I should start by saying that a before I had this experience I had lost an emerald ring that my then husband gave to me 12 years before.  I searched all over the house for the ring at the time. It was very important to me. I was convinced it was somewhere in the house, and as we were moving, I eventually told myself I would find it once the entire house was cleaned and emptied out.  About 6 months after our move, the thought of the lost ring cropped up again in my mind.  I was feeling very guilty for being careless and sad that it was gone forever.  This went on for a couple of days.  Then, one morning, early in the morning, I had a very clear dream, but there was no vision in the dream.  It was only the voice of a woman telling me that she could help me find the ring.  At the time of hearing the voice, it was very strange, because the voice sounded so, so familiar, but I could not place who it was.  There was an Irish brogue to it.  The voice told me to go up to the attic and go to the first box at the top of the steps.  Open the box and pull out the top pair of jeans.  Look inside the pocket and there will be the ring.  As soon as the voice finished, I literally jumped up out of bed, went to the attic, pulled down the steps and damn if there wasn't a box sitting by itself at the top of the stairs.  At this point I remember thinking, no way, this can't be real!  I must still be dreaming!  Then I opened the box and it was full of old jeans...I really started freaking out and quickly put my hand in the front right pocket and there was the ring!!!!! I stood there in my cold attic screaming at the top of my lungs and holding the ring out in front of me. 

Just about this time my husband was coming in the door with my two young daughters.  He had brought them out to breakfast and decided to let me sleep (by the way, this NEVER happened before, so that in itself was strange).  He came rushing upstairs and I tried to tell him what happened.  The kids were scared because I was still a little hysterical.  But, after I calmed down I thought, Oh my God!  That was my mother!!! She was from Ireland, but it had been so long since I had heard her voice I didn't recognize it as being hers.  When I realized that it was her, some hours later, I broke down and cried and thanked her.  I also recalled that in preparation for selling the house, I was cleaning.  I put on a pair of old ripped up jeans that my brother in law had given me as they did not fit him any more.  I wore that pair of jeans to wash the kitchen floor.  I took the ring off so it wouldn't get ruined.  I put it in the pocket and totally forgot about it.  I never wore those jeans again.  I didn't even wash them.  I just folded them up and put them back in the closet.  I guess eventually they just got packed in a box without ever looking at them and moved to the new house.

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?            No

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:    clear communication on exactly where to find the ring.  She may have called me by my name to get my attention, but she did not identify herself.

            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?  Originated outside of me, but was within my head, if that makes sense

            If you heard a voice or sound, was it similar or dissimilar from the voice or sound the deceased made when they were alive?           same voice, but I did not relate it to my mother as it had been many years since she passed

            Is there any possibility what you heard was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?           No, there was no electronics on in the room (TV or radio)  I was alone.

            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?         No

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

How long did the experience last?        Less than 3 minutes

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?         Sudden.  I was in deep sleep and the next thing I knew I was hearing the voice.

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

She seemed to be very caring and loving, wanting to help.  It wasn't what she said, or even how she said it.  It was just a feeling, that I felt her love

Did the deceased give you information you did not previously know?  Yes.   Described in story above

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 was no way I could have known where that ring was.  it was as if I was being guided after waking up to do exactly what the voice told me to.  It was automatic.

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   Yes

Was in a  dream state when it started, but woke up quickly 

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:           Intently listening to the voice.  Trying to figure out who's it was.  I knew this person, but could not identify them.  I knew that I knew them well, and I was a little frustrated at not being able to identify them then because of the fact that I did get the feeling I knew them well.

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

I felt as though, even though my mother died when I was quite young, and under tragic circumstances, that she is still with me.  That she is still looking out for me.  That I still matter to her.  Because we was not always "present" as a mother when she was on earth, I get the feeling that she did this as some small way of making up for the past.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?      Best - Finding the Ring

Worst - Not knowing at the time it was my mother speaking to me.  If I had known, I would have tried to speak with her more-get more information about her.  As I am writing this I'm realizing that perhaps that was the very reason why I was not made aware that it was her.

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?         Uncertain                  Describe:            I think I've become a more spiritual person.  I am not afraid of dying and believe when I do, it will be a shift in consciousness only.

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?   Yes     Change in idea of spiritual "looking after"

Did the experience give you any spiritual understandings such as life, death, afterlife, God, etc.?            Yes     I am convinced of an afterlife; I have had my own OBE at age 8 where I connected with my spiritual self that was also life changing.

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?        Yes

In a different event, when my father was dying of ALS we asked him a few days before his death to give us a sign of life after death.  He could not speak, so he wrote to us, "Will make flower bloom".  On the day of his funeral I was washing dishes and looked outside and there was a huge cluster of purple irises blooming.  I had lived in that house for 21 years and never remembered irises blooming in that yard.  We cut them all and drove back to the graveyard we had just left and put them on his grave.  That bush of irises came back every year after that (I continued to live in the house) but never bloomed.  Years later on the day I found out I was pregnant with my first child, I came home from work and found one single white iris blooming in the middle of my front yard-all by itself in the middle of the lawn.  Irises are "bulb" plants...they don't just transplant by seeds, birds, etc.  I was convinced it was my dad showing his approval.

Did you observe or hear anything regarding people or events during your experience that could be verified later?          N0 response yes, saw flowers bloom

What emotions did you feel during the experience?            In awe!  Excited, incredulous.  It took a while to believe it was not a dream.  It could not have been.

Was the experience witnessed or experienced by others?           Uncertain

Related immediately to my husband just after it happened, but not witnessed by anyone.

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

as above

Did you have a sense of knowing, special knowledge, universal order and/or purpose?    No

Did you become aware of future events?       Yes

As described in story

Did you have any psychic, paranormal or other special gifts following the experience that you did not have prior to the experience?         No

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?           I was outside my body when I heard my mother speak to me.  I was not in a place, per say, but a state of being.

Have you shared this experience with others?        

Yes     Only shared it with a few people who know I am not nuts.  They usually get goose bumps, but definitely believe.

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?       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?           Yes 

OBE at age 8

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