Tag Archive for: Shamanism

Shamanism

Shamanism is an ancient healing modality still practiced by many indigenous cultures across the globe. A Shaman is someone who works closely with the natural world and the powers that exist both inside and outside of 3rd dimensional reality to bring about healing and balance. In Western terms, this might be called psycho-navigation, and is defined as the mental experience of moving through inner space, or the space perceived as mind.

In Shamanism, the world is viewed as a web of intricate energy connections in which all life is interdependent, a cosmos made up of fiber like energy streams, strands of light similar to the circulatory system of the human body. Human beings are viewed as being within the web shaping our own reality. In physics the web is referred to as the Quantum Hologram. From this viewpoint, Shamanism confirms the connectedness of all things and affirms that everything that exists has a spirit which is connected to the Earth and all of life.

The Shamanic journey is a form of information gathering and healing. It may involve moving backwards into memory, or the past, or forward into future events., and is sometimes marked by shifts in personal identity or insights not normally possessed by the person. That shift is sometimes facilitated by contact with spirit helpers, guides and power animals.

From a shamanic perspective there are three potential causes of illness:

  • Power loss
  • Soul loss (loss of essence)
  • Attachment of unwanted spirits or entities

Some potential manifestations of power loss are misfortune, trauma, or accident, as well as dysfunctional family dynamics.

Soul Retrieval

Shamans believe that Soul loss occurs when trauma or a loss of power causes a person to lose some of their pure original essence.Soul Retrieval is an ancient traditional and mystical practice that enables someone to reclaim those lost pieces and mend the fragmented self.

Soul loss can be caused by anything that creates significant trauma for a person. My teacher, Sandra Ingerman refers to Soul loss as “a spiritual illness that causes emotional and physical disease.” Traumas such as rape, incest, abuse, death of someone close, divorce, war, and addiction are all pertinent examples but trauma can also result from more minor incidents such as car accidents or surgeries.  Everyone’s tolerance level is different. What may not be a traumatic experience for one person could cause soul loss in someone who is very sensitive.

Some tell-tale signs that you may need a Soul Retrieval are big gaps in memory like lost time, (“Oh, I can’t remember anything about my childhood from age 3 to 10.“)  Or, “I‘ve never felt the same since… (“…my brother died” …  “I got fired”… or “I saw that awful scene of violence”). You get the idea.

Soul Retrieval is accomplished by performing a Shamanic Journey during which a Shaman uses the sound of a drum beat to alter her/his brainwaves and expand one’s consciousness so that it can then journey through unseen dimensions, also known as non-ordinary reality, to retrieve the pieces of someone’s lost soul and bring it back to them. When the pieces are returned by blowing them back into the person, I like to think of it as returning a ball of pure divine light to someone. The end result is a sense of wholeness and increased inner calmness.

After Soul Retrieval, many positive changes can occur in a person’s life, such as more self-confidence and an overall sense of well-being.