When shamans speak of the soul

Shamans say that with our soul we live all kinds of lives: a multitude of human lives and a whole range of life experiences as other beings whose memories are almost inaccessible to our human minds.

Many of us have had dreams or visions that seem so real that they certainly seem to have come from another life, and yet they are so personal that it is difficult to deny the reality of our own experiences.

We usually ignore these experiences and try our best to suppress the memory of them until one fine day they pop up in our memories seemingly for no reason. People will tell us that these are meaningless images that appear while the brain is charging, or some other such rationalization.

When we consider the shaman’s thesis that we are all continuous beings, existing in various forms in infinite time and space, the nature of these dreams and visions can become part of our personal experience history.

Shamans are not saying that you (or we) have experienced everything and therefore know everything. Rather, shamans are saying that this is the special pattern that is playing out here and now, amidst the unfathomable immensity of possibilities: unrepeatable, unique, authentic, self-existent, and impermanent.

It’s ironic and actually quite insidious when people think they can give a person an eternal soul or deny that someone has one, let alone try to take it away. But that doesn’t mean that some people don’t actually experience soul loss. Some certainly do. Perhaps many do. And what about you, dear reader? Do you suffer from soul loss to some degree?

Not knowing that one has a soul and is an ongoing being is a major symptom of soul loss. If we cannot remember past lives or fully experience our dreams, we have no context for our lives and are therefore at the mercy of the wildness of this world or the world we find ourselves in.

I don’t want to judge. Maybe this is the way we want to live in this world right now. But maybe this sense of loss is causing us great suffering. Maybe this lack of real memory of who we were across time and in different places is why we are so plagued by loneliness and isolation even in the midst of our hectic lives.

We could really use a helper who is familiar with the soul side of existence. And that is why some shamans have specialized in soul retrieval.

Soul retrieval may sound very similar to certain therapeutic techniques, but it is the shaman who knows how helpful soul retrieval can be and how to help someone find their soul energy again. Such practices are adapted to the individual’s situation and are not a one-size-fits-all solution.

Frankly, in our culture we have been taught to resist the knowledge of our soul self. This is not the case with my Native American friends. Children with special talents and abilities in visioning are welcome and encouraged to have and share their visions and past life experiences.

Knowing who you were and what your life purpose is increases your resilience and adaptability during difficult times. The return of your soul to its fully functioning self is one of the most rewarding experiences in shamanism.

Shamans travel to imaginary worlds and, to their amazement and wonder, rediscover lost parts of themselves: Who are we, where are we going and how does it feel?