Hello From Heaven! A new field of research ~ After-Death Communication ~ confirms that life and love are eternal by Bill Guggenheim and Judy Guggenheim was published by Bantam Books, New York, in 1996. We, the authors, founded, defined, researched, and named an entire new field of human experience that may be as old as mankind.

Definition

An After-Death Communication, or ADC, is a spiritual experience that occurs when someone is contacted directly and spontaneously by a family member or friend who has died. An ADC is a direct experience because no psychics, mediums, therapists, rituals, or devices are involved. And an ADC is a spontaneous event because our deceased loved ones always choose when, where, and how they will contact us.

Research History

During our seven years of research, we interviewed 2,000 people, who were living in all 50 American states and the 10 Canadian provinces. We collected more than 3,300 firsthand accounts from people who believe they have been contacted by a deceased relative or friend. The subjects range in age from children to the elderly (from 8 to 92 years old) and represent diverse social, educational, economic, occupational, and religious backgrounds.

We conservatively estimate at least 60 million Americans – or 20% of the population of the United States – have had one or more ADC experiences. And some polls indicate the actual numbers are double these figures – that more than 125 million Americans, or 43% of the population, have had an ADC. As a result, after-death communications appear to be the most common form of spiritual experiences that people have. Hello From Heaven! contains 353 accounts of ADC experiences, and each one is a complete short story told in the experiencer’s own words.

Types of ADCs

Based upon our research, the following are brief descriptions of the twelve most frequent types of after-death communication people report having with their deceased loved ones. These may occur individually or in combination with other types of ADCs. They can happen in a home, at work, at a funeral, in a car, aboard a boat or airplane, in a department store, and virtually anywhere else – and at any time of the day or night.

• Sensing a Presence: Sentient ADCs This is the most common form of contact. But many people discount their experiences, thinking, "Oh, I’m just imagining this." It’s a distinct feeling that your loved one is nearby, 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 or intuit his or her presence months or even years later – which is true of all other types of ADCs as well.
• Hearing a Voice: Auditory ADCs Some people state they hear an external, audible voice with their ears, the same as when a living person is speaking to them. The majority of communications are by telepathy, however – you hear the voice of your relative or friend in your mind. When you have two-way communication, it’s usually by telepathy, which is also called mind-to-mind contact or thought transference. A large percentage of the messages received are brief and to the point, like telegrams of 25 words or less. On the other hand, a few experiencers are able to have entire conversations by telepathy.
• Feeling a Touch: Tactile ADCs People who have a very close physical and emotional relationship recognize the distinctive and familiar touch of their family member or friend. You may feel your loved one touch you with his or her hand, or place an arm around your shoulders or back or waist, 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: Olfactory ADCs You may smell your relative’s or friend’s favorite cologne, after shave, or perfume. Other common aromas are: flowers, bath products, favorite foods, tobacco smoke, and his or her personal scent. Two or more people who are together at the same place – and at the same time – may share this type of ADC experience.
• Partial Appearances: Visual ADCs 1 There are a wide variety of visual appearances, which are divided into two general categories: partial visual and full visual ADCs. Appearances range from a "transparent mist" to "absolutely solid," with many gradations in between. Partial appearances include seeing only a colored light, an outline of their body, or just the head and shoulders of your relative or friend. And he or she may be transparent, translucent, or almost completely solid. Quite a few visual ADCs occur in the bedroom, next to or at the foot of the bed.
• Full Appearances: Visual ADCs 2 Someone you love may make a full appearance to you, and you will see his or her entire body, from head to foot, and that person will look and feel fully solid and lifelike to you. Typically he or she will be expressing love, well being, and happiness with a radiant smile. They virtually always appear healed and whole regardless of their form of death. It’s quite common to see people who died in their later years return at a much younger age – often in the prime of their life. Verbal communication may take place, but not always. They are trying to assure you they are okay, and you don’t need to be concerned about them. Visual ADCs provide a great deal of comfort and relief.
• A Glimpse Beyond: ADC 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. These are usually in radiant colors and may be seen externally, with your eyes open – or internally in your mind, while your eyes are closed. You’re seeing your loved one in heaven, and communication may occur, especially during meditation or prayer.
• Encounters at Alpha: Twilight ADCs This type of ADC takes place in the "alpha state" of consciousness, when you are very relaxed – like when you’re falling asleep, waking up, meditating, or praying. And when you open your eyes, your deceased love one may be standing nearby.
• More Than A Dream: Sleep-State ADCs These are much more vivid, intense, colorful, and real than ordinary dreams. They are extremely common. Both one-way and two-way communications are typical. You usually feel your loved one is with you in person and that you’re having an actual visit together. These may happen in a familiar place or one that is foreign to you. Sleep-State ADCs are not jumbled, filled with symbols, or fragmented the way dreams usually are. There are endless possibilities of what may occur during this type of contact. These are also called "visitation dreams."
  
  Sleep-State ADCs are similar to other types of after-death communication that occur while you are wide awake. Your friend or relative can come to you more easily, however, when you are relaxed, open, and receptive, like when you are in the alpha state or asleep.
• Homeward Bound: Out-Of-Body ADCs OBE ADCs happen while you are asleep or in a deep meditative state. They are very dramatic experiences during which you leave your physical body and visit your loved one in a place nearby, at another location on Earth or within the physical universe, or in the spiritual dimension called "heaven." The latter contains beautiful flowers, birds, and butterflies; lovely gardens and stately trees; sparkling water, radiant lighting, and other magnificent aspects of nature; and it’s filled with love, happiness, peace, and joy. Out-of-body travel is accomplished at the speed of thought. Many of these accounts read like near-death experiences, but those who have them are in good physical health at the time.
• Person-to-Person: Telephone ADCs This type of ADC can occur during sleep or when you are fully awake. You will hear a phone ringing, and when you answer it, your deceased loved one will give you a short message. Two-way conversations are also possible. His or her voice will usually be clear, but may sound far away. If you are awake when the call on a physical phone is completed, it will seem that the line has been severed, for you won’t hear a hang-up sound, a disconnect click, or a dial tone.
• Material Matters: ADCs of Physical Phenomena Those 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; radios, televisions, stereos, mechanical objects, and toys being activated; photographs, pictures, and various other items being turned over or moved; and a very long list of "things that go bump in the night." Messages are sometimes left on computers, telephone answering machines, and other electronic devices.
• Butterflies and Rainbows: Symbolic ADCs People frequently ask a Higher Power, a religious figure, 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 a while 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 finding numerous kinds of inanimate objects, such as coins, feathers, and pictures.

According to our research, the purpose of these visits, contacts, and signs by those who have left their physical body 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 turn to leave your lifetime on Earth. They want to assure you they’ll be there to meet you and greet you – and perhaps even to assist you – as you make your own transition.

The most frequent messages expressed verbally or non-verbally by those who have made their transition include:

Many people report feeling an incredible sense of peace – "the peace that passeth all understanding" – during and after an ADC experience. Almost all after-death communications provide comfort, hope, and profound emotional and spiritual healing, especially to those who are bereaved or are fearful of death. ADCs usually reduce the intensity of the experiencer’s grief and shorten the duration of his or her bereavement. Hearing or reading firsthand ADC accounts provides courage and strength to patients who have a life-threatening illness, and they inspire caregivers to the elderly and the terminally ill, like hospital and hospice personnel.

Unfortunately, some people react with fear when they have an ADC. Typically this is because they are startled by the suddenness of the event, or they may have never heard of one happening to anybody else. They may automatically assume they are "losing their mind" or "going crazy." Others find it difficult to reconcile the possibility of after-death communication with their philosophical or religious beliefs. We encourage you to trust your own experiences and accept them as being real for you.

Are ADCs Real?

Of course there are numerous critics of after-death communication (ADC) experiences. Many atheists, agnostics, and skeptics insist, "They can’t be true, so they aren’t!" They even refuse to examine the evidence. They assert ADCs are merely "grief-induced hallucinations" based upon wish fulfillment, imagination, magical thinking, fantasies, memories, denial, and emotional needs. Some conservative religious leaders preach that ADCs are satanic or demonic and conflict with the teachings of their faith. Hello From Heaven! contains six categories which provide persuasive evidence that ADC experiences are authentic contacts by deceased loved ones.

• Timing Is Everything: ADCs Before the News Numerous experiencers report having an ADC before they learned of their loved one’s sudden and unexpected death. Therefore they would not have been grieving the loss of their relative or friend. Frequently the time of the transition and the time of the ADC are exactly the same.
• Expect the Unexpected: ADCs Years Later Some people have an ADC experience 5, 10, 20, 30, or more years after the death of their loved one. Presumably they would not be actively grieving the death of their relative or friend that many years later. In addition, the longer they happen after the transition, the more important the message typically is.
• Validation: Evidential ADCs Many ADC experiences are "evidential" because they provide specific information the experiencers did not know – and could not have known – before their ADCs occurred. For example, they may be told the location of something of emotional or financial value that is lost, which they are looking for, but aren’t able to find. In other cases, important items are revealed to them, ones they don’t even know exist.
• Special Delivery: ADCs for Protection In many cases a person’s life and property are literally protected or saved because of information they are given during their ADC. I, Bill Guggenheim, was advised by my deceased father to "Go outside and check the swimming pool," and when I did, I rescued his 21-month-old son, Jon, who was drowning.
  
  This category includes people who received protection from potential automobile and aircraft accidents, medical emergencies, criminal activities, industrial accidents, a building fire, and undiagnosed health problems of children and adults. These accounts provide very compelling evidence that our deceased loved ones are indeed watching over us and can and do intervene when they are able to do so.
  
  If you are ever told to "Slow down," "Stop your car," "Drive a different route," or "Check your car" by a loved one who has died, do so immediately – and you will very likely avert a serious accident – or worse. This is equally true if you are ever alerted to call or check on somebody. Do it immediately, day or night, regardless of the hour involved. You may literally save their life!
• Saving Grace: ADCs for Suicide Intervention This category includes firsthand accounts of people who were planning to take their own life, and two of them were actually in the process of doing so. Because a deceased loved one came to them at just the right moment, they changed their mind – and they were still alive and able to be interviewed years later. It’s interesting to note that 60% of those who came back to help someone with suicidal feelings had died from taking their own life.
• Confirmation: ADCs with a Witness Occasionally two or more people are together at the same place and time when they share having an ADC – and they usually learn of this when they speak to each other later on, about what they felt, heard, and saw. These ADCs attest to the validity and credibility of after-death communication. And they confirm that ADCs are objective experiences and not merely subjective ones.

Our research indicates that after-death communication experiences are so prevalent they should be regarded as a natural and normal part of life. ADCs deserve the same public attention and awareness that near-death experiences (NDEs) have been receiving since 1975. Yet no documentary film, major magazine article, or entire national television program has ever been devoted to this vast field of evidence for human survival beyond physical death.

After-death communication (ADC) experiences provide dramatic and convincing modern-day evidence for life after death. They confirm that when our body dies, we simply make a transition from this physical world to a continuing existence in heaven. There we can expect to have joyous reunions with our deceased relatives and friends, who will meet us and greet us – and who can and do communicate with us now.

ADCs consistently affirm an essential spiritual message: Life and love are eternal.