Understanding a Dream

 A dream that is not understood remains  a mere occurence; understood it becomes a living experience.

Carl G. Jung

Dreaming About Bears

I had a dream about bears last night.  I often dream about bears.  In this dream...I was walking home alone , (?) I believe, along a quiet road. As I was looking down at the pavement, to my left from the corner of my eye I could see a brown bear. I looked up, somewhat alarmed, and I seen another, then another, then a black bear or two, some more brown bears, some more black bears. There were so many bears I couldn't count. I was somewhat surprised and alarmed. 

(Now I should say I am not that afraid of bears...I have had conversations with a black bear on more than one night who came to snack on my garbage...I walked out to the step both times and asked him to leave for his own sake  which he kindly  did after looking right at me.  He just calmly turned around and slowly walked away... lol).  

Anyway, I was more surprised and confused, I believe, by the bears in my dream than afraid. A presence beside me told me it was okay...that we needed to walk through them to get to where we were going.  Trusting this wise voice I said "sure" and proceeded to make my way through this field.  Everything was good until one of the brown bears came behind me to sniff me and the bear  started to growl a bit like a dog in warning. I turned around to offer my fist to sniff but it growled more. I looked to the presence ( even though I can never see it in my dreams) for advice.  I was told again by this female voice...that the bear can sense I am in menopause and is now threatened by me.  I was told to stay calm, don't panic and to keep moving slowly  to where we were going. I listened to the voice.  I could see women my age panicking, walking or running  to the side of me and they were having a lot of trouble with these bears. It frightened me but I knew I had to keep going calmly and slowly . So I kept walking. 

I got to the midway point of our destination ...some wooden shelter...and sighed in relief.  I was told everything would be okay from here, that  the bears were now sleeping...and as we walked on there were bears all asleep around me.  We had to maneuver our way around them...or I did, I mean.  I was kind of afraid one would wake up but I just kept going as instructed.I really did not know where I was going. 

I finally ended up on the street I grew up on. I looked up to the house where my late friend lived and the little hill around her house was filled with bear but I was no longer afraid. 

Wow! What does that dream snippet mean, I wonder lol. 

Attempting to Analyze the Dream

I looked it up ...and one site, which was not Jungian, suggested that sleeping bears are a sign to stop speaking so openly in public.  Wow!  That after I put the video up yesterday about my parenting expereince and I expressed my desire to do a TED Talk on it. I removed it for now.

Another site said. When this Bear (Brown)comes to you in dreams, you will be fearless in the face of adversity in your waking hours. https://whatismyspiritanimal.com/animal-dream-symbols-a-m/dreams-about-bears/  Wow!  I could use a little fearlessness lol. 

This same site went onto say that hibernating bears  in a dream could symbolize a transition in someone's life. Dreams about hibernating Bears and their caves symbolize that it is time to stop and pull back into yourself. Seek safety and solid shelter out of the coming storm. A Bear dream might symbolize that it is time to store up for the next season in your life or just time to take care of preparing yourself for what is coming next. Of course the transition of menopause was already mentioned in my dream state but it was a threat to this bear? Maybe I need to store up some energy, become more "selfish" during this transition? Now these bears were not in a cave, they were all over the field they were so hungrily eating from in the first part of the dream. 

I was more interested in Jungain analysis. In one article, an explaination of a PHd dissertation on Jung's Wild woman archetype explains the possibility of seeing bears as scattered peices of ourselves ( in which my dream shows many scattered pieces).  I could be attempting to reconcile many of these scattered pieces into a whole as I transition.  The threatened brown Bear is simply trying to warn me of my need to do this? https://www.pacificapost.com/bears-wild-woman-archetype-individuation

And this 

The bear is a creature of contrasts, as it possesses enormous strength and yet generally thrives on fruit and honey. Because of their habit of hibernation during winter months, bears can stand for ressurection. It was the emblem for the kingdoms of Persia and Russia. For the Celts, it is a symbol of the warrior, and in Christian symbolism we encounter the fable of the she-bear who gives birth to shapeless offspring and must lick them to give them form. Similarly, we are ignorant creatures who find our way only through spiritual knowledge.

In Jungian psychology, the bear represents danger caused by the uncontrollable contents of the unconscious, and with this is often associated as an attribute of the man who is cruel and crude. The word 'berserk' most likely means 'bear-coat' and refers to a Norse warrior who morphs into a furious bear.https://www.google.com/search?q=Jungian+symbols+%26+bear&biw=1920&bih=969&ei=x3e_YNynBbSv5NoPk4C0iAM&oq=Jungian+symbols+%26+bear&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyBggAEBYQHjoHCAAQRxCwAzoECAAQQzoCCAA6CAghEBYQHRAeOgUIIRCgAVC9L1iGR2DISmgBcAJ4AIABhQGIAZQIkgEDMC45mAEAoAEBqgEHZ3dzLXdpesgBCMABAQ&sclient=gws-wiz&ved=0ahUKEwicp6aLmYjxAhW0F1kFHRMADTEQ4dUDCA4&uact=5

Hmmm!  What did I get from all this dream analysis?  ..  I haven't got a clue lol.  Interesting though to ponder whatever that is that is going in my subconscious.  And I do like bears ...so whatever they mean is cool with me. I will think about it some more. 

All is well!