Deidre A's ADC

Experience description:

When I was around 8 years old I had a visit from my grandfather who was deceased.  I remember this experience as clear as a bell. 

My grandfather died when I was 2, but I do remember my mother taking us to visit him as she and her sisters cared for him when he became ill. Anyway, one night I was asleep in bed and awoke in the middle of the night and saw a man sitting at the bottom of my bed.  I remember that i was not afraid at all.  To the contrary I felt very calm and peaceful. I sat up and sat next to him at the bottom of my bed. I remember my nightgown and my feet dangling over the end of the bed as we talked. He had on a suit and was wearing a hat, and I immediately knew that this was my grandfather.  I sat next him and we talked for what seemed like a long time.  I don't remember what we said, but I think he was giving me advice. Then when we were done, just as  quickly as he appeared, he dissolved into this mass of color, like when you look at a light for a long time and start to see speckled shapes.  I went back to sleep and when I awoke the next morning I remembered everything. 

I told anybody that would listen but they never really made any fuss about it.  I am sure that this was no dream.  I was definitely awake and alert and I remember this experience as clear as a bell even today.  

Experience #2:  When I was 19 years old, I was way at college living with my step grandmother and aunts in New York, when I had a dream about my cousin.  He was the same age as I, and we grew up very close like brother and sister.  In the dream, we were in a Nightclub and his mother showed up.  Then some guys came in and shot him in front of his mom, killing him.  I remember trying to get her to leave before it happened and kept saying to myself that his mother is going to see him get killed. When I awoke, I remembered the dream and felt weird, because while we were close, I didn't ever remember dreaming about him. 

Well two days later, my father calls to tell me that he got shot in his mother's car and had died.  I didn't believe that he was really dead until I got to Baltimore and saw him for myself.  Anyway, this was the first significant tragedy in my life.  I took his death hard, we all did.  Well after a couple of weeks of constantly thinking about him , one night while I was asleep, he came to me in my dreams.  I remember him telling me that I could stop crying for him, that he was o.k. He kept saying to me that he was o.k., don't worry myself about him.  I felt such a relief when I awoke the next day, and it really helped me deal with his death, because he was in no pain and I knew he was in heaven.  I have no doubt that it was him coming to set my mind at ease.

Background Information:

            Length of time between death of deceased and your experience:          6 years

Degree of bereavement for deceased immediately prior to the experience (choose best response):               No sadness and/or grief feelings

            Degree of alertness immediately prior to experience (choose best response):          
            Asleep

After your experience, did you consider the contents of your experience:       Wonderful

Your age at time of experience: 8

            Have you had multiple experiences?   Yes  ,  2

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:  We had a full conversation, I don't remember what we talked about, but we talked.

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? 
I understood the conversation, it was communicated outside of me.

If you heard a voice or sound, was it similar or dissimilar from the voice or sound the deceased made when they were alive?           I don't remember how he talked when he was alive, I was only 2.

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?           
Yes   i sat right next to him on the bed. My leg was next to his.

 Was the touch familiar or unfamiliar?   familiar

 Was anything communicated by the touch?  no

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

Did you see the deceased?         Yes   I don't remember his face, just his suit and his hat, but I knew it was my grandfather. I only knew of pictured of him before he died and brief memories from when I was two years old.

How clearly did the deceased appear (i.e. solid, somewhat transparent, etc.):            very clearly

How much of the deceased did you see (i.e. all or part of the deceased):         all of him

Did the deceased appear or not appear to be the age at which they died?       he just seemed like an old man, which he was when he died

How healthy did the deceased appear to be?  Did they have any infirmities before they died which might have been apparent or not apparent? he was very healthy looking

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?        It seemed like a long time, but it was probably only 5 ot 10 minutes.

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?         It was gradual.  He began to disappear but I was not afraid.  After he left, i climbed back into bed and had a very peaceful sleep.

Could you sense the emotions or mood of the deceased?           Yes, he seemed very kind and comforting, but serious about what he was telling me.

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:          It was so clear.  I don't remember a lot of things from the age of 8, but this experience has been with me since then.  I remember so many details of it that I know it happened

Was the experience dream like in any way?   No    

What other attitudes and beliefs about your experience do you currently have?       Sacred        

Did the experience give you any spiritual understandings such as life, death, afterlife, God, etc.?             Yes   

What emotions did you experience following your experience?  I felt peaceful but maybe because I was a child, the experience did not seem foreign to me.  Just very matter of fact that it happened and it didn't seem very strange at all.

Did you have any sense of altered space or time?   Yes     It seemed that we talked for a very long time, but we couldn't have because I was so rested the next morning.  Also, we were not whispering at all, talking in very normal tones. but I knew no-one in the house would wake up from hearing the conversation, because it was only between us.

Did you ever in your life have a near-death experience, out of body experience or other spiritual event?           Yes  Well, when I was a child I would have these experiences sometimes where I would catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, but it was as if I were watching someone else, as if I were outside of the situation watching it through someone else's eyes.  I don't know how to explain it other than that, but I would stand in the mirror for a long time and feel really sad watching the whole scene play out.

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