My first experience was hearing a very loud crashing sound of something metallic and heavy hitting the floor the night before my dear brother's cremation. No one else heard anything. My father, who is very light sleeper and an agile person, did not appear to notice anything, as he didn't even move from his place like everyone else at home that night. On being asked nobody seemed to hear anything at night, let alone that ear piercing loud crashing sound that I had heard.

Second experience was spontaneous floral smell that filled our living room after few days. My mother and aunt smelled it too. I immediately checked everywhere for the source. There was pack of unlit incense sticks in kitchen but it wasn't smelling this conspicuously when I brought it near my nose.

My third experience involved a bird, the owl. About a month after this tragedy I was busy doing house chores in the morning and was silently talking to my brother in my mind. I was imploring him to give me any sign of his presence. Soon after I heard my brother in law 

Fourth experience was a lucid dream. Before going for a nap one afternoon few months after his passing, I requested him to meet me in dream. Being very tired I fell asleep shortly. While sleeping I felt myself in a black void and heard myself calling my brother's name. The dream being lucid, I (not my character in the dream) felt the confidence that he will definitely come here any moment. I became hopeful that I will be able to finally ask him all the questions in this meeting. In a moment he came! But it wasn't his image or body. It was just that he was standing with me. I didn't see him. I just felt he is standing with me the way anyone would feel in someone's company, not necessarily looking at him/her but just talking and sharing time and space with them in physical world. I started asking him questions hurriedly, as I had this overpowering anxiety that the dream may end and I may lose him. He answered all my questions, some immediately, some after some deliberation. Finally he took me somewhere. It looked like an under construction and developing city. The roads were under construction, there was building material scattered along the roads. Concrete buildings along the horizon far away from us. While driving me through it he told me it isn't that easy to come and meet you people in dreams because those people have now become strict. Realizing that he is talking about heavenly entities (guides, angels etc), I said 'but they are supposed to be good'. To this he replied that they are good but still they try to maintain as much discipline as possible and the other day they were oiling their brush...... My dream ended here. I immediately woke up and called my mom. She was especially astound to know that my brother mentioned oiling the brush. Because he was very fond of cooking and used to diligently brush his chicken before grilling and for the purpose he had especially bought a brush.I didn't know about this.

Fifth was another lucid dream. This dream became lucid when he entered the scene. Before that it was a regular one in which my friend had come with her relatives at my door to say goodbye as she was leaving for her home after spending time at her mother's. As I came forward to welcome them my brother immediately appeared between them and me. The dream immediately became lucid. Happily I asked in surprise 'You? here?. Smilingly he said yes!. I told him 'but how could this be'. He proudly said, 'just like that'. But his face was more stiff than smiling and I don't remember seeing his lips move. But I saw him clearly standing before me. I said how are you. He told me I am fine but you and others unnecessarily cry for me. I said why do you say that. To this he answered 'because I am permanent and you are temporary. I said do you wanna say that you are real and we are in a dream. He said yes. The dream ended here because my anxiety of it ending overtook my will power to continue the dream. Although suspicious of the reality of lucid dreaming and dream visitations, I could still feel happier and hopeful after the dream. I felt at peace and content at meeting him.     

Sixth one was when I was watching his and his family's pictures on my mobile. I was terribly crying. When a picture of his daughter came on screen, my phone blinked very softly. It has never happened before that and never since. The blinking was very soft and special. It made me feel better.

Background Information:

Length of time between death of deceased and your experience:  1 day, few months

Was the date of the experience significant in any way?    First experience (Night before cremation), other experiences (no significant time)

General geographic location of experience:  India

Details of location of experience and your activity at the time of experience:        Sleeping in living room with many others, waking in living room, sleeping in bedroom, crying in bedroom

Degree of bereavement for deceased immediately prior to the experience:  No response

Degree of alertness immediately prior to experience:            Asleep

After your experience, did you consider the contents of your experience:  Mixed

Have you had multiple experiences?   Yes   

Was this experience difficult to express in words?     No

How long did the experience last?      Few minutes.

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?      Gradual

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

He seemed content. But neither happy nor sad.

Did the deceased give you information you did not previously know?          I had started reading about after life soon after his passing. It was new for me. I came to know that the God, angels, spirit guides are all positive and loving. But he told me they are strict also. It was new for me. He conveyed to me that he works there. I am not sure whether I heard/read it beforehand that we work in the afterlife also. Not sure it was new information or not. In one dream he said that he is not worried about his wife because she has a long life. Few days after that I came to know that around the day of this dream, his wife (widow) narrowly escaped an automobile accident, which could have been fatal. The day he told me in the dream that we should not cry for him, my mom had been bitterly crying and missing him and I was not aware of it. My mom later told me. In the most recent partially lucid dream, he told me I have only 9 month time. Not sure what it means. Can tell only after nine months. He told me he visits home many a times and sees his younger daughter play and she in return sometimes detect him and sometimes she can't. But I already knew that his daughter reports seeing his 'papa' sometimes, as told by my mom. So, may be this was just my own subconscious mind. But he also told me that every morning he wakes my dad up without my dad's knowledge. Not sure if its true.

How do you currently view the reality of your experience?          Experience was probably real

          Please explain why you view the reality of your experience as real or not real:   The dreams I saw were very different from the usual ones. I have had very few lucid dreams in the past more around the time when I was young. They reappeared only after my brother's passing. They are stronger and I am in more control than I had ever been. I am totally aware of everything. So I feel these are some real spiritual contacts. But then suspicion always creep in and I start feeling they are just dreams.

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:  Felt happy to meet him in dreams and being able to talk to him and hear him back.

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

Felt more certain about the reality of afterlife. But still suspicious at some level.

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

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience? Yes                Describe:     Trying to meditate and develop spiritual connection with the ultimate being and his world beyond our physical world. Try to be certain of the reality of my experiences.

What other attitudes and beliefs about your experience do you currently have?  Want to be more certain that it was all real and not just dreams or random events that seem like visits or messages from him.      

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience? Yes    I think probably the spiritual world exists.

Did the experience give you any spiritual understandings such as life, death, afterlife, God, etc.?         Uncertain          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?         Yes My brother's wife escaped a fatal accident around the day he told me that she has a long life and he's not worried about her.