This experience happened long ago, about 1976 or so. I am only now writing about it because I just now was made aware of your website. 

I was 26 years old and was a new teacher in my third year of teaching. I lived in an apartment building near the school where I taught. Here is the experience - I remember it as though it happened just last night: 

I went to sleep at the usual time - 11:00 pm. I know I fell asleep. After "a while" I got up from my bed because I thought I heard the TV on in my living room. I went there and saw two of my students (boys) watching TV. I asked them why they were there and said they needed to leave. They said they would leave soon. Then I walked down my (usually) short hallway to the front door of my apartment but the hallway became a very long hallway and I walked to the front door and opened it. There stood my (deceased) Grandfather. He was glowing (not with light) but with JOY and PEACE. He had the most wonderful smile and he "communicated" (he never spoke) that he had been waiting for me and was so very glad to see me. Then he hugged me but the hug surrounded me completely; it totally enveloped me with indescribable LOVE. His eyes were sparkling and glowing. I was overcome by the incredible and pure love, peace and joy in them. His eyes smiled. Then he "said" he had something important to show me. I will use the word "Said" from now on, but we did not speak. We communicated seemingly by thought. 

We immediately went up a flight of concrete steps of the church I had grown up going to. When we went into the church it was an enormous library, an immense but wonderful library. He said we need to go upstairs and we walked through rows and rows of shelves full of dark green books. We walked up the stairs and there were some people at tables reading quietly. We then walked down an aisle and stopped about 3/4 of the way down the aisle. My grandfather reached up and pulled down a dark green book and said, "This one is yours." and he had the most wonderful smile. I went to a table by myself and read it. As I was reading it, I recognized everything in it; I knew the contents of the book but I can't remember any of the details in it; I just "knew" the book very very well. I got about 1/3 of the way through the book and then the pages were blank. I looked up at my grandfather and he reached down to take the book and said that the book was "very very good" and was "exactly as it should be". He said that with great satisfaction and with great happiness. Then he carefully put the book back exactly were he got it from and said it was time to go. We walked down the stairs to the main floor. People were still quietly reading. We walked out the front door, down the steps of the church, and stopped at my apartment door. That's when he "hugged" me again, but it was more like he enveloped me and filled me with such indescribable and complete LOVE. His sparkling eyes were radiating with absolute joy! I felt incredible and complete peace such as I've never ever felt or known before. Then he said he can hardly wait to see me again and I said I'd really look forward to that. 

I turned and went into my apartment and down the (again) very long front hallway. The two boys were still in the living room watching tv. I told them it was now time to go and they did. I went to my bedroom and sat on the edge of my bed and I immediately "woke up" sitting there!! I was stunned and shocked initially because I was sitting up on the edge of my bed and didn't know why! But almost immediately I remembered that my grandfather visited me and took me to a wonderful library (in a church) and showed me "my" book, returned with me and said he'll see me again. I still felt the joy and peace I simply cannot find adequate words to describe. I remember my grandfather's face and especially his sparkling eyes and that they were full of love. I laid down and tried to sleep. I looked at the time and it was 3:30 am. I was astounded and overwhelmed by what had just HAPPENED. I kept trying to convince myself that it was a dream but I couldn't because I knew I DID ALL THAT. IT HAPPENED! It was NOTHING like a dream at all. It was too REAL. Eventually I fell asleep peacefully, a bit confused but in absolute wonder and awe. 

The next day I went to teach as usual. As I was nearing the staff room, a student came up to me and said he had to tell me something. He was one of the boys in my living room. I braced myself and asked him what it was but I had shivers. He said he dreamt last night that he was watching TV in my living room and that I said he had to go home. A chill ran right through me but I said, "No kidding!" and I went into the staff room, quite stunned. When I had my first class, one student came in and walked right up to me. He was the other boy in my living room. He also told me he dreamt he was watching TV in my living room and I told him he had to go home. Again I said, "No kidding" but by this time I was shaken. 

Later that evening I received a phone call from my sister who lives about 3000 miles away on the west coast of Canada. She is my only sibling and we are and have always been very close. She sounded very upset and asked if I was ok. She said she was so glad to hear my voice. I asked why. She said she had a dream last night that I had died. She said the dream was so very real that she woke up crying and couldn't sleep at all. Again I felt a cold shiver run through me. I asked her when she had the dream; did she know what time. She said it was 1:30 am. There is a two hour time difference between where I live and where she lives so the time was precicely the same time! I had to sit down. I told her about my experience and she was crying and overcome with emotion and was so very glad that I was alive. She said that she felt absolutely convinced that I had died. She was in awe of my experience as well. 

That's the whole story. Any doubt that I had about it (and there was none that it happened but I was skeptical because it was such an unusual experience) vanished when the two boys told me they dreamt they were in my living room and when I received the phone call from my sister from 3000 miles away who dreamed I died at exactly the same time as my experience.

Was this experience difficult to express in words?            Uncertain

The experience was not hard to describe, but the feelings are impossible to find adequate words for.

Did you hear the deceased or hear something associated with the deceased?          No

Did you feel a touch or experience any physical contact from the deceased?            Uncertain

It was like a hug, but it totally enveloped me - more than just a hug.

            Was the touch familiar or unfamiliar?   Familiar in that it was like a hug but unfamiliar in that I was surrounded by it.

            Was anything communicated by the touch?  Yes, absolute LOVE.

            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

He looked just as I remember him, except perhaps a bit younger. His eyes were AMAZING!! They sparkled and they radiated with happiness, peace and love. I focused mainly on his wondrous face.

            How clearly did the deceased appear?            Solid

            How much of the deceased did you see?       Probably his whole body, but I was completely focused on his face and his eyes which were incredible!!

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

            How healthy did the deceased appear to be?            He did not have cancer or anything like that. He died of heart failure due to old age. When I saw him in the experience, he looked vibrantly healthy.

            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?        I really can't tell. I suppose it would be about a half hour in "our time" but really, there was absolutely NO sense of passing of time in any way at all.

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?         The beginning and ending were gradual but when I "awoke" I was in shock that I was sitting on the edge of my bed.

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

He was filled with and radiated complete JOY, PEACE and overwhelming LOVE.

Did the deceased give you information you did not previously know?  Just the book which was "mine" and confirmed my life to that moment as being "on the right track and all good".

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 know what a dream feels like. This was FOR CERTAIN, NO DREAM! Also,the experience was confirmed by three people - the two male students who were "in my living room" and by my sister who was 3000 miles away, who dreamt that I had died at the EXACT time that I had the experience, and called the very next day to see if I was still alive or not.

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   No

Not at all like a dream. It was an experience that HAPPENED to me. I DID it.

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:           I was happy to see my grandfather. I had no questioning feelings or weird feelings about what was happening. I just went with it. When I saw my grandfather I was overcome by the joy, peace and love he radiated. There was absolutely NO fear at all. I was overwhelmed at the size of the library and very comfortable to be there. I enjoyed reading "my" book and felt wonderful when my grandfather said it was "as it should be" in my life. I felt very very happy to see him. I've never felt that level or kind of peace, joy or love ever, neither before or since the experience.

.......Well, actually only once.

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

Not healing but confirmation from reading "my" book. Confirmation that my life was "on track".

What was the best and worst part of your experience?      Best part - being surrounded by incredible, indescribable LOVE, JOY and PEACE.

"Worst" part - the shocks of "waking up" on the side of my bed, the two boys who said they dreamed they were in my living room watching TV, my sister dreaming at the exact same time as my experience that I had died and calling me the next day to see if I was still alive. Those things unnerved me.

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?         Yes                 Describe:      I no longer go to church except for Christmas and Easter. I do not go to confession. I pray in nature where I feel absolutely connected to a Source which gives all life. I pray in quiet solitude where I can get in touch with LOVE or GOD WITHIN me. God is not separate from me "out there". I do not need to pray asking for forgiveness, blessings and favors and hope He will "see fit" to give that to me. The sense of LOVE, JOY and PEACE that I experienced tells me that all He wants to do is create and love with complete joy. He wants us to be happy, period. So I pray or meditate on the peace, joy and love within me that gives me life.       

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?   Yes     I have no fear of death. I believe we are all closely and lovingly looked after. I believe in absolute joy, peace and love and I believe they are all connected as one thing and can surround us when we are open to them.

Did the experience give you any spiritual understandings such as life, death, afterlife, God, etc.?            Yes     I believe we will all experience an afterlife and in it we will look after and watch over our loved ones. I believe we will be filled with and surrounded by absolute joy, peace and love which is our Source or our 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?        No

Did you observe or hear anything regarding people or events during your experience that could be verified later?          Yes The two boys watching TV in my living room during the experience told me the very next day, separately, that they dreamed they were watching TV in my living room the night before.

What emotions did you feel during the experience?            Some shock at what had happened but great joy and peace. I felt quite excited actually!

Was the experience witnessed or experienced by others?           Uncertain

It was validated by others. See number 3

Did you have any sense of altered space or time?   Uncertain

Probably not altered space, but there seemed to be no time. It was not a linear feeling of time. It seemed to be an eternal NOW or an eternal PRESENT.

Did you have a sense of knowing, special knowledge, universal order and/or purpose?    Yes

My book showed me that "All is as it should be" in my life. "It's all good".

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?         Yes

One winter afternoon I was walking in a park. It was after a particularly devastating experience I had gone through in my life. It was a calm winter day and I was praying as I walked. I was feeling abandoned by God. After a while a most gentle snow began to fall and it enveloped and surrounded me. I was completely overcome with EXACTLY THE SAME sense and intensity of JOY, PEACE and LOVE that I had in my previous experience with my grandfather. I never felt that level of those feelings ever, other than in my previous experience. It seemed to overtake me and move right through me deep inside.

Did you experience a separation of your consciousness from your body?     Uncertain

Very difficult to say. I did not experience a "separation" but I felt more "in spirit" than in body, although I picked up and read my book and walked around and up the stairs to a church and into a library etc.Did you meet or see any other beings other than the deceased?    Yes

There were a few other people reading books in the library. Plus the boys in my living room.

Did you see a light?           No

If you mean a bright light that I was drawn towards, no. But the feeling of love that completely surrounded me from my grandfather was "like" a light.

Did any part of your experience seem to occur in a place other than the location described above?            Yes

In my bedroom, my living room, my front hallway, the stairs to a church, and a library.

Have you shared this experience with others?        

Yes     Only with 5 other people in my lifetime. They are overwhelmed and happy to hear it. They feel privileged to know my experience. They respect me and respect it.

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?       not really, except I feel very privileged to have had it.

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 

An event. NO substances or medications.

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

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

The only thing hard to describe was how the peace, love and joy felt. It was beyond words I know. 

Please offer any suggestions you may have to improve this questionnaire.    Would I welcome an experience like this again? Absolutely - in a heartbeat!