Mark Ireland is an author and mediumship researcher. Mark’s best-seller Soul Shift describes the true events of the tragic loss of his son Brandon and his discovery of life after death. Mark chats to MysticMag about his soul shift and life journey.
Was it a conscious decision of yours to (initially) follow another path to that of your father, and if so, why?
I just followed my own natural path based on my interests and personality without giving it a lot of thought. My father and I were very different people, so while I loved and respected him I was by no means the next version of him.
For example, I was interested in sports, while my father had no interest in sporting events. I was practical and careful while he was more spontaneous and somewhat of a dreamer. I was more reserved, while my father was outgoing and charismatic.
Regarding his psychic capacity, I felt it was unrivaled so while my father always told people that I was very psychic I just didn’t see it that way. Sure, I had some crazy psychic things happen over the years but looked at my father’s abilities as the gold standard and didn’t see myself as capable or even willing to go down that path. Also, my father had to deal with skeptics his entire life, which seemed extremely burdensome to me.
Did you ever have psychic incidents in early childhood which suggested the existence of something more?
Yes, the first one occurred when I was around 3 years old. I don’t remember the experience, however, my father documented it. We were traveling in a car and I was leaning up against the passenger side door (pre-seat belt era) when my father asked me to scoot in to avoid the risk of falling out. I responded to him by saying, “If that happened I would break my head and be all broken up into a lot of little pieces. Then I’d go up to heaven and wouldn’t cry anymore. They would make a new body for me and make me come down here again.” He then proceeded with a series of questions about my previous life and I provided quick, detailed answers without hesitation.
Another one that stands out in my mind happened when I was eighteen years old. In a dream one night, I saw that my girlfriend was seeing another guy. What was unique about this dream was that I could recall his physical description, as well as his first and last name.
When I told my girlfriend that I’d had an interesting dream the night before, she asked me to share the details. Initially, I tried to pass it off by saying, “It was just a dream” implying that there was no need to go back over it. She kept prodding, so I shared the details, describing his physical appearance and name “Bob Dooley.” She was pretty stunned and told me that she’d dated a guy named Bob Dooley when she lived in Kansas (we were in Arizona) and that the physical description I provided was precise.
Do you believe, to a certain degree, that tragedy happens to those who have the innate strength to cope and deal with it?
In some cases, I think this is true, for example when looking at my wife and me, as well as other friends in the Helping Parents Heal organization. We have been able to move forward in positive ways and live productive lives. I think part of this may be attributed to inner strength, but it’s also supplemented by support from others, positive altruistic actions, forgiveness, and openness to (and personal experiences with) evidence for survival of consciousness after physical death.
By the same token, I don’t think this is always true. Unfortunately, I have also seen people—mainly parents who’ve had a child pass—end up in a very dark place and stay there. Whether that’s because of a lack of innate strength or something else, I can’t say. I think the reasons vary, but there are a few common ones:
- The person wants their loved one back exactly as they were before and nothing else will suffice. The idea of their loved one still persisting in a different form is insufficient.
- They feel that their deep mourning honors their loved one. They fear that if they work to diminish that pain their loved one will somehow be forgotten or won’t be sufficiently honored.
- They harbor deep guilt or anger, directed at themselves or others whom they view as somehow responsible for the passing. Until they can forgive, they will remain in a depressed state of mind.
Have you ever considered using your undoubted psychic medium abilities to help others in need (in addition to your two books)?
Yes, I have considered that idea but I have a few concerns that make me cautious. First, I don’t feel that my abilities are consistently strong or fully dependable at this point. While I have had some exceptional experiences, pulling in and relaying compelling specific information to other people, this has only happened sporadically.
To advance to a point where I’d be comfortable pursuing this, I’d need to spend a lot more time working on development—time I don’t have right now. Further, it is a big responsibility to read for grieving people who are highly vulnerable. A good session can serve as a healing balm, but a bad reading can be devastating and set them back in their healing process. So I’m not sure I want to take on that responsibility.
Also, I currently write articles and books about these phenomena, and if I were to declare myself a psychic or medium, it is likely that I’d no longer be viewed as an objective journalistic writer.
Finally, I currently operate a medium certification program, testing claimed mediums under controlled conditions. In this process, people who apply must conduct blinded readings with people they don’t know and who they cannot see. Results are accounted for based on statistical accuracy with consideration for the relevance and importance of comments made to test sitters. If I were to claim myself a psychic or medium, in all likelihood, I would no longer be viewed as a suitable person to run such a program—I’d more likely be seen as lacking objectivity.
With all these things noted, I’m not saying “no”, I am just saying, “not now”.
How has your journey helped you and your family deal with your tragic loss?
It helped immensely. For me, it was essentially a return to my family lineage and rediscovery of truths I’d known all along. To have a connection with my son Brandon after his passing, receiving amazing and specific validations in various ways, was tremendously healing.
My family and friends were along for the ride. They too found hope and a sense of joy in the accounts I shared—and they had their own experiences as well. Looking at all of the phenomena together, and the synchronicities involved was like seeing a puzzle come together. It took things to a place where the evidence seemed incontrovertible, pointing to the truth that consciousness and personality persist after physical death.
And based on notes I’ve received from people around the world, thousands of others found healing in my story, as they shared in the journey through my books. Some people even told me that my story kept them from taking their own life. I found that pretty rewarding, confirming that the work I was doing was necessary and valuable.
After this life-changing experience, have you gone back to the conventional path you were following prior to your son’s death, or was the shift towards the light too profound?
Too often, I think we view things as either needing to be “this” or “that” rather than a balance of several different things. Today, I serve as Chairman of the Board for the Helping Parents Heal organization (for bereaved parents), I run a Medium Certification program, I participate in interviews, I publish newsletters, and I am about to release another book through a major publisher.
In addition to these things, I still work in the business world to pay my bills. The difference between now and before is that I’m no longer consumed with my career—focused on advancement opportunities, recognition, and the price that must be paid for these things. Rather, I’ve found a happy balance where I enjoy the work and appreciate the financial rewards, but I no longer associate who I am with what I do for a living.
Some people feel a calling to step away from their day job, plunging into spiritual work as their sole source of income. Unfortunately, I’ve seen some such individuals end up in financial peril. They wanted to do the right thing but were too optimistic or naïve about how well this might work.
By staying in the work world, at least for now, I don’t need to lean on my spiritual work to support me. This means that the things I do on the spiritual front have no financial strings, so my actions can’t be questioned in terms of monetary motivation.
Want to find out more about Mark Ireland, visit https://www.markirelandauthor.com/ or follow on https://www.facebook.com/markirelandauthor/
