After looking at his picture the night before, I woke up in the morning and immediately recalled, "I dreamed about Dad last night." I was surprised at how quickly I remembered my dream because usually I don't remember until I'm in the shower or something during the day triggers my memory.

My father was standing at the foot of my bed in front of my closet door, which was open. I distinctly remember that because I always closed my closet door before going to bed at night and every morning it was always open (just would never stay closed).

As I thought about this dream, I felt how real it seemed, as if it was more than just a dream. He stood at the foot of my bed and he looked great, very healthy! His cheeks were rosy and he looked younger. He was dressed in his blue hospital gown, like he was the last time I saw him (he died the day before Father's Day and the week prior I had given him a gift of new pajamas but he never wore them, I think because he knew he was going to die and he wanted someone else in the hospital to have them new). I said, "Dad, you look great!" He replied, "That's just the way it is Dear." And I replied, "No, really, you look great!" Then he was gone. A few years later he appeared to me again in a dream but this definitely had the qualities of a dream rather than of his actually being in the room with me. He told me he had a lot of work to do and if I wanted to, I could follow him. I stood and watched him go as he said, "I'm going to work for Isis."

SECOND EXPERIENCE

November 2001 I was standing in line at a picture frame store and gallery. As I waited I looked to my right, and to my astonishment, there was a picture of my father on the wall! It was a painting by a local artist of a farmer standing in his field of crops, holding a piece of wheat in his outstretched hand, and this farmer looks EXACTLY like my father, so much so that I am convinced it IS him.

I told my twin sister and my boyfriend about the experience and since both had asked me what I'd like for Christmas, I told them that in my whole life I had never really wanted or needed anything, but I really wanted that painting! My boyfriend gave it to me. I showed it to all my family without telling them anything about it...simply saying, "Look what Tony gave me for Christmas." They were all stunned and remarked at how much this farmer resembled our father!

I took the painting home and hung it in the living room. I was doing dishes when a song came on the radio. "A little bitty tear let me down. Spoiled my life as a clown." I thought, "Dad loved Burl Ives." Just as I thought this, I heard a crash. I went into the hall and one of the pictures I had painted was on the ground. It had been sitting on a shelf with a statue of an angel in front of it. Both were on the ground, undamaged, but neither had fallen before. I walked straight into the living room and asked, "Okay Dad. Why are you here?"

At first I worried that Dad had come to warn me that my brother, who has been very ill for years, would die soon (my grandmother appeared to me in a dream about ten days prior to my father's death--I was so surprised to see her; when I asked her why she was here, she simply offered me a cup of tea), but I have come to realize that my father came simply to offer me peace, to apologize for hurting me so much (the wheat in his outstretched hand reminds me of the breaking of bread) and to tell me that life does not end. I realized this even more today when I recalled an article I wrote several years ago about love and friendship where I referred to the new generation as another "steppe in the continuing regeneration of life." Steppe is prairie or grassland and here was my father coming back into my life standing in a prairie field, showing me his crop, his children, another cycle in a life that does indeed go on. It's amazing!

Background Information:

Was the date of the experience significant in any way?     First experience: When my father died, the nurse at the hospital gave me his wallet. I couldn't bring myself to open it. About one month later, I opened it and found a picture of him. I was looking at the picture and thinking about him the night I had the first contact with my father.

Second experience: I was Christmas shopping when my father actually came back into my life and is still with me.

Was this experience difficult to express in words? 

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:  

Fist experience: a dream; he said only one sentence and I heard him.

Second experience: I don't hear anything. I feel it.

            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? 

First experience: voice originated externally.

Second experience: I feel the message.

            If you heard a voice or sound, was it similar or dissimilar from the voice or sound the deceased made when they were alive?          

First experience: voice was exactly as it was when he was alive; even the manner in which he spoke.

            Is there any possibility what you heard was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?          

No.

            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?        

Yes

First experience: looked exactly as he did when alive except younger and healthy. When he became very ill, his hair went very grey. When he appeared to me, he had little or no grey hair.

Second experience: in the painting he has all grey hair and more wrinkles, as if it is what he would look like had he lived, yet he also looks very healthy and happy.

            How clearly did the deceased appear?            First experience: solid, as if he was really in the room with me.

Second experience: as solid as one can be in a painting! Amazingly like him.

            How much of the deceased did you see?       All.

            Did the deceased appear or not appear to be the age at which they died?       First experience: younger.

Second experience: older.

Please see descriptions above.

            How healthy did the deceased appear to be?            Both experiences: very healthy and happy. Dad had been sick for a very long time from heart disease. I never knew him to have rosy cheeks until he appeared in my dream.

            Is there any possibility what you saw was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?           No.

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

No

How long did the experience last?       

First experience: only a few minutes.

Second experience: a year now--he's in my living room! I don't feel that he's actually here; he communicated a message to me and I now have a continuing reminder of my father and his message in the painting on my wall. I had been struggling for years to come to terms with the abuse and now I can smile when I think of my father.

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?        

First experience: gradual, a dream; it was brief and then he was gone, no suddenness, no fear, a pleasant surprise.

Second experience: suddenly saw a painting that looked exactly like my father--a shock that filled me with wonder and amazement! The painting then came into my home as a gift and the communication was a gradual unfolding.

Could you sense the emotions or mood of the deceased?          

Yes

He was happy and content, both times, "this is the way it is Sara" kind of feeling. That's just the way it is.

Did the deceased give you information you did not previously know? 

I believe in ever-evolving lifetimes on Earth and life beyond. My deceased father confirmed it for me.

How do you currently view the reality of your experience?          

Experience was definitely real

            Was the experience dream like in any way?  

No

What did you feel (while awake) immediately prior to your experience?           

Relaxed 
Happy 

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:          

A sense of surprise, wonder, excitement during both experiences. Very happy to receive these communications from my father.

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

Yes

Please see answer to 24.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?     

Best part--I'm now at peace with my father. There isn't one bad thing about either experience. It's just great! I look forward to more experiences like these!

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?        

No

What other attitudes and beliefs about your experience do you currently have?       Sacred  Joy 
 
Did the experience give you any spiritual understandings such as life, death, afterlife, God, etc.?           

Yes

This life is not all there is. There is a God.

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?       

Yes

With my twin sister. Our father was not included.

Did you observe or hear anything regarding people or events during your experience that could be verified later?         

Yes

Second experience: everyone in my family verifies that the farmer in the painting could be our father at an older age! In fact, they're encouraging me to contact the artist.

What emotions did you feel during the experience?           

Surprise, wonder, excitement. I also wondered why he appeared only to me after his death because he had really liked my twin sister. Perhaps because in life he always treated me as the responsible one in the family (the oldest of seven children). He knew I would let the others know. I never cried when he died. I really wondered about that. I felt awful inside since I was a child, lonely and unloved. I started talking a little about it in my public speaking five years ago hoping it would help but I didn't get over it until a year ago when the painting showed up. After talking to my siblings, it seems I was the one by far most detrimentally affected by our father, so it seems right that the painting came to me. I feel at peace now where my father is concerned.

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?   

Yes

With both experiences, I feel that life exists and continues to exist. There is no death.

Did you become aware of future events?      

Yes

About ten days before my father died my grandmother appeared to me in a dream. I asked her why she was here and she simply offered me a cup of tea. After that dream I was visiting my father on the weekend (he was in hospital 1 1/2 hours drive away, so I visited EVERY weekend for the two months he was there) and I told him I wouldn't see him the following weekend because it would be Father's Day and he would have a lot of visitors. He said, "That's a good idea Dear. You take a rest." The real reason I didn't want to visit was I had a distinct feeling he would die and I didn't want to be there when he did. The following Saturday afternoon, the day before Father's Day, he died. I believe my grandmother appeared to me in that dream to let me know Dad would die soon.

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

Mind you, there's a beautiful light in the painting, looks as though it's coming out after a rain storm.

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

Family and friends were happy to hear I'd had these communications. I had not mentioned it to one friend simply because I met her years after my father died. Her mother died in November 2000 and some time after that we were talking about these kinds of experiences when my friend revealed that a few days after her mother died she dreamed she appeared to her and said, "You didn't expect to see me again so soon, did you?" That's when I told her about the experiences with my father. Likewise, many years ago, before I knew my boyfriend, one of his closest friends died of cancer. Shortly after, he had a dream that his friend walked in the room. He said to him, "Leonard, what are you doing? You're not supposed to be here!" He didn't reply, just vanished.

Have you shared this experience formally or informally with any other researcher or web site?  

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 

In a period of my life when I was spending a lot of time alone, thinking and meditating (shortly after my father's death), I was cleaning my bedroom when I heard a woman say something to me, almost a whisper. I turned and there was no one there. I was alone in the house. I don't remember what she said, something brief. Also around this time, I had a vision of my chest opening up and inside was a colorful mandala, a wheel going round and round. Also, while meditating I saw huge balls of fire racing across the prairies.

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

Please offer any suggestions you may have to improve this questionnaire.    I think it's a very comprehensive questionnaire. Thank you for giving us this forum for sharing our experiences.