• Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views




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    1. #1
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      Interesting but sad dream

      I had a dream last night that I just keep wondering what the heck?!?!

      It's sad, but I'm really interested in it.

      It started that I was walking along the banks of a pond or small lake in what seems to be a park. There was short grass and a small covered bridge possibly Everett Rd covered bridge and a path near me. As I stroll along the bank I turn from the shore to go up to the path, and there's a black bear coming around a slight curve in the path towards me. He doesn't see me yet and I freeze and think, "oh crap!" I have nothing to defend myself with.

      As the bear notices me, I see the wheels start spinning in its brain and just then my brothers dog, Thorin, (which has been gone many years) came from the bridge and positioned himself between me and the bear. I see the bear making it's choice and it's going to attack and I think that I need to get between Thorin and the bear. As I start to move, a pickup truck of guys comes racing in and shoots and kills the bear with a rifle. But the rifle shot, goes through the bear and strikes Thorin in the eye!

      Now Thorin is laying there, twitching and I yell, "kill the dog! kill the dog!"

      This is the weirdest dream I've had in a very long time. Anyone have any opinions... on the dream??

      Thanks!

      Rick

    2. #2
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      Hi Rick,

      Although in order to provide a more accurate interpretation it would usually be best to have some additional general background information about you (and a description of events just before this upsetting dream), it’s safe to say that animals in dreams symbolize the dreamer’s connection with, and overall attitude toward, natural instinctive reactions, strong emotions, vague feelings, intuitions and even cold thoughts and actions that are sometimes needed to defend ourselves in certain situations (just like a quiet mother bear etc. will suddenly turn very savage if her cubs are in danger).

      The natural setting of the dream in a park which has a pond/lake adds to this idea of your instinctive side being its main theme.

      Maybe just before the dream, you were in some way exploring this part of yourself (e.g. you’re walking beside the pond and then move to the path which apparently leads to the bridge).

      It looks like that possibly, you kind of strayed into difficult territory when approaching your natural instinctive side (i.e. a black bear appears).

      The black bear then sees you and is going to attack. Thorin appears from the bridge and places himself between you and the bear.

      The presence of the bridge suggests that you might have been approaching some new way of handling the darker, earthier part of yourself.

      That’s because a bridge in dreams usually represents the threshold between one psychological state and another such as, for example, between a current attitude or general outlook etc. and a different way of viewing things which can be more helpful and productive overall.

      A bridge not only joins opposite sides of a gap, but bridges over (“overcomes”) what is in the gap.

      Another way to look at it is that a bridge links the known and the unknown, the conscious and the unconscious, the seen and unseen.

      A bridge is also “man-made”, suggesting the need to “construct” various practical means to cross into new areas of experience etc.

      The bridge in the dream reminded you of the Everett Road covered bridge which is one of very many bridges built in Ohio during the 19th century to help ensure the smooth movement of goods.

      It’s also linked to the idea of protecting lives by providing a safe way to cross a river as opposed to the potentially dangerous method of using a ford.

      In addition, the Everett Road Bridge itself is connected with the idea of “something of great value” because it’s been restored with care after various disasters.

      Exploring these “associations” with the bridge shows how this technique can enhance the understanding of a given image in a dream.

      For example, psychologically speaking, the free movement of goods suggests the idea of a fluid and growing sense of “productivity” as connected with the personality.

      Trying to ford a flooding river is linked to the idea of strong emotions which could “sweep away” a person, whereas a “solidly built” method of “overcoming” such emotions should be always be worked at and “rebuilt”/enhanced when needed.

      So especially if you were heading for the bridge, it looks like something as symbolized by the bear got in the way of a transitional movement in your mind regarding your darker, earthier side as represented by the bear.

      Thorin, who came from the bridge, might partly symbolize that a healthy and “domesticated” link with the instincts already exists but it needs some kind of growth and expansion.

      You can try seeing what spontaneous memories, thoughts and feelings appear when focusing on the image of the black bear in order to find out its personal meaning for you by sifting through what emerges.

      Also useful in uncovering its meaning in your dream are the collective beliefs and impressions made by bears on people as a whole over thousands of years.

      For example, these include the idea in many cultures that the bear is the quintessential “wild beast”.

      Also, its awesome strength and its supremacy in wilderness areas have often made the bear an incarnation of nature itself.

      And from the earliest times, bears have formed a central part of religious practices for many peoples.

      Just like nature, a bear has two sides. It can be clever, prudent, “wise” and protective. On the other hand, if crossed, it can become extremely violent and destructive, going “berserk” (etymologically derived from Old Norse “berserk” = "wild warrior”, probably from the stem of “bjorn” = "bear" + serkr "shirt").

      In practical terms, if a person “angers” or otherwise disturbs his or her instincts too much, an “attack” can potentially take the form of any one of an endless range among upsetting physical and/or psychological symptoms.

      In your dream, the bear “intrudes” into the “domesticated” area of the park. This seems to echo how often bears are coming into civilized areas because their habitat is being eroded and is not providing them with enough sustenance. More often than not, they are shot dead instead of being tranquillized and moved to a better environment.

      On analogy, this points psychologically to how our instinctive side is tending to be “starved” and “killed” in our modern technological society.

      Thorin wants to protect you but you know that he wouldn’t be able to.

      The dream might be showing that you do indeed have to protect your current connection with the instincts while confronting head-on the need to establish a new level of including them in your life.

      However, this is no easy task and the gun-happy guys who arrive in the pickup symbolize what can happen.

      Namely, a tendency can appear to somehow act destructively when threatened with the need to adopt an attitude or outlook etc. that challenges our beliefs or interests.

      For instance, we can deny that there is actually any need to change and develop ourselves.

      The danger of this is possibly shown in your dream where the bear is killed (i.e. any chance for a better and deeper relationship with your instinctive side).

      In addition though, the potential for losing a current and valuable level of connection with your instincts could also be “horribly killed”.

      So overall, the dream appears to be saying that a deeper connection with your instincts is needed in order to enhance your overall self-development as an individual; however, this won’t be easy but is necessary in order to at least prevent a lost connection with this vital part of yourself.

      If anything seems to make sense about this interpretation of your dream, you might like “Meeting the Shadow”, edited by Connie Zweig and Jeremiah Abrams. It covers the concept of the earthy, shadowy, emotional and instinctive side of human nature that we may not feel very comfortable with, and covers how to deal with it in detail. It's easy to read, being composed of many short articles by various authors inside and outside the psychological community.

      Other books to choose from on this subject include “Owning Your Own Shadow” by Robert Johnson, “Romancing the Shadow” by Connie Zweig and Steven Wolf, “Make Friends with your Shadow” by William Miller, “Your Shadow” by Robin Robertson, and “A Little Book on the Human Shadow” by Robert Bly.

      Anyway as mentioned, without knowing anything much about you, this way of looking at your dream might not fit your personal circumstances very well, but I hope that these ideas can be helpful in some way.

      In any case, all your comments or questions about this interpretation are very welcome.

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