Introduction:
Dreams have long fascinated and intrigued people, offering a glimpse into the subconscious mind and providing a platform for exploring various emotions and experiences. Among the wide range of dream themes, death, dying, and grief hold a significant place. Dreams involving these subjects can evoke intense emotions and raise thought-provoking questions about mortality and our experiences. We invite you to explore, consider and share what is “In Your Dreams” as we journey together toward healing and hope.
- Are your dreams reflectors of inner emotions? Do your dreams serve as a means for processing your emotions, exploring your fears, or confront unresolved grief and loss?
- Are your dreams symbolic interpretations? Dreams involving death, dying, and grief are often laden with symbolism. What are your thoughts? Could they represent unresolved emotional pain or a need for healing?
- Are your dreams representative of a fear of mortality? Dreams about death, dying, and grief can tap into the deep-rooted human fear of mortality and trigger existential questions. Such dreams may prompt you to ponder the meaning of life or your purpose. What’s been your experience?
- Are your dreams helping you cope with grief or work through the process of losing someone close to you? Dreams involving deceased family members, friends, or partners may offer a sense of solace, closure, or continued connection, allowing you to work through your emotions and find comfort. What’s been your experience?
Conclusion:
By engaging with dreams that involve death, dying, and grief, some can gain deeper self-awareness, find solace, and potentially uncover new perspectives on life and the human experience. Join us by sharing your dreams here. Perhaps they will provide a purposeful point of hope and healing for you and others in our group.
This is awesome. Unfortunately, I never dream or never seem to remember mine. Great information though! Hopefully others can add to the discussion of what they have experienced. Awesome conversation starter looking forward to comments.
I loved my Dad. I admired my Dad. I enjoyed being with my Dad. My Dad inspired me, loved me and sacrificed for me. I am so fortunate to have had a relationship like this. I do not take it for granted because I know so many people don’t have this type of relationship.
When I was a young Pastor and having been a senior Pastor in ministry for about 3 years, I received word my Dad was very sick with cancer. He was just 63. Within 5 weeks Dad had gone from a healthy, muscular man of about 200 pounds down to just 118 pounds… and then he was gone.
I was asked and I expected to officiate and lead my Dad’s funeral. He was a respected man and several hundreds attended. It took everything I had and more to do this in a way that projected strength, love and respect for him. I knew this was to be a time of ministering love, share his faith and help many to hear the Gospel, as well as, know that death does not have the final say.
I handled the services, the wake and visitation well until the graveside service that was to be a simple reading of Psalm 23 and a prayer. I could not get through the reading and just broke down in front of everyone attending. My oldest brother who was about 16 years older than me, came up and put his arm around me and closed the service for us.
God help me. I am nearly sobbing as I write this memory. It was so hard to say goodbye. It still is even now after 40 years. I guess some things you just never get over. I miss my Dad.
NOW, ABOUT THOSE DREAMS…
Maybe it was the difficulty or trauma of doing my Dad’s funeral or maybe it was just a young man who felt his Dad was taken from him way too early in life. I’m not sure. But here is what happened – in my dreams – nearly every week – for years and years:
They were almost always similar. I dreamt my Dad and I were talking. It was usually while we were working on a project together or building something or planning something grand together. We carried on a conversation, we laughed, we just had a great time together. And then, in every dream, this would happen. It dawned on me, usually midstream in a conversation with Dad, that we could not be doing what we were doing. I’d interrupt our talk and say, “Dad. Stop! We can’t be doing this.” He would look over at me and always say the exact same thing. “Why?” And with terrible sadness and a feeling like I lost all my breath, I would tell him “Oh Dad, it’s because your dead.” With a sad look on his face he would always say, “Oh”. That’s when I would wake up. This happened every time.
Imagine having a dream like this week after week after week for years. It sounds kind of crazy, but I found myself looking forward to those dreams and doing something with my Dad while we talked together. I always woke up sad but strangely enough, also very glad. I felt loved. It’s almost like I got to keep on making memories with him.
Eventually, after a decade or more, the dreams stopped being quite so frequent. They went from weekly to monthly. Eventually they stopped being even that frequent. 40 years later, though, I still have them. They are always in the same style. I always have to tell my Dad that we can’t be doing what we are doing because I have to tell him he is dead.
I still look forward to these dreams. I’ll share them with my wife and she usually tells me that I am blessed or that something might be going on in my life that I just needed a talk with Dad. I don’t know. I doubt I will ever know.
Do you dream about your loved ones who have gone on before you? What are your dreams like? I’ve shared mine in the hope it may help you during your time of grief. Let’s talk about it. I am here for you and we (our community) is here for you. Maybe sharing a little will help you and maybe it will help others. Know that this is a safe place.
Wow Dana! This was awesome. I so wish I had dreams of almost any kind but especially walking with Julie my wife. To get to have one more time or even a goodbye which I didn't get because she died while I was on a trip would be so special and to me a great blessing. Grief is such a process and their is no cutting corners and to do so just makes the process longer and most assuredly harder. Thank you for sharing this was amazing!
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