I’ve been having the same dream for about three to four years now. It is about elevators. They either get stuck or do weird things, such as swinging away from the building so that I have to jump to get on them. They never operate properly.

— Michelle, 51, Fishkill, NY

From Lauri: Since you have been having this dream for three to four years, we should be able to connect it with an issue in your life that has been going on for that amount of time. Elevators typically represent our ability to move up to the next level in some area of life: career, personal goals, relationships, and so on. Your elevators seem to do everything but go up. Most interesting is that they even leave the building! That tells me there is something you have been struggling to do for a few years now, but your progress is not going as planned. Is there an ongoing situation that the best course of action might be to take a leap of faith and change the way you do things rather than playing it safe?

Michelle replies: My biggest battle for the past three years is my health and weight. I need to lose eighty pounds. My blood-work numbers are not good. I know what I need to do but just can’t seem to get motivated. I try different weight-loss programs but never go full out and continue to stay in my comfort zone. I better take that leap. The dreams are pretty scary at times!