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The Trigger of After-Death
Communications: Bill and Judy Guggenheim's Research
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Thanks to
Bill and Judy
Guggenheim
at
www.after-death.com, a whole new phenomenon has been quantified.
It is called the after-death communication
(ADC). The Guggenheim's
book,
Hello From Heaven,
documents a multitude of these kind of experiences.
Many ADCs are identical
to a near-death experience except the experiencer
is in a completely normal, fully conscious
state. Between 1988 and 1995, the Guggenheim's
interviewed 2,000 people from all over the
U.S. and Canada, ranging in age from children
to the elderly, who experienced an ADC.
They came from diverse educational, social,
economic, religious, occupational backgrounds.
The Guggenheim's conservative estimate is
that at least 50 million Americans (or 20%
of the population) have had one or more
ADC experiences. In their study, they collected
more than 3,300 firsthand accounts of ADCs
from people who spontaneously and directly
had such communications. The following are
several examples from their book,
Hello From Heaven, used with permission.
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Table
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1.
OBE ADCs: Out-of-Body Communications |
Out-of-body ADCs (or OBE
ADCs for short) sound very much like near-death
experiences (NDEs), but there is one extremely
important difference. All the people who had
these OBE ADCs were in good health and were not
in any kind of physical danger or close to dying
when they made their trip. OBE ADCs come from
people who stated they had contact with a
deceased relative or friend during an
out-of-body experience. Spontaneous OBE ADCs can
occur while you are awake, in the alpha state,
or when you are asleep. They are extremely
vivid, intense, colorful, and vibrant
experiences that people often say are "more real
than life itself."
The following account is an example
of an OBE ADC.
Ellie is a dam processor in Michigan
who attained a new understanding of life four
months after her son, Don, was killed in an
automobile accident at age 26:
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I had gone to
bed and had my eyes closed, but I know I
wasn't asleep.
Then I
noticed I was moving towards a tiny
pinpoint of light. I was in a tunnel and
the light was getting bigger and
brighter, but it didn't hurt my eyes. I
knew this wasn't a NDE because I wasn't
even sick!
This
intensely bright light was peaceful and
comforting - I couldn't take my eyes off
of it. It seemed to pull me towards it,
and I could see the outline of a figure
in a flowing robe with his hands
outstretched like he was welcoming me.
As I came
closer, I could tell it was my son, Don!
He was in this light.
I heard Don's
voice in my head very firmly say, "Stop!
It's not your time yet, Mom. Go back!
I'm all right and you have much to do."
I don't
remember going back down the tunnel. The
light just pulled away from me and
disappeared, and than I was fully awake.
I had never
thought about my own mortality before,
but now I'm not afraid of death. I know
that someday, when my work is done here,
I'll be with Don again.
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This certainly sounds
like a typical NDE account, and just like many
NDErs, Ellie was emphatically told, "It's not
your time yet." This supports the theory that
physical life on Earth is a school, and we are
not ready for graduation until we have completed
all our courses. Our primary spiritual lessons
seem to be learning how to love and serve one
another.
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2.
Evidential ADCs: Communications of Validation |
Some of the most
fascinating ADCs from the Guggenheim's research
are ADCs which are evidential, that is, when the
experiencer learns something they did not know
and had no way of knowing before. For instance,
the experiencer may be told the location of an
object that is lost which is later confirmed by
acting upon the information and finding the
missing item. Such veridical ADCs assure the
experiencer that their contact with their
deceased loved one was genuine. All sorts of
evidential information can be received from
deceased loved ones in this manner. However,
their true intention seems to be to convince the
experiencer that there is life after death and
they are watching over you with loving kindness.
The following account is
an example of an evidential ADC.
Debra
is a 48-year-old psychologist in Florida. She
assisted her grandfather with some unfinished
business after he died very suddenly from a
heart attack:
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After my
mother called and told we my grandfather
had died, I lay down in bed to pray for
him and say good-bye.
With my eyes
closed, I received a message from him
telepathically that was very strong and
very specific.
Grandpa said,
"In my apartment there is a credenza. In
the left-hand top drawer there is a
yellow legal tablet. It contains a list
of stocks and bonds. Some need to be
sold immediately. It is imperative that
your father get this information!"
He was very
intense and very eager to impart this
knowledge. There was no endearment at
all - he was strictly business. This was
very much in character for my
grandfather. I got up and called my
mother and told her my experience. A few
days later, I found out my father had
gone to Grandpa's apartment and looked
in the credenza. The legal pad was
exactly where Grandpa said it would be.
It contained a list of securities, just
ache had told me.
I don't know
what my father did about those stocks
and bonds - we never discussed it. The
only thing my father ever said was,
"There must be something to this, Debra,
because you had no way of knowing about
that list."
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It's likely Debra
entered a semi-meditative state while praying
for her grandfather. This can be a very
effective way to have an ADC experience.
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3.
ADCs for Protecting the Living from Harm |
Nearly all ADCs are
inspired by the ongoing love and concern your
deceased relatives and friends feel for you. It
is, therefore, understandable that they might
attempt to protect you from time to time,
especially if you are facing imminent physical
danger or some other threat to your well-being.
There is no stronger personal evidence that an
ADC is real than having your life actually
protected or saved by one. And imagine how
fulfilled your deceased family members and
friends must feel when they accomplish a
successful intervention.
The following account
is an example of an ADC of a deceased loved one
protecting a living loved one from harm.
Bernice is a writer in the
Northwest whose son, Gene, gave her some strong
advice about three years after he took his life
at age 32 when he was terminally ill with
Hodgkin's disease:
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The Captain
of the Golden Odyssey sent us an
invitation to go on their Mediterranean
cruise in the spring of 1977. My husband
wanted to go, and he asked me to make
the reservations.
The next
morning I got all dressed up to go to
the travel agency. Halfway to the car, I
heard my son, Gene, say, "Mom, you must
not take that plane to Athens."
My son's
voice was very calm, but he made me feel
we mustn't go. So I turned right around
and went back in the house.
That night I
told my husband what had happened. He
accepted it, and we didn't make the
reservations.
On the night
we would have taken the plane From Los
Angeles to Athens, I sat in our living
room and felt sad that we weren't going.
The next day
the same plane took off from Tenerife in
the Canary Islands and collided with a
Dutch KLM airliner. It was the greatest
passenger plane crash in history - 581
people were killed!
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This account suggests
that our deceased loved ones may have
foreknowledge of some human events and, if
appropriate, can alert us to life-threatening
situation, Perhaps they are telling us
indirectly that it is not yet our time to die,
as NDErs are frequently told. The implications
of this theory are far-reaching because they
support the belief that each of us has a
spiritual purpose for our life and enough time
to fulfill it.
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4.
Prophetic Death ADCs: Receiving Information of
Death in Advance |
Some ADCs occur when a
deceased loved one contacts the experiencer
before they actually learn of their death. That
is, first an ADC occurs where the experiencer
receives the news of a loved one's death; then,
at a later time (usually very soon), the
experiencer is informed that indeed their loved
one has died.
The following account is
an example of a prophetic death ADC.
Dominic is a 38-year-old physician in
Florida who had an ADC while he and a classmate
isolated themselves in a country cottage to
study for their medical school examinations:
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While my friend
and I were studying. I experienced the
extremely strong and distinctive smell
of a medication that my mother used on
Grandmother - camphor and alcohol. This
home remedy was used as a cold compress
that was applied to her forehead when
she was feeling weak.
There was
definitely no alcohol or camphor in the
cottage. Yet the odor was so strong that
I told my friend I believed my
grandmother had just died.
He sort of
brushed it off, but noted the time when
it happened, 10:10 a.m.
Shortly after
that, I felt the very peaceful presence
of my grandmother. I realized that
something extraordinary was happening!
The whole
feeling was that she was saying,
"Good-bye. Don't worry. Everything is
fine."
Grandmother had
Alzheimer's disease. In the last months
of her life, she was incoherent. But
when I felt her presence, she was the
person I had known before she became
ill.
She left me with
a sense of relief and serenity and
peace.
When I went home
that day, my mother was waiting for me.
She said. "Your grandmother has taken a
turn for the worse."
I told her,
"Don't worry. I know what happened. She
died at 10:10 this morning."
Then my mother
confirmed that my grandmother had died
at exactly that time.
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5.
Visual ADCs of Partial Appearances |
Some ADCs occur as only
a partial appearance of their deceased loved
one. That is, they were able to see only a part
of their body, or if they saw the entire body,
it appeared to be less solid. These accounts
describe seeing a loved one in one of the
following ways: as a bright light, as a face in
a bright light, only the upper portion of a
body, or as a complete body ranging in solidity
from a transparent mist to not quite solid.
The
following account is an example of a visual ADC
of partial appearance.
Rosalyn, a
39 year old chemical dependency counselor in
Washington, had the healing power of prayer and
forgiveness dramatically revealed to her:
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Uncle Mickey
came to live with us when I was seven
years old after my parents divorced. He
was an active alcoholic, and my mother
was trying to help him out. But he
sexually abused me during the two years
he lived with us, and this was
emotionally very traumatic for me.
By the time I
was seventeen, I was an active alcoholic
myself. And at eighteen, I was very
heavily into drugs. I drank and drugged
for years, and then I sobered up.
In order to
stay sober, I had to go back through my
past and look at the people, places, and
things that had harmed me. I had to be
as honest as I could about the effect
those things had on my life. I also
needed to make peace with my uncle
because I chose to believe that if he
had been sober he wouldn't have abused
me.
So I wrote
Uncle Mickey a letter and told him how I
felt and told him that I held nothing
against him. But I don't know if he ever
received it.
Over the
years, I asked the Lord to let my love
cover that sin for my uncle.
In the spring
of this year, I was sleeping and woke
up. I turned over and Jesus and Uncle
Mickey were next to my bed! I only saw
their heads and shoulders, and there was
a light behind both of them. There was
an overwhelming presence of love and a
seriousness too.
The Lord was
asking me a question that I heard in my
mind. There was authority and power and
yet a gentleness in his voice.
Jesus said,
"Do you hold anything against this man?"
I told him,
"No, I don't."
Then Jesus
turned and looked at my uncle and said,
"Neither do I hold anything against
him."
I knew then
Uncle Mickey was at peace and was with
the Lord - and that he was free.
A couple of
days later, I got a letter from my
mother that said Uncle Mickey had died.
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6.
Visual ADCs of Full Appearances |
In visual ADCs involving
the full appearance of the deceased loved one,
the experiencer sees their deceased loved one's
complete body which looks absolutely solid and
real. Such ADCs often show the deceased as being
healed and whole, regardless of their age when
they died or their cause of death. Nearly all
such apparitions appear much happier and freer
than when they were wearing a physical body.
Such full appearance by a deceased loved one is
generally a very healing event where
experiencers gain a new mental / emotional
portrait which can replace any old, painful
memories they may have.
The following account is
an example of a visual ADC of full appearances.
Deborah, a medical researcher
in Kentucky, felt grateful when her brother,
Joseph, returned after he died of cancer at age
44:
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I was a
card-carrying skeptic before this
experience. I'd had dreams about my
brother, but this wasn't a dream.
About three
months after Joseph died, I was asleep
in bed with my husband. I felt somebody
shaking my leg to wake me up. I looked
over, and there was Joseph sitting on
the edge of the bed with his hand on my
leg.
He looked
real, like any living person sitting
there. He looked great! He radiated a
warm, yellowish white light like an
aura. He looked very calm and peaceful.
He hugged me
- I felt his hug - it felt wonderful and
warm and loving. And I smelled his
cologne too.
Joseph told
me, "I am all right, and you shouldn't
be unhappy. Everything is all right. It
is beautiful where I am."
I talked to
him with thoughts, and I told him I
loved him.
Then he just
gradually faded away.
I felt relief
because I didn't have to worry anymore
about my brother being all right.
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A number of interviews
the Guggenheims conducted began with a statement
similar to Deborah's, "I was a card-carrying
skeptic before I had this experience ..." Their
research reveals that having prior belief in
ADCs is not a requirement for having
communication with a deceased loved one, as
Deborah's special encounter with her brother
clearly indicates.
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7.
ADCs of Physical Phenomenon: Poltergeist
Activity |
Many people have an ADC
involving unusual physical or "poltergeist"
occurrences following the death of a relative or
friend which the Guggenheim's call "ADCs of
physical phenomena." Examples include lights
being turned on and off; radios, stereos,
televisions, and other electrical devices being
turned on; mechanical objects being activated;
pictures and other items being moved; and a long
list of similar happenings.
The following
account is an example of an ADC of physical
phenomenon.
Mildred is a retired
real estate agent in Florida who reported these
affectionate incidents after her husband,
Albert, died from cancer at age 70:
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One time when
Albert was still living, we were cutting
up, just kidding each other.
I said, "If
you die before I do, come back and do
something so I will know that it's you."
We had two
little ceramic dogs. We kept them
sitting on the windowsill in the
kitchen. Everybody that knew us knew
that when we were upset with each other,
we would move the dogs apart, separating
them. And whenever we were happy, they
were kissing each other, snuggled up.
Even the kids, when they came home,
would go to the kitchen window to see
how these little dogs were getting
along.
A few days
after Albert died, I was standing at the
sink in the kitchen looking at the
windowsill. His little dog was knocked
over.
Since I live
alone, I thought, "I wonder how it got
knocked down?"
So I picked
his dog up and put it back with the
faces snuggled together. Then I didn't
think anymore about it.
About three
days later, his little dog was turned
backwards, walking away from my little
dog. They were about six inches apart!
Then I
understood that Albert wanted me to know
that he had to leave me.
This really
happened! But sometimes you are scared
to tell people things like this for fear
they will think you are nuts!
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Albert chose a very
familiar and trusted method to convey his
message. Their long-standing form of nonverbal
communication allowed Mildred to easily
comprehend his intended meaning, "Now it's time
for me to say good-bye."
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8.
Fearful ADCs: Unintentional Fearful Contact |
Almost all ADCs are
positive, joyful, and uplifting events, and they
generally accelerate spiritual growth. But for a
variety of reasons, some people may experience
fear when one occurs. Many people have never
heard of ADCs, so if they have one, they may
think they are going crazy or losing their mind.
This is especially true if they are bereaved and
don't have a support system which accepts the
possibility of ADCs. Adults who have an ADC may
have difficulty reconciling it with their own
personal philosophy or religions beliefs. Young
children may become confused when they attempt
to tell their experiences to their parents, who
don't believe them. But based upon the
Guggenheim's research, it is not the content of
an ADC that is fearful; but rather the
experiencer's reaction to it.
As the following
example clearly illustrates, the intentions of
the deceased loved one seem as positive as other
ADCs.
Charlotte is a 43-year-old nurse in New
Jersey who became a widow when her husband,
Glen, died of cancer:
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The night
Glen died, I needed to talk to someone.
So I sat down in the living room and
called my girlfriend, Joni, who lived
next door.
As I was
talking with her on the phone, I saw
Glen standing right in front of me, just
inches away!
He was as
solid as a rock, and I couldn't see
through him. But he didn't look the way
he did when he was sick - he looked
absolutely healthy!
Glen leaned
down and put his hand on my knee and
said, "Charlotte, it's me. I'm okay.
Everything's all right. I don't have any
more pain. I feel great!"
Well, all I
did was scream! He scared the daylights
out of me! And the more I screamed, the
more he said, "It's okay, Charlotte.
It's okay. It's okay. You don't have to
worry about me. I'm okay!"
That was it,
and then Glen just kind of evaporated.
I sat there
frozen in my chair - spellbound with
disbelief!
Joni wondered
what on Earth had happened. So she came
over and we talked, and gradually I
calmed down.
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Though Charlotte was
shocked when she saw Glen and felt his touch, he
was probably equally unprepared for her
hysterical reaction. The intention of our
deceased loved ones who appear to us in an ADC
is certainly not to frighten us.
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9.
Symbolic ADCs: Butterflies, Rainbows and
Synchronicity |
Many people report
receiving a "sign from heaven" which affirms
their deceased loved one has survived death and
continues to live on the afterlife. The
Guggenheim's call these "symbolic ADCs" or "ADC
signs." They are a relatively common type of
ADC. Some people are given a sign spontaneously
as a gift, while others ask or pray to receive
one. Depending upon one's belief system, a
person may ask their deceased loved one to give
them a sign, or they may pray to God or the
"universe" for one. Typical symbolic ADCs
include butterflies, rainbows, flowers, many
different species of birds and other animals,
and any number of inanimate objects. Whether a
sign comes immediately or takes days or weeks to
arrive, most people intuitively recognize their
sign right away and feel it was intended just
for them. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross often spoke of
the numerous drawings of butterflies she saw in
the barracks at Hitler's concentration camps in
Europe. These lasting symbols of hope were
scratched into the wooden walls by courageous
children and adults during the Holocaust. Today,
pictures of butterflies can be found throughout
almost every hospice. This symbol is also used
extensively by many grief counselors, spiritual
centers, and support groups for the bereaved.
The following account is an example of a
symbolic ADC.
Al is a retired New York police
officer now living in Florida who had this
unforgettable contact ten months after his
daughter, Diana, died in an automobile accident
when she was 17 years old:
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On the Fourth
of July, we were up at our summer home
in Pennsylvania. I was there with my
wife and her aunt, her uncle, and her
cousin. We were sitting out on the
lounge chairs, and I was having a cigar.
This
butterfly just happened to be flying
around. I looked at it and right away
thought of my daughter, Diana.
I thought,
"If it's you, Diana, come down and tell
me." And it did!
Immediately,
the butterfly landed on my finger! It
waked up and down on my finger, then
onto my hand, back and forth. I could
even see its little feelers moving. I
couldn't believe it!
My wife sort
of looked at me - I think she knew what
I was thinking.
I finished my
cigar and got up. The butterfly stayed
right on my hand.
I walked all
the way to the house, went to the
kitchen sink, and drank a glass of
water. The butterfly was still with me -
I couldn't believe this!
I said,
"Well. I gotta go take a shower. You
gotta go outside."
I opened the
door and went out on the deck. I sort of
pushed the butterfly with my finger and
it flew off. I watched it fly away, down
the yard. It was just unbelievable!
Never had a butterfly landed on me
before.
Then I went
in to take a shower and cried.
I really
didn't know that the butterfly had any
significance to The Compassionate
Friends until I went to their annual
conference a few days later. During the
opening ceremony, I realized, "Oh, my
God! Their symbol is the butterfly!"
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Founded in 1969,
The Compassionate Friends has more than 650
local chapters throughout the United States and
Canada. It is the largest self-help organization
for bereaved parents, siblings, and grandparents
in the world.
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10.
Olfactory ADCs: Smelling Their Fragrance |
Some ADCs involve
smelling a fragrance associated with a specific
deceased loved one. They are a relatively common
type of ADC and the Guggenheims call them
"olfactory ADCs." Typical scents include the
fragrance of a perfume, cologne, or aftershave
lotion; the essence of roses or other flowers;
and the aroma of a food, beverage, tobacco, or
commercial product. The variety of odors that
can be identified is virtually unlimited. During
such ADCs, people reported smelling a fragrance
which was clearly out of context with their
surroundings. The room or area they were in was
suddenly filled with a particular aroma, but it
had no physical source. Occasionally, two or
more people who are together in the same place
at the same time can smell this scent. In fact,
according to the Guggenheims, an olfactory ADC
is the one type of after-death communication
that is most often shared by a group of people.
The following account is an example
of an olfactory ADC.
Lorraine is employed by an optometrist in New
York whose daughter, Tammy, was 25 years old
when she was killed in an automobile accident:
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When my
daughter, Tammy, went to the Bahamas,
she bought me a bracelet and a necklace.
The night
that she died, she had the bracelet on
and it was destroyed.
For over two
years since the accident, I had been
trying to find a new bracelet to match
my necklace. I would have paid anything
for it!
It was
nighttime, and we were coming out of one
of the attractions at Epcot Center at
Walt Disney World. My other daughter,
her friend, and my husband were with me.
My daughter
turned to me and said, "Ma, do you smell
that?"
I said, "Oh,
yeah!"
We were
smelling the Gloria Vanderbilt perfume
that Tammy always wore! But as we looked
around, there was nobody near us.
Her
girlfriend smelled it too and said, "Why
don't we go in here?"
So we all
went into the store and I began browsing
in the front.
My daughter
called, "Ma! Ma! Come back here!"
I went to the
back of the store, where they were
selling jewelry. And there was the
bracelet - the exact match to my
necklace from Tammy! It was
unbelievable!
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It seems reasonable to
assume that Tammy wanted to replace her mother's
bracelet and found a clever way to provide it.
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11.
Auditory ADCs: Hearing Their Voice |
Receiving a verbal
message, by hearing the voice of a deceased
loved one, is also a very common type of ADCs.
The Guggenheims call them "auditory ADCs." Some
people report hearing an audible voice from an
external source, that is, they heard the voice
through their ears the same way they would hear
any other person talking to them. But most
people report hearing a voice internally -
inside their head - and are equally certain the
voice originated from a source outside of them.
The following account is
an auditory ADC experienced as an
external source.
Philip is a psychiatrist in
Kentucky who was caught off guard when he heard
from his 15-year-old daughter, Tina, after she
died in an automobile accident:
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Tina had friends
all over the city. We didn't realize how
involved she had been with so many kids.
She was quite a force for good in the
community.
She had told one
of her friends from Sunday school that
if she should die, she would like
everyone to have a party for her and not
to mourn. Her friend reminded us of this
statement.
So the night of
Tina's funeral, we had a very large
gathering at our home with 200 to 300
kids, some with their parents. It was
wall-to-wall people!
I was passing
through the hallway downstairs when I
heard Tina say, "I love you, Daddy!"
I wheeled around
because this was an audible, external
voice.
I am a
board-certified psychiatrist, and I'm
not given to hearing things that are not
there. Having lived my professional
career as a pretty hardheaded scientific
person, I really hadn't expected this!
However, this experience took a good bit
of the sting out of the loss because you
know you really haven't lost them.
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12.
Tactile ADCs: Feeling Their Touch |
Some ADCs involve
feeling a physical touch by a deceased loved
one. Overall, this type of ADC is relatively
less common. The Guggenheims call them "tactile
ADCs." Such ADCs usually are felt as a light
tap, a gentle touch, a soft caress, a tender
kiss, a comforting arm around the shoulder, or
an all-embracing hug. Feeling a touch is a very
intimate kind of ADC and it seems they take
place only between people who have had a very
close relationship. The deceased loved one
returns for the purpose of conveying affection
and providing encouragement to the experiencer.
The following account is an example
of a tactile ADC.
Gail
is a nurse in Pennsylvania who was filled with
new hope six weeks after her two sons, Matt, age
26, and Eric, age 24, were killed together in an
automobile accident:
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Every night I
would go out and sit on the steps of my
front porch and just cry and cry and
cry.
I was having
such a hard time, and I had been doing
this for so long.
One night in the
middle of October, I was looking at the
moon, when all of a sudden, I felt this
real warmth.
I felt Matt to
my left and Eric to my right with their
arms around my shoulders.
I knew Matt was
to my left because he was so much taller
- Matt was 6'4" and Eric was about
5'11".
I heard them
saying, "Mom. it's all right. We're
fine. Just don't worry. Everything's
going to be okay."
I felt a peace
that I hadn't felt since their deaths.
It just lifted me so. I felt a real
relief when they said they were okay and
that I shouldn't grieve so much. That
was a turning point tor me, and I
gradually began to sleep easier.
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Few people can imagine
the utter despair of a bereaved parent who has
endured the death of two or more grown children.
Gail received a triple blessing when both her
sons let her know they were still together and
were all right.
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13.
Telephone ADCs: Phone Calls from Beyond |
Imagine hearing the
phone ringing, and when you answer it, you have
a two-way conversation with the voice of a
deceased loved one. The Guggenheims call these
experiences "telephone ADCs," or "ADC phone
calls," and they may take place while the
experiencer is sound asleep or wide awake. They
are the least common type of ADC for obvious
reasons. Receiving a telephone call and having a
conversation with a deceased loved one while you
are sleeping is like a "sleep-state ADC" except
the conversation takes place by phone rather
than meeting face-to-face. In awake telephone
ADCs, the deceased's voice may sound strong and
clear, or it may seem to be coming from far
away. After the call is completed, the
experiencer doesn't hear the receiver at the
other end being hung up or even a dial tone.
Instead, the phone will be silent as though the
line had been cut.
The following account is an example
of a telephone ADC while awake.
Ellyn is a human resources manager
in Nevada who had this phone ADC after her
12-year-old daughter, Ashley, died of leukemia:
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This was more
than three years after Ashley died. I
was going through a real bad health
problem. I had been diagnosed with a
lung disease, and I was afraid I was
going to die too.
That night, I
was making spaghetti on the stove and
the phone rang. I picked it up and I
heard this little voice say. "Mommy!"
I thought,
"What? Who is playing this terrible
joke?"
So I asked,
"Please, who is this?"
She said,
"This is Ashley. What are you doing,
Mommy?"
I said,
"Ashley? I'm cooking."
And she said,
"You're making my favorite meal. You're
making spaghetti!"
It was
Ashley's voice - she sounded strong and
healthy - and nobody could imitate her
voice.
At that point
I thought I was crazy, but no one knew
what I was cooking for dinner because it
was a spur-of-the-moment thing to make
spaghetti.
Then I asked
her, "Ashley, are you okay?"
And she said,
"Mommy, I'm okay. I just called to tell
you that you're going to be okay too."
Then the
phone went dead. There was no dial tone.
No noise. Nothing. I just sat there with
the phone in my hand for the longest
time.
I had lung
surgery six months later.
A month ago I
went to the doctor. My blood count was
normal for the first time in three
years, and next month he'll start
weaning me off my medication.
Ashley was
right - she told we I was going to be
okay!
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No wonder Ellyn was
stunned! Not only did she hear Ashley's voice on
the telephone three years after her death, but
she couldn't begin to find a rational
explanation for how anyone could possibly know
she was cooking spaghetti at that very moment.
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14.
Sleep-State ADCs: Contact During Dreams |
Many people report
having been contacted by a deceased loved one
while they were sound asleep. Because they
didn't have any other name for their experience,
they usually called it a "dream." However, most
quickly added, "But it just wasn't like an
ordinary dream." The Guggenheim's call these
experiences "sleep-state ADCs," and they are a
very common type of ADC.
There are many
significant differences between an ordinary
dream and a sleep-state ADC. A dream is
generally fragmented, jumbled, filled with
symbolism, and incomplete in various ways.
Though some are very intense emotionally, they
typically have a quality of unreality about them
and are often soon forgotten.
In contrast,
sleep-state ADCs feel like actual face-to-face
visits with deceased loved ones. They are much
more orderly, colorful, vivid, and memorable
than most dreams. In fact, some may be ADC
visions that occur during sleep.
You can read
several accounts of sleep-state ADCs on the
Dreams and NDEs web page.
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