Dig Your Way Out From Under That Mountain of Responsibilities

Dear Cynthia: I have been having a bad dream lately: In it, I am buried alive. Can you give me an explanation for this awful dream?

WARNER SHAFTON

via fax

Dear Warner: Often our subconscious mind will use a common phrase or slang term to illustrate the message of our dream. At this time of year, many probably feel buried alive. Buried in credit card debt, in responsibility, social obligation and even in family!

You are alive and able to realize that you are buried, which means that you can do something about it. Begin digging out by limiting your daily schedule. Prioritize the invitations you receive and don’t try to do everything. If you are feeling the financial pinch, create a realistic plan for paying off debts that make you feel trapped.

Regain a feeling of control by managing your resources instead of letting guilt make decisions for you.

*

Dear Cynthia: I have a recurring dream of a world invasion by flying saucers. There are usually one or two foreboding saucers that I notice, and I begin to become fearful. Then hundreds fly very low overhead. Others do not seem as concerned about this as I am. Often we are enjoying a day at the beach. But I know that it means the end of the world, that all we have known is over. My sense of panic is overwhelming, and I wake up feeling upset and frightened.

SHELLEY

Studio City

Dear Shelley: I have read many similar versions of this dream in the three years that I have been writing this column. In the language of dreams, the air represents thoughts and the ground is solid fact. Your world is being invaded by foreign or alien thoughts. One or two big concerns and many other little worries fill your mind. The beach is the border between the solid ground, that which you know for sure, and the water representing emotions and the unconscious. You sense change coming and that frightens you. But life is always changing, and the best way to avoid panic is to embrace it. Look for the positive side and move on.

Here’s wishing each of you a Happy New Year.

--CYNTHIA

*

Cynthia Richmond is the author of “Dream Power: How to Use Your Night Dreams to Change Your Life” (Simon & Schuster). Fax your dreams to Cynthia Richmond at (818) 783-3267 or e-mail 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.