Soul Retrieval is a process that allows us to return lost soul fragments, or even parts of our own souls. Soul Retrieval is a shamanic tradition. In some communities, it was the only method of maintaining your health or power. The term soul refers to our vitality or life force. Shamanic terminology describes us as a mix of these’souls’. This is why we can become fragmented. Shipibo – Conibio Indians in the Upper Amazon Rainforest regard all of our bodies as having a soul. For example, arms, hands, organs glands, bones, and so forth. It is part of their healing practice to travel to the soul or life force of a particular body part to enable healing to occur on the physical level. For more info you can see this page.

The shamanic worldview holds that power and maintaining good health go hand-in-hand. A body that is strong will prevent illness and disease from becoming an invasive force. The English language can have many connotations, which can make us uncomfortable. According to the shamanic view of power, it refers not to power over others but power over oneself. If we have more control over our lives, we can live them without being pulled off centre. We also become less dependent upon the power of other people. It is even more difficult to lie and dissemble when we don’t have to.

Soul Retrieval, which is a way to restore our life force and power and where we receive our own, is one method. It is important to not hold on to anyone else’s life-force. Sometimes we hold on to the energy of others. Soul Theft is also known as this. Although it may seem like an emotive term and concept to many, it is something all of us do, it is common and should be treated in a non-judgmental manner. In some ways it is the other side to Soul Retrieval.

Soul-theft may be learned behavior and can occur within relationships.

As these examples demonstrate, we steal and take lives force from people in many ways.

– When we jealously admire another person’s status or power.

– One person has the power/energy which another wants

“I want be like him/her!” is an expression that a person may use to ask for their identity. This could also happen when we idolize a person or idolize them.

– Judging is one of the most common ways to seize someone’s power.

– When we care too much for someone else, causing them to become dependent on us. This can cause the person to lose their own strength and ability to support themselves.

Soul-theft can lead to a host of problems.

– The person whose life-force is taken is reduced in some manner

– Relationships can become ‘hung’ on, leading to unsatisfactory, difficult and ragged completions.

– When someone takes another’s life force, they can no longer use it in any manner, it becomes a problem. This is illustrated by participants in workshops that do the Soul-release exercise. They describe it as feeling like they have “barnacles on a ship” holding them back and weighing them down; others feel that they are covered in seeds and leaves.

Sometimes we can even become someone else’s shadow and have to deal with the feelings of another person.

The act of restoring another person’s life force to them has many benefits for everyone. This act is profound and can heal on many levels. Many people who do this kind of work give me feedback. They often tell me about how relationships change and improve between children, parents, partners and their children. To make it simple, I think of this as a tug-of war, where each party pulls on the rope. The person who returns the life-force to the other person, effectively letting go, responds that there is no more rope for them to pull on or apply pressure.