It started when my father was sick and dying. I started noticing a blue orb of light by my shoulder when I was walking with my dog. It would go along with us, so I started asking if it was someone and if so, who. So I would get feelings of it being my father's mother. I asked if it was her and felt happiness, excitement. I don't remember exactly how many times this took, but it was going on for a few weeks, I think. I would get a little bit of information at a time. I finally got to where I felt like she wanted me to give my dad a message from her. I asked, and again the happy and excited feeling came. I don't remember the exact words she wanted me to say to him, and it took a few tries to understand what she wanted me to tell him. He had been telling us more stories of his early life after he found out he was dying. One of the stories was about her death. I had never heard before that her second husband killed her in a fire, and I could see he was still unsettled about it. He said if he hadn't been overseas in the Marines, he would have killed the man. Her message to him was something about forgiveness and some other things. I honestly don't remember the words, and didn't even ever again right after I said them.

It was difficult trying to figure out how and when to tell my dad this. But the longer I waited, the more persistent she was. I could feel her pushing me to tell him, and I kept telling her that I couldn't just blurt it out. "Hey dad, your dead mom wants me to tell you....." So she backed off a little, but then I guess too much time had elapsed and I was driving home form his house one day and the car's license plate in front of me said BLUEORB .That was the custom plate. So I said ok, ok, I'll figure it out.

He had given me the family photos and one was a picture of her. Her high school photo I think. So I drew the picture and used the blue color for the background. So it was a black and white drawing with the blue background. He had a bad event and was in the hospital. I made a card from the picture I drew and brought it to him in the hospital. When we were alone in the room I gave it to him and he said, "I like the background color." So I said, "I used that color because that's the same color I see when your mom comes to visit me. She's been hanging around me and wants me to give you a message from her." And then I told him what the message was. As soon as I got through I could see him visibly relax. It was like a tension he had been holding in his body, just released. We didn't ever talk about it. She didn't come around after that, either. That was all she wanted.

Background Information:

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?          No

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

Did you see the deceased?       Yes

I saw her as a blue orb of light. I did not know her in life.

            How clearly did the deceased appear?            A floating orb of light.

            How much of the deceased did you see?       just this blue orb.

            Did the deceased appear or not appear to be the age at which they died?           no age.

            How healthy did the deceased appear to be?            she seemed completely non-physical.

            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 went on for a few weeks.

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?       a definite beginning and ending. She needed me to give my father a message from her, so it was figuring it all out until I gave him the message.

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

I could feel happiness and excitement when I would figure out things, like who she was, what she wanted, how I should say the message.

Did the deceased give you information you did not previously know?  I didn't know what she was talking about, it was personal to her and my dad.

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:   I feel like I could see how what the message I delivered made my dad's experience of his own death easier. I could tell by his reaction that the message really was from his mother, and that he had no doubt of it at all. We never spoke more about it, I think because there wasn't anything to say. The message was personal, he got it, and it wasn't anything to do with me.

          Was the experience dream like in any way?  No

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:  I was a bit nervous and felt like I didn't want to screw it up.

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

I think it was for my dad.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?     I was happy to be able to pass the message for both her and my father.

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

My husband and I worked at the same place, so we drove together. We came home one night and there was a dog lying in the back corner of the garage. We didn't park in the garage because it was an old building. I commented on the dog, and my husband said don't go in there, we don't know what it will do. But it was still there the next day, and when we came home from work that night I told him to bring our son inside, I was going to check on the dog. It had not moved at all. So I went in and started talking to it. It was a St Bernard and my dog Goldie was a shepherd mix. But the dog just laid there with its head on its paws looking at me. I asked if it was ok, and sat down and started to pet it. It just looked me in the eyes and I told it how it reminded me of Goldie. The dog was looking at me exactly how Goldie would look at me. I told the dog I was going to get some water, and while I was inside the phone rang. It was my mother, calling to tell me Goldie had died. So that is why I did not have any grief during the experience. I did not know she had died. When I went back out to the garage, the dog was gone. I asked around to everyone I could, and no one had seen a St. Bernard, or knew anyone in town who had one. I never saw the dog again, but I knew it was Goldie coming to say good bye. We loved each other very much, and I still do love her. We had a special understanding of each other. When I moved away and was coming back to visit, my sister told me she would tell Goldie I was coming home and she would wait by the window, looking for me.

Background Information:

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?          No

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

I pet the dog.

            Was the touch familiar or unfamiliar? Familiar, and the look in the eyes. It was not the same kind of dog, but the feeling was the same.

          Was anything communicated by the touch? Love and caring

            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

A different dog, but with the same eyes and feeling.

            How clearly did the deceased appear?            solid.

            How much of the deceased did you see?       all

            Did the deceased appear or not appear to be the age at which they died?           I could not tell.

            How healthy did the deceased appear to be?            physically healthy, but sad.

            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?      a few days.

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?       sudden. The dog was there, and then after I spoke to my mother and she told me Goldie had died, the dog was gone.

Could you sense the emotions or mood of the deceased?          Yes   she felt sad.

Did the deceased give you information you did not previously know?  no.

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:   Because the dog was there, we hung out for a while, and after I got the news, the dog was gone.

          Was the experience dream like in any way?  No       

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:  I felt like the dog reminded me of Goldie, and it was odd. I could feel sadness from the dog.

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

I felt a little better knowing she came to say good bye.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?          The best part is I was able to say good bye to her.

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