Can't use the healing brush because the pixels in a group cannot be edited without merging the group

[#1]

I keep getting the below message when trying to use the spot healing tool for frequency seperation.

"Could not use the healing brush because the pixels in a group cannot be edited without merging the group."

That said, when I merge the group it is of course no longer functioning how I want it to function.

[#2]

I keep getting the below message when trying to use the spot healing tool for frequency seperation.

"Could not use the healing brush because the pixels in a group cannot be edited without merging the group."

That said, when I merge the group it is of course no longer functioning how I want it to function.

[#3]

What if you create a new layer at the very top of your Layers panel to hold all of your retouching? With the new layer selected and the Spot Healing Brush Tool selected, check that the "Sample All Layers" option is active within the Options bar running along the top of Photoshop. If you don't see this, choose Options from the Window menu.