Soul retrieval

[Woodfox]

I've been exploring this topic and have performed soul retrieval on myself and also on a friend (at their request) and I was just wondering if anyone else has done it. What are your experiences? What did the soul pieces look like?

I found for myself, there were 3 pieces of soul but one didn't want to be retrieved, and two were fine with it and they looked like a slice of light, small, and would fit in your palm.

And for my friend, one soul piece took on the appearance of my friend as a young girl, and three others took on the appearance of inanimate objects, all different - toys and jewelry, in her case the one that looked like a young girl needed to be persuaded to return to the main soul, one remained stuck where it was, and the other two were carried back by animal helpers.

[ShadowCat]

I've once assisted a friend in his own retrieval. He felt like there was something switched with another being, and is was a bit like a "evil twin" kind of energy that had a bit of him, and he had to release a bit of the evil twin-energy (he described it as his jealous brother from a previous life). We worked with mirrors, the soulpieces exchanged looked like non-material gemstones, glowing with light. It was special to see that the "evil" part looked quite the same as the other, which fueled the conclusion that it was more the non-compatibility of energy that was perceived as evil, rather than something explicitely evil on its own.

For myself: I've not yet dared to look for parts, I'm still trying to figure out the parts I've got at the moment.

[Heddwen]

Just being curious, but how do you go about performing a soul retrieval?

[StephenThomas]

This sounds interesting. I may have to do a bit of digging on this subject!

[Woodfox]

Well what I did was I cast a circle did the Hail and Welcome at the quarters like usual. Then I went into my Sacred Grove and asked my guides to help me. For my own soul retrieval experience I went down a path that I'd dreamed existed back when I was 8 years old, then I met some animal guides (horse and crow) who directed me in their own ways to a couple pieces. One was in a stream and refused to come out, so I left it - I've read you shouldn't force it. Then the other two were in blueberry fields (I grew up on a blueberry farm) and brought up memories of seemingly small and insignificant experiences that had left a legacy on me. Those other two pieces where quite willing to reintegrate themselves with me.

With my friend, I needed a lot more help as she's an ocean away. However I started out the same way, and asked for guidance, and then I went to my grove in the vision world and then into "her" landscape to look for the animal guides for her soul pieces. I met her guardian, a Buddhist monk, who had some quite serious questions to ask me before he'd let me meet any of her animal guides. I answered them honestly, and then it was ok. In her case it was a gazelle, a mouse and a cougar that came to me. They each led me to pieces of her soul, and only one had a form that I could talk to. The others were all inanimate objects but I still had to ask each piece if it wanted to go back to my friend where the majority of the soul was. One did not.

I had a crystal on hand, as I read that it's good practice to ask the soul pieces to enter the crystal and then afterwards to ask the soul to go to the person by holding the crystal on the forehead and then the heart. For myself, I used the crystal which had a very hot kind of energy when I touched it to my forehead and heart initially. But I found I didn't need it for my friend. The soul pieces didn't want to enter a crystal, instead the animal guides took them back to my friend.

I also found, midway through the ritual for my friend that I could actually sense two other beings holding my hands so we formed a circle, as if they were lending me energy. Such a fantastic experience. I was zinging with energy for days. But I've also been very drained since that energy dissipated. Still clearly lots for me to learn.

[Heddwen]

thank you for sharing your experiences, what a great thing to be able to do both for your self and for your friend.

[Woodfox]

Thank you! It's a fantastic honour that she asked me. The one for myself was an experiment really and I was surprised to find some soul pieces that needed reintegrating in the first place. Hopefully it can be of use to someone else as well.

[Aigeann]

Just being curious, but how do you go about performing a soul retrieval?

I would do some research on the subject (there is much out there on the Internet) and find the system that feels resonates with you, personally. I'm not saying it's dangerous or difficult, it's more like raising a child or (dare I suggest) housebreaking a dog. There are countless methods out there and many contradict. So find what is perfect for YOU.

Blessings and prayers

[Kat Lady]

Well, I am putting on my Shamanic hat stepping in with my comments. I would compare soul retrieval to intense psychotherapy because that basicially what it is: it is healing the "soul" by discovering what wounded it and patching up the wound, which is more of a mental/spiritual aspect. We all lose pieces of ourselves along the journey, or journeys. Most are little bumps and bruises and are never missed. But some are pretty major and thus need to be reintegrated for an individual to move forward. If a retrieval is done correctly, it heals the person/soul. If done incorrectly, it can leave the person more fractured than before. So helping someone do a retrieval is a serious thing and a big responsibility.

Before taking on the responsibility of helping another retrieval, one should be sure one has all the proper tools at hand. My suggestion is do the research into the various methods, find the one that seems to "fit" your style and then get the proper training. Also, always have a spotter with you until you are very comfortable in the practice to anchor you.

[ShadowCat]

Most are little bumps and bruises and are never missed.

Generally, that is true, but sometimes those little bumps and bruises ad up and can make a difference in a person. Sometimes, when there is greater damage, that only reveals itself sometime later, when a small piece that wouldn't give problems in itself fractures of. Healing the smaller part can help in gaining enough power back to tackle the "biggies".

Also, always have a spotter with you until you are very comfortable in the practice to anchor you.

I totally second that. With this kind of work it's almost always advisable to keep someone capable around to check the energetic, mental en physical wellbeing of healer and subject, as well as to provide general assistance and safety.

[Woodfox]

That's fantastic advice! I wish I'd had some before I set out on this journey. It's amazing the lack of information out there on the topic. Part of the reason why I posted initially really.

My experience was led by what I'd read in a book which I used as a template. I had no preconceived ideas about it's risks so I didn't encounter any. I did have a grilling from my friend's spirit guardian but I would have expected something like that as she herself is a trained Reiki practitioner. I also would have expected the emotional upheaval on her end that she's had, and my own energy fluctuations, which I've had. I would really like to get some "official" shamanic training one day. I think it would be beneficial, however it's highly unlikely. I don't have the money for either payment of teaching or travel, and the chances of anyone being nearby that would be qualified (and trusted) as a trainer are slim. I don't work well with others in the room as their presence is a distraction so I can't see what benefit a spotter would be to me personally.

[Aoife]

Not really sure what this is...sounds like a Native American spirit journey.

As far as bringing the pieces of soul back together and finding the experiences that did that to you...what if you already know what they are?

Spirit animals....and how do you know what they are? How are you sure you just aren't gravitating towards animals you admire?

Not being a skeptic just curious.

[ideagirl]

Woodfox, that's brilliant. It's quite impressive that you figured this out basically on your own.

The American shaman Sandra Ingerman wrote a book called "Soul Retrieval." Here's a link to it:
http://www.amazon.com/Soul-Retrieval-Me ... 0061227862

[Moonrising]

Woodfox, there is a lot of shamanism in your area. I went to Scarborough for my soul retrieval with http://www.nyshamaniccentre.co.uk/. I would highly recommend them and Jane Shutt's book "The spirits are always with me".

[elementalheart]

My only advice is get training before undertaking this ceremony for others as it is a beautiful service to offer someone but requires much preparation and work on the self so that when you step into the other's energy flow and seek their soul parts you do so without ego needs of your own that might take power from them in the process. No point retrieving soul if you're taking power in the process.

Sandra teaches a generic method which is proven safe and containes core elements that run through most native traditions, indeed she is someone native practitioners go to for training if their own nation has nobody left with the teaching through their own elders. But she does warn against just reading the book and doing the ritual without practice under guidance. The client is in the room physically, or energetically in the case of distant work, and it has to be safe and ethical for them and it has to be all about their results, not the practitioner's journey experience - she's also developed certain aspects of the ritual since writing Soul Retrieval and the later knowledge is based on her immense experience, not changing the ceremony but ways to support integration by the client.

After several years doing it her classic way I evolved my own unique style as we all must, but there are certain elements of the teaching which remain core to the way I do any shamanic ceremony. I learned the method about 2006 on a week intensive training run in Scotland at Lendrick Lodge, where she comes occasionally to share her Medicine for the Earth training (she's coming this summer) but she has authorised trainers in the UK and I've supported Lendrick's on many occasions. I would not teach her method and am authorised to do the work but not train others, just to be clear, and it's rare that I undertake this particular ritual these days for various reasons, so I'm not expressing my opinion as someone marketing myself But to evidence the importance of preparation and training, she insists on doing either her Shaman's Path (with an authorised trainer) or Harner's Way of the Shaman for core journeying,, divination and power retrieval work AND getting clear success at this level with case studies, prior to accepting anyone for soul retrieval training, and both those plus approved case studies on SR (including the ways your journey is worded to the client) before embarking on extraction which can have more serious consequences if not done cleanly and correctly, so without wanting to in any way put in a negative on what sounds like effective work, I would really say do the training before taking on the retrieval work for anyone but yourself.

Just a tiny example to think over - if you see a part of yourself that is lost and not ready to come back, you may have insight as to where it is and what needs to be done, just seeing it will remind you and allow the energy to move where needed in order to become ready for reintegration becaues at some level you were ready to see that piece and do the work. But to be told by someone who you have given power to in order to retrieve your soul for you, that it wasn't wanting to come back to you, imagine how a vulnerable person might receive that news and what internal destructive patterns might take a hold on that.

I've seen the results of how unskilful practices/sharing can cause pain to someone because they believed themselves unworthy of being whole and took that evidence to feed the negativity without realising. I've had powerstealing done to me by well meaning trainees who got lost in the need to share the entirety of their journey verbatim, whether to prove how good they were or to avoid missing something crucial in anxiety or even to play unconscious power games, and despite my experience and clarity it is a hard thing to find a way back from because you are opening yourself to that person and they are lovely people and they don't mean it but it is like planting a time bomb inside. Someone that comes in desperate need and without the understanding I had could suffer immensely from such an experience, however little they realised at the time that it had even been planted as a seed within them. I cleared one such intrusion from myself during a training that happened about 2-3 years ago but can still quote, almost verbatim, every part of the practitioner's journey with the 4 ways she unknowingly created damage and I can't actually recall much about the end where she said the one thing that she actually should have said without all the stories that ruined that gift. So I know there is still a hook in there somewhere that has yet to heal and I can't work with that person now without wincing and working through my remaining distrust to do so, though I did address the skills issue with her on the day and know she took it on board with the integrity and courage required of those trainings. Anyway, I am saying too much perhaps for the query but it is a matter close to my heart not to take on ceremonies without direct training from whatever lineage you choose (assuming not born into one).

[Woodfox]

@Aoife - Yes, basically native american spirit journeying was what it felt like.
@ ideagirl - Thanks!
@ Moonrising - Thank you! I had no idea they were here! I've only lived in this area for 2 years. I will look into this.
@Shadowcat - Thank you for sharing your experiences as well. That was what I was wondering.
@Elementalheart - Do people not generally discuss the situation with the subject's spirit guardian first? It would seem to me you would restrict yourself from hurting someone or stealing their power by simply telling the guardian you don't want to and then trusting they won't let you. People do seem to be really afraid of shamanic work. I don't understand why. It's quite simple really. I can see the issue with a piece that didn't want to return, but surely the person initially knows that that would be a possibility.

Also, just out of curiosity because I too am skeptical. Why should someone who can do shamanic work already, get training? Not being a nay-sayer here, I really want to know if there is a benefit and what it is, or if its just people wanting my money. I have no intention of becoming a professional shaman, though perhaps I should as I seem to find it easy and have a natural and strong interest. But how do I know a shamanic trainer is any more qualified than I am? Seriously, if I did decide to pursue this professionally the last thing I want to do is give money to a charlatan to teach me to do something I am already good at.

[elementalheart]

@Elementalheart - Do people not generally discuss the situation with the subject's spirit guardian first? It would seem to me you would restrict yourself from hurting someone or stealing their power by simply telling the guardian you don't want to and then trusting they won't let you. People do seem to be really afraid of shamanic work. I don't understand why. It's quite simple really. I can see the issue with a piece that didn't want to return, but surely the person initially knows that that would be a possibility.
Also, just out of curiosity because I too am skeptical. Why should someone who can do shamanic work already, get training? Not being a nay-sayer here, I really want to know if there is a benefit and what it is, or if its just people wanting my money.

Parallel question, why would someone with experience of working spiritually, who can read books on druidry, remember stories and myths from childhood and later, who can step into the sacred space of nature themselves, choose to join OBOD and go through the grades by studying druidry rather than continuing their personal path alone? For me the reasons may be different to why you or anyone else would seek training in druidry, shamanism or any other form of spiritual or indeed psychological or physical healing practice. But in essence I would say look at training because there is always more to learn than any one person can accumulate in a lifetime and particularly when one moves to start to work within the energetic field of another person it is an immense responsibility which is supported by countering pitfalls that others have experienced and overcome through the generations of a lineage, whatever lineage and methods those may be. And even with years of experience in a one form of spirituality, or more, there is more to gain from other variations and forms which one has not yet indepth direct experience in, hence I made that commitment to OBOD despite or in fact because of my previous experience in untrained druidic activity and trained other schools/methods/forms, so I recommend stepping into the wisdom of elders, whatever you choose to practice. Even those aspects which don't fit, still inform and build those that already did, just as those people that most challenge us are often our best teachers once we get over rejecting all they stand for and resenting them to there and back The person I mentioned in the training for instance has been a gift, if a very painful one at the time and has shown me aspects of myself and of a client's vulnerability first hand.

Also, as OBOD does, any reputable training will include the requirement to work on any personal ego issues through reflective practices and provide some form of mentoring or supervision of working with others to help the practitioner separate what is theirs from what is their clients, and that can only be of benefit to the work, but also to the person willing to submit to that process and accept that there is wisdom they can access without doing it all for themselves by trial and error with their client or patients. Tapping into the collective history and wisdom of a lineage deepens practice and shamanism, like druidry, is the path of a community that gathers together in circle to bring the best out of each. Nowadays in our culture most practitioners are solo workers most of the time and miss the experience of working in circles where energy is so raised and focused as to make the work easy. As you say many appear to be more business oriented than is comfortable, out of necessity because the village, tribe, nation, is no longer supporting everyone to do the work they are called to. Seeking a compatible mentor, teacher, spiritual master is harder because the charlatans with no experience and huge ego damage are out there and often the most self confident sellers of what they offer. There is another thread on that elsewhere. But in a decent training circle, as in a good community, you learn from all present how to find and express your truth through discussion and practice in a well protected environment that safeguards you aswell as your future clients.

I am by no means scared of shamanism nor would I wish anyone else to be so, but I would still counsel someone to seek the wisdom of elders in any tradition before moving from working on oneself to working with/for another. What raised this response in me in your posting? That you said after doing the work you felt drained. To me that rings warning bells. Whether, how and why you choose to train or to continue working is entirely your choice. There are things you describe that I would not do, or not say, or do differently and I have reasons for each based on my own experience or things I have been taught but that is not to imply you used a wrong method or did harm. There is no better or worse method in shamanism if you achieve the results for your client then it's good work and it sounds like you achieved those results - but if that is at that cost to yourself then I would recommend looking again, that's all.

[Woodfox]

Thank you, ElementalHeart, for such a thoughtful reply. You make some very good points and have shown me a different persepective. I appreciate that, thank you. The issue with feeling drained definitely does require addressing, as does the amazing high I felt immediately before the massive drain. I do trust in my guides, perhaps they have a method of closing the ritual that would work better than what I did. My friend in question is 2nd level (degree?) reiki practitioner so she was quite able to do work on her own end and from a reiki perspective, said it was perfectly normal to expect a fluctuation in the energy. After all, there is a building of energy during the ritual, but it doesn't come from either of us, but the universe. I expected a drain afterwards but not the enormity of the high nor the enormity of the drain. All rituals always either energize me to the point of a high, or knock the snot out of me so I could sleep for a week, but never both.

Perhaps some official training in the matter is in order after all. But when is the question! I found a course in London that looks like my kind of thing but I don't know anything about them so if anyone has info, let me know. http://www.sacredtrust.org/

[RedSky]

Not really sure what this is...sounds like a Native American spirit journey.

As far as bringing the pieces of soul back together and finding the experiences that did that to you...what if you already know what they are?

Spirit animals....and how do you know what they are? How are you sure you just aren't gravitating towards animals you admire?

Not being a skeptic just curious.

spirit animals. they will reveal themselves to you in time. it may be that you are very familiar with and in fact admire them now.

if one knows what has torn ones soul there may be more direct methods for healing, such as forgiveness.

really good thread.