Journeying to wholeness through soul retrieval

By Roz Brown

If you've seen the movie What the Bleep Do We Know? it's likely that you are at least partially convinced that energy and emotions affect our lives. One of the most fascinating aspects of this ever-compelling film is the series of experiments conducted on water by Dr. Masaru Emoto.

Using a high-speed photography technique under cold temperatures, Emoto discovered that crystals that form in frozen water change when intentions are directed toward them. Emoto published the photographs in

his books, Messages from Water 1 and 2, and The Hidden Messages in Water. For instance, clean spring water exposed to loving words produced colorful, snowflake patterns. Water exposed to negative thoughts, however, formed muted, irregular patterns. The film's website notes, "The implications of this research create a new awareness of how we positively impact... our personal health."

Is it any wonder some of us feel we lose our soul, or portions of it, over the course of our life? Think of just one source of negative thoughts - your own stream of never-ending self-talk. If a living organism like water can be affected so dramatically, it makes sense we would be too.

"When we say that a soul is 'lost,' 'runs away' or 'hides,' we are using a metaphor," says Elena Avila, author of Woman Who Glows in the Dark (Jeremy P. Tarcher, 2000). "If our soul truly leaves our body, we die. What we really mean is that the part of our soul that went through injury, violation, or trauma has become repressed." Recovering that essence is at the heart of soul retrieval.

A local practitioner describes soul loss as a sense of emptiness, depletion, alienation or lack of purpose. Other symptoms might include depression, lack of energy, memory loss and numbness - a sort of constant

state of dissociation. In addition, states of codependency, extreme shame and addiction often suggest soul loss. To get to that point, one would likely have experienced some kind of physical, psychological or spiritual trauma, such as abuse, a serious automobile accident or a life-threatening event. Dissociated people may have been a witness to death or destruction, suffered a major illness, experienced a debilitating divorce or grown up in an exceptionally dysfunctional family.

If the pain of trauma threatens one's physical, spiritual or mental survival, a part of the soul is said to "leave," leaving the person feeling less than whole. To recover from "susto," or loss of the soul as it is called by Avila, a shaman or master of soul retrieval can be enlisted to help.

Shamanism is often associated with Native American spirituality, but it is prevalent in many other cultures from South America all the way to Siberia. A shaman would work to return lost parts of a person's soul so that vitality and well-being can be restored. To do that, shamans and healers in other indigenous cultures have long relied on "power animals" or spirit allies. A shaman would likely begin by helping the client identify his or her power animal through meditations, journeys or dreams. "A power animal is just that: an animal guide that will empower you and help you deal with both the spiritual and the earthly realms," says Dr. Steve Farmer, author of Power Animals (Hay House, 2004).

A shaman journeys on behalf of the client to a non-ordinary reality in order to perform a healing or provide advice and teaching. Tools and techniques used in a shamanic ceremony can include anything from simply lighting a candle, to drumming, burning sage, using a dance rattle, singing or using herbs from a medicine bag. Many shamanic practices common to diverse cultures are today referred to as "core" shamanism, a term popularized by anthropologist Michael Harner's pioneering book, The Way of the Shaman (HarperSanFrancisco, 1990). Harner says that in addition to journeying to the world of spirits and connecting with allies for healing work, a secondary shamanic healing technique he calls "extraction" is central to core shamanism.

"Extraction involves removing a spiritual intrusion," says Harner. By that he doesn't mean an evil spirit; rather, he likens it to having termites in a wooden house. "If you've got termites in your house, you wouldn't say the termites are evil," he says. "You'd say, 'I'd just like to get them out of the house.' In this same way, the shaman works to remove things that interfere with the health of the body... this is not done through journeying but rather by working in the Middle World in an altered state of consciousness."

Harner's protégé, Sandra Ingerman - now a leading practitioner of soul retrieval who conducts retreats and workshops around the world, says one will often find a part of the soul at the age that it was lost. But it's also common to give a part of your soul to another person and not realize you've done so.

"It's possible that your soul was stolen by a mother or a father who tried to use your energy or your power in some way," says Ingerman. Ingerman, author of Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self (HarperSanFranciso, 1991), says if that has happened, then as an adult, you will probably keep attracting relationships where you again have your soul taken by the other person. "On the other hand," she says, "you may have taken other people's essences because yours was taken as a child. Unresolved patterns can show up with us acting out either side of the old situation."

That was true for a Boulder practitioner who had a client living in constant terror. "It turned out that he had a brother who had been murdered," she says. "At the time of the brother's death, he reached for his sibling and the terror my client felt at that instant - a feeling of being suffocated - had been imprinted on him. We helped his brother cross over, and his constant terror was gone."

Enlisting a shaman is not the only way to do soul retrieval; there are also psychotherapists who successfully use guided visualization or hypnosis. In fact, some therapists feel that a less-than-genuine shaman can do more harm than good by journeying on your behalf. How well a shaman "reads" another person depends on how clear the shaman is; if he or she isn't experienced, qualified and wholly benevolent, the results could range from worthless to devastating.

Avila agrees that it's difficult to heal others if you are missing parts of yourself. "While it is unrealistic to ask healers to be perfect, since all of us carry sustos in our hearts, we need to work on ourselves consistently," she says. "To be of service to others, we need to have a strong sense of self."

If you decide to pursue soul retrieval, find someone whose techniques you feel comfortable with, since a practitioner's approach can range from the very traditional, indigenous style, to something so modern it might not be recognized by traditionalists.

Seattle-based counselor and psychologist Cat Saunders describes her own soul retrieval performed by Ingerman: "We lit candles and burned some sage, then she spread her blanket on the floor asking me to lie down on one side of it. Next, Sandy (Ingerman) began to call the spirits by using her rattle and singing her shamanic song. When she was ready, she lay down beside me, our bodies touching along one side. At that point, Sandy put on headphones to listen to a shamanic drumming tape during her journey. She had explained previously that she would journey to her own power animal first, to receive assistance in the retrieval. Her power animal would guide her to find the lost parts of my soul, and it would also instruct her as to how many parts should be returned at that time. When Sandy was finished journeying, she sat up and Œblew' the soul parts back into me, first into my heart and then, after helping me to sit up, she blew them into the top of my head. She blew four times each into my heart and my head, then looked deeply into my eyes and said ŒWelcome home.'"

If you're feeling like you're not quite "home," soul retrieval may be able to help. It's not an ongoing, long-term therapy - one or two sessions, or "retrievals," allow most people to move toward wholeness. Whatever form of soul retrieval you investigate, be aware that costs can vary from $55 to $150 per hour.

"If we are totally home, we can no longer repeat behaviors that are not life supportive," says Ingerman. "It's that simple."

Resources, local and beyond

For more information on soul retrieval, see the following resources:

• Mending the Past and Healing tthe Future With Soul Retrieval, by Alberto Villoldo (Hay House, 2005)

• Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self, by Sandra Ingerman

(HarperSanFrancisco, 1991)

• Soul Retrieval: Return to Wholeness, by Joanna Neff (self published, 2003)

• The Way of the Shaman, by Michael Harner (HarperSanFrancisco, 1990)

• www.elena-curandera.com

• www.shamanicjourneys.net

• www.shamanicvisions.com/ingerman.html

• www.shamanism.org

• www.truenature.info/mg_bio.html

The following are Nexus advertisers who offer soul retrieval:

• Linda Backman, PhD, The Ravenheart Center, 303-938-0292

• Sue Evans, Sunpower Healing Arts, 303-661-0358

• Edie Stone, MA, LPC; 303-415-3755

• Gwilda Wiyaka, DD, CSP, True Nature Spiritual Healing Center & Shamanic Arts School; 303-775-3431

See also the Nexus Calendar and Classifieds.

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