The Persistence of the Soul

A Note to Readers

INTRODUCTION
The Catalyst

1 The “Why”
2 The Next Phase
3 Seeing Things Differently
4 Does Good Mediumship Prove Survival?
5 The Skeptical Neurosis
6 Interviews with Two Psychic-Mediums
7 Psychic Phenomena and Mediumship in Religion and History
8 Reflections on Reincarnation
9 Life as Richard’s Son
10 “That’s So Random”
11 Unfoldment
12 Robin’s Flight
13 The Combination-Lock Experiment
14 A Reading to Remember
15 It’s Up to You
16 Finding a Credible Medium

POSTSCRIPT
Letter from Richard Ireland to His Dying Father, 1962

APPENDIX
More Signs: Reports of Synchronicity and After-Death
Communication

References

Index

About the Author

Mark Ireland is the cofounder of Helping Parents Heal, an organization with more than 24,000 members that assists bereaved parents worldwide. He has participated in mediumship research studies conducted by the University of Arizona and the University of Virginia, and he currently operates a medium certification program. The author of Soul Shift, he lives in Camas, Washington.

“The Persistence of the Soul could not be more timely. Mark Ireland provides guidelines for those who want to attempt communicating with deceased loved ones and his comments are housed in anecdotes from his own experiences, some of them poignant and some humorous. He also provides historical context that illustrates the ubiquity of mediumship through the ages and does so with just enough skepticism to make his account authentic.” Stanley Krippner, Ph.D., coauthor of Extraordinary Dreams and How to Work with Them

“Mark Ireland raises fundamental questions about the nature and fate of human consciousness. This touching, heartfelt account takes its place in the enlarging body of evidence suggesting that death is not final.” Larry Dossey, M.D., author of One Mind

“Mark is a soulful, intelligent man who brings higher thinking to mediumship and shares with us his own thought-provoking stories in his book. As a father who has suffered the loss of his own son, he truly understands the importance of reconnection between the living and those who live again.” Allison Dubois, inspiration for the NBC TV series Medium and author of Talk to Me

“Not all books deliver what their titles promise. This one certainly does that and much more. The messages are there and very impressive as is the author’s balance between spiritual seeking and a strictly scientific approach. Fascinating reading.” Guy Lyon Playfair, journalist and author of If This Be Magic and Twin Telepathy

“What a gift this book is for those who need to trust what they know in their hearts—death is not the end. Thank you, Mark Ireland, for providing this invaluable resource to take readers to the awareness that love never dies.” Suzanne Giesemann, psychic medium and author of Messages of Hope

“I loved this book! Raymond Moody opened the dialogue on NDEs, Brian Weiss did it for past-life memories, Michael Newton for life between lives, and now Mark Ireland has done it for mediumship, the capacity of certain individuals to communicate with the spirits of the deceased.” Jane Katra, Ph.D., healer, professor of public health, and coauthor of Miracles of Mind and The Heart of the Mind

“The journey that Mark has traveled since the death of his son in 2004 is quite remarkable. He has taken his original grief and raised it to a positive experience of hope for everyone who has lost someone precious.” Tricia J. Robertson, psychic researcher and author of Things You Can Do When You’re Dead

“Mark has been in a unique position to experience and analyze mental mediumship and other phenomena in a highly personal way by using his network of bereaved parents, top mediums, and psychical researchers. He records extraordinary afterlife messages facilitated through dreams, after-death contacts, and mediums, always writing with an awareness of the need for evidence. We highly recommend this book.” Victor and Wendy Zammit, authors of A Lawyer Presents the Evidence for the Afterlife and publishers of the Friday Afterlife Report

“This book is a must-read and will bring comfort and peace to thousands.” John Holland, psychic medium and author of The Spirit Whisperer

“Practical, insightful, and poignant, this book is written from the heart of a grieving parent and the brain of a pragmatic researcher. Whether you’re interested in psychic-medium abilities, evidence of life after death, or new ways to comfort your grief, Mark’s story and analysis delivers.” Bob Olson, founder and host of Afterlife TV

SPIRITUALITY/NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES

“The Persistence of the Soul could not be more timely. Mark Ireland provides guidelines for those who want to attempt communicating with deceased loved ones and his comments are housed in anecdotes from his own experiences, some of them poignant and some humorous. He also provides historical context that illustrates the ubiquity of mediumship through the ages and does so with just enough skepticism to make his account authentic.”
– Stanley Krippner, Ph.D., coauthor of Extraordinary Dreams and How to Work with Them

After the unexpected passing of his youngest son, Mark Ireland began a search for messages from the afterlife and discovered remarkable proof of life after death.

Interweaving profound personal experience and compelling scientific evidence, Ireland presents a deep dive into psychic-medium phenomena, spirit visitations, afterlife communication, reincarnation, synchronicity, and near-death experiences, pointing to the survival of consciousness after bodily death. He details how he confronted his resistance to engaging in the spiritual and parapsychological practices of his deceased father, prominent 20th-century psychic Dr. Richard Ireland, who counseled celebrities such as Mae West and the Eisenhower family. On his journey, he meets with respected mediums who deliver unexpected messages from his son, father, and others who have passed and explores the healing impact that such messages can have on people who are grieving. He shares his interviews with mediums to understand how they see, hear, and feel the information they receive from the spirits of the deceased, and he explains how to recognize fraudulent mediums.

Ireland presents detailed accounts of scientific experiments conducted to obtain evidence for the continuity of consciousness, including the author’s own test involving a secret message left behind by his deceased sister, Robin. The contents of this message were unknown to any living person and remained sealed in an envelope until the author received messages from a group of mediums. He exposes deceptive arguments made by skeptics and examines mediumship through the lens of multiple religious traditions—including some factions who seek to demonize the practice. Showing how spirit communication can be undeniably accurate and frustratingly ambiguous, Ireland reveals the profound healing and transformative possibilities available to those who come to believe in the persistence of the soul.

Mark Ireland is the cofounder of Helping Parents Heal, an organization with more than 24,000 members that assists bereaved parents worldwide. He has participated in mediumship research studies conducted by the University of Arizona and the University of Virginia, and he currently operates a medium certification program. The author of Soul Shift, he lives in Camas, Washington.