Request To Set Things Right Laudable

Dear Nancy: I am a very active 72-year-old artist. My art isn’t the quality it used to be and that makes me very anxious. Commitments are very uncomfortable for me. I am living in HUD housing on a limited Social Security income.

At times this feels like a prison to me, thus my referral in the dream to “inmates.” - Jean

I am in an old station wagon with my 88-year-old friend, Martin, who lives in my building. Other neighbors, or “inmates,” pile into the car and I am feeling squeezed in, confined. Martin leans over and kisses me on the cheek. I tell everyone they have to pay for this ride, he’s not donating this for free. I ask Martin if they have paid. He says, “No.” I am upset because I feel they have taken advantage of him.

Dear Jean: Vehicles in dreams often picture how we are moving through life. This vehicle is an old station wagon which is much like one you used to own, so it may be depicting an old tendency or trait.

The fact that you are a passenger and not the driver suggests you may be letting other people control your life. It is much better to be in the driver’s seat where you can be in charge.

When we spoke on the phone, you mentioned that you feel many of your neighbors in your housing unit are very dependent, not just financially, but also on each other. Do you feel they are too dependent on you? Does this make you feel confined and “squeezed in?”

Are you concerned that your friend, Martin, is being taken advantage of in some way? How about yourself? Do you offer to give assistance and then feel overwhelmed and unappreciated?

Standing up for Martin and making sure everyone knew what was expected of them was a very positive stand. Setting your boundaries in this way might help free up your energy for more creative pursuits.

I wish you well, Jean.

Tips for readers: Most of us would like to be “enlightened” and go through life with more ease and knowledge. But what is enlightenment?

Dr. D.T. Suzuki, a Zen Buddhist, once said enlightenment is “habitual intuition.”

Exploring and cultivating our dream world can give us training and access to our intuitive natures. Everyone has the capacity to be highly intuitive. We need only listen to that “still, small voice” inside of us. When we hear it, it is like an opening up to perception or inspiration previously not seen. It is small but mighty in its capacity to guide and transform our lives.

When we develop our intuitive natures through dreamwork, we also are cultivating our intuition in regard to our outer lives. Our intuition can give us information to make the right choices throughout our life.

The value of this “habitual intuition” is that we become, as Dr. Suzuki says, enlightened.

This column is intended as entertainment. But psychologists who work with clients’ dreams say that dreams can hold a tremendous amount of significance; a particularly disturbing or repetitive dream may indicate the need to see a therapist.

, DataTimes MEMO: Nancy Huseby Bloom’s column appears on the IN Life people page on Thursdays. Bloom has studied dreams for 16 years. Dreams may be sent to her c/o The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615, or fax, (509) 459-5098. Please send a short summary of the circumstances in your life and include your name, address and phone number. Nancy conducts dream groups on a regular basis. For information, call 455-3450.