I am reading a stream of dream reports this morning involving bears. A woman dreamer is nervous when she sees huge brown bears on her lawn, and rushes around trying to secure windows and doors. Then she finds two sweet bear cubs right inside her home and cuddles with them. This denouement pleased me a lot, since I have learned from experience that Bear is the great medicine animal of North America, and that when we run away from bears or try to shut them out in our dreams, we may be seeking to avoid our own healing.

As I continue to scan old journals, I find hundreds of images of the bear among my drawings. The sketch below honors four scenes from a dream reentry, in which I went back inside a dream in which I had been scared by a giant bear  who turned up inside my living space.  When I reentered the dream wide awake and conscious, I found a powerful ally for healing. To enlist such allies, we are of course required to brave up.

Titled, “Visions of the Bear”, this drawing appears in my journal for January, 1995.

Text in “Visions of the Bear”

At the top: “Don’t cry little one, the bear is coming to dance for you (Mohawk cradle song)”

1. “Bear comes and we hug. We are joined at the heart by a glowing pink cord. This feels good! I know it is a true power of healing.”

2. “Now I can step into Bear’s skin, and he into mine.”

3. “We stomp-dance together, making thunder in the earth.”

4. “I burn sage for him.”