Meeting my Dad in Heaven

I had been having mind awake – body asleep out-of-the body experiences for some 25 years when my father passed on in June 2014. My key goal had always been visiting the Afterlife and checking on my loved ones on the other side, but in June 2014 everything suddenly started getting much more difficult for me, because of the state of grief I was in.

On the morning of 12 March 2015, I happened to be at home alone, as my husband and son were spending two days in Rome. I had my mobile set as usual on a double alarm, one at 6:00 am and another one at 6:10. However, that morning I did not need to drive our son to school and had no pressing engagement, so, after swiping on my iPhone lock screen to switch off the alarm at 6:00 am, I fell asleep again. When the alarm went off at 6:10, after swiping the lock screen again, I simply turned around. I was shocked to see my husband’s silhouette lying under the blankets. That could not be. He was in Rome. I realized that between switching the alarm off and turning around in bed, I must have instantly plunged into mind-awake body-asleep mode. Without a second thought, I decided to use this opportunity to check on my father in Heaven.

I walked through the bedroom wall and found myself in a huge space filled with bright light and colors, with staircases and glass partitions. I remembered not to go rushing around (which, in my excited state, could have caused me to wake up before I found my father), but to ask for directions.

I stopped at a round table, where a man sat with a young boy, and asked, ‘Where’s Dad?’

They promptly referred me to another person, who would have the answer. I had to climb a very high, steep staircase, which was impossible for me to do in physical life, at the time, owing to disability; but in the spirit world, this was no obstacle for me. The person I was directed to gave me the final piece of advice I needed to locate my dad, which is what I did.

I must point out that, unlike most of my ordinary OBEs, this experience was absolutely just as real as everyday life. There was no difference between the perception I had of this experience and my physical life.

In my search for my father, I received help to focus on where I was, to keep grounded, so that excitement would not wake me. This assistance came in the form of a number of cards I found on my way, which I picked up and read carefully. The cards displayed beautiful angelic pictures and inspiring messages.

The final directions I received were the right ones, and I found my father in a farming region we used to visit as children, as it was the place where my father’s father was born. I found we had rooms we could use during our meeting, as well as the familiar farmyard with trees and vegetation outdoors to walk around.

My father looked as he did in his 50s (he was almost 79 when he ‘died’). He wore no glasses (I was reminded of how he had always taken them off for photographs) and was dressed in a grey long-sleeved polo shirt I remembered clearly from when he was ‘alive’. He looked wonderfully healthy. We hugged for a long time.

After we pulled apart, he was anxious to show me some things. We sat in some kind of crowded reception area, which I later realised must be one of those places where we, the so-called ‘living’, meet the so-called ‘dead’, especially at night during sleep, even if we cannot remember such experiences in the morning.

My dad was very keen to let me know he had continued writing ‘thoughts’ (my father always loved writing poems and stories, but these were actually ‘thoughts’, a word he always used when signing postcards or letters). He proudly said, ‘I have written 1,176 thoughts,’ and showed me a thick pile of papers he had handwritten and insisted on delivering to me.

This was all so real, I did not realize he was handing me something made in spirit matter. I kept telling him, ‘No, Dad, I know how these things go. I have already tried. The pile of papers will not get back with me in the physical world!’ Only later did I realize he had actually delivered his thoughts to me nonetheless, and that he was not asking me to do something impossible.

He then showed me something that looked halfway between a scrapbook and a photo album. It was thick and made of some kind of velvety material. It contained a collection of pictures and souvenirs, with many photos in black and white. This showed me how much he kept thinking of us all, and of all the people who had been part of his physical life, even if some of these memories belonged to the ancient past and these people were now in Heaven with him. I spent quite a long time going through the album page by page.

Now that a few years have gone by, I have realized that, beside the thousands of color pictures my father has taken over the years, the black and white photographs might have been a metaphor for the fact that he has very fond memories of times spent on Earth, and treasures them in a precious album, even though on this physical plane we do not get the full-color picture of life events. The feeling he is conveying to me is that, even if we are narrow-minded in spiritual terms during our physical lives, we are no less lovable than when we are fully aware and awake in the spirit world; and he cherishes all these memories, in an absolutely non-judgmental manner, irrespective of the imperfections (black and white versus color) we may see from our limited perspective.

I was also surprised by the synchronicity that, months after the event, I made great efforts to give my nine-year-old nephew some scrapbooks to introduce him to scrapbooking. One of them was already meant to include black and white pictures of our family, including ancestors, which my mother prepared several years ago in order to allow her grandchildren to create a family tree album.

Next, my dad showed me a small stand, located on top of something else, which I lifted and brought down. It contained a number of very precious souvenirs and collectibles, which I carefully examined. After I had gone through them, my father said, ‘Please put it right back where you got it. These are delicate things!’ I realized the word ‘delicate’ could also apply to how my account of this meeting, filtered through my own perception and understanding, would impact others—who, in turn, would filter the account through their perceptions—and, more generally, how our spirit essence may manifest in the physical in a multitude of ways. This can give rise to misunderstandings, when we are caught in the illusion of this physical world.

I realised this was not a dwelling of sorts, but rather a reception area, because of its size and the many people sitting there with us.

My father then showed me he was taking good care of himself, by exercising, and showed me a couple of toiletry bags he had with him, just to prove he had all he could possibly need. Above all, I believe this was meant to reassure me, as my last memories of him, when he was lying in hospital, were that he had to rely on his toiletry bags for his medicines and belongings, and it was sad to think these ‘things’ had survived him on the physical plane. My feeling was that he wanted me to know that he has all he needs, and the idea that all his physical items are now lying unused in wardrobes and drawers is mere fantasy, as they too have a spirit essence.

It was at this stage that my dad showed me a particular exercise, which involved using gym equipment emitting some mild electrical impulses designed to massage and tame what we sometimes call our ‘power centre’, our stomach area, where fear, anger, frustration, hate or other unhealthy feelings tend to get stuck. I used to suffer a lot from pain in this area, and I still occasionally dwell on hard feelings, instead of investing my potential energy in more spiritual ways.

Now, a few years after the event, I understand that my father was showing me what I needed to work on: I have always felt both premonitions and anxiety in the form of stomach discomfort or ache, but my worst and most disastrous decisions have always resulted from acting upon my gut instinct. I now realize how important it is to consult my heart and head intelligences, as well.

This reinforces my feeling that learning to use our power centre in non-destructive, but loving and harmonious ways while immersed in this physical world can bring tremendous positive change to our planet and to our personal lives.

When I finally left my father at 6:25 am (I am sure of the time, as I checked my iPhone watch as soon as I opened my physical eyes), he sat at a round table together with my mum (who was at that time asleep in bed, and had never had a dream contact with my father since he ‘died’). This confirmed my supposition that, even if we do not remember dream contacts with our loved ones on the other side, we meet with them regularly.

I opened my eyes and found myself in bed, with no apparent change in my state of consciousness. Everything was as it was when I first switched off the alarm and walked through my bedroom wall to visit Heaven.

Unlike most of my otherworldly experiences, this was incredibly long and there was no psychological urge to return to the physical life, or fear of being ‘shut out’ of my body, as I used to experience. Indeed, I had recently realized that William Buhlman was right when he described astral travel as a safe inner journey, even though there does not appear to be a real notion of ‘in’ and ‘out’ in the spirit world.

Sadly, after this experience, I was not allowed to relate it to a number of my relatives, but I must say that the last memory I had of my father during his last night and day on Earth, and later in the coffin, has now been permanently replaced by his new healthy, lively and juvenile self.

I now understand the unease that near-death experiencers feel when they try to report their stories, or even when they silently carry their stories in their hearts. I realize that (irrespective of personal religious beliefs) we are daily hypnotized to believe death is the end, or that whatever lies beyond death is none of our business. Even those who listen to my account carefully somehow regard it as a dream or a paranormal phenomenon—but it was as real as anything that happens to me in waking life.

Soon after this experience, the ‘thoughts’ my father had handed to me started pouring effortlessly into our lives. For instance, a few days later, a brother with whom I had initially been discouraged from sharing my account, and who takes tremendous care in looking after our father’s grave, sent to all us siblings some pictures he had recently scanned. One he said none of us could have ever possibly seen was a picture of my dad standing in the exact setting in which I had met him. At that very time, my brother had also scanned an old postcard my father had written to his mother when I was very small, which addressed her as ‘the travelling mum’. It was signed with the words ‘caring thoughts’. I understood this to relate both to me now (I am a ‘travelling mum’) and to my mother, who, even though she is unaware of meeting him, I saw sitting at a table with him in the reception area at a time when she was deeply asleep.

I now realize that grief for me has once again been the opportunity to walk the extra mile and prove that life never ends, and that death is an illusion.

I need to stress that I have always felt that an out-of-body experience is nothing more than a state of greater lucidity than a lucid dream, which, if we so desire, can be a natural launch pad to astral travel.

P.S. About the 1,176 thoughts my Dad mentioned, I need to add that a few years after this experience, our son was working on his University graduation thesis, which had to do with Dante’s Heaven. When the huge book about Dante’s Heaven arrived, I was shocked to notice it was exactly 1,176 pages long. I know this has nothing to do with the author’s ideas, but it has to do with the title of this huge white book: HEAVEN.

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:     We spoke telepathically and it was absolutely clear

          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?    We spoke telepathically

          If you heard a voice or sound, was it similar or dissimilar from the voice or sound the deceased made when they were alive?        We spoke telepathically and the communication bore the complete essence of my father

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

          Was there any possible impairment to your hearing at the time of the experience?     This was an OBE

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

We hugged for a long time. He was absolutely solid. He also handed things to me, one of which to be taken home with me

            Was the touch familiar or unfamiliar? Absolutely familiar

          Was anything communicated by the touch? Love

            Is there any possibility what you felt was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?      NO

Did you see the deceased?       Yes

He looked 30 years younger, he wore no glasses, he was absolutely healthy

            How clearly did the deceased appear?            SOLID (this was an OBE but I would like to report the ADC side of it all)

            How much of the deceased did you see?       All plus the environment

            Did the deceased appear or not appear to be the age at which they died? He appeared about 30 years younger

            How healthy did the deceased appear to be?           Absolutely health. No relationship with the time he died

            Is there any possibility what you saw was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?       NO

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

How long did the experience last?      15 minutes

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?          It was both gradual and very quick. The ending took me some time to realize I was back, but I immediately checked what the time was (6:25 in the morning)

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

LOVE and a keen desire to communicate with the family

Did the deceased give you information you did not previously know? It is all included in the account. He gave me a number which became significant years later; he gave me a pile of sheets of paper, which he described as 'thoughts' which came through in the evening through pictures my brother sent us all

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:   THIS EXPERIENCE HAS 100% REMOVED MY MEMORIES OF MY FATHER LYING MOTIONLESS IN THE COFFIN AND PERMANENTLY REPLACED IT WITH THIS NEW MEMORY. I had had other ADC's involving my father prior to this experience and other came afterwards, but this stands out as THE KEY experience

          Was the experience dream like in any way?  No

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:          VERY HAPPY AND JOYFUL

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

The memory of my father dead was permanently replaced by the new memory of my father alive

What was the best and worst part of your experience?    Hugging my father who was alive, happy and absolutely solid. No bad experiences.

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?          Yes                Describe:     I am more aligned with my Spirit Self and care less about what other people say about it.

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    I met my father in some sort of reception area for the living to meet with the dead, whether they remember the meetings (such as in my case) or they forget (such as my mother's in that case). OBEs, dreams, lucid dreams, and meditation are all means to reach this reception area, which was very crowded.

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?         Uncertain

My father knew very well that I have plenty ADCs and that I am a suitable recipient. He had also read my first book which describes how to have ADCs

Did you observe or hear anything regarding people or events during your experience that could be verified later?          Yes For instance: The number of thoughts/pages my father delivered to me (1,176) was very specific. Years later, my son had to work on a huge white book called HEAVEN and it was exactly 1,176 pages long

What emotions did you feel during the experience?         HAPPINESS AND JOY, NEED TO SHARE THE INFORMATION IMMEDIATELY

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

Well, I know the experience lasted 15 minutes in our earthly time, but it appeared to be longer

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

I got absolute confirmation that the living and the dead can spend time together and that God/the Universe is structured in order to allow for this

Did you become aware of future events?      Uncertain

My father seemed to suggest I should be alert about the way my solar plexus reacts to situations

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

I have always had ADCs, but now it is more natural for me to sense and follow my guidance

Did you experience a separation of your consciousness from your body?          Yes

THIS WAS AN OBE

Did you meet or see any other beings other than the deceased?   Yes

2 deceased persons sitting at a table

1 other deceased person giving me directions to find my father

A few angelic beings

My living mother sitting at a table with my deceased father in the reception area, while she was asleep at home (only recently has she started remembering her dreams)

Did you see a light?        Uncertain

As soon as I crossed the bedroom wall I found myself in a huge place filled with light

Did any part of your experience seem to occur in a place other than the location described above?        Yes

A huge place filled with light, with staircases and glass partitions. My focus was kept thanked to a number of cards I found on my way, bearing angelic pictures/words. This allowed me not to get too excited and not to wake up

Have you shared this experience with others?      

Yes    They were happy. Only my mother surprised me by telling me not to tell one of my brothers. With hindsight, had I told him that day, I would not have received feedback from him

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

I have published it in one of my books and shared it on Facebook and other social media

 Is there anything else you would like to add regarding your experience?          I had already tried to carry things in an OBE from the spirit world to the earthly world and failed. This time my father insisted so much and I found that it is possible

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? Yes 

I continued to have OBEs and ADCs

Did you ever in your life have a near-death experience, out of body experience or other spiritual event?    Yes 

I have had around a thousand OBEs, a few STEs, hundreds of ADCs (this being the BEST), mystical understandings and a short NDE-Like experience in January 2019

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.       To be quite honest I am not sure why you require the first name of the deceased and other information that may allow for the deceased to be identified. It is very important for me to be for this experience to be listed as an ADC and not as an OBE.  Thank you!!!