Bear
Often people dream of a bear coming to attack them, but because all the images, people, animals, places we see in our dreams, are simply your own feelings, fears, hopes and wonder projected onto the screen of your sleeping mind as images, there us nothing to be afraid of. So, it makes sense to take the image of your dream person, thing or animal back into you and own it. In that way, you are actually meeting and dealing with the things about yourself you are not owning or conscious of. That is why dreams are often difficult to understand, because we are hiding things from ourselves. To do this you can use – Being the Person or Thing and it is helpful to read Levels of the Brain
Whenever we dream its images are not like real life, because a dream is nothing like outer life where things could hurt you, but is an image like on a cinema screen, so that even if a gun is pointed at you and fired it can do no damage – except if you run in fear; so, all the things that scare you are simply your own fears projected onto the screen of your sleeping mind. Also dreams exress in a very ancient language, language that developed in ancient life forms before ever words were invented. The ancient languge is one that has taught youngsters by for millions of years by watching what mother or father fox, bear wolf did – all without words. This photo says it all – the family of bears are intently watching what mum is doing. they learn by seeing it, no words were spoken.
So the angry bear is an image of your own angry feelings that have not been expressed and are attacking you. We now know that such inturned anger can cause illness or depression.
Example: A huge black panther chased me. I fell and it clawed my back. It was about to chew my back to bite me. I didn’t know whether to relax or struggle. After being floored by the Panther I managed to get up. I later imagined being the panther. I allowed the panther to eat me, and I thus became the panther. Then I, as the panther, noticed feeling enormous temper – anger – hate. And I was amazed to see that my cousin Sidney was the cause of such powerful emotions. He was older than me and had mercilessly teased me as a child. The panther was my own feelings of anger, at last released.
But here is a very different example:
Example: I was standing on my patio and there was a bear inside the fence also there were children taunting the bear. I yelled at the kids to stop teasing the bear. Then all of a sudden the bear came towards me; it was a brown bear with its massive size and it stopped and looked at me. Although I was frightened I was courageous enough to pet the bears head, reaching over his large mouth to reach his head. Then, all of a sudden the bear lay on his back and I begin to brush my hand on his chest as to pet him in a downward motion, the bear just gazed at me.
A bear can have a similar meaning to elephant in the eastern countries – a tremendous force or energy, that if met badly can lead to conflict with your own nature and ill health, or if met well can be a tremendous protector and force for good.
Sometimes said to represent a possessive mother, and the feelings this has aroused. But in many cases the bear will represent a meeting with dangerous emotions such as fear, anger or being easily aroused. There might also be associations with independence, or strength. See: Dreams are Like a Computer Game; Animal.
Through television and the many ‘nature’ films which are now a part of our wider education, we can see that the bear is largely a solitary creature, capable of living alone and surviving. This, and its human way of standing and holding its arms out in a hugging posture, may be the major factors from which a ‘bear’ dream arises. In many dreams the bear is not at all harmful, and can be treated as a friend.
Through these we can also see the bear as a wonderful mother and protector.
We may therefore associate the bear with feelings about living alone or surviving by our own strength; it can refer to the confrontation with feelings we have about independence, or the meeting with strength and independence in someone else. It can confront us with massive or dangerous rage, such as ‘the bear with a sore head’. In this case it might represent your relationship with someone who is touchy or grouchy, powerful, possessiveness or smothering, as a parent or lover might be.
Also it might represent your relationship with someone who is a parent or lover; it could suggest a desire to withdraw or hibernate; the ‘animal’ side of our relationship with our parents; a play on words, such as ‘bare’, bare facts, bearing with something or someone, ‘bearing’ ones soul, bearing in mind, a ‘bearer’ of tidings, come to bear, overbearing, getting ones bearings, bear fruit or bear-hug.
If the bear is felt as aggressive and dangerous, ask yourself what in your own inner feelings do you feel is aggressive and you don’t want to let it get out into what you express. In other words. what is it that you habitually repress from being expressed – your anger?
It is best to let the angry bear be expressed in you imagination. You can do this by being the angry bear and let it loose – see – Being the Person or Thing
But the bear can also be like the Beauty and the Beast, in which the dangerous beast is tame with the influence of kindness. So the bear relates to person who can be kind, but could also be a dangerous when roused.
It could suggest a desire to withdraw or hibernate. Because of traditional cultural associations, and its ability to hibernate, the bear can represent the ability to die and be reborn.
As the bear rears its childrfen alone without any male about, if oyu have been in that situation it can reer to you. But whateveer else it represent, remember that is an image of our relationship with our own ‘animal’ side. Please see the following to understand this important feature – Mammal Brain
There can be a play on words, such as ‘bare’, bare facts, bearing with something or someone, ‘bearing’ ones soul, bearing in mind, a ‘bearer’ of tidings, come to bear, overbearing, getting ones bearings, bear fruit or bear-hug. Because of traditional cultural associations, and its ability to hibernate, the bear can represent the ability to die and be reborn.
Bear attacking: It could mean that you are feeling or dealing with anger in yourself or another.
But many people dream of being chased by a bear and maybe run in fear or terror from the bear. Not only in your own dreams, but other people’s, it is obvious that we take into our sleep and dreams all the fears, terrors we carry within us. The huge bear, tiger or frightening person they are terrified of is actually fears either inherited or are frightening experiences from the past. They are purely mental things that you haven’t faced, and are therefore the victims of – victims of your own fears. But in dreams in you cannot die – or drown, or burn or any other threatening thing. We make the mistake of taking our very real values from our outer life into our inner life of dreams. If a bear or critter is chasing you, it is only a dream image and so what are you running from? If you drop the image if the bear/critter what you have is a feeling or emotion such as fear. And why are you running like crazy from an emotion? Remember that nothing can hurt you in your dreams, but you can feel fear. See The animal in my dream
And do not think, “That monster is bigger and stronger than I am, and it is frightening!!” It is our thoughts and fears that create the monsters inside us. So of course you are stronger unless you cower in fear.
But that only refers to outer bears, not dream bears. In some northern towns a bear or polar bear can be a real danger, so in your dreams it may be about a threat you need to keep watch for – although it is a bear in your dream, it could be any threat.
It can also, like the following dream, show a fight against disease.
Example: I dreamt that I was my older brother. As him, and yet at the same time myself, I was trying to fight off an attacking bear. I was doing all I could to defeat it but there was no let up.
Two days later my brother suddenly died from a vicious virus he had contracted while doing his job as a taxi driver. I feel as if I were fighting the disease with him in the dream, but we both lost the battle.
Baby or toy bear: Often represents a child or a young dreamer.
Tame or loving bear: Many people have no fear of animals in their dreams but are like the examples below. Fear is caused because we mix up our dream life with our outer life.
Example: In my dream I was actually happy to see bears lying down at the entrance of my parent’s old house. They were all lying down there as if waiting for me. When they felt my presence they woke up. They were happy and groaning amicably when they saw me approaching them. And there were babies too! I never felt fear or any threat but happiness to see them … and I knew it was mutual.
Example: My dream was not frightful. My Bear dream and I were walking, he put his nose in my hand and nuzzled, we walked home, I went up to my door and Bear went next door and rolled around in the neighbors driveway and rested.
But as people are educated in the modern paradigm, many of us are totally out of touch with the animal that we are, and have never been able to raise it to love and protect us, and instead are often frightened of it when it appears on their dreams. As a child we are often told not to do things – such as do not get angry, or told to be nice to everyone, but the intuitive animal side of us feels and act on its superior insight – that would allow them to mature with our animal self intact so we grow up repressing it, and often miss the natural curiosity of our inner mammal.
So if you have a loving animal dream you have a very good and healthy relationship with your inner animal. See Levels of the Brain and Summing Up
Three bears as with father bear, mother bear etc.: Family situation or parental relationship.
If hint of money in the dream: might refer to ‘bear market’.
Useful Questions and Hints:
What were your feelings and interactions with the bear? (For instance were you avoiding, running from cooperating with, watching from a distance – and where does ‘avoiding’, ‘running from’, ‘cooperating’, or ‘observing’ enter your life at the moment?)
If you imagine yourself as the bear in your dream, what do you feel and experience?
See Stand in Role; Processing Dreams; Summing Up
Comments
Hi Tony
I just woke up from a dream of a bear. I was in our neighbourhood and the bear was running around in the crowd, like it was looking for something. It wasnt targeting anyone in particular but it ran past me at a few stages. It didnt look at me or come after me until I decided to go hide behind a door which had a window at the top. I locked myself in and someone else was sleeping in the room. Once I locked myself in it started coming my way and it was trying to come in. It managed to start breaking the window open and started to climb in, I wasnt that scared but I realized that the bear was only thirsty it was looking for water. I yelled out the window trying to ask the others to just give it some water in a bowl somewhere. Finally just before the bear could actually break in someone gave it water. I was disappointed that they put it close in front of my door, or whoevers place that was, as thr bear will most likely remember where it got water and come back at some point. All the while of course I was relieved. All the time with the bear being around I wasnt that scared, maybe a little but I realized I know what it needed.
Thinking this through I can only conclude this: I am in a place in my life where I need a change in my career and my environment. i work abroad in many countries far away from home and have been for almost all my life. I want to change my career to something close to home, but I cant get a grip on what job i am going to do. This is a big obstacle in my life right now.
The bear is probably symbolising the fear of me knowing what needs to be done but not in a position to satisfy that need. All the bear really wanted was some water.
What is your take on this dream?
Thank you so much for your time
Herman – The fact is that as humans we are mammals, and so have built into us many of the feelings, fears, longings and reactions that other mammals have. We also have all the whole levels of evolutions of animals built into us in the levels of our brain. So in our dreams we frequently express our fears, longings and reactions in the images of animals. See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/brain-levels-and-dreams/ that explains that we have the animal as part of our own brain.
So your dream shows you becoming more in touch with the living natural instincts you have. The bear represent both your natural reactions to your environment other than you personal reactions, and also your intuitive ability. See http://dreamhawk.com/inner-life/using-your-intuition-1/
What strikes me is that the bear was doing its own thing without any harm until you shut yourself away, and that attracted the bear to you and caused a measure of anxiety shown by your actions. So what in your experience were you slightly anxious about that you shut yourself away from? It probably throws a light on your getting a grip on what you want to do. Please try http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/acting-on-your-dream/#BeingPerson as it may open depths of insight.
Tony
None of these definitions apply to my dream. I was actually happy to see bears lying down at the entrance of my parent’s old house. They were all lying down there as it waiting for me. When they felt my presence they woke up. They were happy and groaning amicably when they saw me approaching them. And there were babies too! I never felt fear or any threat but happiness to see them … and I knew it was mutual – any idea what this means? Would love to hear. Thanks!
Tami – I am so used to people being frightened of their bear or tiger dreams that I didn’t put in any of the other dreams – which I will, thanks.
Example: My dream was not frightful. My Bear dream and I were walking, he put his nose in my hand and nuzzled, we walked home, I went up to my door and Bear went next door and rolled around in the neighbors driveway and rested.
But as people educated in the modern paradigm, many of us are totally out of touch with the animal that we are, and have never been able to raise it to love and protect us, and instead are often frightened of it when it appears on their dreams. As a child we are often told not to do things – such as do not get angry, or told to be nice to everyone, but the intuitive animal side of us feels and act on its superior insight – that would allow them to mature with our animal self intact so we grow up repressing it, and often miss the natural curiosity of our inner mammal.
So you have a very good and healthy relationship with your inner animal. See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/brain-levels-and-dreams/ and http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/questions-2/#Summing
Tony
I dreamt that I was working as a hand for hire for a powerful rancher or cartel, I couldn’t tell, but I and some other goons rolled up a sonic drive-in style eatery, as we pulled in we ran into nearly all the poles that were to separate the car lanes. I get out of the truck and stand to the side as the boss and his principle party discuss why we are here. I overhear that we are here to kill his two bears. The boss says that if we kill the momma bear we have to kill her cub as well. These were performing bears so they were docile, I remember feeling sad for the bears, yet I wasn’t going to show emotion. I woke up before anything happened to them. Please reply
I had a dream last night i found a young black bear cub, it had a chain around its hind foot but it was not chained to anything, I removed the chain and placed a piece of my necklace chain around its front arm, it wasn’t afraid of me and more took to my actions as a small child would finding comfort when I held held it, it seemed to bring both it and I comfort to have found each other, I toted it around for the short remainder of the dream like I would a small infant, It felt so real that all day today I haven’t been able to stop pondering what it means. Also as a side note I just had my house pass away and was wondering if it may relate to the loss of my great friend.
*Horse not house how silly of me
I’ve had many, many dreams if bears either attacking or chasing me in my life. probably started around the age of 7 (I am 26 now) and I have a few specific ones that are reaccuring….there is one of me being in the forest at a cabin with glass doors and I realize as I’m on the steps there is a black bear coming straight for me, I run onto the house and stare out the glass doors watching it advance then I finally try to hide among the counters that are stacked with glass jars hundreds on glass jars and then I wait in total fear as the bear crashes through the glass doors then crashes through the counter tops breaking every jar, glass everywhere, then as I’m cowering in fear I wake up. there is another where I am in my home and I walk out onto the porch and coming across the street is a huge Brown bear looking menacing and growing, I watch it as it gets closer and it grows bigger and bigger with each step and I finally turn and run into the house to hide under my bed as the bear, now as large as the house rips the house apart killing everyone inside and searching for me, this one is thoroughly terrifying and horrific. I wake just as I can feel the bears breath on me as I hide in the rubble. the last one I have is always of me being with some friends or family, walking or trying to walk as its always like I’m treading through thick mud trying desperately to get somewhere and out of the corner of. my vision I see a bear most of the tim
e a Brown bear, and there is usually a fence separating us and for a moment I feel safe and try to walk faster but soon the bear reaches the fence and finds a break in it and comes through. I realize it and try to run, I always try to get higher than it and jump onto bushes and try to run but it always gets closer and closer but I always wake up before it ever gets me…..strange and unnerving, I love bears and have no real fear of them they’ve been in my dreams since I. can remember. always chasing and looking for me.
In my dream..The sky was gray and dark, it was quite cold. I was outside and I remember seeing ice and snow on the ground and I was surrounded by forest..dark forest that was thick. I remember hearing the bear walking on the icy forest floor, I heard the ground cracking beneath it’s feet. I became petrified and frozen with fear, I had nowhere to run. I immediately fell to the ground as I saw it break thru the treeline. I lay on the frozen cold ground terrified in fear. I kept as still as possible and kept my eyes closed. The bear came directly to me, and sniffed me as I lay there. I felt its cold nose on my face, I remained still and silent. The bear pawed at my shoulder and I felt it’s breath on me. Then it walked off. I stood before it was completely out of sight and it just continued to walk away from me. What did this mean?
I had a dream that i died out gas in the middle of no where at a cross road on a country road it was pitch black. I was with my oldest son in the car and i said the house isnt far we need to walk. So we got out of the car and started walking when suddenly i realized there were two bear cubs running towards us but not at us we werent scared until i realized there were more cubs then a thought of where ever there is a baby bear there is always a mama and i said it kind of outloud and once i looked harder and adjusted my eyes to the dark i realized there were two big bears but they had already ran past us, they werent worried about us however once i seen the two big bears i began to worry and said quick lets get out of here. All of a sudden there was a house that appeared as we started walking up this really long hill like drive way towards the house to ask for help or use a phone the house had a front light and we were walking towards it as i started looking further ahead it was foggy and there were big bears but mostly cubs all over the huge country lot and they werent bothering with us they were all walking toward the house as well. Suddenly there were wolves in my dream not many and they were walking towards the house too, once the animals got close enough to the house they started standing on their hind legs bears and wolves the wolves looked almost werewolf like at that point, muscular and tall. I began to get scared and said forget this we better go back to the car and just call someone on our phones and wait (which im not sure why we didnt in the first place lol) so we walk to the car, all the animals keep doing thier own thing not worried about us. We get back to the car and i turn on the headlights so were not as nervous or scared and there is a car that pulls into the intersection a man walks up to the driverside window where i am and doesnt say a thing i cant even see his face hes wearing like a rubber rain poncho and i told him we were ok that we called for help and he starts banging on my window with something so i lay my hand on the horn and dont let off and he keeps banging and then i wake up… Terrified for a moment then realize it was a dream… What does it all mean?!?
Rosemary – Dreams often confront us with things that we need to deal with. In the case of your dream it is a small fear that you graduals build on with other thoughts and images until it becomes a major fear.
So you start with the image of running out of gas, the darkness and the fear of being attacked. Yet all the time you dream was showing you there was nothing to be frightened of.
I know, I have done it myself, walking alone in the dark along a country lane scared of werewolves – I had seen the film An American Werewolf in London.
I had to feel my fear but at the same time assure myself there was nothing out there and so nothing to be afraid of. But I suggest that you use http://dreamhawk.com/approaches-to-being/martial-art-of-the-mind/ and http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/questions-2/#FaceFear
Tony
In my dream I was walking with my siblings. Suddenly a big brown bear came from the bushes and started towards us.i looked back to see my family running with fear.out of nowhere I jumped on the bears back and grabbed his mouth. I tried my hardest to hold his mouth shut but he proceeded to bite me .it didnt seem to bother me though, I just kept fighting back. Eventually the bear and I had a moment of eye contact and completely stopped what we were doing and just walked away from eachother. He went back to the bushes dragging along side him a dog on a leash? I watched with a feeling of sadness to see him go and confusion as to what had just happened, all the while overcome with satisfaction.
HawkGirl – Please realise the every part of a dream is a projection of images representing your feelings, fears, imagination, instincts and wisdom. Each animal in particular is important, and often we react to our dream animal as if it was an external wild animal, which it is not. See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/brain-levels-and-dreams/#mammalbrain
The change came when you looked it in the eye and realised it was not what you had thought it was. Of course it fought you. Wouldn’t you fight back – instinctively – when something attacked you. So you were fighting with your own instincts.
I am guessing the sadness and confusion was because you confused a dream bear with a real bear – and your satisfaction was out of the outcome. The lovely image of the bear leading a dog on a lead may be that your feelings about how you react to a dog and bear are quite different. Maybe you can use the following to find out – http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/acting-on-your-dream/#BeingPerson
DreamHawk
I had a dream last night that a big huge grizzly bear was hanging out with two girls at the ”water hole”I tried to stay on the other side of the ‘lake because I was intimidated by the bear.. I tried to stay high up I guess.. I was on a rope swing.. Then the Bear lets out a huge roar.. and gets up on his back 2 legs.. wraps its claws around my legs and looks at me fora very long time.. as if it was a wwarning.. I immediately left.. to look back and see the bear sitting in the water next to the 2 girls… (I didnt recognize the girls) it was really weird…
Rebecca – What scared you about the bear? After all it never hurt the two girls or you.
The bear you felt in your dream would harm you is actually your own instincts and feelings that frighten you and is completely harmless. This is because every dream image, animal or person is a subtle or powerful aspect of your own efficient working. A dream is nothing like outer life where things could hurt you, but is an image like on a cinema screen that even if a gun is pointed at you and fired it can do no damage – except if you run in fear.
The roar the dream bear let out was probably an expression of your own feelings that you tend to repress. See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/brain-levels-and-dreams/ and also http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/questions-2/#Summing
Tony
I had a dream about having a polar bear as a friend and playing for hours
In my dream, a baby brown bear has a large baby bottle filled with milk. The bear brought it to me, I fed it, petted it; it was a very loving experience, I fell in love with such a sweet animal. People (I assume game wardens as they has uniforms) came to relocate the bear. I was not sadden by it, but blessed that I had the chance to experience it.
On awaking I was at peace.
I had a Dream of Two cub black bears they were Taim non agerssive playful more so I was with my spouse we were camping in a log house it was very blissful actually nothing but playfulness with the bears almost like they were our two children,our children weren’t in the dream just these bears. They didn’t speak to me, only hugged me in away it seemed so real it was no cartoon neither.
My dream was about being picked up from an unknown place and then this big black bear came and just stared at me for what seemed like forever. While everyone was laying on the ground hiding, he clearly saw me but didn’t attack and soon he just walked away and then everyone goes on like nothing happened.
I had a nightmare about a bear, I wouldn’t call it a dream. I was at the front door of my home and a bear (possibly black) was trying to get in. I remember feeling such fear as I fought to close the door, yet after closing the door I reopened it, again, and again. Until finally when I opened the door the bear was walking away but looked back at me as if it realized I had reopened the door and was coming back again to attack. That is when I woke up, still frozen in fear. Infact I had been asleep on my couch which is close to my front door, and when I did wake up I thought it was real for a few seconds and checked to make sure it wasn’t. A fear so strong I was soaking.
My Bear dream was a brown beat that came to my house, woke me and took my two kids and put them on its back and started walking out of the house and when it got outside it looked back at me and spoke to me ‘ “it is time for us to leave” and it walked off and I followed ..as I did I look e back and saw my wife sleeping in bed still and them we vanished into a cloud…and I woke up..