I was sleeping in my parents' former bedroom and at approximately fifteen minutes past twelve I was awakened from my sleep by something unknown to me at the time, but which successfully pulled me from my sleep state into one of instant consciousness, at which point, I distinctly heard a woman's voice call my name. My name was called just once and so I could not discern exactly whose voice it might have been, but I could tell the tone of the voice and that led me to believe it could well have been my deceased mother's voice.

I base this on the fact that for many years of my life I had lived far away from our family home and at the time of the experience, I was living in Europe and had just recently arrived from there to visit family and friends back home.

The tone I heard in the voice was one of surprise and I remember, at the moment the experience happened, feeling that the voice sounded very surprised that I was in that place at that time and perhaps that the one speaking my name was confused by me being there.

This fits exactly with the reaction I would expect from my mother if she were still living and had discovered me at home without her knowledge of my being there.

After assuring myself that I knew such communications were possible and waiting a bit to see if any further phenomena were forthcoming, I settled back in and went to sleep.

One added note about this experience is that for a day before and two days following the experience, I smelled the strong fragrance of fresh flowers in the house, although upon searching everywhere for the origin of the fragrance, I could find no flowers in the house at all.

Was this experience difficult to express in words?          No

Did you ONLY sense an awareness of presence of the deceased without actually seeing, hearing, feeling or smelling them?            No

Did you hear the deceased or hear something associated with the deceased?          Yes

            Describe what you heard, how clearly you heard it and what was communicated:    I heard my name clearly spoken at some point above my head after being awakened into consciousness from sleep. I believe it was my mother, as the tone of the voice was consistent with the reaction she would have had at finding me there in the house unannounced to her.

            Did the voice or sound seem to originate externally or outside of you, inside you, or did you not hear a voice or sound, but had a sense of knowing what was communicated?  Externally

            If you heard a voice or sound, was it similar or dissimilar from the voice or sound the deceased made when they were alive?           The tone of the voice was familiar to me.

            Is there any possibility what you heard was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?           No. I was completely alone in a 'dead-quiet' house.

            Was there any possible impairment to your hearing at the time of the experience?   No.

Did you feel a touch or experience any physical contact from the deceased?            No

Did you see the deceased?         No

Did you smell a distinct smell, scent, fragrance or odor associated with the deceased?      Uncertain

            What smell, scent, fragrance or odor did you smell?           I did smell flowers in the house, but I cannot say that I distinctly associate those flowers with my deceased mother.

            Was the smell, scent, fragrance or odor familiar?     No.

            Was anything communicated by the smell?   No

            Is there any possibility that the smell, scent, fragrance or odor was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?        No

How long did the experience last?        The voice I heard lasted only a second.

The scent of flowers lasted a few days, and at certain intervals. It was not a constant smell throughout each day.

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?         The voice ended suddenly, the scent of flowers appeared suddenly and fluctuated in frequency throughout each day.

Could you sense the emotions or mood of the deceased?           Yes

I sensed that she was confused by my being there.

Did the deceased give you information you did not previously know?  No

How do you currently view the reality of your experience?           Experience was definitely real

            Please explain why you view the reality of your experience as real or not real:           I was in a conscious, awakened state when the experience happened.

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   No

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:           During the experience, I was surprised that I had been suddenly awakened and then surprised to hear my name being spoken so close to me when I knew that I was alone in the house.

Was there any emotional healing in any way following the experience?           Yes

Definitely in the sense of knowing that my mother was o.k., wherever she was, and that communication with her continued beyond what we call death.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?      The best part of the experience was knowing that my deceased mother was still there close to me and conscious of me. The worst part of the experience was being suddenly awakened from my sleep.      

Did the experience give you any spiritual understandings such as life, death, afterlife, God, etc.?            Yes     It reinforced my knowing that life continues for all of us.

Death Compacts are when two or more living people promise among themselves that whoever dies first will try to contact the other(s).  Have you ever made such a compact?        No

Did you observe or hear anything regarding people or events during your experience that could be verified later?          No

What emotions did you feel during the experience?            I was still surprised to have been the recipient of such a sudden communication and it took me a while after realizing what had taken place and waiting for any further possible communication that might come, to relax and go back to sleep.

Was the experience witnessed or experienced by others?           No

Did you have any sense of altered space or time?   No

Did you have a sense of knowing, special knowledge, universal order and/or purpose?    No

Did you become aware of future events?       No

Did you have any psychic, paranormal or other special gifts following the experience that you did not have prior to the experience?         No

Did you experience a separation of your consciousness from your body?     No

Did you meet or see any other beings other than the deceased?            No

Did you see a light?           No

Did any part of your experience seem to occur in a place other than the location described above?            No

Have you shared this experience with others?         Yes     Positive and supportive. They did not say, but I believe that their ideas of life-after-death were reinforced by my experience.

Have you shared this experience formally or informally with any other researcher or web site?   No

 Is there anything else you would like to add regarding your experience?       No.

Were there any associated medications or substances with the potential to affect the experience?            No

Following the experience, have you had any other events in your life, medications or substances which reproduced any part of the experience?         No 

Did you ever in your life have a near-death experience, out of body experience or other spiritual event?           Yes 

My life is filled with such experiences and I view them as amazing gifts and opportunities to help others.

Did the questions asked and information you provided accurately and comprehensively describe your experience?               Yes