Note:  To ensure that you can view this newsletter correctly, please be sure to scroll down and click 'show full message' at bottom left of this message, then click 'view email in a browser' on the bottom right of this newsletter. Thank you!

Welcome to the April issue of our Helping Parents Heal Newsletter!  Hello!  We are glad you have found us.  This newsletter is a space that allows us to share our amazing children. We are all in this together.  We understand and we walk the same path. Thank you for your compassion and for the constant support you provide.  Together, we will help each other heal! 

We are pleased to announce the launch of 4 new parent support groups: Lake Oswego, OR led by Liz Bounds, Little Rock, AK led by Carla Haynie, Madison WI led by Mary Bertun, and our new sister group, Helping Siblings Heal, led by Anna Buckmaster in London, UK.  Please be sure to check out information about each of these groups in this newsletter!  We are grateful to welcome all of the chapters to our group!

For those of you in the Phoenix area, please join me as I welcome Bobby Morton on March 19th at Unity of Phoenix from 1-3 pm.  Bobby is a husband, father and bereaved dad. He is the current leader of TCF Lower Cape Cod Chapter, and a seeker of peace, love, light and wisdom. Bobby will be talking about Dads and their grief journeys and will open it up to discussion. Please RSVP and learn more by clicking here.  

Sending love and light to each one of you and to your beautiful children.  You are not alone.

-Elizabeth Boisson, Co-Founder and President of Helping Parents Heal, Newsletter Editor and Affiliate Leader for Phoenix/Scottsdale.

Evidential Medium Suzanne Giesemann and Dr. Mark Pitstick lead a wonderful Back to Center weekend retreat in St Petersburg!
Brian Smith, Elizabeth West, Irrene Vouvalides, Tywana Smith, Tracy Soussi, Suzanne Giesemann, Sue Zetteler and Dr. Mark Pitstick at the weekend retreat

Brian Smith, our Cincinnati Helping Parents Heal Affiliate Leader describes the Angel Wash on the last day of the retreat:

I just had what was one of the most powerful emotional experiences of my life. In many ways, it was the most powerful. There, of course, are the births of my daughters and my wedding that are the most important events. But, I just experienced unconditional love, which is something I have never experienced. Unconditional love is love you haven’t earned. It is yours by birthright. It is largely unknown on this planet. We love people who have done for us, who have made us happy, with whom we have history and familiarity. With strangers, we keep a safe, appropriate distance, showing respect perhaps, but not love. 

The last exercise of our workshop was this thing called The Angel Wash. As Mark described what we were going to be doing, my eyes turned toward the door. “How can I get out of this?” is what came to my mind. The 65 or so people in the conference were to form two lines, with each of us standing across from another, creating a tunnel. In turn, walkers were to slowly walk between the two lines, down the tunnel, eyes closed, slowly, while music played. The instructions were for the people in the lines to reach out to the person walking by, touching them, hugging them, speaking words of encouragement, stroking their hair, whatever came through us to encourage that person and show them love. 

There are several problems with this scenario. First of all, I don’t touch strangers. As a man, as a black man, as a large black man, I give people their space.  It’s what I’ve been taught. Touching strange white people and telling them I love them is major taboo.  Second, it was clear there was going to be a lot of crying involved. Most people don’t know this about me, but I am sympathetic cryer.  Watching someone crying always makes me tear up. I have to turn away to avoid crying, if not with my physical eyes, at least I would have to tune somewhere else emorionally. Last, I had gone all weekend without crying in front of the group, only breaking down once when this older lady and I had to share our stories during an exercise and after hearing her story another her 38 year marriage that had just ended with the passing of her husband, I had to talk about Shayna. I’m not sure if anyone else even saw it. Crying in a room full of people is not my thing. And, as a man, I’ve been taught not to cry in front of others.  Very few people have witnessed this. It ain’t gonna happen here.

I planned my strategy to keep it together when it was my turn to walk. I’d just keep the emotions tamped down and power through it.  The problem was I couldn’t walk fast as there were people in front of me. And, my eyes were closed, which intensified the experience more than I realized it would.  Before I walked, I was in the line as people walked by.  As the people began making their way down the line I would just touch their shoulders. That’s safe enough.  Then, I realized that, since their eyes were closed, people were having a tough time navigating down the middle of the tunnel and staying paced behind the person in front of them. So, I would take their hand and hold it while placing the other hand on their shoulder, pacing and guiding them. Other people were saying things like “You are a beautiful light.”, “I love you.”, “You are deeply loved.”, etc. I didn’t feel comfortable saying anything. I just tried to pass energy to people through my intentions and my hands. Of course, those saying “You are a beautiful light.” had no idea they were saying Shayna’s name which began to get to me

When my turn came to go down the line, I steeled myself and stepped into the tunnel. I had no expectations of how people would greet me as I went by. Since my eyes were closed, I’d have no idea who was saying whatever to me. Not a lot of people here knew my story. So, I was overwhelmed with emotion as people put their hands on me, hugged me and I heard time and time again how much I am loved, by unknown beings. I have read many Near Death Experiences, enough to have an anticipation of what it will be like to pass over and be greeted by my loved ones. However, the anonymous nature of this experience may be what made it so powerful. It was blissful. Just surrounded by, enveloped in, and washed over by Love.  Waves and waves.  It was palpable.   I was holding it together pretty well until someone said “She is always with you.”. Someone else said “You are a great Dad.”. The thing is I don’t know who said what or what they know about me or Shayna.  And to hear that I am a great Dad is the highest compliment anyone can pay me.  I burst into ugly tears. If possible, I would have fallen to my knees or left the room, but there was no escape. I was barely halfway down the line. A guy, I don’t know which guy, I had hardly talked to any besides Mark, hugged me and gave me a deeply felt affirmation. I got to the end of the line and tried to regain my composure. 

When you get to the end, you join the line again and greet the people coming behind you. I went back into my routine with a couple of exceptions. There is a relatively large woman I got to know during lunch yesterday. She told fascinating stories which I greatly enjoyed. She, like everyone here, is a beautiful soul. I hadn’t hugged anyone, even though we had all given our permission to be hugged. I wondered how many people would have hugged her or would have been capable of giving her a big bear hug to really wrap her up. It seemed right to give her one.  Spirit told me to step out and hug her. I figured she would know it was me because I was the tallest person in the conference. Normally, I would have said no to Spiritual, but this time I said yes. We embraced for quite a while. Then, a few people later came the woman who last night asked a question about getting a hug from God when she gets to heaven. She’s been hearing from these woo woo people that God doesn’t have arms to hug her with. I stepped in and told her that God would hug her when she gets there and I gave her a big hug. Later, the woman I gave the big bear hug thanked me for the great hug. 

After it was over a woman approached me and said it inspired her to see how Tywana and I are walking this pain together. She had been standing across from me when Tywana came by and I hugged her and kissed her forehead. Her husband isn’t ready to share his pain with her yet. A couple of other women said they were surprised to see my display of emotion. One said that it was surprising to see a man cry. The other added “Especially a black man.” I explained to them we are all the same on the inside. It’s society that doesn’t give us permission to be ourselves.

I have never seen so many tears from so many people. It was a cathartic experience and I believe a glimpse of heaven. This is a ritual every church should add. Baptism is cool. Foot washing is cool. But Angel Washing is where it’s at.

-Written by our Cincinnati Affiliate Leader, Brian Smith.  Please read more of Brian's blog 'Beautiful Light' here.

Please listen to the beautiful song by Shaina Noll that accompanies the Angel Wash, How Could Anyone Ever Tell You
Irene Vouvalides, Tracy Soussi, Elizabeth West and Tywana Smith

Susanne Wilson, The Carefree Medium, Hosts Mediumship for Non Mediums in Scottsdale!
In dark blue, center: Susanne Wilson, Elizabeth Boisson and Ernie Jackson with many members of Helping Parents Heal who attended Susanne's event

So grateful and honored  to be a part of this wonderful seminar given by Susanne Wilson on February 26th! Ernie Jackson did a great job during the live demonstration. Looking forward to Susanne's upcoming 2-day workshop with Suzanne Giesemann on May 20-21!  Please click here to register. 

View the Youtube video of Susanne Wilson speaking to Helping Parents Heal December 18th, 2016: Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

Susanne and Elizabeth Boisson were interviewed by Kari Lake for Fox 10 News in Phoenix.  Please view the video here.

Dr. Mark Pitstick and his book 'SoulProof'

Evolved Souls Don’t Need Long Earthly Lives
April 2016

by Mark Pitstick, MA, DC 

I am very sorry you have experienced the pain, sadness and other difficult emotions that arise when your child dies.  At the same time, it’s very clear that:
1. Your children are alive and well in another phase of forever.
2. They are very happy and peaceful and want you to be that way too!
3. You will definitely see each other again and can enjoy a great relationship now.
4. You can choose to convert your grief into a spiritually transformative
     experience that powerfully improves your life and blesses others.
5. You can create more meaning to your child’s passing by lovingly serving others. 
   
Many parents have done this, and you can too.  Read the free Foundational Articles for Healing & Transforming and take action steps.  Listen to the free Radio Shows with experts and our answers to life’s toughest questions including why children die.  Use the products I recommend such as Holistic Breathing.  Let me know if you need a product, but cannot afford it, and we will send a digital copy at no charge.

We are proud to announce a new level of help for all bereaved parents.  I trained five wonderful Caring Listeners who are willing to talk in person, by phone, or on a video-conference call like Skype or Zoom.  They are bereaved mothers who are now shining brightly and want to help others.  Here’s the list: Michelle Stein michellestein@mac.com  925-708-6408   Glenda Pearson glendia456@aol.com  574-273-0888 Linda McCarthy lindamccarthy45@gmail.com  410-991-5045. Merri Rubin merrir@icloud.com  610-999-6227 Tracy Soussi soussiland@yahoo.com  704-806-7899

Q: You say children who die young are more highly evolved souls.  Since I have lost two children and am now 87, I must be a very young or hopelessly lost soul.  I am being a bit facetious but beneath it is a tremendous amount of pain, anger, disappointment and disbelief in a loving and all powerful God. - Shirley
 
A: I totally understand about the anger and other feelings, Shirley.  Most people would feel the same.  And yet, you now have an opportunity to not drag those lower-energy emotions – your psychic dirty laundry, so to speak – with you into the next phase of forever.  Also, the more you are stuck in those emotions, the less likely it is that you will be able to sense the presence of your dear children who are very near.  
 
If you're interested in feeling more joy, peace, love, gratitude, and enthusiasm, listen to Radio Shows at the top of www.soulproof.com and read Foundational Articles on the home page, especially # 1, 2, 6, and 12. 
 
Under "Shop", the two best products for releasing your pain and remembering the big picture are Holistic Breathing Technique and Heal & Transform Your Suffering.  
 
Like you, I went through a transition from seeing God as a heavenly Father who was all powerful, loving, and knowing.   Please read article #13 to learn about more contemporary and sensible images of the Divine/Universal Intelligence. 
 
Put all that to work and then please let me know how it’s going. 

Q: My youngest son Gabriel changed worlds on December 4th, 2016. He would have been twenty years old on March 13.  I am trying everything to lessen this searing pain, this anguish, this deep longing to be with my boy. Honestly, though, I have lost my will to live. I am not suicidal; I just don't want to live in this world without Gabriel. These thoughts make me feel guilty because I truly love my older sons with all my heart.

I am haunted by so many thoughts of my beautiful son, one of them being that he was the first in our family to transition besides distant relatives. I don't know who he's with or who met him when he transitioned. This, along with so many other racing thoughts, leaves me paralyzed with grief at times.
 
A: He passed only three months ago so your feelings are totally normal at this stage.  You've gone through the Christmas holidays and now his birthday is another tough anniversary.  Others will likely be Thanksgiving, his one year "angel anniversary" and any other special family days.  The first one is the worst one.  
 
You can rest assured that Gabriel is literally surrounded by many beloved ones in spirit since we each have twenty-five or so primary soulmates and even more secondary ones.  He is also lovingly ministered to by his angels, guides, master teachers, and – always and everywhere – the Light.  He is having a wonderful time and wants you to start experiencing more peace, joy, and hope.  No one is ever really alone, whether here or in the hereafter. 
 
In addition to recommendations already listed above, here are others so you can really internalize this great news: 
 
1. join the Helping Parents Heal newsletter and attend a group in person or online 


 
2. Definitely use Holistic Breathing sessions as prescribed to release pain and remember life's big picture perspective. 
 
3. Benefit from Nutrition Response Testing as described in article #12.  Your feelings of not wanting to live should be taken seriously.  After several pregnancies, you are no doubt deficient in key nutrients that can weaken/imbalance the brain and hormonal organs. 
 
4. When you are less fragile, read article #12 and try the Facilitated After-Death Contact session.  Many parents have had personally meaningful visits with their child during this technique done under deep relaxation. 

5. In the meantime, learn about developments in spirit-communication devices that very likely will one day allow you to visit with him.  www.SoulPhone.org
 
Q:  We lost our twenty-three year-old son on January 15, 2017. He was in a car accident and died on the spot. We are struggling. Our thirteen year-old daughter started communicating with him the day before his burial. He asked us to forgive him and said he had a squabble with a friend in the car at the time of the accident. The car hit a tree after swerving on a clear road.  That friend refused to talk to us and left the country.  Should we believe this based on our daughter’s conversations with him? – Lois

A: Only you can decide what to believe, Lois.  I can tell you that it's fairly common for siblings to receive communications from a brother or sister who changed worlds.  It makes sense to me that your son would want to explain what happened through his sister who was more receptive to his input. 
 
You are very early into your grieving so of course you are struggling greatly.  The #1 goal at this point is to stay balanced and be there for the rest of your family.  Click here to learn more about After-Death Contacts, the name for your daughter's experience.  By the way, Helping Parents Heal just started its first chapters for siblings since they suffer greatly too. 
 
My recommendations for you are already described above.  These approaches have helped many people realize that their loved ones are very much alive, well, near, and you will see each other again.  That doesn't take away all the grief, but it does lighten it and help you shine more and struggle less. Please let us know how it’s going for you and your family. 
 
To all readers, your difficulties aren’t going to go away overnight.  Take one day at a time, read and re-read the articles, and take actions steps for just 90 days.  Focus especially on remembering #1 – 5 at the top.  Then let us know how you are doing and we’ll go from there.  Love and blessings, Mark
 
Note: This information is not designed to replace medical or psychological care.  Dr. Pitstick’s recommendations are based on his forty-four years of training and experience in hospitals, pastoral counseling settings, mental health centers, and private practice. 
 
Mark Pitstick, MA, DC is an author, clinical psychologist, holistic physician, frequent media guest, and workshop facilitator. He is Director of The SoulPhone Foundation, Vice-President of Eternea, and board member of Helping Parents Heal.  Mark can help you to know and show—no matter what is going on around you—that your earth-experience is a totally safe, meaningful, and magnificent adventure amidst forever. Visit Soul Proof for free articles, newsletters, and radio shows with top consciousness experts.  Email your toughest questions to him at mark@soulproof.com.

-Dr. Mark Pitstick is a Board Member of Helping Parents Heal and of Eternea
Dr. Mark Pitstick and Dr. Gary Schwartz discuss the SoulPhone, Mark outside the laboratory in Tucson, AZ

The SoulPhone®
An Integrated, Evidence-Based Technology for Spirit Communication
by Mark Pitstick, MA, DC   Director of The SoulPhone Foundation
 
Gary Schwartz, Ph.D., director of the Laboratory for Advances in Consciousness and Health at the University of Arizona, is a world renowned researcher in survival of consciousness studies.  His SoulPhone Project is focused on creating reliable devices for communicating with those in spirit.
 
Yes, you read that correctly.  You can learn more by watching Dr. Schwartz’s video on the homepage of www.SoulPhone.org. 
 
The SoulPhone technology has the potential to:

• Allow communicate with your loved ones who have “passed on” but definitely not “passed away”
   
• Learn from “deceased” luminaries – scientists, inventors, and other great teachers – who want to help us heal our world from their vantage point
   
• Improve planetary harmony as more people realize that life is never-ending and we each are important, interconnected parts of All That Is

Dr. Schwartz, a former Yale and Harvard professor, has published more than four hundred and fifty scientific papers, including six in the journal Science.  In addition, he has co-edited eleven academic books and written eight of his own.  Dr. Schwartz has investigated the topic of afterlife survival for twenty years and, for the last ten, explored ways to reliably communicate with those who have crossed over.  Learn more about Dr. Gary Schwartz.
 
After working with engineers, software designers, and optical physicists, replicated proof-of-concept studies are sufficient to move onto creating a working prototype.  Dr. Schwartz now estimates – with a 90 to 95% probability – that a reliably functioning SoulSwitch® device will be available in about one year after funding.
 
The SoulSwitch, a binary “Yes / No” device, is expected to allow rudimentary communication with loved ones in spirit.  You can confirm that participating spirits are indeed who they say they are by asking a series of specific Yes / No questions.  For example, a bereaved mother can ask her “deceased” son about details of their life together that very few would know: "Was Susie the name of your best friend when you were ten years old?  Did you have a dog named Ralph?"  

You can verify that you indeed are in touch with your loved one by asking questions for which the answers would be true and others that would be false.  Once the participating spirit's identity has been established, other questions able to be answered with "yes" or "no" can be posed: "Are you happy?  Can you hear us when we talk to you?  Are you in any pain now?  Were you with us at your sister's birthday party yesterday?”

The SoulText® device is a series of switches to create a SoulKeyboard®.  This stage of the SoulPhone will allow you to text with those in spirit much as you do now with your cell phone or pad.  Just imagine being able to communicate this way with your loved ones who have crossed over!  Dr. Schwartz anticipates a 90 to 95% chance of the SoulText device being operational within approximately two years of sufficient funding.
 
To learn more about these two devices, visit Stages of Device Development.

Please share this email with everyone you know who may be interested.  We especially want to help those who are suffering and searching.  To learn more, visit How You Can Help. 

-Dr. Mark Pitstick

Fellowship and Coincidences
Kristine and Ernie

Golfing on February 15, 2017

I went golfing on Wednesday, February 15, for the first time in about a year.  This information was not posted on Facebook, nor was it shared with anybody. My loving wife, Kristine Carol Jackson makes sure I have sunblock and a hat to protect my skin; for this occasion she sent me out the door with a hat I had never worn before. It was a kind of stylish hat, something I could see my father-in-law Ed Cano wearing.  Ed transitioned six years and two days prior to Quinton doing the same.

I don’t golf well, but being on the course isn’t about golfing per se; it is about being outdoors with good people.  This day was perfect, sunny and warm, not too warm and not too cool.  We golfed 9 holes starting around 3:00 p.m. Near the end of the afternoon, I stopped and looked West at the setting sun; I was filled with gratitude and love for all, and for this journey – all of it.  And that it is, end of a wonderful day, dinner with a gentleman who ended up speaking the same spiritual language I speak and this column is over.

Not so fast….  On February 19 we held our Helping Parents Heal regular monthly meeting and Rachel Slagle Pearson was the guest presenter.  She is relatively new to mediumship and we were excited to attend and lend our energy to the group.  I had never formally met Rachel and we are not connected on Facebook.  Right out of the gate she asks, “Is there a Dad here who golfed recently”?  I raised my hand and she said, “I thought it was you.”  The connection was pure and it was direct.  Quinton had come to her the night before.  Did I mention that I didn’t know Rachel and nothing had been shared on any social media about me golfing five days prior?

Rachel mentioned a hat, “wearing a silly hat” – all I could do was laugh.  The hat was something I could see my father-in-law wearing, but I wore a type of hat on Wednesday that I had never worn.  Rachel mentioned a type of hat called a “fedora” – that is the type of hat I was wearing.  As I write this column, I googled it to be sure.  How could this woman that I don’t know, know about something that happened to me five days prior, which had not been shared or discussed publicly?  Quinton really was with me!!!!
She continued rapid fire and I began to get overwhelmed because there were so many direct hits; it was as if she was there with me!  She mentioned a bird, that Quinton had sent me a bird.  I saw lots of ducks paddling in the water hazards where I knocked at least one golf ball.  I very vaguely remember a soaring bird at which I looked up, trying to see if it might be a red tailed hawk, but it was fleeting image. 

Rachel continued and mentioned gratitude.  Another very Direct Hit!!  And in those moments of the deeper emotions of Love, Appreciation, Gratitude – I know Quinton is with me.  I can perceive it, acknowledge it and celebrate his presence!  On the wings of those feelings is where we meet.

She wasn’t done – not by a long shot.  In hindsight, it is incredible how much she was crammed into ten minutes.  Thankfully, Susanne Levi recorded the ten minutes; each time I listen to it I pick up more nuances and subtleties of the reading.

Rachel asked if Quinton had a twin – “A little boy who looks just like him”.  I couldn’t even respond, but not much later I realized that she must have been talking about our son’s nephew – Salvador Quinton.  Their resemblance to each other is uncanny and not long after he was born our daughter’s husband’s family began referring to him as Quinton.  Two Quintons, uncle and nephew, who look alike; the twins reference makes perfect sense!

Rapid fire!  A reference to a mirror – Kristine mirror gazes with Quinton; A reference to Kristine holding a baby while cooking – our daughter and her sons were with us for two months over the holidays and we know at some point Kristine held Santino Edgar on her hip while she cooked; A reference to Quinton being here with us, living with us and even through us – yes, the tie that binds is strong; A reference to a baby in spirit, a girl with curly hair and a (ch) name – our daughter (Cheyanne) is pregnant with her third child, a little girl.  Cheyanne had very curly hair as a little girl and her little girl tentatively named Charlize, apparently will have curly hair too!

And still there is more! A reference to eye glasses, needing to get my eyes checked – Yes, my glasses are badly scratched and I haven’t been do the eye doctor yet, but have been saying that I going to get my eyes checked for weeks; A reference to seeing a red shirt – One of Quinton’s favorite colors (red and blue); A reference to Mom (Nellie – Kristine’s Mom) being nervous about a medical condition – Nellie was taking antibiotics for a bad ear infection at the time of the reading; A reference to Kristine writing and Quinton being with her when she does – We aren’t sure how to take this because Kristine doesn’t write much, however, when she does write a post of FB, she is very deliberate and focused.  I am thinking that in those moments, Quinton is there and this is what the reference is about.

The last one left me flummoxed until the following weekend, the weekend of Susanne Wilson’s Mediumship for Non-Mediums conference.  Rachel very pointedly referenced Quinton and me talking back and forth, like throwing a ball back and forth.  Well, um – this is something I have not been able to perceive and therefore I have been unable to acknowledge.  This is not the first time a comment has been made about me being able to communicate with Quinton.  One week later, he came to me in such a way prior to the conference that I was able to perceive it, acknowledge it and celebrate it. 
Filled with gratitude, appreciation and love!  All I need do is get out of my head, cast the doubt aside and perceive how completely wonderful all of THIS is.
Blessed and Blessings!

-Ernie and Kristine

-Ernie Jackson is a Board Member of Helping Parents Heal and the proud father of Quinton.  His two books,'Quinton's Messages' and 'Quinton's Legacy', are available at www.quintonsmessages.com.

Please also view Ernie and Kristine's video of their June 2015 presentation at the Phoenix/Scottsdale Chapter of Helping Parents Heal here. Please learn more about Quinton and his family here. 

Affiliate Updates - 
NEW GROUP - Helping Parents Heal-Lake Oswego, OR
Liz Bounds and her son Parker, and hiking with her dog

I am my Angel Parker's Mom. I am my dear daughter, Breanna's Mom.  My wonderful husband is Dan and we have been married for nearly 32 years. We have been through it all together. And we are facing the most difficult and devastating challenge of our existence. You know what that's like because you are part of this club, too.

As Parker's Mom I learned and am learning many things I never imagined I would in this life. It is coming on 2 1/2 years since he shed his skin. I am only now beginning to emerge from this black crevasse of grief and it has take its toll on me physically and completely rocked me off my foundation. But I realize that to honor my boy and to be a present for my Breanna and Dan, I must not just breathe in and out, but truly and fearlessly live. Parker is continuing to teach me and others in a new way as he is now free from his earthly human chains. I have had much personal evidence that he is present and actively involved within our lives--helping me--helping us-- find our way. 

His sister, who is very close to her brother and who before his passing called him her "Star Brother" is now passionately working in a new field to help others with alternative, natural and holistic healing. I know Parker must have a much bigger perspective and I see that he is working so hard to partner with us and work through us to realize a dream. His dream. It is a dream we often talked about together as a family and now it has become our mission:   to serve other at-risk young people who are struggling and need new tools, more time, a hand up, unconditional love, a community of belonging and especially hope. It is called PBJWilderness4Life.Org with The Parker Bounds Johnson Foundation and we have only just begun. Stay tuned. 

"Serendipity" led me to this astonishing organization called Helping Parents Heal and directly to Elizabeth Boisson and Mark Ireland. Thank you.
 
-Liz Bounds, Lake Oswego, OR - Helping Parents Heal

Next month Liz will host special guest Mark Ireland, Co-Founder of Helping Parents Heal and the author of several books including 'Soul Shift-Finding Where the Dead Go'.  Please RSVP and learn more here.

NEW GROUP - Helping Parents Heal-Madison, WI
Mary Bertun and her son Chas

I am an instructor and writer. My 19 year old son Chas took his life and passed on April 3, 2012. Deep grief, healing and spiritual growth are all part of my journey forward. Chas is always with me, and I hope to help other parents who have suffered the loss of a child. I have attended a Serving Spirit class with messenger of hope Suzanne Giesemann and continue to attend her webinars.

I believe that if we share our experiences, resources for healing such as Suzanne, and celebrate the life of our children, we will move onto pathways of light and love. I am honored to be starting a Helping Parents Heal chapter in Madison, Wisconsin and honored to be meeting other parents.

Details: Helping Parents Heal will be meeting in Madison WI on the third Monday of each month starting  May 15th at the First Unitarian Society Church, 900 University Bay Drive, Madison, WI 53705.
Meeting time is 6:30 - 8:30 pm.

-Yours in light and Spirit, Mary Bertun - Madison, WI Affiliate Leader

Starting on May 15th, Mary will hold monthly meetings every third Monday of the month from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.  Please RSVP and learn more here!

NEW GROUP - Helping Parents Heal-Little Rock, AK
Carla Harville Haynie and her son Bennett

My husband Bart and I will celebrate our 23rd wedding anniversary in March. Twenty of those years have been in Little Rock, AR. We were blessed with 2 children, Sarah Ellen age 17, and Bennett who would have been 16 in March of this year.

I was a stay-at-home-mom from 1999-2015, volunteering at their schools, and also doing work for the homeless by managing a food pantry and clothing donation center.

We lost Bennett at 11 and a half in October of 2012 to an accidental overdose. It has been an incredibly difficult journey. It affected my life in ways I would never have imagined, but I’ve learned to deal with my grief over time.  Astounding readings have convinced me that he’s never really far away. I feel as though I’m still in relationship with him. I miss his physicality, but I’m comforted by the knowledge that he is happy and well.

-Carla Haynie, Affiliate Leader, Helping Parents Heal - Little Rock AK

Carla meets on the third Wednesday of every month from 6-8 pm.  Please learn more and RSVP for her upcoming April meeting here. 

Helping Parents Heal - United KingdomMarta Arce-Dubois (above far left) with several of the parents at the February 19th Meeting
 
Bring-and-Share Lunch and Pendulum Workshop by Lynn Walker at Laura García-Miller’s Home
 
Our last HPH meeting in London was a memorable, heart-warming, uplifting experience.
 
Laura Garcia-Miller offered to hold the meeting in her beautiful period home in North London, the same home she shared with her two children, and where she still feels the presence of her handsome son Fabian, who passed away in January 2015.
 
My husband and I arrived early on that Sunday, hoping to give Laura a hand to prepare for our meeting, but our hostess had everything tastefully set up ahead of time, and she had cooked an enormous amount of lovely food. And, as the rest of the attendees arrived, the buffet lunch table was filled even more with tasty dishes, cheese and desserts.
 
After lunch and a chat, Lynn Walker led a coaching session to teach us the basics of communicating with our children using a pendulum. None of our parents had ever tried this form of communication before but, thanks to Lynn’s talented instruction and patience, nearly all managed to receive meaningful messages -to everybody's surprise and excitement. I’m sure none of us failed to notice the energy around the table.
 
Lynn attended the second of the three ‘Parent-Child Reunions’ in Sun Valley, Idaho which were run in 2009, 2010 and 2011 by the late Sally Baldwin -gifted channel and medium- and her husband Steve, and sponsored by the Dying to Live Again non-profit Foundation.
 
In Lynn’s own words, the retreat -during which she learnt to communicate with her daughter Charlotte in spirit- changed her life all over again. She was the only mum from the UK who was invited to participate, and she is still in touch with most of the mums from the US -and one from New Zealand- who attended all three retreats, many of whom have become close friends.
 
I'm really grateful to both Laura and Lynn for providing this opportunity for us and to all our wonderful attending parents. And let's not forget our children, who worked really hard to let us know they are still around us.
 
It was an amazing day of support, friendship, comfort, understanding and re-connection with our children.
 
And as I marvel at how many parents have joined our UK group in only a few months -165 members at last count and growing steadily-, I want to also express my sincere gratitude to HPH founders Elizabeth and Mark, without whom this wonderful organization would not exist.
 
Sending so much love to all other Affiliate Leaders and members around the world, as we keep walking this path together, with the help of our children.
 
-Marta Arce-Dubois, Steven’s mum and Helping Parents Heal UK Affiliate Leader 

Marta will hold a Mothering Barbecue on March 26th for parents and siblings.  Please RSVP and learn more here. 

Helping Parents Heal - Phoenix/ScottsdalePerry and his mom, Rachel Pearson, a Double Rainbow outside of Unity of Phoenix

Hello, wonderful Parents! We had an uplifting meeting at Unity on February 19th with our guest speaker Rachel Slagle Pearson, a fellow bereaved mom, a psychic medium and the co-affiliate leader of our online group. It was her first time speaking before a group and 64 parents attended. Rachel did a great job. 

She discussed how we can better connect with our children and brought through validations from our children, including one amazing validation from Quinton for his parents Kristine and Ernie Jackson. Please see Ernie's column above to read more about their very special reading.

Rachel also told us about a beautiful quote that Matty, Diane Laflamme Romagnoli's son in spirit, delivered for his mom. It applies to all of us parents: "I am so close that she doesn't know where she ends and I begin."  Thank you, Rachel, for a wonderful, healing afternoon.

-Elizabeth Boisson, Affiliate Leader of Phoenix/Scottsdale

Helping Parents Heal - Tucson
Terri Petz, Sandra Hassel and Dr. Mark Pitstick

The Tucson meeting of Helping Parents Heal on March 12th went beautifully. Mark Pitstick has the most loving and bright energy. The group was fantastic and Mark commented on how spiritually open and advanced the members are. We are honored to be doing this. Everyone's energy was thru the roof, busy talking and sharing stories. A special thank you to Mark and Rhonda, as well as Ernie and Kristine and Rachel for coming down to support us.  We look forward to next month and we’ll meet on April 9th-hope to see every there!

-Terri Petz and Sandra Hassel, Tucson Co-Affiliate Leaders

Helping Parents Heal - Hilton Head/Bluffton
Irene Vouvalides and her beautiful daughter Carly

Greetings everyone from South Carolina!

We had a wonderful meeting on Sunday March 12th, welcoming 5 new members and watching Suzanne Giesemann's documentary video Messages of Hope.

8 members of our group went to see The Shack together the next evening and sat together after at a local pub discussing the movie. So blessed to have these wonderful people in my life.

I am so grateful to have attended Suzanne Giesemann and Mark Pitstick's Back to Center retreat in St Petersburg Florida. It was a magical weekend and was so happy to hug Tracy Soussi, Beth West, Ty and Brian West for the first time even though we have all been in contact with each other.

Next month we will have medium Jake Samoyedny as our guest speaker and in May Sara Ruble will be our guest speaker....

Sending love,

Irene Vouvalides, Hilton Head/Bluffton Affiliate Leader and Helping Parents Heal Conference Chair

Irene was interviewed by ABC Channel 22 News about Helping Parents .  Please see the interview here. 

Helping Parents Heal - Dallas
Tracy Houston Venters and her daughter Jessica Keller

We had another great meeting for Helping Parents Heal March 14th with more new faces. Every time I think I don't have time for this I have new people and realize how much it is needed. I wanted to start this Dallas group as a legacy to Jessica Keller, however I know it is a legacy and a mission for all of us with children that ran ahead of us to the other side.

-Tracy Houston Venters, Dallas Affiliate Leader 

Helping Parents Heal - Cincinnati
Tywana and Brian Smith - The Shack

Brian Reviews The Shack

I read The Shack about a decade ago.  I was coming out of fundamentalist Christianity and rapidly deconstructing my faith, so fast that I was about to chuck Christianity entirely.  The Shack presented a different view of God, a view that I had never heard any Christian express. God, as a black woman, now that’s a God I can relate to.  God as a father and being all loving and cuddly didn’t really work for me, as it didn’t for Mack.  People who were too chummy with God kind of weirded me out.  I was the father of two girls not much older than Missy. So, I could relate to Mack’s pain when his daughter was murdered.

The Shack takes on a lot of big questions. And it offers some damn good answers, from my perspective.  God loves us more than we can imagine. God is in this with us, even when we are in pain- maybe especially when we are in pain. Radical forgiveness is essential to living a life where we are not constantly hurting ourselves- letting go is essential.  And there is a plan, even if we cannot always or even often see it.  I read the book three times. I highlighted just about every page. I was in discussion groups where we discussed it. After reading it, I had a new understanding of the Trinity (still not a huge fan of it. I find it an unnecessary analogy that brings more confusion than it solves). But, I had a deeper appreciation of God as a loving, caring father- not someone who was out to get me and send me to an eternal fiery hell.

As I’ve read some others’ comments about the movie/book, one criticism that I am seeing is it doesn’t sufficiently answer the problem of theodicy. Theodicy is the branch of theology concerned with defending the attributes of God against objections resulting from physical and moral evil.  Put simply, why would an infinitely loving and powerful God allow “evil” to exist?  Why do we have to suffer?

This question is at least as old as the concept of God.  The book of Job takes it on.  If you’ve ever read the book of Job, you may have noticed God doesn’t give a direct answer.  She doesn’t in The Shack either.  

For me, the movie doesn’t have to answer the problem of theodicy.  It’s not a problem I wrestle with anymore. There is “evil”. There is suffering.  There is pain. That’s a given.  It’s part of this world. Whether you are one who believes it’s because God screwed up on version 1.0 and allowed Adam to thwart His plans and now we’re in world 2.0; or you believe it was part of the design, we find ourselves in a world of pain. For me, the question is “What am I going to do with it?”.  For most of my life I did not trust God.  How could I? This was a God who put me in a world where I was in jeopardy of eternal torment.  This was a God who allowed children to die. I was never naive enough to believe that nothing bad would ever happen to me (I was a weird kid).  I always feared the worst. So, I did not, could not trust God.  When I read The Shack the first time I still did not trust God, even after finishing the book.  

Ironically, after Shayna’s passing, I finally got what it meant to have faith that life is happening for me, not to me.  It’s not that bad things will not happen to me. It’s quite the opposite. It’s inevitable they will. It’s what the final outcome will be.  There’s a powerful scene in the movie where Mack speaks with the personification of the Holy Spirit. She asks him about his definition of good and evil.  To paraphrase, whatever he likes or brings pleasure to him or his loved ones is good. Whatever he doesn’t like or brings discomfort or pain to him or his loved ones is evil. When I heard Mack put this into words, I realized this is nearly the universal definition we all have of what is good and what is evil.  Then she asks him “Have you ever been wrong?  Have you ever changed your mind?”  He answers, of course, yes.  I think we all can think back to things in our life that we deemed “evil” at the time.  And years later, we see the path that opened up because of those things and we wouldn’t change them if we could.

I think the answer to the problem of theodicy is trust.  It’s trust in the process. It’s trust that we don’t have all of the answers yet and that when we do it’ll all make sense.  In that sense, I think The Shack answered the question as well as it can be answered on this side of The Veil.

-Written by Brian Smith, our Co-Affiliate Leader with his wife, Tywana Smith, of HPH Cincinnati.  

Please read more of Brian's blog 'Beautiful Light' here. Tywana and Brian had a wonderful interview with Tara Robinson-please listen here.

Helping Parents Heal - Tampa
Marla Grant and Amy Diehl-Dr. Mark Pitstick

On Wednesday, February 22, the Tampa Helping Parent’s Heal group of 20 parents was blessed to have Dr. Mark Pitstick share his deep knowledge and practical experience in the world of dying and the afterlife. After his illuminating presentation, he led our group in an amazing meditation session to help pull back the veil to the other side.

For some of our parents, this exercise allowed access to a deep meditative state while others actually could feel the love and connection with their children on the other side.  With his theological and psychological training, his work with hospice and grieving families, and his extensive studies of the afterlife, Mark’s gentle presence was a soothing balm to the deep pain of loss our families are dealing with as they continue their journey of healing. We are extremely grateful for the time Mark spent with us and  look forward to having him come again.

-Amy Diehl, Tampa Co-Affiliate Leader

Helping Parents Heal - HawaiiBeth D'Angelo - Helping Parents Heal - Hawaii Affiliate Leader

I have been a spiritual student since my first breath.  I have always been aware of something greater than myself even as a very young child, which confused me a lot - not in psychic abilities as I know others to be, rather an intuitive knowing that never seemed to need validation.

I am an Affiliate Leader for the Helping Parents Heal Kona Chapter and am currently been asked over and over by Spirit to get my book down on paper.  I surrendered into serving Spirit years ago and every step seems to take me to another “no turning back” place.   I am beyond needing to make sense of or to convince others of the necessary work that Spirit is calling me to do.  Many think I am drinking the koolaid of “woo-woo” and I now smile and continue on my way, reading, studying, talking….yes, talking about living inside the light.

I was asked if I was interested in becoming a medium.  If Spirit feels that would serve humanity, then I say yes.  I am already finding more and more things  that seem to be out of place begging my attention; words that simply assemble in my head and fall out of my mouth when in the presence of others…it is amazing what happens once you move out of your own way.

The death of my 19 year old son did clear away much of the nonsense and clutter of meaningless living.  I am most comfortable in the presence of those that have experienced a significant life shift - doesn’t have to be the death of a loved one, but that particular experience is my expertise.  I know without needing to know that life continues without missing a beat.  Our humanism keeps us both rigid and fluid.  I have chosen fluidity.

I am being called to keep walking forward into the light.  Hawaiians have a word for this, “Imua” meaning, “move forward”.  It comes from paddling - you do not paddle backwards, you keep paddling forward and if you want to go back to an earlier place, you paddle forward and circle back.  Imua was a concept given to me when I laid my son’s ashes into the ocean.  It has been my guiding mantra since.

One of my greatest fears was I would lose more of my son if I let up on my grief.  No one could have told me any different, I had to discover that this is not true.  Helping Parents Heal, and parents who, like you, have helped me understand that we are part of a bigger picture - one that is filled with hope and love; truth and light.  I can't imagine more sacred work than this.

-In Hope and Promise, Beth D'Angelo (Sean's mom) Affiliate Leader Kona Chapter on the Big Island of Hawaii