Last night I was told in my dream that I was going to die, and it quite freaked me out. I had been sitting in this large room looking through my artwork, and thinking that some of them were actually better than I thought. When it came time to submit the art to my boss, though, I couldn't find it.

Then there were other people in the room as it was a public space. This black man started crying and telling this young girl next to me not to get in a car with flowers in it (meaning a hearse) because that car was meant for me, and that I was next to die.

I got upset and said, "Don't say that. I'm not going to die". He looked at me quizzically as if I was hiding some of my knowledge and said something like, "You know it's true. Can't you remember what you've been told in your contact with the other side?"

About myself. About a year ago I wrote to you and told you my dream about wanting to have sex with another woman in a hotel room. As that dream ended I was watching a huge tidal wave with my mother on New Year’s Eve. You told me the dream was about transition (New Year’s Eve), and my desire to explore my sexuality (the other woman), and my fears about confiding my desires to my mother (represented by the tidal wave).

Well, I am now in a relationship with another woman and have told my mother, who is very supportive. So you were right in your interpretation of that dream. I look forward to your interpretation of this one, which has me concerned!

—Vivian, Age 29, Single, Australia

Hi Vivian—

The metaphor of death appears in your dream as a symbol of change and transition. An earlier period of growth and development in your life is “passing away”—in preparation for a new beginning.

Given the background you provide, we know that you recently have made several large changes in your life. Your decision to begin a same-sex relationship is represented in your current dream as “contact with the other side”—you have chosen to switch to an alternative lifestyle. Not only did you succeed in creating a relationship with a new partner, you also received your mother’s blessing. You have done more than simply start a new relationship; you have begun a “brand new you.”

The artwork in your dream represents your creativity. In the dream you are pleased with your art, but when you go to turn it in to your boss, suddenly you are unprepared. This portion of your dream indicates that internally you are pleased with your personal growth and development. Being unprepared for your boss, however, suggests that you still hold concerns about approval of your actions from “external authorities.” In the context of the decisions you recently have made, do you sometimes feel that you are struggling to receive approval from members of your social milieu?

We always are spooked by dreams of death, because we fear they are precognitive. The message of your dream, however—like nearly all death dreams—is the opposite of its apparent meaning. Instead of foreshadowing the end of your life, this dream shows that a new chapter has only just begun. Congratulations on having the courage to follow your dreams.