Numb, restless, lethargic, empty, angry, exhausted, confused, dispirited, drained, depressed, hopeless, aimless, purposeless …
These are only a tiny selection of the total possible feelings we carry when we disconnect from our Souls – that vital spark of life within us.
But how do we reach this point of total disconnection from life; this existential malaise?
There are many answers, but essentially:
there’s a thin veil between our conscious self and our Souls that over time thickens until we forget that a ‘deeper’ part of us ever existed to begin with. In experiencing this, we forget about the treasures, gifts, and personal purpose that awaits us.
To escape this dark night of the Soul, we will resort to nearly any tactic to avoid the pain we feel.
We’ll change ourselves to be more acceptable, betray our values for comfort, hurt others before they hurt us, and numb ourselves through various addictions – and these are only a few ways we try to face the reality of our Soul Loss.
Why do many of us carry around heavy clouds with us all day? Why can’t we pinpoint the source of our suffering? Why is there a vague backdrop of pain in our lives that is so persistent, yet so subtle?
The answer is that the persistent emptiness, dissatisfaction, and loneliness we carry around is a sign of Soul Loss. And in this article, I’m going to show you how to feel better using a practice known as Soul Retrieval – also known as the process of Ensoulment.
Table of contents
What is Soul Loss?
Whenever we suffer physical or emotional trauma, it is said that a part of our Soul flees the body in order to survive the experience. With every cut and wound, our essence and vitality grow weaker. This process is called “Soul Loss.”
Soul Loss is also known, in psychological terms, as dissociation. It’s what happens when we become disconnected from the very Core of ourselves, the source of our vitality, our Soul.
Soul Loss, contrary to popular belief, does not mean literally losing your Soul. Instead, it refers to the experience of losing touch with your Soul.
Your Soul is always there in the backdrop of your life, but it’s not always accessible due to the psychological traumas, abuses, and blockages that have taken root within you.
So how do we regain connection with our Souls?
The answer is that we do this through the process of Ensoulment or Soul Retrieval.
What is Soul Retrieval (Ensoulment)?
Soul Retrieval is a shamanic term that refers to reintegrating lost Soul parts back into a person to create healing.
These days, however, Soul Retrieval can be understood as the practice of reintegrating dissociated and repressed parts of the psyche (a Greek word that also means Soul) back into everyday consciousness for greater Wholeness.
This practice of reintegration I like to call Ensoulment.
Ensoulment, in the spiritual sense of the word, is what happens when we develop an intimate relationship with the Soul within us. We become initiated into the mysteries of our innermost being, learning to listen to and trust our Core Nature rather than numb or deny its existence.
There are numerous perceptions of Soul Retrieval, but the one I subscribe to is that of making the unconscious conscious.
When a certain part of us is unconscious it can wreak havoc in our lives and starve us of our fundamental vitality. We wind up feeling confused, lost, anxious, depressed and overwhelmed by such shadowy parts of us.
By bringing such unconscious parts of us into conscious awareness, by practicing Soul Retrieval, we are removing the blockages that obscure our Souls. We, therefore, create more inner peace and harmony – defining qualities of Ensoulment.
Soul Loss, Soul Retrieval, and Shamanism
When I was a young boy my Abuela (grandmother), would do something strange. Every time I fell or hurt myself, she would quickly grab me by the head and whisper into my ear a prayer. This prayer was to call my Soul back.
I was always puzzled by her sudden prayers until she explained to me why she did them.
In shamanic cultures, Soul Loss is understood to be a spiritual illness. In other words, when a part of our Soul fragments, all kinds of emotional, physical, and mental diseases occur from the diminishment of our life force energy.
It is therefore seen as vital for parts of the Soul to return back to wholeness again.
The difference between the shamanic perspective of Soul Loss and the modern perspective of Soul Loss is that in the shamanic worldview, the Soul can be fragmented, even travel to other dimensions and get lost. However, in the modern perspective, the Soul (or Self) remains whole and intact, but it is our psyche (our mind) that fragments and needs to be healed in order to regain access to the Soul.
Whichever angle you prefer, the reality is that we all experience a level of Soul Loss in our lives.
Many people don’t feel whole. Ask yourself this question, “When was the last time I felt absolutely whole and complete?”
If you’re like most people, that time may have been back in childhood. Perhaps you can’t even remember a time when you ever felt whole.
Because of the mass phenomenon of Soul Loss, issues such as addiction, chronic sickness, diseases, abusive relationships, rape, crime, shopaholism, and workaholism run rife in our society. All of these issues stem from Soul Loss.
9 Causes of Soul Loss
In shamanism, Soul Loss describes the fragmentation of the soul.
Interestingly, Soul Loss shares similarities with what contemporary psychology calls “dissociation”: the splitting of the psyche in response to traumatic, shocking, or difficult experiences. This splitting of the psyche is often the cause of many Core Wounds that affect us later in life as adults.
So what causes Soul Loss? Here are some common examples:
- Any form of abuse, e.g., sexual, emotional, physical, or mental
- An event of prolonged grief, pain, and fear that made you feel helpless or impotent
- Deep-seated addictions, e.g., substance dependency, gambling, eating
- A near-death or an out-of-body altered states of consciousness experience (such as an ego death)
- Being forced to act against your morals or values
- An experience of intense rejection or abandonment
- Witnessing the unexpected death of someone
- A sudden and shocking accident
- Entering a relationship without strong personal boundaries (resulting in an unhealthy relationship and losing your personal power)
A simple example of Soul Loss can be found in cultures that frown upon expressing emotions like “anger.” A child, for instance, will quickly learn that expressing anger results in punishment or withdrawal of love by their parents.
As a result, this child will eventually learn to “split off” or “freeze” this “unacceptable” part of themselves until they no longer accept this emotion as belonging to them.
What happens to this anger? It is suppressed. It is frozen. And it’s for this reason that Soul Loss plays a huge role in creating our Shadow Selves.
Soul Loss Treatment (Two Approaches)
Often psychotherapy is unknowingly used to try and treat Soul Loss. But while the psychotherapeutic approach can sometimes work, often it reaches a stalemate. Why?
The answer is that psychotherapy often misjudges the experience as purely a childhood, self-esteem, or another psychological issue – rather than a soul-centered problem.
If one is sent to a psychiatrist, the diagnosis is often even grimmer: the conclusion is often that something is “broken” in your brain, and you will be prescribed a diagnostic label and medication for the rest of your life.
Unless the psychotherapist or psychiatrist works in a holistic way (as Depth and Transpersonal therapists often do), they aren’t working with the whole person and are missing the point.
The second approach to Soul Loss treatment is more shamanic.
The shaman assumes that Soul Loss is a spiritual illness and that the dissociated parts can leave the body and wander into other realms (non-ordinary reality), as a result of shock or trauma.
These realms are often inaccessible and are guarded by heavy defenses that make it difficult (or impossible) for the affected person to go through on their own, without the guidance of a Shaman.
So then, which approach should you choose? My answer is to seek out both, but be highly cautious and discerning. If at any point your gut tells you to leave or cease treatment, find someone new! Try your best to find a holistic and highly trained professional.
Why Does the Soul Fragment?
After reading about Soul Loss, it’s easy to think of it as something bad that has happened to us. However, here it’s important to realize that Soul Loss is in fact, a gift.
In the same way that you become unconscious when you’re experiencing immense amounts of physical pain, your psyche is wise and knows its limits.
Your mind knows what it can and can’t handle, so it fragments and dissociates (or scatters) as a survival mechanism to protect itself from feeling the fullness of pain.
In other words, Soul Loss initially happens to protect you rather than to hurt you. It’s a natural protective mechanism.
Think of animals in the wild like deer, squirrels, or polar bears. They use the ‘freeze’ response to play dead and preserve their lives (because predators can’t detect still prey).
The same thing occurs with Soul Loss: it’s a way for the mind to avoid the overwhelming suffering associated with trauma. Just as in animals, freezing (or losing touch with the openness of the Soul), is a natural analgesic.
However, at some point, we must shake off this freeze response – if we don’t, trauma follows. Soul Loss deepens.
In other words, when we neglect to reconnect with our Soul and the various fragmented parts of our psyche, we are left with a chronic feeling of unwholeness.
Eventually, the result may be battling ongoing issues such as anxiety, depression, immune deficiency problems, suicidal tendencies, various mental illnesses, and grief that refuses to fade.
To piece back together ourselves, we need to actively ‘retrieve’ the Soul.
However, the retrieval of these lost pieces is not the end of the work. We must then learn how to integrate them back into our lives in order to recover the vital power, potential, and energy they possess.
Soul Loss, Soul Retrieval, and the Spiritual Awakening Journey
Soul Loss is an integral part of the spiritual awakening journey.
It is the catalyst that sparks the longing to go in search of something meaningful, something that transcends our small and isolated egos.
Soul Loss is also the trigger that often leads to the Dark Night of the Soul (and spiritual emergency) – a time of spiritual desolation where we feel painfully disconnected from any source of joy, hope, or higher purpose.
As a central part of the spiritual journey, Soul Loss (while dreadfully painful) is actually a gift hidden in disguise. For once we become aware of it, we begin to undergo a spiritual alchemy of longing, searching, seeking, transforming, and eventually finding our true Home.
Soul Retrieval, therefore, is a crucial element of every spiritual journey. Without seeking to become more ensouled, we remain in a state of dissociated numbness. We remain in an unhealthy place of isolation from the world – never quite fully being in it or using its creative obstacles to grow.
When we do accept Soul Retrieval as a natural and necessary part of our evolution, we grow. We transform. We deepen. We awaken the kundalini life force energy within.
Read more: What is Kundalini Awakening? (19 Intense Symptoms) »
What Happens After Soul Retrieval?
As shamanic teacher and therapist Sandra Ingerman once commented about Soul Retrieval, “What I have found after a Soul Retrieval is that one cannot ‘numb out’ anymore.”
This is one of the many benefits of Soul Retrieval: we become more present, centered, and we regain our aliveness. Life ceases to be a dull, monotonous, depressing experience. Instead, life is a gift, a mysterious adventure, something to be savored and embraced.
We become ensouled.
Once we’ve recovered these lost pieces of ourselves, becoming more ensouled, we can experience many other benefits such as:
- Feeling more grounded in our body and more “solid”
- Feeling energized, awake, and more alive
- Greater presence in the world
- More awareness of our choices, behaviors, and decisions
- Lightness and joy
- Awareness of vast amounts of energy you didn’t know you had
- Mental clarity and a new sense of hope
- Physical wellbeing and less sickness
- A sense of purpose and renewed direction
- Deeper sleep
- Overcoming addictive dependencies (drugs, food, work)
- A new-found wholeness and sense of belonging
In order to undergo Soul Retrieval, you must have an experienced guide.
Shamans are not the only healers that can perform Soul Retrieval. Other healing practices such as hypnosis and psychoanalysis have methods for integrating split-off or lost parts of the self.
The Soul Retrieval Journey – 5 Methods
As a shaman, to retrieve a lost inner part typically involves entering into a trance state with the client.
This altered state of consciousness helps them to journey into one of the three spirit worlds (typically the underworld) where they are accompanied by spirit helpers with the intent to retrieve a certain part of the Soul. They narrate the whole journey to the client or visualize it through active imagination.
In these Soul Retrieval journeys, shamans often encounter strong, often harsh energies that manifest themselves through the archetypal images of monsters, reptiles, dragons, and other dangerous beasts.
These ferocious figures are the guardians of the Soul, or in psychotherapy, they are known as defense mechanisms of the psyche. The shaman must overcome these with the help of their spirit helpers, in order to persuade the Soul part to come back.
Once they have retrieved the Soul part, they reintegrate it together with the client. This is usually done energetically (by blowing the energy into the body), through ceremony, or by chanting.
To retrieve a lost inner part as a psychotherapist or healer, numerous methods are applied such as inner child work, gestalt therapy, archetypal work (such as in internal family systems therapy), visualization, sound healing, and art therapy.
Although Soul Retrieval is best done with the guidance of an experienced healer or trained professional, it is possible to facilitate this process, in part, yourself.
Here are some Soul Retrieval and Ensoulment practices you can try by yourself:
1. Meditation and visualization journeys
Using the power of the imagination, you can create more inner wholeness and call back lost parts of yourself.
Did you know that the mind cannot distinguish imagination from reality? (1) We can take advantage of this psychological loophole and practice Soul Retrieval simply by taking ourselves on a guided adventure.
To practice Soul Retrieval, you might like to either find a pre-recorded journey (such as on YouTube) or create one yourself.
Here are the basic ingredients for creating your own meditation/visualization Soul Retrieval journey:
- Imagine yourself walking through a spring-like field into a dark cave.
- The deeper you go into the cave, the deeper you find yourself descending into yourself.
- Along the way, you see a light in the distance. You keep walking, and the light keeps getting bigger.
- Sometimes, during your cave walk, you find objects. These objects represent different parts of yourself. For example, you might find a box of matches that represents your rage, a broken doll that represents your inner child, and a paintbrush that represents your lost inner artist.
- Collect all of these items in the bag you have with you. Don’t worry, the bag can hold everything, no matter how big or small, that you find. (Also, it’s not necessary to know precisely what each object represents. You can think about this afterward).
- Eventually, you reach the light which consumes the whole tunnel – this white light is your Soul.
- Take the objects in your bag and throw them, one by one, into the light. Each of these objects/parts of you will be immediately reintegrated once they dissolve within the light.
- Once you have let go of the last object, breathe deeply, and feel yourself being revitalized by this newfound increased wholeness and inner harmony.
- Next, when you’re ready, step into the light, breathe deeply, and allow it to radiate through your entire body, binding with your cells, your DNA, permeating through all parts of your being.
- Then, open your eyes. Return to the room. Take a few minutes to reflect on what you’ve experienced. I encourage you to journal about what you’ve undergone.
2. Work with your inner archetypes
Archetypes are certain types of energy that you carry within you and they all ‘work together’ to form your character – and they’re a potent form of soul communication.
Common archetypes include: the mother, the mentor, the bully, the lover, the warrior, the rescuer, the victim, the wounded child, and so on.
We all possess a colorful array of archetypes that possess both good and bad qualities.
All archetypes, even the seemingly negative ones (such as the addict and the prostitute) have gifts to share with us. We need to embrace all of them to discover more wholeness; to remove the blockages that obscure our Souls.
There are many ways to uncover the buried archetypes within ourselves – as well as balance the ones we already possess. Some methods include pathworking with different archetypes (through visualization), journaling and dialoguing with your archetypes, and noticing how they manifest within your behavior.
Read our archetypes guide for more in-depth guidance. »
3. Entering altered states of consciousness
Entering altered states is a powerful way to reconnect with your Soul and practice Soul Retrieval as it bypasses the defense mechanisms of the fragmented ego.
However, I must warn you to go slowly and be cautious with this practice. It’s totally possible to overwhelm yourself, so take care and be responsible.
There are numerous ways to enter trance states, which Luna explores more in-depth in her article: How to Induce a Trance State For Deep Psychospiritual Work. They include:
- Breathwork
- Mantra and prayer
- Primal rhythms, beats, and sounds
- Self-hypnosis
- Visualization
- Incense and essential oil
- Physical and emotional catharsis
- Plant medicine (e.g., Peyote, Ayahuasca, and legal psychedelics)
Some of these practices can even induce mystical experiences.
I recommend trying out one of these consciousness-altering practices at a time for short periods (no more than 15 minutes). You can slowly increase your practice through time and experience.
(Also, if you suffer from any form of psychosis, please consult your therapist or social worker first.)
Most importantly, when entering an altered state of consciousness, you must have a clear objective. Remember that the purpose of it is to practice Soul Retrieval and be sure to orient your whole experience around that central purpose – that way, you’ll actually benefit without getting lost in the high of a strange state of being.
That’s it! Be gentle, go slow, record your progress, and see what happens. Remember that there’s always additional guidance out there if you need more support.
4. Self-love and cultivating compassion
Yes, self-love may sound like a strange thing to include here, but reconnecting with your heart is a powerful form of Soul Retrieval.
The heart is said to be the home, or the gateway, to the Soul. When we give and receive love, experience joy, and witness something beautiful that evocates breathtaking awe within us, we are tapping into a Soul-centered experience.
To practice self-love and cultivate self-compassion you will need to learn how to befriend yourself. The best place to start is through some simple self-care and then move into more directed self-love practices.
See our article on How to Love Yourself for more guidance.
5. Inner child work and shadow work
Why have I put inner child work and shadow work into the same point? The answer is that they are both intrinsically connected because the inner child is often buried within our shadow, and thus forms a part of our shadow self.
Your shadow self is the part of you that is locked away deep inside of you. It’s that dark side that scares, embarrasses, or angers you – but it’s not always as unnerving as it sounds.
Our shadow side is quite simply our inner ‘basement’ that contains all of the traits – positive and negative – that we had to suppress, deny, and disown for one reason or another.
One person may have buried away their artistic sensitivity, their rage, and their pain from the death of a childhood friend. Another person may have buried away their strength, their ambition, and their tendency to get really jealous of other people.
Everyone’s shadow side is different. But one thing almost all of us have in common is a suppressed inner child – that childlike self within that was once open, trusting, and curious.
To practice Soul Retrieval, doing both inner child work and shadow work is essential. You may need to get the help of a trained counselor or therapist for this deep dive as it may bring up some heavy issues. But it’s a profoundly worthy path that generates deep-seated changes.
I only recommend doing inner child work and shadow work after developing some basic self-care and self-love (otherwise this work could backfire and re-traumatize you).
However, if you feel ready and prepared, you may like to check out our Inner Child Work Journal and Shadow Work Journal as a helpful place to begin.
Dark Night of the Soul Journal:
For the lost souls who feel lonely and disconnected, this is a profound tool designed to help you overcome your existential depression, explore your Soul Loss, practice Soul Retrieval, and reconnect with your true Spiritual Nature.
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Soul Retrieval is only successful if the person who has experienced healing consciously decides to use this newfound energy to cultivate healthy choices that support their wholeness. This is a two-way dance!
If you’ve done a lot of inner work, Soul Retrieval might come right at the end of your journey. On the other hand, Soul Retrieval might be the first step you take in order to rediscover your wholeness.
Regardless of where you are on the path, I hope this article has helped you to better understand this powerful practice and avenue of healing.
I have the most severe case of entity attachments and dark force possession of anyone I can find after years of searching. I am seeking help to have my parts returned and I struggle with the hippie dippy side of spirituality because of how
Soul retrieval for me was doing good on the earth eliminate dirty thoughts by replacing with mantra and positive imagery. Gretefulness for planet and nature food life and children. Realising and taming the heart with the mind and actions and eating habits. Very nice article.
I’m in desperate need! I’m diagnosed with bipolar type2, boarder line personality disorder, PTSD, and ADHD. I’ve been put off work because of an OD that happened, they offered their support and put me on an EAP. My theaputic team has no clue how to help me anymore. We’ve done hospital’s, med changes, therapy, skills coaching, group therapy. I’m numbed to everything, I feel like a part of me is dead, there are no longer a focus or thoughts in my head there is a bunch of nothingness. I have no drive, ambition, passion, nothing. I’m empty and only existing because I have to anymore. Please Help!!!!
Hi Kimberly. As a mental health care professional who is also on a spiritual path, I feel compelled to try to help you out as best I can. Please keep in mind that I do not know your story, only what you have bravely shared with us, but I will do my best.
In my spiritual journey, I’ve found that the Universe tends to give us what we need when we need it. But it’s often not what we want. And in that case, a shift of perspective might be in order. From the sounds of things, you’ve been through some trauma fairly recently. If I were to make assumptions, I’d say that you may have had some unwanted stuff going through your head that lead you to do something that you ordinarily wouldn’t have done, and now your world is in disarray. But what I’m also reading here is that you are no longer experiencing those thoughts (if my earlier assumption was correct), and I wonder if “empty” and “dead” could also be interpreted as “at peace”? or at least “quiet”? Maybe that’s the Universe giving you what you need. Also, it sounds like you’ve been given some time off to work on yourself, so that’s seems like that might be a blessing.
Understand that I’m not trying to imply that everything is just fine in your world, just that sometimes our minds get locked into a certain way of thinking, and taking on a diffrent perspective can help us find the way out.
In any event, I’m sure that in the end you will be just fine. This will pass. You will find the answers. Today might suck, but hopefully tomorrow will suck a little less. It sounds to me like you have been well supported, but remember that ultimately you are the captain of your own ship, and you sail alone. It sounds like you’ve been through a terrible storm, but you survived and found a safe harbor. So take your time to rest and recover, take an active role in your healing, and soon enough you’ll be charting your course and setting sail, just as you have always done, a little stronger and a little wiser.
Be good.
What happens when you spend years in therapy and healing practices to retrieve your soul only to lose it again? That is what happened to me.
I’ve been in crisis for over a year, seeking every kind of doctor you can imagine and continuing to lose more and more of myself at a rapid rate. I was screaming hysterically, in agonizing pain, every day. I was hospitalized, over and over, given medications, over and over.
I think the worst part was all the money I had to borrow to pay for countless shamans who ended up being scammers and doing absolutely nothing but exploiting my weakness.
I no longer trust anyone. I can’t feel emotions, anymore. I’ve lost every single inch of light within myself. And pay very close attention to this last one: The mental healthcare system has given up on me and terminated treatment.
So, you know what I did?
Last week, I overdosed and hung myself.
Why am I still here?
I don’t know. I took over 150 benzodiazapines, 70 tranquilizers, and hung myself and wasn’t found until a full 24 hours later and wasn’t conscious for another few days. Aside from a few digestive issues, which have since resolved, doctors can’t explain how my body bounced back so quickly.
Here’s what I’m going to do, from this point forward, since reaching out to others caused my UNANIMOUS grief and worsened my condition:
I’M GOING TO DO IT ALL BY MYSELF : JUST ME AND WHATEVER GUIDES I’VE GOT REMAINING. EVERYONE ELSE JUST STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME! ALL YOU’VE DONE IS MAKE THINGS WORSE!
This is ready powerful. Please continue to share your journey. Sounds like you already have everything in you you need. The way is in you.
Same story I m here all alone I will survive
I’ve been slowly figuring out who I am again after numerous traumas and years of suppression. Kundalini awakening, tower moments and dark night of the soul…But I became stuck in my direction. Now I know that I’ve been doing some of this naturally, and finally have a direction to follow. I feel unstuck. Thank you.
Dear Mateo ~ gratitude for the glorious journey of flight you gift readers here. I am pondering quietly the meditative discernment into my recent experience. A dear one had a heart attack. Twenty yrs ago this person had bypass surgery. In Vietnam was shot 3x, died for several moments, brought back by Japanese Dr’s. In seeking how to facilitate healing I was surprised by a medical article from Japanese Dr.’s stating how they believe the Soul leaves the body when the chest is opened up. It stirred a memory of my sensitive nature as a child noticing similar things in my ‘visual field around me’. As I meditated & moved the Spirit brought about awareness that during sickness & trauma Souls/pieces are ‘sent away’ from the physical. This Soul I started speaking of is now near me. It’s agreement when the man was brought back to life by Japanese Dr’s is to protect & look after me. He had bypass surgery 25 yrs ago & we moved apart in State(s). He struggled w depression and adjustment for years. The high altitude hike was too much on his physical body as it’s missing an important piece – it’s with me.
How can I reintegrate the two? Thank you
Dear Mateo,
I can not tell you how much this article hit home for me. Over the past year I have been on this journey re connecting with my soul. And the thing of it is, I didn’t even really fully understand what all was happening to me. I just kept pushing through and I also had a great therapist who was sensitive and taught me self love. As soon as I started to read your article I connected the dots on so many things that I have been going through and everything completely made sense.
The way you word things and explain things is on point and in such a way that is so easy for me to understand and follow. it is almost as if you were writing it just for me, it’s weird right?
I just wanted to say thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. I truly am grateful!
Dear Jennifer.
I’m so happy to hear the article has resonated with you so deeply. Sometimes synchronicities like this happen and they fill us with enough wonder and awe to motivate the exploration even further and welcome the mystery they bring. :)
Keep up the great work!
Dear Mateo
Thank you for this wonderful piece of article. All that you have said here is in my experience. I had been going through this for quite some time in my life. I faced a totally unexpected situation in my life which caused trauma and I was in denial for sometime. For sometime I underwent inner journalling, talk therapy, shamanic practises like sound healing, spiritual therapies, inner child work, shadow work etc., All these helped immensely. Sometimes I wondered what was the meaning of all these happening to me. Today I was able to put the pieces of puzzle together and realise I was on a soul retrieval journey.
For those who are sceptical I want to say it works. Yes you need to be careful as Mateo says. Thank you once again .It was a beautiful article. You have the knack to string the ideas together and present it neatly for everyone to understand easily.I felt power in all those words as I read them slowly today.
Thank you Kamini, I like how you put that. It’s curious how this happens on hindsight, it reminds me of that old wisdom saying that “things don’t happen to you, they happen for you.” If we can connect the dots of what’s happened and why, we start seeing the path all those experiences have put us on, it becomes an act of retrieval itself. Maybe this is what the Buddhists mean by the Dharmma. :)
2 days back I had a dream. I was at some place …I am there to give some type of exam. As I was going for exam, I wanted to take something from my bag. Then I found out that I have lost my bag. In whole dream, I was searching for my bag. I was checking every room and asking everyone I saw. But I was unable to find my bag. From day to night, I kept searching. Then I thought I had to go through the main door from where we entered in order to find my bag. The door asked for some password. My friend that was alongwith me went inside. I filled my birth year as password and that showed wrong password, and I wasn’t able to go inside. I forgot my password. And then I was just sitting outside.
I think the dream has a meaning for me. When I saw the technique of meditation in this post, I remembered this. It says to put the things found in a bag, but I have lost my bag.
Does this means anything??
Thank you Sohanpreet for sharing your interesting dream. We don’t really believe in interpreting others’ dreams, it’s really what you make from it in your own inner work. So, what do you find the bag symbolic of and in relation to soul loss? :)
Hey Mateo,
Well! I haven’t fully interpreted it yet. I am having a calling from some time to work on developing my confidence, and to work on solar plexus. I feel these things relate to finding my true self. So maybe the bag was symbolic of that. But I haven’t made any solid interpretation and I am open to whatever comes.
It’s good to know you are not providing any interpretations to other’s dreams. I totally understand that. I don’t mean to ask for an interpretation It was more of like a question to myself.
Your work has helped me many times.
Perfect … almost! No mention of Jesus but still…I can relate.
Why would Jesus be necessary for discussing soul retrieval?
The Basement or Shadow side is often like most basements full of different types of inner and outer life experiences. Even some that may be carried over from previous lives and is now stuck blocked or not connected. Junk in trunks! he…
One way I found was to go into deep Calm meditation, where you identify with breathwork and how different types of breathing can help not only identify different areas within both mind and body that need gentle releasing or healing then reconnection to the rest of the system.
At first, you identify with the usual ego-based anxieties and physical tensions on the surface, but as you fall gently deeper and deeper into the “dark cave” of the subconscious realms, you find it becomes easier to recall as the mind and psyche reconnect, recall blend and heal together. As the outer body relaxes, tensions drop and give way, allowing this reconnection.
As we must remember that we did not create our system, we just messed up parts of it with fears, abuses, disconnection, etc. So by reaffirming our connections from outer to inner we are recalling and healing the whole system “holistic approaches” This does not deny that we carry much on the Darkside in this modern life, just this may be an avenue for momentary release from inner burdens to re affirm our natural inner fields which never change.
Blessings to you both and all onliners too ….John
Thank you John. I feel the “reaffirming our connections from outer to inner we are recalling and healing the whole system” is spot on, where building a bridge from the internal to the external by removing all those obstacles that we carry. Or as the old mystic Rumi use to say, “polishing the mirror of the soul.”
All the best.
That was very insightful as a person who experienced soul loss worse not knowing what was happening , all the suicidal thoughts and less to no will at all to life ,loss of creativity, but through reading this article I have found unswers hoping to get whole
Hi. I have experienced awakening twice. First time june 2004, second time june 2021. First one was after life experience and second one in a broad daylight. First one I kept going with the feeling for awhile, but I didn’t know what it was and I forgotten it. This recent experience was with me for a few days and left. I took CBD + THC once after that as an experiment and ended up in a hospital with panic attach, thinking that I am dying. Now, I am pretty sure it was death of an ego that I couldn’t go through with as at hospital I was given meds to calm down. After that I lost the connection. It is stil present and I hear the guidance, but no present energy with it. Now I know what I am looking for and I am working hard to retrieve it back. Doing meditation every day, water fasting, and reorganizing my life style. Basically disciplining myself, as that was part of my awakening. Materialistic things mean nothing in the world of spirit.
I am wondering…will I be able to have that strong connection with my soul again? Is there anything else you could recommend?
Thank you!
Hey Luiza,
Thank you for sharing your experience, it’s a shame that we are offered these opportunities for growth and don’t have the guidance or resources necessary to help us integrate them properly.
I think you’re doing already a great job with the meditation, decluttering of life and other active forms of tuning into yourself and your environment. A lot of the journey is really about unlearning many ideas that we have surrounding this whole awakening process.
The ego doesn’t die, we just develop more internal space and are able to put it aside. This happens with with practice, like with anything (this isn’t to be confused with those who proclaim enlightenment which is supposedly an instantaneous shift.) Finding an existing spiritual path is really helpful, many feel drawn towards Buddhism for example, because it provides the sense of community, the weekly meetings and so forth; essential it helps our ego/sense of self lived aligned with our soul.
I hope that helps, all the best.
I would love to connect with you. I had an extremely similar experience— ending up in the hospital as well. I’d love to hear more about your understanding and connect. -AJ Francis
Yes much TLC as possible to heal the trauma…
I’m grateful to hear that Michel, this experience can be quite distabilizing and yet deconstruction is necessary to make space for the new. It’s just a matter of finding resources like this article, to remind us that what we’re going through is okay, normal, and seek support from those who are experienced if necessary.
Beautiful explanation of Soul retrieval. I am also a Shamanic practitioner and have been doing Soul retrieval for my clients since 2007, but it wonderful to hear different perspectives on Soul retrieval. Thanks so much. Your work is so needed at this time of great Hoocha (heavy) energy in the world.
Thank you Michele :)
I get tired after soul retrievals. Not immediately but after a few days. Even if I go to bed early and have 10 hours sleep, there’s a period of integration which happens where I need lots of rest during the day.
That makes sense, it’s very emotionally and psychologically draining work. Thanks Louise.
I enjoyed this article a lot. It’s the best summary to bring Western and shamanic healing traditions together. I struggle with emptiness and food addiction myself. I have tried all sorts of holistic therapy methods in the past few years. But a huge part of me remains entirely hidden and dark (or maybe I repress it myself I don’t know). Most of the work I’ve done thus far is understanding how I ended up in this place. Transformation is yet waiting to happen. I don’t have memory of the past (for the most part), I can’t visualise, even under hypnosis my world is black, I’ve even tried to create a safe space for my inner child to meet me… nobody tells you what you do when you’re so open to heal and you can’t even find anyone who believes you you are this cut off from yourself. No wonder I need to eat and I feel hopeless at times. I have found a shaman in the country I live in, I really hope he can help me because I’m really out of ideas soon. I want to heal so much!!! I will look out for a soul retrieval meditation but I assume my soul has decided I ain’t going there on my own. At least I hope that much now, because there was a voice in my head a few years ago that said that I can never know the truth. I have no diagnoses btw, so I’m really not making this up. :-) I keep returning to your site by chance, so that’s a sign it’s this good!
I’m sorry to hear that you’re stuggling a bit Stina. I’m curious to hear how you went with the shaman you found.
Just remember to take it gently, the more intensely we focus on how much we need to fix ourselves, to greater those feelings become and overwhelm us. Healing isn’t a race, everything takes its own time just like the rest of nature, at least that helps me.
Thank you for this, it was extremely helpful. I am actually re-searching soul loss and Existential depression as I suffered from it myself for years and was miss-diagnosed by therapists. Until i found my spiritual path, which literally saved my life. I have been a healer and immersed in spirituality completely since 2012, and I have been working with shamanic practices and holding journeys for years now. I am now attempting to design a program specifically for soul loss, as i have been there myself and i understand the pain. I am writing you to take permission to use some of the information in your website. and even wondering if you would like to mentor me on designing my program. I am Egyptian based in Egypt by the way, and shamanic work here is very limited, and i am the only one offering shamanic practices here, except for plant medicine. I am happy to hear from you, and glad to share a donation in exchange of sharing the information here. and for mentoring you can let me know if its possible for you, and what type of exchange you would need, and we can see if i can afford it.
I read this article last night. Before I went to bed I searched the internet to see if there were any practicing shaman near me. Then I tried some of the visualization before I fell asleep.
I awoke very early this morning from a vivid nightmare. It was disturbing and I didn’t think I would get back to sleep since it was only about an hour and a half before I would normally wake up. So I tried to do the visualization again. And I did fall back to sleep.
Again I awoke to a vivid, disturbing nightmare. One that involved a source from what my soul escaped.
I feel that this needs more attention because I rarely remember my dreams let alone have nightmare and then to have two.
Can you share any of the prayers that you remember of your abuela? I might need them.
I read this article last night. It really touched home with me but then many of your articles do. I searched the internet to see if there were any shaman practicing nearby. And then I fell asleep trying some of the visualization you describe.
I woke this morning very early after having a vivid nightmare. I thought I wouldn’t get back to sleep because it was only another hour or so before I would normally awaken. So I tried some of the visualization again. I did falk asleep and again I had another nightmare that woke me up. I rarely remember my dreams. This seems to be wanting my attention?
More of a question please,
At roughly two and a half years old I developed Diabetes Type 1 and was on death’s door. Nobody knew what was wrong with me. Could this be a reason for losing part of my soul and if so how big a part?
Very interesting article I thoroughly enjoyed the read as it has caused more questions in my head.