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You can become your own Shaman
Soul Retrieval is a process that has been historically associated with Shamanic healing. The ability to consciously transcend ordinary physical reality is the particular specialty of the shaman, traditionally a member of tribal societies who acts as a medium between the visible world of form and the invisible world of the spirit. In the last twenty years or so healers from the largest urban centers to the smallest villages and towns all over the world are practicing the ancient art of Shamanism and soul retrieval to achieve spiritual, psychological and physical healing and successfully adapting these techniques to the needs of contemporary society.
The simple description of soul retrieval as it has been traditionally practiced is that in tribal society the Shaman, through the use of psychedelic drugs or drumming, goes into an altered state of consciousness. The Shaman then journeys into the spirit world with a guide or power animal and seeks out the fragmented parts of the soul of the person he/she is healing. The Shaman often discovers a small child or a younger version of the person that has been disowned through trauma and asks the child's permission to return the child to its soul. If permission is given the Shaman travels with the child back to the person and through an opening in the top of the head or through the heart delivers the disconnected part of the soul back into the body. For permission to be given the Shaman must negotiate with the child, freeing her/him from the fear of being rejected or hurt once again. This can take a few or many sessions to accomplish.
My introduction to soul retrieval came from the Higher Self. I honestly didn't know much about Shamanic healing or even the phrase "soul retrieval" until a few years after I started my healing practice. When I began to work with the Higher Self a client would tell me of seeing an image of him/herself at an earlier time in life. Memories would flood back in incredible detail about the image. A child would be standing alone, feeling rejected or guilty or abused. Everything about a particular incident became clear and the client would begin to cry, seeing the younger version of him/herself in a way that they had never seen before. As I observed and listened quietly the client would have an image of holding and loving the child in an emotional embrace. And then the child would disappear and seem to be inside the client. They would report feeling warm, lighter, calmer and at peace.
This happened many times, particularly when I would have a first session with someone. I began to see the phenomena over and over again. But then a strange thing happened. In subsequent sessions, an image of the person at a different age or under different circumstances might appear but the client didn't have the same reaction as in the first session. No tears, no emotion, no comforting the lost child. Sometimes the client had understanding and even compassion for the image of the child but kept a safe distance. The Higher Self had been teaching me how we use creative ways to resist moving into a deeper understanding of ourselves, and the techniques to remove that resistance. I began to use the techniques: ask the Higher Self for strength, ask that the resistance be lifted and if all else fails, ask that the client be shown the resistance.
The best way to understand this is by example. After asking the Higher Self to come in and take the client on a healing journey an image of a person will often show up. Mostly, the picture is of a child or infant that the client will recognize as themselves but sometimes the image is so unlike the client that it is hard to recognize. For instance, a client might see a corpse or someone so unattractive that they can't stay with the image. In some cases, the child is of a different gender than the client. The Higher Self will help to make the image clearer when asked. The fact that an image appears indicates that the soul has fragmented and the Higher Self is showing the fragmented part through an image. Depending on the spiritual strength of the person seeing the memory, taking in the disconnected part of the soul can come instantly or require several sessions. Take a look at the following example of a session that is typical of what happens with the soul retrieval process.
Client: I'm seeing a small boy standing in the middle of a room.
Jean: Do you recognize the boy? I'll ask your Higher Self to shine a light on the image to make it clearer.
Client: That's me. I remember now…my parents were fighting and I was afraid for my mother. I felt helpless and alone.
Jean: How old are you there?
Client: I guess about 4 or 5 years old.
Jean: How do you feel about the little boy?
Client: Kind of ashamed that he didn't do more to stop what was going on.
Jean: I'll ask your Higher Self to put a light around you and the little boy so that you understand each other better.
Client: I guess he couldn't do much. He was so small. (Crying)
Jean: Would you be willing to embrace and comfort him?
Client: (Still crying) Yes. He seems happy to be with me.
Jean: I will ask your Higher Self to blend him with you now.
The blending or soul retrieval takes place at this point. You can see in this example where the resistance was and how seemingly effortless it was for the Higher Self to lift the resistance by putting a light around the client and the image of the small boy that he was. Not all sessions are as straightforward and simple. In the following session you will find there is more resistance to be removed.
Jean: How are you feeling now?
Client: Nothing. I'm not seeing anything or feeling anything.
Jean: I'll ask your Higher Self to take you under the nothingness and show you what is there.
Client: I'm seeing a house in the woods. It's frightening. There aren't any lights on. Jean: I'll ask your Higher Self to surround the house in light and to give you the strength you need to go inside.
Client: I'm inside now and the house feels better. The rooms are empty but there's a library with lots of books.
Jean: Let your Higher Self guide you to one of the books.
Client: It's a photo album and I see a picture of myself. I remember that time and I felt so lonely and neglected.
Jean: How do you feel about the little girl?
Client: I don't like her very much. She's sad and miserable. No one loves her because she's always making mistakes.
Jean: How old is she? What is she wearing?
Client: I guess she's about 10 years old. She's got a dirty face and dirty clothes.
Jean: I'm going to ask your Higher Self to put a light around you and her so you understand each other better.
Client: No one is taking care of her. They're too busy and distracted.
Jean: Would you be willing to hold her hand, send energy to her?
Client: No, I don't want to get near her. Her pain is too great.
Jean: With your permission, I'll ask your Higher Self to show you your resistance to her.
Client: I can see my father telling her how difficult she makes his life. He told me I'd never amount to anything because I never do anything right. (Starting to cry) I was just a kid and wanted to please him but I never could.
Jean: Would you be willing now to embrace that little girl.
Client: Yes! I'm holding her in my arms and she's feeling so much better.
We were finally able to blend the client with the little girl at that moment but you can see how much resistance there was to allowing any feeling for the child. In order to gain the acceptance that she so desperately wanted from her father she had to make an agreement with him that she was not worth loving, particularly by her self. This was the point where a part of her soul left. Her poor self-image continued into adulthood - useless, unworthy and a burden to everyone she loved. In order to change that belief she had to first, access the deeply buried memory and then, open her heart to the little child that experienced the pain of rejection and neglect.
We all have memories of trauma or an emotional wound that happens in childhood. We can remember being abandoned when someone we loved left or died. Or when a parent or teacher rejected us for some perceived fault. What we don't remember is the decision we made at that very moment of humiliation or abuse, a decision that determines our future lives and how we live them. We don't remember separating out from ourselves, from the searing pain of that moment when a part of our soul takes flight. Our lives feel fragmented and painful and we don't know how to find our way to wholeness.
Healing through soul retrieval has been the provenance of the traditional Shaman over many centuries and in most parts of the world. What I have come to know is that each person can do his own soul retrieval with the help of the Higher Self. We can become modern Shamans using traditional tools like hypnosis for relaxation and focus and then call in our Higher Self to bring up the fragmented parts of the soul. We can ask and receive from the Higher Self all the power that is necessary to let go of resistance and begin to love the pure and perfect beings that we are. We can become our own Shaman!
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