The term Soul Retrieval comes specifically from the Shamanic Traditions of healing and is an extremely powerful form of Energy Medicine and Spiritual Practice that heals soul loss. Soul loss can be very dangerous to an individual’s overall well-being and can occur whenever we experience trauma or illness in our life. For example, we may experience soul loss if we are in an accident, undergo a serious operation or if we suddenly lose a close friend or family member.
From a Shamanic perspective, soul loss is a very common cause of illness,- both mental and physical. Traditionally (in the past), a Shamanic Practitioner would hope to conduct a soul retrieval within three days of someone experiencing trauma. Today, modern Shamanic Practitioners seek lost soul parts that are willing to return from any point or time in life.
Soul Loss can be found in different degrees in most people. Addictions, eating disorders, identity disorders, post traumatic stress, depression, codependency, narcissism, low self-esteem, and adjustment disorders are all common causes for Soul Loss in our superficial, fast-paced, materialistic modern societies that are mostly devoid of all sense of sacredness.
According to the author Sandra Ingerman “The basic premise is whenever we experience trauma, a part of our vital essence separates from us in order to survive the experience by escaping the full impact of the pain.”
This quiet occurrence, known as soul loss, takes the form of a perpetual feeling and experience of incompleteness and disconnection.
Ingerman says, “Anytime someone says, ‘I have never been the same’ since a certain event, and they don’t mean this in a good way, soul loss has probably occurred.”
What is Soul?
We all know a soulful person when we see one. They are comfortable in their own skin, feeling emotions fluidly as they arise and their thoughts are aligned with their higher purpose.
Soul is the part of us that goes on without our body, even though it is held by our body now. Soul is the energy to follow our passions, that connects to a higher purpose. Soul is a mind that is clear of complaint, doubt and worry. It is able to make clear choices moment to moment without thinking about it.
The soul can be free or it can be imprisoned by the ego. Spiritual Healing help us free our soul.
Soul fragments can also leave the body during times of stress and trauma. This is what we call soul loss.
Soul Loss
Among Shamanic circles soul loss is regarded as the most serious diagnosis and the major cause of premature death and serious illness, yet curiously, it’s not even mentioned in our Western medical textbooks. The closest acknowledged context is “He/she has lost the will to live”.
In Western society, soul loss is most easily understood as damage to a person’s life essence, a phenomenon that usually occurs in response to trauma or illness, often in childhood. When the trauma is severe, this may result in a fragmentation of that person’s soul, with the shattered soul parts dissociating, fleeing an intolerable situation in order to allow the person to literally stay alive. In overwhelming circumstances, these soul parts may not return or may be stolen or held prisoner.
The causes of soul loss can be many and varied. There may be traumatic perinatal issues that happen around the child’s birth experience such as arriving into life only to discover that they are not wanted, or severe birth trauma.
Soul loss can also occur when a child is mercilessly bullied or teased at home or at school, day after day, or when a young person is abused in any way. When someone has been raped or assaulted, has suffered a shocking betrayal, a bitter divorce, a traumatic abortion, a terrible car accident, or even a serious surgery, soul loss is assured.
After the traumatic incident, shock or illness is over, most of the fragmented soul pieces should return back into the body safe and sound, but other times they do not. This is usually because the soul piece that was lost did not “feel” safe enough to return or felt that the person could not survive with the full impact of what had happened.
Soul parts can also be stolen and held by abusers, narcissists and negative entities.
Symptoms of Soul Loss
Soul loss is easily recognizable if you know what you’re looking for. Here’s a checklist of some of the classic symptoms:
- Memories and parts of your life have been blocked out.
- You experience strong periods of depression.
- Parts within yourself feel missing or broken.
- You experience a general numbness to life.
- Constant feelings of fear or anxiety plague you.
- You go through long periods of insomnia.
- You feel lost or incomplete.
- You feel like a ‘different person’ after a shocking or traumatic life event.
- You feel stuck or incapable of overcoming a certain issue in your life.
- You feel disappointed with life.
- You feel as though there are multiple “selves” within you.
- You try to escape by turning to alcohol, drugs, sex, television, or excessive busyness.
- You feel unworthy of being loved.
- You are experiencing a dark night of the soul.
- You want to find your purpose and meaning in life.
- You feel like your daily life is meaningless and task-driven.
- You avoid feeling vulnerable and keep others at a distance.
- You long for wholeness and a sense of belonging.
- You sometimes feel that you’re not in control of yourself.
- You constantly feel mentally or physically fatigued for no medical reason.
- You thirst for authenticity and complete acceptance of yourself.
Perhaps the most common symptom of soul loss is depression and a sense of incompleteness or numbness.
Although the term “soul loss” is not familiar to most Westerners, examples of it are expressed daily in our language and descriptions of personal hardships. Media interviews and news reports include individuals’ comments such as “I lost a part of myself when that (trauma) happened” and “I have not been the same since.” When discussing soul loss with inquiring individuals, most everyone has a sense of having lost a “part” of themselves at some time in life, yet virtually no one has the awareness that the missing part(s) could be recovered.
For those who have lost parts of themselves, knowingly or unknowingly, “tremendous amounts of psychic energy” are unconsciously spent looking for the lost parts.
Soul Retrieval
During the soul retrieval process, the Shamanic Practitioner moves into a trance state to travel to realities outside of normal perception (non-ordinary reality), also known as hidden spirit worlds, to retrieve the lost part of the soul.
In some cases, there is reluctance of the soul to return, or the soul may not even know a separation has occurred; while in most cases, the soul does want to return.
Once the lost soul is located, the Shamanic Practitioner will acknowledge the former pain and gently negotiate the soul’s return to the body. The Practitioner then brings the soul back to normal reality and (literally) blows the missing soul part back into body through the head or heart.
As part of this journey, integration work is required, to ensure that clients maintain their new, healed energies. There may be additional Shamanic Healing sessions needed in advance of a Soul Retrieval, to prepare the person and their energies for what is essentially profound Psychic Surgery. The person’s vital essence returns to its original owner, an experience that they frequently experience as life-changing. This is ultimately accomplished with the willing participation of the client in creating a sincere call for this work, as well as the integrating of their soul parts back into their overall vital essence.
The results of a soul retrieval are unique for everyone. Some people will experience joy, curiosity, or expansiveness and others will feel quiet, still and sleepy after a soul retrieval.
Preventing Soul Loss
Soul loss helps protect us in times of trauma. For example, if someone is going to be in an car accident, soul loss will help to minimise the trauma of the accident and help the person to survive it mentally. Preventing soul loss during the crash wouldn’t make sense. However, after the person has survived the trauma they need to ensure their soul parts come home to them and aren’t still hanging out on that road or somewhere else. Part of preventing soul loss, is taking time to heal after trauma to ensure you are whole again.
No one can steal your soul parts without your permission. Of course, this may be more challenging for children, minors or people in positions of less or diminished power. One thing we can do to prevent this type of soul loss is build our Spiritual Power or Vitality and protect children from abusers of power.
Irish Shamanism, Soul Clinic 