School Suggests a Life Lesson Is at Hand

Dear Cynthia: I find myself back in high school taking a science exam.

My teacher, a good-looking woman, is wearing a uniform. I cannot understand the questions and raise my hand for help. The teacher orders me to the office. On the way, I get lost and end up in some fields. I look down and my shoes are gone. Thousands of tiny spiders are crawling on me and I’m getting scared. I can’t find my way out and I begin kicking at the spiders. Next, I’m in jail for cruelty to animals; the jailer is my science teacher. I wake up feeling very nervous, with guilty feelings. What does it mean?

--B.W.

Dear Reader: Your dream includes a lot of strong symbols. Perhaps if we look at each of them and discuss the individual meanings, the overall message will become clear.

Any dream that takes place on campus suggests a life lesson or test is taking place in your life. Teachers are a symbol of authority; yours is attractive but she is also wearing military garb (a sign of rules and authority).

You are penalized for asking questions and sent in for discipline. Where in your life has doing the right thing, such as trying to understand something or asking for help, backfired?

Shoes protect our feet--which represent our foundation, what we stand for--and your shoes are missing. What you stand for may be unprotected.

Spiders are associated with the figures of mythology who weave the webs of human destiny. The thousands on your feet scare you. Do you feel as though you are caught in a web of someone else’s manipulation? Spiders could also represent facing your fears. Since you seem to get penalized for doing “right,” perhaps you are at a point in life where you are about to make a big decision or life change, and are battling within the self over right and wrong--thus the resulting apprehension.

When once again your behavior is misunderstood, you seem to go to jail for defending yourself. Who in authority doesn’t give you a chance? Does the teacher remind you of anyone in your waking state? Where do you feel trapped?

You wake with some guilty feelings; are these warranted? It would seem that you are feeling misunderstood and confined by someone who you find attractive but rigid or regimented.

Fax your dreams to Cynthia Richmond at (213) 237-0732 or e-mail them to in.your.dreams@worldnet.att.net. Please include your hometown and a daytime phone number. “In Your Dreams” appears every Tuesday and should be read for entertainment purposes only.