Merry Meet,

When I was in high school decades ago I used to have dreams about falling... and hitting bottom... then bouncing.  When I hit I felt a very uncomfortable sensation.  When I was having the dream and I began to fall and knew I would hit, I was fearful, tense, and apprehensive.  I think it modified to falling into water.  

But as kids, we used to say that if you fell in a dream and hit bottom, you would die.  Any thoughts?  I don't think I've died more than a couple times.  

Hallo, Brightwater!

Most of us have dreamed about falling. Together with flying, escaping, teeth falling, being naked in public, etc, it is one of the most basic human experiences, so some say it is a way of reliving the shock of birth (for some, it takes the form of squeezing through a very confined and dark space, quite an anguishing experience, I am told).

It is the falling sensation that we relieve, rather than the way we touch-down. What you have heard probably comes from the fact that most people are awakened by the falling sensation, so can never get to the end of the dream. If you fall and continue dreaming, you are maybe a little less impressionable than others, that is all. By the way, I used to touch down softly after a falling dream, and I am still around to tell you about it, so do not worry