Do you ever dream about bears? What does it mean whenever this happens? In fact, Why do we dream in the first place? For thousands of years, humans have been trying to figure out the answer to this question. Great minds such as Plato, the Greek philosopher, and Zhu Xi, the Confucian scholar have some speculations about the meaning and function of dreams. However, it has only been a few decades since scientific experiments began to show the benefits of our nocturnal narratives. So there are benefits to dreaming? Absolutely!
In this post, we are not only going to discuss the implications of dreaming about bears, but we’ll also take a deep dive into dreaming in general. This way, we will better understand the meaning of bears in dreams. Let’s go!
Dreaming About Bears: An Overview
In the dream world, bears are considered an exceptional symbol of strength and power. Not only that, these massive creatures also represent vigorousness and freedom. There are several interpretations of the appearance of different types of bears and what they mean. Hopefully, it could answer some of your most pressing concerns like what does it mean when you dream about bears chasing you? Or what do you do when you dream about bears attacking? More about dreaming about bears later. For now, let’s go back to what dreaming is all about in the first place.
The Influence of Dreams
Scientists have an inkling that our dreams may have plenty of functions that can influence our success, our wits, and even our survival. Every one of us spends around two hours a night dreaming. In an average lifespan of 80 years, that’s about 60,000 hours or ten years of your waking life. Thus, dreaming ought to have some benefit for us to be spending so much time doing it.
All people dream, even if they can’t always remember them. Most likely, what you will remember will be the weirdest ones, the ones who are least likely to become a reality. Half of us remember at least one dream every week, and a majority of women can remember their dreams more compared to men.
The Different Phases of Sleep
There are a couple of phases our brain goes through when we are asleep. These are repeated in cycles throughout the night. During the initial phase, you will transition from wakefulness into sleep, as you start to relax and slow your breathing. When your body temperature drops and your breathing starts slowing down even more, you then enter light sleep.
Next, you will enter the deep sleep phase which is characterized by a certain pattern in our brain known as the delta waves. After which, you will begin the REM (rapid eye movement) sleep stage. Here, your breathing is sped up, and your eyes move constantly. It is in this phase where dreaming takes place.
In the REM phase, your brain is super active, almost as much as when you’re wide awake. Almost all other animals go to sleep and experience REM sleep. Thus, scientists believe that many of these animals could also dream, like your beloved fur babies. Your cat or dog could be dreaming, goofing around about chasing that juicy, mouth-watering red ball.
The Significance of Dreams Throughout History
The way humanity thinks about dreams has evolved throughout history. For most cultures across the globe, dreaming has always held some spiritual significance. Even the Bible has certain interpretations of dreams. However, the obsession with decoding dreams stemmed in ancient Egypt. Volumes of books were created about countless dreams and their interpretations about them.
These books were utilized by professional dream interpreters to help people determine the meaning of their dreams. The belief that our dreams possessed hidden messages that were meant to be decoded or interpreted became the best way to look at dreams through the early part of the 20th century.
In 1900, Sigmund Freud published “Interpretation of Dreams”, a highly influential book that claimed your dream interpretation could be used to make sense of your unconscious desires. He had a theory that people’s unfulfilled wishes while awake are fully expressed in dreams. But because some of those wishes could be a bit embarrassing, Freud believed our minds confused our dreams deliberately, to hide their real meaning.
Carl Jung then expanded Freud’s theories and considered several archetypal symbols that can usually be seen in dreams. He believes this to be universal among us, humans. He thought that all dreams could be interpreted if we could crack the code of such symbols or the “language” of dreams. Jung said that dreams had two functions. First, dreams compensate for things that a dreamer fights hard to ignore or repress. And second, dreams give dreamers hints about what could happen in the future.
The Benefits and Functions of Dreams
Years later, modern science no longer looks at Freud and Jung’s viewing of dreams as messages buried and meant to be interpreted or decoded. Now, researchers are asking about the benefits and functions that dreams have for people, or what our brains get out of by dreaming.
Initially, scientists thought that the strange jumble of stories, pictures, and events people experience while dreaming were simply effects of the basic biological process our brains go through. Like a neurological noise, we normally experience during sleep. So the other parts of our brain attempt to make sense of this noise by threading some random story from this slideshow. That’s why they can be so weird at times.
Unfortunately, it’s not all fun and games as dreams can eventually turn into our worst nightmares. They are so terrifying or distressing that they can wake you up. Around 1 out of 40 dreams turn out to be a nightmare. And there’s a reason why your brain replays your worst memories and fears, that is, to “practice” dangerous situations for us to survive threatening experiences in real life.
Dream About Bears: Bears In Dreams Interpretation
Now that we have a better understanding of why we dream and the benefits our brains could get from it, we can learn more about bear symbolism in dreams. Here are various types of bears in dreams and their meaning.
Brown Bears
When you dream about bears, particularly brown bears, these are usually made out of generally positive predictions. Thus, seeing brown bears in your dreams could mean finally meeting your goals, or that you’re getting close to achieving those long-term milestones you have set out for yourself.
White Polar Bears
White is always a good color to dream about because it symbolizes purity, peace, and serenity. So when you dream about white polar bears in your sleep, this could mean that all those things that bothered you so much in the past will no longer have the power to trigger you. You have come to realize that you can always choose to see the bright side of things as long as you can be at peace with yourself and the decisions you make. This could also predict that the days ahead will be full of joy despite life’s many challenges.
Grizzly Bears
When you dream about bears such as this one, it’s confirming that you are under tremendous stress during your waking moments. The good news is, sooner or later you will be able to crack the code and find the best solution to get rid of that big obstacle that is haunting you.
Grizzly Cubs
Now, there could be two interpretations of this. If you remember feeling calm while dreaming about this, it is a positive omen since it symbolizes your caring and living side for the people around you. However, if you saw this cub and all you wanted to do was run for your life in your dream, then it means you must develop better coping skills in life. Find ways to mature in your way of thinking, and spend less time worrying and more time finding solutions to your problems.
Black Bears
When you see the black bear in your dream, it represents your innermost feelings. This should give you an insight into your unconscious and subconscious mind. You should be happy because it’s trying to tell you not to worry. After all, you are right on track and are transcending well as an individual. Therefore, this is a positive dream. It reminds you to stop overthinking and being too analytical that you sometimes fail to see and enjoy the good things in life.
Fiercely Aggressive Bears
When you dream about bears- the truly aggressive ones, beware. This should serve as a warning especially if you’re the type of person who needs to be in control of every situation and upholds super high standards. Your dream could mean that deep inside you feel stuck, causing you to feel frustrated and overwhelmed.
Bear Attacking
Since this predicts harm to yourself, it doesn’t automatically pertain to physical harm. It could also pertain to the mental and emotional anguish you are currently experiencing in your awakened state.
Bears Running After You
This means you are doing everything you can to avoid certain people, places, or situations. You want to avoid confrontations at all costs. But this pending situation will not be resolved until you finally muster the courage to stand up and face it. This dream is telling you that it is in your best interest to settle this once and for all for your peace of mind.
Deceased Bears
You may be secretly or openly rebelling against something or something. In this situation, your pride, weakness, or guilt could be your biggest enemy. It’s normal to go through a rough patch in life, and don’t pretend that you can solve everything all by yourself. Don’t be ashamed to seek help from loved ones, those who truly care about your well-being. Find someone you can trust, who will help you without judging or nagging in the process.
Bears At Rest
Here, you are taking time to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Life is good, and you deserve whatever success you have right now because you have been relentless and unceasing. Somehow, you have found the key to having the perfect work-life balance to keep your sanity in place. So keep it up!
Killing Bears
When you dream about bears and kill them in the process, it’s a good dream (believe it or not). Good things are about to come so be prepared for it. You are your own worst enemy, and you must do everything you can to stop this self-sabotaging cycle that has been going on for years. If you don’t, you will lose good people and amazing opportunities that come your way.
Seeing Bear Traps
When bear traps appear in your dreams, it could mean whatever crucial plans you have in place will need to be put on hold. Something that is out of your control is about to happen. Do not worry, because when this blows over and the dust has settled, everything will fall into place. Until then, you need to be able to demonstrate strength and resilience as a leader because people look up to you for guidance and support.
Final Thoughts On Dreaming About Bears
Regardless of your dreams, be it about bears, your inlaws on a pogo stick or Hugh Jackman doing a tap dance in his Wolverine outfit, they are highly visual. They may have evolved in mammals to keep our vulnerable brain areas active at night and prevent them from rewiring in dangerous ways. Our dreams could have evolved for one function and one function alone, but they managed to stay this long because they helped humans in many different ways. Whether or not you are going to use your dreams to your advantage is totally up to you. Sweet dreams!
