Dreaming of A Deceased Loved One

Dreaming of a deceased loved one can shake your inner world. When we wake up from experiencing an emotionally charged dream where we have lost a loved one in real life and they return to us in the dream state we are left with the question of this is a normal dream or in fact a primal connection between the spiritual word and life. 

My grandmother passed away when I was 10 years old, that was 32 years ago. Every year I tend to have a dream about my grandmother. The dream itself always follows the same pattern, I see myself in a kitchen putting plasticine on the walls and taking pictures. My grandmother was a very loving lady and I do believe that when I am distressed, I often dream of her for comfort. Always back in our childhood home and time appears to freeze. The last picture that I was left with, was of my grandmother cooking roast dinner before she had a stroke. If you dream regularly about a deceased loved one I am going to uncover the dream meaning for you. Dreams of our loved ones who have passed can take all sorts of shapes and forms.

If example your loved one passed over in the hospital it is quite common to dream of hospitals in general. A deceased loved one rarely has the opportunity to say goodbye and if this is the case, dreams such as these could be a spiritual indication that they wish to let you know that they have crossed over, depending on how you are feeling after having such a dream and the core details which we will now explore.

What does it mean to dream of someone who has died?

Dreaming of a deceased love one who returns in our dreams can provide us with reassurance that they are still with us, such dreams can be intense, vivid, and memorable. Much of these dreams are so memorable that they actually seem real. There is a belief in dream psychology that seeing a loved one who has passed over is part of the role of grief. The dream could be that it seems so vivid that you actually touched them, there are some realistic sensations when it comes to these types of dreams and the question is whether it was actually supernatural. The dream meaning that their spirit is with you, guiding you, ensuring that your soul on this earth is being cared for. Despite the details in the dream to feel the presence of a loved one that has passed can be a spiritual encounter. 

What does dreaming of a deceased love one mean in psychoanalysis?

It's important to also consider the meaning of seeing a dead loved one from a psychological perspective. If we turn to the famous psychologist Sigmund Freud, who studied dreams and the relationship of the psyche in the 1900s, Freud believed dreams are ideal fantasies and death dream are a channel of how we process grief. In regards, to the meaning of dreams about a deceased loved one, Freud wrote that dreams of the dead are common due to the ego and the need and the inner "want" that is not being fulfilled in waking life. A dream of death can indicate that you are caught in a space where feelings and emotions of the loss of a loved one are translated in the dreams. 

It could be for example that you dream of your deceased Mother on her birthday - as this was a distant memory of when you spent time with her. Dreaming of your deceased loved one who appears alive in the dream is normal processing of grief emotions according to Freud. Freud also mentioned that all dream interpretations of a deceased loved one are positive. I know this is true because a user emailed me because she was distressed that she was going to die following a nightmare. In this dream, she experienced seeing her husband that passed on. Normally, though such dreams are sent to us to support our life in some way and not to provide a prediction that something unhinged will happen to you.

Dreams of a deceased loved one that does not speak

Another misinterpretation of a dream of a deceased loved one is when the deceased loved one does not speak. This can be confusing and having such dreams can leave a feeling of uncertainty. Loved ones in dreams sometimes don't look exactly like they do in real life during the dream state, it could be that they appear younger or are wearing particular clothes. The dream meaning that I have outlined here does not alter.

Is this dream of a deceased love one good or bad?

Dreams are connected with the unseen world and are acknowledged as a way for the spirit or the afterlife to communicate. The famous dream psychologist Carl Jung, who was an expert at analytical dream psychology in the 1900s believed that dreams were an evolution of religion and a comfort need. Dreams can be spontaneous and the result of our unconscious mind. Carl Jung stated in his many books that when we dream our thoughts and feelings come together and work as the psyche. Jung believed dreams gave us a purpose and a dream was simply a way of our own psyche to communicate with us on a deeper level. Jung called this process individuation. 

Freud on the other hand believed that the symbols in our dreams were self-portrayal in an unconscious form. A symbol that appears in a dream (in the case of you're deceased loved one) was a reflection of your thought process about the loss. Freud mentioned in his book that the meaning of dreaming of the death of loved ones is about how we perceive and observe the unresolved conflict and grief we feel in the waking world. 

Freud further wrote about how there is a conflict of ambivalence in such a dream when it comes to death that appears in dreams is due to our neurosis and that if one suffers from a nightmare concerning death this is our way to manage our inner throughs and feelings of death. Certainly, both these dream psychologists believed that dreaming of a deceased loved one was about our own representation of death rather than a spiritual encounter. Freud believed there was no consciousness while in the dream state and we are simply spectators. I do however believe that when we dream we have an altered mental state, it can mean we are open to different bands of energy from the spirit world. 

Dreaming of a dead loved one and if this was a visitation from spirit?

There are a vast amount of dreams, prophetic dreams, premonition, or precognition dreams. Dream meanings can come from rich analogies such as folklore, legends, fairytales, and even poetry, however, in psychology they are supposed to come from our unconscious mind. 

I believe it is indeed true that spirits can contact us while we sleep, in my experience this is important that we do recognize that we can angelically connect with our loved ones. Mediumship itself is another channel of connecting to spirit. Mediumship is the process of communicating between spirits and the dead and can be experienced by most people with training in mediumship circles. 

How do you know the dream was a spiritual encounter?

When do you know it is a visitation dream? To answer this the dream can feel real, that you can see the deceased loved one breathe or feel an immense amount of spiritual energy present. Sometimes, your dream will show you flashes of the deceased loved one. There are also other symbols to look out for such as things in waking life that seem odd. Such as finding money on the floor unexpectedly, seeing feathers, hearing songs playing on radio that remind you of them, and the smell of flowers in the home when there are no flowers present. These are all waking life spiritual messages that someone loved is near. 

Is your deceased love one always with you?

Spirit is always with us, there is no turning this off and if you do in fact acknowledge the presence of the spirit of a deceased loved one after your dream then this will make the bond stronger. Personally, I believe it is possible to connect to a loved one through our dreams, it is important to embrace the dream as a form of connection if this is what you want. The dream could be more of a validation that they are walking with us in our daily life. The loved one's soul could deliver you a message in the dream state, and there are specific experiences that we all find after such a dream. 

Dreaming of a dead loved one being alive

Often, we can dream of communication from the spirit and this takes place in our consciousness as I have already explained above. If the deceased loved one in your dream appears to be alive then this can indicate that you are operating on the psychic level if the dream is particularly vivid. This dream could be an example of ESP (extrasensory perception). However, prudence dictates that there should be considered that the dream is simply a "wish" in dream psychology (Freudian) terms. Freud believed our dreams are more focused on our wants and grief when it relates to loved ones that have crossed over. 

Dreaming about loved ones dying

We are spiritual beings with a soul, we live in a physical body and we can discover that our connection of spirit can develop. The dream could have been to give you comfort, to provide spiritual awakening. To dream about a loved one dying can be a traumatic experience. It may leave you feeling drained or worried the next day, even worry about them if they are alive in waking life. 

Death from a psychological perspective of a loved one dying indicates that the mind is working. When we sleep we are still, and quiet and our mind works on overload. The dream could yield some disturbing images and the dream of someone dying is often seen as a negative dream, especially if it is a child or partner dying which can invoke feelings of fear that it might actually happen in real life. These dreams are rarely prophetic. If a dream is around the death of friends or relieves, it is not always welcomed and can result in a heavy burden.  

Dreaming of a deceased loved one holding a baby

When we dream of a deceased loved one holding a baby this has two messages. It can indicate that there is life and death. The dream itself is typically associated with connecting to our loved one through spiritual channels, it could be that the energy of the spirit was trying to let you know that through our own wisdom we uphold life on all worlds. If the deceased loved one was female then this could suggest fertility and also our soul's potential for it.

Dreaming of deceased loved one talking to you

It is very common in dreams to speak to a deceased loved one. By speaking to a deceased loved one in the dream it could be a way of our soul establishing its immortal without the necessity of life. This dream appears to have no negative meaning unless the details of the dream were frightening in nature. The dream itself could be giving you the permission to know that the loved one is still there for you. It is truly a powerful message. 

Dreaming of a deceased loved one that looks different or the same

If a dream is around the death of friends or relieves, it is not always welcomed and can result in a heavy burden. When we dream have a deceased loved one there appearance can take all forms and shapes within our dream. For example, they can look the same as ever, you can witness that radiant smile and perhaps they appear to be more youthful. Often, the appearance of the deceased loved one can be completely different from what they were like in real life. The visionary experience becomes established and you might be surprised to see them acting or seemingly different than they were in real life. The superpersonal authority in your dream can sometimes be presented exactly the same as they looked in waking life. The dream meaning does not differ in any way.

Dreaming of a recently deceased loved one

If you have recently lost a loved one and your dream of seeing them in your sleep is regarded as a common dream. It could be the prophetic apparitions that embrace our own consciousness and the unconscious ego and non-ego. From a spiritual perspective, there is a certainty of inner guidance when you dream of a loved just one after passing. Such a dream can be a visitation to let you know that they are safe and have crossed over. 

In our human nature, we want to feel the spirit is guiding us and pointing to the rootedness of our grief, to be there to tell us everything is going to work out fine. It is quite possible that you could have seen your loved one along with a guardian angel or another deceased loved one, psychologically speaking these dream visions can bring comfort. Although medicine pervades our lives, there is little known about the intimate final stages of death. When we have experienced the loss of a loved one it is natural to find this extremely challenging in the early stages. If you have had to undergo anticipatory grief to prepare for the final separation then dreams of this nature are common. Long drawn-out illness can often trigger such dreams. The truth is that grief, anger, and pain will have no limits. Perhaps you have been to church or a particular place of worship. You may ask where is God? Where is the purpose of life? Maybe you are angry or deeply hurt about the loss. We often assume that as loving, kind, and charitable people we do not deserve to lose a loved one. 

Conclusion of a dream of a deceased loved one

We are all left with the feeling that death is unfair in real life and our dreams can provide us with insight into the soul's spirit or help us deal with the grief. Dreams of a deceased loved one that has passed away recently are normally part of progressing and processing the loss, or it could be a visitation in the spiritual sense. 

After experiencing the loss of a loved one, you will be left with empty feelings and grief will enter your life on a deep level. It is important to understand that grief is not a sign of mental illness, deciding is normal after having such a great loss. Even after years have passed there may still be intense sadness about the loss of a loved one.  Perhaps you are wondering if you'll ever meet them again and this dream could be all about healing your psyche.