OUR DREAMS ARE DIRECTLY RESPONSIVE to our waking thoughts and dilemmas. We can “incubate” a dream on a particular issue using a formal set of procedures. But often the incubation is taking place by virtue of our regular habits of thinking.

Today’s dreamer presents a case in point.

Dear Carolyn,

Every day I think about my weight problem. The problem is that I am stuck and can’t seem to lose a single pound without regaining it. I swear I watch what I eat and I walk a couple of times a week. I’m not expecting miracles, but nothing happens in spite of what I do.

Last night I dreamed about it:

I am in a large restaurant. Maybe there are 400 or 500 people seated at tables. It is a raucous scene in that they are all waiting for their meals or eating their meals and talking loudly. I enter and the restaurant is a few steps down so I have a clear view of the entire seating area. I have to find my own place to sit and have a meal. A waitress has directed me to do this. I see a single seat here and there.

I approach a table with a family. It has an empty seat and they invite me to sit down and join them. But I know I should not sit and eat.

In another restaurant scene, again I am looking for a seat in a place that is full. But ultimately the restaurant begins to thin out and I do find a seat and sit down to have my meal. But before I can get started a nerdy young man sits down uninvited and says he wants to interview me as I am the expert. This makes me laugh. I say, “Wait, what am I an expert in?” He says, “Dieting.”

Signed, Counting Calories

Dear Counting,

Agreed. Your Dreaming Self is most likely responding to your regular and repeated waking thoughts about your weight and dieting. And the second part of the dream states plainly that you are an expert in dieting, indicating that you already know what you need to know to achieve your goals.

Then your dream presents a blunt self-assessment: You find yourself overlooking a large, full restaurant. Consider this a view of your own body. It’s full, yet you are looking for a place to fit in another meal. Dear Dreamer, do you continue eating when you are already full or there is little space for more food? The 400 or 500 people in the restaurant may be a reference to the number of calories appropriate to any meal. Filling up every empty space works against you.

Finally, in your dream you say, “I know I should not sit and eat.” Time for honesty with yourself, Dear Dreamer: Are you truly and consistently following the tried-and-true methods for weight loss, or are you more like the people in your dream — waiting for your next meal, eating a meal while talking loudly about dieting?

Sweet Dreams to you!

Carolyn Plath, M.Ed., is a Benicia resident and member of the International Association for the Study of Dreams. Reach her at sendmeyourdreams@yahoo.com.

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