While attending the funeral of one of our research associates after she lost battle with pancreatic cancer, I was just thinking about how I lost my 37 year old brother unexpectedly after a short illness less than two years back and how I consider dreams and some signs to be visitations from him and about all the after death phenomena I had been reading about since his tragic passing. Suddenly, I just told one of the other research associates sitting next to me that she (the deceased) must be somewhere here, in this room, watching her own funeral and listening to all of us and she would definitely contact someone. After this we spent little more time there and went back home.

Just few hours passed and we were getting ready to take my brothers' children and their mother out for picnic (they were visiting us for the first time after his passing). All of a sudden I was looking for my mobile (old fashioned buttoned mobile because we are not supposed to take smartphones to our offices for security reasons, so most of our team owns these simple phones). I found it on my bed and when I activated its screen by long pressing * button, the name of the recently deceased was 'right there'. I was dumbfounded.

It was just as if a person had searched her contact from my phone's contact list and when her name came up on the screen, that person just left the phone there and went his way. The appearance of her name on my phone without any human intervention on the day of her passing was no less than an infinitesimally rare event for me because although her contact was in my phone for more than 2-3 years, I had never ever called or texted her. I did not even remember I actually had her number because she was least associated with me professionally although we would greet each other nicely and talk a bit whenever we bumped into each other.

I showed it to my husband and brother's wife (widow-I hate that word) and although they were clearly startled they still, like me, started looking for some rational reason like the kids were jumping on bed, so may be they accidentally clicked the buttons on phone. I have no problem with this explanation but then the questions remain, 'why only her name?, right on the day of her passing?, for the first time ever since I recorded her name in my contact list?, when I had never called or texted her in my life?, why it never happened again, never with any other person's contact name even (my son always plays with my phone and handles it so roughly)?

Did she listen to me telling the other woman that she will contact someone? Did she feel I was the most open to after death communication because I don't think anyone at that funeral believed or at least wanted to believe in spiritual contact except me?

Few days afterwards, I saw her in dream. She was happy and on my insisting for a message for the family, she reluctantly told me to tell her family that the money is now released and they should claim it. Uncertain of the meaning I shared the experience with the bereaved family and the father told we are in the process of claiming for her insurance.

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?          Yes

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?       No

How long did the experience last?      For a moment

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?          It was momentary

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

Did the deceased give you information you did not previously know? In dream she told me about some money and that the money should be taken care of by the family. It turned out she had an insurance, which now the family was starting to claim for.

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:   It was real because it was physically there, right in front of me, on my physical phone.

          Was the experience dream like in any way?  No

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:          Astonished and a certainty of spiritual contact.

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

Found one more reason to build up my belief in the possibility of afterlife.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?    All was good.

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

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience? Yes    Just a little bit strengthening of belief in afterlife.

Did the experience give you any spiritual understandings such as life, death, afterlife, God, etc.?         Yes    If there is afterlife, spirits can communicate electronically too and they are attracted to those who are open to hearing them.

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?         Slowly started to look for rational reasons behind the appearance of her name. Although no explanation really satiated me because the thing was so unlikely to happen.

Was the experience witnessed or experienced by others?         Yes  They saw what I saw

Did you have any sense of altered space or time?  No

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?    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?        No

Have you shared this experience with others?       Yes    They were astonished too but soon started looking for rational cause.

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 

Used to have out of body experiences during day time naps.

Saw one predictive dream hours before hearing news of distant relative's death. Similar dream happened to my father also the same night.

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.       It looks comprehensive enough.