My nephew and I were close growing up, more like siblings than aunt and nephew. My sister had kids before I was born and Charles and I were born within a few weeks of each other. After we graduated from high school, he went to college out of state, married and we lost track of each other. I had heard that he had some kind of cancer but the last I heard, he was doing okay. In my dream, I was lost and one of my other nephews Steve was in the dream. Steve is a year older than me. I went to Steve and asked him to take me home because I was lost. Before he could respond, Charles' mother, my deceased sister appeared dressed in a long white robe. She held her arms out to me and said that she had come to take me home. I had had surgery a few weeks before this and when I woke up it scared me because I thought it meant that I was going to die. I pushed the dream aside and went about my day. When I got home later that day, I had a voicemail from my nephew Steve, the same one in my dream. He called to tell me that Charles had died. After I absorbed the information, it hit me that what I had experienced wasn't a warning about me dying but I think that I experienced what Charles felt right after passing. I think he was lost and he naturally went to Steve for help. His mother, my sister came to get him. I have been told that I am an empath and I think I felt what Charles was feeling right after his death.

Was this experience difficult to express in words?            Yes   I didn't want people to think I was crazy.

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 and saw my dead sister. His mother in my dream.

            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?  It was my sister speaking.

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

            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 asleep in the room by myself.

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

Did you see the deceased?         Uncertain

I did not see Charles but I saw my sister who is deceased.

            How clearly did the deceased appear?            Like she did in life.

            How much of the deceased did you see?       I didn't notice feet. She had on a long flowing robe.

            Did the deceased appear or not appear to be the age at which they died?       The age at death.

            How healthy did the deceased appear to be?            She had copd when she died but she seemed healthy 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?        However long a dream lasts.

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?         It was a dream but it felt real.

Could you sense the emotions or mood of the deceased?           Yes   fear a sense of being lost.

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:           Some of the women in my family have always had experiences. This was my first. My mother and grandmother had premonitions of death. My grandmother witnessed something visual. She died before I was born so only heard from my mother about grandmother. My mother heard a loud crumbling sound like the end of a barn crumbling and then someone she knew would die. My daughter has had dreams come true.

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   Yes   It was a dream.         

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:           I was scared, couldn't find my way, looking for someone to help me. In the dream it was me but looking back, I think I was experiencing my nephew's passing.

Was there any emotional healing in any way following the experience?           No

I just felt bad that we'd had all those years since I'd seen him and now I would never see him again.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?      Best part was maybe experiencing that little bit of time with Charles and the worst was finding out he had died.

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?         No      

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?   Yes     Before I thought communication was possible but afterwards I felt that I had experienced it.

Did the experience give you any spiritual understandings such as life, death, afterlife, God, etc.?            Yes     It gave me hope that I will see my loved ones again some day.

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?          Yes I have wanted to talk to my nephew Steve the other person in my dream to see if he had experienced anything out of the ordinary also. Maybe see if we had shared the same dream. Part of me wants to know but I am also afraid he will think I am crazy.

What emotions did you feel during the experience?            I woke up frightened. It didn't feel like a normal dream. It felt real and as I said before, I'd had surgery and I was afraid it was a warning about my death.

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

I felt as if I had been given an experience that not everyone gets but that was after the call to let me know of Charles death not while dreaming.

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

I had already been told by two different psychics that I am an empath.

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

Did you meet or see any other beings other than the deceased?            Yes  my dead sister, and another live nephew, Steve.

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     Not really sure. Afraid some may think I was crazy.

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?         Yes 

I dreamed recently that Charles and his mother and father were going to a lake they used to go to  in Wisconsin when we were younger. I had been invited but never gone. In the dream I asked to go but they said no, it wasn't my time.

Did you ever in your life have a near-death experience, out of body experience or other spiritual event?           No 

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