale Medical School, Dr. Weiss is Chairman Emeritus of Psychiatry at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami.  He was a pioneer in popularizing the topic of past lives and lessons for those now living on earth. 

The Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia has also investigated the topics of reincarnation and children’s past life memories.  The clinical research of Ian Stevenson MD, Jim Tucker MD, and Carol Bowman MS is especially impressive.  Stevenson is the author of Children Who Remembered Past Lives and other excellent books on the subject.  Tucker, a pediatric psychiatrist, wrote Life Before Life: A Scientific Investigation of Children’s Memories of Previous Lives.  Bowman authored the books Children’s Past Livesand Return from Heaven     

To learn more validation evidence, see article #34 Reincarnation / Cyclical Life Experiences (at SoulProof.com /Articles).  My book Soul Proof: Compelling Evidence That Life Continues After Death contains a chapter on this topic.  I have led many sessions with individuals, groups, and via my Past Life Regression audio program. (both free at SoulProof.com/ Shop) 

In the last week, two mothers shared their personal experiences that indicate the possibility that a postmaterial(so-called ‘departed’) loved one has returned as a close family member.  I’ve known them for many years; their integrity and honesty are beyond question.  A third mom shared her experience just yesterday so it’s obviously time to write an article on this topic. 

Their names and those of family members have been changed.  Why?  Some family members are open to and excited about the possibility, but others probably wouldn’t be. 

Mom #1 described her son “Bob” who passed on in 2009 and grandson “James” who was born 15 years later.  

     Several respected mediums told me that Bob would reincarnate through my grandson. When I learned that my daughter was pregnant, the timing affirmed their message: her due date was under the same Chinese Zodiac sign and was close to Bob’s birthdate.  Throughout my daughter’s pregnancy, her baby consistently measured in the top percentile for height – just like Bob who was very tall.  As James has grown, our entire family has noticed striking similarities in his appearance and personality to Bob’s.  Even more remarkable is James’ deep emotional connection with family members, many of whom he’s barely met.

     For instance, he had seen his great-grandmother only once before at the age of four months.  Six months later, we took James to visit my parents again.  My mother suffers from dementia, and James instinctively approached her with tenderness.  Though usually very energetic, he sat quietly in her lap and gazed up at her with the same loving stillness that once radiated from Bob.

     Something extraordinary also happened during that visit.  In 2021, I received a reading from an excellent evidential medium; during the session, she said Bob was handing me a necklace and wanted me to know it was from him.  I wasn’t sure what she meant.  A few minutes later, my husband surprised me with a beautiful necklace for our 33rd wedding anniversary.  Coincidentally, thirty-three is ‘Bob’s number’; all of his passwords (and now ours too!) include it.  The moment my husband gave it to me, I knew it was the             necklace Bob had spoken of in my session with the medium.  I’ve worn it nearly every day since it brings such comfort and healing.

     During a recent visit, James became fascinated with the necklace.  I let him play with it since the chain was strong but, unexpectedly, he tugged hard and broke the clasp.  That moment struck me deeply and felt like another clear, physical sign of Bob’s presence – as though his energy literally broke through from ‘the other side’.  I felt chills as I realized what had just happened.

Mom #2 described her son “Mike” who passed on in 2015 and great-nephew “Tom” who was born 7 years later . . .

     Before my niece ever had children, two different mediums told us that Mike would return to us through one of her kids.  One medium told my niece that Mike would reincarnate as her child, and that she would recognize him instantly.  Completely unprompted, another medium told me the same thing during a separate reading.

    When my niece gave birth to her son Tom, we couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of familiarity.  As a baby, Tom looked so much like Mike – especially his big round eyes.  Even before Tom could talk, he would lunge into my dad’s arms (his great-grandfather) with a sense of urgency and comfort as if Tom had known him forever.  My dad, his eyes full of tears, once said “He has Mike’s energy.”  And we all felt it too.

      Now three years old, Tom continues to remind us of Mike: he has the same blond hair, raspy voice, and loving magnetic presence.  My older son lives far away and rarely visits but, when he came to town, Tom ran straight to him, hugged his legs, and climbed onto his lap as if they’d shared a lifetime together.  He does the same thing with me.  Every time we see each other, he runs into my arms full of love.  It’s as though we’ve never been apart.  It’s hard to explain all this with logic but we feel it in our hearts.  A piece of Mike lives on in   Tom . . . maybe even more than just a piece.’

Mom #3 described her son “Fred” who passed on in 2021 and grandson “David” who was born 3 years later . . .

       A few months after Fred’s transition from earth, my daughter visited an evidential medium who was highly recommended.  The medium provided a strong connection with Fred and she was very comforted.  The medium told her there was a small boy with Fred who would become my daughter’s son when she was 31 years old.  As predicted, she gave birth last year to a boy who, according to meticulous records, was conceived on Fred’s birthday!   

      I’ve always thought David was a gift of joy that Fred gave us.  For several personal reasons including Fred’s passing, we desperately needed some joy in our family.  I had a reading with an evidential medium and mentioned to her that my new grandson had been conceived on Fred’s birthday.  She told me that David was a reincarnation of Fred; she could only get a weak connection with Fred and felt that his return was the most likely explanation for that. 

      David turned one year old last month and he’s starting to look more and more like Fred.   David has the same huge brown eyes, sweetness, and sensitivity that Fred had as child.  Fred was very charismatic and my grandson is already showing that same charm; people are just drawn to him.  I find myself thinking of David as another version of my son.  

*       *       *       *       *       *       *

I created the following survey to evaluate the possibility that a postmaterial loved one has returned to earth as a baby of a family member or close friend.  I use the adjective material to describe people living on earth and postmaterial for those who have changed worlds.  I also use the pronoun ‘she’ instead of he / she / they.

For each question below, answer about the material child who may be a returned version of your postmaterial loved one using a 1 to 5 rating:

1 = strongly disagree; 2 = somewhat disagree; 3 = neither disagree or agree; 4 = somewhat agree; 5 = strongly agree

___ A. Does she have similarities in appearance, size, personality, and preferences?

___ B. Have you or anyone else had precognitive dreams about her rejoining your family?  

___ C. Has an evidential medium – who had no prior information about who passed on, was born, and when – provided an accurate reading indicating her return?

___ D. Have you experienced telepathic messages and/or other ‘signs’ from your postmaterial loved one that she is returning to earth?

___ E. Have you noticed a decrease in signs / visits from your postmaterial loved one after the allegedly reincarnated child was born? 

___ F. Was she born on a meaningful date such as the prior birthdate, that of a close family member, or date of passing?  

___ G. Has she intensely recognized and been very affectionate with family members when meeting them for essentially the first time? 

(Questions H, I, J: only for older children who can verbalize about relatively complex concepts)

___ H. Has the material child made one or more unprompted statements that suggest she is a manifestation of the same soul / consciousness? 6

___ I. Has she shared a dream about previously living on earth as your postmaterial loved one? 

___ J. Has she had a past life regression session under hypnosis that indicated a prior earthly life as your loved one who passed on? 

Survey Indications

Again, the questions in this survey were selected from existing clinical and experiential evidence.  This is not a definitive conclusion but, rather, an indication about whether a postmaterial loved one might have reincarnated as a material child in your life. 

For babies and infants (questions A – F)
No indication if your scores were 1 or 2

No indication or contraindication if you had two or more scores of 3 but otherwise 1 or 2

Some indication if you had two or more scores of 4 but no 5’s

Significant indication if you had two or more scores of 5

For babies and infants (questions A – I)
No indication if your scores were 1 or 2

No indication or contraindication if you had two or more scores of 3 but otherwise 1 or 2

Some indication if you had two or more scores of 4 but no 5’s

Significant indication if you had two or more scores of 5


Note: All three moms whose stories were shared above scored in the ‘significant indication’ range.

A fourth mom, whose son “Joe” who passed on in 2015 has three grandchildren who show interesting similarities. 

     I took the survey but, honestly, I don’t think the scores are high enough to be significant.  My seven-year-old grandson Paul, who was born to my youngest son, looked SO much like Joe until he was 4 years old. His behavior was strong willed and defiant – very much like Joe – until the last year.  (Paul is the oldest of four children and has changed in personality since his parents have relied on him to be well-behaved and reliable.)  

    My granddaughter Willow is age 5; she doesn’t look like David, BUT her behavior is David’s to a T!  Because she is a girl, her parents don’t acknowledge the connection so my husband   and I mostly speak of the similar behaviors behind closed doors. 

    My four-year-old grandson Walter David was named for his Uncle David.  When Walter was born, the evidential medium Lisa Wilcoxson did a reading for me and said David was telling me to watch out for Walter and his curiosity.  She said David was going to be a guide for Walter.  All our family members see that Walter has David’s piercing blue eyes and a number of David’s mannerisms.  

   I truly believe all of these grandchildren have “some of Uncle David” in them.  As I sat in mediation and asked Joe about this, I heard him confirming that he has chosen to manifest in small ways in the three grandchildren I mentioned.  When I asked about the other grandkids , I heard him say “I’m not done showing up, momma.”  That surprised me! 

After reading the words of ‘Mom #4’, I thought of another possibility and responded to her: I considered the following possibility for returned souls but initially didn’t want to get into it for this article.  But maybe I should after hearing about your three grandchildren and some similarities with their uncle David.  Perhaps the totality of David’s energy / soul doesn’t have to return in or as just one           person.  Part of him – his consciousness and life-force – might simultaneously be in each of those grandchildren AND at Home AND perhaps other space-time dimensions.  If you’re not familiar with the concept of multilocation and supportive evidence for it, see article #75 Multilocation / Parallel Realities / Simultaneous Experiences at SoulProof.com. 

 Many years ago, I read about time-tested and cross-cultural beliefs that souls who change worlds can leave behind energetic gifts to their dear ones on earth.  (I got teared up and felt heart chakra pressure a bit while typing that; those are two of my signs that this indeed may be true.)  People who are more aware have noticed new positive qualities that their ‘departed’ loved ones possessed.  As such, the scope of this article might be too limited.  Might a soul reincarnate as a new baby or even more than one.  Might ‘a soul-infusion’ enable this as well as upgrades of key traits of loved ones still on earth?

And so I ask readers to consider: have you noticed higher-energy traits – that emerged or heightened after a loved one passed on – in you and/or other close family members and friends?  

On this point, Mom #3 wrote: “Fred had a HUGE heart – that was the most common comment written in the memory book people signed at his celebration of life.  He was so compassionate and non-judgmental, always willing to help someone in need.  And he absolutely lived for the moment.  Those are traits that I feel have grown much stronger in me since his transition.  I had assumed that was a natural consequence of the grief journey.  But wouldn’t it be wonderful if instead it’s an energetic gift from my son?

Life is indeed wonderful; our job is to realize that and live accordingly.  Thank you for sharing this article with others, especially if they think a postmaterial loved one might have returned.  Even if you don’t have any indications, learning more about this topic can provide more hope, inspiration, and peace.  These stories – and the clinical and experiential evidence for this phenomenon – can deepen your knowing that your loved ones are alive, well, and maybe more near than you think. 

Notes

  1. Dreams involving postmaterial loved ones have been reported by different cultures over time. These ‘dream visits’ may be actual contacts between the sleeping material person and a postmaterial loved one. The validity of ‘dream visits’ is strengthened when they: (a) are experienced by more than one person independently; (b) contain evidential components with ‘the dreamer’ learning information that was not previously known but later verified.  See article #28 Afterlife Contacts to learn more about this topic.  My Afterlife Contact audio program uses deep relaxation and guided imagery to assist having multi-sensory perceptions of postmaterial loved ones.
  2. The authenticity of skilled mediums has been scientifically demonstrated by studies at seven universities and institutes in the U.S., Canada, and Scotland. To learn more, see article #6 Evidential Mediums and read The Afterlife Experiments by Gary E. Schwartz PhD (foreword by Deepak Chopra MD).
  3. To learn more about signs and visits from postmaterial loved ones, read Chapter 2: Sensing Your Child’s Presence in Shining Light Parents Speak.I and four editors wrote this book that contains excerpts from interviews with 130 exemplary parents with one or more children who passed on.
  4. Accordingly to Michael Newton PhD, founder of the Lives Between Lives Technique, souls only need about 40% of their energy / life-force to manifest an earthly experience. The frequency, duration, and intensity of afterlife contacts may decrease if the soul has indeed returned to earth. This factor is theoretical since, to my knowledge, there has been no clinical or scientific research about this to date.
  5. Unprompted statements by the material child have more credibility if family and friends haven’t said anything about a possible link with a loved one who has passed on. For example, consider if your daughter Lisa passed on and a family member had a baby 10 years later who was named Susan. It would be a more controlled clinical evaluation if no one said to the child ‘Are you Lisa?’ or ‘Lisa, have you come back to us?’
  6. The three mothers whose stories I shared above all recognize the importance of appreciating and respecting the uniqueness of the new child versus assuming ‘the new version’ will be identical.
  7. Postmaterial person is a term chosen by Gary E. Schwartz PhD and me while writing our book Greater Reality Living. Schwartz, a former professor at Harvard, Yale, and the University of Arizona, helped pioneer the fields of Behavioral Medicine and Energy Healing. As discussed in article #31 What Is a ‘Postmaterial Person’?, those who have passed on are not gauzy, ephemeral, or insubstantial.  A series of experiments was directed by Dr. Schwartz at the University of Arizona’s Laboratory for Advances in Consciousness and Health.  Those repeatedly indicated that postmaterial persons have – or can have – physicality and density.  Whether or not that is case depends different factors, for example, their goals and with whom they are interacting.

  8. The term ‘higher-energy traits’ refers to thoughts, words, and actions that involve peace, joy, love, gratitude, compassion, enthusiasm, and enlightenment.  To learn more about how powerfully this can heal and improve every aspect of your life, see article #108 Higher Energies, Emotions, and Ways of Being.

    *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    Thank you for telling others about this article!  Your life, and that of others around you, will be more enriched when you:  

    1. read the article again so you really know it.
       
    2. discuss with close family and friends to more deeply internalize it.
       
    3. take action steps that seem right for you.
       
    4. share it with others via social media, discussion groups, and other ways.

    Hugs, love, blessings, and let it shine!
    Mark

    Mark Pitstick MA, DC

    – a​uthor, lecturer, c​ounselor, and holistic chiropractic physician 

    – spokesperson, researcher, and strategic planner for SoulPhone Project

    – ​founder of ‘Greater Reality Healing, Living & Helping Program’

    SoulProof.com     SoulPhone.org     ​​GreaterRealityProgram.com ​

    University-based research has now scientifically proven that life continues after bodily death.  The SoulPhone Project will enable communication with postmaterial (so-called “deceased”) loved ones and luminaries who want to help us heal our world. How does this project, The Great News, and The 8 Developments affect the way you live and treat others and our planet?  (To learn more, see articles #35, 19, and 125 at SoulProof.com/Articles)

    Dr. Pitstick is a master’s clinical psychologist, holistic chiropractic physician, and clinical nutritionist.  He has also helped others in pastoral counseling and suicide prevention / education settings.  His goal is to help you know and show that this earthly experience is a totally safe, meaningful, and magnificent adventure amidst eternity. 

    To learn more about the Greater Reality Healing, Living, and Helping Program, visit the ‘Greater Reality Programs’ top tab at SoulProof.com and SoulPhone.org.  Also see  articles #19, 72, 82, 119, and 125 at SoulProof.com/Articles.

    SoulProof.com provides many FREE resources:

    • 8 e-books Radiant Wellness, Soul Proof, The Eleven Questions, Greater Reality Living, The Big Picture of Life, The Afterlife Evidence, Ask the Soul Doctor, and Shining Light Parents Speak
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    In lieu of payment, he asks that you: (1) fully use and appreciate the products, (2) share them with others, and (3) help others in ways you feel called.

    The following are also available for a fee:

    • 8 printed books Radiant Wellness, Soul Proof, The Eleven Questions, Greater Reality Living, The Big Picture of Life, The Afterlife Evidence, Ask the Soul Doctor, and Shining Light Parents Speak
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    Note: This article is intended as a reference source, not to replace professional treatment for physical, emotional, or mental problems.  The author disclaims any liability arising directly or indirectly from the voluntary use of action steps discussed in article. 

    Dr. Pitstick created this article while ‘wearing the hat’ of a clinician, counselor, and educator.  His statements are based upon some scientific research; much clinical and experiential evidence; his personal experiences; and best current understandings.  This article does not reflect his role in the SoulPhone Project since that requires scientific data for all statements.