DREAM BLOG 7
DREAMING OF A DEAD LOVED ONE (PART ONE)
A dream about a deceased loved one is common and precious. Do you dread or love seeing that person? What does this person say? How do you feel about the dream?
Dreams about a deceased person are common and can be very emotional. For many people, it feels like a message from that deceased loved one. For me too! Also means contact. Death is already something we find difficult to deal with. This is a theme that many of us struggle with, it is and remains difficult to grasp. This is probably why death is such a common dream theme. Especially when you’ve had to deal with the death of a loved one, it’s something that keeps your subconscious busy all the time.
1. The emotional meaning of dreams about deceased persons
We all face death sooner or later. Everyone loses a loved one at one time or another. Not only are you faced with your own mortality, you also have to learn to live without that person in the new reality. When you dream about a deceased person who is still alive in your dream, it is a sign that the loss is still very great or that you have not yet managed to accept the death of that person. Like me who dreams so much about my father… Grieving is an emotional rollercoaster. Life can sometimes be easy or hard with you… One moment everything seems to be going well and the next moment you plunge into a dark, deep abyss. Sometimes you no longer know exactly where you stand in the process. It’s those moments when dreams can give you insight or share a message with you. However, this does not mean that every dream about a deceased person is associated with unresolved grief.
The meaning of dreams is usually abstract and ambiguous. Whether you believe that it is a message from the afterlife, or from your subconscious: one thing is certain, that dream has a very personal message. What a certain dream means to you may have a completely different meaning to someone else.
a) Many people experience a dream about a deceased loved one as an attempt to make contact. Maybe because that person still has an important message, or wants to show that things are going well or that he/she is still with us.
b) It is a fairly widespread belief that the line between dead and alive is less strong when we sleep. So in a sleeping state it would be easier for deceased persons to visit us.
c) There are few things as difficult to process as such a heavy loss. The (emotional) letting go can be an almost impossible task for many people, which makes us want to keep that loved one close to us in an urn or ash jewelry or photo or statue.
2. DREAMING ABOUT DECEASED PARENTS
Losing your parents is probably one of the most shocking things you will have to deal with in your life. The source of trust and security they have been for you for years will then disappear. More than ever, the feeling arises that you have to stand on your own two feet. So it is only logical that your deceased parents come back in your dreams. Whether it’s because they work dead in your subconscious, or because you had such a strong bond with each other, that not even death can keep them away from you.
a) Dreaming about a deceased father or mother is often seen as a need for their support and advice. It is many times that we have been robbed of by their death. But it could also be that you dream that your parents are dead, while they are still alive. It can be quite scary, especially if you believe in prophetic dreams. But don’t worry, usually the meaning is much more symbolic. For example, it could mean that you are simply worried about them, symbolize big changes in your relationship, or indicate a desire to live more independently. It is not so much about the death of the person himself, but about the person he or she was for you: a transition to a new bond.
b) A dream about a deceased father or mother often can indicates that something has remained unfinished between you. Especially with an unexpected death like my father who died quite young (58) unexpectedly of a heart attack. There is still unfinished business between you, as they say in my case he had to experience his grandchildren, my children Daphne and Thijmen… Other people may have a conflict – with father or morther – that has never been resolved, or a question that you have never asked . The fact that you know for sure that that solution will never come again, can eat you up inside and therefore come back into your dreams.
c) The most important thing is to be open to the feelings, questions and solutions that your dreams evoke from you. Only then can you find out what true meaning they have for you. And then you can learn and grow through your dreams.
MY ADVICE
To see your parents in your dream symbolizes strength, shelter and love. You may express your concerns with them. As a rule (old-fashioned), fathers represent authority and mothers symbolize love, and you will need to find out the full meaning of your dream by thinking about what your parents did or said in your dream, and how it may relate to situations or issues in your dream and daily life