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Special Dream – New Type of Dream Identified

What began from her own experience when her husband died, Luellen Hoffman a professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia began asking complete strangers around the country the unusual question, “Have you ever had someone close to you die and then appear to you in a special dream?”  

After her husband died in an accident in 1994 and appeared to her in a dream, she felt validated when her sister-in-law said she had a similar experience within the same week.  Hoffman said she needed to find some answers, so she started reading, looking for clues to help explain what she and her sister-in-law experienced.  Not finding any scientific information that addresses this particular type of dream, Hoffman was further surprised to discovered the topic has never been identified or even discussed until now.  In her research studies in both psychology and spiritualism, she found the material to be extremely limited in their scope because they only focused on interpreting or analyzing dreams.  She could not locate one piece of information on identifying or qualifying this specific type of dream that Hoffman identifies as a “Special Dream”.  

Several months into the project, she decided to take her research a step further to find out if the dream she had experienced was real or a fluke.  “The only way to find out was to reach out and ask other people directly if they ever had a special dream”, Hoffman said.  The most practical way to achieve this was to submit ads and create a title for the experience, to help clarify what she was talking about. The classified ads ran throughout the summer in small town community and ethnic newspapers across the nation under the title; Special Dream.  Contacting newspapers in Aurora, Martha’s Vineyard, Eugene, and dozens of other cities, the ads ran with one purpose of finding people who would share their stories.  

It wasn’t long before the responses came in, and each ad generally produced three or four responses. Immediately Hoffman noticed that almost everyone who responded was both anxious and cautious to share their story.  “I understand how they feel”, she says, “It’s a deeply personal experience when talking about a loved one who has died and it’s not easy to open up and share this kind of information with a stranger, even if it is viewed as just a dream.”

The research also unveiled that some people wanted to share their story but had mixed feelings and a difficult time opening up about it because there was an element of guilt or feelings of betrayal when a family member shares personal stories outside the family circle.  Some people worried their family members or friends would read what they had written and get upset with them later.  On the opposite side others were more open about their dreams and hungry to share their experience, even to the point of asking for a phone call as a way to connect with another human being who understood their experience.  One businessman explained how he had lost six good friends, when their small commuter plane went down outside of Washington, DC.  One of the six on the plane who died was a very close friend, more like a brother and his friend came back and appeared to him in a dream.  The man is convinced beyond a doubt that he had a special dream but is hesitant to share his story publicly. Sometimes it’s too soon after the death to talk about it, Hoffman notes, because this is an emotionally charged topic and even now people tell me they had tears rolling down their face as they wrote down from memory their story, which happen many years ago.

While the responses included men and women of all ages, races and religions across the country, the experience itself is always unique for each individual.  Hoffman’s research found that less then 3% of the population ever experience this type of dream and men actually experience it slightly more then women do.  The reason for that remains unclear, but Hoffman believes it is because of the strong bond men develop with each other during times of high stress, especially when serving in the military during times of war, where death comes at you suddenly.

Hoffman feels society misunderstands this type of dream because there is so little information about it and the fact that it is mysterious.  The research shows this type of dream usually happens only once in a lifetime, and plays a defining part in the healing process.  Some people have it but the majority of people do not, because the triggering factor remains a mystery.  If medicine could come up with a new drug that would help facilitate this type of dream experience to happen, I’m sure many grief stricken people would buy it today, so they could once again see and talk to their loved ones.  The people who do have a special dream never forget it because it is definitely not like an ordinary dream by any means.  Hoffman also stresses the fact that this dream experience is indeed a dream (where the deceased returns to visit the loved one while they are asleep) and is not an apparition, crossing over or near death phenomena.  While there is much more to learn about of this type of dream, one thing is for certain, no one has control over the design or nature of a special dream, it just happens naturally and if you ever have one you are very lucky indeed.  To find out if you have experienced a special dream, visit the special dream home page web site: www.specialdream.org

Luellen Hoffman
Adjunct Professor
George Mason University
2100 University Drive
Fairfax, Virginia 22030

703 / 272-8777

www.SPECIALDREAM.org

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