Spiritual Healing

In our fast paced lives, we often feel completely stressed out and depleted. In addition, we may feel less than whole or complete. We may experience a sense of emptiness inside and even sensations of numbness that have no physical cause. In these situations, certain spiritual healing techniques can prove to be immensely beneficial.

What is meant by spiritual? For many who do not belong to any organized religion, there is still a sense that some sort of energy affects all beings. This energy, while not directly perceived by the eye, can be felt emanating from people, locations and animals. For example, if someone walks into a room, those who are already present may sense that that person is very depressed even though the body language or facial expressions do not reflect this. You may also feel inexplicably happy and relaxed in the company of one person and not another, although both are smiling and friendly.

Much has been written and spoken about the need to enable or empower people to deal with their own issues. One of the most important facets of spiritual healing is to give a person back his or her own personal power. Acting from a place of personal power means that a person will be more self-confident and be able to make better judgements about his or her life, as well as the lives of others. Over thousands of years, medicine men and women in tribal cultures around the world developed specific healing techniques. Spiritual healing techniques based on the acquired wisdom of shamans include:

• Power Animal Retrieval
• Soul Retrieval
  
• Extraction
  
• The Healing of Spaces

Power Animal Retrieval
Common to native peoples around the world is the notion of the power animal, also called totem animal. The energy of a person's power animal exists on a spiritual plane. Becoming aware of that animal and feeling the presence of the essence of that animal inside one's body can be extraordinarily empowering. For example, James had difficulty speaking before large groups of people; he felt he could say the wrong thing. It was particularly hard for him to speak spontaneously. After a healing session, James found that his power animal, a panther, would help him focus his energy, as a panther would looking at prey, so that he could speak with that focus in mind, without fears of inadequacy.

Your power animal embodies qualities that you may already be aware of in your own life. The power animal can help remind you of those qualities and strengths, but also helps you discover new dimensions to yourself. Your power animal may be an animal that you dreamed about as a child, but it could also be one that is not that familiar to you.

For more information about Power Animal Retrieval
click here.

Soul Retrieval
Another spiritual healing technique deals with the after-effects of any kind of trauma. After an accident, a person may continue to feel as if some part of him or herself is missing. This sense of emptiness may lead to feelings of confusion, difficulties making decisions, and even feeling as if you do not really know yourself anymore. A part of your body can even feel empty or numb. While many people recover completely from trauma and don't feel any of these symptoms, some people continue to feel a sense of emptiness. The trauma can also be an emotional one. It can be a cumulative experience that just becomes too much to handle. Sometimes, there is also a sense that someone else has taken part of one's energy. From the point of view of shamanic healing techniques, these symptoms indicate what is known as "soul loss" where part of one's life force decides to "depart." Some people experience this when they cannot avoid an accident they see an accident coming. They try and send their energy out of their body in order not to experience the pain and suffering of the impact. Other types of soul loss can occur at times of intense emotion. The spiritual healing technique to counter-act soul loss is called Soul Retrieval.

For more information about Soul Retrieval click here.

Extraction
When a person is experiencing physical symptoms of pain or aches, one of the most useful spiritual healing techniques based on shamanic principles is called Extraction. When we remove these obstructions, the person will immediately feel a difference. In some cases, the pain may disappear completely.

For more information on Extraction click here.

The Healing of Spaces
Interior spaces, whether they are homes or businesses, as well as exterior spaces, often need healing, or, to use another term, "clearing." In 1998, a news story published in Newsweek focused on a new trend in New York City, in which real-estate brokers were hiring people trained in the clearing of space, using shamanic techniques. These brokers had found that a space that had been cleared would sell immediately. Similarly, our exterior environment has often been dumped on and misused and needs clearing or healing. An immediate outcome of a healed or cleared space is that it will feel good to be in that space. A good time to clear a space is when you purchase a new piece of land or home or apartment.

For more information on the Healing of Spaces click here.

Further Reading
Although there are many books on Shamanism and spiritual healing, the following books are particularly lucid and practical.

Michael Harner, The Way of the Shaman, Harper Collins Publishers, 1990.

Sandra Ingerman, Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self, Harper Collins Publishers, 1991.

Sandra Ingerman, Welcome Home: Following Your Soul's Journey Home, Harper Collins Publishers, 1993.

Sandra Ingerman, The Soul Retrieval Journey, Sounds True audio-tape, 1997.

Sandra Ingerman, Medicine for the Earth: How to Transform Personal and Environmental Toxins, Harmony Books, 2001.

For drum tapes and CDs to do your own shamanic journey, contact The Foundation for Shamanic Studies at 415 380-8282.

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