MYSTIC MONA: Of Work and Weight

Hoping to widen a career and narrow a waistline

Mona










THE DREAM ZONE



with Lauri Quinn Loewenberg



Dear Dream Zone,


I have a recurring dream of being robbed. My wedding ring and purse are taken by a gangsta-type teenager.




Lisa, 35



Lauri: Robbery dreams often occur as we begin to heal from an emotional upheaval, such as the loss of a job, loved one or even some physical ability. Something's been taken from you unfairly, and you're having a hard time getting over it, which is why this dream keeps coming back. The items that were stolen in your dream give us a clue as to the source. The wedding ring may point to your marriage or perhaps even a commitment or promise you had made to yourself or to someone else. Your purse is your identity. Do you feel you've lost sight of your goals? Perhaps you feel you aren't getting credit you deserve. Is someone overlooking your value? You are priceless, girlfriend! Once you start acting that way, everyone around you will realize it.



Lisa replies: Your interpretation fits. I've been married for two years and love my husband dearly. We have my son from my previous marriage and a daughter together. We often argue about how to raise the children, and these dreams occur around these times. I appreciate your words of encouragement. I have a fulfilling career as a social worker. However, at home, I do feel like I've lost sight of my goals and that my value is overlooked. This analysis has helped me to understand the situation better.



Dream fact of the week: Elephants sleep standing up, but lie down when they enter REM sleep, which is when dreaming takes place.

I am 43 years old. My husband and I moved here from Southern California about seven months ago. I collected unemployment for six months and now need a job. My career work, which was in laser optics, offers no opportunities in Las Vegas. I had done that for 20 years and I don't want to punch a clock anymore.


The other problem is my weight. I am on the Atkins diet, and I plan to succeed. However, it will be at least a year before it will make a big enough difference in my appearance. I am realistic and know that many people will not hire fat people for a number of reasons, some of them valid. Anyway, I am trying to make enough money working from home so I don't have to worry at least until I am "presentable"—or maybe never, if it works out.


I've already tried being an appointment-setter, but the person I worked for wasn't doing her part and I could not succeed. I now have two new, potentially moneymaking ventures, both requiring only part-time hours. One costs me nothing to do, but will be just a supplemental income. The other could be good money, but would require some one-on-one with people and takes a few dollars here and there to keep going.


Will the job requiring the one-on-one and a little money work out? I only have six weeks and then I need to get a regular job, even if it's at McDonald's. I could spend more money and give myself a better chance, but I don't want to do that if this is not for me.




SEEKING SUCCESS



Dear Seeking,


You won't like either job situation. I don't normally recommend companies for my readers, but I have permission by this organization to refer someone with an authentic desire to succeed: It's Expedia.com, on the west side of town. E-mail them at [email protected] (tell them Mystic Mona sent you). I see that you'll feel better in about three weeks and at your ideal weight within 18 months. Benevolent changes are happening for you.



I feel so desperate. I have a chemical imbalance, and I'm going to counseling and taking meds daily. I'm sober and drug-free, yet my life is still such a shambles. I pray to God every day to make me better, yet I just get worse.


I'll be 36 on May 29th, but I don't want to live another year in this misery. I have tried so many things in my life. I seem to have so much potential, and come from a family where genius is the norm. My IQ is somewhere in that range as well, yet I quit every job or I'm fired. I just invested a year of my life and put my husband and myself into debt by going to beauty school—and bombed out in that as well. Suicide is not an option, as I know you just come back and have to do it all again anyway.


Mona, I am so desperate. I've come to terms with not having a career, but how can I preserve what is left of my sanity, pick up the pieces and move on? I want to keep my husband, he is the only good thing I have left in the wreckage I call my life, but it may be too late for that. What can I do to avoid being a bag lady on the streets?




TRAIN WRECK



Dear Train Wreck,


Find yourself a temporary assignment from a staffing service. You learned very young to gain attention by creating chaos. The reason jobs didn't work out for you is because most people tire quickly from whiners. For the next two weeks, don't utter one complaint to anyone; instead, write out what you would have whined about and sign it with: "This no longer affects my life, my attitude, or my ability to love." Then go outside, crumple it up and (safely) burn it. Make sure that you acknowledge every nice thing that people do for you and don't look for warts.


You created everything in your life, including your current situation. You can decide to create something different.




• • •



Mona Van Joseph is a licensed psychic. Her show, "Psychic View," airs 10 a.m. Saturdays on Hot Talk 1140-AM. E-mail questions to [email protected].

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