I had just finished viewing all the photos of my Dad from age six months to 61 years of age.  My mom had found tons of old and recent shots of my Dad for the memorial photo collage for his wake, set for the following day.  

My Mom had stepped out of the dining room and I was standing alone, gazing in admiration at all the snapshots capturing my fathers existence here on earth.  I started to feel "odd" and my vision went from clear to foggy to tunnel vision. I closed my eyes and felt a tremendous surge of love for my Dad. I spoke no words nor did I hear any words from him but I felt love in a pure and intense way.  Not just love in general but deep down, to the core, LOVE for my father.  This love wasn't just inside of me as a feeling though.  I felt it surround my whole being and I reached my arms out as if I were hugging my Dad.  

I did not feel his presence or touch.  I only felt LOVE but I truly believed I was hugging his soul and that his soul was somehow inside of me, surrounding me and hugging me back.  I tried to call out to my Mom so she could experience this too but it was as if I was in a dream state and I needed/wanted to be loud with my voice but could only muster up a tiny squeaky "Mom!"  

As soon as the soft word Mom fell from lips, inside my head, I heard my own voice and that voice said, "NO!, not now...in the bedroom."  I also heard my own voice telling me this, "Be strong tomorrow and at the funeral, your Mom will need you to be strong."  

My Mom came back into the dining room, took one look at me and asked me, "What's wrong?"  I was so shaken up I felt light-headed, dizzy, as if I was going to pass out. I slowly dragged my rattled ass into the kitchen and sat down in a chair next to the kitchen table.  I composed myself and then proceeded to tell my Mom.... everything. 

The funeral came and went and I honestly can't tell you how many people told me I seemed incredibly strong.  In fact my best friend worried that I was too strong and wasn't reacting/grieving like I "should."  To be honest though I felt convinced that my Dad was in a better place, on a new adventure, and wasn't just dead and gone.  I held fast to the notion that love is the only thing that really matters and the only thing that truly lasts. 

My experience in the dining room truly made me feel like my Dad's new experience was a positive one and that I should not feel sorry for him, or sad for me but I should be truly happy for him.  So that is exactly what I did and only on weird random "Tuesdays" in the shower or in the car did I find tears ebbing down my cheeks.  During the entire funeral I did not shed a single solitary tear. I stood tall and let my Mother, brothers and sister lean on me. 

Months passed and My Mom grew weary and frustrated that others were dreaming of my father intensely.  My sister, my niece and myself were having experiences with my Dad but she had not.  

Then one night, as she lay in their bedroom sleeping, my Mom had a dream so real that she firmly believes it was his soul visiting hers to bring her comfort and say goodbye.

In the dream, my Mom could see my father clearly and he was very happy, very young, very handsome and very thin like when he was in high school.  My parents met when my Dad was 16 and my Mom was 14. They were high school sweethearts that had just celebrated their 45th anniversary. My Mom felt an intense feeling of LOVE surround her being and flow within her. She also reached her arms out as if she were hugging him as I had in the dining room. 

When she awoke from her dream, she found herself sitting up and her arms were outstretched, bent in the shape of a hug.  She said the entire bedroom smelled strongly of my father's scent and not just a mere faded scent that is left behind on a pillowcase but an intense deep scent that permeated the entire bedroom. 

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After my awesome cat Tabitha died I had a dream that she was dead but was visiting me to say goodbye and to let me know she was healthy and happy. I could feel her warmth and weight in my arms, I could feel her rabbit like fur rub against my cheek, I could smell her breath and was surprised it didn't smell like kitty food.  She looked so young, seemed super happy and I felt intense love and happiness, sheer giddiness. 

It seemed very real, so real in fact my husband showed up in my dream and I excitedly said, "Look!, Tab is here, she came back to see us!"  He said, "Where?" and I explained she was lying in my arms and felt surprised that he couldn't "see" her.  

What got really weird is that I set her down on the floor and grabbed my cell phone to try to take a picture of her but when I looked at the cell phone the photo was just a blank screen so I tried again and again, to no avail.  I gave up and went back to holding her and the dream faded out.  I like to think she shared my dream to say goodbye and let me know she was okay and in a better place.

Was this experience difficult to express in words?  No

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

No for my father but yes for my cat

            Was the touch familiar or unfamiliar?   very familiar.  I felt the soft fur of her face rub against my cheek.  I felt the warmth and weight of her body in my arms.

            Was anything communicated by the touch?  yes love was communicated by the touch.  Very rarely would she do the head bump love message so it was always a big deal to get it.

            Is there any possibility what you felt was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?  Yes for my father because I was very tired and had jet lag from flying in from Germany and hadn't slept since the red cross had called.  Its possible the overwhelming love put me in an altered state but what I cant for the life of me explain is, "Why in the world was I thinking in the bedroom?" 

No on my cat.

Did you see the deceased?         Yes

o for my father.  I didn't see him

Yes for my cat.  She looked  young, lean, healthy, like she did when I first got her at the age of one.  Her fur was dark black and shiny.  It had become grey and dull with age and she had packed on a few pounds.

            How clearly did the deceased appear?            Dad, I didn't see anything.

Cat, solid.

            How much of the deceased did you see?       Dad, nothing 

Cat, all

            Did the deceased appear or not appear to be the age at which they died?       Dad, didn't really appear I just felt his presence/soul

Cat, she appeared 13 years younger

            How healthy did the deceased appear to be?            Dad, n/a

Cat, her only infirmities were age related- dull coat, white and grey fur, extra poundage

            Is there any possibility what you saw was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?           Dad n/a

cat, 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?           Dad, No for me.

Dad, yes in Moms dream.  She smelled his scent

Cat, yes in my dream.  I smelled her breath and recognized that it didn't smell like her normal smell or kitty food.

            Was the smell, scent, fragrance or odor familiar?     no

            Was anything communicated by the smell?   yes I felt good that her breath wasn't stinky. As she aged she lost almost all of her teeth and her breath smelled bad over the years since I didn't brush her teeth and because frankly her food gave her funk mouth sometimes.  I was relieved that I couldn't smell bad breath in my dream because it made me feel like she was in a healthier state.

            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?        no

How long did the experience last?        Dad, 1-2 minutes

Cat, 5-10 minutes

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?         Dad, sudden beginning with gradual ending

Cat, sudden beginning with gradual ending

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

Dad- I sensed love for me in beginning and worry/concern for my mom in ending

Cat- she was so flippin happy

Did the deceased give you information you did not previously know?  Dad-Yes the I didn't know I needed to be the strong one at the funeral or what was even meant by in the bedroom until later after my Moms dream and after the funeral had passed.   

I felt as if I was now aware for the first time in my life that a soul did exist and that there was more to life that just life on earth.  Oh and that pets have souls as much as we do and the deceased are happy.  I also learned that love is the only thing that truly lasts.

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:           My dream was more than a dream it was a shared dream with me and my cat and i really think she was sending me a message that she was healthy, happy and  okay. She was giving me comfort and telling me goodbye.  That dream seemed more final that her actual death.

My experience with my Dad was real too.  I felt his love and there is no way those thoughts just came into my head on my own accord.  Perhaps the be strong message would have but the in the bedroom message was too left field for my imagination.

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   Yes

Dad, I truly felt like I was in an altered state

Cat, yes it was a dream but more      

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:           22- I felt relaxed before dreaming of my cat and I felt admiration and love for my father directly before the experience. 

23- I felt intense love in both experiences and relief that they were okay with death

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

The loss of loved ones is easier to accept when you have faith in an afterlife and feel they are truly happy

What was the best and worst part of your experience?      the love

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?         Yes                 Describe:      I focus more on loving everyone and I am more spirtual but my religious practices have not changed and my career choices are the same.             

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?   Yes     I am convinced that there is a soul and an afterlife that includes deep love and intense happiness

Did the experience give you any spiritual understandings such as life, death, afterlife, God, etc.?            Yes     afterlife

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

My husband

Did you observe or hear anything regarding people or events during your experience that could be verified later?          Yes The in the bedroom comment resurfaced and my Dad showed up in my Mom's bedroom as he said he would.  He was very into being true to his word and often lectured us kids about our word being our honor.

What emotions did you feel during the experience?            happiness and gratitude to experience the love and comfort

Was the experience witnessed or experienced by others?           Yes

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

there was something altered about my encounter with my Dad.  The tunnel vision was strange and I felt very dizzy and light-headed afterwards

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

Honestly, I felt I learned that love is the most important thing and that it's the only thing that truly lasts.

Did you become aware of future events?       Yes

I became aware that my Dad would visit my Mom in her bedroom and that I had to be strong for the upcoming funeral

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?            Yes

I saw a little boy in my childhood home that wasn't really there.

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     They all agreed with me that what I experienced with my Dad was real.  The cat dream has been viewed by most as just a dream.

Have you shared this experience formally or informally with any other researcher or web site?            Yes

I shared the cat dream on a blog where others were having similar pet dreams

 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 

My brother James Patrick died from a premature birth and only lived for a few days.  My sister, my Mom and myself all saw a little boy in our home that we would mistake as being my older living brother, John.  It would just be a glimpse of him sitting on a bed for me and I would go to tell him to get off of Mom and Dad's bed but then he would just disappear.  I once told my Mom this and she started asking alot of questions about what he looked like and I relayed that he looked just like my brother John.  She said she saw him too in the house and would mistake him as John and so did my sister.

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.    I don't think so but maybe.