Dear David,

If you are in the process of making a huge change in your life, it may help if you get seriously frightened in your dreams. A nightmare might signal a danger to you in waking life to which you are not paying sufficient attention.

Hana's Dream

Hana was on a strict diet, giving up sugars and starches. Not only had she lost weight, but aches, pains and headaches had disappeared. She felt great about herself. After 10 days on the diet she had the following dream:

I dream that someone offers me a potato chip. I eat it and realize that I have ruined my perfect record. I am beside myself with dismay.

This dream was a strong warning, reminding Hana how important her health was and how ill she would be if she failed. It is far better to experience failing in a dream than to actually fail in waking life.

Sylvia's Dream

I dream that I am driving a car and I lose control. A man stands in the road. He has two bottles of beer. He puts one down in the road in front of me. I have to swerve the car to avoid it. I nearly hit the bottle.

Sylvia was most aware of how frightening it had been to be out of control of the car. I heard the phrase "I nearly hit the bottle" and repeated it Only when that phrase was reflected back to her did Sylvia catch the reference. She had recently restarted Alcoholics Anonymous, but it was hard going. The dream gave her positive reinforcement, acknowledging that although things got out of control, she didn’t "hit the bottle." It was also a warning that she has to be careful in the future.

Gabriel's Dream

This dream inspired the dreamer to break a serious drinking problem.

I dream that my father is in the room with me. Nothing happens but he says, "Stop drinking!"

Gabriel's father had passed away earlier that year.

Gabe already knew that he drank too much. He didn't need anyone to tell him. Yet, his dream-father saying the same thing everyone had been telling him for several years made a profound difference and inspired him to stop drinking.

Is Yours a Good Nightmare?

In "bad" nightmares, the traditional horror-movie type, the threat is external. Someone or something is out to get you. You are a victim. In a "good" nightmare, you are horrified instead by your own assessment of yourself.

You can also ask yourself if the nightmare is a realistic description of a possible future event. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come visits Ebenezer Scrooge, in Charles Dickens' novel A Christmas Carol. Scrooge sees his life as it will be if he does not change.

Some dreams are clearly like that. They act out the fear that you will fail. They describe a possible future (perhaps only hours away) in order, so to speak, that it can be avoided. In dream language they are saying, "You don't realize how seriously you need to take this."

If you need clarity, you may have to tell the dream to someone and have it reflected back to you—like Hana--in order to hear the message.

Conclusion

If you are struggling with a personal issue in your waking life, it will likely be an issue in your dream life.

If your nightmare is a wake-up call, take the dream seriously. It shows you how badly you will feel about yourself if you fail in waking life. A good nightmare might also show you that you are ignoring or downplaying a difficulty in your waking life. The message arrives in nightmare form to make sure you are paying attention.

A "good" nightmare is a hopeful dream. In the dreams, the dreamer is not victimized but takes responsibility. She is within reaching distance of her goal. Therefore, she is very close, in waking life, to taking control and succeeding.

DIAL-IN DREAM GROUPS

Whether you live far away or close by, a phone group allows you to get a sense of dream work in a very convenient way. With this new work, I hope to communicate the pleasure and the excitement of dream work to many people.

• Day: Monday February 19th
• Time: 5pm-6pm Pacific Daylight Time
• Dial-in Number: 620-782-2200
• Access Code: 707172#