Taking Wing Means Leaving All of That Heavy Baggage Behind

Dear Cynthia: In my dreams I am able to fly by holding my arms in exactly the right position. I fly around just over the treetops. I see grass, flowers, fences, rooftops, pets in yards--but no people. It is very liberating and extremely pleasant, not at all frightening. I hate to wake up! It is wonderfully exhilarating, and I wish it could continue--or be real.

LILA J. WATERS

Van Nuys

Dear Reader: Congratulations! You are enjoying one of the most commonly requested dreams. People ask me how to cultivate flying dreams.

Actually, dreams of flying can be either positive or negative. Yours is definitely a good one. The feeling of freedom, of rising above earthly concerns, certainly is exhilarating: Lighter than air, you are releasing yourself from the heaviness in your life. The fact that you don’t see other people simply means you don’t feel higher or better than others.

It’s interesting that to fly, you have to hold your arms “in exactly the right position.” Arms allow us to embrace and hold our desires. Your dream indicates that if you are not allowed to function as you believe is correct, your pleasure will be limited.

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Dear Cynthia: I am in the Himalayas, on the summit of K-2, the world’s second-highest mountain. Though I recall slipping on an icy rock, the free fall somehow has landed me on the peak. A hooded figure sits cross-legged on one side of the summit. “Can I help you?” asks a voice beneath the hood. “I didn’t know there were really gurus up here,” I reply. Pulled back, the hood reveals Alex Trebek! “Leave the mountain,” he says. “Return when your phrases are in the form of questions.”

R.V. BUTLER

Long Beach

Dear Reader: Your dream depicts your spiritual development. The “second-highest” mountain means that you are fairly evolved spiritually, but there is still room to grow. “Slipping on an icy rock” indicates that there is an emotional obstacle to further growth.

You land on your feet, safe at the top, so you are not far off track. Still, your surprise that a spiritual teacher is available to you, and the idea that this teacher turns out to be a game show host, indicate that you may consider yourself above the need for further serious instruction. You may think you already know it all. Not true. You should continue to seek answers from appropriate sources. It’s not insignificant that the game show host in your dream is Alex Trebek, who insists that his contestants ask questions. Keep asking questions.

Uh, I mean: What is spiritual enlightenment?

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Dear Cynthia: In my dream, I am lying in bed when suddenly there are black spiders all over my sheets and pillows. They start to crawl all over my body. I get so frightened that I throw off the covers and jump out of bed. Then I wake up and find that I actually have jumped out of bed and am standing there, searching for spiders. The funny thing is that in real life, I am not afraid of spiders or bugs.

KIM ISRAEL

Hidden Hills

Dear Reader: I once had this dream, and there was a spider in my bed. Something could be making you physically itch. But if that’s not the case . . .

Spiders in dreams indicate that something is bugging you. A spider spins a web, a sticky trap of manipulation. Dreaming of spiders means you are uncomfortable with the real-life “web” you have created (even though you’ve probably created it unconsciously. The spiders are black, which is symbolic of the unknown). Take an honest look at the controls, conditions and rules by which you run your life. Do you really want all those little flies you’ve attracted into your web?

Celebrity Dream of the Week: When I was younger, my family lived on a boat. In my recurring nightmare, I am about 4 years old, and my mom and older sister are unpacking the car, which is in our usual parking spot by the dock. I wander off a short distance to play in some dirt. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, huge white walls start to rise and enclose me. There is no ceiling, but the walls are at least 30 feet high and there is no way I could ever climb them. I am completely blocked off from my family. The last time I had this dream, a few years ago, rungs appeared in the walls, but as soon as I’d touch one, it would disappear. Then after a few seconds it would reappear. I had to work really fast to get out.

TARAN SMITH, 13, of TV’s “Home Improvement”

It’s not uncommon for kids to have anxiety dreams about getting separated from their families, but yours is different than most. Since you lived on the water, the dirt represents a solid foundation. The walls rising and separating you from your family are terrifying. But they are white (which represents truth, protection, purity and that which is known to the dreamer), and they are walls (which also represent protection). You are apart from your family, yet you are not in danger.

In the final occurrence of your dream, you struggled back to your family by thinking and acting fast. The rungs disappeared and reappeared quickly: Opportunity had to be acted on, or it would have been lost. So, at this point in your life, you know you can take care of yourself by relying on your intuition.