I died last night

Last night I had the strangest dream I've ever had. I'd heard many times that if you dream that you die that you may actually die.
Last night I dreamed that I died. Not close to, but actually died. It was not from a third person perspective. It was a first person (from my own eyes) experience.
The details of how I "died" are not important. The reason I'm posting here is because something DID happen. When the "moment" happened, suddenly an all encompassing blackness occurred. Yes we all have a blackness when we sleep, but this was so different. It was like everything shut off. I don't know how else to describe it. Complete and utter blackness and silence. I thought I knew what blackness and silence was when I slept, but trust me, it is nothing like this. I never ever realized it before, but when I sleep, it's similar to being in a dark room after your eyes adjust and you can make out objects in the dark. Dark, but not complete. Same with sound. I never realized it before, but I must be aware of outside sounds when I sleep. Because when this happened, the silence was overwhelming.
Then something happened. It was lightning quick - like a flashbulb going off. A dark object, which was grey - it was dark and had no shape, but it was lighter than the darkness surrounding it shocked my brain. I don't know if I heard it, saw it, felt it - I just don't know - but I distinctly remember that it was so very important that I move my toes. I literally can't describe it. I must move my toes.
Then the greyness of normal sleep enveloped me, then I awoke, and my toes were indeed moving. The whole experience may have lasted less than a second, or an hour. I have no way of telling.
I don't really remember many of my dreams, in fact I remember practically none of them, but this is one that has left an indellible mark on my brain. It may indeed be the strangest thing that has ever happened to me.
Look, I'm pretty much the class clown, and I'm pretty grounded. I have no complaints in my life, but I feel an inner peace that I haven't felt before.
What the heck happened?

I am moved by your post, it is possible that you went into a Theta state during your sleep. Alpha Beta Theta. In this state you can actually become consciously in touch with your subconscious awareness. As for the death and dying part, it is a great sign of courage, and of letting go of the old and becoming open to the new. Evolution.

I had a serious motorbike accident many years ago and was knocked unconscious.

I was later told by a witness that I was "out" for about 2-3 minutes.

All I can say is during that time it was a total void. Complete 'nothingness'.

sanc

Originally posted by lombozo
I have no complaints in my life, but I feel an inner peace that I haven't felt before.
What the heck happened?

I sure have no idea what happened. Theories aplenty, but none any better than what you're probably already contemplating.
But I'd definitely roll with the inner peace thing as long as I could. Don't poke at it too hard, it might go away. Then you can analyze it.

You didn't die, just experience a new state of mind while sleeping, do not get scare because is going to happen now very often, just let go with the flow and its more that you are going to discover, that peacefulness is enough to want to stay in that state and never wake up, but if you are not ready for death yet you will not die. . .

Believe me I have been through all kind of things that will be considered weird and inexplicable.

Just last week, as I was getting ready to sleep when a door opened where my window is, a women voice said to me "is over . . . time to go . . . lets go." I jump on the bed and said " I am not ready yet and I am not going anywhere", my husband grab me and asked me what is wrong!!!!!!, I didn't want to scare him, so I said, I had a dream . . .but wait until morning . . . then I will tell you.

I could not sleep all night because the door was still there all night.

Weird . . . perhaps for many . . . but for me, is just another of my very often episodes with life after death.

Lombozo, I had similar experiences back when I was SNIP. One time I fell asleep (so I thought) and when I opened my eyes I was apparently two inches from the ceiling, floating there. All of a sudden I shot upward and into the blackness you describe. I had no mouth to scream with, couldn't see anything, and was panicked because I "knew" I was dying. With a superhuman effort of will I forced myself back into my body. Or at least that's what it seemed to be.

Other times I woke up, and could not move my body. At all. I struggled to make some noise so that the people near me in the squat could hear, but could not. I couldn't turn my head, lift an arm, scream or anything. The best I could manage was a squeak. At the same time, I was having hallucinations -- the most memorable was during the time I was house sitting for someone. She had this mummified cat in the kitchen as a piece of art. On the table next to me was a vase full of chrysanthemums.

When my eyes opened, I could "hear" the cat moving around the kitchen and I was terrified. I was looking right at the mums and they all had evil little faces and fangs, and were leaning over to drink my blood. I willed myself to close my eyes, and eventually I managed to and went right back to sleep.

These incidents are explained by a phenomenon known as sleep paralysis. You can read about it here.

This is why people believe in alien abduction and they used to believe in incubi/succubi. Essentially you wake up while you're dreaming. Your mind is still in a dream state so your body is locked down and unable to move, which is normal during REM sleep. But you are also conscious and it can be quite confusing.

SNIP But there are other reasons it happens, nutrient imbalances, stress, etc.

I read about it in Omni Magazine after I got off the streets, wrote the doctor in the article, and he sent me a 26 page paper on his theories that fit what happened to me to a "T".

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[edit on 2-5-2007 by sanctum]

Fascinating! I've never died in a dream, but have wanted to. I have terrible nightmares. Was the blackness peacefull? Did you experience any anxiety? Were you rested when you woke up, of more tired than when you went to sleep? Did you feel like you learned something when you woke up?

I have done everything in dreams you can do.
Live, die, be superman (really), met the devil or a demon for sure...and angels
for those who are interested the three brain waves mentioned, going from slowest to fastest is Delta, Theta, Alpha and are all present individually at different corresponding stages of sleep.
Beta is only observed on EEG when awake

[edit on 2-5-2007 by junglelord]

Originally posted by lombozo
Last night I had the strangest dream I've ever had. I'd heard many times that if you dream that you die that you may actually die.
Last night I dreamed that I died. Not close to, but actually died. It was not from a third person perspective. It was a first person (from my own eyes) experience.

Now you know that the saying is not just true.
Interesting is, that it seems that most people have a hard time to 'die' in a dream and are unable also when they try hard for the shake of exepriement. They eighter awake or pass off before it happens. Depending on someones view point of the nature of life,reality and dream and own's 'dream' experiences dieing in a dream can become a valid option. For me dieing within a dream became an accepted option at a time and so I passed that point. However what happens then, what you will meet and how it continues, I believe depends strongly on someones expectations and believes.


[edit on 2-5-2007 by g210b]

i do not have an explaination either, but...
the mysterious/mystical/etherical event you had
was most likely similar to past 'anomalies' others have had.

i imagine, mystics or meditators would say you 'seen' nothingness,
or absolute nihlism...maybe in the carnal minds room next to Nirvana

in a philosophical sense, perhaps your Spirit self (if it existes)
is giving your intellect glimpses of the unknown so as to motivate
your intellect to explore more & deeper & more profound themes...??

depending on one's passions & belief frameworks,
your inner vision is completely open to interpetation by others & yourself.
it only means something if You make it have a meaning



imo


any brain wave state as others mentioned, can be trained to occur thru bio-feedback (techniques and electronic devices)...
so that maybe you can recapture that 'scene' and go beyond in the 'narriative' that we all seem to have

[edit on 2-5-2007 by St Udio]

I died in my sleep also, i dreamed i was shot in the head. I saw a flash heard a whistle type noise and could actually hear myself make a death moan HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW.

Then i woke up, but i must say it disturbed me greatly.



[edit on 2-5-2007 by h3akalee]

I had a death dream. It seemed so real that I didnt realize I was dreaming. Nothing out of the odd happened or a weird feeling. It was as 'real' as waking reality. Make a long story short, I arrived home after work and after pulling in the drive I got out of the car only to be shot. I heard shots and seen flashes. I felt the bullets hits me hard and knocking me backwards onto the ground. I felt like I was really dying 'letting go'. I felt the wetness and warmness of blood. Then slowly I awoke in the pitch back, it took me a few minutes to realize I was dreaming. Never had a dream like that before or after since.

Ive never died in a dream but i did make mymind go "crazy" for lack of a better term, i was in a dream and some how relised i was in a dream and then i said "this is a dream" my mind went ape, i shot fomr one place to another and another and another and when i woke up i had fallen on the floor and it hadnt woke me, my mind just lost it, i guess the mind needs dreams to relax. Ive only ever been able to say "this is a dream" once properly, does any one else know when they are dreaming ?

Originally posted by Vixion
Ive only ever been able to say "this is a dream" once properly, does any one else know when they are dreaming ?

Yes, you're referring to "lucid dreaming". In addition to Googling up that term, you might try some of the threads here that have been tagged as "lucid dreaming" threads-

www.abovetopsecret.com...

And, no I've never been able to do it on command.

I've had death dreams over the years. One recurring one involves me being a teenaged girl in the Revolutionary War, and I'm shot by a British soldier as I try to run. It's very vivid, and in my dream, my consciousness leaves my body and flies away toward the sky.

I've had others that were scary, and yes I've had the "blackness" one.

Originally posted by Byrd
I've had death dreams over the years. One recurring one involves me being a teenaged girl in the Revolutionary War,

That sounds like past lives to me, is not unusual to have dejavu about places and also dreams of another times and places.

I am aware of many of my past lives as back as the biblical times, middle ages, nazi germany and as recently as how I die before this life, by drowning as a child, actually more like somebody dump me in the water and let me drown.

In this life I have never been able to learn how to swim.

Well death dreams must be common then. I had a fantastic dream/expericence some years ago which left me quite profoundly shaken for a long time afterwards.
I dreamt i died and i could see myself floating up above the graveyard. next i was in "heaven". Saw a bunch of guys sat around a long table and i was invited over to join them. it turned out to be the disciples and with them was Christ/God, although i never got to see Him i was very much aware of who it was ! Anyhow we ate and drank and shared some laughs . Then God said it was time for me to go back and i did not want to but he said i had to too. I had a feeling of overwhelming sadness and next thing i knew i woke up very much alive and well. It was either an intensely powerful lucid dream or the real deal. Who knows? Had other dreams too of being taken for a ride on an ailen ship, flown to a planet and told i was their ruler!. But i suspect that was a dream nothing more, but again a very powerful one !!! Nice trip though !!!

Wirral Bagpuss

I had many of those, but instead of a table I am surrounded by spheres of pure incredible bright light in a room that white will not be enough to describe it, while the spheres of light are not very happy with me in their mist is a voice of authority that always takes over them.

I am always send back to my body because I am not supposed to be in that place yet.

But I always manage to get there during my astral travels.

Through my experiences I have learned that the black void is not death but just part of the trip we take while outside of our bodies.

I have learned that just letting go of oneself during this experiences brings a great amount of learning and discovery.

I don't know if this helps but...
About a year or so ago I was just about falling asleep when all of a sudden, in my head, I heard a great "BANG" (like metal on metal), felt like I was being crushed (no pain though) and thought I was dead. This all happened in a fraction of a second and then was over. I woke up and felt like I had escaped death. This happened twice within a month or so and hasn't since.

I have also died several times in dreams, and in several different ways. The worst was being ejected from a vehicle in an accident.

Originally posted by antar
I am moved by your post, it is possible that you went into a Theta state during your sleep. Alpha Beta Theta. In this state you can actually become consciously in touch with your subconscious awareness.

You do not have a theta stage of sleep, you do have a stages 1-4 and REM sleep. When you dream you are in the stage of REM, this is the only stage in which you have true story like dreams. The only exception to this are the hypnagogic hallucinations that can be experienced in stage one sleep and night terrors which are experienced in stages 3 or 4 delta wave sleep. Now you can have Theta waves in stage one sleep and you might have a hypnagogic hallucination during this time. But a hypnagogic hallucination is not the same thing as a dream, and neither is a Night Terror.