It was a very vivid dream. One like I had never experienced before nor one I have ever had since that time. 

It was simple and straight forward. My mother told me that she was fine and not to worry about her. She told me that we will all be together again and for me to tell the "others" (meaning my two brothers and my father). She told me she would not be talking to me again until we are back together. (It was that short and to the point and I still can't get over how vivid the dream was.) 

At first when I woke up I couldn't figure out if my mother had died or if she was still alive. The dream experience was so real it caused me to be confused. I knew I had just talked to her, so how could she be dead? I had to concentrate as to whether she was still alive or had passed on. After a minute or two I had sorted out the reality in my mind that I had attended her funeral.  However, I had all the feelings and emotions a son would have after seeing and talking to his mother that he hadn't seen for awhile.  

The experience has left me with a lasting impression that I still strongly recall to this day. As she told me in the dream, she hasn't visited me since. (That was more than 37 years a go.)

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:    She talked to me like I always remembered her talking to me.

            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 originated outside of me.

            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 was similar. If it had been anything else I would have noticed. I can't rule out that it wasn't communicated in a telepathic sense though.

            Is there any possibility what you heard was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?           No possibility what so ever.

            Was there any possible impairment to your hearing at the time of the experience?   None.

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

Did you see the deceased?         Yes

It has been awhile but in my mind I clearly saw her but I couldn't tell you how she was dressed or if she was sitting or standing.

            How clearly did the deceased appear?            Solid.

            How much of the deceased did you see?       I can't say I saw her full body.

            Did the deceased appear or not appear to be the age at which they died?       She appeared to be the age she was when she died. However, she always looked younger than her real age.

            How healthy did the deceased appear to be?            Very healthy.

            Is there any possibility what you saw was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?           No chance. I was attending my senior year at college some 200 plus miles away from home at that time.

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

How long did the experience last?        Not long at all. Maybe a minute or two.

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?         Sudden beginning and ending. I woke up right afterward.

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

I could tell she wanted me to know that everything was fine with her. Her message was confirmed by her appearance to me.

Did the deceased give you information you did not previously know?  Yes. I always believed that there was no experience after we died. In my Christian belief, I thought people would be resurrected at a much later time for judgment. Not life so soon after death. I didn't know we would be reunited with our loved ones either.

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:           Given the source of the message (my mother). The message itself and the reality of the experience. As I said before, the dream was like one I had never experienced before or since then. It was more like seeing or experiencing what I encountered is the reality. I know what I experienced was very real.

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   Uncertain

It was dream like but was more vivid than any other dream I have ever had. 

I have had only one other dream where I saw my mother since that experience. It was about 6 years a go. It was centered around a home I grew up in and I saw my mother walk by and smile as I played with some friends. This dream was more of the same dreams I always have. Nothing special and no messages or emotions as a result of seeing my mother in the dream.

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:           Nothing other than listening in detail to what she was telling me. I did enjoy the experience of seeing her and listening to her communicate to me. I felt very close to her and a special connection with her. I wouldn't have wanted it to end.

Was there any emotional healing in any way following the experience?           No

What was the best and worst part of your experience?      The best part was seeing mu mom. There was no worst part.

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?         Uncertain                  Describe:            I feel closer to God as a result.

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?   Yes     I am more positive about life and changed my belief about life after death.

Did the experience give you any spiritual understandings such as life, death, afterlife, God, etc.?            Yes     It changed the way I view God and this life. I am here to life this life to its fullest. I am looking forward to the next life. There is no dread as to the end of this life like there was before my dream.

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?          No

What emotions did you feel during the experience?            I knew I had just finished talking to my mother. I felt like anybody who missed their mother and how it would feel with a surprise visit. I knew I had been in her presence. That was the strongest emotion. I was just with my mom! 

I believed the message she told me and it was nice to know we would be together again. That was a big shift in a religious belief for me as well.

Was the experience witnessed or experienced by others?           No

No. But I told my girlfriend about it that day. I also told my brother who was my roommate as well.

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

Space and time was not a factor in my experience.

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

Did you become aware of future events?       No

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

People come to me and ask my advice. Many of those who take my advice have either great success or get what they wanted. I have had too many people ask me, "how did you know that would happen?" I can't tell them where it came from either because I don't know. I see things and connections in business meetings that others don't see many times as well.  

Somehow I knew to break a routine and locked a storm door in my house hours earlier before an attempted home invasion with an armed gunman in my home. I had never locked that door that early in the evening. It was the first time I had ever broken my routine. If the storm door had been unlocked as it normally would have at that time of the evening, I don't think my wife or I would be alive today. When I answered my front door the gunman when to open the storm door that I had locked. He then started breaking the glass and finally shot the gun and a bullet when through the side of the door. I don't know why I locked the door so early in the evening either. Something guided me to do it.

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?            Uncertain

I couldn't tell you the setting the dream took place in. I was in my bedroom at college when I had the dream and I know it wasn't there or at home.

Have you shared this experience with others?        

Yes     First I told me girlfriend and then my brothers and father. In 1974, this type of experience wasn't well-known. Now more people are coming out about their dream visits and I am expressing what happened to me more often and to more people.

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?           No 

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.    This was a great place to share my experience. Thank you.