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Dreaming Of The Dead

A great post, thank you!

I had a very brief conversation with her that went along the lines of me telling her she was dead and wondering how she was here, to which she replied "Not like that!" with a smile. I woke up then.

I agree about the 'denial of death' idea. After a friend died, I dreamed of arguing with him - 'What're you doing here? You're dead!' 'No I'm not, that's just a story (the girlfriend) is putting about!'

Dreamed of my late father too, who seemed to have turned up for his own funeral.

When I reminded him of his death he showed me his new Action Man-like featureless torso and said 'I'm all changed now.' I took it that he was changed into spirit, as he believed he would be at death.
 
I think of it as her telling me that even though her body isn't around, her presence isn't dead. I'm not sure if that fits into the "rejection of death" dream pattern described in this thread.

Maybe she just wanted to be different! Sounds like a reassuring dream, as long as you remember her she won't be gone.
 
Two nights ago I dreamt my grandmother was standing beside the bed and dropping coins on me to wake me up. I did wake (in the dream) and saw she was smiling but then a coin fell in my mouth and I started choking. I woke up (in reality) coughing and spluttering. It was morning anyway and time to get up.

It's over ten years since she died and while she did leave me a bit of money when she went, that's all long gone now.
 
Two nights ago I dreamt my grandmother was standing beside the bed and dropping coins on me to wake me up. I did wake (in the dream) and saw she was smiling but then a coin fell in my mouth and I started choking. I woke up (in reality) coughing and spluttering. It was morning anyway and time to get up.

It's over ten years since she died and while she did leave me a bit of money when she went, that's all long gone now.

Dave, by any chance have you read The Ocean At The End Of The Lane?
At one point, the protaganist of that book wakes up choking on a coin.
 
Dave, by any chance have you read The Ocean At The End Of The Lane?
At one point, the protaganist of that book wakes up choking on a coin.
No, :eek:wow never heard of it. What happens? I wonder if it's some kind of obscure dream archetype.

Edit to add - Looked it up on amazon - Neil Gaiman. I bought that for my Mother in Law, but we've never discussed the plot, but I have heard of it.
 
Despite being a prolific recounter of "psychic" dreams on here AND having now several long complex tales of apparent communication via "signs" (see today's update on the Sign of the Cross thread..its a doozy), I can honestly say I've never had a dream of a dead loved one suggestive of anything ghostly or meaningful.

Until recently (by which I mean I can't recall the last time he appeared) my father has been a regular character in my dreams for the more than 10 years since his death, but his death is never referenced or percieved in the dreams at all. It's just perfectly natural for him to be there like any of my living siblings.

The night of his (expected) death though my mother did dream of laying her head on his shoulder and being comforted. And some time later my eldest brother had a dream conversation with my dad in which he told him to pass on the reassurance to her not to worry about money...which she/we never have it has to be said.
 
No, :eek:wow never heard of it. What happens? I wonder if it's some kind of obscure dream archetype.

Edit to add - Looked it up on amazon - Neil Gaiman. I bought that for my Mother in Law, but we've never discussed the plot, but I have heard of it.

Well, in the book, it's sign that some strange and ancient power has awoken.
If your dream is the same kind of sign, all I can say is - for heaven's sake, don't go out in your bare feet!
(You'll have to read the book to find out why. :D )

From a less fantasy-novel inspired perspective, did your grandmother ever give you any financial advice that would be useful to you now?
 
Well, in the book, it's sign that some strange and ancient power has awoken.

Excellent. I thought as much.;)

for heaven's sake, don't go out in your bare feet!

This I can manage.

From a less fantasy-novel inspired perspective, did your grandmother ever give you any financial advice that would be useful to you now?

Only to try and save money and not fritter it away. Looking back, I was quite loose with my cash at the time of her death. These days I save more than I spend so maybe she's* pleased with that. Or maybe I should think about spending more so I don't figuratively choke. The last time I bought anything other than food was a shirt for work about ten weeks ago.

*or my subconscious self.
 
Or maybe I should think about spending more so I don't figuratively choke. The last time I bought anything other than food was a shirt for work about ten weeks ago.
I admire your discipline.
Wish I could refrain from spending.
 
I like buying food. It's nearly as much fun as eating it.

At work I sometimes run through the contents of my fridge in my head, planning meals. When I get home I'm normally too hungry to cook anything elaborate though so it's crammed down as it is. ;)
 
Dead boring me. :D
I do have my moments though. I thought about getting a Play Station after seeing Witcher 3 but thankfully it passed after a couple of days.

The trouble with the Witcher games is they are great for the first two acts, then get repetitive. I love them but never finished them.
 
The Robert Peston Interview Show

Blokes discussing bereavement and grief on Radio 4. They mention dreaming of their dead spouses at about 25 minutes.
One says his deceased wife seemed happy and smiling, when he'd dream that he'd realise that she was really dead. Sometimes he wakes up and other times he carries on dreaming, conscious that it's a dream but enjoying seeing her again.

Another only dreams of his when he hasn't thought of her for a while, as if she resents being forgotten about.

Just a small mention of the subject but I found it interesting.
 
Until last night, the only dead person I have ever dreamed about was an aunt who brought me up - and I knew that when Aunt Belle entered a dream, I was under severe stress. Usually I was about to move or change jobs. She was a dreadful person, especially for a child and adolescent to live with.

Last night however I dreamed about a young man with whom I attended first grade. We were best friends and our families became friendly, then I changed schools and we moved and I lost track of him. Years later, in my late 20's, I ran into him tending bar. We had a great conversation, he was very charming. About a week later the friend I had been with, who ate at that particular restaurant a lot, told me that my childhood friend had committed suicide. I was sad but it was not overwhelming for me - I had not seen him in 25 years or so. Now about 35 years later I dreamed about him, and we were both back in our 20's. I don't take dreams seriously, I think they are the random firing of neurons during the cleaning up process of sleep, but truly I have not thought of this guy for 35 years. More interesting, when I woke up, my first thought was well, maybe I'm about to run into Mark again. A few moments later I remembered that he was dead. I look forward to seeing if and how this works out. Perhaps I am about to run into him again.
 
This is an odd one for me. I have quite a lot of dreams about dead family members and pets, but AFAICR my reactions to them differ depending on who the dream is about. If the dream is about any of my grandparents, I tend to feel quite chilled, quite happy, almost serene; I'm aware that they're dead, but "meeting" them like this seems quite appropriate. If they're about my dad, I usually get quite panicky, then angry, and I repeatedly tell him he shouldn't be there. If they're about my previous dogs, I have a feeling of confusion, as if I know they shouldn't be there, but I can't remember why until I wake up. Then I remember that they're dead, and it starts the day on a miserable note :(.
 
I may have previously mentioned this on another thread, but when I dream of the dead (usually my Dad or Grandparents) they never speak. They'll just be going about their business and will look at me with a sort of tight lipped benevolent smile but no matter what I do to try and get them to interact, they never do. It's really frustrating but in a weird way comforting at the same time.
 
I may have previously mentioned this on another thread, but when I dream of the dead (usually my Dad or Grandparents) they never speak. They'll just be going about their business and will look at me with a sort of tight lipped benevolent smile but no matter what I do to try and get them to interact, they never do. It's really frustrating but in a weird way comforting at the same time.

Its the same for me too mostly. If they do speak it means the "dream" is coming to an abrupt end. Or, I dont cotten on to the fact that their around me until theyve walked away. What they do say often doesnt make sense as well...perhaps its a free will thing, a law where they cannot interfere assist or direct you.
 
That is strange about them not speaking as the vivid dream I had about seeing my dad by the ring road in town... he walked within inches of me, looked me right in the eye then... didn't speak. Just smiled. (Very unlike him!)

My mother died when I was a child and I have only very very rarely dreamed of her at all. When I have, I can't recall her speaking. But I did see her (and even realised she was wearing clothes I'd forgotten ever existed and weren't in any photos of her), when having my second son - medical emergency - thought was going to die and then she appeared, just looked at me and said: "You're going to be alright". And a few minutes later - I was. I had no drugs, just that oxygen thing and as it did nothing for pain relief, not much of that...

My husband knew from the look on my face something weird had happened and he asked me what had just happened. I fell unconscious during the next labour - low blood pressure and I just passed out - and no 'dreams' or dead parents at all.
 
First of all apologies if this has been covered elsewhere, I'm still new to this. Not sure if this is the right place for this either!
I sometimes dream about people who have died. In the case of my Mum who died two years ago, the dreams are peaceful and reassuring. Yet when I dream about my Gran who as a lovely, gentle lady, the dreams are like nightmares. I am always afraid, her house feels haunted and she is a sinister scary presence.
And the other night I dreamed about a girl who had been a close friend when I was younger. She died in a tragic accident when we were twenty. She was also a lovely, gentle person but in the dream I was terrified of her, she had grabbed me by the arms and when I said her name her eyes turned white and "dead" and I screamed and woke myself up.
I suppose what I'm getting at is why would my dear Gran and friend would want to scare me? Is it just random, inexplicable brain activity? I'm always disturbed after these dreams. Anyone care to comment?
Thanks.
Whenever I dream of the dead they always look about 30 years old, if they were older than 30 when they died. I have spoken to my dead father and Grandmother. Not on purpose however when my grandmother spoke I was painting the bathroom of my house and my grandma spoke and said she liked the color. I knew it was her somehow and replied "Grandma how come you are just now talking to me?" She replied, " because you have a house now"
 
My Aunt dreamed about my late uncle, said he was outside the house in the drive but wouldn't come in - i'm sure theres a ton of symbolism there
 
My (not very nice) stepmother once started telling us enthusiastically about a dream she'd had about her long dead father. Something about a spiral staircase and going to the upper floor of a double decker bus with him. My husband and I managed to keep straight faced but we both had the same thought - that was somehow very Freudian. She did seem to have a rather creepy relationship with her dad...
 
This isn't strictly a dreaming of the dead story, but thought I would offer my opinion.

In previous threads I have mentioned that I lost my memory when I was 17, due to a brain trauma. At the time of the accident, I had been dating a girl for a little more than 3 years, and we tried to continue dating for about 6 months after I "woke up" - I was near to a coma for about 3 months where I could wake up for 10-15 minutes each day.

I didn't remember her when I woke up, and my personality had changed, so you could say that she didnt recognize me either.

I moved to a distant city and severed contact with everyone in my "old" life, to reduce the stress of people expecting me to be someone I wasn't. I abruptly lost contact with her, but I understand that we were very close, spent pretty much every waking minute with each other. Also that she was emotionally abusive toward me.

Lately, I have had mutliple dreams that involve her. The first was several years ago (I was probably 22 or 23 at the time), where I was in her home, in the living room, and her mother was being extremely nice to me, trying to win me over. Her father was a sort of zombie sitting on the couch next to us. Later, I learned that her father had passed away from cancer (through the grap vine, and not from direct contact).

A few nights ago, I had a dream that I woke up in the backseat of her car and she was speeding past police cars. There was a masculine presence in the front passenger seat that I couldn't identify. It turned out that she had robbed a bank and I felt as if I was inherently involved, against my will. I've been keeping a dream journal, so I have this one saved in more detail, if it is of interest.

So, my idea is that these things are a normal part of our process in dealing with unresolved aspects of our lives. I had supressed feelings about this person that went unresolved. Although I was not actively aware of them, my subconscious is attempting to sort it all out.

I sometimes have nightmares about the "old me" as well, in a similar fashion to dreaming of the dead. Understand that the old me feels like a separate person from myself, and I feel a kind of animosity toward him. I've even gone so far as legally changing my name (in addition to moving away from everyone I knew) to "become" my own self.

I feel that my situation is easier to see from a scientific perspective, as many variables are isolated within my experiences (that normally wouldn't be). That being said, I don't mean to discount any significant experiences people have had with deceased loved ones. These could very well be two different things that we are talking about.
 
Research on dreams is inconclusive, but I think that the theory that says we actually live in our dreams is correct. Our dreams are our real life and this life is a reenactment of our dreams. So everything we do in our waking state is something we dreamed first. Deja Vu is us remembering that we dreamed exactly what we are currently doing.
 
Research on dreams is inconclusive, but I think that the theory that says we actually live in our dreams is correct. Our dreams are our real life and this life is a reenactment of our dreams. So everything we do in our waking state is something we dreamed first. Deja Vu is us remembering that we dreamed exactly what we are currently doing.


So when do I get to fly and fight zombies?
 
A persuasive (to me anyway) theory about dreaming is that our dreams are about ourselves. All situations we find ourselves in relate to our waking lives and the people we meet in them are aspects of our own personalities.

When I look back at my dreams they often make sense in this way. For example, my dreams of deceased loved ones are about my longing and grief for them rather than what they're actually up to right now.

Dreams about animals can be interpreted in this way. If I dream about a lion, then unless I've been watching wildlife programmes on TV I can be sure that my subconscious is telling me to be brave.

Nothing mysterious or occult, just the strange old human mind. :)
 
A persuasive (to me anyway) theory about dreaming is that our dreams are about ourselves. All situations we find ourselves in relate to our waking lives and the people we meet in them are aspects of our own personalities.

When I look back at my dreams they often make sense in this way. For example, my dreams of deceased loved ones are about my longing and grief for them rather than what they're actually up to right now.

Dreams about animals can be interpreted in this way. If I dream about a lion, then unless I've been watching wildlife programmes on TV I can be sure that my subconscious is telling me to be brave.

Nothing mysterious or occult, just the strange old human mind. :)
You are right. There's nothing mysterious about Life.
 
A persuasive (to me anyway) theory about dreaming is that our dreams are about ourselves. All situations we find ourselves in relate to our waking lives and the people we meet in them are aspects of our own personalities.

When I look back at my dreams they often make sense in this way. For example, my dreams of deceased loved ones are about my longing and grief for them rather than what they're actually up to right now.

Dreams about animals can be interpreted in this way. If I dream about a lion, then unless I've been watching wildlife programmes on TV I can be sure that my subconscious is telling me to be brave.

Nothing mysterious or occult, just the strange old human mind. :)

Yep, I'd agree with a lot of that. You've gotta love that strange old human mind though - it throws up some pretty weird shit from time to time!
 
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