I was in a strange house in the city of Perth. The house was on a very public corner right in the middle of the city.
In one of the bedrooms there was a large polar bear and a large brown bear. Both bears were sedated and asleep on the floor.
I remember feeling a sense of fear and panic. I was scared the bears would wake up.
To get to the bathroom I had to walk past the bears. I did manage to do this, keeping a close eye on the bears. I was thinking even if they did begin to stir it would take them a while to fully come to and I would have time to get away.
My two dogs were sniffing the bears. I began screaming to my boyfriend to get rid of the bears because I was scared for my dogs. I told him to take them to the zoo.
There was a problem. The bears belonged to Usama Bin Ladin and we could not take them to the zoo because someone would kill them.
In fact I do not live in Perth. I live in a country town in WA. I do have two dogs and a boyfriend. I also remember vaguely that there was more to the dream. It involved going next door to a restaurant and wanting to ask for help with getting rid of the bears, but I did not trust the people. I felt a sense of wanting to get rid of the bears but I did not want any harm to come to them.
Your dream starts in a very public place. On the outside this house is on view to so many people. How do you feel about cities? When you go to Perth, do you feel safe in public places?
Apart from your fear of awakening the bears, you mention issues of trust in the dream scene involving the restaurant: you wanted to ask for help but you did not trust the people.
I asked you about how you feel about your safety in cities because of your mention of trust. Trust is about feeling safe.
Wild animals, such as bears, are a scary prospect when they live in your bedroom, but behind bars in a zoo, both they and you are safe. You observe them safely. You trust in the safety of the zoo enclosures. Whether or not the bears are happy behind bars and whether or not they are free enough to express their true nature are other questions.
What feelings does the name Usama Bin Laden bring up for you? The obvious connection may be safety and trust again. Many New Yorkers, for example, felt safe in their city until 9.11. Many have had to face issues of trust and safety since then.
The bears belonged to Usama Bin Laden and they were sedated and asleep. Animals in our dreams often represent energies and instincts within the dreamer. What had you sedated at the time of this dream? What were you fearful of confronting? Let’s assume the bears represent danger or violation of trust since they belonged to Bin Laden. Had you faced danger or experienced a violation of trust in the past? Have you put these issues to sleep – sedated them – rather than explored them?
There are two bears (possibly two polar opposites, using the dream pun of the polar bear) and two dogs. What could the number two suggest? What happened two years ago? Do you, or does anyone around you, suffer from bi-polar? Could the dream be a pun on bear – what you can’t bear to face, for example, or a burden (two burdens?) you are finding too much to bear? Or something you need to bare - go public with?
In your dream you want to walk "past the bears" to get to the bathroom. The bathroom is a place of cleansing, so there is a feeling here of wanting to heal and move on from the sleeping bear issue – indeed to get "past" it. While you do manage to do this in your dream, the issue is not resolved as the two dogs then start to sniff the bears.
We use the word ‘sniff’ to ‘sniff out something’. That’s exactly what dogs do. To heal or to cleanse, we cannot avoid looking at stuff. We need to sniff out the issues, see them for what they are, and release them. Perhaps that’s what your dogs were trying to do after all. Your dogs are what … loyal, protective, trusting perhaps?
What steps do you take in your life to ensure your safety? Could you possibly be erring too much on the safe side, lacking trust? Your dream shows you that a zoo is not a suitable option for these bears. Your instinct is to get rid of the bears while ensuring that no harm comes to them. How can you translate this into waking life terms?
By now you should have a fair idea of what those bears mean to you. How can you best deal with this issue without harm? Is it about finding a middle point (between poles) between safety and risk, between trust and caution?
Dialogue:
Your dialogue is between the Polar Bear and yourself. Start with you saying, "I’m ready to hear your story. Where would you like to start?" and see what the Bear automatically answers. If the Brown Bear wants to join in the dialogue, that’s fine. Keep it going for 20 minutes.
How to do this:
Give yourself no longer than 20 minutes. When you do this exercise do NOT think! Don’t plan ahead. Just let whatever happens happen. Let the two entities speak to each other on paper using whatever words come up. It’s a bit like writing a film script or play – but without the brain being involved.
How does this work?
By not thinking, by keeping the words flowing, you are letting your right brain and unconscious mind do most of the work. They created the original dream so they know what these symbols mean for you. They will reveal. You will be surprised.
More details on Dialogue as a Dream Alchemy Practice in: “Dream Alchemy” by Jane Teresa Anderson, pages 321-4 and 333.
Jane Teresa Anderson
