Soul Retrieval  Mending the Fragmented Self

Excerpts from Sandy Ingerman’s book

I will be speaking to a space very deep inside you.  I will be sparking your essence to wake up and come alive

 Soul Loss

In shamanic cultures, all things are thought to be permeated by Spirit.  The well being of any particular life form is dependent on its spiritual harmony with other forms.  (Also) imbalances or displacement in the spiritual essence of a living being can cause debilitation and disease.  Soul loss is a spiritual illness that causes emotional and physical disease.  It involves the loss of crucial parts of ourselves that once provided us with life and vitality. These parts get lost through trauma such as incest, abuse, loss of a loved one, surgery, accident, illness, miscarriage, abortion, the stress of combat, or addiction.  Many current therapies understand that if the trauma is too severe, parts of the vital, feeling self will split off to lessen the impact of the trauma.

The traumatized person literally escapes to survive the ordeal

Who has suffered the most trauma but the children who live inside us?  Soul Retrieval is an ancient technique in shamanism that can help bring the children home

Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden was our archetypal fall from grace…we became separated from paradise (home/self/source). 

 “What organized religion calls Original Sin might be original soul loss, the separation of Self from Essence  (through Judgment) and the transfer of dominion to an external source; very useful strategy for managing the masses.”____Rivers

 Examples of Soul Loss

Being sickly as a child or suffering serious or chronic illness can often indicate soul loss.   Also, “I’m not all here.”…”A part of me observes with my mind, but I don’t connect with emotional feelings.�?SPAN>  Other signs of soul loss; a gap in memory, chronic depression, or divorceBecause the universe dislikes a void, if we are missing pieces of ourselves, an illness might fill in that place.  Coma is an extreme example of soul loss

…Feeling fragmented; (In psychotherapy); disassociation is the separation of whole segments of the personality from the mainstream of consciousness and can result in feelings of estrangement and depersonalization.

Checklist of Soul Loss Symptoms·

         Do you ever have a difficult time staying ‘present�?in your body?  Do you sometimes feel as if you’re outside your body observing it as you would a movie

·         Do you ever feel numb, apathetic, or deadened?

·         Do you suffer from chronic depression?

·         Do you have problems with your immune system and have trouble resisting illness?

·         Were you chronically ill as a child?

·         Do you have gaps in your memory of your life after age five?  So you sense that you may have blacked out significant traumas in your life?

·         Do you struggle with addictions to alcohol,  drugs, food, sex, or gambling?

·         Do you find yourself looking to external things to fill up an internal void or emptiness?

·         Have you had difficulty moving on with your life after a divorce or the death of a loved one?

·         Do you suffer from multiple personality syndrome?

The Shaman

The word shaman comes from the Tungus tribe in Siberia, meaning one who sees with the strong eye (or strong heart).  We were born understanding hidden realities.  We naturally knew the way of the shaman, but we had to unlearn the path as we became socialized.

Michael Harner, anthropologist and author of The Way of the Shaman, found that a shaman is distinguished from other healers by the use of the journey. The shaman must leave everyday consciousness and venture into the spirit world. . .multidimensional lands full of potential dangers for the uninitiated.  Through journeys, a shaman retrieves aid and information to help a patient, family, friends, or community.  Shamans must know how to conduct themselves appropriately in nonordinary worlds if they are to perform their work successfully

Harner found certain elements common to most shamanic cultures;

·         induction into  (altered) states through drumming;

·         entry into nonordinary reality through an opening in the earth;

·         work with power animals and spirit helpers;

·         exploration of nonordinary worlds;

·         practices for bringing back healing information for oneself and one’s community

“The shaman knows the drama of the human soul through the experience of her own initiation(s)

Mircea Eliade, Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy

 

The Retrieval Process

The Drum

Many Native Americans refer to drumming as “the heartbeat of the earth�?  Although some cultures use other percussion instruments such as rattles or sticks (or didjeridu), the shaman’s drum reigns as the most important means to enter other realities�?the universal characteristic of shamanism.   It facilitates brain waves in alpha and theta, in contrast to the beta waves of ordinary consciousness.  Theta waves (4-7 cycles per second) are related to creativity, vivid imagery, and states of ecstasy.  Earth’s electromagnetic resonance frequency of the earth, 7.5 cycles per second, is equivalent in brain waves to high theta/low alpha. 

Drumming allows shamans to align their brain waves with the pulse of the earth.

Help From the Universe

Power animals and other helping spirits, as well as elemental forces of nature, help the shaman carry out the work to be done.  In day to day life anyone can call on her power animal when extra energy or assistance is needed, or in a dangerous place, or in a time of illness

A power animal may provide direct information…If the shaman finds the soul part in a land that is difficult to enter or leave, it can be invaluable to have scouting, advice, and other assistance from the power animal.  The power animal may directly assist in transporting the lost soul back to ordinary reality.  My (power animal) has a gift for speaking gently and reassuringly to frightened little (soul parts).

A shaman may have several power animals at any given time, and a power animal may stay with a shaman for many years.  The identity of one’s guardian often remains a treasured secret.  To share it with others, except under special circumstances, would be to diffuse its power

The shaman is (also) aided by helping spirits who come for a specific purpose during a specific journey

 

The DreamTime

When shamans enter nonordinary reality, the rules of the outer world are suspended.  Horses fly, plants talk…Time as we know it is suspended

Shamans often have power places in nonordinary reality…On my journeys into inner reality, I often go to a dense pine forest surrounding a waterfall that pours into a great pool of water.  My power animal lives there with friendly fairies, elves, and deer.  I sit on rocks and gaze over the treetops at the blue sky.  I lie on the soft, cool earth and safely re-experience many feelings from ordinary life.  As I lie on the ground, I feel as if my heartbeat is synchronizing with the heartbeat of the earth and I feel my connection with all life.

Eliade has classified nonordinary reality into…the Upper World, Middle World and Lower World.  The names come from the direction of travel the shaman experiences in getting to these worlds

The Upper World is ethereal.  I know that I am standing on something but am often unsure what is holding me there

In contrast to the noncorporeal Upper World, the Lower World is reached through a tunnel leading down into the earth.  I can stick my fingers into the earth here. The spirits here are connected with the mysteries of the earth

In  the Middle World the shaman can travel back and forth through human histories.  Often a soul is lost on our own level of reality, encapsulated in a past (or even future) moment

Negotiation with Soul Parts

Soul parts live a parallel existence in nonordinary worlds.  Soul parts may be trapped in a fearful place  in nonordinary reality, or they may have found more pleasant worlds where they want to stay.

Traditional shamans used trickery, cajolery, theft or the spirit-implements to catch or snare the lost soul.  Given the malevolent forces that most traditional shamans held responsible for soul loss, such as possession by the dead, rape, or theft by an ill-intentioned human, this kind of reciprocal chicanery perhaps made sense.  I feel that the choice to return must come from the soul itself once it learns how the original situation has changed. 

Rivers

 Communication with Client

I suggest that clients schedule a time with me when they have the rest of the day free, just in case they need time alone afterward.  I also request that people abstain from alcohol for 24 hours before and after the soul retrieval.  I ask about the client’s support system.  One way to set up an automatic support system is to have clients bring a friend or significant person to participate in the ceremony

I ask (my client) whether she really wants change and whether she feels safe with me.  Once a person’s soul is returned, there is often a need to alter any life-patterns involving relationships, family, diet, or work that are abusive or unhealthy

To do a successful soul retrieval I do not need to know a person’s history.  (However), one of every three women and one of every five men have been abused.  If I don’t know that a client is aware of incest in her background, I would not share any abuse information that I receive on a journey. 

With my clients I always say, “I’m going to tell you what I saw.�?SPAN>  The individual needs to decide if the information is metaphorical or literal.

Tracking Lead: (I ask the client) to show me the jewelry she is wearing.  No matter what age the soul is in nonordinary reality, her earlier self will wear the same jewelry as the client does in the present