Mark Ireland - Soul Shift: Finding Where the Dead Go

Mark Ireland is a moving writer who reaches out from the pages of his book and emotionally connects with his readers. He speaks not only from the perspective of a father who suffered the ultimate loss, but also as a man who inherited the ability to reconnect with those whove passed on. This book is a must read for anyone trying to comprehend life after death or wanting to learn how loss can create an even stronger bond between the living and those who live again.

ALLISON DUBOIS, subject of NBCs Medium and author of Dont Kiss Them Good-Bye, We Are Their Heaven, and Secrets of the Monarch

The death of his youngest son, Brandon, launched Mark Ireland on a fascinating quest to discover if we survive the death of our bodies by communicating with ancestors, persons who have gone before. For more than a century, many types of scientific inquiries have focused on after-death communications, and Mark studied all of them. He possesses the driving curiosity, open mind, and critical scholarship of a true explorer [and] his candid, engaging writing style invites the reader to join him on his pursuit of knowledge and understanding of the afterlife.

DONALD E. WATSON, MD, neuroscientist, psychiatrist, and author of Surviving Your Crises, Reviving Your Dreams

I like to think that I am a sympathetic person to those who are in need, but I do not suffer fools gladly. I tell things as they are and abhor falsehoods. In some sense, I am too honest and not given to false praise. That being saidI think this book is marvelous, on many fronts. The Authors journey is fantastic and most of all, his absorption of the evidence and experience into his being result in, what I feel, are the correct conclusions. The fact that he speaks intelligently from his heart and soul comes across in the final chapters of the book, along with the feeling of complete honesty but it is more than that. The summation and condensation of his philosophy isI can only say, in admiration-outstanding. Everyone should read this book.

TRICIA J. ROBERTSON, Honorary Secretary and former President, Scottish Society for Psychical Research

Mark Ireland has done a superb job of bringing the unknown up from the depths of the Anima Mundi to the surface of human consciousness. This book impacted my soul, inspiring me to reach out to people once again. It also made me yearn for home.

CULLEN DORN, author of The Hierophant of 100th Street

One of my favorites among the authors many insights is his discovery that It was time to re-think what it meant to be psychic. Everyone is psychic. In my own academic research, I explore the apparent rift in our society between science and spirit. Marks metaphor of two wolves rings true for me: Ours is a world that two wolves try to devourthe first is the wolf of skeptical science and religious fundamentalism (they are the same one). The second is the wolf of our cosmic connection, synchronicity, astral realms, and manifestation by intention. The wolf that dominates our life is the wolf we feed. I needed to feed the right wolf. I needed to lay it on the line from here on in. I volunteer to help Mark feed the wolf of synchronicity and connection. After you journey with Mark in this adventure through death, I expect you will want to join Mark also.

BERNEY WILLIAMS, PhD, Dean of Graduate Studies, Energy Medicine University, and President of the International Society for the Study of Subtle Energies and Energy Medicine

Copyright 2008 by Mark Ireland. All rights reserved. No portion of this book, except for brief review, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without written permission of the publisher. For information contact Frog Books c/o North Atlantic Books.

Published by Frog Books

Frog Books are distributed by
North Atlantic Books
P.O. Box 12327
Berkeley, California 94712

Cover art by Steven Ireland
Cover and book design by Suzanne Albertson

Soul Shift: Finding Where the Dead Go is sponsored by the Society for the Study of Native Arts and Sciences, a nonprofit educational corporation whose goals are to develop an educational and cross-cultural perspective linking various scientific, social, and artistic fields; to nurture a holistic view of arts, sciences, humanities, and healing; and to publish and distribute literature on the relationship of mind, body, and nature.

North Atlantic Books publications are available through most bookstores. For further information, visit our Web site at www.northatlanticbooks.com or call 800-733-3000.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ireland, Mark, 1958
Soul shift : finding where the dead go / Mark Ireland.
p. cm.
Summary: An account of the authors experience of communicating with his son after death. Documents meetings with spiritual mediums and analyses evidence of the existence of the afterlifeProvided by publisher.
eISBN: 978-1-58394-331-1
1. Ireland, Mark, 1958- 2. SpiritualismBiography. 3. SpiritualistsBiography. 4. Spiritualism. 5. Future life. I. Title.
BF1283.I74A3 2008
133.9092dc22
[B] 2008006899

v3.1

Soul Shift is dedicated to my son Brandon. Always true to himself and never afraid to follow his own unique path, he gave me the courage to take risks and venture beyond the ordinary, without concern for what others might think. I love you, Brandon.

Id like to thank everyone who helped bringSoul Shiftto fruition.

My wife, Susie: for her loving support and unwavering optimism.

My son, Steven: for his character and wisdom rare traits for someone so young. Thanks too for your love and companionship.

My father, Richard: for the legacy he left me.

My mother, Shirley: for being a gentle, genuine soul who raised me to understand the meaning of compassion.

My Uncle Robert: for the strength he instilled in me and for being there at one of my lowest moments.

My grandmother, Margaret Fling: for her leadership and bravery, in serving as a messenger of truth at a most arduous time.

The rest of my family: My brother Donald, my sister Robin, my adopted brother Francisco, my aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, and in-laws.

My publisher, Richard Grossinger: for taking a special interest in this project, and investing so much of his time, energy, and self to bring out the best in this book. Thanks also to Hisae Matsuda, Kathy Glass, Marianne Macy, Fred Hann, Jerry Conser, James Linton, Eadie Ostlund, and Stuart Garney for editing assistance and/or contribution of content.

Allison Dubois, Linda Williamson, Jamie Clark, and Laurie Campbell: for their courage in allowing me to detail their work and share my account with the world.

To all my friends: to those mentioned in this book, and those who are not, thanks for sharing the best of times and also for being there in the most difficult times. You add richness and depth to my life.

Over the last twenty-five years, I have carefully studied various avenues of psychical research. One of the main questions that has been studied and remains to be resolved is that of the extinction or survival of human personality after physical death. Many paranormal phenomena rely on consciousness survival as a plausible explanation for their manifestation. My own work and published papers on mediumship (in the respected and peer-reviewed