~ Joyous Reunions With Deceased Loved Ones ~
©1995; by Bill Guggenheim & Judy Guggenheim

co-authors of Hello From Heaven! published by Bantam Books

Have you been contacted by a loved one who has died? After-death communication (ADC) is probably as old as mankind, but ours is the first complete research study of this field. These spiritual experiences are extremely common, and in many other parts of the world they are discussed openly and freely.

Between 1988 & 1995, we interviewed 2,000 people who live in all fifty American states and the ten Canadian provinces. Ranging in age from children to the elderly, they represent diverse social, educational, economic, occupational, and religious backgrounds. We conservatively estimate that at least 50 million Americans, or 20% of the population, have had one or more ADC experiences – and the actual numbers may be closer to double these figures!

We collected more than 3,300 firsthand accounts of ADCs from people who have been contacted by a deceased family member or friend. These are spontaneous and direct communications that may occur anytime and anywhere, but no third parties such as psychics, mediums, hypnotists, or devices of any kind are involved.

Based upon our research, the following are the twelve most frequent types of after-death communication people report having with their deceased loved ones:

Sensing A Presence: This is the most common form of contact. But many people discount these experiences, thinking, "Oh, I'm just imagining this." It's a distinct feeling that your loved one is nearby, even though he or she can't be seen or heard. Though most often felt during the days and weeks immediately after the death, you may sense his or her presence months and even years later.

Hearing A Voice: Some people state they hear an external voice, the same as when a living person is speaking to them. However, the majority of communications are by telepathy – you hear the voice of your relative or friend in your mind. When you have two-way communication, it is usually by telepathy. In fact, it's possible to have an entire conversation this way.

Feeling A Touch: You may feel your loved one touch you with his or her hand, or place an arm around your shoulders or back, for comfort and reassurance. You may feel a tap, a pat, a caress, a stroke, a kiss, or even a hug. These are all forms of affection, nurturing, and love.

Smelling A Fragrance: You may smell your relative's or friend's favorite cologne, after-shave lotion, or perfume. Other common aromas are: flowers (especially roses), bath powders, tobacco products, favorite foods, and his or her personal scent.

Visual Experiences: There are a wide variety of visual experiences, which we have divided into two broad categories: partial visual and full visual ADCs. Appearances range from "a transparent mist" to "absolutely solid" with many gradations in between. You may see only the head and shoulders of your relative or friend, or someone you love may make a full appearance to you, and you will see the entire body as well, which will appear completely solid. Some visual ADCs occur in the bedroom, next to or at the foot of the bed. Others may happen anywhere – indoors or outdoors – even in a car or aboard a plane. Typically he or she will be expressing love and well-being with a radiant smile. Loved ones virtually always appear healed and whole regardless of their cause of death. Verbal communication may take place, but not always.

Visions: You may see an image of a deceased loved one in a "picture" that is either two-dimensional and flat or three-dimensional like a hologram. It's like seeing a 35 mm slide or a movie suspended in the air. Visions are usually in radiant colors and may be seen externally with your eyes open or internally in your mind. Communication may occur, especially during meditation.

Twilight Experiences: These occur in the alpha state – as you're falling asleep, waking up, meditating, or praying. You may have any or all of the above types of experiences while you are in this state of consciousness.

ADC Experiences While Asleep: Sleep-state ADCs are much more vivid, intense, colorful, and real than dreams. They are very common. Both one-way and two-way communications are typical. You usually feel your loved one is with you in person – that you're having an actual visit together. These experiences are not jumbled, filled with symbols, or fragmented the way dreams are.

Sleep-state ADCs are similar to those that occur when you are wide awake. Your relative or friend can come to you more easily, however, when you are relaxed, open, and receptive, such as while you are in the alpha state or asleep.

Out-Of-Body ADCs: These may occur while you are asleep or in a meditative state. They are dramatic experiences during which you leave your body and often visit your loved one at the place or level where he or she exists. These are extremely vivid, intense, and real – some say, "more real than physical life." The environments usually contain beautiful flowers and butterflies, colorful bushes and trees, radiant lighting, and other lovely aspects of nature – and are filled with happiness, love, and joy.

Telephone Calls:
These ADCs may occur during sleep or when you are wide awake. You will hear a phone ringing, and if you answer it, your loved one will give you a short message. Two-way conversations are possible. His or her voice will usually be clear but may seem far away. If you are awake, you will probably not hear a disconnect sound or a dial tone when the call is completed.

Physical Phenomena: People who are bereaved often report receiving a wide variety of physical signs from their deceased relative or friend, such as: lights or lamps blinking on and off; lights, radios, televisions, stereos, and mechanical objects being turned on; photographs, pictures, and various other items being turned over or moved; and a long list of "things that go bump in the night."

Symbolic ADCs: People frequently ask a Higher Power, the universe, or their deceased loved one for a sign that he or she still exists. Many receive such a sign, though it may take some time to arrive. Occasionally these signs are so subtle they may be missed, or they may be discounted as mere "coincidences." Common signs include: butterflies, rainbows, many species of birds and animals, flowers, and a variety of inanimate objects such as coins and pictures.

According to our research, the purpose of these visits and signs by those who have died is to offer comfort, reassurance, and hope to their parents, spouse, siblings, children, grandchildren, other family members, and friends. They want you to know they're still alive and that you'll be reunited with them when it's your time to leave this physical life on earth – and they'll be there to greet you when you make your transition. Their most frequent messages, expressed verbally or non-verbally, include:

"I'm okay ... I'm fine ... Everything is okay ... Don't worry about me ...

Don't grieve for me ... Please let me go ... I'm happy ... Everything will be all right ...

Go on with your life ... Please forgive ... Thank you ... I'll always be there for you ...

I'm watching over you ... I'll see you again ... I love you ... Good-bye ..."

You may be asked to give a message from your loved one to somebody else. We urge you to write down the message verbatim and to deliver it, if possible, because it may help the recipient far more than you realize.

Nearly all ADCs are positive, joyful, and uplifting encounters that reduce grief, provide lasting comfort and hope, and accelerate emotional and spiritual healing. We encourage you to trust your own experiences and to accept them as being real for you.

Unfortunately, some people react with fear when they have an ADC. This is usually because they are startled by the suddenness of the event, or they may have never heard of one happening to anybody else. Such people may assume they are "losing their mind and going crazy." And others find it difficult to reconcile after-death communications with their philosophical or religious beliefs.

Not all people are contacted by their deceased loved ones. We don't know for certain why some are and some aren't, but it seems that fear, anger, and prolonged heavy grief inhibit the possibility of having an ADC.

Based upon our research, we suggest the following: Ask for a sign that your relative or friend continues to exist. Pray for him or her and others who are affected by the death, including yourself. We recommend that you learn how to meditate, especially if you are currently bereaved or have unresolved grief. Meditation will enable you to relax and soften any fear or anger you may have. It will reduce your depression, improve your ability to eat and sleep, and facilitate your healing process. These deep relaxation exercises will also allow you to unfold your inner, intuitive senses. In fact, you may have an ADC experience while you are meditating.

Our research indicates that after-death communications are a natural and normal part of life. Therefore, we feel ADCs deserve the same public awareness and acceptance that near-death experiences (NDEs) have already received.

For most people, an after-death communication from a deceased family member or friend is valued as a sacred and profound experience that will be cherished for a lifetime. ADC experiences usually expand one's understanding of life and offer a deeper awareness of life after death. They consistently communicate an essential spiritual message: "Life and love are eternal."

Copyright © 1995 - 2009 The ADC Project. All rights reserved.

Webmaster: Will Guggenheim

Views: 56268

Tags: ADC, after, communication, death

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Comment by Mary Smith on October 28, 2016 at 6:25am

Comment by Dolly on October 26, 2016 at 11:15pm

Ben.. sometimes when we're playing music it feels as if heaven is playing with us... one time we were playing a beautiful but sad new song for the first time and at the very last note of the song a thuderclap sounded ... sometimes the little tree out in the field seems to 'dance' along with the music too.. with its limbs swaying and swirling... even when the other trees aren't moving at all.. I believe we are connected in some way to those in heaven we have love and lost... a day or so after my son [who LIVED for music] passed away I was on the computer .. I was most likely reading my emails.... but all of a sudden a song started playing on the computer and when I looked for an open tab or an activated icon there were none ... the song played once, and then stopped and no more music played... the song was sung by one of my son's favorite groups.... The Chipmunks.. but I had never heard it before by them... it was called 'We are Family'..  I know this really happened and it had never happened before or since.... there is no rational explanation for it... I truly believe that it was some sort of communication from Heaven... from my son or from God Himself... I don't know who or how..and I don't understand it but I know it happened.

Comment by Nb on October 25, 2016 at 8:07pm

I have asked my son for a sign that he is okay - actually, I told him he MUST tell me he loves me. Weʻve had other people recount verbal communication with him, but I told him this is your last chore. The day after I said that, I got a comment on a blog post I wrote 4 years ago that was all about him - most of my blog posts were not about my kids, because I wanted to preserve their privacy, but in this one I broke my rules. I had forgotten about it - Iʻd written hundreds of posts over six years! To get an anonymous comment directing me to that particular entry was a great blessing. On the same day, I was listening to an old CD my husband had made for me. One of my favorite songs got scratched over and doesnʻt play completely - and I, as I have a habit of doing when I am driving alone, said to my son, "I think youʻd like this song; too bad itʻs not clear." The next day, someone posted this song a social media forum - a teacher I work with whoʻd had my son as a student. Itʻs a really obscure song from the 80s, so it was just not likely - and itʻs about loving your children. I felt blessed - but I still want the words, kid. Find a way - your last chore.

Comment by emma on October 6, 2016 at 1:47pm

since my dad has passed away all most 11 yrs ago I have been getting these vibes sometimes they can be good and sometimes they are bad or just nothing at all

Comment by dream moon JO B on September 11, 2016 at 6:24pm

not so lng ago only fr a bit my dad cum 2 me giv me hig ticlt me he died died did only fr a few mins but afrt tht i flt ticlsh i did just wish he cud cum bk bow coz i need him

Comment by dream moon JO B on August 23, 2016 at 3:49pm

wied thng yday i wz int dnstets wen i cum bak hi hom i tryd 2 go 2 hav snoz i did but dnt if i wz ilslinaten or i wz ilsusnnated i wz sean stmrs thm a lovi sunrise i did sorry if i sond nuts i do pls i had my gum num so it cud of ben sid efect off it 2  but aftr stms ean th s lov sun rize i did

Comment by Dolly on August 2, 2016 at 6:55am

ast Thursday we were up in the mountain house again and were playing music as usual when I got to thinking about Brandon and the 'dancing tree'... the one that always seemed to be swaying and twisting and dancing along with the music after Brandon died.. it was a little tree then.. now three years later its pretty big... I kind of jokingly said to Charlie...."I guess the dancing tree is too big to dance anymore" and RIGHT AT THAT VERY MOMENT the tree started to 'wave' at us.. and NOTHING ELSE was moving at all... even the birds were quiet... it was that kind of day.. HUSHED is the best way I can describe it... like everything was waiting for something... but that tree WAVED at us with its limbs swirling and dipping.. and just for a short time and then stopped... and as far as I remember didn't move again that day.. or at least not in that 'dancing' way it has of moving... and one more time I felt as if we were in the Presence of something Holy and Wonderful and that it was another reassurance of the truth of God and that we are NOT that removed from heaven itself if we can only open ourselves to the reality that we are already part of the heavenly family we are yearning to join one day... I know this may sound crazy to some people or somehow sound pretentious that God would bother to communicate with us.. but it happens... and has been happening to some extent all my life without me knowing or thinking about what it meant.. and since Brandon died there have been so many unexplained happenings ... which have kept me going.... they have slowed way down now... for whatever reason... maybe its me not looking anymore.. or me shutting them out to try to work my way forward.. but there's no 'forward' really.... just now and waiting .. for when we will .. WILL... be together again...

Comment by dream moon JO B on June 25, 2016 at 5:27pm

bean semil weid thngs altly lk mnt sarse wenn no 1s usd it or orth smells lk thm rud 1s u cud ay 

evn smells of srtn obaco u cud say

evn smells of s[irt alcol stuff i wud not evn tuch u cd say im a beer drnkt or bt of win 1 but thes smells can be strher or weker thy can

Comment by dream moon JO B on June 23, 2016 at 11:47am

orth wk dolly i cud smell wiskyy rum in mid i dnt evn drink tht stuff my dad did not 2 but i no mu my dads mum did 

Comment by Dolly on June 23, 2016 at 8:56am

I want to hear from Brandon... I want to see lights go on by themselves like when he first left.. and guitars play by themselves... and music play by itself on the computer.. and the visits from all the animals like then... and the other times when it felt like all heaven was playing along with us as we played the songs he loved and those we 'found' after he died.. or found US more likely.. the ones that would play on Pandora and then when I would go to buy them they would have disappeared off the queue altogether... and the times when the thunder would clap loudly on the very last note of the song ... I so miss my boy.

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