Weeds in My Garden

In a recent dream I noted that the rain had encouraged the weeds to come up in my garden. I had a conversation with the gardener asking him to pull the weeds rather than spray them with poison. Still in the dream, I realized that the garden was symbolic for the subconscious mind, what is under the surface or unconscious, and the weeds represent things that were unknown to me; becoming known, awareness. Not wanting to spray toxicity but instead to get a hold of the thoughts made good sense too. Realizing something like this while still in a dream state is called “Lucid Dreaming” and it can not only provide you with ways to control what is happening in a dream but can also allow you to let the dream still carry on while observing and understanding the meaning as it is happening.

In my dream I was excited at this new meaning and symbol. The language of dreams certainly isn’t fixed; it is constantly growing and expanding. Because of this, we should continually strive to increase our understanding of the symbols that show up and what they may represent.

In my case, the weeds are thoughts (perhaps negative ones) coming up around my approaching birthday, taking stock of where my life is and my expectations of where it should be. Those thoughts are weeds, meaning unwanted growth of dissatisfaction. Our subconscious minds are wonderful at offering us warnings and times to prepare us for what’s coming into our lives.

Since in my dream I talked with an expert, the gardener, I believe my subconscious was suggesting that I may want to talk with someone to help me pull out the negative thoughts from my mind and life. I am going to take that advice.

I encourage you to take a fresh look at your nightly dreams, searching for helpful guidance.

Until next time I wish you Sweet Dreams!

Cynthia

Spring has Sprung!

Most of the country is certainly grateful that warmer temperatures are coming after this particularly cold winter. In the language of dreams, seasons have meanings and can predict the timing of happenings in our lives.

Anything blooming represents new growth, the circle of life, anticipation of what’s to develop or manifest.  Spring is also when we see baby bunnies, chicks and other darling new life. These all represent new creative projects, beginnings, abundance, optimism and fertility.

If you are wondering when something will happen and you incubate a dream to inquire of your subconscious mind and the scene is set in Spring, you have a fairly good idea of when that raise or promotion is likely to happen, when is the best time to take that vacation you’ve been dreaming of, or any other matter of timing that you are concerned with.

Both Passover and Easter are celebrated in the Spring. Passover celebrates the liberation from slavery of the Jewish people in Egypt under Moses’s leadership. While Easter celebrates the leader of Christianity, Jesus the Christ’s liberation from death through resurrection. Symbols associated with these observed holy days are therefore associated with freedom and liberation, as well as new life.

Spring Cleaning implies that the dreamer is ready to, or would benefit from, cleaning out old ideas, outdated business practices in favor of newer more timely ones, or preparing him or herself for a new relationship by ending one that is no longer alive and vital. It might be time for a new job and the old must be released in order to make room!

As the days become warmer and longer I wish you every best wishes for your satisfying and helpful dreams.

Until next time, sweet dreams!

~Cynthia Richmond

What Are You “Buying Into"?

My dream last night kinda baffles me. Yes, even though I interpret dreams for a living (and have for more than 25 years), I can still be confused and conflicted at times, especially about my own dreams. It's hard to be objective sometimes when observing one’s own nocturnal dramas.

If you care to share your thoughts about this dream, I welcome them. Please post your thoughts and comments on my Facebook page.

Okay, so, in my dream I was shopping. I had a cart full of stuff, maybe more than one cart. As the checker was ringing up my selections, I suddenly realized that I had to pay for all of this stuff! My next thought was, is there enough money in my account to cover the price of all of this? The total came to something like $505.00. I was shocked. I said to the checker, “I am so sorry but I’ll have to put some of this back.”

In my waking life, the day before, I had been in the grocery store behind a woman who had to make decisions about what to not buy once she saw the total price of her purchase. I so strongly wanted to offer her a few dollars if that would help her. However, my inner voice kept asking me to restrain myself, so as not to embarrass the woman.  As it turned out, she was shopping for a neighbor and had added a few things that she thought the woman would enjoy. She, was not willing to kick in a few bucks to cover the cost herself. It was all a bit confusing to me at the time, but my subconscious mind had captured all of it!

Everything you experience becomes fair fodder for your subconscious mind to pull into your dream state, especially fresh things with your current feelings and reactions. That is why I prefer not to watch violent movies, but we can discuss that another time.

Back to my dream, I started looking at the items on the sales counter; much of it was Christmas decoration. In waking life, after a couple of months of arduous debate within my own mind, I have decided to give up a bunch of my 20 boxes of Christmas décor. I love the holidays and love to add cheerful elements to every room of my home. However having moved many times, stored things, no kids at home, no grandchildren on the horizon…it seems ridiculous to continue to cart around this much stuff. I have made the decision, recently to donate and throw away a lot of sparkly red and green stuff.

So! My dream was showing me buying, or wanting to buy stuff I no longer actually want. One item was a nice black turtleneck sweater. Which is what helped me remember the dream, when I went to get dressed this cold, drizzly morning. I remembered the dream while looking for something warm and comfy to wear.

The appropriate question to ask myself is: where in my life am I still buying stuff, or buying into thoughts I no longer want? Wow! Buying seems to me to immediately translate to beliefs. What we “buy into”… beliefs are thoughts that we repeat until they become our truth.

Sometimes they are “programmed” from our family. For instance my dad, who I adored, and still do, (he transitioned in 2011) told me at a very young age that there was no musical talent in our family. I have no idea why my dad said that. Maybe it was because he wasn’t particularly interested in music. Maybe he saw a musician’s life as a difficult one…yet I took it to heart. As an adult I finally took singing lessons and enjoyed that experience very much.

I concluded that my dream was reminding me that I do not have to accept, or buy into, anything I no longer need or want.  But I will still recognize what I do want and need.

I will take this advice into my waking life. I hope it will be helpful to you as well.

Until next time, I wish you Sweet Dreams,

Cynthia

Dream Job? Not So Much!

Last night I dreamed I had applied for a job from a newspaper ad. I got the job and my sister came along with me to help me locate the “Title Company” office on Main Street in Placerville, CA; a quaint town I lived in more than 10 years ago.

The name of the company included the word Moss as a last name. I walked in and introduced myself. A nice looking man welcomed me. I asked, “May I use the restroom?” He said, “Well, uh, that’s part of why we hired you, it needs to be cleaned. You look very nice.” His tone was apologetic. I was wearing a black skirt, black, tights and high heels and a blouse. In the dream I remember thinking I was dressed for success, New York City style. He showed me the restroom and the cleaning supplies and I started scrubbing the sink. I wasn’t upset, but I thought, “huh, I thought I was going to be doing desk work. What does this job pay anyway?”

In waking life I am self-employed, not looking for a job. I have never worked in a title company nor do I know exactly what they do. I am, however, writing a new book and considering titles. I am also going through some transitions in my personal life that are similar to some I went through 10 years ago. In the language of dreams, time can be very specific as a way to remind us of something we have dealt with before, just so we don’t make the same mistake again.

The other day a client said, “I don’t let moss grow under my feet.” That is the first thing I thought of when I remembered the name Moss from my dream. Meaning that she is constantly moving, involved in interesting projects. Restrooms are where we let go of what we no longer need and clean up; something that I am literally doing at this time in my home. Placerville is about as opposite to NYC as it could be. I’ve lived in both places and love them both but they represent two different lifestyles to me. In the dream, I am dressed for a fast paced, sophisticated lifestyle, where things can change in a New York minute! However I am in a laid back, country town where things tend to happen slowly. This also reflects a decision that I am considering in my personal life.

Not knowing what the exact job description was and what I would be paid was a suggestion from my subconscious mind to get all of the details before making a decision; there could be hidden things that would definitely help me decide one way or the other.

As a natural optimist, I sometimes see what I want to see and trust that it will all work out. And, sometimes that bites me in the butt! I appreciate the gentle warning this dream provides and will be looking closer at my options. It may have saved me some big and expensive upsets.

I hope this helps you to understand the process of analyzing your nightly, nocturnal dramas, they can offer valuable insight and guidance.

Until next time, all my best wishes for your…
Sweet Dreams,
⁓ Cynthia

Dream Warning?

Good Morning Cynthia,
   I had a dream last night that was very unusual for me and I was wondering if you could give me some insight about it?

  Here it goes: my mother and I were very close. She passed in 2011. I've had some instances (and one very powerful dream) in which I know she is with me in a very loving way. My half sister (we had the same mom) quit talking to me right after my mom passed. Last night I dreamed that both of them had their backs to me.

They both appeared separately in my dream. My sister was very vivid. Her hair was pretty, and she had on a pretty light blue dress with big white flowers in the pattern. My mom was further away; I couldn't tell what she had on, but, again, she had her back to me. I had a dream a few years ago about my sister where she was at a long table with other relatives that had passed including my mom. Everyone was talking and having a good time but my sister never spoke. No one looked at me in that dream except my sister. Later, I found out that she had cancer. I just had to ask you about this.
Thank you in advance.
~B.T.

Hi B.T.,
  Given your previous experience with a dream and then a cancer diagnosis for your sister, I understand the urgency of your feelings. Some dreamers do have repeated symbols that always mean the same thing. One dreamer, for example, told me that she dreams about earthworms the night before an earthquake.

  It's human nature to wonder if your dream means that your sister is going to transition soon. The answer to that question cannot be gleaned from this dream. However, it has been my experience that, at times, we are given a warning dream to somehow lessen the blow when something devastating happens. If you've wanted to reach out to your sister and try to mend the communication, it would seem that now would be a good time. I hasten to add that many dreamers have shared dreams in which they see departed loved ones (sometimes communicating with them, sometimes not) and nothing catastrophic happens. Your subconscious mind may just be prompting you to take action.

Until next time, I wish you Sweet Dreams!
~Cynthia

Recurring Dreams

Have you ever had the same or a very similar dream more than once? Turns out most of us have. Recurring dreams have two purposes;

1. Either your subconscious mind or “dream muse” is delivering a message that you have (up till now) not interpreted or understood, so it keeps sending this message because it is important,
2. Or you are back in a situation that you've been in before and your subconscious mind is wanting to remind you, so you don't repeat a mistake or challenge that you've already checked off your list of life assignments!

Another version of the recurring dream is when we repeatedly dream about the same theme or symbol. Many years ago I went through a period of several months when I had recurring bathroom dreams. I devoted a chapter in my book, Dream Power: How to Use Your Night Dreams to Change Your Life, to bathroom dreams.

Bathrooms are where we purge ourselves of what is no longer needed. We have digested the nutrients and need to release the waste. Or cleanse ourselves. These dreams can show up in so many forms. For example, you are trying to locate a bathroom in a shopping mall and think you have finally found one, only to realize that the room you found is just a dressing room with no toilet. Or the toilet has no walls and no privacy, or it is filthy, or it is a floor-sink, third-world type, primitive toilet and you have to get naked to use it. In my case, I understood that I needed to let go of a relationship that was no longer bringing out the best in either of us.

Another time in my life I had a series of hat dreams. I knew I was carrying a heavy load of responsibility at the time, lots of jobs and additional, important duties. I was playing many roles or wearing many hats.

If you are experiencing a recurring dream and do not understand the meaning, ask yourself: 

1. What is it that I do not want to acknowledge? Or...
2. What pattern is showing up again in my life? Or...
3. Simply interpret the dream according to your association with each symbol and then tincture out the possible meanings until there is a feeling of recognition?

Bottom line, recurring dreams are important. They are a gentle nudge to pay attention and learn so you can save yourself from undergoing unnecessary stress and trouble.

Until next time,

All my best wishes for your Sweet Dreams,

Cynthia

A Spider is In-Love with Me!

A reader recently asked me about this interesting spider dream.

Dear Cynthia,

I have a question about a dream that I have. I looked online but I can't find the answer. A spider attached itself to me. Every time the owner took the spider away the spider would spin a web, come back to me and land on my head. It did not attack me or anything like that. It was just in-love with me, I guess. What does that really mean?

~Shawanda Harris

Dear Shawanda,

I am so curious to know if you have an admirer who is possibly married, engaged “belongs to” or is otherwise committed to someone else, yet they keep flirting or want to come back to you?

In the language of dreams, a spider can represent manipulation because they weave their beautiful webs to catch their prey, their food. Poisonous spiders can represent toxic relationships, but in yours dream the spider just goes for your head. It's as if someone keeps wanting you to think of them, remember them, and so on.

If this does not apply, ask yourself: Do I feel manipulated by anyone, or, am I manipulating someone? A parent or friend may be trying to impose their agenda into your life. Or, you may be overly controlling to someone else.

If you fear spiders in your waking life, they can represent fear to you. Ask yourself: What condition, situation or person am I afraid of and what can I do to reassure or protect myself.

Additionally, if you are a collector of spiders, study or adore them, they could represent those activities and/or feelings as well.

Shawanda, please let me know if this is helpful.

Until next time, all my best wishes for your Sweet Dreams!

Cynthia