Dreams, Death, Dying and Beyond....

When working with terminally ill patients very early on in my professional career I noticed that they often had dreams with religious or spiritual imagery. Patients would tell me that they dreamt of Jesus coming to get them-lovingly taking him or her by the hand and the two of them walking away together. Another would recall the Buddha, smiling and giggling, telling him or her not to worry that he would soon be there. Still others dreamt of beautiful angels coming for them, or a God figure holding and rocking him or her, in peace and tranqility. The imagery appeared to the dreamer in the paradigm that they were most comfortable with in waking day. Though these are some of the hardest dreams to have, to hear, and to accept, they appear to be very much a part of the human experience. Most importantly, these dreams can be of great comfort to the dreamer, as they are often filled with peace and grace. These dreams can also be of great value to the dream worker, as they can help the dreamer go into the imagery and find the deepest longings, wishes, desires and meaning that can be linked to waking life. End of life issues can be difficult to accept but dreams and the inner life of the dreamer can certainly help with this process. By working with death imgery one can accept life more fully and hopefully find meaning in it in order to live every moment of every day to it's fullest.