I have a recurring dream that my mother had a lion in her bed wrapped up in a blanket! There were two holes in the blanket where I could see his eyes looking at me. When the lion started to get up, I started running! — Laura 43, St. Louis

Lauri: Your dream suggests you are keeping your inner power, your courage, represented by the lion, under wraps. Why is the lion in your mom’s bed, of all places? If you’re a mom—particularly a single mom—then you may need to go out on the prowl and get yourself a worthy man who would be a good father to your children. Or perhaps you need to have more courage in disciplining them. If this doesn’t seem to be the case, then in what way are you like your mom?

Laura replies: I am a single mom, but my daughter is 21. Going out on the prowl for a man makes sense! I feel that, like my mother, I am a weak person. She is very giving, always doing for others and not for herself.

Lauri: In that case, your dream is showing you that you need to get out of your mother’s comfort zone (symbolized by her bed) of being too nice and giving and awaken and uncover your inner lioness. It’s time to roar! When you do, the dream will stop.