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Soul retrieval is a powerful method for restoring lost life essence. Sometimes during physical or emotional trauma, soul loss can occur. Prolonged or severe illness, accident or sudden injury, separation from a loved one through death or divorce, economic or environmental upheaval, sexual abuse or domestic violence, fighting in or living through a war or terrorist attack – these are some examples of trauma that can cause the soul to fragment. A soul retrieval session restores these lost fragments to their rightful home. For many people the concept of a soul part leaving the body temporarily will become clear when considering the moments just before an automobile accident. We often hear from people who have experienced this trauma that they felt as though they witnessed the accident from somewhere outside the body. Or perhaps they experienced the moments before the accident in very slow motion, as if all normal sense of time and place was temporarily disrupted. Psychologists call this phenomenon disassociation, a defense mechanism that serves to protect the psyche from experiencing unbearable pain. Shamans describe it as soul loss. Much of the time the condition is temporary, and the soul part returns to the body on its own. Sometimes, however, it does not. In such cases, soul retrieval can be a valuable means of healing. We can also lose life essence as a result of soul thievery. One of the most common instances of this phenomenon occurs when a parent’s relationship to a child is overly controlling. The parent who holds too tightly to the child’s life essence can cause the very ills she is trying to prevent. The child may grow to adulthood without the necessary survival skills intact. Soul retrieval can bring them back. Symptoms of soul loss may include: chronic depression, persistent thoughts of suicide, post-traumatic stress syndrome, a feeling of “I’ve never been the same since …(some event or experience),” low self-esteem, phobias, feelings of inadequacy or of being constantly overwhelmed. Soul retrieval can help restore the client’s own inborn coping mechanisms. It is a profoundly empowering process.
This healing technique addresses the spiritual aspects of physical illness. Shamanic healing begins with the understanding that physical, mental and emotional ills occur with spiritual imbalance. Modern medical science has begun to agree with this premise. For example: most doctors concede that many physical conditions – from cancer to the common cold – are caused or intensified by stress. A human body under emotional duress is less likely to have a healthy immune system and is, therefore, more likely to get sick. By extracting the spiritual cause of dis-ease – be it personal or work-related stress, fear, anger, or any of the other negative emotions that are epidemic in modern society – shamanic healing inspires and heals at every level.
We all have compassionate spirits whose pleasure it is to guard and guide us through our human experience. Some cultures name them guardian angels. In shamanic tradition, while we may have guiding spirits that take human form, we also have guardians who take the shape of animals, birds or other elements of wild nature. These Power Animals or Totems teach us to use the unique characteristics associated with their species to help us negotiate our life journey. Once we know the identity of our helping spirits, it becomes easier to call on them in time of need. Through a shamanic journey, the practitioner can restore a lost Power Animal, introduce an old and faithful one, or bring in a new one who volunteers to help the client through a particular life challenge.
Occasionally when a person dies, normal transition does not occur and the soul does not fully leave this plane of existence and cross over into the Light. When this happens, the soul becomes stuck between the two realities. In great fear and confusion about where to go and what to do, such a disembodied Being can attach itself to a living person. Some symptoms that a person is serving as an unwilling host to another being might be: chronic depression, suicidal tendencies, or substance abuse and other addictive behaviors such as obsessive sexual activity and compulsive gambling. Sometimes possession can manifest as severe mental illness like schizophrenia or bi-polar disease. Sometimes the symptoms of possession are less disturbing than merely odd: the sudden urge for a cigarette when the habit was given up many years before, or any thought or behavior that is distinctly out of character. Sometimes an individual will say, “I’ve just never been the same since ….” We are particularly vulnerable when we are unconscious; therefore, should a shift in character occur after a surgical procedure, for instance, possession might be a factor. A trained shamanic practitioner can help the suffering Being to leave the body (where he is undoubtedly causing considerable distress) and to cross over into the Light where he belongs. This compassionate practice differs from harsher methods of exorcism, as it effects healing of both the living person and the deceased.
Like the people who occupy them, buildings are harmed by an accumulation of negative energy. Any environment – home, office or community gathering place – that has been the setting for emotional upheaval can benefit from shamanic space clearing. A house that has sheltered a terminally ill or chronically depressed person, or a workplace where anger has routinely run rampant, both are likely to retain a residue of negative energy that lingers like a bad odor, even after the source of the trouble has been removed. Physical disruption, such as damage from natural disasters like fire or flood, can overwhelm the spirit of a place. Even in the case of building renovation – that long-awaited new kitchen, for instance, or the addition of a family room – a sense of disorder can remain long after the physical mess has been cleared away. In these instances and many others, space clearing will remove the energetic cobwebs and restore the place to its former state of wellbeing.
Reiki was discovered in the late 19th century by the Japanese Dr. Mikao Usui. In this time-tested healing method, the practitioner channels the Universal life force energy into the body of the recipient. It can be performed with gentle touch or from a distance. The technique resembles a gentle massage with a few important differences: In Reiki, the practitioner’s hands do not rub the recipient but remain quietly placed for several minutes at various points on or just above the body. And the recipient remains fully clothed. This life force energy incorporates everything around us, both visible and invisible. The four elements, our human bodies, all plant and animal life are made up of atoms and molecules that are moving energy. An acupuncturist manipulates this energy (in Chinese medicine this energy is called chi) to restore balance to the patient. Reiki is similar to other forms of Eastern healing in the way it restores body, mind and spirit to a natural state of balance and harmony. Like Shamanic healing, Reiki has a strong spiritual component but it is not religious in any way. A religious person might liken both healing methods to prayer. While I do incorporate prayer into my practice of Reiki and Shamanism, both methods will work equally well for a recipient who does not believe in a Supreme Being. Everybody believes in molecules!
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