We are all born into these physical bodies from the spirit world. Our soul chooses a set of situations and a body that will serve the souls individual needs for this lifetime. Then, through the miracle of birth we begin this lifetime. Our soul has a way to connect with this world and interact within it. All of the plans, ideals and personality of the soul are in place. We are ready to embark on the greatest adventure ever, with everything we need to become our greatest potential already within us. We are a perfect soul, in a perfect situation. Then, life happens. Yep, were free to be born into the perfect situation, full of potential and energy but we have to share this plane of existence with every one else. We do not create our own realitywe co-create it. Think about it. If we were free to totally create our own reality everyone would be like bumper cars slamming into each other; everyone doing his own thing regardless of each other. That would be utter chaos. So, as souls we all agree to certain things. There are universal laws, like gravity and death. These are things that are pretty hard to ignore. They are a part of the fabric of this particular reality that we are all in right now. Then there is the fact that we all interact with others. This is where most of the soul loss comes from.
The loss of part of the soul is like losing an aspect of your personality. Its a quality of yourself that has splintered off from you due to some sort of trauma or negative experience or another person has stolen it from you. One example of this would be an abused child. The part of that childs soul that trusts could splinter off due to the trauma of abuse. This could lead to many problems involving trust in life. Relationships, business affairs, even ones faith in spiritual matters. If this abuse were limited to childhood then that piece of the soul would be somewhere in the spirit world waiting to be reconnected. If however the abuser was still present in that persons life and that abuse had not been resolved between them then that part of the childs soul would be with the abuser. The person who inflicted the trauma would have stolen that part of the soul that trusts.
Another example would be someone in a relationship with a controlling individual. Through time the controlling party could steal the part of the soul that is confidence. Then, the individual would feel insecure or fearful about making decisions for themselves or others.
The results of such soul losses can be quite devastating. Illness, fears, loss of personal identity, insecurities and many other things can easily be attributed to soul loss. if we can think of ourselves as being made of energy then this loss can be seen a lessening of our energy. It can handicap us in relationships, keep us from attaining goals or even cause depression, illness and anxiety. Most people who have suffered such a loss have a sense of things just not being right, that something is missing.
So a part of your soul is missing. Great, what now? The answer lies in soul retrieval. This shamanic practice allows the shaman to journey into the spirit world to reclaim the part of the soul that is missing. Shamen, myself included, use various tools, such as drums, music, incense and crystals to help them travel into the spirit world. Many practices speak of upper and lower worlds, but for now lets keep it simple. Animal totems and spirit guides also aid the shaman for this journey. Once in the spirit world the shaman follows his guide to the energetic trail of the individual that he is journeying for. By following this trail the shaman is able to find the piece of the soul that is missing or find the person or energy that has it held captive. Often there is a sort of battle for the soul fragment. If it has been stolen the person or entity holding it uses its energy as his or her own. They will not easily give that up.
Once the piece of the soul has been retrieved the shaman journeys back to the individual with the aid of his guides and animal totems, bringing this aspect of the soul with them. The shaman then reintegrates the aspect of the soul that has been retrieved back into the individual. This is accomplished through ritual, energetic transference, and many other techniques. Once people have reclaimed their soul fragment back into themselves they often speak of dramatic changes in personality and confidence. Many are relieved of illness or lack of energy and all speak of a profound difference in the way they see themselves.
In my personal practice I also counsel individuals
as to how to change habits, thought patterns and personal tendencies to
help them with this reintegration process. The soul retrieval is a
reclaiming of that which as been lost. It is then a matter of using
that energy to make changes in your everyday life. Drawing on that part
of yourself that has been returned to you. It is up to the individual
to learn how to tap into his or her own soul. That part of themselves
that has unlimited potential. Through this connection the individual is
able to recreate their life to be more as they would have it.