Dear Mo: I had a dream where my dog bit me. What is the universe trying to tell me?
Dear Mo:
I had a dream last night where my gentle, always loving dog, Harley, bit me hard on the finger, drawing blood. She has never even growled at me before this.
About last night, I should mention that I fell asleep in my recliner after drinking a couple of bourbons and re-watching the first season of Bosch, and also that in the dream I was pretty much in that same condition when Harley attacked.
Oh, on a side note, I feel like I have a book in me.
What is the universe trying to tell me?
Cindy in Altoona
Dear Cindy,
If you have followed this column for any time at all you know that my standard advice for getting rid of that “book feeling” is to lean way back in a comfy chair, drink a lot of whiskey, and binge watch serial detective fiction.
So kudos to you for reading my playbook!
But, of course, I am not the universe.
I am, likewise, not an interpreter of dreams, nor am I a pastry chef, but I can still bake a croissant in an emergency, so here goes.
For the purposes of this discussion, I’m going to assume that Harley is up to date on her immunizations, is not rabid, and therefore bit you for good reasons.
I am also going to assume, for the time being, that Harley represents you in your dream because, as you know, she just does.
You, dearest Cindy, bit yourself. In a dream.
Fascinating.
I find it telling that what you were doing in the dream at the time of your attack on yourself was essentially nothing, and I mean that in the meanest possibly way.
You admit to wanting to write a book, which is a common lay expression for the horrid “creative urge” and yet, both in your dreams and in your waking hours, you seem to be doing nothing about the urge.
I might suggest that you are hiding from your desire to create, what with the choice of strong beverage and the heavy TV viewing. You might even be running from that desire.
I am also sorry to inform you that the universe is not attempting to communicate with you. Not in this dream anyway.
No, this dream is about you having something to say to you about you.
And you probably know what that something is.
That whatever it is you are doing with your time and therefore your life, you should probably be up to something else.
That if your dog could talk, she would use her words and tell you to get out of the chair and do something about what’s eating at you from the inside.
That this “book feeling” is, in truth, the message from the universe that you seem to be waiting for.
To be honest, I don’t know what the recliner represents.
Sometimes a chair is just a chair.
But I do know, as a result of years of intense personal experimentation, that substances and entertainments are often substitutes for actually doing something with yourself, for yourself, for others, for the universe. These things look like action but they are the opposite.
I suspect that you are doing nothing about that book feeling except trying to dull it or shut it up for good.
The urge to do something creative with your life is a real thing and you should embrace it. Honor it.
The universe did put it there, that feeling, that burning, right there in your gut.
There is a book in there. Probably many books. One or more of them might even be good books.
I suspect that you are afraid to find out whether any of that is true.
That’s okay. We all are.
Do yourself a favor.
Take your dog’s advice.
Say “no” to yourself about some things. You know what they are.
Do something about that book. Make something. Start something.
Obviously, this creative urge is important to you down deep — important enough for your psyche to direct your dream/dog self to bite yourself in your sleep.
As for the universe, it’s not that the universe does not care. I happen to know that the universe is all in for you.
It’s just that the universe is leaving almost all of the big decisions up to you.
And there is this:
The universe does not know what it wants except that it wants you to act.
It seems that this is what you and Harley want as well.
I’m authorized by the universe to inform you that you have permission to act.
Go forth,
Mo
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Mo
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