How do you know if you are experiencing Soul Loss? There are common signs that can tell you if there has been a disconnection between your soul and earthly self. The aftermath of trauma can be devastating leaving us deflated and unable to move forward with life. Most people will experience Post Traumatic Stress (PTSD after a traumatic event or situation. The trauma of a life changing event, a serious illness, an accident or being a victim of a crime, can show up as Soul Loss. There are a variety of symptoms that are common. There seems to be a noticeable change in personality, energy levels and not being quite able to recover from the stress. This is what Shaman’s call "Soul Loss".
How can we remedy this? First let’s identify the major signs that in fact you have experienced this loss and disconnection.
You feel depressed and lost, life seems meaningless. What you once enjoyed no longer interests you or brings you fulfillment. In other words, you feel less motivated and alive. You feel the drudgery of one day blending into another. You may also feel like nothing really matters.
You are unable to connect to your essence. There is a constant emotional dullness and low-grade heartache. You may be tempted to engage in addictive behaviors and practices. You do not seem to respond to what made you feel inspired or to fully engage in living.
You find yourself ruminating about the past and even feeling anger and annoyed easily. There seems to be low tolerance and higher frustration levels than before the event. There may be a continued sense of guilt and sadness along with sense of loss of control. This may cause sleep disturbances and other physical symptom like chronic depression, and changes in diet and avoiding certain activities.
The remedy for this type of “Soul Loss” is for a Shamanic practitioner to conduct a “Soul Retrieval”. This is a technique used through many cultures Shaman performs SR to re-unite fragmented part of the soul due to unprocessed trauma. The Shaman helps retrieve those part of your soul's energy that got left behind due to the trauma. This can be done in a variety of ways depending on the lineage and training of the Shamanic practitioner.
This undertaking must first start with a strong intention, a connection and collaborative mindset between client and the Shamanic practitioner. There must be a sincere desire and belief that healing can occur. You are not a passive participant, during the journey portion of the SR, you're focus is to relax, let go and allow your spiritual body to open.
The Shaman creates a protective ritual by drumming and setting a healing environment, as well as doing their own prep work prior to a session. The Shaman undergoes a clearing ritual before the session. During the SR the Shaman may use implements from nature, singing special songs, using his medicine objects to prepare and gain spiritual power. The objective of soul retrieval is to re-integrate fragments that are "frozen in time" and so you may to harmony and feel yourself fully again. There may be some spiritual and personal insights from this experience that went underground.
Soul retrieval can be life changing and it can takes about 2 hours. The Shaman begins by entering a trance and induces you into a relaxed state, while the shaman drums calling his lower world allies to guide him. The Shaman and you journey back to the time of the event to find the soul fragments that need to be reintegrated. You may recall pieces of memories of the incident. If you don’t experience anything, that’s okay. During the journey to the lower world, you may not feel or see anything. The Shaman is trained to energetically identify and retrieve the fragments and journey back with them. The integration healing session can now begin. Depending on many dynamics and the Shaman's training, a series of healing protocols are undertaken. To help you gain more understanding of the events and assist you to regain back full balance and harmony.
Once a SR is done, you will feel as light as a feather or sense a noticeable shift in your mood. There is a period of integration and emotional processing that may go on for a day or two. Days after, you will notice you are back to being yourself and feeling more connected and grounded. You more like will feel a sense of relief and an increase of sense of well-being as the weeks progress.
