A question about an experience

[Crazy Bear]

Hello, all.

I've been having a sort of spiritual crisis this holiday season. I've felt sort of empty and whatnot. I am of no particular religion but more of a seeker in the act of seeking. So, last night before I went to bed (my whole house was already asleep), I got the strong urge to take a shower. It wasn't really out of nowhere, I hadn't had one that day, but still, normally I would have waited for the morning. I'm not a nighttime shower kind of person. During the shower I got the idea that it was some sort of purification thing. It wasn't a strong 'message from God' type of thing, it was just an idea. The water felt good, like it was washing away something.

I went to my room downstairs and started reading (I always read before bed) and before long I got the really strong urge to pray. Pray? Woah, man. That's not something I really do. I kneeled and didn't know what to think, what to say. Who to address. I decided to do something really out of nowhere. I was likely influenced by Wicca books and Shamanism books and all sorts of things I've read in the past, but I invited the Bear, the Eagle, the Wolf, and the Buffalo to visit me. (Those four weren't just pulled out of my ***; we have a medicine wheel depicting the four of them in our basement).

It felt like it was only half of an attempt, maybe. Or maybe just not exactly spiritual. I meant it, but I didn't get anything from it.

I continued reading until I fell asleep and when I woke up I got those fleeting dream images that you have to try really hard to piece together. The final image was that of a bear and an eagle... Combining? Maybe. There was a great bright yellow-orange light occupied by a bear and an eagle and they were doing something together.

I was in an underground subway station. The guy at the desk offered to help me get away from them. I don't know what I said. I don't think I said anything. This was just before the great light.

And before that I was running. There were also the bear and eagle here but I have the feeling they were more menacing, and maybe in human form? Either way it was them. I'm not sure if I was running with them or from them. This was the earliest part of the dream.

So, can someone help interpret? Was it just any old dream I'm grasping to read into or was my invitation accepted? Note the lack of wolf and bison.

Sorry if this isn't the appropriate section!

 

[Klaufi_Wodensson]

This is coming from someone with absolutely no experience of dream interpretation, but I'm guessing that there is obviously a connection between you and the Bear and Eagle. It seems that the Bear and Eagle accepted your invitation, while the Wolf and Bison did not. Not sure what it all means though Just try more often! And maybe try and take ahold of your dreams and converse with them.

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

Hello, all.

I've been having a sort of spiritual crisis this holiday season. I've felt sort of empty and whatnot. I am of no particular religion but more of a seeker in the act of seeking. So, last night before I went to bed (my whole house was already asleep), I got the strong urge to take a shower. It wasn't really out of nowhere, I hadn't had one that day, but still, normally I would have waited for the morning. I'm not a nighttime shower kind of person. During the shower I got the idea that it was some sort of purification thing. It wasn't a strong 'message from God' type of thing, it was just an idea. The water felt good, like it was washing away something.

I went to my room downstairs and started reading (I always read before bed) and before long I got the really strong urge to pray. Pray? Woah, man. That's not something I really do. I kneeled and didn't know what to think, what to say. Who to address. I decided to do something really out of nowhere. I was likely influenced by Wicca books and Shamanism books and all sorts of things I've read in the past, but I invited the Bear, the Eagle, the Wolf, and the Buffalo to visit me. (Those four weren't just pulled out of my ***; we have a medicine wheel depicting the four of them in our basement).

It felt like it was only half of an attempt, maybe. Or maybe just not exactly spiritual. I meant it, but I didn't get anything from it.

I continued reading until I fell asleep and when I woke up I got those fleeting dream images that you have to try really hard to piece together. The final image was that of a bear and an eagle... Combining? Maybe. There was a great bright yellow-orange light occupied by a bear and an eagle and they were doing something together.

I was in an underground subway station. The guy at the desk offered to help me get away from them. I don't know what I said. I don't think I said anything. This was just before the great light.

And before that I was running. There were also the bear and eagle here but I have the feeling they were more menacing, and maybe in human form? Either way it was them. I'm not sure if I was running with them or from them. This was the earliest part of the dream.

So, can someone help interpret? Was it just any old dream I'm grasping to read into or was my invitation accepted? Note the lack of wolf and bison.

Sorry if this isn't the appropriate section!

Hello, CB, interesting story.

I'm not going to offer an interpretation, just suggest a couple of things. First, you've obviously read a lot and have some background that sets you in a situation where certain symbols, etc., are in your daily life. The question is--and don't feel compelled to answer this to me or anyone else, just for you to think about--what do the four animals mean to you? Why did you ask them? What do you expect from them?

Second, I see such sudden urges as evidence that the spirits are trying to get your attention. It's good that you're open to it, and "went with the flow" as it were. I would say your invitation was accepted, because that's the way I experience spirits. much of our lives goes on in the Spirit World, in Dreamworld.

Here's how I make my self available to the spirits: I sit cross-legged, relaxed, breathing slowly and deeply, calming my mind. Then I ask the spirits--I ask specific ones, not spirits in general--to come to me and teach me what it is they want me to learn. I try to stay relaxed and open, listening, feeling, etc., for what I then experience. sometimes its not much, sometimes its quite involved. It's usually very clear when they are done; and when they are, I thank them. If I become uncomfortable, confused, or whatever, I respectfully ask that they stop and allow me to compose myself, or to resume at a later time.

 

[Crazy Bear]

The question is--and don't feel compelled to answer this to me or anyone else, just for you to think about--what do the four animals mean to you? Why did you ask them? What do you expect from them?

I could answer this question without skipping a beat I've read and pondered so much. The thing is, I've never experienced. Are the spirits likely to represent what I read in books or think they should be like?

much of our lives goes on in the Spirit World, in Dreamworld."

Do you have any tips on how to experience this Spirit World/Dreamworld. If much of my life is happening there and I'm inviting and experiencing spirits there I'd like to have seen it a little. I've never had a lucid dream and don't keep a solid dream journal, although I do write my dreams on my Blackberry when I remember them. Anything special you do to get in touch with the Dreamworld?

Here's how I make my self available to the spirits: I sit cross-legged, relaxed, breathing slowly and deeply, calming my mind. Then I ask the spirits--I ask specific ones, not spirits in general--to come to me and teach me what it is they want me to learn. I try to stay relaxed and open, listening, feeling, etc., for what I then experience. sometimes its not much, sometimes its quite involved. It's usually very clear when they are done; and when they are, I thank them. If I become uncomfortable, confused, or whatever, I respectfully ask that they stop and allow me to compose myself, or to resume at a later time.

Thanks for your method! I'll give it a shot tonight probably.

I really appreciate the input!

EDIT: Wow. Tried your method again. I first washed myself because the water felt purifying the other night and I thought it might help again. I meditated and was visited by the Eagle again, I think. It might have been my own imagination, but it was a breathtaking experience. I put very little into it, listening only to my urges. I even got frustrated with the Eagle once, which makes me think it can't just be my brain playing tricks on me. I would make it much easier on myself Thank you again!

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

I could answer this question without skipping a beat I've read and pondered so much. The thing is, I've never experienced. Are the spirits likely to represent what I read in books or think they should be like?



Do you have any tips on how to experience this Spirit World/Dreamworld. If much of my life is happening there and I'm inviting and experiencing spirits there I'd like to have seen it a little. I've never had a lucid dream and don't keep a solid dream journal, although I do write my dreams on my Blackberry when I remember them. Anything special you do to get in touch with the Dreamworld?



Thanks for your method! I'll give it a shot tonight probably.

I really appreciate the input!

EDIT: Wow. Tried your method again. I first washed myself because the water felt purifying the other night and I thought it might help again. I meditated and was visited by the Eagle again, I think. It might have been my own imagination, but it was a breathtaking experience. I put very little into it, listening only to my urges. I even got frustrated with the Eagle once, which makes me think it can't just be my brain playing tricks on me. I would make it much easier on myself Thank you again!

Hello again. Glad to hear you had a positive experience. It's a challenge, I'll admit, because (speaking only from my own experience) we learn to resist and ignore such experiences. Keeping yourself open and on task can be difficult. The most important thing in dealing with spirits is to be respectful and make an effort accept and understand what they are trying to tell you.

Let me rephrase something I said: I believe that people spend a good deal of time when asleep--and maybe sometimes even when waking--being active in the spirit realm. It's not like it's really a separate place. When people talk about the "Veil between the worlds," I think it's a metaphor for the barrier we set up in our awareness to keep it mostly out of our waking state.

I can't really answer your question about what the spirits are/will be like: it's in part an individual thing, but it's also in part what they choose to teach you about. But if you've read and thought a lot about it, you might have expectations or preformed ideas that might or might not jibe with what you're experiencing. And, your knowledge and life experiences might be important to understanding what it is they are trying to teach you. This is often what you need an elder for, to help guide you through your experience. MY experience has been almost without human guidance, though.