hi ,
for a while now i have been plagued by a ferocious
bear in my dreams,
it has become less frightening as the months have gone by,the last dream i had was of it trying to break down my door,a native american indian appears and tells me to let it in as it wants to give me its power.
my latest dream is a follow on from this and no doubt refers to progress of sorts,
any observations would be welcome,
the dream,
i am in a house,the werebear is trying to get in ,
i am trying to close the door but it is to strong,
i call for help from others present in the room,but they just don't seem bothered,
i give in and let the door fly open,
the creature gets in,
through the open door i can now see a car at the end of the garden path,
i am aware of something to my right in the shaddows,
i step through the door,and a female steps from the shaddows,she takes my hand ,
we are about to run for the car,
comments welcome.
regards steve

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Deep in slumber, dreams unending,
Wise old bear, patient, strong,
Send me dreams of transformation.
Grant me intuition along
With introspection of my life,
Inner listening, no more strife.

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Caution, Healing, Leadership

The power of the Bear totem
is the power of introspection.
The answers to all our questions
lie within us.
Each of us has the capacity to quiet the mind,
enter the silence and know.

Just as the bear hibernates during the winter,
people with a Bear totem will be quieter
during the winter months. But they
must awaken in the spring and seek
whatever opportunities are around them.

When you have a Bear totem,
you are being guided to a leadership role.
You must be fearless in defending your beliefs.

The Bear also encourages you to exercise
your abilities as a natural healer.

Bears are associated with trees which are natural antennas, linking the heavens and the Earth.
Bear also has links to the seven color rays of the Universal Light
as well as Lunar ties, linking the subconscious and the unconscious mind.
It is associated with the Goddess Artemis.

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'were' bear suggest half man, half bear - are you afraid of being more instinctive in your waking life - seeing this as an animalistic side. The native american figure seems to be an archetype - pointing you to look at the benefits of this totemic expression rather than pitfulls.
There is a meeting of the animus and anima - you see a lady and run away with her, hand in hand - there is a union. This would suggest individuation.
??????

notsure what else at the moment - I will think on..

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I have just looked back at your 'hideous damsel' dream on the forum - so has your anima now been transformed into a beautiful lady, albeit it 'at the sidelines' in this dream then?

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claire,
thank you for your response,
i think you are right in your obeservations on the anima aspect and hideous damsel,
the hideous damsel is an aspect of the grail carrier,
another version would be ,the virgin mary as the grail carrier,and mary magdelene as the reminder of the grail,
the grail heals the wounds,
the bear is also a grail of sorts,as you rightly commented on,the bear in native american spirituality is a healer and giver of this power,
if it is true we are here to serve the grail then that which is given must be shared,this forum is a great outlet for this,
thanks again steve.

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Steve,
Could this be The Crossing of the Return Threshold...
And again as before, Steppenwolf comes to mind as related to this werebear and possible stage of Individuation.

The following is from SparksNotes on Steppenwolf. metaphorically, of course, as this could apply to your werebear dreams:

"The Steppenwolf - A middle-aged recluse who lives alone in a bourgeois lodging house. Harry Haller refers to himself as a “Steppenwolf” because he feels like a lonely wolf of the steppes, removed from the obsessions and conventions common to most people. Harry believes himself to be divided between two extremes: a man-half who shares the ideals and interests of humanity, and a beast-half that sees those aspirations as futile, absurd vanities."

and

"The idea of multiple identities is most fully explored in the Magic Theater at the novel’s close. Pablo speaks of the theater as a place in which to perform the dissolution of the personality. Behind one of the strange doors, a man closely resembling Pablo teaches Harry that the individual is comprised of innumerable selves that may be reconfigured in varying ways, like chess pieces. Drawing upon the Eastern ideas of reincarnation and transmigration of the soul into infinite bodies, and upon the psychoanalytic theories of Carl Jung, Hesse articulates a highly personal hypothesis of the multifaceted nature of the soul."

A link to SparksNotes: Steppenwolf, Themes Motifs and Symbols

And from Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand Faces:

"Many failures attest to the difficulties of this life-affirmative threshold. The first problem of the returning hero is to accept as real, after an experience of the soul-satisfying vision of fulfillment, the passing joys and sorrows, banalities and noisy obscenities of life. Why re-enter such a world? Why attempt to make plausible, or even interesting, to men and women consumed with passion, the experience of transcendental bliss? As dreams that were momentous by night may seem simply silly in the light of day, so the poet and the prophet can discover themselves playing the idiot before a jury of sober eyes. The easy thing is to commit the whole community to the devil and retire again into the heavenly rock dwelling, close the door, and make it fast. But if some spiritual obstetrician has drawn the shimenawa across the retreat, then the work of representing eternity in time, and perceiving in time eternity, cannot be avoided"


Kind regards,
Kathy

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hi kathy many thanks for your reply,
return threshold,perhaps,
there are many threshold crossings of greater or lesser extent,
the ultimate being the transition from the wilderness of authentic experience,back into this one.
my experience has not been as campbell calls it ,one of transendental bliss,but more as jung stated,as a rellocation of the centre of gravity of my ego consciousness,in a nutshell,i know something is going on,
i have been somewhat of a recluse,as my journey inward has been difficult to relate to others,
but this is a part of the path,
and something i accept.
you must be psychic kathy,steppenwolf,
superb analogy!
i believe this dream is a milestone in my journey as it is a follow on from previous similar themes,
and as like all moments in life ,will only really make sense when looked back on.
regards steve

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kathy,
sorry this last reply to your comments made it sound as if i had been somewhere and found something,
this is not the case,
i believe that as a westerner, and because of our lack of connection with nature and true spirituality,
the journey is about unlearning first before the true journey begins,
if anything ,this is what i have found,and nothing
more,
not until a cup is empty,can it be filled.
steve.

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Steve, you are right in saying that we need to 'unlearn' in the westernised world.
We are so cluttered with 'possessing' and 'striving', sometimes we forget just to 'be' human.
Sometimes it's not about what we 'get' rather than what we 'keep' - both materialistically and psychically.

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Also in term of knowledge and skills too though.

As a teacher and a woman/human being the more I learn every day/week/year etc the less I feel I actually 'know' about anything. Wisdom, also, is not about being stuffed full of facts, but about living in tune with nature and understanding the true meaning of ourselves as connected to it.

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Steve,

You are somewhere and discover many things. The myths instruct us in all aspects, including to celebrate our victories. This too is a part of the journey. In thanks and joyousness I celebrate you, and with you.

An additional comment related to ?...

Compassionate leaders are born but birthright alone does not make the leader. Consent to undertake the journey to fulfill their destiny is also required. You are who undertakes the journey.

The decision you think is now before you was made with the first step of the journey. Your conscious just doesn’t know it yet.


Kind regards,
Kathy

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claire and kathy
thank you for your thoughtful responses,
i think it is fair to say, that there is something within us, that knows us intimately,
and as you say,is aware of things that consciousness is not,"yet".
i consciously, do not have a clue,
but what ever this confrontaion at the threshold is,
the door is open and the way clear ,for me to exit,
and thats enough for me,
it is as you have rightly said in your meaningful last sentence kathy,
the followimg through of a decision already made,
just one foot in front of the other will do.
regards steve.

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