Have you experienced a dream where a lost loved one visits you and is alive? It can be the most exciting, and confusing, dream to have.

You may have thought you would never see them again, and there they are, as real as they ever were, but in your dreams.

It is easy to forget the sound of their voice, the way they moved or even their scent, but all of this can become so clear in a dream.

It could give you that little reminder you needed to keep their memory alive.

But what if it is more than just a dream?

What if a lost loved one visiting you in your sleep is actually more meaningful than you first thought?

Many people write these dreams off as just that, thinking that it was caused by something reminding them of their loved one during the day or as a result of their grief or longing.

Sometimes though these dreams can be more upsetting than happy. It might be a dream where your lost loved one is in distress, crying out for your help.

There is nothing worse than waking up feeling helpless, even if it was just a dream.

That is why it is important to understand that these dreams can actually contact spirits, and they might hold some very important messages that you need to pay attention to.

In fact, I keep my favorite dream dictionary next to my bed, so that when I wake up I can immediately look up the dream and what it meant. I find that if I don’t have a resource like this right next to my bed, I’m never going to remember it by the time I think to look it up later.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking it is just a vivid imagination or a way to visualize your grief.

There might be a message you need to receive or an unfinished task you need to help a loved one complete.

Pay attention and try and figure out exactly what these dreams or visions might mean for you.

What These Dreams May Mean

It might be startling to start dreaming about a lost loved one. These dreams can seem so real, so vivid.

The realness of these dreams is often the reason people believe that there must be meaning behind it.

When you start having these dreams, or even if it is a once off event, you might wonder why it is happening.

There must be more meaning to it, and sometimes with a meaningless death, we need to seek closure. Often, life is taken suddenly.

There are no final words or time to close up unfinished business. This leaves many questions unanswered, and many wounds unhealed.

Longing – One of the biggest reasons spirits visit lost loved ones in dreams is because they can feel the desperation and longing.

There is so much sadness in death, and often we aren’t given the opportunity to say goodbye.  Your last words to your loved one may have been harsh. This regret, guilt, and desperation radiate off you, especially when you sleep.

You are vulnerable, and this vulnerability attracts the spirit. They thrive off of emotion, and they feel your desperation deeply.

Just because they have passed, it does not mean they do not feel.

Just as sudden and as dramatic that their death was for you, it would be the same for them.

They left behind everything they knew, everyone they loved. They would be grieving their own loss the same way you grieve theirs.

However, they can pick up on your longing more than you can pick up on theirs.

They may feel that appearing to you in a dream might be what you need to gain some closure or to say the final goodbye.

That last appearance could offer up answers you have been seeking, as well as give them the closure to move on as well.

It can be a little bit tough to interpret dreams, whether it’s about a dead relative, or anything else. It’s especially hard if you’re doing it hours or days later.

So, I can’t stress how much better I felt sleeping with this dream dictionary next to me, so that when I wake up in the morning I can immediately look up my dream and get some answers.

Ignoring other signs – Spirits communicate using many different methods. They could send you different feelings, move things around in the room or make certain sounds.

There are certain people out there who pick up easily on these signs and are able to interpret them.

Most of us though often put these signs down to coincidence or just ordinary noise around us. 

We very often ignore the messages and signals being sent by spirits. Some of us are completely shut off to receiving these messages.

This can be really frustrating for them, and they have to find a way to get through to us. Take a look at my guide on signs a ghost may be in your room for more on this. 

This desperation to reach us despite all their other methods is a reason why they appear to us in dreams.

It could be the best way to get our attention. It is direct and it is clear. They can appear to us as they were before they died and verbalize their concerns or messages.

Sometimes they don’t actually speak, instead, they send symbols and signs that we can interpret as messages or answers to question we have been seeking.

They have our full attention in our dreams, unlike the busy days where we are so focused on everything else.

Other Reasons

Sometimes these dreams might not be spiritual at all. We are human and we are complicated.

There are various other reasons that we might dream of loved ones who we have lost. Our minds are so powerful, and our emotions can be such a magnificent force as well.

We can dream up things on our own and sometimes our desire and wants to see our loved ones again can materialize as you seeing them in a dream.

Your mind most probably thinks that the best way to deal with your grief is to present you with the one thing that can bring you comfort.

Every person grieves differently. While there are stages of grief, we all express the emotions and stages in our own way.

Some people shut the feelings out and others embrace them to the fullest.

Our minds and our hearts seek meaning from a seemingly meaningless loss.

We try and fill the void in whatever way we can, and sometimes our mind takes it upon itself to help us get over our loss and feeling of despair and grief.

There are certain ways this can happen.

Not being able to move on

It might seem like you may never be able to move on after a severe loss.

There is a complete void left when someone you love is gone, and it is a void that will never be filled again.

What you have to do is learn to live with the loss, but in the early stages of grief, you might feel completely hopeless.

A reason that you might be dreaming of your lost loved one is alive is because your subconscious hasn’t fully registered that they are gone.

Your subconscious will still project the feeling of your loved one being alive, of you being able to see them again.

Sometimes this can be a real help when you try and get over the loss. Seeing them in your dreams, even just for a few seconds, can give you the comfort that nothing else can.

Just that momentary ability to speak to them or just hear their voice can give you the extra little bit of strength to get up in the morning and carry on.

While it may not be the spirit actually making contact with you, your mind is just looking to give you comfort at the time when you need it the most.

Superstition

There are many different theories as to why people dream of dead relatives being alive.

Much of it is rooted in superstition, and that is largely based on the culture that superstition falls into.

Many believe that seeing a dead relative in your dream is a positive sign

. It is a good indicator that something happy, such as a marriage or wedding is going to happen within the family.

Another superstition or theory is that a dead relative visiting you in your dream means that there is going to be a baby born into the family.

It signifies rebirth and the creation of life.

What better way to convey this than by a lost loved one passing this message on?

A pagan belief was that you needed to follow the instructions from passed relatives.

Not doing so would anger the Gods or any other higher power you believed in.

Many African cultures believe that their ancestors watch over them and protect them, and are messengers for the higher powers.

Often seeing a lost loved one, or an ancestor, in a dream, is a sign that the dreamer needs to take on a more active role spiritually.

It is considered a blessing to be visited by an ancestor.

Take comfort

Whether it be an actual spirit contacting you, or just your mind trying to calm you and put your grief at ease, you should take comfort in seeing a lost loved one in your dreams.

Use it as an opportunity to seek closure and to possibly have some questions answered.

Being able to hear their voice one more time, to feel their touch or smell their scent, could be the best gift you could be given, even if it is just in a dream.