What do the dreams of the deceased mean? Are they actually messages from the spirit world or just a product of our subconsciousness?

Two years ago, something terrible happened in our family – my grandfather had a stroke. He fell into a coma and eventually died two days later. This profoundly shocked all of us not only because grandpa was deeply loved and respected by everybody who had the luck to know him but also because we couldn’t imagine that he would go so early and so suddenly.

Shortly after this tragic event, I started to have weird dreams. I was seeing myself visiting my grandpa at his home and feeling quite confused – I was simultaneously glad that he was there again and puzzled trying to understand how it was possible.

In my dreams, he never said a word and replied to my questions about him being there with an enigmatic smile.

My view of what happens after death

These dreams were so regular that I began to wonder whether this might be my grandpa’s soul trying to communicate. If I was a religious person, I would certainly believe that it was so. But I don’t really agree with the views on soul and afterlife as promoted by most of the world religions.

I tend to think that human consciousness – everything that makes us who we are, including our thoughts, memories, and beliefs – is a kind of energy that leaves the body at the moment of death and gets dispersed in the surrounding environment. This basically means that a person’s energy can exist literally everywhere for some time after death and eventually finds itself becoming part of another, newborn creature.

You may think that this sounds quite similar to the known theory of reincarnation; however, the difference is that, in my opinion, it’s not the same soul that makes its journey through ages, traveling from one body to another, but rather a composition of different people’s energies that carries the experiences of multiple lives and individuals.

Moreover, I believe that it’s not only human energy that makes up each person’s consciousness but that all living beings on our planet participate in this eternal cycle of energy exchange. That’s why after death, a person’s soul returns to its starting point and becomes part of the environment again in order to reborn in a new body, saturated by the energies of the Mother Earth and other living creatures.

But let’s go back to the dreams of the deceased.

I wondered whether my grandfather was trying to send me a message or at least to say that he was fine and happy wherever he was.

I supposed that shortly after death, a soul might be in an intermediate state, unable to have the same strong bond with its body and the material world as before but capable of interacting with the living ones. Those who happen to have lost someone will agree that it’s much more comforting to think that your dear one continues to exist somewhere else, far from here, than to think that they have gone forever.

Analysis of the dreams of the deceased

However, after some time, when I began to get used to the fact of my grandpa’s death, I got a chance to look at those dreams in a more rational way. I realized that there was the same pattern in all of them – my grandpa being silent and me having confused feelings.

Yes, unfortunately, it was purely the work of the subconscious mind and had nothing to do with the afterlife. During the last years of my grandfather’s life, I didn’t visit him often and thus found it even more difficult to accept his death than those who were next to him till his last minute.

I refused to believe that the next time I would visit my grandparents’ home, my grandpa wouldn’t be there, and my subconscious mind was trying to show me this confrontation between my expectations (grandfather being there) and the reality (my confusion).

So, if you have recurring dreams of the deceased too, first of all, analyze the content of your dreams and try to find similar patterns in events, surroundings, and your feelings. I know that the idea that your deceased friend or family member is trying to communicate with you may be exciting, but in most cases, it’s the work of your subconscious and not a message from the other side.

It is always hard to accept a less attractive truth, especially in the beginning when the pain of loss is still intense, but it’s necessary to let go of the past and find the courage to go on.

If you have had a similar experience, please share your thoughts in the comments below.


Copyright © 2012-2024 Learning Mind. All rights reserved. For permission to reprint, contact us.

power of misfits book banner mobile

Like what you are reading? Subscribe to our newsletter to make sure you don’t miss new thought-provoking articles!

This Post Has 170 Comments

  1. Brenda

    It’s been 28 years since I lost my father, last night I had a dream that was as vivid as looking at someone today, we were waiting for a Christmas parade to come down our street (which it has never done before) He said let’s go in the house and wait. My large window that I have in my family room which faces my backyard was now in my front of my house facing the street, and a mattress as long as the window was there in front of it he laid down on one end and I was on the other with my granddaughter who all of a sudden appeared and my youngest grandson walked in as well. That was the point I was woken up to not finish the dream.I’m just not sure what that dream was meant to convey to me, I have had dreams that were more like memories to me but this one was strange

  2. Paula Preti

    My mom passed away Nov 2018 having lived with me and my husband for 18 years. I dreamt last night she and my son, as a small child, were drowning in what I assume an ocean as there were huge waves. I swam out to them and she gave me my son. We swam to a dock. Handed my son to stranger to hold and looked for my mom and she was gone. She never spoke to me.

  3. Shanta Grover

    I had a dream that me and my recently deceased mother was in a car together first i was driving then she was driving but she wouldnt hig the brakes i guess i was so shocked my mother was there i was trying to either get a pucture or record her but for some reason my phone woukdnt go to camersw when she seen what i was trying to do she said dont record her or take her picture it was so real

  4. Charlene Emery

    I dream mostly every night. When I dream of my parents my father usually doesn’t talk but my mother does. In my dream I am always looking for them because they are going somewhere and I want to go with them. They always tell me know. They tell my sister she can go with them but they never allow me. My sister usually doesn’t go with them either but I am always crying because they won’t let me go. My father he will be dead for 30 yrs. and my mom gone for 9 yrs. I see uncles and aunts also.

  5. Rhonda Clark

    My deceased mother came to me in a dream the floors were white the furniture’s were white the walls were all clear glass she was wearing all white her hair is beautiful her makeup she look young and healthy she hugged me tell me she love me and wanted me to know the cancer did not take her it was her heart we walked and held hands I remember waking up crying and it felt real I had another dream where she and two other people were in a bedroom hanging out and talking and I walked in and I was like oh my God you’re alive and I ran to her and she fell back on one of the beds I was hugging her and kissing her just couldn’t believe it she’s pushing me away looking at me like I’m crazy and so was the other people something screamed real loud in the front of my face and I woke up

  6. Nola Warmate

    I have had 3 out of body experiences. Now my Dr. wants me to have a sleep study. The most visual experience is my now deceased fiance witnessed me speaking while I was transistioned to Heaven and met Christ. I went through a cloud and suddenly in His presence at his feet. I shouted out Wow! at the radiance of Heaven and felt I should say something more spiritual than Wow, so I said Halleuijah! Then Christ spoke and said this is the Third Heaven.

  7. Jaianna Grant

    My 13-year-old son was shot in the head at a sleepover on May 4th, 2019 and pronounced brain dead 2 days later. Today actually marks 1 year and 1 month since the shooting. A few nights ago, I dreamt of him for the first time since he has been gone. In my dream, we were at the Huck’s in our hometown. We were standing at the fountain machine getting Mountain Dews and kind of horsing around. He looked just a little younger than he did at the time of his death, but I knew in the dream that he was dead. I asked him if he knew what happened to him like I was asking about the weather.. he said “yea, mom, but I’m good.” He stabbed his straw into the lid, gave me a grin, and walked away. And I was fine with it. I was at ease. I wasn’t frantically trying to continue talking to him. I didn’t cry or scream. I didn’t chase after him, desperate to hold him. I just felt comforted. I heard his voice. I looked in his beautiful eyes and saw his smile. I got to touch his gorgeous curly red hair. I want this to have been a visit from him, but I am also a skeptic and it could have simply just been a dream about my sweet boy. Any thoughts?

  8. Tonya

    Both my mother and step-father (divorced a long time ago, yet remained best of friends have past away. My step-father around 10 years ago, and my mother suddenly passed Jan 30, 2020. My 92 year old grandmother is still alive and Ive been the one taking care of her the best I can as she lives in another state. BOTH my parents come to me together in reoccurring dreams where they have something to show me, yet they wont show me. One says “we need to show her” the other says “No not yet” and it goes back and forth between them. I am at a loss as to what they are trying to tell me. Its driving me mad.

  9. ally

    my grandfather passed away about 5 months ago and I have had a dream of him last night for the first time. I had friends over at my house and we were having a good time. A voice called out from the other room saying “can I come out now?” and I said no but one of my friends replied yes. My grandfather came walking into the kitchen that we were in and he appeared much younger and healthy than when he had passed. I began to yell at him to leave continually in a strong voice. Can someone help me understand what this means it has been stuck on my mind all day?

Leave a Reply