Have you ever tried to make a phone call in a dream?

The dream feels incredibly stressful, trying to hit the numbers on the phone or finding the name you know you need, but your dream fingers just won’t connect. Over and over again. Or, if you’re like me, sometimes you know you’re dreaming and become determined not to let the dream take over… you’re going to make that call happen. 

I have these dreams often, there’s always a sense of urgency. Trying to call someone to say what’s on my mind. I need to call 911, but it feels like it’s never going to happen. Most of the time, I eventually get the call through, but my voice is muffled, or the words just won’t come out the way I want them to.

I do believe our dreams can hold meaning, or at least reflect things we’ve been through or are currently moving through. I also think there’s a lot of room to over interpret dreams. Where people will search for meaning that fits how they want or need. Sometimes forcing a relation or sign, or creating one entirely that didn’t even exist. I think we all do this, to an extent. Which can be helpful or harmful. Then there’s the possibility it’s not that deep and is more connected to the last thing you read or watched before bed. Because I have definitely had some weird and wild dreams after staying up too late reading one of my dark romance books, falling asleep with the book on my face. Waking up and thinking to myself “well that dream was really fucking weird, maybe I should go back to playing the sleep sound’s on the calm app before bed”.

I dream every night and often they’re pretty lucid, which is a whole other fascinating way of dreaming. I remember my dreams very clearly. Many times knowing I’m dreaming, with the ability to stay in my dream or wake myself up. Dreaming that I have to get somewhere fast or I’m being chased so I’m running, only to come to the top of a big flight of stairs and stop. But wait, I know it’s a dream so I confidently leap from the top all the way to the bottom in one jump. When I was younger I thought it was cool to know I was dreaming. Now that I’m older and know how important solid sleep is to function properly, I think I would prefer to just sleep and not remember my dreams as often. Because I don’t always wake up feeling well rested after a night of a lot of dreaming.

When I looked into this specific kind of dream, the “phone call” dream, it’s often tied to a communication block. Which makes sense. A difficulty expressing something, or feeling unheard in real life. The interesting part for me is how often these dreams show up during times of change, like big shifts in life or career, or even during deeper seasons of personal growth when emotions feel a little more heightened.

With a lot of major shifts happening in my current season of life, entering in to my mid forties. I’m choosing to be very intentional with my time and when I speak. Really thinking about the impact of my words, when should I let something settle before it leaves my mouth. Does this person deserve my words or even want them. Is it more helpful if I just listen. Coming to terms with letting things go, even if I wasn’t ready. I’m forever a work in progress. I think curiosity and constantly wanting to understand more about my self made me want to dive deeper into the type of “phone call” dreams I tend to have. Almost all my versions I eventually make the call. But, my voice isn’t clear or it sounds muffled. For a long time, I thought that was just my real life stubbornness showing up in my dream. I’m not one to give up easily. But now, after looking into it more, I think it’s something else. Like I’m working through a block in my dream, even if it’s imperfect. Saying the thing, even if my voice isn’t clear. It has to come out somewhere. Trusting that it will come through how I need eventually. Waking up not feeling the same urgency to say everything all at once. I don’t feel the same need to push through the noise just to be heard. The dream makes me feel a sense of accomplishment making that call. Even if I wasn’t clearly heard in my dream. My takeaway is that I don’t always need to be understood, as long as I am confident in what I am trying to say or accomplish. This is where I think finding the meaning and significance that feels right for you can come in to play when interpreting dreams. 

I’m learning that not everything needs to be forced, and not every message loses its meaning if it takes a little longer to land. How to say what I need to say in my own way both asleep and awake.