Telephone An Important Dream Symbol

Dear Nancy: I’m 53 years old and happily married to my high school sweetheart. We have four grown children who are doing well. I am a writer and co-author of the book, “Cancer S.O.S.: A Guidebook for Women with Cancer.” I am an eight-year survivor of leukemia and am now dealing with serious heart damage and other long-term side affects of leukemia treatment. I’ve been having broken telephone dreams for years. This is an example. - Shirley

I’m driving in my car and my young children are with me. Suddenly, I realize I’m lost. I see a telephone booth and stop to use it, but it doesn’t work. I drive until I find another telephone, only to realize that it’s also out of order. I go from phone to phone, frantically trying to find one that works so I can get some help and directions.

Dear Shirley: It’s common to feel lost in your dreams when you’re feeling lost in your life. That this is a recurring theme in your dreams is a sign there are issues in your life that need resolution. We all have unresolved issues, but when we have repetitive dreams, our psyche is saying, “Wake up! Pay attention! This is important!”

Telephones are tools of communication and connection. They are extremely important as a dream symbol because they can carry messages not only from our unconscious to our conscious mind, but also messages and insights between us and the people around us. Your dream telephones are constantly out of order.

You told me that you began having these telephone dreams during the onset of your disease. When I asked if you can talk with your husband and children about your illness, you said your husband is always willing to talk, but two of your children are afraid of the subject and can’t discuss it. This is frustrating for you, and, just like the images in your dream, a part of you feels like you can’t connect with your children.

This dream may also be all about you. Are you allowing yourself the full experience of your illness? Perhaps you are shutting away certain feelings and thoughts from yourself. Could the desperation you feel in your dream illustrate feelings you don’t allow yourself to feel in your waking life?

Keep track of these dreams in your dream journal. Do they coincide with visits from your children? You may also want to incubate or ask for a specific dream that gives you insight into these broken telephone images.

I admire and respect the work you’ve done in co-authoring your book. You certainly are capable of communicating with the public. My best wishes for a full and speedy recovery.

Reader’s Tip:

There are many symbols of communication in dreams. Dreamworker Betty Bethards suggests that if we telephone someone, we are usually asking for help or understanding in a certain situation. If we are receiving a call, most likely there is guidance or direction coming through. It’s important to pay attention to these messages.

Newspapers give information about our daily life, while a radio or television may ask us specifically to be aware of what we see or hear.

The throat is also a center of communication. An injury or illness in this part of the body may mean that we are not speaking our truth and are suppressing our feelings.