for healers: this article introduces basic ideas about soul retrieval, a powerful healing approach you may wish to learn to facilitate and include in your body of work.
for everyone: if you’ve ever had a hard life experience, soul retrieval may be something to get curious about for your own healing.
if you’re a human on planet earth, most likely you’ve experienced some kind of pain, loss, hardship, illness, disappointment, trauma, or overwhelm.
that might sound broad or like ‘one size fits all’ but we all navigate pain and challenge here earthside.
blessings, blessings.
in older times, we’d have had someone skilled around who would say, after any of those tough experiences, ‘are you okay? is all of you here after that hard thing?’
and, if you needed a helping hand, that medicine person or gifted one would have performed their style of soul retrieval for you.
in general, we’ve lost that kind of support today.
here are two basic ideas, about ‘soul loss’ and ‘soul retrieval:’
1. SOUL LOSS:
during a challenging, overwhelming, painful, or frightening experience, a part of your soul (or vital essence) can ‘take off’ or become ‘misplaced.’ this is called ‘soul loss,’ and it’s an unconscious coping mechanism to help you survive whatever the hard thing was. that’s elegant in its way, because you survive, but less elegant because ‘soul loss’ leaves you…diminished.
depending on if you’ve got a little or a lot of soul loss going on (listen to your heart, it knows), you might feel:
- stuck or lost
- unable to make decisions
- lacking joy or purpose
- like you ‘just can’t get over that thing that happened’
- like you ‘haven’t been the same since…’
- depressed, sick, or in chronic pain
- unable to remember how to play, or dream
- like bad or hard things happen around or to you all the time
- addicted (food, drugs, screens, overwork, overgiving, overbusy)
- like you’re walking around feeling numb
(big. heart. hug.)
2. SOUL RETRIEVAL:
after the hard or scary experience is complete, we don’t want you walking around with a ‘vacancy sign’ in your energy field where some of your soul used to be (that’s a bigger topic, and worth mentioning. in short, being filled up with your own light and power is important). if you experienced soul loss, then soul retrieval can be really helpful, where we work with the spirits to literally retrieve a part of your soul. things are of course more complex than in this short article, and the handful of ‘soul loss indicators’ above generally hint that a soul retrieval may be beneficial.
essentially we need all of our spirit here to have a good life, and do what we came here to.Â
we need to be as intact as possible.
most of us human-shaped creatures need lots of soul retrieval in our times. yup. that’s okay, and if this form of healing calls you, it may be a really important part of your human evolutionary journey, a needed tool to get you in motion again, or a catalyst to help you feel your own power and grace that got lost somewhere along the road.
really, what we’re talking about with soul retrieval is bringing you back home to you.
a neato thing, that my spirits are inviting me to share while I’m typing is this: sometimes, soul retrievals can have a ‘domino effect’ and set others in motion spontaneously. and that’s fun when it happens, and magical.
soul retrieval is potent.
so let’s say you experience a) soul loss, and 2) a soul retrieval…what usually happens in a soul retrieval ceremony?
in every soul retrieval – whether you receive one or learn to hold space for them with your helping spirits – there are basic ingredients:
- getting settled and safe in the healing space, and sharing about what’s going on that’s inviting healing work
- a journey (or two) with helping spirits, who intervene and facilitate the retrieval. they bring the soul part or essence ‘back home’
- sharing of a healing story from the journey, to help the gifts land in a kind and gentle way
- introduction of a helping spirit to help integration in days, weeks, and months following a soul retrieval
- perhaps, if you’re receiving, you’re invited to create a simple ceremony to support your healing process and integration
- watching how the work ripples out in a human life (feeling in your power, being able to dream or play again, etc)
- followup after soul retrieval, to see how the work is landing and unfolding (this is so fun and amazing!)
sound complicated? it isn’t.
a skilled practitioner will guide you through all of this so you feel held and like you’re having a lovely adventure. if you’re a practitioner learning this, it’s your honor and job to help soul retrieval be a magical, loving experience.
simply,
life changes after soul retrieval. more light comes in.
soul retrieval feels amazing, like coming home.
that said, it isn’t a ‘quick fix’ or a ‘magic cure’ for what ails you. most folks report after a soul retrieval that there is either a tremendous sense of relief, or more flow and ease like there was back before the hard time (blessings).
some folks remember how to dream again, or how to have fun, sometimes skills scamper back in like being able to sing or dance or take things lightly, and some notice that big stressors – although still challenging – aren’t as consuming, and become more manageable. most times, folks simply feel ‘more like themselves’ again.
for myself (and I’ve had a lot of soul retrievals over the years, laughter), I find personally that after a soul retrieval I can find my calm center again – it feels like a distress call within has been comforted in a kind way. I can find the humor and grace in living after receiving this work, when that might have felt distant before.
and, everyone is different. each healing journey is different.
these are some ideas for consideration.
if you’re reading here, and you notice a sacred tear and don’t consciously know why, or your heart is nudging or keening or jumping up and down with ‘yes yes! I need THAT!’ then soul retrieval may be of interest for you, personally or professionally.
you’ll know.
it’s safe to trust your own heart.
here are some possible pathways forward, if this calls you:
READ A BIT MORE:
if you’d like to do some reading, you might pour a cup of tea and cozy up with sandra ingerman’s book ‘soul retrieval’ (or the book that appears when you ask your spirits to help you find what’s just right for you).
RECEIVING SOUL RETRIEVAL:
if you feel like you’d benefit from receiving a soul retrieval, we can do that in session if the spirits say ‘green light go!’Â Â please email, and we’ll explore together.
LEARN TO FACILITATE SOUL RETRIEVAL:
if you feel called to learn how to facilitate soul retrievals, you might consider our soul retrieval training – it’s a joy to learn this work in a small cohort of colleagues and kindred spirits.
ASK YOUR SPIRITS TO HELP YOU:
8 billion paths to peace, yes? (and counting!) there are lots of lovely ways soul retrieval can look, and you might consider asking your helping spirits – out loud, in a journey, or in the way that works for you – to help you find the book, practitioner, or training that’s aligned for your personal journey. their guidance is sometimes mysterious and sometimes feels like a loving bonk on the head – and they’ll help you find what you need.
should they be welcome, I wish you blessings of wholeness, peace, and ease.
love,
anna
ps – do you know one or two folks who would benefit from receiving the dreaming otter articles? if yes, please encourage them to subscribe to the email list here. I would be so grateful – thanks, and may that kindness return to you a thousandfold.