Craig was my best friend from high school until 15 years ago. I grew up and he didn't. We went our own ways. He didn't work, but he drank, took drugs, and abused his wife and family. He died three years ago from an abscessed tooth. Craig was very much a "Macho Man": the look, the talk.

In my dream, I was riding with Craig in his car on a snow-covered road in the mountains. The car went off the road and started sliding down the hillside. As it did, I jumped out the window and just stood there watching it fall. Craig was in the air falling backwards waving at me.

The next thing that I can remember was Craig and I sitting on a bench in a room. I said to him, "You tried to kill me. I overlooked it the first time, but I can't overlook it this time." He then started crying and crying. That was it.

—Phillip, Age 45, Orange, CA, USA

Hi Phillip—

Your dream shows that your good friend Craig still is on your mind -- even though you were forced to separate from him several years ago.

Cars in dreams are metaphors for the "direction we are headed" in our lives. Because you are a passenger in the car (Craig is driving) your dream shows that you were concerned about the influence Craig was having upon your life. The presence of snow and ice shows that you felt your friendship was on "slippery ground"-- in danger of sliding "out of control."

As this car heads for an accident, you are able to rescue yourself from it -- a dream reference to your decision, many years ago, to separate yourself from Craig. Had you stayed in close relationship with him, it is clear you feel his lifestyle would have "dragged you down." As this scene in the dream ends, you see Craig "falling backwards." In waking life, you also perceived that Craig was "falling behind" in his ability to assume responsibility in his life.

Your dream shows that you still care for your friend Craig, even though his refusal to "change direction" caused him to lose your friendship. Now that Craig is dead, it is normal to wonder if you could have done more to help him. Your separation from him many years ago was an attempt to let Craig know that he needed to "change his ways." Unfortunately, Craig never understood the message.