Soul Retrieval
To first understand, soul retrieval, you must first understand the concept of the soul and then soul loss. In
Shamanism, the word “soul” refers to the vital essence. So soul loss refers to the loss of our vital life force essence. It is a deep belief that Shamanic soul loss occurs when trauma occurs, and a part of our vital
essence/soul leaves the body in order to protect itself and survive the experience. What constitutes trauma will
change from one person to the next and therefore what one person may perceive as trauma may not be so for
another.
Clients have indicated feelings of incompleteness and disconnection after experiencing such an event and this
makes sense if we consider that this is because our soul/vital essence no longer is complete and has become
disconnected from our body. The word “shock” has been used to describe these events. It is said that when trauma, negative experiences, frights or even negative interactions with others are coming our way, that a piece of our soul looking to save itself, flees the body just before harm hits and remains trapped in
that moment until we come back to retrieve it.
It is important to note that in addition to experiencing soul loss, we can also have pieces or our soul stolen by
others. This may occur during a violent or confrontational interaction with another individual or even during a
breakup. Very often the culprit may not even be aware that they are doing this and will be willing and ready to
hand back our soul pieces when we journey to retrieve them. Of course, there are individuals who are very well
aware (at least on a subconscious level) of the damage they are inflicting and retrieving such soul pieces may
be somewhat more difficult for the client. During the soul retrieval process, there may be times when as a supportmechanism, I will ask the client to speak during the journey, and this may be one such time.
Symptoms of Soul Loss
Symptoms of soul loss are as varied as the individual and can present in many ways and typically the worse the trauma experienced, the larger the piece of our soul that leaves the body and the worse the symptoms can be. What’s also important to note, is that when any damage is suffered to our vital life force essence, the less resilient we become to future negative events. As mentioned, following a soul loss, individuals may report not feeling themselves, or have a gap in their memory.
Other symptoms can include feeling vulnerable, isolated, low in motivation and energy as well as feeling devoid of purpose, unable to concentrate and feeling aimless in life. Depression is another symptom of soul loss, where the fragmentation of the individual’s vital essence, prevents them from finding joy in life.
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Soul loss can eventually manifest itself as physical illness or injury. If we consider that the universe does not like a void, then we can see that the missing piece of ourselves can be replaced by something else, and if we are vibrating at a lower state due to trauma experienced, then this may be an illness or injury.
Checklist of Soul Loss Symptoms
( Taken from “Soul Retrieval, Mending the Fragmented Self” by Sandra Ingerman)
01
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?
03
Do you suffer from chronic depression?
05
Were you chronically ill as a child?
07
Do you struggle with addictions to, for example, alcohol, drugs, food, sex, or gambling?
09
Have you had difficulty moving on with your life after a divorce or the death of a loved one?
02
Do you ever feel numb, apathetic or deadened?
04
Do you have problems with your immune system and have trouble resisting illness?
06
Do you have gaps in your memory of your life after age five? Do you sense that you may have blacked out significant traumas in your life?
08
Do you find yourself looking to external things to fill up an internal void or emptiness?
Soul Retrieval
As a Shamanic practitioner, I can guide the client on a Shamanic journey to the Other Worlds in order to retrieve
lost or stolen soul pieces.
To retrieve many smaller soul pieces which have been lost over time, I will guide the client on a soul retrieval journey. These soul pieces may appear as recognizable toys from childhood or objects or orbs of light. Stolen soul pieces may also appear, and the person who stole them from you may
appear offering them back to you.
For more specific lost/stolen soul pieces a middle-world journey may be necessary. I will guide the client back to
the point in time/just before the traumatic event was experienced, and will work with the client to retrieve the soul
piece.
Once lost/stolen soul pieces are located, I will bring the client through a small ritual to integrate these soul pieces and to ensure that they remain.
It can take some time to integrate these soul pieces, but once they have integrated you will feel more grounded, connected, more at home in your body and the world in general.