Earlier in my journey when I was exploring all kinds of different healing methods, I did a year long course in Shamanic Healing. A big part of that training was learning to do a Soul Retrieval Ceremony for people. The basic premise of the Soul Retrieval work is after we have experienced a traumatic event of some kind, part of our vital essence separates from us in order to survive the experience and escape the full impact of the pain. In Shamanic terms this survival mechanism is called Soul Loss. In modern psychological terms, it's called "disassociation". I call the parts of our soul that break away Soul Fragments. Fragmentation is a natural response to trauma, and is not negative in and of itself. However, long after the trauma has passed, many of us still feel a sense of being incomplete, fragmented, and disconnected from ourselves. We may have the experience of not being the same after a death of someone we loved, or after an accident or painful break up of a relationship. We may look to external things to try to fill the internal void and emptiness. 

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These fragmented pieces of our Souls continue to exist in another dimension. Sometimes they can appear as a fearful child that is locked away in a closet, or a very sad child in a cave, or a rebellious teenage part that is angry at the world and getting into trouble. Sometimes images from past lives can appear. These can be interpreted as literal or symbolic depending on your belief system. 

 

I felt this work was very needed and powerful, but eventually stopped doing these ceremonies because it became clear to me that the Shamanic path was not my path. I felt strange facilitating an Indigenous ceremony when I am not an Indigenous person, and working with animal spirit helpers didn't feel like my thing. But the basic premise of the Soul Retrieval work was something that I felt drawn to and had an affinity for.

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Now, years later, I have modified this technique in a way that feels aligned with who I am and my path. It is a collaborative process between my client and I. Through meditation and prayer, we see if there are any soul fragments that are ready to be integrated back into the whole of the client, and then we bring them to God for healing. Sometimes my client will see an image in their mind of a soul fragment, and sometimes I will see it. Often these fragmented parts are quite broken, and they need to experience the unconditional Love of our Creator in order to be integrated back into our core. God is our ultimate healer. God is our Father, our Mother, our best friend and ally. He knows us intimately and loves us despite all of our faults and past mistakes. The trauma that the fragment experienced does not have to be relived - it is a safe, gentle, yet powerful process.

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