Dr. Joshua Black will never forget the first dream he had about his father shortly after he passed. In it, his dad stood on the other side of the room, looking healthy and peaceful. Dr. Black called out to his father, “I love you. I’m going to miss you.”
Dr. Black isn’t alone in his experience. His study published in the journal Dreaming found that 86 percent of participants dreamed of loved ones after they’d recently passed.
For Dr. Black, this first dream was followed by a series of vivid dreams of his father. They affected him so deeply that they inspired him to pursue a Ph.D. in such dreams, which he calls grief dreams. He’s gone on to become one of the foremost experts in this emerging field.
We sat down with him to learn more about the psychology behind these powerful dreams and what the experiences mean for the dreamer.
What are the characteristics of a grief dream?
A grief dream is any kind of dream you’ve had after the loss of a loved one. It can be a symbolic dream reflecting your emotions surrounding the loss. For example, you’re feeling overwhelmed by grief, so you dream something collapses on you, reflecting that crushing feeling. Or, it can be a dream in which the deceased is mentioned, perhaps by an angel or a hospital worker. Or you can dream that the deceased is present—this type of dream interests people the most, and it’s where I’ve focused a lot of my academic research.
What forms do the grief dreams in which the deceased are present commonly take?
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June/July 2020 من Mysterious Ways.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June/July 2020 من Mysterious Ways.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Ivy Dishes
“My mom found a house for us to look at,” said my fiancé, Jon. “It’s in Richfield, not far from where I grew up.”
The Duet
“Can you perform a hymn for us next week?” my pastor asked me after Sunday service.
The Girl in the Dream
Was this a church? The high, vaulted ceilings made it seem like one—almost but not exactly.
News From Around Our Wonderful World
Liverpool, England Joanne Carr is hailing her son, Dougie McInerney, as her guardian angel.
A Light in the Blizzard
I stepped on the gas and shifted into drive, then reverse, then back into drive again.
Straight From the Fish's Mouth
Florence, Italy. I’d been there before on one of those scruffy five-dollar-a-day youth-hostel jaunts through Europe, but now, just graduated from college, I was wondering what to do with my life.
Divine Callings
Have you ever felt called to a purpose?
Dad's Voice
As I reached to turn off the lamp on my bedside table, my eyes fell on the card my brother Isaac had given each of us siblings on what would have been Dad’s sixty-eighth birthday.
Ben's Answer
It was midafternoon, and I was already curled up on the couch in the living room with no plans to move.
A Doll's Hat
My fears around the surgery built all day.... God, please let me be as strong as my young patients are.
