I remember the phone ringing and I went to answer it. There was a man's voice saying my name but speaking slowly and broken as if he was in agony. I automatically knew somehow that this individual was dying. I also automatically knew that this was an individual from my PAST. Someone I had not heard from in a very long time. That is one of the aspects of this that makes it so credible. I didn't ponder those things--I somehow knew them immediately. I didn't recognize the voice so I kept saying, "Yes this is Heidi. Who's this?"  "Do you need help?" "Who is this?" "What's wrong?"  But all the man would say is my name over and over. Eventually the call disconnected and I started to call everyone I knew in my home town. (Again, I knew this was someone from my hometown that I had grew up with. How I knew this I will never understand.) I had worked in nursing homes when I was in high school but I started to call them. Obviously the individuals in those homes would have passed on by now but that is how sure I was that it was someone from my past. I was never able to determine who it was.  When I woke up, I was in sheer panic. I didn't laugh about what a funny dream it was, or think, "Boy was that crazy."

I got on the phone and called my family to see if anyone had died overnight.  None of my family really took me seriously and said I had been watching too many horror stories before bed. Their response didn't convince me that it was all a dream though because I somehow knew that it wasn't. However, I was relieved to hear that it wasn't anyone in my immediate family. I no longer had any personal contacts or family in my home town so I started to worry that I may never learn who it was that I dreamed about and. A week went by with no news about anyone so I started to think that perhaps it was a dream after all but I knew in my heart that it was different. Later in the week however, my sister called me and told me that she had learned from a friend in our hometown that David had passed away on the very night I had my dream. He had undergone surgery that day in another state far away from his family and was recovering at home when he started to have a lot of pain. The last thing he had done was phone his mother. She knew immediately from his voice (like I did in my dream) that this was very bad but could not convince him to go to the doctor. He was found dead the next day and it was discovered that the doctor had nicked a very important artery during the surgery so he died from internal bleeding.

At last I knew who it was who had visited me and became very emotional. Even after all this time, he had apparently remembered me. ME. Our bond had been strong but I had no idea how much. We had both married over the years, had children and both divorced but we never spoke yet he never forgot me. About a month later I had another experience/dream as real as that one. I dreamed of a beautiful garden behind a mansion type house. The color of the yard and grass was the deepest, most amazing green I could ever imagine. I was going there to attend a picnic/backyard party (although I didn't know whose at the time just that I had been invited) and when I stepped into the backyard, I saw David sitting at a picnic table. My immediate reaction was surprise and I asked, "How can you be here David, you're dead?"  That is how real the experience was, as if I was actually there in that backyard instead of sleeping in my bed. David looked as handsome as he did when we were young and smiled the most peaceful smile I have ever seen anyone smile then said, "I'm waiting here for you Heidi. Someday, you'll get to come here too and I'll be waiting."  I woke up feeling the most warm, loving sensation all over, like someone had poured a bucket of the most powerful love all over me. I will never forget that sensation but unfortunately I have never felt it again.

One final dream happened about six months later. I found myself back at the garden/backyard. There was David again at a picnic table and there sitting next to him, having a wonderful conversation was my father.  My father is still alive but has a fast progressing form of dementia, even faster than Alzheimer's. In the dream/experience, Dad didn't notice me but he was engaging in such spirited conversation that I didn't interrupt him. You see my father was one of the most social guys I ever knew and loved to just sit and talk to people--he could have a conversation with anyone. But he hasn't been able to speak even generally for years now. I remember crying in the experience/dream because I was so happy to see him as his old self. David who was having this conversation with my father, looked away from him and at me just long enough to smile that peaceful warm smile of his and then went back to talking to Dad. My father is still with us however it won't be long now. It has been extremely difficult on our family's emotions watching him deteriorate like this. I believe that David was trying to reassure me that soon Dad will be there in that beautiful backyard/garden with him, talking with friends and just being him again. I haven't dreamed about David since but I think that he may be some type of connection for me, like I have a friend in Heaven--other than my friend Jesus of course. I was always taught that this type of thing couldn't happen and that if it did, it was the work of the devil. But this was ALL about love and Jesus is love. There was NOTHING but God's presence in all of it and I am very grateful that I was allowed to experience it and for my friend David who never forgot me or our bond.

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?            Uncertain

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 him speaking and will NEVER forget how he sounded both on the night that he died as well as the night I found him in perfect peace.

            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 the same as if someone next to me was saying my name---not telepathic or anything. Also the ringing on the phone was very real.

            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 had been years since I had spoken with David. I don't really remember what his voice sounded like. But what was significant was that his mother had said he sounded like he was very ill, and I had made that same conclusion even though I did not know who it was at the time. It was like he had also "called" me that night. But through a completely different means of communication if you know what I mean.

            Is there any possibility what you heard was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?           No. For me to have known that it was someone from my past and that they were dying were too specific to be anything other than significant. I have worked and lived in many places/cities throughout my life and I know an extremely high number of people. One would think that had it been something from another source like the TV, I would assumed it was someone I knew currently. In a wake state, I would have never imagined it was someone from my home town but I KNEW  it was that night. I knew it even without someone telling them

            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?         Uncertain

Not in the first dream but I did on the second and third occurrence.

            How clearly did the deceased appear?            solid

            How much of the deceased did you see?       all

            Did the deceased appear or not appear to be the age at which they died?       no, he was younger

            How healthy did the deceased appear to be?            At the most peace I have ever seen anyone to be

            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--10 minutes, second--five minutes, third--ten minutes.

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

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

I knew he was dying. Not just in pain---DYING.

Did the deceased give you information you did not previously know?  no--just comfort

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:           There were too many details that I could not have known had the experience not been real. IE, that he was dying, that it was someone from my past, that he had called someone with broken speech, and all of it happened on the very night he died.

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   No

It happened while I was asleep but was more real than most awake experiences. Hard to describe how that is
                  
Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:           The first experience I was terrified that someone in my immediate family had died. The two other experiences left me feeling a warmth I could have never imagined feeling. I woke up feeling it so some of it lingered even through the waking hours.

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

more peace about my dad and how he will be himself again one day

What was the best and worst part of your experience?      worst--knowing someone I cared about had died but not knowing who

best--knowing there is someone waiting for me in a place too beautiful for words

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?         N0 comment                        Describe:      I felt discarded and unloved after my divorce. Now I realize that at some point in my life, someone really did love me. I was special to someone. I won't die never having been truly loved. I think David wanted me to know that. I feel better about myself and that I may have something to offer again to another relationship where I didn't before the event.

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?   Yes     I don't believe all psychic/supernatural events to be of the devil. God is supernatural---why do we resist what could be potentially of Him? That must be insulting to Him--to allow us a window into the peace and love of His world just to have it attributed to Satan. I will never do that again.

Did the experience give you any spiritual understandings such as life, death, afterlife, God, etc.?            Yes     I believe that God sometimes allows this contact to bring us peace in a frightening world. It is NOT of the devil---only God could cause a person to experience that warmth, love and peace.

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 events of the night mirrored what actually happened when David called his mother. I have not spoken with his family--only heard this from friends.

What emotions did you feel during the experience?            Peace, tremendous love, felt I was special to someone, strong bonds, some confusion--why did he contact me?

Was the experience witnessed or experienced by others?           Uncertain

I had described the experience/dream to my family out of concern and to get information.  I knew someone had died but I didn't know who at the time.

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

I feel as though when we get to the next place, time is insignificant.

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

I don't know how many other people have experienced that warm feeling throughout my body. It was not a sensation I have ever felt before and I have never felt that way again. Also, that green was deeper than any green I have ever seen. I have not seen any color to match it. I now believe that what we experience in heaven cannot even be imagined by our human brains.

Did you become aware of future events?       Uncertain

How my father will be back in heaven.

Did you have any psychic, paranormal or other special gifts following the experience that you did not have prior to the experience?         Uncertain

I have had other unusual dreams in the past but none quite as real or accurate as this. Also, since this dream I have had other significant experiences through dreams and have predicted the death of one loved one as well as a tragic event in a family friends life.

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     At first they thought I was watching too many horror movies but the way it played out, they had no choice but to eventually believe it to be true. My not knowing who it was at first then to have it verified later was tough to argue with. How could I have the information about his death in another state miles away, i.e.. phoning someone while in pain, someone from my past, etc. a full week before others and even myself heard the details if it wasn't from David himself?

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 

There is nothing as like that event. It is the most "real" thing that has ever happened to me.

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

I had a dream once where Jesus came to me and I gave Him a big hug. He had that same sense of peace that David did although this was years before David so I didn't realize that until later. I told Jesus that I was glad He was there and I was ready to go but He said, "Oh no dear, I'm not here for you. There is much more work for you and I to do here." Then He left. I do not know if someone else died that night--I was pretty young but now I am thinking probably so. :)

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