Dream to boss - You're not funny

Recurring dreams can be the most upsetting of all dreams.  We almost always wake from them confused and frustrated.  Why do I keep having this dream?!  The good news is that recurring dreams’ link to waking life is one of the clearest. 

Dear SMYD,

To keep things anonymous, I will only say that I am in a high-powered, high-profile career.  I have a lot of authority and a lot of responsibility.  It really is a great job that carries with it respect and a good paycheck.  I love the job and all the perks of being the one people look to for direction.  My words carry weight. 

But one thing I don’t like about the job is that I always have to say the right thing.  I can never relax and say what I’m really thinking.  I have to be politically correct all the time.  If I make a joke, people take it the wrong way.  I get complaints that almost always start with:  “A person in your position…”  I have been directed to apologize for things that should add levity.  So it is a stifling in that way. 

Anyway, I have had this dream many times over the years.  It varies in some details, but is without a doubt another version of the same dream, again and again:  I am dressed for work but I seem to be the mailman (I am NOT a mailman!).  I have only one letter, but for some reason, I cannot get it to the addressee.  No matter how many places I take it, no one wants it.  I am very frustrated by this, but I keep trying to deliver the letter.  I feel confused since it’s a perfectly good letter, nothing like the bill collector or the IRS.  I wake up lost and bewildered.

What do you make of this dream?

Signed,

Just Kidding

Dear Kidder,

Recurring dreams have a timing mechanism that is straightforward – they recur when the dreamer repeats a particular pattern of behavior.  Often the behavior is negative or self-defeating in some way.

One strategy for getting a clear understanding of the meaning of a recurring dream is to write it down when it happens.  Coupled with that, make note of the events of the day or days before the dream.  Chances are excellent that you will quickly recognize the pattern of your dream’s recurrence.

 

If you make a note of your dream the very next time you have it, it seems likely that you will see your dream of an undelivered message (the letter) recurs when you have some pent up humor that you must stifle at work. 

Clearly, your jokes do not belong in your serious, professional setting.  But you have a sense of humor that’s itching to get out.  Find an outlet for your humor, Dear Dreamer, before you crack wise one time too many!

Sweet Dreams to You!

SMYD

sendmeyourdreams@yahoo.com         

Dream Interpretation: Make the turn to get what you say you want

Pay attention to levels and directions in your dreams.  These will offer clues to your current status and the route your dream suggests for you.

Dear SMYD,

Background:  I gained a lot of weight while I lived a high stress life for more than 25years.  When I first retired and changed my life, I decided to go on a diet.  I lost 20lbs pretty fast.  But I have been stuck for over a year now.  I want to lose about 20 more pounds.  I use my Wii balance board every day.  I even tried “Losing it with Jillian” exercise DVD’s.  I track everything – minutes of activity, food eaten, calories burned – the works.  I feel like I’m doing everything right, but I just go up 2lbs and down 2lbs. 

In my dream I am driving my car in the dark and it comes to light that the car is overheated.  I am distressed by this and tell my passenger (don’t know who it is), "Oh no!  I've been driving it overheated for a long time."

Next I'm in the garage with Jillian Michaels!  I'm standing on my Wii balance board and there is a tow rope attached.  I'm up on some sort of platform.  There is snow on the floor of the garage.  We have devised some sort of game – the garage door will open and Jillian will tow me out on the board as though it were a ski.

But I’m not ready.  First off, I'm facing the wall of the garage and the door is perpendicular to me on my right.  And I'm on a raised platform.  So when she begins to tow me I will drop off the platform, have to make a right turn and then be towed out.  I tell her I'm not ready but the wheels are in motion.

What in the world does it mean?

Signed,   

                                                      

Yoyo Dieter

Dear Yoyo,

Driving in the dark is a metaphor for going about your business while uninformed or unaware of something important.  In your case, that something could be your ‘overheated engine’ during all those years of stressful living and working.  In essence, you were ‘in the dark’ as to the damage you might be doing to yourself.

The raised platform in your dream most likely refers to the weight loss plateau where you say you are stuck, at a higher point than you want to be.  Fitness guru Jillian Michaels is ready to tow you off, but it will require a radical turn from what you have been doing.  You say you ‘even tried’ her exercise DVD’s, which implies a short-lived or half-hearted effort.  Current wisdom says dieting and tracking calories is half the equation.  Exercise, represented by Jillian, is the other half of the tried-and-true formula. 

Twice in your dream you say you are not ready to make the turn and be pulled off the plateau.  Examine the truth of that statement Dear Dreamer.  What will it take for you to commit to a complete and proven weight loss program?

Sweet Dreams to You!

SMYD

sendmeyourdreams@yahoo.com       

Takes time to make up your mind

Unlike today's dreamer, these cows can't wait to get out to the next pasture.

Look for reversals or contradictory elements in your dreams.  They will show you the crux of the decision you are bound to make.  Today’s dreamer asks, “Should I stay or should I go?”

Dear SMYD,

Many of my friends and family members in my age group seem excited about the idea of retirement.  It has taken me a while to warm up to it.  I guess I have been a little anxious about what I would do or even who I would be if I’m not working any more.  I still plan to work a while longer, but over the past year or so, retirement has been more and more appealing, probably because things at work just are not what they used to be.  I keep it to myself, but my new boss is really just a jerk and the new direction for the company leaves me pretty dissatisfied and ready to take the retirement plunge.  I could be a positive influence, but I feel like no one wants to hear what I have to say.

I was thinking about this last night and then I had this dream:  I’m traveling with a group of people to China or Russia – a big foreign country – I feel like I’m defecting!  We have reached the border and are lined up to go through customs.  Each person ahead of me presents his documents to the agent and is cleared to pass through.  But when it comes to my turn, I don’t seem to have my passport or any other paperwork to satisfy the agent.  He blows his whistle and I am escorted to a holding area where I must wait.  This makes me frustrated and tired.  I want to go with my co-workers!

Signed,

Still Got Game

Dear Gamer,

Your dream has chosen a vast foreign country to represent your frame of mind about retirement.  It is the great unknown to you, as you said – Who will you be and what will you do when you enter that wide open expanse?  The feeling of defection in your dream mirrors the feelings you have about your long-time workplace – you could be, and still want to be helpful.  Therefore, you can’t help thinking of retirement as escaping under adverse circumstances – a coward’s way out from a fighter’s point of view.

Then comes the reversal, even though you feel a bit cowardly about leaving, when you find yourself blocked at the exit, you feel frustrated and angry.  Your peers get to go ahead of you!  Smooth sailing for them!  It’s just not fair!  You are escorted to a holding tank, a penalty box of sorts, where you must wait “a while longer” and watch until your time comes.

Your dream illustrates the dilemma you’re faced with, Dear Dreamer, a sort of damned-if-I-do, damned-if-I don’t predicament.  It’s a normal state of mind for someone like you who is making his peace with one phase of life before moving on to the next.  All in good time.

Sweet Dreams to You!

Dream Interpretation - Disaster is headed your way

Our dreams offer multiple layers of meaning.  Most of what they present comes in the form of metaphor, but we have countless examples of their predictive capacity as well.  Today’s dreamer may take advice from the literal and figurative interpretations of her dream.

Dear SMYD,

A while ago you really helped me figure out a dream I had about my grandmother and I really appreciated it.

I have had another disturbing dream and was wondering if you could help me out again?

My dream was:  My husband and I were riding his Harley.  It was on a busy highway, but I did not recognize the road, and we were going quite fast.  A car was approaching our side of the road, coming at us head on.  The bike began to 'shudder' and I knew we were about to crash.  I remember realizing I didn't have my protective leather jacket on and therefore I knew I was going to shred my arms to bits in the inevitable crash.  I knew that my husband knew what I was going to feel when we crashed and my arms were shredded.  I placed my arms around him and just kept repeating, “It's going to be alright, it's going to be alright.”

My daughter came into my bedroom two days later and told me she had a nightmare - that I had died (she didn't know how) but she was attending my funeral!

Can you please help decipher any of this?

Signed,

Hoping It Isn’t True

Dear Hoping,

Our dreams can be very unsettling!  Sorry you've had such a jarring dream to deal with, coupled with your daughter’s nightmare!

Your daughter's dream is most likely not a part of yours, but rather a metaphor for establishing her own identity.  Try not to worry too much about this.  But of course, wear your leather jacket and helmet if you go for a ride!

Your dream seems to be speaking about an endeavor you and your husband have embarked upon; represented by your motorcycle ride on a busy (business) road with which you are unfamiliar.  This venture requires dexterity and balance and is moving forward quickly.  It is risky; you can foresee a negative outcome; and you’re without your protective gear.  Your husband is at risk too, even though he seems unaware or unconcerned.

You can see that disaster is imminent - the car coming at you head-on.  Both you and your husband know that the very things that can protect you - your arms - will be shredded.  Yet you continue your forward motion with a vain effort to protect/console him and yourself, "It's going to be alright."

Perhaps this venture takes the waking form of a rush to an action or decision of some kind.  Sometimes such things move forward, even when both parties involved have reservations, because neither person is willing to speak out and change the course:  "If s/he thinks it's OK, then it must be OK."  Don’t wait to speak your mind, Dear Dreamer!

Sweet Dreams to You!