My son had died less than a month before the experience occurred. I was having a particularly bad day. I had sobbed through most of the day although I was at work in my office.  After work I went to a gym where my son and I worked out together. It was something special we shared. While in the gym I smelled my son's odor. It was strong (My daughter, my wife and I have all smelled his odor at various times after his death and we all recognize the same smell.) It seemed odd that that the odor would be in the gym and so strong so I was skeptical of whether it was his odor or coming from somewhere else. The odor was strong enough and strange enough that other people at the gym commented on it. After working out, I went to the house where my son lived so that I could get on his computer which contained photos of him. I went to be alone with his memory and to grieve privately. As a sat at his desk I entertained  serious thoughts of how to end my life. I told my son that it was just too difficult to go on without him. I missed him too much.  Suddenly, my car alarm sounded. At first I did not think it was my car because the alarm had never gone off before that I could recall and I had not locked the care. Also,  if it were to work I would have to hit a series of buttons to activate it. I never touched the buttons. I was aggravated that I was interrupted in my grieving. I walked through the house through the garage to the car. The very second I reached the car the alarm stopped. Both before and after that experience the alarm has never gone off  unless I actively press the buttons and even then it will go off perhaps one time in 20. Basically, the car alarm does not work and never has. It was a message from my son that although it is fine to grieve and be sad, it was not acceptable to entertain dark thoughts.

Was this experience difficult to express in words?          No

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?            No

Did you see the deceased?         No

Did you smell a distinct smell, scent, fragrance or odor associated with the deceased?      Yes

            What smell, scent, fragrance or odor did you smell?           See above. I smelled it in the gym where we worked out together. It was his odor and my wife, daughter and I have all recognized as his while together.

            Was the smell, scent, fragrance or odor familiar?     His odor

            Was anything communicated by the smell?   just his presence

            Is there any possibility that the smell, scent, fragrance or odor was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?        I don't think so. I was very strong. Others smelled it. Also, the door to the outside was open so the smell would have had to come from the outside but the odor was only in this one part of the gym and nowhere else. It lasted for a while as I kept going back to smell it.

Could you sense the emotions or mood of the deceased?           No

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

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   No

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:           It was less than a month after my son's death and shortly after his memorial. It was the day of my deepest despair

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

I knew definitely that I could continue to grieve but that I needed to go on living and not entertain dark thoughts

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?         Yes                 Describe:            With this and other experiences my wife, daughter and I have started to develop a spirituality that we did not have before

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.?  Yes     We have had many messages from my son that he is still with us but in a different form.

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?          N0 response
What emotions did you feel during the experience?            I felt good because it was obvious that my son was watching out for me and my family and giving me direction

Was the experience witnessed or experienced by others?           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     I tell any one that I feel could benefit from it

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 

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