Dying in Dreams

[Ziltron]

This isn't so much a lucid dreaming question as a general one:

It's part of common folklore that if you have a falling dream, you always wake up before you hit the ground and die. Well, I recently had a dream where myself and some friends were free falling in an elevator shaft and I didn't wake up. In fact, it turned out that there were long spikes at the bottom of the elevator shaft that tore our bodies to shreds. I can still remember the feel of being impaled in a dozen places. Not pleasant.

So is the whole not-dying-in-dreams thing bunk? Also, can you die in a lucid dream, and if so are there any consequences?

Thanks,

Zil.

[Chris]

I've died in dreams many times and have woken-up to tell the tale. Some of the deaths still bring about sympathy pains when I think about them (such as one death being blasted in the hip from close range with a shotgun, thinking about it makes me wince a bit). An interesting dream I had years ago regarding dying and then being given the choice to be brought back to life. If I chose this, I became another character from the same dream. After a while I chose to die, and I found myself paralysed and looking at a beautiful mountain scene, it was dawn, so blue hued with a crystal clear lake reflecting everything. This scene remained until I forced myself to wake up.

[linksshadow]

I once had a dream where I died. I was standing on a balcony of a house when I was stabbed from behind at the base of my neck. Later after discussing the dream with Violetsky she pointed out that perhaps the stabbing at the base of my neck was symbolising a negligence of my physical body. The more I thought about it the more accurate that sounded as I had recently, within the last month, given up swimming which was my *only* physical activity I partaked in for many years. I had put on close to 12 pounds in that month and was eating very poorly.

So perhaps the forms of death we endure in our dreams are a way of telling us what parts of ourselves are "dying" or being left behind.

-Dan

[violetsky]

Dear Ziltron,

Dying in a lucid dream can represent the death of a particular aspect of yourself. This can be a good thing if it represents getting rid of a negative aspect to our personality. If you received multiple impalements it could represent getting rid of a very pervasive part of your personality. Have you been going through large life changes? Alternatively the sword is also a symbol of the spirit, power, and authority. Have you recently undergone radical changes in spiritual belief system or authorities in your life? Dreams are often difficult for others to interpret. It is easier for us to interpret our own dreams. The subtle (our not so subtle) feelings and details of the imagery make it easier to properly interpret.

Hugs and Best Wishes,
violetsky

[Ziltron]

Interesting thoughts on interpretation. I have felt more detached from my friends lately, and that may explain why they all died with me. In fact, one of them yelled at me for being a jerk right before we hit the spikes.

As for life changes, it was the first night I tried writing down my dream experiences. Add to that the energy work I've been doing (something completely new for a person from a Presbyterian background) and an upcoming year-long trip to a foreign country and you've got a lot of life changes ^_^

Thanks for the nudges in the right direction,

Zil

[astralspinner]

I once had a dream where I started out dead and was busily exploring the afterlife. Does that count?

[Ziltron]

In principle, sure ^_^

[oath]

i used to purposely kill myself in dreams when i was a child. somewhere around 5 years old. i did this when i couldnt simply will myself awake to go watch cartoons. i have never felt pain in any of my dreams but have woken up with bruises scratches sometimes even bleeding from dreams. and i am pretty much fearless and invincible always.

[Chris]

A question to ask yourself: If not waking before one hit the ground did cause physical death, how do we actually know this? (ie all who hit the ground would be dead.)

It's a myth. I have died many times in dreams and have always lived to tell the tale

[enoch]

I've never died in a dream but this topic stirred a past curiosity. I once dreamt of seeing somebody die. I was 12-ish and I'd never actually seen someone die in real life until I saw my grandad die a few years on. The experience of watching my grandad die (the physical process) matched that of my dream. Not to say that I had a premonition of my grandads death but more that I dreamt of how death would look, feel and sound before experiencing it in reality. I think that says alot about dreams!