Dream: I dreamed of my father’s funeral. As we were carrying him to the grave site, the coffin fell and he fell out of it, wearing the same jeans he always does and a shirt and tie. We rolled him over to put him back in the casket and once he was in, his eyes opened and he looked around as though to say “what am I doing in here?” but he never spoke. That’s when I woke up. My dad is 85 and still alive, although not in the greatest medical shape. I don’t know if I am suppose to prepare myself for something that I don’t want to happen. Please help if you can.
DreamsMaster: Yes, I believe this dream is indeed preparing you for something that you don’t want to happen. Your dad is aging, his health is failing, and death is imminent. Not necessarily in the next few days or weeks, but intuitively you know the day will come soon enough, and your innermost mind is preparing you for the inevitable. In fact, you have already begun the grief process.
Perhaps a friend of yours recently lost a parent. Or you may have seen a movie or read a story that involved death. There are numerous ways the outer world may have infiltrated your inner world and triggered thoughts of your own parent loss, resulting in this dream.
If your dad were young and in good health, then the dream would more likely symbolize your childhood image of him dying or becoming obsolete, representing a new level of maturity awakening within you. This level of symbolism may still be true, but based on the additional information you added about his age and health, the more literal interpretation in regards to mentally/emotionally preparing for the loss carries more weight.
In your dream your dad had the sense he didn’t belong in the coffin. This is likely your own rational mind recognizing he’s not dead yet, and perhaps even symbolic of your resistance to his dying. However, your intuition – what dreams are largely made of – is warning you that the time is drawing near. From my perspective, the takeaway message is to start preparing for the loss mentally and emotionally… first and foremost by taking advantage of the time you still have with him in the present.
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