Soul Retrieval Therapy
An Ancient Shamanic Practice for a Modern Age
Do you ever feel that you're "not quite here"...? that there's a "bit of a hole" somewhere...? or an empty space that never gets filled...? We are beings of consciousness and feeling – consciousness that moves and flows, feelings that move our states of being from deep within. A violent shock can literally make us jump out of our skins. A traumatic experience can cause us to dissociate or separate part of ourselves from what is happening..."it was like watching it happening from a distance". A loved one who leaves us can take our heart with them if we "give our heart away". Even leaving a place that we love can "tear us in two" and can result in our leaving part of ourselves, part of our consciousness, behind in that place.
Wholesome re~integration is not automatic or inevitable and many of us are aware of an area of emptiness within... perhaps felt as loss... that something is missing. From the most ancient days of shamanic practice, this has been viewed as a loss of a part of one's soul and there are many traditional techniques for the retrieval and re~integration of that part of oneself that has become 'lost'. In most cases, this has involved the shamanic practicioner travelling to the bardo or underworld, finding and negotiating with that part of the client's soul or consciosness that has been abandoned and returning it to the waiting client.
A modern, and in some ways more effective and empowering way of working, is where the practicioner guides the client him/herself through the experience of locating/negotiating/re-uniting with and re~integrating that part of him/herself that has been lost. The client is guided through an extended relaxation process before being guided to a tunnel or stairway that leads deep into the earth. At the end of the passage is another world, where their spirit guide or guardian angel awaits. This, in itself, can be a powerful experience. Accompanied in consciosness by the practicioner, they embark on a boat that carries them along a river, during the course of which a power animal on the river bank is identified and befriended. Eventually they disembark and the magic of the moment takes place as the part that was lost is rediscovered...
What follows is entirely personal; the lost fragment may feel rejected or abandoned and need to be comforted or even persuaded to return...there may be other parties involved in the original event who need to be dealt with appropriately, before being forgiven and released...eventually, all is resolved and the client (more comlete than when they left) returns to normal reality and a period of assimilation. It isn't a scary process; it is our own consciosness that we are exploring and, since it is ours, it is a place that is deeply familiar and where we feel at home.
The process of re~integration is empowering and emotionally uplifting; it leaves us feeling stronger, more whole and more wholesome. This is the most ancient 'psychotherapy' and, in my experience, amongst the most direct, most effective and most efficient (usually requiring only one session of three hours) ways of 'bringing ourselves back home'.
Sandra Ingerman is a world authority on shamanic soul retrieval. Her website contains a wealth of background information.
A Soul Retrieval session takes about 3 hrs, which allows time for 'settling in' and for a relaxed review and integration of the session afterwards. However, whenever possible, I find that there is much value in having a 1 hr meeting with a potential client some time before the session itself. This has several uses - it enables us to meet and become comfortable with each other before the session, it enables me to explain how the session will be conducted, it is an opportunity for you to ask any questions or clear any doubts you may have and, most importantly, it is an opportunity for us both to be quite sure that this is an appropriate action for you to be taking at this time.
In certain circumstances, such as if you live some distance away, this introductory meeting may take place by telephone or even immediately before the main session. I make no charge for this, as we are both still open to the possibility of not going ahead, and the cost of the full session is £120.
Please call me on 01904 631505 or email me at barry@barrymale.com if you would like to make an initial appointment.