hi all,
i an struggling to understand what this bear is doing ,constantly appearing in my dreams,
first i thought it was a mother/feminine symbol,
then a symbol of a dangerous aspect of the unconscious as jung called it,to some sort of primal (native american)healing symbol.
i would be grateful for any insights ,
the dream,
i am in a dungeon in the basement of a castle,
the door is cage like,and is welded in position,
no lock or handle,
i decide it is time for liberation,
i start to kick the top left hand corner of the caged door,it starts to move and finally falls out,this is it, we are out of here,
as the door falls, the huge powerful bear appears blocking our escape,
i pick up the door and push it against the bear, pinning it to the wall,
the bear is desperatly trying to get at me,
i don't know how long i can keep this up,
if i let go,we will be torn to shreds,but we can't escape either,
i say we.a female and myself,

i had felt it resembled the old zen/taoist story of ,
he who rides the tiger cannot get off,
any ideas,
steve

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Steve,
If all things in a dream are you or related to you then your bear is some part of you. Consulting Soul Future's Dream Dictionary we see a bear could represent a powerful and potentially aggressive force. Perhaps the need is not to fight it but to accept it, embrace it. If it is indeed a powerful force its aggression may be the resistance you are putting up in the dream. It is the balance whole Self that needs to escape {we, a female and myself}. The escape is not from this force but to this force. And we all know those family words 'Luke, use the Force'.

Gerard

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gerard,
i wish i new of a ritual,that would allow me to drop my defences and surrender to this power,if indeed that is what it represents,
although i welcome and accept things spiritual and mystical,and am aware of the tremendous power that is involved within these dimensions,i am struggling to understand the bear,if it wants to tear me to pieces,ie the rellocation of my centre of gravity in the personality,then fine,but it is more of a hinderance than a help,so i have trouble thinking on the lines of it representing a beneficial force,
even though it is written in myth that dismemberment is one of the initiation rites into self realization,
this bear has always been in my way,
i did wonder if it represented ego,even though what is written says not,
work ongoing,
steve

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Steve,
Although our wise guru {JC} tells us that a ritual is an enactment of a myth, what myth do we enact in our personal lives. I believe Campbell stated it well when he suggested we all have that time during each day to meditate on our own personal myths which I believe to be our own personal lives. Myths can help us discover patterns of behavior and those that fit best with who we are can only suggest what ritual best fits.

From your posts the bear seems to be that final barrier to overcome. My personal barrier is not a bear but a dragon. And that dragon is the social dragon, society placing so many demands on my time. Perhaps your bear is similar to my dragon. If not then most likely he, the bear, is psychological. That would require a deeper search within. Make that determination first and see where it leads. If it is the social requirements then you can only do what you can do to counter its demands. If it is psychological then the search must continue until you discover that inner 'bear'ier.

Hmmm... Just noticed that JC is CJ reversed.

Gerard

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gerard,
while out walking in the forest with my daughter she suggested something with regard to the bear,which i am looking into as it seemed to make some sort of sense,
she said,you know joe campbell mentioned alot about,
threshold guardians,well perhaps this is a threshold guardian thats trying to keep you from leaving a particular situation before your ready,
a situation that i am experiencing as restrictive,ie the dungeon,
this has some validity,as i am engaged in the unconscious realm,a state that is restrictive,but one i know i must endure,
this would certainly fit the dream ,
the bear being that part of the unconscious,a teacher,guardian,keeping me in the belly of the whale,until it sees fit to spit me out,
perhaps the bear is a friend after all,
steve.

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Steve,
At it's most basic meaning the bear could simply represent fear, a primal emotion. The cage, or house in past dreams, then acts as a dual barrier. It contains or restricts some 'thing' in the unconscious AND acts to prevent the primal emotion from entering consciousness. This occupies or distracts so you can not fully engage in some area.

With this, what belief is so ingrained within the deep unconscious, (not just yours, but the collective social unconscious...the castle) that any movement toward a different belief causes indecision leading to inaction?

Do you use dream incubatation aka presleep suggestion? For me it helps uncover specific information, i.e. what is the cage?, from the unconscious without ego or conscious interference. Sometimes it requires several questions, several incubated dreams to reveal meaning. I go through th

Will finish later- gotta dash

Kind regards,
Kathy

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Sorry. to finish...
I use who, what, when, where, why, and how as incubators. It can take me some time to uncover unconscious content this way but sometimes a direct approach doesn't work, possibly because Psyche is not yet prepared to work the issue. This way I work aspects eventurally leading to full discovery.

Kind regards,
Kathy

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thank you kathy,
i will try incubation,as i feel i need to get to the heart of the matter concerning the bear,
when i look back at my bear dreams,they seem to fit what gerard has suggested,my version of the dragon,
the bear has always been an obstacle,as to what it actually contains as the metaphor,is the puzzle,

i am taken with jungs thoughts on bear symbolism,
he said, when a bear turns up in dreams,there is always trouble,
this is true,this bear is trouble,
my attempts at breaking free of restrictions ,are frustrated by this bear,
perhaps it is stopping me for a purpose,
am i pushing to much, to go to,that which i am not ready for,
i will keep you informed ,


regards steve.

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Steve,
Here is an on-line article I believe you will interested in reading.

Force-feeding
Myth and life and the dark side
by Jim Walsh
April 13, 2005

Gerard