Title: Soul Retrieval
Tags: coaching, metaphysical, healing
Blog Entry: A Brief Synopsis about Soul Retrieval A lot of us know about Soul Retrieval, which simply means the return of lost soul fragments (or lost parts) of ourselves or others. Soul Retrieval is a classical shamanic practice, and in some indigenous communities it was the primary method of maintaining health or power. The medicine man or woman held the power in the village. The word soul equates to our life-force, and in shamanic terms it is believed that we are a composite of 'souls', or life-force, and this explains why there is a belief that we can become fragmented. Some native people for example regard every part of our body as having a soul; arms, hands, organs, glands, bones and so on. An integral part of their healing practice is to journey to retrieve the soul or life force of a particular part of the body, as a pre-requisite for the healing on the physical level to take place. In the shamanic world, power and maintaining health go hand in hand, if the body is powerful it is considered healthy and there is no room for illness or disease which are regarded as an invasive force. The meaning of power in the shamanic world, equates to power over ourselves, not power over others unlike how we equate power in the business world and our personal lives. The more power we have over ourselves, means that we are truly able to live our lives, without being overwhelmed or sidelined, or without having the need to react when our 'buttons' are pushed. When we become powerful we are less needy of other people's power, and the more power we have over ourselves even makes it difficult to lie or evade, because we have no reason to resort to those tactics. Soul Retrieval is one way to restore and maintain our life force, and power, and this is an act where we are in fact locating our own life-force that has been displaced and reuniting the fragments we have either given away or lost. An important way to help maintain our personal power and life-force is not too conscious or unconsciously hold on to another’s life force. In our lives we may find ourselves in the position of taking and holding onto the energy of others without really being conscious we do so. It is very easy to do when you live in strife and turmoil and you reach out to another for strength. You may become a "psychic vampire" of a sort while you are simply just trying to help yourself maintain. This is known as Soul Theft, or a common new age term is vampirism. We do not like to admit this practice, but this is something we all commonly do, and it should be looked at in a non-judgmental way. Soul-theft can be a learned generational behavior, and often occurs in relationships and within families. It is usually done in an unconscious way. In fact if the person was consciously aware of what they were doing they would be shocked and very upset. The following examples are ways we may inadvertently take another’s life force: 1. When we are jealous of another persons power or status. 2. Someone has a power / energy which is envied; 3. When you covet another persons identity, and say "I want to be like him/her!" or when you ‘hero worship' a person or idolize them in a way where you are envious; 4. A very common way to take another persons power is to judge them; and 5. When we 'over' care for someone causing them to become too dependent on us. Which can result in the person losing their own strength and will to support themselves. There are a number of problems that soul-theft causes: 1. The person whose life-force is taken is diminished in some way; 2. If you hang on to a relationships, causing difficult, and unsatisfactory completions; 3. The person who has taken another's life-force can not use it in any way whatsoever, it becomes a burden to the taker and the one it was taken from is diminished. There are many benefits to everyone and especially to ourselves when we return another persons life-force to them. This act can be most life changing, cathartic, and above all healing to both parties. I get a lot of feedback and input from people who do this type of work, and many times I am told of relationships that have improved between partners, parents, children, and friends. I see this as a basic 'tug-of war' scenario, where both parties have been pulling on the rope, and by letting go and giving in the person is returning the life force to the other and there is no longer any need to pull the rope or respond in anger again. Participants in workshops and clients often tell me, that as soon as they did this soul retrieval work, they went home and cleared all the clutter and junk from their home. This cleansing is a way to ground and release I believe. They are making space available for new things to come into their life, which is exactly what happens in our own soul bodies, we make more space for our own life-force, more space for our own power. Even though we may now be aware that this 'soul theft' is not a good thing for us and we would like to change things and return the other persons life-force, it may be difficult to recall or remember people's names or their faces because the act was carried out on an unconscious basis a very long time ago. This can and is one of the problems I encounter often. Working with the spiritual shamanistic tools, methods and techniques can be very supportive to us in this act of releasing, grounding and cleansing. It is because the unconscious memories are difficult to access, that contact with your Spirit guides, Spirit animals, and helpers from the Angelic realm can be helpful. The Spirit teachers and animals, know us perfectly, they know our personal history, our strengths, our qualities, the dream symbols we work with, and they can help us when and if we call on them. You can perform a simple cleansing ceremony on your own to release the parts of others you are holding on to. You need to be specific and your intent pure when you ask the spirits to disclose to you the names, faces or any other important information that will help you to understand the soul parts I have taken on inadvertently and am still holding on to. You need to do this in a meditative way and allow yourself time to be open and receive the information you request. A quiet place to reflect is preferable. Allow at least 20 to 30 minutes for this journey. You may receive specific names or you may be shown faces by your spirit guide or power animals. All are valid, there is no right or wrong way to do this just be sincere in your desire to return and right the wrong that was done. When you have returned from your journey, it is a good idea to write the names down in your journal while they are fresh in your mind. Do not judge yourself for this because you most probably were unaware of doing this consciously. You are now taking the opportunity to restore the balance. You can use a simple ritual like a Fire Ceremony. To increase the power of this ritual it helps if it is witnessed by friends, or those who care for you and want to participate and support you. The participants can support you by using rattles, gently drumming, or chanting. To start the ceremony, you need a place (preferably outdoors, in a place which can safely contain a fire). To begin call in the Spirits, ask for their assistance, and state your intention very clearly "I am returning the soul parts which I am still holding onto". You will need the list of names that you collected in the cleansing and grounding ritual. Then while you are still maintaining a ceremonial space, tear the paper into strips, one name to a strip, and then proceed to burn each strip of paper. As each strip of paper burns, visualize, imagine, feel, sense, the soul part of that person being released from you and returning to that person. After each name has burned, you may want to make an offering to the Spirits to thank them, you may want to add a pinch of cedar or sage to the fire. The act of returning soul parts often brings with it, a sense of completion, and a general feeling of satisfaction. It is like the completion of an open chapter. Even when you have completed the ceremony, over a period of time, it is very possible that you may well recall additional names, faces, incidents and so on. This is normal, what you have done is to open the door to these submerged memories. The Fire Ceremony can be repeated at any time. Many Blessings to you this day and may the day bring you joy and peace within! Rosie
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