Soul Retrieval: Spiritual Healing for Trauma

Healing, Healing Touch, Shamanic healing, Shamanic Journey, Shamanism, Spiritual Healing

Most of us who live here on planet Earth will experience a trauma during our lifetime. It may be the death of a loved one, an accident or illness, an act of violence, abuse, or other distressing situation.

During a traumatic experience, part of your spirit or soul may split off and drop out of your life. In the shamanic worldview, this splitting off creates a condition called soul loss. Those who suffer from soul loss may feel that part of them died or was cut off from the flow of life when the trauma occurred. If this happened to you, you may feel out of body, empty, without vitality, or disconnected from full participation in life.

Soul retrieval is the shamanic remedy for the spiritual aspects of trauma and soul loss. The human spirit can be deeply affected by loss and harm, hardship, sudden illness, violence, injury, and abuse. Trauma can cast a dark cloud over a person’s life and keep them from living fully. Soul retrieval does not erase trauma, but helps a person regain their wholeness and return to the center of their own life.

This shamanic healing work can complement psychotherapy and western medicine for those who have experienced trauma. Western medicine concentrates on the physical body. Mental health therapy deals with the emotions and mind while shamanic healing focuses on the dimension of the spirit.

While focusing on the spiritual aspects of trauma, all levels of your being – body, mind and emotions – can be positively affected as your spirit heals and becomes whole again. Other areas of your life may come into balance as well because there is no separation between these four aspects of your existence.

For over a decade, my spirit helpers have been working in partnership with me doing soul retrievals for people of all ages. During a shamanic journey, my spiritual guidance shows me the “soul part” – the lost inner child or distressed adult- that split off and left their body behind after a trauma. They are shown to me at the approximate age they were when the soul loss occurred. I’m shown the state of their emotions through symbolic images, impressions and feelings. The information coming through from my spirit guides and helpers does not reflect the actual experience of the person, but symbolizes their spiritual and emotional truth at the time of the soul loss.

The journey unfolds with my guides showing me a symbolic narrative. These stories always include the state of the soul part’s emotions at the time they split off, a recovery of the soul part, a healing and clearing for the soul part, a retrieval for any power that was lost or stolen during the trauma, and, finally a return.

The return brings the healing into the physical world through a brief shamanic ceremony in which the energy of the soul part is returned to the person who lost it. Many times people who’ve had soul retrievals report feeling the familiar energy of their soul part return to them during this ceremony.

The basic structure of each soul retrieval journey is the same, but my helpers tailor the healing, narrative, messages, and images to each individual’s unique experience and needs.

Integration

On occasion, a soul part may be hesitant to return to full life again and rejoin their present day self . They may need reassurance that their life will be different now than it was at the time of the trauma, that they are safe, and will be taken care of, loved, seen and heard. This helps integrate them into your life once again.If you were a child when the soul loss occurred and are now an adult, explain that. Talk that through. Let them know they are safe now, that you are in charge of your life, that you will protect them. Explain where you live, if you have your own children and partner, the work you do… anything that occurs to you.

To continue the integration after a soul retrieval, there are several questions to ask your returned soul part that will help you create an ongoing dialog with them.

Why did you leave?

Why do you come back now?

What gifts do you bring back with you?

Soul parts always return with several gifts of the spirit such as a strong true voice, an open heart, a peaceful mind, a sense of playfulness, etc.

What can I do to sustain this healing?

For a child soul part this might include such things as playing outside, walking barefoot, hugging a tree, swinging, laying on the grass, spending time in a place of safety…. pay attention to what they are telling you and do the best you can to give them what they need and want.

To communicate with your soul part/inner child, tune into your heart, ask, and listen for the answers. You might hear the answers telepathically, see images, or feel a knowing in your body. If you have trouble connecting you might work one on one with a friend, healer or therapist to do this dialog together. You can write down the answers or draw pictures, speak them into a recorder- whatever works for you.

Shamanic healing is not a cure for trauma, anxiety, illness or injury, but can help bring balance, wholeness, and life changing insights into your life. Shamanic healing is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health care.

photo credits: Hand with hawk feather – jenelle – K2SXdKPEhcg – unsplash unsplash.com White feather – evie-s-white feather – unsplash unsplash.com

7 Reasons to Consider Shamanic Healing

Healing, Healing Touch, Shamanic healing, Shamanic Journey, Shamanism, Spiritual Healing, Spiritual Wisdom

Shamanic healing is a powerful ancient method of receiving information and healing energy from spirit for the highest good of yourself, another person, or your community. This information may come through symbolic stories, images, and messages that can reveal new perspectives on your life and situation.

Practitioners channel energy and information from spirit helpers that is unique to each individual. Shamanic healing works with the spirits in all things to restore balance, harmony, and wholeness to your life.

Shamanic healing can complement your work with therapists and other health care professionals. It works with the spiritual aspects of illness and other obstacles in life.

Have you felt empty, off balance, or lost since you experienced a trauma or injury?

Are you at a crossroads in life, unsure about your direction, unable to make a decision?

Do you have energy that does not belong to you?

1. You feel something vital is missing in your life or that part of you died when a loss or trauma occurred.

Soul retrieval provides spiritual healing for soul loss. This is a process by which the practitioner works with spirit helpers to find your lost soul essence that left during a traumatic event and bring it back so you can be whole in spirit again. In addition to soul retrieval, shamanic journeys for healing and healing with spiritual light can help shine light on the spiritual aspects of soul loss.

2. You feel powerless at times

Was your power stolen from you by a family member, partner, stranger, friend, or co-worker? Did you unknowingly give your power away to someone? Did another person misuse and abuse your trust? Power retrievals locate and restore your lost or stolen power through the guidance of spirit helpers.

3. You feel that you have energy that does not belong to you, that is holding you back or overshadowing you.

This might include thoughts, feelings, emotions, or physical sensations that are out of character for you. There may be an attachment, or disembodied spirit that has been attracted by your light depleting your energy and life force. This is a common occurrence in our culture since we no longer “tend the gates of death” and help disembodied spirits cross to the light as was the custom in ancient times.

Compassionate Depossession is a gentle process in which the misplaced spirit is contacted, their concerns are heard, healing is given, and they are taken out of the living person’s energy field and sent to the light where they belong. This creates a win-win situation for the person who is seeking relief and the disembodied confused and lost spirit who can now move on to their next adventure.

4. You are at a crossroads in life, not sure how to move forward, what choices to make.

Journeys for divination (answering questions) can bring through images, stories, symbols, words, and knowings that give you new and different perspectives on your life and the situations you face. Journeys can show you possibilities you never expected or thought of. The information contained in journeys are unique to the individual receiving them.

5. Tough problems seem to be stuck in the cells of your body, are persistent and difficult to shift. These issues may come from the lives and unresolved problems of your ancestors or from your own past lives.

Past life work or ancestral healing may be called for in these situations. We often carry the burdens of those who’ve gone before us and who have not been able to reconcile or heal their guilt, shame, anger, or fear before death. For Ancestral healing, the practitioner and spirit helpers travel into the past and look into any traumas in your ancestral lines that may have been the cause of the toxic patterns you wish to clear. For past life traumas that you may be re-experiencing in this life, spirit helpers discern what happened in the past and do clearing and healing as would be done for issues in this life.

6. You have a feeling that you or your family have been cursed in some way

Curses are thought forms, beliefs, and patterns of thinking and being that can be passed from generation to generation and affect your life adversely. Curse unraveling locates the originator of the curse, often the reason for the curse, the toxic energy of the curse and and removes it from all who’ve been affected since the curse was made. This sometimes involves many individuals over many years who’ve been affected.

7. You sense that there are wandering spirits, (aka ghosts) or “negative” energy in your home or a space that you frequent.

Space clearing is a process of discerning if there are spirits inhabiting a space, locating and communicating with them, and helping them find their way to the light where they belong, assisting them in vacating the house, building or space where their presence causes disquiet.

After the spirits are cleared, the space can be cleansed further with spiritual light, sound vibrations, a smudge ritual. Often the story of the spirit or spirits will come through. They usually have a reason to stay behind in a particular place. They are often stuck in their own emotions and fears and can’t move forward without help.

Shamanic healing is effective, drug free, life affirming, and promotes wholeness in mind body and spirit.

If you are overwhelmed, feel cut off from your body, if you are seeking spiritual guidance, shamanic healing may be a good fit for you.

How soul retrieval can help you feel whole again

Healing, Healing Touch, Shamanic healing, Shamanic Journey, Shamanism, Spiritual Healing, Spirtual Guidance

Do you feel as though part of you is missing?

Do you feel like it is an effort to “get it all together”?

When someone has suffered a traumatic event, loss of a family member, accident, illness, or a distressing situation, they may have experienced soul loss. If you have ever said the words “I’ve never been the same since…” or “part of me died when…” you may have experienced soul loss.

A soul part can also be stolen – as when someone takes your power, bullies, or abuses you.

A soul retrieval is a shamanic journey that locates and restores this lost or stolen soul essence to the client. The power and gifts that were lost with the soul essence are returned as well. This can be a very moving and life-changing spiritual healing experience.

Often, the symbolic pictures and stories of a soul retrieval journey show the soul essence as a child or young person, or the age they were when the event or injury occurred. I have also brought back soul parts in the symbolic form of precious gems.

Winter bird’s nest

Please come with me as I take you into the heart of a soul retrieval. (This is an excerpt of a soul retrieval my helpers and I did several years ago.)

…my spirit helpers, power animals and I enter journey space and travel along a wide stream. At a shallow place, we cross the river on stepping stones and climb up the steep bank. A nearby fence row is full of dead leaves. One of my power animals sniffs the decaying leaves and noses them aside.

I come over and begin to dig with my hands. Under the matted leaves is a little 4 year old girl with blue eyes and short dark hair – a soul part who left my client many years before because she felt deep shame when her father treated her in a humiliating way…

After a deep healing and cleansing, this soul essence was ready to return to my client, so she could be whole again. The little girl brought the gifts of fun and play, easy happiness, and self confidence back to the woman who had lost this part of herself so many years ago….

I blew the soul part into my client’s crown and heart and sealed in the healing by rattling around her 4 times. In the next few days, my client contacted the soul part and asked 5 questions to begin the integration process:

Why did you leave? Why do you come back now? What do you want? What can I do to sustain this healing? What gifts do you bring?

After a soul retrieval it is common to spend some time getting re-integrated with your newly returned soul part. They bring with them the fullness of who you were at the time they left you. It is a tender time of getting to know each other again, of remembering, of learning to be whole again, of reclaiming the inner child or young person you once were.

You may dialog with your soul part and let them know about your life in the present. It is important for healing and integration to listen and try to do what the soul part asks of you. If her or she wants to play, sing, swing, swim, run, paint fingernails…skip stones… etc, see if you can allow yourself to do these things in an easy and comfortable way adapted to your present life conditions.

Lost or stolen soul parts return when you are ready for the healing, wholeness, renewal and new energy they will bring to your life.

Blessings, Betty

Tips for working with power animals

Power Animal, Shamanic healing, Shamanic Journey, Spiritual Healing, Spiritual Wisdom, Spirtual Guidance

Has a power animal appeared for you? Why did that particular animal choose to work with you? What gifts and guidance do they bring you?

Monarch butterfly

I thought power animals were the product of fanciful and wishful and maybe even loony minds until Horse appeared at my side one day. I was out for a walk several days before a healing touch class in which I would experience a life-changing healing. It seemed like a normal summer’s day. Suddenly, a chestnut brown horse was walking close beside me. He seemed so real, I thought I could lean against him and smell his horsey scent, feel the texture of his course mane, hear his soft nicker, and scratch around his ears. But he was in spirit form; sent to guide, comfort and support me through my mind bending healing experience that was yet to come. He’s been a helper to me ever since.

If you don’t feel connected to a spirit animal, a shamanic practitioner can do a power animal retrieval for you. Or you can learn to do shamanic journeys and retrieve one for yourself. Remember, the animal actually chooses you, so be open to whoever comes your way offering their services. It could just as easily be snake, vulture, spider, or mouse, as wolf, bear or eagle!

Power animals are compassionate spirit guides that have taken on animal form. Each creature has special attributes and powers (superpowers!) that can help you with your unique needs. No list or book of animal attributes can capture the full meaning your power animal has for you. Be open to listening, learning and building a relationship with your helper. You will be richly rewarded!

Squirrel

To Connect: You can use journaling to connect, or go into a daydream state with a question ready. Do this at a time of day when you can be quiet for awhile. Connect directly by learning to do shamanic journeys.

Ask the power animal what you can do for them. After all the relationship is a two way street.

Always be respectful of your helpers. Thank them for their presence, their support, their advice. They have chosen to work with you, and that is an honor.

Questions: When you first visit with your helper, ask how they can help you and what gifts they bring to you. Ask what they want from you. After that you can ask other questions. “Why” questions don’t usually work too well. Try to re-word them: (Can you help me understand…? Show me about… )

Red winged blackbird

The answers may come to you in several different ways such as a picture or “movie” in your head, words, emotions, impressions, etc. Accept what comes. It won’t always be earth shattering. It might be quiet at times. It might take some time for the answer to become clear to you. The more you work with your helper, the easier it will be for you to know what they are communicating to you.

Follow the advice you are given if possible. Remember that your power animal will never ask you to do something that harms you or another person or living thing. If you get something like this, it is not coming from your power animal.

Disconnect: When you’re done visiting your power animal, thank them, say goodbye, open your eyes and take a drink of water, a bite of food, or dance around a little to get yourself back into this reality.

Above all, enjoy you power animal! They can bring you humor and fun, spot-on guidance and serious healing if you are open to their messages.

Blessings,

Betty

Resources:

Shamanic journeying by Sandra Ingerman ; Sounds True, Incorporated. 2006

Animal Speak by Ted Andrews; Llewellyn Publications. 2002