What’s oatmeal got to do with soul retrieval? Well, I found out in a very personal way recently.
In my shamanic work, one of the more common treatments is called soul retrieval or soul recovery. It’s based on the idea that as we go along in life we may lose pieces of our soul. There can be a few causes but one of the most common is due to an unresolved traumatic experience. The dissociated soul fragment stays away until it is safe, but if the individual’s circumstances are perceived as unsafe, then it stays away.
Soul retrieval typically requires the shamanic practitioner to journey to non-ordinary reality guided by his helping spirits, and there finds the soul piece that most needs to be returned. Once found, the practitioner brings the soul piece back and “installs” it to its rightful place, as an aspect of the client’s primary soul. From there it begins the process of re-integrating, which generally takes a few weeks to become incorporated in totality.
In my healing practice, I’ve been given a variation called “soul calling.” In the description above, it requires a one-on-one session with the client. While this methodology is incredibly effective, about a year ago I began to explore a way to facilitate soul retrieval in groups. This would require individuals to perform the quest themselves. I wasn’t sure at first if it wouldwork, but based on my experiences in a handful of groups, it worked very well.
Healer Heal Thyself
A few days ago it occurred to me that perhaps I could do this for myself. I’d been through a rough patch and was examining certain behavior patterns that most likely had their roots in soul loss. After meditating and considering this, I decided to give it a try. While I’d had a few soul retrieval sessions performed by other practitioners and had facilitated this for a few groups, this would be the first time I’d actually tried this variation for myself.