Daily Dream DecoderDeath

Death can appear indreams in many forms ranging from the near-death experience to wish-fulfillmentprojected on others. It may seem to be terrifying, or almost joyful in itssense of power.

The near-death experiencecan be either a psychological phenomenon or a physical one. The physicalphenomenon comes from lucid dreaming in a nightmare condition. You may becomeaware of the body paralysis of the REM state and feel powerless to defendyourself in the dream. This can create an overwhelming sense of vulnerabilityto the threatening circumstances of the dream and a near-death experience.

The psychologicalfacet is part and parcel of feeling endangered by your circumstances. Thisdanger may be tangible or merely sensed in the dream. If it is tangible, thesource of the danger is the area for interpretive work (whom, why, how, andwhat has endangered your life?). If the danger is merely sensed, it maysymbolize ambivalence concerning a soul's transition int o facets ofself-awareness you may not want to completely embrace.

There is also aspiritual near-death experience. People who participate in actively seekingout-of-body experiences in dreaming may feel themselves unable to, or preventedfrom, returning to the body. These dreams are powerful images of how we sensethe cosmos or spiritual realities impacting upon our lives.

Was the death asudden deprivation of life or a release from the struggles of it? Moreover, asyou became aware of dying, was it threatening or peaceable?

Death of self,loved one, or stranger. Dying in a dream is not too unusual, though if ithappened with regularity our waking lives would probably begin to feel a littleunstable. Often, derealization (see movies) accompanies death so your dream cancontinue with your observation. Otherwise, death is the wake-up point.

To die yourself isvery troubling. Most people have not invested much emotional energy inpreparation for death a nd feel that death is a strong enemy to be avoided.Being confronted with death is a place that is uncomfortable. By the way, howdid you die in your dream and do you assign responsibility to anyone for yourdeath? These are important questions.

The death of aloved one may be the result of numerous factors. You may feel genuine anxietyfor that person's well-being. The death may be more symbolic than that as youstruggle with the reality of your love for that person as weighed againstrepressed anger towards them. Finally, it may herald the passing of therelationship if the loved one is romantic and not familial in connection.

The death of astranger can be the development or transition of different aspects of the self.Consequently, it is often useful to decide how you knew the stranger andwhether you seemed deeply moved or only casually concerned with the death. Itmay be that the randomness of life in the central concern. In this case,looking at who else i n the dream is concerned with the stranger's death andyour connection to the fellow mourners is important. The death of a strangermay symbolize stereotypes that need to be rethought or explored as a means to agreater self-understanding. Are you being confronted with situations where yourattitudes about others are being challenged?