Pushing the Right Buttons

Dear Ian, I read your article with great interest as I have had a repetitive dream for a long while. It is trying to make an emergency call….for many different reasons, some for ambulance/police and some just for aid. Every time I have just about dialled the number there is one digit missing or I miss dial. This goes on and on, sometimes I am really distressed sometimes just frustrated. I would really appreciate your thoughts on this dream. Thanks

Dream Meaning
When we dream of making an emergency call, there is a situation in our waking life that is making us feel anxious or afraid. Although you are desperate for someone to come to your assistance, you end up feeling distressed and frustrated because you can never seem to communicate your real anxieties to other people. The one digit missing indicates that you just can’t put your finger on what it is making you feel so anxious.

Your anxieties and fears in waking life may be about what seem to be apparently trivial matters to others. However, your urgent requests for assistance show that what you really need is some form of reassurance and comfort from someone who is significant to you in your waking life. The misdialing in your dream indicates that you are not really sure how to push this person’s buttons to make them respond in the way that you really need.

In waking life, you probably appear to be strong and independent and don’t like to voice your anxieties in case it makes you appear vulnerable to other people. However, being honest about your fears and not being afraid to show your vulnerability will instantly bring the reassuring responses that you really want to hear.

Running and Searching

Dream
Hi, I have a recurring theme running through dream. I never find what I’m looking for; it can be a street, a car park, and even a railway station. I can be running through a town looking for these – and never find them.

Meaning
When we dream of running, we are thinking about how we can best use our individual talent to make progress in our lives. In waking life, running is the fastest, most self sufficient and personal mode of progression. Running in your dreams reflects your independent nature and shows that you have the energy and drive to make great progress in your waking life. However, never being able to find what you are looking for indicates shows that you are still unsure of your chosen goals in life.

The street, the car park and the railway station signify that you are searching for ways to make progress in your professional life. These places are all starting points for bigger journeys and you are considering the best ways to use your energies to realise your professional goals. Although you enjoy being active and busy in your work, you often feel that all this activity is not giving you the satisfaction you need.

What you are really looking for is your true vocation in life where you can do really meaningful work. You have the confidence and talent to do this, so stop running for a little while, stand back and decide what will be your dream job.

Tsunami and Fish

Dream
I have been having a recurring dream that I am on holiday and I can see a tsunami coming. Each time I have to run from the beach and up a hill. I have always had a family member with me. In one of the dreams the wave caught me but I was alive and rolling in the wave and I could see brightly coloured fish. I have no idea what this could mean.

Meaning
When we dream of a tsunami, we are often anxious about being overwhelmed by a huge wave of emotion that is sweeping through us in waking life. Being on holiday in your dream suggests that you are currently doing something a bit different in your waking life that is helping you to feel happy and relaxed. However, you are concerned that there is a big change on the horizon that will really stir up your feelings and emotions.

This major change may involve your job, a family member or a romantic relationship and although you are trying to resist this change, you know deep down that it is inevitable. The hill that you run up in your dream represents the major effort that you are making in waking life to avoid this disruption by trying to distance yourself from your emotions. The family member indicates that this upheaval involves something or someone who is close to your heart.

The fish in your dream are reflections of bright ideas and inspirational moments that will guide you through this period of change. Being alive and rolling shows that you will be able to ride this wave of change and emerge from it feeling that you are much stronger and wiser person.

Water and Boats

Hi Dr Wallace, I keep dreaming about water and boats but I do not know why could you please try and explain what this means? Thank you.

Dream Meaning
When we dream about water, we are dreaming about our feelings and emotions. We hear this in our everyday day language when we use expressions like ‘a wave of emotion swept through me’ or ‘I was in floods of tears’. Your water dreams reflect the fact that you are an emotional and instinctive person who is probably very empathetic and understanding. However, you may sometimes find yourself being overwhelmed by your emotions and unsure of what to do.

Boats are vehicles of the water and they symbolise how you can navigate through the currents and tides of your own feelings. If you dream of sailing along on a tranquil sea then are you are probably feeling at ease with your emotions. If you dream that you are trying to sail across a stormy ocean and your boat is leaking, then there is some situation in your waking life that is giving you a sinking feeling and causing you anxiety.

The best way to work with your emotions is to establish some boundaries around them, in the same way that the banks of a river guide its water back to the sea. This will allow you to powerfully channel your feelings as you flow unstoppably towards your goal.