SEEKERS DOOR

Soul Retrieval
The Free Soul
In the shamanism it is believed that part of the human soul is free to leave the body. The soul is the axis mundi, the center of the shamanic healing arts. Shamans change their state of consciousness allowing their free soul to travel and retrieve ancient wisdom and lost power.
Because a portion of the soul is free to leave the body it will do so when dreaming, or it will leave the body to protect itself from potentially damaging situations be they emotional or physical. In situations of trauma the soul piece may not return to the body on its own, and a shaman must intervene and return the soul essence.
Reasons For the Soul's Departure
There are various reasons for soul loss. If a person was in an abusive situation part of one's soul may leave to protect itself from the abuse. Sometimes as a child, fighting parents may prompt the soul part to hide because the child is scared.. If a traumatic accident is about to occur such as an impact or accident the soul would leave so that it wouldn't be effected by the force of the accident. If a loved one is lost, the soul part may go until the person is ready to deal with their grief. All of these are very healthy mechanisms of protection. In some cases the soul part will return on its own. But if it does not realize how to return, or if it does not know that it is safe to return - the shaman may need to assist the return of that missing piece.
Another way to lose ones soul is to give it to someone. When two people are in love, or when they are in a family, it is sometimes occurs that they will give portions of their soul to their loved one. A mother may give some to their child because they wish to protect him or her. This type of soul exchange may seem acceptable because of a person's desire to share themselves with another, it is not generally a good idea however. An individual can't use another person's soul, because simply: it is not their soul. The person must then deal with this unusable energy in addition to their own problems. In addition, the person has given a piece of their soul away and they have disempowered themselves. The giver's journey is made more difficult because they are not fully present to do the living of their life. It is a lose lose situation.
Because we are not taught about soul loss we do this soul sharing unconsciously. If an individual becomes more conscious of this dynamic they can find more empowering ways of sharing love and affection in their close relationships. You can see the language of soul loss in everyday speaking, people referring to how they "lost a piece of themselves" when they parted with a lover, or people saying "you stole my life from me."
Another reason for soul loss is called soul stealing, perhaps we should say borrowing. As we said before, the average person today is unconscious of the soul dynamic. So soul stealing can be innocent, you see someone with lots of energy and you want to borrow some of it. You are afraid of losing someone, so you take a piece of them with you so that you will always have him or her close by. Soul stealing can also be a way to dominate another. For instance soul stealing may be seen where an abusive spouse has taken his or her partner's soul. When you take someone's soul you take some of their power.
It is important to know that no one can take your soul without your consent. If someone has stolen your soul you have in some sense given it to them or allowed them to have it. If you feel for some reason that someone is tugging at your soul, make a firm decision within yourself they they cannot have it and they will not be able to take it from you.

Symptoms of Soul Loss
Soul loss would be comparable to the psychological concept of disassociation. Some of the symptoms that would indicate soul loss to a shaman include: depression, a feeling of incompleteness, an inability to move forward on some issue, lost memories, feeling like your not in control your life, people who say I felt like part of me died when..., or people who say I feel like so and so stole my soul. Soul loss is often accompanied by a feeling that something is missing from life.
A person frequently wishes to return to his or her lost soul. So if the soul part was lost to a person, or in a specific place, an individual may feel an urge to return to that place or person even when there seems to be no outward reason to do so. Occasionally, a person having suicidal thoughts may be because of a desire to reunite with one's lost soul pieces.

How You Lose A Piece Of Your Soul
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1. Denial, detachment patterns (psychological) - When you do not want to see the truth because it is painful or too traumatic. You want to detach yourself emotionally from a situation because of the pain, the hurt, the truth.
2. Divorce, separation - after being so close to someone even if the relationship was not healthy and good there was a relationship and intertwining of souls that took place. There might even have been a codependency.
3. Death - Someone you loved or were close to
4. An abusive relationship - Especially a parent/child relationship. This loss can be carried on for many years to adulthood without the person realizing the source of their loss.
5. Rape - In my opinion I also see this as someone stealing your soul.
6. Puberty - This is a time of many changes, feeling lost and insecure. Many occult happenings can occur at this time as well with the child.
7. Surgery - This is under full anesthesia when you lose consciousness.
8. Psychic vampires- People who tend to pull pieces of your soul away. They take from you what they need and it leaves you feeling drained. These people are not necessarily 'bad' and probably do not even realize what they are doing and the effect it has on you. Some do know however.
9. Giving and helping to excess - It is idealistic to give and help others of course and we should all be there and help one another, but there are people who give too much and like the ones above who take too much, there must be a balance in all things in life.