What Is Soul Retrieval?
What is Soul Retrieval?
There are many tools that Shamans use to assist their clients in the healing process, and soul retrieval still remains one of the most powerful. In order to understand more about the soul retrieval process, and just why it is so important for healing, first we must take a look at ourselves. If I were to ask you the simple question “Who are you?” you might initially respond by describing a role that you play in your life. For instance “I am a mother of two beautiful boys” or perhaps you describe yourself more poetically instead “I am a spiritual seeker, on a path of self-discovery”. If I continued to ask you that same question, over and over again, we would find more and more answers to that one simple question. Each time bringing forward more aspects of the self that all reside within you. You see, the truth is we are never just one thing. We are immensely multi-faceted, multidimensional beings.
How Trauma Fragments The Essential Self
Now that you understand the diverse nature of the multidimensional self, let’s move onto understanding trauma. Trauma occurs when we experience an event that we simply can not fully process in the moment. We all have trauma, even if your upbringing was seemingly perfect, I can guarantee you still had moments that were too much for you to process in the moment. From the Shaman’s perspective, what happens during these moments of trauma, is that a part of our lifeforce energy, or a piece of our soul can actually break off and leave the body. You may look back on your life and feel that you were “never quite the same” after a particular event from your past. Oftentimes, these experiences of soul-loss are coupled with a new limiting belief. For example, a common limiting belief that gets installed as a response to soul-loss is the “It’s not okay to be me”. The deeper these limiting beliefs are engrained, the more challenging it can be to retrieve that lost soul part. After all, how can we expect to be whole, when we also have a deep seated belief that it’s not okay to be us?
When these soul parts split, we lose touch with a piece of our essential self. We can spend years in psychotherapy, understanding our story, and cleansing the surface of our wounds. However, without ever retrieving that lost soul part, our wounds will never fully heal. We can fall into some pretty unhealthy behaviors when we are suffering from soul-loss. Addictions and self-destructive behaviors of all kinds can stem from trying to fill the void left behind by soul loss. These patterns can run in the background of our lives for decades before they are finally acknowledged and the healing process can begin.
How Does Soul Retrieval Work?
Shamans have created different maps which can be followed to find lost soul parts. These maps can be utilized through the process called shamanic journeying, which is a framework used to first visualize, and then navigate through different planes of consciousness. The most common realms navigated would be the subconscious (underworld), middle world (conscious), and upperworld (superconscious). To aid in their journey, many shamans will use the consistent beat of the drum, or the shake of a rattle to assist in this perceptual shift. This rhythm is just one tool that can help us to shift us into an altered state of consciousness, granting access to pieces of the essential self that would normally remain buried in the unconscious.
While self soul retrieval can be performed, in the case of those suffering from deep trauma, it is not always a safe practice. This is why many Shamans will journey on behalf of their clients to find the lost soul part. Once they find what they’re looking for, they will then begin to act as a bit of a translator for that energy. The integration process with soul retrieval is extremely important. We have to remember that these pieces left for a reason, so they may make requests for certain changes to the clients lifestyle in order for them to fully return home.
Why Does Soul Retrieval Work?
During soul retrieval we are able to recover that quanta of energy - that essential self that was lost as a result of trauma. We are able to bring back all of the gifts which that soul part carries. We can spend our whole lives looking to fill the spaces left behind by experiences of soul loss. However, if we truly want to heal, we will eventually need to welcome those pieces back home. Soul retrieval is deep work that is usually approached once the clients energy field is cleared enough to welcome those soul parts back home.
