First, let’s attempt to understand the soul without a definition. That may sound paradoxical, but from my research and experience, a definition diminishes the very thing we’re trying to understand. There are many definitions and approaches to the soul whether religious, spiritual, or indigenous. There’s also personal experience. My belief is that we can cohabit a world with differing descriptions and expressions of soul. I also believe that the experience of soul is often similar. People describe the soul as numinous, connected to the Divine/Source, and as feelings of awe, oneness, wholeness, and peace that words can’t possibly describe. Soul is the essence of who we are at our most authentic. Soul is a noun and verb. Soul is connected to the body and also integrated to energies outside the body.
So, what is soul loss? When there is trauma, emotional overwhelm, illness, surgery, a serious accident, intense shock, or grief, among others, the soul MAY become fragmented or dis-integrated. That soul fragment stays connected to the embodied soul as if by a thread, but the essence goes to non-ordinary reality, or the spirit world. The symptoms of depression—emptiness, feelings of worthlessness, lack of energy, etc. are often a result of this disconnection. I say often, because there are also physical, psychological, emotional, and other soul-level concerns (see blog post “A Shamanic View of Mental Illness” parts 1 and 3) that can affect well-being. If soul is fuel, then soul loss causes us to run on a tank that is less than full.
Soul loss can also be described as loss of power. This power loss may be due to any of the causes mentioned above, and also the inability to live one’s soul’s purpose due to a family and/or community that judges or criticizes that purpose. In all of these cases, a false self and/or possessing spirit typically enters this energetic space to take up one’s psychic, emotional, physical, and spiritual energy. The true soul self is not fed, but this false self and/or possessing spirit is nourished by thought, action, and belief, therefore denying the true self from life force energy. This creates disequilibrium, lethargy, confusion, and symptoms that may look like mental illness.
What is the remedy for soul loss? A soul retrieval from a shaman or shamanic practitioner. Returning and restoring this fragmented soul to the body, and re-connecting with the current soul self, brings the person back into alignment with who they really are. The returned soul does NOT bring back the old story that caused the fragmentation, but instead brings back the gifts that were lost. Often, elemental energies and helping spirits are also returned to re-connect with beneficent energies of the universe. A soul retrieval restores the true soul self to power and immanence, and can lead to healthier choices, increased power and confidence, and a feeling of wholeness and connection with oneself and the outside world.
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