Teri L ADC
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Experience description:

I was attending the wake for my father, who I had been mostly estranged from for over 4 years prior. He refused all contact with me, although I still sent the occasional holiday/birthday card/gift. This continued even when his health was failing. At the wake, it took me a little while to gather myself to go up to the open casket on my own. When I approached the casket and knelt beside it, I began to weep and mourn. I never thought I would willingly touch a deceased body during a wake, but I felt compelled to touch his face and feel his hair. I recalled playing with what he called 'baby hairs,' which were the soft curly ones that lined his forehead. They were still soft to the touch. I then remembered holding his index finger as a little girl, when my hand was so small. I was sobbing uncontrollably and I went to touch his index finger. Then a sports announcer's voice began blaring over the speaker system describing a sports game going on, where it was 'raining like cats and dogs out on the field today.' It made me stop crying and I wanted to start laughing, but I wasn't able to just yet. I initially thought, 'it's okay' and that it was God telling me not to cry. The radio got turned off and I returned to saying goodbye to my father's body, but it just wasn't the same. The intense mourning I had was thwarted. That evening, I recalled the radio experience and discussed it with a close friend. My father used to listen to sports games on the radio, not because he was a major sports fan, but because it would help him go to sleep when he had trouble sleeping. And when I had trouble sleeping as a child, he taught me to put the baseball game on TV in the background. That's when I realized that maybe it was his way of telling me that he was finally at rest and asleep.

 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 radio came on and a sports announcer was saying that it was 'raining like cats and dogs', it was a sports game of some sort

           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?          It was over the speaker system at the funeral home

           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 a sports game and my father listened to sports games to fall asleep

           Is there any possibility what you heard was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience? it was from a radio

           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

 I touched his index finger during the viewing when the experience happened

            Was the touch familiar or unfamiliar? I used to hold his index finger when I was a little girl

           Was anything communicated by the touch? It was a fond memory

 Did you see the deceased?       Yes

 yes, in the coffin

 Did you smell a distinct smell, scent, fragrance or odor associated with the deceased? No

 How long did the experience last?      less than a minute

 Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?      the radio came on quiet at first and then began blaring

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

 he was undisturbed, relaxed

 Did the deceased give you information you did not previously know?          that he was finally at rest

 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:   It was a real experience that my husband also witnessed alongside me. The causation of the radio turning on is still a mystery, as I never followed up with the funeral director about whether or not a staff member hit a radio switch by accident.

           Was the experience dream like in any way?  No           

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:  Shocked, humorous, angry, confused

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

 I felt more at peace and assured that he was communicating with me that he was at rest

 What was the best and worst part of your experience?     best- knowing that he is at rest, worst- having my mourning process interrupted

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

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience? No     

Did the experience give you any spiritual understandings such as life, death, afterlife, God, etc.?          Uncertain     It makes me question the after life and what happens 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?         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?          Humor

 Was the experience witnessed or experienced by others?          Yes

 my husband was beside me

 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

 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    Some thought it was funny, others thought it was a gift, some thought it was him communicating with me, some thought it was coincidence, some thought it was God communicating

 Have you shared this experience formally or informally with any other researcher or web site?       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