I was sleeping. It was early morning. I was woken by the phone ringing. It rang several times. I opened my eyes and picked up the phone ( there was a white, 90s style phone on my bedside dresser). There is no such phone there normally. I was not questioning the fact that this phone was on my dresser.

I said, ' hello.'

I heard, ' hello, Mia? Hello, Mia?'

It was my Mom! My heart raced. I said urgently, 'Mom, where are you? Mom, where are you?' I knew she was dead. I felt she was trying to contact me. Her voice sounded clear, and more like ‘herself’ before her health difficulties. My mind scrambled to make sense of what was happening. Just then I realized that there shouldn’t be a phone there. That realization sort of ‘broke’ the ‘spell’ and suddenly, I was holding nothing in my hand and it all stopped. I shook my husband awake to tell him what happened.

I felt Mom really had contacted me. I felt she really had phoned me. When I start to torture myself with remembrance of he4 suffering before her death, and our separation, I think of that phone call, and it brings me comfort.

What is hard to explain, is that the phone call was entirely unexpected, and that the voice, clear as anything, really was my Mom’s.

Was this experience difficult to express in words?     Uncertain

The feeling of certainty that it was my Mother contacting me.

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:   My Mom telephoned me, and I clearly heard her voice say 'hello', and my name twice.

          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 voice was not internal.It was on a telephone and sounded exactly like my Mom had just phoned me, only th3 telephone was not actually ther3 I guess.,

          If you heard a voice or sound, was it similar or dissimilar from the voice or sound the deceased made when they were alive?     It was unmistakably my mom’s voice, only she sounded more like herself  before her illnesses.

          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 impairment. Was it a dream? I was quite certain I had awaken to answer this phone.

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?      Not long. Long enough for a phone to ring about three or four times, and for 4 sentences exchanged between us.

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?       The beginning wa# more gradual; the phone ringing; me answering. The end was abrupt.

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

It seemed like Mom was trying out this unfamiliar form of contact. She was really wanting it to work, and a bit uncertain. Was it really me who answered? Did she really get through? Was I really able to hear her? I sensed all of that in her voice.

Did the deceased give you information you did not previously know?  No

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:   As I had just woken from sleep, perhaps there is a chance that it was a false awakening. I don’t think so. But perhaps?

          Was the experience dream like in any way?  No 

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:  I was asleep immediately prior to the experience. During the experience I was incredulous, excited, and eager.

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

I had been tortured about how my mother had died and being separated from her due to Covid, and her isolation and pain. I was so conflicted about what happened to her at death; did she exist yet somehow. What IS death? I felt she contacted me to let me know she still existed and was ok.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?          Best; hearing my Mom’s voice as healthy and well. Worst; the longing afterwards for this to repeat.

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

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?      Yes    I came closer to knowing ther3 actually is life after death.

Did the experience give you any spiritual understandings such as life, death, afterlife, God, etc.?         Yes    I think it brought me one step closer to knowing there is actually life after death.

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?    Yes

My Mom told me she’d contact me after death. She told me about. Week before she died.

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?          Happy; relief; comforted; amazed.

Was the experience witnessed or experienced by others?          No

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

My space was somehow different because there was a phone there that is not normally there. Was I in a dream? Was that phone materialized in this waking reality for this purpose? I don’t know.

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

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    My husband and some friends listened, and think Mom likely did contact me, but that phone must have been dreamt.

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?   Both of my parents died this past year. I also had a ‘visitation’ from my Dad after his death.

My mom told me that she often felt my Dad ‘s body close up to her when she was in bed at night after his death.

My mother long ago, in the 40s saw an angel during a time of great distress.  My grandmother had a NDE in the 30s at a time when absolutely no one talked about such things ( Mom had told me about it all of my life). I myself have had many lucid dreams, and OBEs to the point where I became familiar with the rules of physics of that other consciousness. I have so many experiences of other states of consciousness and being, but still, long to KNOW; what happens after we die? Where are my Mom and Dad now? This phone call, really did bring me a step closer.

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? Yes 

I have had OBEs and lucid dreams all of my life. I thought that was what happened to everyone when they slept, and was shocked when I found out that it wasn’t the norm.

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.       All ok. Thank you for the opportunity to express these things. So often, no one really wants to hear about it.