I was sitting alone in my living room. This was in my parents” house, where I grew up. At this time I had my own apartment, but I stayed with my dad after my mum passed.

When this experience happened my mum had been dead about a week and was not yet buried. She was constantly on my mind and for a long time (before and after the experience) she would appear in my dreams. That could just have been psychological though.

What happened this evening in the living room could not.

I had finished a drink of drinking chocolate a few minutes prior, and a spoon was standing in the tall glass on the table by the coach where I was sitting. On television I was watching a movie in which they mentioned a near death experience. In my mind, I clearly formed the question “I wonder if my mum had such an experience when she died?”  In that instant, like an answer to my question, the spoon in the glass started to move. It was brief but clear. Maybe two seconds. I was super excited and filled with joy. But my next impulse was to check for any possible natural causes. Nothing else in the room had shook though, and we lived on a quiet street with no traffic. I still went to check if there was anything outside that might have caused a vibration. Nothing. I then went upstairs and told my dad about what had happened.

Background Information:

Date of experience:          I do not know exactly, but August 1998

Length of time between death of deceased and your experience:  Not sure exactly, but perhaps a week or two. It happened before the funeral.

Was the date of the experience significant in any way?            No

General geographic location of experience:  Sweden

Details of location of experience and your activity at the time of experience:          Watching television in my living room, alone. Dad was upstairs by the computer.

Degree of bereavement for deceased immediately prior to the experience:      Moderately severe sadness and/or grief feelings

Degree of alertness immediately prior to experience:            Fully alert

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

Have you had multiple experiences?   No     

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:   The sound of the spoon moving against the glass, as described in my experience.

          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?     The sound was clearly coming from the outside.

          If you heard a voice or sound, was it similar or dissimilar from the voice or sound the deceased made when they were alive?     Not applicable.

          Is there any possibility what you heard was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?   I did what I could to check and I found no natural causes that would have produced the shaking of the spoon.

          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?         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?      The spoon shook in the glass for about two seconds. My joy lasted.

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?       It was a sudden and clear response to the question I asked myself in my mind.

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

Did the deceased give you information you did not previously know?  Well, she answered my question about whether she had experienced an NDE. She had.

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 remember clearly what happened and it was as real as anything. If someone else would have been in the room with me they would have seen and heard the same thing.

          Was the experience dream like in any way?  No

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:  When I saw and heard the spoon moving in the glass, as a direct response to my internal question, I was very excited and filled with joy.

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

Of course I continued to grieve and miss my mum for a long time (still miss her), but the experience softened my pain.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?          Nothing bad. It was short but clear.

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     I was and still am agnostic, but more hopeful of there being some kind of afterlife.

Did the experience give you any spiritual understandings such as life, death, afterlife, God, etc.?         Uncertain          My experience gives me reason to believe that personal consciousness may be able to live on after the death of the physical body. But maybe not for ever? Perhaps it later dissolves into a greater consciousness?

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?          Joy and happiness.

Was the experience witnessed or experienced by others?          No

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 Response

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    Positive and perplexed. My friends are mostly atheist, but they trust me about what happened and can’t explain it.

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? No 

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.       Perhaps you should ask what religions people are, not only how deeply they believe.