| What is a Soul Retrieval? I learned the practice of Soul Retrieval from my teacher who received her training in the Lakota tradition. According to this tradition, when a person experiences trauma, whether physical, emotional, sexual or spiritual, a part of that person’s soul leaves their body because it is no longer deemed safe to be there. That soul part flees into the spirit realm to find a place that feels safer. There might also be a perpetrator involved. Through an act of emotional or physical violence another person might steal a part of your soul. In either case the resulting experience is known as soul loss. Having lost a part of our soul we feel incomplete. We lose a sense of who we are and what our life purpose is. We feel directionless and empty. We may feel a pervasive sense of sorrow, anger, fear or depression. We lose the capacity to enjoy life. According to the Lakota tradition the remedy for soul loss is to seek the assistance of a trained ally who can journey into the spirit realm in order to find your missing soul parts and bring them back. Preparation: As you begin this healing journey I want to assure you from the outset that all healing comes from God. This is God’s work. You can relax in this knowledge and simply allow yourself to be open to the healing that is being offered. Even before you made the conscious choice to pursue this work Spirit has been preparing you for it. Now that you have made the choice you have a powerful role to play. In every instance I have observed that as soon as a person makes the appointment for a soul retrieval the healing begins to take place. Powerful events already begin to unfold. Your intention for this healing is the first step. As soon as that intention is set the healing begins. Leading up to a soul retrieval it is important that you spend time every day in prayer, giving thanks for your life and asking for the specific healing that you desire. It is important to begin reflecting on your life. Journaling can be a great tool in this regard. Ask yourself when you stopped feeling “in your skin”, when you stopped feeling joy and enthusiasm. It can be difficult to reflect on certain events and relationships, but be encouraged that in remembering you are re-membering. Remembering is the opposite of dismemberment. You are bringing every part of you back into your being. Ask yourself if you have experienced any form of abuse, whether physical, sexual, emotional or spiritual. Have you or your family members or intimate partners experienced any form of addiction? Have you been in any accidents? What was childhood like for you? How would you describe your parents? Did you feel loved by them? Judged? Violated? Did you feel secure? What did they teach you about yourself, about life, about God? Who are your friends and what are they like? What has been your experience in intimate relationships? What is your experience of Spirit? Is God loving, compassionate, vengeful, angry, distant, nonexistent? Are you aware of spirits and/or angels or demons? Have you been in contact with any spirits? In addition to praying and reflecting, it is important to become aware of your dreams leading up to the soul retrieval. Oftentimes you will receive powerful messages relating to your healing. Also be aware of any other signs in the world around you. Be aware of significant interactions and conversations with family, friends and partners. Their healing is involved as well, and at some level they will be tipped off to participate in this healing with you. Be assured that during this time Spirit will be using many means to speak to you and encourage you. Be open to the miracles that will be occurring around you. Another part of your preparation will be to ask someone who you implicitly trust to come with you to serve as an ally. This person should drive you to and from the appointment. There will also be a drummer present at your soul retrieval. According to tradition it is requested that you bring small gifts for the practitioner, the drummer and your ally. These gifts are an expression of gratitude to those who are assisting you in your healing. On the day of the soul retrieval make sure that you give yourself plenty of time to get to the appointment. Not all forces in the spirit realm are beneficial and they may try to prevent you from keeping the appointment. Remember always that God is the greatest power, and prayer is your greatest protection. The Soul Retrieval: When you arrive for your soul retrieval we will begin with prayer. I will ask for God’s protection and healing and I will call in the healing spirits and guides who will do the healing work. I will then do an intake interview in which I will ask you the above reflection questions so I can get a sense of where the healing needs to happen. Following the intake, you and I will lie down on the floor side by side. Your ally will hold your hand and maintain eye contact with you. Your ally will be there to support you and keep you grounded in your body. During the soul retrieval you may experience very strong emotions. You may scream, cry or even laugh. Whatever happens know that you are completely safe. Just allow yourself to feel whatever you are feeling. After we lie down, the drummer will start drumming. The rhythmic drum beat allows me to enter a trance state so that I can journey on your behalf. The drum becomes “the horse on which I ride into the other reality.” I will be surrounded by my power animal and my spirit guides who will lead me into the spirit realm. They will see what foreign energy or entities need to be extracted from your body and, using my body, they will perform this extraction work. They will also lead me to where your soul parts are, and they will assist in bringing them back. Once the extraction work is complete and the soul parts have been gathered into a soul catcher I will blow your soul parts back into your heart and your head. I will then welcome you home. Following the soul retrieval I will take a few minutes to write down what I witnessed during the journey. We will return to the circle and I will share with you what happened. Integration and Aftercare: Soul retrieval is an indescribably powerful experience. It is REAL and it is life-changing. Even though I know how powerful it is I am still continually awed by the radical shifts that occur in a person’ s life afterward. Having returned to your body you will experience a sense of belonging, a sense of coming home. You will see with new eyes. You will have the opportunity to experience joy again. It is very likely you will feel energized and will have a renewed sense of your own power and authority, and with these, a sense of your ability to direct your own life. You will know again what you want from life and you will set about achieving it. You may experience healing from depression. You may also experience physical healing. If there were any addictions present you may experience liberation from these. You will be able to relate to yourself and those around you in a new way. You will experience a greater connection with God, with the earth and with your own body and soul. You will experience a profound shift in your relationships. You may find that you are able to forgive and be reconciled with others. You may also end certain relationships and seek new ones. You may transition into a new job or vocation. You may even move. These changes may come quickly or they may happen over the course of months or years. Immediately after the soul retrieval you may experience a wide range of emotions. You may also feel exhausted. If possible, it is a good idea to go home and sleep for as long as you need. You must treat yourself as if you have just had surgery. Your body and soul will need time to heal from this intense experience. Above all, be gentle with yourself. Now that the soul retrieval is complete you will take on a more active role in your continued healing. The soul parts that have been returned to you need to be welcomed home. They need to be assured that they have returned to a safe place and that you will love them and care for them. You must treat them as precious children. The life that you are now living will seem foreign to them because they have been gone for so long. You will need to introduce them to the people in your life. For example, they may be surprised to find that you are married and have children, or that you are no longer in elementary school. You will need to catch them up on what has happened since they left. Most importantly you just need to hold them and tell them you love them. I have found that one very helpful technique is to hold a pillow to your chest and pretend it is a particular soul part. Tell that soul part how glad you are that they are back. Feel them held against your body. Another technique is non-dominant-hand writing. Use your dominant hand as your adult voice and use your non- dominant hand to write for the soul part. You can pose questions and engage in dialogue. Whatever method you use it is important to ask your newly-returned soul parts what they want and what you can do for them. They hold keys to the treasure of your own self-awareness and joy. They know what you really wanted before it became unsafe to feel your feelings or to pursue your own wants and joys. They will help you remember. So pay careful attention to what they say. As with any child it is important to respect them but also to lay down boundaries. For example, an 8 year old soul part may want to eat a gallon of ice cream or go to Disneyland. Or a 17 year old soul part may want to drive 100mph on the freeway. It is vital to listen to them and dialogue about how those needs can be met in a healthy way. Remember that you are the adult, and it is now your great responsibility and joy to parent your soul parts in a respectful and loving way. It is never too late to have a happy childhood, nor is it ever too late to be a parent to yourself in the way you wanted to be parented. NOW is your chance! A powerful way of honoring them and giving thanks to God for the healing you have received is to set up an altar. On the altar you can place photos or other objects that are representative of your different soul parts. You might also get a gift for each of your soul parts. It is important to seek assistance in the integration of your soul parts and in the post-soul retrieval recovery process. It is vital that you find a therapist who is familiar with shamanic work. Counseling or Hypnotherapy are powerful ways of integrating and speaking with your soul parts. Massage, cranio-sacral therapy and acupuncture are very beneficial as well. Above all, be gentle with yourself. Allow yourself to engage in therapies or other activities that help assure you and your soul parts that your body is a beautiful home; it is a place of love. Thank you for having the courage to do this work. Thank you for bringing healing to yourself, to the earth and to all those around you through this work. |
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| Soul Retrieval is a powerful and ancient healing technique that can be found in indigenous cultures throughout the world. |