In Western Culture and Religion, we are taught that each person has a soul. That soul is precious as it is our direct connection to God. Shamanism has a different, and I find much easier to understand, definition of this aspect of the human condition. It is one that does not leave us fearing for the salvation of our souls or for those of others, which tends to lead to hate mongering.
In Shamanism, we understand that we are made up of a variety of energies. There is physical energy, emotional energy, mental energy and spiritual energy. All of these energies have purpose and work hand-in-hand. If we were to think of an umbrella sheltering ourselves in the Universe, we would be thinking actually of the Spiritual Energy. It is the overview of all that is. It is eternally connected to Source (whatever you wish to call that source) and is impervious to all harm. Now think about a temple and various attendees at the temple. The Temple is the physical body. It houses our Soul energies. But it needs attending to so that it does not crumble. So we exercise and eat well and nourish our bodies as much as we can (hopefully) so that the temple remains as healthy and strong as possible for as long as possible. The attendees in the Temple are the MANY Soul energies that make up who we are…not just ONE…MANY. These Soul energies have travelled through time and space and many lifetimes. They bring us experiences and memories and gifts from a number of existences. They make up our personality and characteristics and each has a job to do. Some of them feed our emotional well-being, some of them work hard to make sure our organs are functioning properly. Some of them bring us expertise in certain areas such as art or mathematics etc. So they work with the emotions, the body and the mind. They experience everything that happens to us on our earth walk now. As they do, they are evolving to become Spirit. But they are not there yet. And because they are not there just yet they are both more primal and more fragile. The mental energy calculates, processes and filters all the data that we are exposed to in our day. It is what also helps us to gently turn our attention inward during prayer and meditation. It is, in some ways, a window to the soul. And that window provides some access to Source.
Because the Soul energy is primal we have passions that race through us. These are not to be diminished or degraded. They are an important part of our existence and our experience of life itself. Without those passions we lose soul energy. We become what has been termed “skin walkers”…this is a state in which we have little or no soul energy driving us…we become empty shells…and often sociopaths or psychopaths.
Because Soul energy is also fragile, we need to consciously care for it. This means performing tasks such as meditating, doing Vision Questing, and spending time in Nature, which tends to be one of the fastest ways to reconnect. We need to follow our heart’s desires…our passions. If we have a burning need to create, then we need to do that as opposed to putting that off. If we have a desire to sing a song in the shower, we need to belt it out and enjoy the acoustics of the shower stall. If we need to move our bodies we can go for a walk, visit a gym, go to a dance, have sex..whatever the expression needs to be in the moment. We need to take care of that Temple of the body.
Because the Soul energy is fragile, it can also get into some trouble along the way. Accidents, illnesses, stress, trauma, angry arguments, aggressive encounters, injuries etc are all things that can lead to Soul loss. This is when parts of the Soul energy find it too difficult to stay in the temple for the duration of the event that is causing it pain, so it “takes a walk” and steps outside of the body for a moment. 98% of the time it will, once the event is over, step back into the body. It is the other 2% of the time that causes what is called Soul Loss. The Soul energy steps out, but gets attached to some place, someone, some time and can’t get back in.
This is where Shamans come in really handy. Many of us are highly trained in the skill of Soul Retrieval. Basically, we track the energetic trail of Soul energy to where it currently is, and bring it back to the Temple of the Body. Sometimes there is a wee stop-over in the Light to heal the Soul trauma before returning it home. This happens when the trauma is still significant and it would be more constructive to return it in a pure healed state that to just bring it home at the moment in a damaged state. And the mere fact that it got lost and has been suffering through in the first place can, in and of itself, cause trauma. So an assessment on the spot is important once the Soul energy has been successfully tracked.
People who have Soul Retrieval done often express how they somehow feel more whole and complete as a result of that. This is quite common. When we have Soul loss we do tend to feel emptier, even more dead, inside. Progressive Soul loss can also be a contributing factor to many illnesses and also to deep depression. So once it comes back home to the Temple of the body, it is like the stadium lights have just been turned back on inside.
Sometimes we are also carrying other people’s soul energies on our energy system. There are a variety of reasons for this, and each of them leads to one thing…carrying something the size of a baby grand piano on our backs and trying to get it through doorways, hallways, stair wells etc. It is exhausting. This is when it is important to perform what is called Soul Extraction, where the Soul energy of the other person is gently lifted off of the one carrying it and sent into the Light to be returned to its proper owner in its own time and in its own space in a pure healed state. Often when this happens a person will suddenly feel like a 100 pound weight has just been lifted off of their chest or shoulders…and in a way it has.
Once the Soul energy is back with the Temple of the Body, it is important to up the ante with self-care. Getting abundant rest periods, meditating, drinking ample amounts of water, nourishing the self with healthy foods etc is vital to maintaining a proper body/soul connection. It is something that we all should be doing on a daily basis anyway. But after Soul Retrieval work is done, it becomes that much more important. None of it has to do with “looking good” or with “attracting a mate”, which many have as the primary reason for staying healthy and fit. Being healthy and fit is the side effect of caring for the Temple of the Soul. So create your daily practice. Switch it up. Don’t do the same thing EVERY day. That just gets boring on many levels. Variety is the Spice of Life.