Experience description:

My father had been very ill when I was off to Army basic training, and at the time of the ADC, Army Medical Corps training. My father was in the VA Hospital in Buffalo, NY, my hometown. My wife and mother-in-law (who worked at the VA Hospital) visited him often when I was away for Army training.

However, I had no special knowledge that he was near death when the ADC happened. My wife was pregnant with our first child, a daughter, and my father was trying hard to stay alive to see his first grandchild. Our daughter was born October 31, 1970, a few weeks early, and six days after my father died.

It was evening, and I had just lain down on my Army cot. I hadn't taken off my clothes, I was just laying there, starting to prepare for bed. Suddenly, I felt my father's presence, I could 'see' his face, but not really a normal visual image through my eyes, but a brilliant image inside my mind or my body of my father's face, illuminated by a golden light, and the knowledge was transmitted to me that he was fine, he was happy, no longer in pain, and that he loved me very much. I felt his love pouring down on me. The image of his brilliantly lit face and the feeling of being bathed in love were co-equal and simultaneous. I still feel the experience as if it is happening now.

Within a short time, within minutes, of the experience, the sergeant, came into the barracks. He walked to my bed and said, 'Baker, I have some bad news...' but I interrupted him and said, 'Yes, I know, my father just died! He was just here!' The Sergeant's eyes grew large, but he just said for me to come with him to the office so I could get the call from the Red Cross. In 1970, there were no cell phones, no internet, and we were very restricted on using the public telephone since we were in training. The only communication I had with my family were occasional brief phone calls as allowed, or frequent letters from my wife.

I have no doubt that this was a 'real' experience, other than it seeming 'more real than real.'

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:   It was transmitted directly to my awareness: my father was there, he was happy, no longer in pain, he loved me completely.

          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?     A sense of knowing what was communicated. I felt the knowledge inside my chest, not necessarily in my mind or brain.

          If you heard a voice or sound, was it similar or dissimilar from the voice or sound the deceased made when they were alive?     I didn't hear a voice or sound.

          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?   No.

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

the feeling of love pouring over me, into me. not a physical contact exactly, but I felt the love pouring down onto me. (So maybe I should have selected No or Uncertain?)

Was the touch familiar or unfamiliar? More love than I had ever felt.

          Was anything communicated by the touch? I was completely loved.

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

I felt his face more that seeing it with my eyes. I knew it was him and he was there with me. He had been so sick, and now he gave me the knowledge that he was happy, pain-free, no longer sick.

How clearly did the deceased appear?            Solid emanating a brilliant yellow/golden light that didn't hurt my eyes.

How much of the deceased did you see?       His face mainly, I didn't see much past his face.

Did the deceased appear or not appear to be the age at which they died?           The age at which he died, but healthy. He was never 'young' in my lifetime; he was around 45 when I was born. All my childhood, he seemed to be about the age of my friend's grandparents more than their parents.

How healthy did the deceased appear to be?            Healthy, you couldn't see his cancer, but it was apparent that he was very ill before this ADC.

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?      It felt instantaneous at the time, but I still feel like it could be happening in the present whenever I think of it.

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?       Sudden. It was immediate. There was no warning that it would happen. It was suddenly there...and yet it seemed to last long enough for me to receive the message without urgency or rushing.

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

He was happy, relieved of pain and illness, at home, relaxed, he really wanted to tell me his messages described above.

Did the deceased give you information you did not previously know?  Yes, I did not know that he had died. I knew that he was very ill. I knew that he wanted to stay alive to see our daughter be born. The information I received was that he was happy, that he loved me, and in a way, I have taken the experience to mean that there is life after death, at least for him, and that life after death was good for him.

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:   The intensity of the experience both at the time and the continued intensity without any loss of memory of it leads me to believe it was real. It feels like one of the most 'real' things that ever happened to me.

          Was the experience dream like in any way?  No

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:  I was happy that he was fine and that I didn't have to worry about him, in fact that was one other message that he had for me: to not have to worry about him, that he was fine. I was relieved, but not surprised, it was like receiving news except that my father's spirit was actually there, communicating with me.

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

I remember being a young child and suddenly becoming aware of the passage of time (maybe from the loud ticking of an old wind-up alarm clock) and realizing that I had an unavoidable appointment with death at some future time. It frightened me. After the ADC, I realized that there is life after death, certainly for my father and hopefully for me.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?          There was no worst part. The best part was knowing that my father was safe, happy, healed.

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

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?      Uncertain     Before, I was not sure if there was life after death, now I know that for some people it is true.

As I think about this question, there is on belief or attitude that I did have before the experience that wasn't changed. I have this very real feeling memory of being in my crib as an infant, and suddenly thinking, 'Oh, I am here again!' I wasn't shocked or surprised, I was merely taking note of it. I don't have any memories of a past life or lives, though.

I think of Shakespeare's line in The Tempest, 'our little lives are rounded by a sleep.'

Did the experience give you any spiritual understandings such as life, death, afterlife, God, etc.?         Yes    There is life after death for my father, hopefully for me and everyone.

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 sister-in-law, Mary, was very close to me and treated me more as a brother than a brother-in-law (I was an only child). My wife, Judy and her only sibling, Mary were very close. In fact, Mary and Judy's mother lived upstairs from us and our children for years while Mary was in college. Mary and I talked about death and life after death. Mary was very intelligent and a brilliant student. She believed that after we died, we get to learn all the secrets of the universe and we can learn everything we have always wanted to know. We didn't have an explicit contract to communicate with each other, though. She died of meningitis in 1984 when she was 30. Sometime in the late 1990's, and before 2008, I had an experience when I was sleeping that Mary had come to visit in my bedroom. She was sitting on the floor, petting the neighborhood cat that often found its way into our house at night through the crawlspace from the garage. I asked her what is it like to be dead, and typical of her droll sense of humor, she said that it's allright, she could take it or leave it. I asked her if she could come again, and she looked sad, and said that, no, they wouldn't like that. I don't consider this experience as an ADC. It didn't feel like a dream, either, it felt real but not as intense as the actual ADC I had from my father.

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?          Strange to say, I was very calm. I had true knowledge directly from my father, but I wasn't surprised or uncertain about it. I don't know why I felt so assured and unemotional, other than feeling that I had experienced something very true.

Was the experience witnessed or experienced by others?          No

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

Not sure how to answer. The experience was immediate, yet also everlasting in that I feel like I can experience it now just as it was then.

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

Life after death is real and it can be communicated.

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?        Yes. A golden or yellow light around my father's face.