My Dad died suddenly in 1993. I have a much-younger half-brother,and my Dad had put aside a sum of money for him,and also wanted his home and belongings sold and divided between the two of us.Unfortunately,my Father had put a lot of the money in a cd in my brother's name,and when Dad died,Eric legally was entitled to it.His mother (he was 16 at the time) used this money in an attempt to grab the estate for herself,to delay sale of the property,and in every way to fight me as executor,and to stymie the distribution of the estate.Eventually,I turned the balance of his trust fund over to him(her) rather than see it consumed by legal battles.

On the day the estate finally closed,I went to bed in pain and sorrow,not so much because my brother's future was now in jeopardy,but because I felt I'd failed my Dad in his last request.That night,Dad came to me in a dream. He walked into the room,wearing the pajamas I'd seen him in often,and stood by the bed.It was not frightening,and his appearance to me was not even surprising.I tried to explain what had happened, to tell him how sorry I was. He smiled at me,and said "I know all about it,and I'm proud of you.You did the best you could do.None of the rest matters." He smiled again and was gone.The next day I felt that a huge burden had been lifted from me.

Do I think I was visited by my Father's ghost? I'm not sure. But I do think that the world of dream is just that...another realm of being,a realm where we can experience terror or pure joy,live out fantasies,and perhaps reach out and touch those who have left us.Dreams seem to have their own continuity. I visit places in dreams that I have visited repeatedly before. I could not describe them to you now,but in my dream the feeling is "ah! I'm here again!" Symbols, too, recur.When I am approaching a large life-changing event (leaving a job,moving,the breakup of a relationship), that Change Dream is centered around a tornado - a very real-seeming,irresistable and frightening force. I am somehow swept up in the action of the dream,but simultaaneously aware that I am being given important information.

A very interesting topic...