What is Soul Retrieval?
A soul retrieval is a powerful spiritual practice that heals soul loss. Soul loss can occur whenever we have any kind of trauma in our life. For example, we may experience soul loss if we are in a serious accident, undergo a major operation or if we suddenly lose a close friend or family member.
From a shamanic perspective, soul loss along with power loss, is a common cause of illness. Traditionally, a shamanic practitioner would conduct a soul retrieval within three days of someone experiencing trauma. In our society this is not something that normally happens. The person often finds themself feeling less than whole. This can often be the case for many years, before they encounter shamanic healing and soul retrieval.
Today, modern shamanic practitioners seek lost soul parts that are willing to return from any point in time. It’s never too late to be whole!
What is Soul?
Soul is the part of us that goes on without our body, even though it is held by our body now. It is our essence, our spirit. Soul is the energy that prompts us to follow our passions and connects us to a higher purpose. When we are soulful we have a mind that is clear of complaint, doubt and worry. We are able to make clear choices moment to moment.
We all know a soulful person when we see one. They are comfortable in their own skin, feeling emotions fluidly as they arise and their thoughts are aligned with their higher purpose.
Why does Soul Loss happen?
Soul loss is a helpful response in that it allows our essence to remove itself from suffering and pain. By fragmenting, our Soul essentially protects itself and goes to a safe place. In her book, Soul Retrieval, Sandra Ingerman describes soul loss as “spiritual illness that causes emotional and physical disease…(and) losing crucial parts of ourselves that provide us with life and vitality.”
Soul loss is the experience of an essential part of us leaving. Soul retrieval is the experience of having that essential part retrieved and returned to you. Many of us feel like we are missing an important part of ourselves. Or perhaps feel like we are not quite whole. Sometimes we experience soul loss as a chronic illness or face ongoing emotions such as sadness and anger. A soul retrieval is a shamanic method for bringing back those vital parts.
Relationships and Soul Loss
Many people experience soul loss in relationships – both romantic relationships as well as family ones. As a child, we may willingly have given our soul parts to friends as part of play or had our soul parts stolen unconsciously by a family member. As an adult, we may experience soul loss in an abusive or traumatic relationship. Even the unexpected ending of a relationship may cause a loss of our vital essence. At midlife people often feel this loss and reach out to find answers.
When a person starts calling their soul parts back, gathering themselves up and having their vital essence returned, often they find that their current relationships may shift. People may drift away and you may realise that some relationships were toxic to you. This is because when we are missing parts of ourselves, we pull in people who are also fragmented. If we suppress our anger, we often find ourselves with someone who expresses it. When we give our power away, we often find ourselves with people who love to take it.
Once we are whole, we attract relationships with people that are also whole. Being whole, we find ourselves in more moments of acceptance, grace and peace. In this way, we welcome more supportive, graceful and peaceful relationships.
Preventing Soul Loss
Soul loss helps protect us in times of trauma. For example, if I’m about to be in a car accident, soul loss helps minimise the trauma. Preventing soul loss during the crash wouldn’t make sense. However, after I survive the crash, I need to ensure my soul parts come home to me and aren’t still hanging out on the road. Part of preventing soul loss is taking time to heal after trauma to ensure you are whole again.
At times, our soul parts may be taken without our permission. This is more common for children and people with less power. One thing we can do to prevent this type of soul loss is to build up our spiritual power and protect children from abusers of power. We often give our power away to others – by saying yes when we should say no. By allowing others to dominate us and by not being true to ourselves. This power loss opens the way for soul loss.
Soul Retrieval
Soul loss can occur at any age, and a soul retrieval can be done whenever a person is ready for transformation. Sometimes we remember specific events in life that changed us – for the worse – physically, emotionally and mentally. Then, we realise we’re ready to heal, be inspired and move on. Sometimes we begin doing healing work on ourselves, such as Reiki or Shamanic Training and we notice that we have lost our power or soul parts along the way.
The results of a soul retrieval are unique for everyone. Some people will experience joy, curiosity, or expansiveness and others will feel quiet, still and sleepy after a soul retrieval. Ultimately, you should feel as if a part of you has returned home.
Preparing for a Soul Retrieval
As with most things in life, preparation can help the whole experience of spiritual healing go smoother. Here are a few suggestions that will help you prepare for your soul retrieval:
Choose a time for the soul retrieval where you can have time for yourself afterwards – this is deep healing work so don’t rush it;
Refrain from alcohol and other mind-altering substances 24 hours before and after your soul retrieval;
Ask for a healing dream to help you receive your soul essence the night before your soul retrieval session;
If you’d like, you can bring a quartz crystal or any crystal you like to your soul retrieval sessions to help catch the soul essence;
Spend time connecting to nature before and after your soul retrieval;
Think of a metaphor to help you absorb the light of your essence such as a flower soaking up the sun;
Ask someone to be present during your soul retrieval to welcome you home and also drive if needed; and
Consider any looping patterns in your life that you are ready to release
Receiving a Soul Retrieval
There are various methods for Soul Retrieval -this first method relies on having an experienced Shamanic Practitioner journey for you.
Method 1 – Done for you
I can journey for you to locate the missing soul part that is ready to come back. Modern shamanic practitioners are often required to do some detective work to find the lost soul. We look for the lost soul in the spirit worlds with the help of our power animals and spirit teachers.
I may receive information that helps me narrow down when, where and why the soul loss occurred. For example, I may visualise a child riding on a bus and the soul flying into the air. Most shamanic practitioners receive an approximate age of the soul loss.
When the part of your soul is found, the shamanic practitioner and their helping spirits engage with the lost soul and invite it to come back home. At times, a lost soul may be cared for in the spirit world by an ancestor, power animal or guardian. Sometimes a lost soul has been stolen, and the shamanic practitioner and spirit helpers will negotiate its return.
Returning your essence
The shamanic practitioner returns with the essence that is a part of you. I will return this vital essence to you by blowing it into your heart and the crown of your head. I may also blow it into a crystal or use another method to transfer the essence back to you. Rattling and other instruments are often used at the end of a soul retrieval to welcome the soul back home.
Welcome your soul back with an open body, heart, and mind. While the shamanic practitioner is retrieving and returning the soul, the recipient can use a metaphor to visualise absorbing the light of their essence. I carry this part of the journey out while you relax in your own space.
A soul retrieval often includes a healing story or message, so I may give you a healing story about the soul essence that is returning to you. It may be a strong creative force or a deep inner knowing that returns to you. It may be an excited, vibrant, younger part of you returning to life.
I will work with you after the soul retrieval to help you realise the gifts returning to you and will help you with actions that will help ground the experience in your physical reality.
I offer this healing package usually carried out over two sessions – one remote session whereby I journey for you and document my findings by email and then one in person session where your soul part is returned to you and some further healing work is carried out. The price for this package is £95. This method is primarily offered to those on the Shamanic Practitioner course by way of additional support.
Method 2 – Deeper Healing and Support
This is my preferred method for Soul Retrieval work as it can be done both in person or over distance. It is carried out over up to 6 sessions. If being done at distance then all instructions and meditation recordings will be provided for you to carry out in your own time with follow up Zoom calls and ongoing support made available to you during the entire process. If you are local to me then you should ideally come and have the sessions in person where I can support you throughout the journey. The price is the same whether it is distance or in person.
Session 1
I provide details of how to safely enter into sacred space and prepare yourself for journeying (deep meditation). At this introductory session I will also go through a consultation with you and will answer any questions you may have about the process. This introductory session and practice with the breathing techniques and importance of sacred space is £45, all the remaining stages are priced at £35 each and are payable as you reach each session in your own time.
Session 2
You visit the Chamber of the Original Wound. The purpose of this journey is to meet with your wounded self and to understand why your soul fragmented in the first place. Once you have completed your journey you then will spend time writing about your experience in your journal and carrying out a dialogue style exercise with your wounded self to gain more details. It is important that you take time to carry this exercise out fully in your own time between sessions. We will arrange to meet to follow up and go through step 3.
Session 3
You then go to the Chamber of Soul Contracts and find out what soul agreements you had previously entered into. You then work to renegotiate these contracts so that you no longer carry things that don’t serve you. This will allow your healed self to return to you in the next stage. Once again, once you have completed the journey you spend time again writing in your journal, renegotiating your agreements and then carrying out a second journalling exercise called “Dialogue with the Divine”. I will explain more on this at the time. We will arrange to meet when you are ready to move on to Step 4..
Session 4
You go to the Chamber of Grace. This is where you meet your soul fragment as your healed self and welcome him/her back. Again I will provide detailed instructions and a guided journey for you and once again there are journalling exercises afterwards to help you integrate this into your life. At this stage we will also create personal affirmations for you to work with going forward. We will arrange to meet once you have completed stage 4, before you move to the next step.
Session 5
You go to the Chamber of Treasures – during this journey you will discover a tool that you can use in real life. The exercises that follow include finding this tool in real life and also journalling with it to discover its real purpose. We will then meet again once you complete this stage.
Session 6 (optional extra but recommended)
You journey to your Power Animal and retrieve it so that it can assist you with healing and your day to day life going forward. Soul loss is almost always accompanied by Power Loss so retrieving your Power Animal is a worthwhile way to cement the healing that you already have.
So, as you can see, this is a detailed and in depth programme of healing and that is definitely what is required when it comes to soul retrieval work. The introductory session is priced at £45 and then the follow up sessions are £35 each. The total cost will be £220. You can pay at each session or up front, whichever you prefer.
I would recommend taking at least 2-4 weeks at each stage but it is a personal journey and the timing is therefore up to you.
Want to know more?
For more information please get in touch with me. You can contact me via the website or by emailing me at debibarr@rocksnrituals.co.uk.
To book a Soul Retrieval Package please email me or book your initial session via the Online Booking System.
If you are interested in becoming a Shamanic Practitioner yourself and would like to find out more about the forthcoming training that is available then please download the Medicine Wheel course information here.
An introductory morning workshop will also be held on Saturday 19th September 2020. Visit the website for more details.
