Shamanism is not a religion. It is a family of methods allowing the practitioner to access or “journey” to non-ordinary states of consciousness. While engaged in this experience, the practitioner is able to retrieve information and bring back healing for the community and individual. A basic principle of the shamanic world view is that everything that exists is alive and has a spirit. Shamans speak of a web that connects all of life and the spirit that lives in all things. I imagine non-ordinary states of consciousness as universes parallel to our own. In these usually hidden states, one can access helping and compassionate sprits offering guidance and healing on behalf of others. The practitioner returns this knowledge and healing to the one requesting it. Ultimately, the work of the shaman is to encourage harmony and balance in the individual and community and to help the individual establish connection with their own inner sources of wisdom for healing and problem solving.
Shamanic Practices Can Help:
- Enhance Personal Power, Joy and Vitality
- Clear Emotional and Mental Binds
- Encourage Physical Healing
- Restore “Missing” Parts of Self
- Open the Path for New Beginnings
- Ease the Transition into Dying
Soul Retreival
One might describe "soul" as that essence which provides the energy and vitality to support and empower our lives. Most indigenous cultures recognize that during a traumatic event, a part of our essence may split off so that we can utilize our remaining resources to survive the trauma. This is a highly adaptive mechanism! Often these fragments naturally return…..during sleep or rest periods. But when the traumatic events are subjectively difficult or ongoing, these “parts” may remain separate. Losing parts of our self creates disharmony and disempowerment. From the shamanic perspective, the ‘spiritual roots’ of all illness (emotional, cognitive and physical) are disharmony, disempowerment (or fear) and soul loss.
Trauma and its results are subjective. Someone suffering from soul loss may express feeling “not all here” or “having lost a part of myself” or “never feeling quite the same” after an accident, surgery, death of a loved one, an acrimonious divorce or separation, survivors of war, physical, emotional or sexual abuse or any event that the individual describes as traumatic or a deep loss. Other symptoms may include dissociation, chronic depression, severe anxiety, emotional numbness and addictive behaviors as the individual seeks to "fill" what is "missing."
As both a Licensed Professional Counselor and Shamanic Practitioner, I am discovering that Soul Retrieval and other shamanic practices, may be of benefit to those ready to step away from past hurts and commit to moving forward into their own healing. Please contact me to discuss if Soul Retrieval or other Shamanic Practices may be helpful for you at this time.
Willow’s initial interest and study of shamanic practices began in her teens during a brief meeting with a practitioner in the Celtic tradition. She has trained in "Core Shamanism," and is grateful for the teachings of Hawaiian and Native Elders. She is currently deepening her commitment with continued apprenticeship in the Hawai’ian tradition and the exploration of how the intersections of spirituality, psychotherapy and shamanic practices can support life empowerment and ease passing into death.
For additional information about Soul Retrieval and the pre-session questionnaire, please go to Intake Forms and Soul Retrieval Information and Questionnaire.
