Sometimes our dreams are a menagerie of the most exotic and wondrous animals.  No matter how fantastical and Dr. Seuss-like or how real and menacing, the animals our dreaming mind presents to us symbolize our primal instincts and behaviors, the way we naturally act or respond to situations without giving thought to it.

Tigers, lions, panthers, any sort of predatory animal that prowls into our dreams will symbolize our own predatory behavior, our ability to “hunt down” and catch what we want in life, whether it be a job, a relationship, a promotion, etc.  Predatory cats are particularly popular in women’s dreams because we gals identify with their feminine, feline nature.  The dream below is from my nationally syndicated column, The Dream Zone…

Dear Lauri,
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, MO

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 mothers 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.

Fascinating Dream Fact: Whether she is still on this planet or not, our moms show up in our dreams, on average, about once a week!

Animals in dreams, sex dreams, death, weird things happening to your body PLUS way cool dream art… It’s ALL in there!  Grab your copy of So, What Did You Dream Last Night? and understand your dreams like never before!

“I have both of your books. I love them!!  It is so much fun to look up what my dreams mean in the morning.  I don’t know what I would do without them!” – Amy, Clearfield, UT