When my father was dying we kept him at home with the help of visiting nurses.  He was confined to a bed for 5 months.  He slipped into a coma the last full week he was alive which is when things started to happen.  I had given my father a cup some years previous that when picked up to drink from it and the bottom was expose to a light source it would play a tune and then stop when you put it down.  It was on the mantel of their fireplace at home where it had been for years undisturbed.  When my father went into coma it would play for no reason.  At first no one thought anything except how strange it was that it was doing this.  We started to notice that at times when my father would have in life had something to say it would play.  When I came into the house, when my aunt came through the door to stay with my mom during this time.  And we could get it to respond to us by asking "Dad is that you" .  It would go on and on repeatedly when as we said, he had something to say.  When he died it began to quiet down except during certain moments.  It would always play when I came to visit.  It played repeatedly when my mom was having the linoleum in her kitchen replaced.  It had become gouged when the gurney with my dads body was being taken out of the house and my mom could not take the reminder.  The cup kept going on and on...my mother joked cause my dad no matter if he knew how to do something or not had to comment or provide his opinion on how it should be done when he was alive and now he was still having his say when the workman was doing his job on the floor. 

Now you would say maybe it was just malfunctioning, but it didn't go off all the time.  It didn't go off cause of bumping the floor or slamming the door, we tested all that stuff but would sound off only when asked or when someone he loved showed up at the house.  Years later my aunt came to visit after my mothers death and stayed in the house...she said the cup was no longer sounding off at all.  I came to visit, I had not been there in over a year, and the minute I walked through the door the cup started playing...I was overwhelmed with emotion.  My aunt was in awe. 

I had made a deal with my dad via the cup that he could show me he was around anytime by leaving me dimes.  I choose dimes because I never found them...I find pennies you know like everyone but dimes seemed like a more sure way for me to know it was him.  I started finding dimes everywhere.  They would be in bed with me...on the floor no matter where I went, in my car laying on the seat so I would see before I sat down.  I kept them with me, in my pants pockets for awhile till there were just to many.  I still find them but not as often as I used to but once in awhile I will comment to my dad that it has been awhile and I will find them again. 

After my mom died I was so lonely.  I had my mom to share my grief when my dad died but after my mom died, I was newly separated from my husband and alone with my grief.  I was doing ok with it but felt alone. 

I had bought a water yoyo , a ball of clear red rubber with a rubber band attached and inside was a plastic ball in water, that when struck would flash a light, and was going to give it to one of my grandbabies...but I had attached it to my lamp beside my bed.  It had hung there for a couple of weeks and I had forgotten about it, it was just there, hanging from the lamp.  I was sleeping one night and was woken to a light flashing.  It took me a moment to realize that the yoyo was flashing.  It was only supposed to flash for a 15 seconds or so when struck and then stop but this thing was flashing and would not stop.  I was frightened by it and being as I was in the house alone I admit I was scared and just laid there and eventually fell back asleep. The ball was not flashing in the morning when I woke.  The next day I felt silly for letting it bother me.  That night I again awoke to the thing flashing and I suddenly knew it was something making it happen...I asked it...dad, mom if that's you make it stop.  It stopped.  Mom, dad, if that's really you make it flash...it did.  I talked to it for an hour and could get on off responses anytime  I asked...I gave them my love and thanked them and it was over.  Never happened again.  I still occasionally find dimes and have dreams mostly with my mom where I know she is gone but we have conversations, short but sweet.  Those dreams are very infrequent.  And now my life is happy, I am safe and in a good relationship and I think they are at peace.

Was this experience difficult to express in words?  Yes

I did not see my parents or hear a voice, they used other means to communicate

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:    In my description I told you about the cup and the flashing light.  Very clear.

            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 outside myself..

            Is there any possibility what you heard was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?           I tried hard in my description to show that we tried to debunk the things that were happening.  We looked for alternative answers and that is when we knew for sure this was real.

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

Did you see the deceased?         No

Did you smell a distinct smell, scent, fragrance or odor associated with the deceased?      No

How long did the experience last?        Each experience had its own timing.  They were all different in length and quality.

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?         sudden beginnings and the ending were I guess more of a gradual thing.  They would start and then we could communicate with the sound and like a conversation would end when we were done.

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

Never thought about it before reading this question, but we knew what the content was, cant even explain that one but yes, we knew what it was about. We knew the mood of the communication.

Did the deceased give you information you did not previously know?  No..

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 it felt like, I know it was real.

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   No

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:           Every situation was different..

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

Just in the midst of pain during and after the death...there were moments of feeling like he is here and he is ok.  Just knowing he was still alive, in a sense, still there in one form and that he was going to be ok so we could be ok too.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?      Best...just having it happen and the worst...having had someone I love die to have this experience.

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

What other attitudes and beliefs about your experience do you currently have?             
             
That I will see them again.  And life goes on for us all, this life and the next.     

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?   No       Did the experience give you any spiritual understandings such as life, death, afterlife, God, etc.?  Uncertain            I say uncertain only because most Christians would say, and the Catholics in my life would say there is no spirits that can communicate with us.  That we are not floating around somewhere seeing and talking to people yet living etc.  But I know what I know and so my understanding does not fit well in a religious life but again...I know what I know.

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?        N0 comment

Did you observe or hear anything regarding people or events during your experience that could be verified later?          No
What emotions did you feel during the experience?            Always love...and happiness...and awe

Was the experience witnessed or experienced by others?           Yes

Since there were many occasions in the home everyone there experienced what was happening. The one in my home was just me.

Have you shared this experience with others?         Yes    

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?       My mom had many experiences happen to her when her family members died..

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 

When I was a child I had an experience when I was out of body looking down on my classmates in my school room.  Just the once.

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.    Just being able to share this experience was wonderful for me.  It gave me pleasure to recount it all.