Spontaneous Contacts with the Deceased

In 1971, Network Member Dr Dewi Rees published a study in the British Medical Journal entitled The hallucinations of widowhood. The use of the term hallucination reflects the materialistic understanding of the human being still prevalent in medical circles, where the idea of the continuity of consciousness after death is unthinkable. Even now, it is advisable to include the word hallucination in the title if submitting an article to a medical journal. For instance, an article published by Evelyn and her team in the British Journal of Psychiatry Open was entitled The phenomenology and impact of the hallucinations concerning the deceased. Hallucination implies unreality, which is in direct contradiction to experiences of spontaneous contact with the deceased.

This landmark book summarises the qualitative and quantitative findings of a large-scale international survey on the nature and impact of After-Death Communications (ADCs). The project team includes Evelyn, Prof Chris Roe, Dr Callum Cooper, myself, and, more recently, Sophie Morrison. The approach is phenomenological and, in other words it makes no metaphysical claims even though strong inferences can be made, for instance on the basis of over 100 cases where the deceased gave information unknown to the ‘experient’ but subsequently verified. ADCs are unexpected, spontaneous and direct. As Rees found in his initial survey 50 years ago, more than half of widows experienced one or more ADCs. In other words, they are in fact common and normal. The significance of ADCs needs to be understood in the wider context of other converging evidence from NDEs, spontaneous past life memories, and survival research. The questionnaire developed by the team consisted of 194 questions covering the circumstances and phenomenology of ADCs and their impact on the experient. Over 1,000 questionnaires were completed, in French (440), English (416) and Spanish (148). 85% of respondents were women, and half had university degrees.

The main types of ADCs are sensing a presence, hearing a voice, feeling a physical contact, seeing the deceased, and smelling a fragrance. The value of this study lies in its combination of statistical analysis with vivid and detailed descriptions of actual experiences and their surrounding circumstances. Sometimes, the presence is felt as a strong energy or love, and voices are described as transmitted sensations or telepathic. The main message is one of loving concern, summarised by Evelyn as a reassuring, resolving, reaffirming and releasing. 62% of all participants had an ADC during sleep, when falling asleep or waking up, and of these 61% were sound asleep. The vast majority – 85% - immediately recognised the deceased. 21% experienced an ADC at the time of death (in 44% of cases, the death was not predictable); research into this type of ‘crisis apparition’ experience goes back to 1886, with the publication of a 1,200-page analysis – Phantasms of the Living – by Gurney, Podmore and Myers.

The findings show the considerable impact of ADCs on belief systems. Before the ADC, 69% believed in an afterlife, 20% were unsure, and 11% did not believe in it. Subsequently, these figures are 93%, 6%, and 1% - this speaks for itself. Likewise, before the ADC 63% believed that the deceased could contact the living, rising to 95% after the ADC. 31% said that their fear of death had decreased, while for 30% it had disappeared. There is a greater effect on spirituality than religion, with 36% considering themselves spiritual before the ADC, compared to 64% afterwards. Belief in the authenticity of ADCs rose from 41% to 77% - and 90% with hindsight. As one might expect in terms of the information transmitted and the emotions felt, the impact of ADCs on the bereavement process is significant – life-changing for 36% and important for 49%; and in 73% of cases there was an emotional healing. The feeling of continuing love was most comforting, with a mitigating effect on sadness and a feeling of gratitude for life shared.

A further significant finding was that more than a quarter of respondents were no longer grieving or had never grieved for the deceased person they perceived. The impact of the experiences testifies to their personal significance, and they are vividly recalled years later. As Kenneth Ring notes in his endorsement, this book really serves to put ADCs on the map from a scientific and sociological perspective as a common and therefore normal human experience. However, for me, the personal accounts spoke most clearly and directly to an expanded view of consciousness and its continuity, with significant details about surrounding circumstances that convey a strong sense of authenticity. Essential and informative reading.