Soul Retreival

In a previous post I wrote about soul loss so this is a good time to finish the explanation with a discussion of soul retrieval.  Both shamanic practitioners and psychologists agree that part of a person’s psyche can become disassociated or lost.  Psychologists believe that the disassociated part of the psyche is in the unconscious mind.  Shamanic practitioners assert that the lost part of the soul is in the Lower World.

To execute a soul retrieval the shamanic practitioner enters into the shamanic state of consciousness and travels to the Lower World in non-ordinary reality, finds the lost soul fragment with the help of guardians and helping spirits, and asks it or negotiates with it to return to the person.  An ethical shamanic practitioner would never trick the soul fragment into returning; the decision to return must be made by the soul fragment. The shamanic practitioner then carries the soul fragment back to normal reality and reinserts it, normally by blowing it, back into the person and then seals the fragment within the person so that it completely reintegrates.

If you haven’t read my previous post (above) about Bill then you might want to go back and review his case.  While I gave you a lot of information about Bill’s traumatic experience I didn’t know all of that before the shamanic journey, just that he felt like he had never been a child and that he had trust and abandonment issues.  

After Bill asked me to journey for him we both laid on the floor, began to listen to shamanic drumming and I covered my eyes with a bandana (something I do ritually to signal to my mind that we are going to journey).  I began the journey and was quickly in the tunnel leading to the Lower World.  On the other side of the tunnel I was met by two of my power animals and I explained to them the purpose of my journey.  One of them agreed to lead me to Bill’s soul fragment.   I asked my power animal if we were going to the cave of lost children and thankfully my power animal said no. 

The cave of lost children is, for me at least, the most depressing place in the Lower World.  It is a dark cave in the lowest reaches of the Lower World that is filled with the soul fragments of children.  They seem to congregate there after very traumatic experience.  Entering the cave all I can see are the whites of their outlines of their wide-open,  sad eyes.

Back to Bill . . . my power animal took me to a far-away, dark, desert-like area of the Lower World, one that appeared to be completely deserted.  My power animal instructed me to begin to call for Bill, “Billy are you here?  Billy can I talk to you?”  Soon I heard  a small voice replying, “I’m over here.”  I found myself next to a little boy hiding in the dark.  I explained to Billy that Bill was looking for him and that Bill wanted him to come home.  Little Billy responded that he was afraid of going back because his mommy had gone away and he didn’t want to be alone.  I explained, “But you are alone here.  Bill is grown up now.  He is a big, strong man and he will take good care of you.  He misses you and wants you to come back.” 

Little Billy agreed to return but only if I would give him a piggy back ride so that he was behind me.  He climbed on my back, my power animal lead us back to the inner entrance to the tunnel.  I explained to Billy that we were going to go through a tunnel and back to Bill, which did.  Returning to normal reality I held Billy in my palms and blew him back into Bill’s heart and then shook my rattle around Bill to seal his aura.

Bill and I didn’t see each other for six months and when we met again he told me that, for the first time in his life, he was in a relationship where he was able to give himself completely to his partner.  About 18 months later I received an invitation of Bill’s wedding.  He is now the proud step father of two and reports that he has never been happier.

Did the soul retrieval really happen or was the change in Bill just a placebo effect?  Does it really matter?  Bill’s life improved and he is a different man.  You can draw whatever conclusion you want but to me the Lower World is as real as ordinary reality and Bill is more complete than he has been since he was six years old.