B is for Bears

Welcome to the second Friday of my Pagan Blog Project! (And also the second week of the letter "B")
Today I'm going to talk about bears.

I live in the Pacific Northwest.  Although personally, I've only seen a bear in the wild a couple times over my whole lifetime, I'm still afraid of them.  Why?  Well, because they're very powerful, intimidating animals.  (Even the "smaller" Black Bears native to my area.) Every campsite around here has warnings about bears, and for good reason.  Bears are strong creatures, and if you don't give them the respect they deserve, they can definitely take their "pound of flesh" right out of you.
However, they are also misunderstood.  Though they have the ability to kill you, they don't go stamping around the forest just to look for a reason to maul somebody.  Especially black bears, which are less aggressive than the brown/grizzly, and generally avoid people if at all possible instead of attacking them.

Facts aside, this blog is about my spirituality, so let's talk about that.

Bears, as they are physically, are spiritually powerful.
They're often alone, and have a very strong sense of self, and of independence.  Bears aren't afraid to stand up (sometimes literally) for what they believe in.  Their senses are very strong, and spiritual sense is probably no exception.

As far as Shinto goes regarding bears, the only thing I have to go on is that the Ainu people, indigenous people of Japan, and who's religions and customs are what Shinto is based loosely on, revered bears very strongly as gods (the most important of all types of god, actually).  I'm not sure if I regard bear gods quite as important as the Ainu do (all things are important, after all), but I can definitely agree with the basic sentiment, and think of bears with the utmost respect.

Up until now, I've been afraid to attempt any prayers to bear gods.
But I think I'm going to start... I could definitely use their diligence and independent strength.

For any readers:
What do you think of bears?  Do you contact them?  Why/why not?
Do bears hold a special place for you?