So, this morning during my automatic writing, I visualized myself standing on the grassy bank of a river that had a several foot drop down to the river. The water was smooth but moving. On the other side the bank was similar but had a forest behind it. A large bear-man monster emerged from the forest wearing decorations tightly wrapped around his wrists and a decorative vest, Ottoman style. He reminded me of something from Where the Wild Things Are. We acknowledged each other civilly and he was not threatening or angry. He walked to edge of the bank and sat down with his feet in the river. We were both peaceful and appreciative of the atmosphere and each other's respectively mellow presences.

When I emerged from this imagery I researched a bit on the mythology of bears and man-bears. There is a lot. The bear in Native American myth and spirituality holds a lot of fascination. Perhaps for me the best part of the research was more anthropological than mythological, as I discovered the story of the Ainu people of Japan and Russia, who apparently had the last living bear cult that lasted into the beginning of the past century. This indigenous group would sacrifice young bears. I always become quite sad when I read about lost cultures, dying languages, disappeared knowledge.

In my vision, I think perhaps I am the bear, another part of me, looking back at myself from the other side of the river. I have to ask myself, what would happen if the river weren't there and the bear and I were not separated. What would that interaction be?

Thoughts?