Soul Retrieval
Shamanic cultures around the world believe that many physical illnesses are due to the loss of the soul. Soul is our essence, life force, the part of our vitality that keeps us alive and thriving. It is believed that whenever we suffer an emotional or physical trauma a part of our soul flees the body in order to survive the experience. The types of trauma that could cause soul loss in our culture would be any kind of abuse sexual, physical, or emotional. Other causes could be an accident, being in a war, being a victim of a terrorist act, acting against our morals, being in a natural disaster (a fire, hurricane, earthquake, tornado, etc.), surgery, addictions, divorce, or death of a loved one.
Any event that causes shock could cause soul loss. And what might cause soul loss in one person might not cause soul loss in another.
It is important to understand that soul loss is a good thing that happens to us. It is how we survive pain. If I was going to be in a head on car collision the last place that I would want to be at the point of impact is in my body. My psyche could not endure that kind of pain. So our psyches have this brilliant self protect mechanism where a part of our essence or soul leaves the body so that we do not feel the full impact of the pain.
In psychology this is called disassociation. But psychology does not address what it is that disassociates and where that something goes. Shamans understand that a piece of the soul leaves the body and goes to a territory in what shamans call non ordinary reality where it waits until someone intervenes in the spiritual realms and facilitates its return.
Coma is also soul loss. But in coma there is more of the soul out of body than in the body. Coma is very complicated to work with today for many reasons. It takes skill on behalf of the shaman to find out which way the soul is trying to go. Does the soul want to reenter the body or does it need help transcending which would lead to the death of the patient?
Although soul loss is a survival mechanism the problem from a shamanic point of view is that the soul part that left usually does not come back on its own. The soul might be lost, or stolen by another person, or doesn’t know when the trauma has passed and it does not realize that it is safe to return.
It has always been the role of the shaman to go into an altered state of consciousness and track down where the soul fled to in the alternate realities and return it to the body of the person.
Any event that causes shock could cause soul loss. And what might cause soul loss in one person might not cause soul loss in another.
It is important to understand that soul loss is a good thing that happens to us. It is how we survive pain. If I was going to be in a head on car collision the last place that I would want to be at the point of impact is in my body. My psyche could not endure that kind of pain. So our psyches have this brilliant self protect mechanism where a part of our essence or soul leaves the body so that we do not feel the full impact of the pain.
In psychology this is called disassociation. But psychology does not address what it is that disassociates and where that something goes. Shamans understand that a piece of the soul leaves the body and goes to a territory in what shamans call non ordinary reality where it waits until someone intervenes in the spiritual realms and facilitates its return.
Coma is also soul loss. But in coma there is more of the soul out of body than in the body. Coma is very complicated to work with today for many reasons. It takes skill on behalf of the shaman to find out which way the soul is trying to go. Does the soul want to reenter the body or does it need help transcending which would lead to the death of the patient?
Although soul loss is a survival mechanism the problem from a shamanic point of view is that the soul part that left usually does not come back on its own. The soul might be lost, or stolen by another person, or doesn’t know when the trauma has passed and it does not realize that it is safe to return.
It has always been the role of the shaman to go into an altered state of consciousness and track down where the soul fled to in the alternate realities and return it to the body of the person.
A shaman is a man or woman who interacts directly with spirits to address the spiritual aspects of illness, perform soul retrievals, divine information, help the spirits of deceased people cross over, and perform a variety of ceremonies for the community. Shamans have taken on many roles in tribal communities. They have acted as healers, doctors, priests, psychotherapists, mystics, and storytellers.
Shamanism is the oldest spiritual practice known to humankind. We know from the archaeological evidence that shamanism was practiced all over the world for at least 40,000 years. However many anthropologists believe that the practice dates back over 100,000 years.
The word shaman comes from the Tungus tribe in Siberia and means “one who sees in the dark”. Shamanism has been practiced in parts of Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, Greenland, and Native North and South America.
It has always been the role of the shaman to go into an altered state of consciousness and track down where the soul fled to in the alternate realities and return it to the body of the client.
There are many common symptoms of soul loss. Some of the more common ones would be dissociation where a person does not feel fully in his or her body and alive and fully engaged in life. Other symptoms include chronic depression, suicidal tendencies, post traumatic stress syndrome, immune deficiency problems, and grief that just does not heal. Addictions are also a sign of soul loss as we seek external sources to fill up the empty spaces inside of us whether through substances, food, relationships, work, or buying material objects.
Anytime someone says I have never been the same since a certain event and they don’t mean this in a good way soul loss has probably occurred.
It is interesting to note that as soul loss was so understood in shamanic cultures people who suffered traumas were given a soul retrieval within three days after a trauma occurred. Today as we have not been practicing soul retrieval modern day practitioners are going back ten, twenty, thirty, or forty years or even more looking for lost soul parts. Also in a shamanic culture the individuals knew what was out of balance in their lives that might have caused an illness or issue to occur.
In our culture we are very often unaware of what is out of spiritual harmony that is creating illness. And because often our soul loss happened so young we are unaware of the unconscious patterns we are living out due to our first experience of soul loss. We are always trying to retrieve our soul. And how we do this is by repeating the same trauma over and over again. The names might change of the people involved in our life story, but the story is often the same.
The effects of having a soul retrieval vary person to person. Some people feel that they are more grounded in their body and feel more solid. Some people feel lighter and a joyful way of being returns to them. For some memories of the past traumas might be triggered bringing up a variety of feelings that must be worked through. And for some people the effects are too subtle to notice a change until further work to integrate the soul is done.
As people feel more present in their bodies and in the world they become more conscious of behavior that might be out of balance and disharmonious. When we are numb we might be aware that things in the world are not right but we can easily distract ourselves from feeling a need to change. When we are fully “inspirited” there is no place to retreat to and we are more inspired to change our lives.
When we talk about soul we are really talking about light. In returning the soul parts and lost vitality to the client we are really returning light. There is a need for the person to fully absorb the light from the returned soul/essence into every cell of the body. One of the most important steps is to work with a metaphor that will help them to absorb the light of the returned essence. It is crucial that the client come up with the metaphor that will work for them. One example is that of a dry sponge that has been put in water and absorbs the water. Another is that of a flower that has been growing in an area suffering from drought. On the day the rain finally returns, the flower soaks in the water. Another example is of a darkened room and the curtains are opened flooding the room with light.
I believe that once a person has his or her soul brought back the client now has to do some work. If the person has done a lot of personal work the soul retrieval might be the end of the work. If not the soul retrieval would be the beginning of the work.
Now it is up to the client to look at how to create a healthy life style and attract healthy relationships that will support wholeness and a life filled with healing. How do we want to use the energy that was returned from the soul retrieval and our returned vitality to create a positive present and future for ourselves? And how do we bring passion and meaning back into our lives again so that we thrive instead of just survive? All these issues of “life after healing” and are crucial to create long term healing after a soul retrieval.
About Shamanic Practitioners
Some of you will use the practice of shamanism only for your own personal healing, growth and evolution. After extensive practice, some of you will be guided to also use this work for helping others in your community and in your work to help the planet. The times we live in call for our communities to be seeded with well-trained shamanic teachers. It is time for us to bring the practice of shamanism back into our communities and make the work available to those who wish to learn more about how this spiritual practice can be bridged and integrated into our lives.
Shamanic healing is a spiritual method of healing that deals with the spiritual aspect of illness. There are three common causes of illness in the shaman’s worldview. A person may have lost his or her power, causing depression, chronic illness, or a series of misfortunes. In this case, the shaman journeys to restore that person’s lost power. Or a person may have lost part of their soul or essence, causing soul loss, which sometimes occurs during an emotional or physical trauma, such as accidents, surgery, abuse, the trauma of war, being in a natural disaster, divorce, the death of a loved one, or other traumatic circumstances. Soul loss can result in dissociation, post-traumatic stress syndrome, depression, illness, immune deficiency problems, addictions, unending grief, or coma. Soul loss can prevent us from creating healthy relationships and the life we truly wish to live. It is the role of the shaman to track down the parts that have fled and been lost due to trauma by performing a soul retrieval ceremony. Another cause of illness from a shamanic perspective would be any spiritual blockages or negative energies a client has taken on due to the loss of his or her power or soul. These spiritual blockages also cause illness, usually in a localized area of the body. It is the role of the shaman to extract and remove these harmful energies from the body.
A shaman heals both the living and the deceased. In healing those who died, the shaman performs a psychopomp ceremony of helping those who have died cross over to a comfortable and peaceful place. The ceremony may also include clearing a home or land of spirits that are in a state of unrest.
As shamanic healing deals with the spiritual aspect of illness there is no way to predict the results that will manifest emotionally or physically. There are different ways that practitioners can work. One way is for the shamanic practitioner to only provide spiritual healing and follow up treatments if necessary. Another option is after the healing work to continue to work with your shamanic practitioner on the process of integration. The purpose of continuing the work would be to find ways to restore balance and harmony in your life and create a positive present and future for yourself through the use of spiritual practices and ceremonies. Life without passion and meaning can result in despair. With shamanic practices you can explore how to create a meaningful life.
Here are some guidelines to find a practitioner:
Go to the list in the state where you live and try to find someone you can see in person. It is best to work with the practitioner in person rather than long distance. Long distance work can be done with shamanic healing, however, I do find the best results occur when the client sees the practitioner in person unless there is a critical situation that prevents the client from traveling.
Talk to the practitioners near you and choose a person you feel comfortable working with.
Find a practitioner who is flexible in their fees.
Make sure the practitioner is accessible and does follow up work if you need it.
It is important to understand that in the practice of shamanism the shamanic practitioner works in partnership with his/her helping spirits. The helping spirits do the diagnosis and advise on what healing ceremony should be done.
Today in a psychologically sophisticated culture many clients show up telling shamanic practitioners what healing work needs to be done. This is not how shamanic healing works. The shamanic practitioner listens to the problem the client presents and then consults with his or her healing spirits for the spiritual diagnosis and the proper healing method. Also, please understand that all shamanic practitioners have different styles of working. A good shamanic practitioner follows the directions of their helping spirits who know what is best for the client.
The above article is a short, edited version of work by Sandra Ingerman.
If you have any questions or comments on the shamanic work you receive, please feel free to write:
Sandra Ingerman
P.O. Box 4757
Santa Fe, N.M. 87502
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Sandra Ingerman, MA, is the author of numerous works including...
And audios...
Sandra...
- Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self
- Welcome Home: Following Your Soul’s Journey Home
- Soul Retrieval
- Medicine for the Earth
- Shamanic Journeying: A Beginner’s Guide
- How to Heal Toxic Thoughts
- How to Thrive in Changing Times
- Awakening to the Spirit World: The Shamanic Path of Direct Revelation
And audios...
- “Shamanic Meditations: Guided Journeys for Insight, Vision, and Healing”
- “Soul Journeys: Music for Shamanic Practice”
Sandra...
- Teaches workshops internationally on shamanic journeying, healing, and reversing environmental pollution using spiritual methods.
- Has trained and founded an international alliance of Medicine for the Earth Teachers and shamanic teachers.
- Is recognized for bridging ancient cross-cultural healing methods into our modern culture addressing the needs of our times.
- Is devoted to teaching people how we can work together as a global community to bring about positive change for the planet.
- Is a licensed Marriage and Family therapist and Professional Mental Health Counselor.
- Is also a board certified expert on traumatic stress as well as certified in acute traumatic stress management.
- Was awarded the 2007 Peace Award from the Global Foundation for Integrative Medicine.