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Is there scientific evidence that consciousness survives death—and could technology someday allow us to communicate with people who have died? Julie Ryan sits down with afterlife researcher, author, and Soul Proof founder Dr. Mark Pitstick to explore decades of research into consciousness, near-death experiences, after-death communication, mediumship, signs from departed loved ones, and experimental attempts to detect communication beyond physical death.
Mark has spent more than 50 years exploring some of humanity's biggest questions: Who are we? Why are we here? What happens when we die? And will we see the people we love again?
In this conversation, Mark discusses his work alongside consciousness researcher Dr. Gary E. Schwartz and the experiments behind the SoulPhone Project, which is investigating whether technology can detect responses attributed by the researchers to what they call “post-material persons.”
Mark explains why the research team interprets experimental results as evidence supporting survival after bodily death—and why he believes the implications could eventually transform how we understand grief, medicine, spirituality, religion, end-of-life care, and human consciousness.
Julie and Mark also explore something much more personal:
How can you know whether a sign from a deceased loved one is real?
They discuss synchronicities, pre-planned signs, continuing bonds between parents and children, after-death communication, terminal lucidity, end-of-life experiences, and the extraordinary ways grieving families describe maintaining connections with loved ones who have died.
Mark also shares the unusual spiritual experiences that began during his childhood, including experiences he describes as clairaudient communication that shaped his lifelong search for answers about God, consciousness, suffering, and the purpose of human life.
Then Julie and Mark go inside the SoulPhone research, discussing photons, experimental detection systems, the proposed “Soul Switch” and “Soul Keyboard,” and the researchers' long-term goal of developing increasingly sophisticated methods for attempted communication with people after physical death.
Could science eventually demonstrate that consciousness continues beyond the body?
Could technology ever allow meaningful communication across the boundary we call death?
And what if the people you've loved and lost aren't truly gone?
This episode explores the evidence, experiences, research, and extraordinary possibilities surrounding one of humanity's oldest questions:
Does death actually end us?
Guest Biography:
Dr. Mark Pitstick, MA, DC, is an author, holistic health practitioner, consciousness researcher, and spiritual educator with more than 50 years of experience helping people explore life’s biggest questions, including who we are, why we’re here, what happens after death, and whether we remain connected to departed loved ones. With training in clinical psychology, pastoral counseling, chiropractic health care, clinical nutrition, past-life regression, and afterlife-related practices, Mark has worked in hospitals, mental health centers, counseling settings, and holistic health clinics. He is the author of Soul Proof, Radiant Wellness, The Eleven Questions, The Afterlife Evidence, and Ask the Soul Doctor, and co-author of Greater Reality Living and The Big Picture of Life. His 2024 book, Shining Light Parents Speak, shares insights from 130 parents who found meaning, peace, and purpose following the deaths of their children. Mark also produced the Soul Proof documentary, has interviewed leading voices in consciousness and near-death research, works with the SoulPhone Project, supports Helping Parents Heal, and founded the Greater Reality Healing, Living & Helping Program to help people navigate loss, change, and life’s challenges through a greater-reality perspective.
Episode Chapters:
(0:00:00) Is There Scientific Evidence We Survive Death?
(0:05:13) Where Does the “99.9%” Claim Come From?
(0:06:12) Does Our Personality Survive Death Too?
(0:09:16) Is the Brain Filtering Most of Reality?
(0:10:41) Can Loved Ones Send Signs After Death?
(0:11:26) What Julie’s Brain Scan Revealed
(0:18:54) Can Grief Become a Spiritual Awakening?
(0:23:34) End-of-Life Visions & Terminal Lucidity
(0:24:37) Mark’s Childhood Experiences With Spirit
(0:32:55) The Evidence That Changed Mark’s Mind
(0:36:53) How Grieving Parents Stay Connected to Their Children
(0:46:29) How Do You Know a Sign Is Really From Them?
(0:48:42) Is Death Still Humanity’s Greatest Mystery?
(0:50:14) The SoulPhone: Can Technology Reach the Afterlife?
(0:53:56) The Strange “700% Brighter” Experiment
(0:58:21) What Would Proof of an Afterlife Change?
(1:03:19) Why Do We Incarnate?

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Disclaimer: This show is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be medical, psychological, financial or legal advice. Please contact a licensed professional. The Ask Julie Ryan show, Julie Ryan, and all parties involved in producing, recording and distributing it assume no responsibility for listener’s actions based on any information heard on this or any Ask Julie Ryan shows or podcasts.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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What happens when a clinical psychologist begins experiencing what she believes is contact with a multidimensional cosmic being? Dr. Marilyn Gewacke joins Julie Ryan to share her extraordinary journey from traditional psychology to channeling ZaZar—and the experiences that completely changed how she understands consciousness, trauma, death, human potential, and our place in the cosmos.
Marilyn describes unusual experiences beginning in childhood, including memories she interprets as visits to a massive “teaching craft,” where she says she encountered human and non-human beings and learned extraordinary consciousness practices.
Decades later, her life changed again.
Marilyn describes undergoing a two-year process that she believes prepared her to channel ZaZar, whom she describes as an omni-dimensional cosmic intelligence. She even recounts an extraordinary incident in which she says communication associated with ZaZar appeared through her flip phone, complete with unusual sounds and symbols.
Julie and Marilyn explore:
What actually happens during channeling?
Can trauma obscure our connection to our deeper selves?
Are some people experiencing an expansion of consciousness?
What happens to consciousness after physical death?
Could humanity be moving toward a new understanding of itself?
And why do our souls choose to incarnate at all?
Marilyn shares ZaZar's teachings about what she calls the multidimensional human, including expanded awareness, creativity, intuition, unity consciousness, and humanity's potential relationship with other forms of intelligence.
The conversation also ventures into Marilyn's beliefs and experiences involving extraterrestrial contact, star beings, hybrid origins, consciousness projection, remote viewing, DNA activation, multidimensional reality, wormholes, and hundreds of cosmic civilizations she says ZaZar has described.
Julie shares some of her own unusual spiritual experiences, including past-life imagery, energetic healing, spirit communication, and what she perceives when working with people who are gravely ill.
Then, near the end of the conversation, Marilyn channels ZaZar and shares messages for Julie and humanity about awakening, unity, consciousness, and humanity's evolving relationship with the cosmos.
Finally, Julie asks her signature question:
Why do we incarnate?
Whether you interpret channeling as spiritual communication, an altered state of consciousness, or something else entirely, this conversation explores extraordinary experiences and profound questions about who we are, why we're here, and what consciousness may be capable of.
Guest Biography:
Marilyn Gewacke, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist, visionary teacher, author, and channel for ZaZar, an omni-dimensional cosmic being whose teachings explore awakening, transformation, heart consciousness, and humanity’s multidimensional nature. She is the founder and director of the Sanctuary for Evolutionary Vision (SEV), where she leads workshops, retreats, and immersive experiences focused on consciousness expansion, spiritual connection, and planetary evolution. Marilyn is the author and channel of the two-time award-winning The ZaZar Transmissions: The New Human in a Multidimensional World and author of The Oneness of Being: Birthing the New Human, which received Gold Medal honors from both the Independent Publisher Book Awards and Living Now Book Awards. Through her work with ZaZar, Marilyn helps people explore expanded consciousness, soul embodiment, unity, and what she describes as humanity’s evolving relationship with the greater cosmos.
Episode Chapters:
(0:00:00) How Did a Psychologist Become a Cosmic Channel?
(0:06:44) Her Childhood Encounters on a “Teaching Craft”
(0:19:44) Who—or What—Is ZaZar?
(0:29:42) Cosmic Contact & What Happens After Death
(0:43:37) DNA Activation & 611 Cosmic Civilizations?
(0:54:02) Are We Becoming Multidimensional Humans?
(1:08:14) ZaZar Channels a Message for Humanity

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Disclaimer: This show is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be medical, psychological, financial or legal advice. Please contact a licensed professional. The Ask Julie Ryan show, Julie Ryan, and all parties involved in producing, recording and distributing it assume no responsibility for listener’s actions based on any information heard on this or any Ask Julie Ryan shows or podcasts.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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What actually happens inside the brain when someone channels—and who, or what, are they communicating with? Julie Ryan sits down with Darryl Anka, who has spent more than 40 years channeling the entity he calls Bashar, for a fascinating conversation about altered states, consciousness, UFO encounters, spirit guides, belief systems, soul purpose, and the nature of reality itself.
Darryl's extraordinary journey began after two close-range UFO sightings in 1973. Years later, he attended a channeling class and began experiencing an intense altered state that eventually developed into his decades-long work with Bashar.
But what happens to Darryl while he's channeling?
Darryl discusses EEG testing conducted during the making of his documentary First Contact and what he was told about changes in his brain activity while entering the channeling state. Julie shares her own experience having her brain scanned while communicating with Spirit, and together they explore whether channeling may involve measurable changes in consciousness.
Then comes an even bigger question:
Who are we actually communicating with when we channel?
Darryl shares his understanding of Bashar and describes channeling as potentially connecting with information beyond ordinary conscious awareness. Julie and Darryl compare their experiences with spirit guides, soul families, angelic beings, intuition, imagination, and altered states of consciousness.
Darryl also explains why he believes everyone experiences forms of channeling when deeply immersed in creativity or doing something they love.
The conversation then turns toward one of Bashar's best-known teachings: following your highest excitement. Darryl explains a five-step framework for identifying what excites you, acting on it to the best of your ability, releasing attachment to the outcome, maintaining a constructive state, and examining beliefs that arise along the way.
Julie and Darryl explore how beliefs may shape perception and behavior, why people remain stuck in circumstances they consciously say they don't want, and how identifying underlying beliefs can help change recurring patterns.
They also venture into provocative questions about physical reality, imagination, soul roles, extraterrestrial intelligence, spiritual guidance, and whether our earthly lives may have a much larger purpose than we realize.
And finally, Julie asks her signature question:
Why do we incarnate?
Darryl's answer brings the entire conversation full circle—from knowing something intellectually to experiencing it through physical life.
Whether you believe channeling represents communication with another intelligence, spiritual guidance, or an unusual state of consciousness, this conversation offers a fascinating look at what happens when we explore the boundaries of the mind.
Guest Biography:
Darryl Anka is an internationally known speaker, author, filmmaker, and channel who has spent more than 40 years exploring metaphysics and consciousness through his work with Bashar Communications. His seminars have inspired more than 20 books published in the U.S. and Japan. Darryl also has an extensive career in film, contributing visual effects, storyboards, sets, and designs to major productions including Star Trek, Iron Man, The Aviator, and Pirates of the Caribbean. He has written, directed, and produced three internationally distributed films and is the author of the sci-fi novel series Shards of a Shattered Mirror.
Episode Chapters:
(0:00:00) He’s Been Channeling Bashar for 40 Years
(0:02:00) Two Close-Range UFO Encounters Changed Everything
(0:09:55) What Did It Feel Like When Bashar First Appeared?
(0:17:57) What Happens to the Brain During Channeling?
(0:26:03) Who Are You Actually Talking to When You Channel?
(0:35:02) Is It Intuition, Imagination—or Something Else?
(0:42:00) Bashar’s 5-Step Formula for Following Your Soul Path
(0:47:46) Are Hidden Beliefs Controlling Your Reality?
(0:54:30) What If Physical Reality Isn’t What We Think?
(0:58:14) Following Your Passion in the Real World
(1:04:21) Why Do Our Souls Choose to Incarnate?

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Disclaimer: This show is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be medical, psychological, financial or legal advice. Please contact a licensed professional. The Ask Julie Ryan show, Julie Ryan, and all parties involved in producing, recording and distributing it assume no responsibility for listener’s actions based on any information heard on this or any Ask Julie Ryan shows or podcasts.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Have you ever experienced a coincidence so perfectly timed that you wondered if it was really a coincidence at all? Julie Ryan welcomes historian and author Dr. Gerry Bowler back to the show for a fascinating exploration of synchronicity, intuition, collective consciousness, prediction, and whether we may sometimes know things before we consciously understand how.
Julie and Gerry examine extraordinary examples of ideas and events appearing independently at nearly the same time. Gerry shares his own experiences of researchers becoming interested in the same obscure centuries-old material and separate authors creating remarkably similar projects without knowing what the other was doing.
So where do ideas actually come from?
Could some of what we call coincidence be synchronicity? Can multiple people somehow access similar ideas independently? And could intuition occasionally allow us to recognize patterns before our conscious minds catch up?
Julie and Gerry explore theories involving collective consciousness, intuition, creativity, channeling, synchronicity, imagination, and the mysterious relationship between thought and reality.
They also discuss examples from popular culture that seem to anticipate later events, why authors sometimes say their characters appear to take over their stories, and whether creative inspiration can feel as though it comes from somewhere beyond the conscious mind.
The conversation ventures even deeper into ancient history, pyramids, hidden knowledge, spirituality, religion, prophecy, and the mysteries of human consciousness before arriving at the ultimate question:
Why do we incarnate?
If you've ever received a sign at exactly the right moment, known something without understanding why, experienced an impossible coincidence, or wondered whether the universe might be communicating with you, this conversation will give you plenty to consider.
Guest Biography:
Dr. Gerry Bowler, a historian from Saskatoon with degrees from the University of Saskatchewan and a Ph.D. from King’s College London, has spent his career exploring the intersection of religion and popular culture after beginning as a scholar of Medieval and Early-Modern Europe. His wide-ranging work spans studies on The Simpsons, Aristotle and professional wrestling, Wayne Gretzky, and Bloody Mary, though he is best known for his extensive research on the history of Christmas. The author of numerous books—including The World Encyclopedia of Christmas, Santa Claus: A Biography, God and The Simpsons, and Christmas in the Crosshairs—Gerry has also contributed countless articles, encyclopedia entries, op-eds, and edited volumes, with his works translated into multiple languages worldwide. When not writing or teaching, he serves as a Senior Fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, where he humorously “shakes a fist at modern society and tells it to get off his lawn.”
Episode Chapters:
(0:00:00) Can We Know Something Before It Happens?
(0:10:00) Are We Tapping Into a Collective Consciousness?
(0:24:00) When Is a Coincidence Actually a Sign?
(0:38:00) Ancient Mysteries, Pyramids & Hidden Knowledge
(0:51:00) Can Our Thoughts Influence What Becomes Reality?

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Please join Julie next week with your question.
Thursdays at 8pm ET, 7pm CT, 5pm PT.
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And, please leave a five-star review and subscribe so you can hear all the new episodes.
Sponsors & Recommendations
Disclaimer: This show is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be medical, psychological, financial or legal advice. Please contact a licensed professional. The Ask Julie Ryan show, Julie Ryan, and all parties involved in producing, recording and distributing it assume no responsibility for listener’s actions based on any information heard on this or any Ask Julie Ryan shows or podcasts.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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What if your body isn't working against you—but trying to get your attention? Julie Ryan talks with somatic healer and transformational coach Harmony Slater about anxiety, burnout, body image, stored emotional patterns, and why constantly fighting what we feel may actually keep us disconnected from what our bodies are trying to communicate.
Harmony shares her own lifelong struggle with body image and perfectionism, even while achieving extraordinary levels of physical discipline through yoga and dance. Eventually, she began to see the very wound she'd spent years trying to overcome as an invitation to understand herself more deeply—and ultimately help others do the same.
Julie and Harmony explore the connection between the body, unconscious patterns, emotions, and the nervous system, including Harmony's perspective on how suppressed experiences can show up as physical tension and recurring patterns.
They also examine why the nervous system often chooses what's familiar over what's better. If you've ever wondered why you return to the same relationship patterns, fears, behaviors, or self-sabotaging thoughts even after years of personal growth, Harmony offers a fascinating explanation.
You'll discover why fear and excitement can produce similar sensations in the body, how the labels we attach to those sensations influence our experience, and why learning to stay present with uncomfortable feelings may change our relationship with them.
Julie and Harmony also discuss somatic breathwork, journaling, manifestation, thought patterns, intuition, presence, trauma, nervous-system regulation, and conscious creation—along with practical ways to reconnect with your body's inner wisdom.
And the conversation ultimately goes somewhere even deeper: Why are we here?
Harmony shares her spiritual perspective that we are expressions of one infinite consciousness experiencing separation, difference, and ultimately a return to love.
If you've spent years trying to fix yourself, fight your body, escape uncomfortable emotions, or understand why the same patterns keep returning, this conversation offers another possibility: perhaps the first step isn't fighting harder. Perhaps it's learning to listen.
Guest Biography:
Harmony Slater is a Certified Mastery Coach, breathwork and pranayama trainer, and one of only twenty women worldwide to hold the highest-level Ashtanga Yoga certification. For over 25 years, she has guided students across 33 countries in yoga, meditation, and energy practices, weaving together neuroscience, spirituality, and somatic healing. As host of the Finding Harmony Podcast and founder of the Lightworker Mastermind, Harmony empowers high-achieving women and spiritual entrepreneurs to regulate their nervous systems, release energetic blocks, and grow soul-aligned businesses with clarity, vitality, and flow.
Episode Chapters:
(0:00:00) Welcome & Meet Harmony Slater
(0:00:40) What If Your Struggles Are Trying to Awaken You?
(0:02:14) Can Your Deepest Wound Reveal Your Purpose?
(0:06:57) Why Is Body Image So Hard to Escape?
(0:14:11) Where Do Our Body Image Beliefs Come From?
(0:18:55) Is Your Body a Portal to Higher Consciousness?
(0:27:48) Why Your Nervous System Keeps You Stuck
(0:31:57) How to Move Through Fear Instead of Fighting It
(0:38:01) Why You Still Feel Stuck After Doing the Work
(0:44:47) What Is Your Body Holding Onto?
(0:59:07) Can You Transform Stored Trauma?
(1:01:08) Can Your Thoughts Influence Your Reality?
(1:05:50) The Spiritual Practice That Changed Everything
(1:14:07) How to Interrupt a Fear-Based Thought
(1:22:15) Simple Ways to Reconnect With Your Inner Wisdom

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Please join Julie next week with your question.
Thursdays at 8pm ET, 7pm CT, 5pm PT.
https://askjulieryanshow.com
And, please leave a five-star review and subscribe so you can hear all the new episodes.
Sponsors & Recommendations
Disclaimer: This show is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be medical, psychological, financial or legal advice. Please contact a licensed professional. The Ask Julie Ryan show, Julie Ryan, and all parties involved in producing, recording and distributing it assume no responsibility for listener’s actions based on any information heard on this or any Ask Julie Ryan shows or podcasts.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.