Missing Witches - Meditation： Bear Kin

00:00:00.140 To support the Missing Witches Project, go to missingwitches.com. 1.00

00:00:04.460 You aren't being a proper woman, therefore you must be a witch. 1.00

00:00:11.040 You must be a witch. 1.00

00:00:28.300 I gotta be honest. 0.98

00:00:30.000 For me, menopause came way, way, way early and knocked me out, blindsiding like the sharp

00:00:43.460 clawed swiping paw of a grizzly bear.

00:00:47.780 I had been on an upswing for a while, my mental and physical health were working in harmony

00:00:52.980 to make me a happier person.

00:00:55.540 I was getting stronger, wiser.

00:00:58.620 I had more energy than I had had in years.

00:01:02.920 I felt like I was, to use a somewhat eye-rolly term, self-actualizing, becoming the person I was meant to be.

00:01:14.020 Then one day, I woke up in someone else's body.

00:01:18.180 A tired body with sore knees and extra weight and fur that seemed to just appear while I slept.

00:01:26.160 Fatigue the likes of which I had never experienced, even through lifelong chronic illness.

00:01:32.520 I entered a new kind of depression, one I had never experienced before.

00:01:39.020 I just didn't want to do anything.

00:01:46.280 I wasn't even sad, just blank.

00:01:51.180 My humanity erased with the flip of a hormonal switch.

00:01:55.360 Winter descended, and I, sweaty, achy, foggy, and confused, longed for a den in a cave.

00:02:07.080 As SoCal punk band The Descendants once sang, people are cess.

00:02:12.280 I want to be a bear.

00:02:14.220 I am bear kin, and I wanted to go deep into the woods to be with them.

00:02:20.080 to curl up in their damp, stinking fur and hibernate.

00:02:26.420 I wanted to sleep through that winter, and I needed a bear hug.

00:02:31.520 I want to be a bear.

00:02:34.360 I am bear kin.

00:02:39.800 But I learned that my ursine family don't actually hibernate.

00:02:45.280 So maybe I don't need to either.

00:02:48.240 Instead of hibernating, bears fall into torpor, a deep sleep with some awareness still intact.

00:02:58.440 During torpor, heart rate and breathing rate decreases, body temperature reduces slightly,

00:03:05.080 and bears do not eat or release bodily waste.

00:03:09.460 Bears can sleep more than 100 days without eating, drinking, or passing waste.

00:03:14.760 Instead, bears are able to literally turn their pee into protein through a urea recycling process.

00:03:24.140 The urea produced by their fat metabolism is broken down, and the nitrogen is reused by the bear to rebuild protein.

00:03:32.200 The main difference between hibernation and torpor is that during torpor, the animal is able to wake up easily if hurt or threatened by predators.

00:03:42.280 Pregnant female bears can also wake up from torpor to give birth, then go back to sleep afterwards.

00:03:49.600 I am bear kin, so I gave up on hibernation and set my bleary sights on torpor.

00:03:57.780 Energy is the currency. I can afford to waste none.

00:04:02.600 Energy I used to waste becomes protein, becomes fuel.

00:04:07.440 I keep just enough awareness to not miss something important.

00:04:12.420 I am bear kin in torpor.

00:04:17.280 Do not poke the bear, because when I emerge from this long waking sleep,

00:04:22.540 I am fast, strong, deadly.

00:04:27.880 But please don't poke me.

00:04:30.420 Be patient, and soon I'll be ready to play.

00:04:34.600 Experts agree that bears play.

00:04:37.620 Play is known to be beneficial for animals and human animals, promoting intelligence and creativity.

00:04:43.740 As leading expert on play Stuart Brown puts it,

00:04:47.620 the opposite of play is not work.

00:04:50.620 The opposite of play is depression.

00:04:54.940 I want to play.

00:04:56.940 I want to sleep.

00:04:59.100 I want to be a bear.

00:05:00.660 In Korean mythology, 0.61

00:05:05.040 Unnyeo was a bear who transformed into a woman

00:05:08.280 after 21 days in a cave

00:05:10.340 with only garlic and mugwort to eat.

00:05:14.100 In Korea, the bear is connected to the land

00:05:16.340 and still symbolizes the uterus.

00:05:19.460 Speaking of the uterus,

00:05:20.760 there's this myth that bears will attack people

00:05:23.340 who are going through a menstrual cycle.

00:05:26.720 This myth originated from a tragic freak occurrence

00:05:30.120 in Glacier Park, Montana, in which two women camping out at the park were both attacked and

00:05:35.280 killed by grizzlies on the evening of August 13th, 1967. The occurrence of the attacks on two women

00:05:42.100 in a single night in the same park, both of whom were, at the time, having their periods, led to

00:05:47.800 the speculation that women, especially menstruating women, were especially prone to attracting bear

00:05:54.000 attacks. Scientific studies have been conducted on black bears and grizzly bears to test if this

00:06:00.620 had any truth and showed no evidence that bears responded in any unusual way to human menstrual

00:06:07.740 odors. The tragic 1967 Glacier Park attacks were simply coincidental and not linked to menstrual

00:06:16.600 odor. Bear attacks are very rare and almost always caused by bears becoming aggressive

00:06:22.860 after being habituated to associate humans with food,

00:06:26.820 which entirely lies on the fault of human irresponsibility,

00:06:30.800 whether from people hand-feeding bears or by improperly storing food and garbage. 1.00

00:06:36.000 There's a metaphor in there about women and victim-blaming, 1.00

00:06:41.260 attracting attack, 0.96

00:06:43.800 or menstruation being evil. 0.68

00:06:46.680 In truth, coming down to human irresponsibility

00:06:50.620 and a wide misunderstanding of how nature operates.

00:06:55.900 I want to be a bear, and I have precedent outside Korea.

00:07:00.200 Globally, our ancient ancestors had many stories about women turning into bears. 0.62

00:07:05.320 Bernard Brunner, in his book Bears, A Brief History, suggests that the Kittwa,

00:07:10.840 also known as the Cherokee, who originally lived in the region between the Ohio River

00:07:15.320 and what is now Georgia and Alabama, believed that bears were transformed humans.

00:07:20.620 They were convinced that at one time some of their forefathers had traded their difficult human lives for the more carefree lot of bears

00:07:30.060 And that they and bears thus shared the same ancestors

00:07:34.760 There's the story of the Nitsitapi bear woman who took a bear for her lover and became a bear

00:07:42.240 Who became a bear and killed her whole village

00:07:45.480 whose resurrected brothers and sisters decided that the sky was the safest place 0.55

00:07:51.340 and became the seven stars of what we call Ursa Major.

00:07:56.240 Then there's Callisto, the nymph of Greek mythology who was impregnated by Zeus

00:08:01.500 and then turned into a bear for her efforts.

00:08:04.740 Almost killed, she instead was sent to live among the stars

00:08:09.200 as part of that same great bear constellation.

00:08:12.480 So many distinct ancient civilizations looked up to the Pleiades and saw a bear

00:08:20.800 that I have to wonder what else I'm missing.

00:08:24.780 I've never lived in a world without electricity, without lights and light pollution.

00:08:31.100 But I am bear kin.

00:08:34.320 I am longing for a darkness that will allow me to see a different kind of light.

00:08:39.980 in the sacred medicine oracle deck asha frost wrote bear is holding potent energy for you

00:08:48.480 protecting your sacred space in your surrender and rest you are held bear stands behind you

00:08:57.880 and wraps their warm fur around your body in her book you are the medicine asha tells the story of

00:09:06.440 Why the Bear Sleeps.

00:09:09.500 Creator bestowed gifts upon each animal, and Bear was first in line.

00:09:15.180 Asher writes,

00:09:16.340 Creator swirled beautiful energy around Bear and spoke the gift into the universe.

00:09:22.840 You are a keeper of courage, dear Bear.

00:09:26.640 Fierce in your boundaries.

00:09:28.140 You stand rooted in your sovereignty.

00:09:32.240 You are passionate about protecting those that you love and mirror the importance of standing your ground.

00:09:39.000 Use your gifts wisely.

00:09:41.440 We are grateful to have your medicine upon the earth.

00:09:45.300 And because Bear was brave and strong and capable, he helped everyone until he collapsed from exhaustion.

00:09:54.780 The other animals were sorrowful and apologetic, but Bear was not angry or resentful.

00:10:01.380 Asha writes, said Bear, it is my responsibility to manage my own energy.

00:10:08.080 I know this now.

00:10:09.640 From now on, I will be mindful of my capacity to help, and when I feel tired, I will listen to my body and rest.

00:10:18.280 Perhaps it might span the whole time that the Earth Mother is blanketed in snow.

00:10:23.940 But please know that I will be ready to serve in my place of creation again when I reappear.

00:10:29.200 See, I am bear kin, and I am adaptable, a problem solver

00:10:36.240 A recent study where researchers gave brown bears puzzles to solve

00:10:40.380 lets us know that bears typically used trial and error, learning to solve the problem

00:10:46.660 Bears are not afraid to make mistakes, we try, we err, we try something else

00:10:53.340 I am bear kin, and my mistakes are paths to my learning

00:10:58.860 I am bare kin. I rest in torpor, keeping awareness always on tap. Relaxing. Sleeping.

00:11:11.780 But not so much that I become unaware of safety and surroundings. Rest. But not so much that it

00:11:19.600 threatens my life. Help others. But not so much that it threatens my life. And be not afraid to

00:11:27.860 make mistakes. I am bear kin. I eat garlic and drink mugwort tea, serving in my place of creation

00:11:37.380 again when I reappear. You may think I am hibernating, but I am in torpor, here, awake,

00:11:47.500 And soon, emerging from my cave 0.98

00:11:51.620 I am Ursa fucking Major 0.97

00:11:54.760 Made of stars 0.93

00:11:56.680 And I know how to use my energy on the cosmic hunt

00:12:00.160 I want to be a bear

00:12:02.040 A keeper of courage

00:12:04.120 Responsible for managing my own energy 0.89

00:12:07.980 Spelling menopause P-A-W-S

00:12:12.220 Soft fur

00:12:13.720 Sharp claws

00:12:15.780 Soft fur

00:12:17.400 sharp claws

00:12:19.900 trial

00:12:21.280 error

00:12:22.580 and torpor

00:12:24.360 I am bear kin

00:12:26.980 seeking bear hugs

00:12:29.180 in the doorway of the den

00:12:31.120 having traded my difficult

00:12:33.300 human life for the carefree

00:12:35.680 lot of bears

00:12:37.160 in constellation

00:12:38.400 but

00:12:41.220 as A. A. Milne wrote

00:12:43.280 at the end of the house at Pooh Corner

00:12:45.140 of course

00:12:46.760 it isn't really goodbye because the forest will always be there and anybody who is friendly with

00:12:54.260 bears can find it you must be a witch

00:13:08.740 hi sweet magical podcast listener it's amy and risa here from the missing witches podcast we

00:13:22.620 wanted to let you know that we are getting ready for our annual may fundraiser for native women's

00:13:27.640 shelters it's our third year it's the fourth year that we've donated our proceeds but the third year

00:13:33.120 that we're doing this fundraiser and it's become a community creation that we'd love to invite you

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00:13:45.440 Patreon and missingwitches.com and then we started to put together a raffle with prizes donated by 0.80

00:13:52.180 the incredible fucking magical artists, artisans, healers, poets, practitioners in our wide witch

00:13:58.500 web and it just got bigger so to participate in the raffle just make a donation of ten dollars or 0.98

00:14:04.540 more to the native women's shelter of montreal or to your own local non-profit supporting native

00:14:11.820 women or native people that's close to your own heart and home and then just send the receipt

00:14:17.260 for your donation to missingwitches at gmail.com and you'll be entered in our great big prize draw

00:14:23.640 I think we do one entry for every $10 of your donation.

00:14:27.320 So if you make a hundred dollar donation, that's 10 entries, something like that.

00:14:30.620 That's right.

00:14:31.540 Yeah.

00:14:32.080 And to learn more about this project, you can check out missingwitches.com slash reparations,

00:14:37.460 or again, email us at missingwitches at gmail.com.

00:14:40.540 And oh my gosh, and oh my goddix, and oh my all the goddesses.

00:14:44.860 If you are a listener interested in donating a prize, we are fucking thrilled to hear from 0.60

00:14:49.780 you. 0.55

00:14:49.960 so please email us uh same address missingwitches at gmail.com and we will be excited to celebrate

00:14:56.600 you and share your work and join in this act of reparations and community love together 0.98

00:15:01.880 thank you bless the fucking be 0.99

Missing Witches - April 06, 2023

Meditation： Bear Kin

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