My 6 year old dreamed last night that he fell,

[GoddessOfGuinness]

then everything went white, then suddenly he was in heaven. Heaven looked a lot like Maryland; but his nephew Zachary was there, so he knew it was heaven.

Now I'm a firm believer in letting my children discover their own spirituality without getting in there and mucking things up. So I've been very careful, when he asks about god and heaven to qualify my explanations with "some people believe", and I always mention that some people don't believe anything at all, and that's perfectly ok.
I did tell him though, that if there is a heaven, Zachary is most assuredly there, along with many other dear ones.

I find it interesting, and a little scary, that he had this dream. I hope it isn't prophetic...:scared:

[neuvocat]

1. Maybe it was just a dream.

Although I can certainly understand the concerns.

[benburch]

2. Falling dreams are often taken as a sign or astral projection.

Which would make sense in this case.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

7. I used to have falling dreams all the time

but my favorites were the flying dreams... :)

[Yavin4]

3. Wait A Minute...Heaven Looks Like MD?

Wow. Heaven must have some bad traffic then.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

8. LOL

I never take my son on the Beltway unless it's an emergency. :hi:

[kanrok]

33. Yeah, but awesome crab cakes!

[A HERETIC I AM]

4. Tell him in his dreams, he can fly......

and go anywhere he wants. Anywhere.

When i was little, i had falling dreams too but once someone told me to just fly i started to! Fall off a cliff? No prob. Stick your arms out and fly like a bird. Worked for me.

PS He can fly through heaven too, if he wants.

[KittyWampus]

15. A Very Sensible, Practical & Refreshing Post

Thanks for the smile :)

[GoddessOfGuinness]

21. That's a sweet thought...

In my falling dreams I always kicked and woke up.

[A HERETIC I AM]

30. When i fell in my dreams i too would wake up from fear......

but the idea that i could fly took all that fear away. I even remember the feeling in my tummy....you know....when you go over a nice little hill in the road or down a roller coaster, but when i started to fly, i just sort of looked forward to it.

If the youngster in the OP is concerned about his friend (I presume he knows someone who died? Or perhaps he saw a living person in his dream of heaven) simple suggestions like telling him he can fly can be very powerful. He might only be afraid of what he doesnt know about or perhaps he is beginning to contemplate his own mortality. I think we all realize at some point when we are young that we wont live forever. I know i did. It was when my Grandmother died. I was 4 or so and bawled like a...well..like a 4 year old!

He should know that he has nothing to fear from his dreams. And the power he posesses in his mind can allow him to do many wonderful things.

Including flying through heaven.

Fly little man. Fly to your hearts content.

[alphafemale]

35. I was rcently told this is called "Lucid Dreaming"

It is fun isn't it? More fun than flying even is being able to grow enormously and stomping whatever horrible monster scares you...

:D

[Nikia]

5. I've dreamed that I've died several times in dreams

Some of those dreams happened a long time ago and I still write. My uncle, father, and grandmother also had frequent death dreams in their childhood and early adulthood. It doesn't have to be prophetic. If he does get those dreams frequently though, you might want to ask him more about his concerns about death.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

10. We talk about it a lot lately...

I think it's suddenly dawned on him that his nephew, who died of SIDS when my son was not quite 5, is really no longer of this earth.

[4_Legs_Good]

6. It sounds like a very nice dream...

My 3 year old dreamed, soon after we got home with his baby brother, that we had put him in the oven. He woke up in hysterics.

Now that, is a vision I hope he forgets. Gawd, how awful. I'd take any heaven dream over that!

:)

david

[GoddessOfGuinness]

12. Oh my gosh!

Poor kid!

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

19. My guess

Somebody blurted out a tasteless joke in his presence and he took it seriously (toddlers take EVERYTHING seriously).

[ismnotwasm]

9. My grandson came back from kindergarten

With stories about the devil, and hell, biblical in nature. He picked it up from some other kids in school. It was a very difficult topic to work through, since I wanted to tell him there is no such thing, but I wanted him to respect others beliefs. He was frightened, and seemed to believe the devil had a lot of power over just about everything. So I used cartoon analgies,-- he likes power rangers, where the good guys always win. Anyway, he had some dreams also, but I knew the source, so it was maybe a little easier to work with than your situation.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

22. I don't mind if he knows what different people believe...

In fact, I like the fact that he's exposed to a lot of different philosophies. I'm intrigued by the fact that he's interested in different ideas and is starting to formulate his own set of beliefs.

I think his character will be much stronger if he doesn't feel bound to believe what I believe.

[ismnotwasm]

28. Right on

I believe we find our spiritual paths when we're allowed to.

[tigereye]

34. some friends of mine

whose kids attend a Christian school had to go through the same thing.
Don't know why religious schools often manage to scare kids with stuff that is out of their range of comprehension. ( I went to Cath. school by the way, and it seems to be that developmental awareness of kids, their cognitive skills and their fears is way off the radar... :eyes:

[enigami]

11. Very normal dream

has anyone here not had a dream where they fell?

[GoddessOfGuinness]

14. I had falling dreams, but never ones where I died...

[AlienGirl]

18. I dreamed I died quite often as a kid

The most interesting dream to me was one where I died and there was an orientation period in the afterlife, where you lived in a copy of your childhood home until you got used to the differences. In that dream I kept forgetting how I died, so I opened a window in the floor and watched myself die through the window...I saw myself very old, in a bathroom with exposed pipes, and I had a stroke, fell, and died.

(I'm not counting dreams about my death in what seem to be my previous lives.)

Tucker

[enigami]

26. I never died in my dreams

what does that mean?

[GoddessOfGuinness]

31. I guess technically, he didn't in his dream...

Come to think of it, he simply said he fell into heaven. Maybe it was an astral projection...

[KittyWampus]

13. Chidren Are In A State Of Grace... Meaning, They Haven't Seperated

from the Primal Unity yet. So for kids, this is just normal.

It's almost a shame we grow up and forget how to use our imagination and lose touch with our inborn spirituality.

I say almost because it seems Life needs for us to "fall from Grace" so we can find our own way back when we're ready.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

17. Back and beyond...

Every soul crisis I've had has led to a more profound sense of my spirituality. I believe it's human nature to question our beliefs (or lack of them) time and time again, to strengthen our convictions.

[KittyWampus]

29. Yes, It's Like Building Muscle & Muscle Memory.

:)

[YellowRubberDuckie]

16. Don't be scared...

Maybe he does believe in heaven, and that's perfectly ok. Just becaue he believes in it doesn't mean he's going to become a fundy and want to crawl up Dubya's butt. You're his mom. I'm not worried at all about him. It's probably comforting to know that the people he cared about who are dead live in a paradise now that is happy and painless. And kids know stuff we don't. Just let him be who he is.
Duckie

[GoddessOfGuinness]

20. Oh I'm not worried about what he believes...

Whatever he chooses will be best for him...and that includes the fundy freakazoid route if that's what he :puke: chooses.

I was scared by the thought that he might really fall and die...

[YellowRubberDuckie]

24. Naw. I have dreams like that all the time.

He's ok. He will be ok.
Duckie

[Coyote_Bandit]

23. More than likely

he is still working through the death of his nephew. Kids often lack the context and experience to understand and process such loss. In many ways the death of a sibling or friend can be more devastating to them than the loss of a parent or caregiver. Why? Because someone just lilke them died.

I lost my younger sister just after I turned four. Forty years later my understanding of death, and heaven and angels remains profoundly influenced by that experience.

If this continues to be an issue, you may want to consider reading about childhood bereavement or getting him some counseling.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

25. I think it was therapeutic for him...

When he told me about it, he didn't seem at all disturbed. If anything, the dream helped comfort him.

The only thing he was really aware of at the funeral was that everyone was so sad. He kept giving everyone hugs to try to cheer them up. He really was very brave, and only broke down when his dad started to cry.

[GreenPartyVoter]

27. I had an out of body experience. Maybe he had one too. It's ok, you know

Kids are so much more in touch with this stuff than adults. If he's all right with it and wasn't scared I say be glad he had that experience. :)

[caty]

32. Check out

http://www.freakydreams.com/freaky.htm

[GoddessOfGuinness]

36. What a fun site!

Thanks! :yourock: