SOUL RETRIEVAL: STORIED JOURNEYS OF SHAMANIC HEALING FROM TRAUMA
A THESIS
Presented to
MASTERS DEGREES THESIS COMMITTEE of St. Stephen's College
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of
MASTER OF ARTS IN PASTORAL PSYCHOLOGY AND COUNSELLING
by
Bryan Eddie Flack
Calgary, Alberta Library and Archives BibliothSque et 1^1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'^dition
395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada
Your file Voire r6f6rence ISBN: 978-0-494-80147-5 Our file Notre r6f4rence ISBN: 978-0-494-80147-5
NOTICE; AVIS:
The author has granted a non L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats.
The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de ceile-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or othen/vise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission.
In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondares ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these.
While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient Indus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. Canada DEDICATION
To my kindred spirit - my inspiration, my constant thought, my wife Noelle - I dedicate this thesis to you. Your love, patience, continual self-sacrifice and your spiritual thirst have always been an inspiration to me. Thank you for your unconditional love, faith and support throughout the journey of this thesis. Without "all" that you are, I doubt the work would have been completed.
I also dedicate this thesis to my children Michael John Paul, Courtney Breanna, and Jesse Keenan. Thank you for being my greatest teachers and guides. May this academic enterprise and the commitment to complete it, serve as inspiration for all of your journeys, both academic and personal - whatever you choose them to be. ABSTRACT
Through the employment of narrative inquiry methodology, the study sought to hear the storied experiences of two modem, urban shamanic practitioners who employ soul retrieval to help individuals heal from the negative effects of trauma. The main task of the research was to immerse myself as completely as possible into the world of these shamanic practitioners and the practice of soul retrieval. By doing so, I would then be better able to ascertain whether, I too, could experience the healing benefits of this practice for myself. A secondary task of the research process was directly dependent on the first and main task. If I could confirm the healing power of soul retrieval, my goal was to initiate a cursory exploration into how psychology and the shamanic practice of soul retrieval might be compared and contrasted. The final written narrative is an effort to draw the reader into the world of shamanism and associated healing practices. I hope the reader will find the written narrative persuasive and intriguing as the qualities of depth and breadth were intentionally created by intertwining three strands of exploration, stories from the two shamanic practitioners, related literature, and self-reflection on the initiation process into shamanism. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
From the begimiing to the end of this thesis project, my supervisor Dr. Graeme T. Clark was "there" for me. I am indebted to him for his sound advice and supportive guidance throughout each stage of the research process. Although we were separated by over three hundred kilometers, he never seemed too far away to be approachable. Thank you.
It is important to acknowledge St. Stephen's College for its bold vision of providing graduate studies in the area of Pastoral Psychology and Counseling. By living out this vision, St. Stephen's has afforded me the opportunity to combine my deep respect for the field of counseling psychology and spirituality. Thank you to all the staff (past and present) at the college for your unfailing commitment to my education.
I would also like to thank my research participants (co-researchers & co- experiencers) who agreed to enter into relationship with me for the common goal of sharing stories to create an accurate, rich description of the shamanic practice of soul retrieval. Without your time and willingness to share the sacred, the insights this thesis presents would never have manifested.
For sharing their experience, strength and hope; a special thanks goes out to all my recovery friends who prayed and were present for me when I felt like the learning journey was beyond the capacity to be completed.
Finally, I would be remiss without mentioning my gratitude towards the God of my understanding and experience. Without you, I am but dust. Thank you for breathing life into me and allowing me to live beyond my wildest dreams - one day at a time. TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE 1 Introduction
CHAPTER TWO 15 In the Midst of Story: Methodological and Ethical Considerations
CHAPTER THREE ! 28 In the Midst of Story: The Researcher's Path
CHAPTER FOUR 43 In the Midst of Story: Path of the Urban Shamanic Practitioner
CHAPTER FIVE 58 In the Midst of Story; The Shamanic Worldview
CHAPTER SIX 71 In the Midst of Story: Soul Loss
CHAPTER SEVEN 86 In the Midst of Story: The Soul Retrieval
CHAPTER EIGHT Ill Final Insights, Thoughts and Possibilities
REFERENCES 134
APPENDIX A 139 INFORMED CONSENT LETTER
APPENDIX B 140 ASSISTANT/ TRANSCRIBER ETHICAL GUIDELINE AGREEMENT CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
"Neurosis is always a substitute for legitimate suffering."
C.G. Jung
Knowledge of the human soul, its loss and its restoration after traumatic experience exists today. Practices related to this knowledge are in use throughout most of the world where tribal people reside. Such people view soul loss resulting from trauma as the primary cause of spiritual, mental, emotional and physical distress within individuals and even the communities in which they live. This ideology is simplistically profound: if something is lost, to restore wholeness it must be found. Based on this idea of restoration, to restore harmony and wholeness to the individual and the community after trauma- induced soul loss, a soul retrieval ceremony initiated by a shaman is required.
Within the last thirty years there has been a movement, mainly by anthropologists, to bring back these effective and long proven ways of viewing illness and healing to the western world. The concept of "bringing back" implies that the ancestors of most of the inhabitants of the present western world historically came from tribal communities scattered throughout the globe. Contemporary shamanism re-introduces the philosophical and spiritual values of our tribal ancestors to address psychological and emotional wounding. Hamer wrote in the forward to Sandra Ingerman's (1991) ground-breaking text Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self, "We of the civilized world often tend to dismiss the strange beliefs of tribal peoples as superstitions or prehistoric curiosities with no relevance to our own lives. Certainly, the widespread tribal belief in soul loss as a major factor in illness has typically fallen into this category" (p.iv). Most important.
1 Hamer went on to state "...ancient shamanic methods of treating soul loss have urgent
applicability to the traumas of contemporary life ..." (p;ix).
Professionals in the helping fields who struggle daily to help individuals heal
firom the effects of trauma will find it difficult to permit these comments to go by
unnoticed. Even when psychological theory and practice are applied to the presenting
issues associated with trauma, the healing process is long-suffering and is most often left
incomplete. This phenomenon is perplexing and has spawned much research. However, if
the concepts of soul loss and retrieval are considered, and the presenting symptoms of
trauma are viewed through this shamanic lens, then something quite dramatic becomes
apparent. By only applying scientific theory and therapeutic practice, the symptoms of
trauma are addressed but not the origin and true nature of the original wound. Viewed
shamanically, the wound is understood to exist in other realms of existence outside of our
normal conscious awareness.
Because of our drive for scientific knowledge and mastery of the physical world,
did we as a society too quickly discard vital understanding of ourselves and our
connection to the spiritual world? Did our tribal ancestors know something about human
suffering that we of modem times have long forgotten? If this ancient knowledge were applied to the wounds of individuals who entered into counseling, could it prove to be beneficial? Could these seemingly mysterious methods of treating soul loss provide
"cure" to client woundedness, while the client simultaneously receives "care" within the therapeutic alliance?
While these questions begged to be answered, I began to search the related literature. There were many introductory texts which primarily focused on the over
2 arching concept of shamanism. However, most disappointing, there were few articles and
texts which delved deeply into the practice of soul retrieval, both within tribal and
contemporary settings. Indeed, there is a paucity of research and practical literature
pertaining to the shamanic practice of soul retrieval. Specifically, there was almost no
research hearing and retelling stories of soul retrieval being utilized in modem
therapeutic counseling practice.
The research puzzle explored in this thesis was: What are the storied experiences
of modern, urban shamanic practitioners who employ soul retrieval to help individuals
heal from the negative effects of trauma? As a result of hearing these stories, it was hoped to explore what relevance this ancient shamanic method of treating trauma might have for contemporary counseling practice.
If it is the desire of the counseling professions to be truly effective in helping people recovery from the tragic results of trauma, then all avenues must be laboriously explored, even the often negated understandings and ways of indigenous peoples. To enter into the world view of tribal peoples, one must enter into a world were there is no division between the Divine and the physical world. There are many challenges that must be acknowledged if a researcher is to enter into such a non-dualistic world. Historically the institution of scientific research has often balked at entertaining spiritual ideologies as credible solutions to problems presented within physical realm. However, in recent years, inroads have been made and research has been conducted to explore the efficacy of applying spiritual practices to maladies associated with modem living that scientific thinking has had limited success with. Kalweit (1988) concurred, "Shamanism and similar mysterious areas of research have gained in significance because they postulate
3 new ideas about mind and spirit. They speak of things Uke vastly expanding the realm of
consciousness. They do so at a time when western thought finds itself in a general crisis
and traditional models of thinking are being questioned" (p.xvi).
Methodology
During ancient times and within most tribal cultures still in existence today,
important knowledge and skills were passed on to new initiates through the oral tradition.
Within this paradigm, teachers created transformative tasks and experiences for their
students and stories were created to house the knowledge. Quite often, tribal teachers
shared stories of their experiences, dreams and visions with their pupils to enhance the
learning process. The focus and task at hand was to "make meaning" out of lived
experience. Unlike modem academic knowledge which tends to collect information
divorced from experiential context, indigenous ways of knowing and understanding are
enmeshed in the context of living. Knowledge is not separate from experience.
Primarily, tribal understanding resides in and is accessible through story. Thus to
inquire into the knowledge that has been traditionally housed in story, it was vital to align
my investigation by utilizing a methodology that communicates in a similar language of
story. To accomplish the goal of entering into and navigating the world of shamanism,
narrative research methods were employed. Specifically, narrative inquiry was employed,
which was developed by educational researchers, D. Jean Clandinin & F. Michael
Connelly. Because indigenous knowledge is gleaned in a similar fashion to narrative
inquiry methods, an immediate sense of harmony was achieved. Indeed, narrative inquiry is based on stories that are lived and told (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000).
4 Narrative inquiry invites the researcher to enter into the desired experience of interest. The researcher enters into the world of the participants (modem, urban shamaiiic practitioners) as a co-experiencer. Wading into the pool of seeing, doing, thinking, and experiencing, the researcher enters into what Clandinin & Connelly (2000) referred to as
"in the midst." It is a place where the researcher's lived-story touches and enters into the storied lives of the participants.
Interest Background
I am involved in the addiction counseling field, practicing within a multicultural setting. In this setting, I have had the opportunity to participate in therapeutic work with people fi-om all cultures, but I primarily help Aboriginal peoples from around Alberta and other parts of Canada. My clients arrive from a variety of tribes, clans and families, each bringing cultural perspectives that were, at first, very foreign to me. As trust developed over time, many clients and Aboriginal colleagues began to share and inform me of sacred and culturally bound perspectives including spiritual rituals and ceremonies. The fraditional knowledge that was shared by these Aboriginal peoples provided a comprehensive psycho-spiritual perspective offering alternative insights into the response to the human condition of suffering.
To be sure, engaging other ways of knowing and doing has been emotionally and mentally challenging. One of the most intriguing aspects of this challenge of entering into and experiencing Aboriginal cultural has been the necessity to suspend my academic and western cultural beliefs regarding the origins of emotional, mental and physical disfress and how it might be addressed. These newly introduced perspectives appear to extend
5 past the awareness of psychological science and common therapeutic practice of psycho- emotional restoration.
My clinical practice in the addiction and substance abuse field has afforded me a plethora of opportunities to question and to find meaning in the responses to traumatic suffering. Addiction is just one of the many ways clients try to cope with the inherent suffering associated with living. Most of my work with clients begins by helping them acquire abstinence fi-om mood-altering substances. Once stabilization is achieved, work begins on the underlying causes and conditions of the addictive behaviors. The therapeutic path typically gravitates towards the client disclosure of previous traumatic events that continue to cause acute emotional and mental pain. While journeying therapeutically with traumatized clients, I often questioned whether counseling was wholly effective. This caused some internal dissonance as my philosophical stance is that counseling is effective. Indeed, my counseling practice relies upon the very idea that there are sound psychological theories and related solutions to support those who seek help. However, with deep traumatic wounding there seemed to be limited therapeutic success for my clients after applying psychological theory, techniques and processes. It often seemed that clients could only move so far in the direction of healing before falling back into the pain of the untreated traumatic wounding and ultimately reestablishing destructive addiction behaviors. Intuitively, I felt something was missing, but what?
Through a series of conversations with local Aboriginal elders and shamanic practitioners, some insight was revealed as to what might be missing. From their perspective, my success with traumatized clients was limited because I was not working with the "whole" person. As if it were common knowledge, they implied that pieces of
6 each client were missing. At the time of trairaia, a piece of their soul had fragmented and
broken-off to avert perceived destruction. This fragmenting process was seen as a natural
self-protective measure that seemed to allow individuals to go through and survive
traumatic events. However, after the traumatic event passed and the emotional intensity
diminished these pieces often failed to return on their own. Because of their failure to
return, regardless of how effective the application of psychological knowledge and
combined desire of the client to heal, it was ultimately impossible to fully mend. The
therapist can only work with the parts that are "present", not the ones that are "missing."
Therefore, complete and effective healing can only be accomplished once the missing
piece or pieces are invited back and re-integrated through the shamanic healing ceremony
of "soul retrieval".
Having experienced miraculous phenomena in Aboriginal ceremonies in the past
"and having great appreciation for these highly respected individuals in the community, I
had no reason to dispute what they shared. However, this concept of soul loss was
intellectually disturbing. I have since come to realize that my reactions were quite similar
to others who first hear of such alternative views. At first I was apprehensive. Was this
activity some kind of evil practice? While practicing healthy skepticism, I cautiously
began to move away firom my guarded intellectual state. I soon began to entertain the
merits of such an alternative view. Was not the steel girder actually made up of energetic
particles of matter whizzing around in chaotic uniformity? The steel girder appears solid
in this reality, but in another, it appears fluid. Could the same concept hold true for the
construction of the human being and the effects of trauma on it?
7 This type of curious reflection shifted my understanding of the world around me.
Indeed, it was this shift in paradigm that has inspired my personal desire to learn more
about shamanism and the healing ceremonies associated with it. Professionally, I
wondered how this new way of knowing might complement my counseling practice, not
only for Aboriginal people I serve, but for all people who suffer "soul loss" as a result of
traumatic experience.
Shamanism Introduced
The healing practice of soul retrieval finds its definition and purpose in the
context of shamanism. "Shamanism is the oldest form of personal development, pre
dating all known religions and philosophies ..." (Meadows, 2004, p.l). In fact, shamanic
healing has been practiced in virtually every culture at one time or another (Drake, 2003).
Because we in the mainstream western world have lost touch with such practices,
shamanism may seem very strange and for some very scary. Hamer (1990) explained that
shamanism is a methodology, not a religion. Meadows (2004) added there are no
doctrines or concepts to be argued, no gurus or spiritual leaders to pledge allegiance to.
Instead, shamanism was the way our ancestors expressed their spirituality and was
integrated into every aspect of their lives. It is a wonderftil complementary practice for
almost any spiritual belief system.
One way to begin to understand shamanism is to differentiate traditional tribal ideologies from more modem approaches. Traditionally, shamanic techniques and practices were employed by a tribal shaman. Graham-Scott (2002) mentioned that "in some cultures the shaman is regarded as a holy person or priest..." (p.4). These individuals were set apart or chosen to provide specific spiritual functions to help
8 preserve the well-being of individuals and the tribe. Their practices reflected the beliefs and social mores specific to the individual tribe. To attain shaman-hood, their training was rife with long-suffering and most commonly entailed near-death experiences
(Hamer, 1990). In a way, these individuals had both a taste of life and death and knew the pathway between the two. Thus, they were referred to as "walkers between the worlds"
(Mathews & Mathews, 2003).
In recent times, there has been resurgence in the interest in shamanism in the modem western world. This appears to be an intuitive call, back to our tribal roots. "No matter where we come fi-om, or what routes our journeys have taken, if we trace our ancestors back far enough, we find they were tribal people sitting around fires, singing, sharing sacred stories and dreams, and honoring the divine spirits upon whom they relied for life" (Cowan, 1996, p.13). This newer type of shamanism might be referred to as neo- shamanism or contemporary shamanism (Graham-Scott, 2002).
One such modem movement is referred to as "core shamanism" and this method will be the primary focus of this study. Hamer (1990) described this new shamanic movement as practicing "core" techniques found in all indigenous cultures, excluding any culturally bound beliefs, values, and religious influences. Core shamanism is the use of essential elements found in all shamanic cultures throughout the world (Cowan, 1996). It allows one to practice shamanic ways respectfiilly without being bound to any particular culture or tribal belief system. The best of the past is borrowed to help in the present.
Within core shamanism, individuals do not refer to themselves as shamans, for this title is reserved only for tribal shamans who have gone through the arduous joumey of life-long training. This would be akin to someone being referred to as a priest because
9 they practice prayer and attend church. Instead, they refer to themselves as "shamanic
practitioners". Graham-Scott (2002) also confirmed, "Modem practitioners using
shamanic techniques usually don't call themselves shamans, because this is considered a
very special term of honour. Normally, it is reserved for traditional shamans or modem
shamans engaged in traditional practices to help and heal patients in the community"
(p.8). Cowan (1996) reflected further on this proposition, "A shamanic practitioner need
not consider himself or herself a shaman. A practitioner is, quite simply, someone who
practices" (p.8). They practice the path of shamanism. Some people solely practice
shamanism, but many do not forsake their religious traditions from their westem culture.
In fact, shamanism does not demand this. Indeed, many shamanic practitioners from
westem society number Jesus and Mother Mary among their helping spirits.
The foundational concepts acknowledged within core shamanism are the
constructs of animism, relationship with the spirit world, shamanic journeys and the
understanding that spiritual disharmony is the root of illness. One of the tenets of shamanism is the concept of animism. Animism proposes the concept that every earthly form is permeated with Spirit (Ingerman, 1991). To westerners this concept may seem strange. Cowan (1996) clarified, "Westem rationalism, based on a penchant for emphasizing duality of experience, has widened the gap between the sacred and non- sacred in ways that would have bewildered our ancestors, who found all life experience to be a fine woven tapestry that was considered sacred" (p. 19). Within the worldview of shamanism "every earthly form is animated with its own soul or life force" (Ingerman,
1991, p.17). Indeed, the shamanic mind sees all life as inherently holy.
10 Thus, if "all" is in relation, then "all" must be reciprocal. Meadows (2003) explored the shamanic concept of spiritual reciprocity:
... recognizing the spirit of life in all things is rewarded by that spirit revealing
itself to the [shamanic practitioner]. As a result the [shamanic practitioner]
becomes aware of realities other than the ordinary, and knowledge of these gives
him a very deep and true understanding of the everyday world. The spirit of all
life opens doors for the shaman to experience these other realities, these other
perspectives, and shows how he can use these experiences for the benefit of
himself and others (p.3)
To be in relationship with other spiritual beings, one must enter a world which is separate from our daily perceived world. To enter into these nonordinary realities and to view the spiritual landscape beyond the physical, the practitioner must partake in a core shamanic experience known as the shamanic journey:
The primary technique for functioning within that view of reality is the shamanic
journey, which consists of various methods of altering the [practitioner's]
consciousness so that it can move outside ordinary space and time to explore
spiritual realms that most people only encounter only in myth and dreams.
Friendly spirit companions accompany [practitioners] on these journeys and teach
them how to make their visions of nonordinary, sacred reality a joyful but
challenging mainstay of ordinary life (Cowan, 1996, p.2).
An inherent assumption is that "the well being of any particular life form is dependent on its spiritual harmony with other forms. Imbalances or displacement in the spiritual essence of a living being can cause debilitation and disease" (Ingerman, 1991,
11 p.17). Thus, the manifestation of illness can always be viewed as spiritual disharmony.
TO flesh this concept out, the simple statement might apply: "there is either too much or
too little of something". For example, if there is too much, the cause of illness might be
because of some intrusion of another spiritual entity into one's soul essence and to initiate
healing it must be removed. On the other hand, if there is too little, there might be some
soul loss and to find balance a retrieval must be accomplished. Either way, the role of the
shamanic practitioner is to re-establish harmony via healing ceremony.
Soul Retrieval Introduced
This study focused specifically on the shamanic healing practice of soul retrieval
commonly employed for restoring lost pieces of one's soul or essence after experiencing
trauma. For definition purposes, soul retrieval commonly denotes the intentional return of
lost fragments of the soul. Within the shamanic way of thinking, the soul is the inner essence or vitality of a person (Graham-Scott, 2002). Villoldo (2005) added, "Soul is the best word we have for that essential part of ourselves that seems to have preceded our entry into this world, yet also endures beyond our life time" (p.28). Meadows (2004) stated that soul retrieval is based on the premise that the soul can suffer depletion as a result of physical, emotional and mental traumas and that these fragments of the soul can split off and become lost, leaving the person experiencing a deep sense of dis- spiritedness. Ingerman (1991) postulated that these fragmented parts of self do not reside in the mind, but in other dimensions of reality. Thus, the goal of a shamanic healer is to purposely enter these other dimensions of reality via the shamanic journey, find the lost parts of the individual's soul and bring them back home to the person suffering the soul loss.
12 Framework Overview of Thesis
Seven further chapters follow. Chapter Two establishes a methodological
framework for the research by entering in the midst of narrative inquiry space. Chapter
Three illuminates my own soul retrieval experience. Chapter Four listens to the storied
journeys of the research participants into the world of shamanic discovery and practice.
Chapter Five explores the shamanic worldview in hopes that it provides a contextual
backdrop on which to explore soul retrieval. Chapter Six reveals the concept and stories
of soul loss. Chapter Seven enters in the midst of stories that illuminate the practice of
soul retrieval. Concluding the thesis, Chapter Eight reflects on the research process and
insights gleaned. As well, a brief discussion will compare psychological and shamanic
perspectives regarding the concept of trauma and how the resulting ill effects might be
addressed. It is hoped that coming to an understanding of these two perspectives and how
they interplay, might set the stage for further research regarding how the practice of soul retrieval may be specifically applied within the construct of contemporary counseling practice.
In keeping with narrative inquiry practice, there is no specific chapter dedicated to a literature review pertaining to shamanism and soul retrieval. It is acknowledged that this creates possible tensions with more traditional qualitative research methodologies.
Clandinin & Connelly (2000) reported that narrative inquirers frequently write without literature review chapters. This omission expresses the common spirit between shamanism and narrative inquiry as both seek to understand the world around them via experience rather than just relying on previous intellect alone. Ultimately, this experiential understanding comes from interacting within the context of a world where
13 everything is connected and related and thus cannot be teased out and presented as separate entities. The developers of this form of narrative research explained that researchers "weave the literature throughout the dissertation from beginning to end in an attempt to create a seamless link between the theory and the practice embodied in the inquiry" (p.41).
14 CHAPTER TWO
In the Midst of Story: Methodological and Ethical Considerations
"Challenging the meaning of life is the
truest expression of the state of being human."
Viktor E. Frankl
Why Narrative Inquiry?
It is within a respectful and supportive environment that shamanic practitioners
may begin to share their ways of knowing, and as a result, possibly help those people
suffering from the adverse effects of frauma. Thus, it was of paramount importance that
the philosophical and practical nature of my research methodology provided this type of
environment. Ultimately, the research methodology must become a tool which offers a
safe place for participants to share their voices when normally they might be hesitant to
do so. The research methodology chosen to explore the shamanic ceremony of soul retrieval was narrative inquiry as described by Clandinin & Connelly (2000) in their text.
Narrative Inquiry: Experience and Story in Qualitative Research.
During the preliminary exploration of the topical literature, it became obvious that there was a major issue that might pose as a barrier to gaining access to soul retrieval stories. For the final research document to present with the desired richness, the participants would be required to reveal personal and possibly sacred information. This task might prove problematic as people who practice indigenous spiritual traditions have often felt some form of marginalization and persecution from the dominate culture. Many who practice shamanism have experienced a variety of forms of persecution, or at the very least, have been viewed with great suspicion by others who do not hold the same
15 cultural or spiritual views. Historically, experience has shown that the spiritual beliefs of shamanic cultures have often been considered primitive, devil-worship and pagan by the dominant culture of western society (Cowan, 1996). Hamer (1990) described what he feels might be the biggest roadblock for individuals to experience the benefits of shamanism, "... the biggest obstacles in this will be cultural and social .... we live in the very civilization that persecuted and destroyed those who possessed the ancient knowledge" (p.138). By this statement, he also confirms my concern regarding the issue of accessing rich descriptions of soul retrieval from the research participants. Indeed, the dominate society which adheres to the scientific worldview has been known to publicly dismiss, minimize and belittle the practice of individuals communicating with the unseen spiritual world as a means of receiving guidance for daily living.
The hesitation for shamanic practitioners to reveal and share their knowledge and practices is very real. Various social bodies of the dominant culture have taken a dim view of their way of seeing and interacting with the world around them. One does not have to look far to see such social and spiritual atrocities. As a local example, the
Canadian Federal Government prohibited the holding of, and participation in, the sacred
Sundance Ceremony practiced by the Alberta Cree and Blackfoot Aboriginal peoples.
This vital cultural ceremony was viewed as barbaric and savage and was outlawed.
Beginning in the 1980's, the ceremony experienced a renaissance. Now thousands of native and non-native people from all over the world participate each summer.
The primary message internalized by people who practice indigenous spiritual ways, whether they belong to an Aboriginal tribe or practice contemporary shamanism, was that their view of the world was inferior to that of the dominating culture espousing
16 rationalism. This message has reached deep into the psyche of these people and has caused much damage. The lesson learned and internalized was that only what can be observed and quantified is real. Only the visible is important and of value in this modem world. Not surprisingly, this goes contrary to shamanic views. For shamanic practitioners, that which cannot be seen is much more vast and informative than that of the seen.
In response to the experiences of spiritual oppression, many shamanic practitioners have tended to go underground with their service. This is especially true within western culture where even socially accepted spiritual wisdom tends to be forced to the sideline and academic and scientific knowledge become the prominent players. To be sure, there are many shamanic practitioners in urban settings and in local Aboriginal communities. By interacting with the unseen world, these spiritually rooted individuals are serving others by accessing their storehouse of knowledge, experience and understanding regarding the human condition of suffering.
The reason narrative inquiry is an appropriate choice for a research methodology is that it respectfiilly enters the individual's experience and hears the stories shared without pre-judgment. Admittedly, this is quite different from what shamanic practitioners have generally experienced from representatives associated with the dominant culture and academia. Perhaps, this type of respect may begin to help heal the residual wounds felt by many shamanic practitioners. It is hoped that this respect will invite them to feel confident, that even though their spiritual and social views may be different from that of the dominant culture, their lived experiences are worthy of exploration. Ultimately, narrative inquiry provides an opportunity to make connections
17 beyond the community of traditional academic research to the fundamental experiences of life (Clandinin & Connelly, 1994).
Clandinin & Connelly (2000) insisted that, "The phrase experiencing the experience is a reminder that for us narrative inquiry is aimed at understanding and making meaning of experience. This is the baseline 'why' for social science inquiry. Why use narrative inquiry? Because narrative inquiry is a way, the best way we believe, to think about experience" (p.80). To achieve this goal of making meaning from experiencing the process of soul retrieval, the methodology naturally demonstrates two characteristics that provide fertile contexts for all people to meet and dialogue in: story and relationship.
First, humans are meaning-making creatures and they create and share stories to do so. Indeed, telling stories is an inherent human endeavor. The narrative inquiry method also acknowledges that humans are storytelling organisms who, individually and socially, live in stories (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990). Indigenous people throughout the world have always shared ways of understanding through the oral tradition of storytelling. Tribal history, beliefs, myths and even spiritual practices were passed on to others in this manner. It could be stated that the genetic social code of the tribal society was safely stored within these stories that were heard and retold and passed down through the generational chain. Likewise, narrative inquiry recognizes the story as the principal currency for sharing and making meaning out of experience. Clandinin & Connelly
(2000) are clear in this regard, "We might say that if we understand the world narratively, as we do, then it makes sense to study the world narratively. For us, life - as we come to
18 it and as it comes to others - is filled with narrative fi-agments, enacted in storied moments of time and space ..." (p.17).
The second characteristic that makes narrative inquiry a suitable choice to explore soul retrieval is that the methodology recognizes that stories are always told and received in the context of relationships. And in a reciprocal manner, those very relationships who receive are knitted together by stories. If shamanic practitioners are to share their experience, there must be a relational environment created to hold and support the process. Narrative inquiry is a naturally collaborative affair involving mutual storytelling and re-storytelling (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990). Clandinin & Connelly (1988) further maintained that"... collaborative research constitutes a relationship. In everyday life, the idea of fiiendship implies sharing, an interpenetration of two or more persons' spheres of experience. Mere contact is acquaintanceship not friendship. The same may be said for collaborative research, which requires a close relationship akin to fiiendship" (p.281).
Developing an Ethical Research Partnership
To be sure, it is the responsibility of the researcher to protect the well-being of their human research participants. Recognizing this responsibility, I considered and attempted to address all of the ethical issues that could possibly be associated with the proposed study. To do so, I have made concerted efforts to fulfill my responsibilities by adhering to the standards set out for ethical research presented by St. Stephen's College
(2002, p.1) which were adapted fi-om the Tri-Council Policy Statement of the Medical
Research Council of Canada, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, (August 1998) and from the University of Alberta Policy regarding Human
Research, University Secretariat (Article 66).
19 The following are the guiding ethical principles adhered to throughout the design and conduct of the research project: a) Respect for Human Dignity b) Respect for Free and Informed Consent c) Respect for Vulnerable Persons d) Respect for Privacy and Confidentiality e) Respect for Justice and Inclusiveness f) Balancing Harms and Benefits g) Minimizing Harms h) Maximizing Benefits
These guiding ethical principles were used to orientate and map out my interactions with the participants during the full scope of the research project. The following description is an account of how these principles were acknowledged and addressed with the research participants in the initial stages of meeting, forming relationships and discussing agreements.
My journey to find my research participants started with my already formed relationships with the local Aboriginal peoples who are primarily from the Blackfoot
Confederacy. These individuals responded positively to my interest into the area of shamanism and thought my ideas for research had great merit. However, these people were following their own tribal ways of practicing spirituality. The answers I was seeking were held in confidence by medicine people and spiritual leaders within their tribes. I felt strongly about not exploring shamanistic ceremony which was culturally "bound." To me, to tease out just what I wanted, seemed selfish and thoughtless. This process, I
20 thought, smacked of the very same experience Aboriginal peoples have experienced historically with non-Aboriginal people who think nothing of just taking without the proper transfer protocols. Nevertheless, I was talking with individuals who knew, on an intimate level, about which I was seeking. This was a first positive step.
Closely thereafter, I approached a person in my graduate program who had shared previously with me that she practiced shamanism along with her Christian faith. We had several meetings and phone discussions and she seemed pleased with my desire to integrate shamanic healing ceremony within modem counseling practice. This further encouraged me about my research quest. She became my first research participant. It was not long before I was experiencing my own personal soul retrieval with this very competent urban shamanic practitioner.
Through this shamanic practitioner and research participant I learned where she received some of her training in core shamanism techniques such as shamanic journeying and soul retrieval. After learning she received her training in core shamanism fi-om The
Foundation for Shamanic Studies in California, I enthusiastically sought out similar opportunities. Contacting the foundation through the internet, 1 was soon enrolled in an
Introduction to Core Shamanism outreach workshop which was being held in Edmonton,
Alberta. There I met a plethora of people with different personal, cultural, academic and career backgrounds who had a variety of levels of understanding regarding shamanism.
Like myself, some individuals were neophytes, but others had been practicing shamanism for years. However, all the participants were there to glean some extra experience fi-om a teacher who was associated with the very foundation started by the grandfather of core shamanism, Michael Hamer.
21 It was during this workshop that I was introduced to the person who would
become my second research participant and shamanic teacher. This person resides in the
foothills of the Rocky Mountains in close proximity to the city of Calgary, Alberta where
I live. She agreed to meet with me to discuss the research project. I shared my vision for
the research project and how I thought the healing technique of soul retrieval might be
helpful in modem counseling practice to help clients resolve traumatic issues. There was
time created to share our mutual interest in the subject and she directed me as to where to
find some more insight into the process of counseling and shamanic practice. A
relationship had begun to form which would eventually become the safe holding
environment to explore the topic area.
Both research participants were given an opportunity to discuss the nature and
scope of the project with me duririg our first meeting. During this meeting, a full
disclosure of the research project was offered. The type and frequency of the required
participation was addressed and agreed to. They were notified that they would be playing
an integral part in all facets of the research procedure having the opportunity to provide
input towards research direction and final content. Reflecting that this research was a
collaborative affair, the participants were asked for any insights as to how the research
might be initiated and sustained until the final written product was accomplished. It was
agreed that the participants would have access to the completed thesis document.
During the proceedings of our first meeting, the participants were able to read and study the Informed Consent form (Appendix A).Trying to provide a safe and supportive
environment while presenting the Informed Consent, we discussed any concerns that they
had. There was a one week time period offered to them to come to a decision to
22 participate and sign the document. The participants were encouraged to take their time
and seek support if needed while coming to a decision. However, both participants felt
comfortable with the document and proposed direction of the study and decided to sign it
immediately.
Care was taken to discuss the possible harms and benefits of participating in such
a research study. We discussed possible emotional and mental responses that might
surface by sharing personal stories. As a result of the conversation, we felt the possibility
of a major arousal of emotional and/ or mental distress was minimal. However, some
discussion was initiated regarding their social support systems. The participants had
strong family relations, shamanic mentors and previous personal psychotherapeutic
experience. Should the need arise, the participants were provided with a list of possible
counseling resources.
It was clearly stated that the participants were free to withdraw from the study at
any time without any adverse consequences. In the event of participant withdrawal, no
information provided would be used in the final thesis product. Participant privacy and
anonymity were vigorously sought throughout the project. The participants' names were
changed to protect their true identity. The participants chose a pseudonym and this identifier was used throughout the research process in field notes, researcher journals, transcription of ceremonies, and within the final thesis document. All information that could identify the participants was altered such as names of family members and associations mentioned in the narratives. All research data was securely stored in a locked desk. After the project was complete all of the participants' information was deleted from the computer hard drive and any external storage devices.
23 It was decided between us, that at times, recording devices could be used to store our conversations and ceremonial experiences, acknowledging that traditionally shamanic knowledge and understanding was passed on through the oral tradition and stored in memory. It was also decided that I would do as much of the transcribing as possible, but a professional transcriber could be assigned if the task became too laborious. Indeed, a professional was periodically assigned the task of transcribing dialogue associated with conversations and ceremonies that we were participating in. The transcriber was informed of the strict privacy, anonymity, and confidentiality issues. The person assigned to complete the transcription of the dialogue was required to sign a Confidentiality
Agreement form (Appendix B). In general, it required the transcriber to read all the ethical material provided by St. Stephen's College and to agree to follow the ethical guidelines and standards outlined.
Reflecting on the Research Process
To research the healing technique of soul retrieval, I sought to hear stories and to personally participate in this ancient practice in the social context of modem western society. I was able to locate these experiences and stories by relating and being of service to two urban shamanic practitioners who had facilitated many soul retrieval ceremonies.
These practitioners were intimately experienced with the subject matter and were willing to share their lived-experiences to provide a rich and descriptive narrative. I also explored related literature describing the implementation of shamanic healing techniques in a variety of contexts. To fiirther broaden the scope of understanding, I underwent my own soul retrieval ceremony, participated in other shamanic ceremonies, and started receiving
24 training from the Foundation for Shamanic Studies which is located in Mill Valley,
California.
To initiate the research, it was vital to think and act narratively (Clandinin &
Connelly, 2000). The researcher enters into the world of the participants as a co- experiencer. One wades into and gradually becomes immersed in the pool of seeing, doing, thinking and experiencing with the participants. It is a wonderfully chaotic place where the researcher's lived-story touches and penetrates the participants' storied-lives.
Clandinin & Connelly (2000) proposed that it is here in this narrative inquiry space "we learned to see ourselves as always in the midst - located somewhere along the dimensions of time, place, the personal and the social. But we see ourselves in the midst in another sense as well; we see ourselves as in the middle of a nested set of stories - theirs and ours" (p.63).
As a narrative inquiry researcher, I purposefully entered into the field by way of relationship. Relationship is the social environment where stories are lived and told. In the process of forming relationships, I was able to negotiate a plan with the shamanic practitioners to meet their needs and time requirements, as well as the needs of the research project. Of course ethical and administrative requirements had to be initially addressed. While exploring the informed consent form, a discussion was initiated to focus on ethical considerations regarding research relationships.
Rather than relying on formal and structured interviewing techniques for data collection, I felt it important to align myself with the spirit of narrative inquiry and shamanic practice. One of the philosophical tenants of this methodology is to provide a safe and attentive forum to allow the story of the participant to be heard, acknowledged
25 and respected. To adhere to this perspective, my contacts with the participants were not
conducted through traditional and formal interview meetings; but instead, they were
social meetings to share stories through the process of conversation. Some of these
meetings occurred in coffee shops, our homes, ceremonial sites, and very often via email
and the telephone. It was in these social milieus that we all became co-researchers and
co-participants, both seeking the goal of an accurate and rich descriptive narrative.
Besides conversation, the participants provided me with a variety of alternative records
describing their shamanic experiences such as personal journals, poems, and referrals to
their favorite literature on the subject matter.
The research process and the resulting text unfolded in its own way; not mine or
theirs. It is true that life is predictably unpredictable. And so it was with my research
journey. There were many unplanned stops and starts, missed meetings, family and health
emergencies. There were times when we laughed together while sharing stories, and then,
there were times when the stories took on a very serious hue as memories hung heavy in
the air.
Throughout, we made efforts and decisions together as co-creators. The
participants were empowered to express their own voices throughout the whole process.
Many times stories were shared and reflected back, somehow slightly fuller after being
heard by the other.
Right through the research process, the participants were asked to view the written narrative as it was created to provide feedback. Because of this strategy many misunderstandings were clarified quickly before getting too far off track. This review and feedback process was especially important as the final draft of the research text was
26 constructed. It was important to accurately reflect our experiences together and the shared stories of soul retrieval. It seems a sacred responsibility to honor what happened and what was said. The uncertainty of this writing proposition is more clearly articulated as
Clandinin & Connelly (2000) posited:
"We and our participants are together in the midst. The same sense of being in the
midst characterizes what narrative inquirers do when they write their research
texts. However, being in the midst as one writes research texts may, and almost
always does, feel different from being in the midst in the field. Inevitably perhaps,
the writers are less confident of what they are doing and what they want to say
than they were when they entered the field, and most certainly, they are less
secure and at ease with themselves than they were as the field experience, if
successful, unfolded" (p.145).
For sure, this part of the thesis process weighed heavy on me. By intertwining these three strands of exploration (stories received from shamanic practitioners, related literature, and self-reflection), I believe a sfrong written narrative that has the qualities of depth and breadth was created.
27 CHAPTER THREE
In the Midst of Story: The Researcher's Path
"Those who hear not the music think the dancers mad."
Chinese Proverb
To enter into the process of telling the research story and at the same time
honoring the vulnerability and honesty asked of others, it was vital that I too, become
intimate with the process of soul retrieval. I too must enter a space of vulnerability to
empathetically meet my research participants. Clandinin & Connelly (1990) mentioned it
is impossible and unsatisfying to merely collect data from a safe clinical distance. Indeed,
I wanted to experience what my participants were experiencing. To tell the true story of
soul retrieval, I had too. The two authors reveal in their same publication, "We learned
that we, too, needed to tell our stories. Scribes we were not; storytellers and story livers
we were" (p.12).
Within narrative inquiry methods the researcher's experience is central to the
process. Indeed, Clandinin & Connelly (2000) confirmed, "one of the starting points for
narrative inquiry is the researcher's own narrative experience, the researcher's
autobiography" (p.70). It is from the place of centrality where the story must be told.
Thus, I enter "in the midst" by sharing my lived story of soul retrieval.
The Researcher's Soul Retrieval Journey
The car crawled achingly slow along the freeway. Traffic jam, red tail lights were
frantically flashing on and off in front of me. In a way, they seemed to indicate I was on the right path for there were no alternatives - there was only one way to fravel - straight ahead. Here I was, crawling along a freeway meant to allow fravelers to expediently
28 move from point A to point B, combustible engines yearning to erase the need for time and space. Yet, here I was meandering, dawdling, as if on a well-worn pathway to my destination. Accustomed to traveling at greater speeds, my mind and body were forced to submit to the pace of a time long past, a time when things moved slower, a pace more closely aligned with nature. As I listened to the news broadcast on the radio, my left foot and leg began to ache from massaging the clutch as I lurched along the freeway. Rather than succumb to my frustration, I took on a stance of curiosity and began to ponder.
I said to myself, "In my modem haste was I being prepared, perhaps by some unseen force, to slow down mentally and physically so as not to miss the significance of what was soon to occur?" It struck me hard, "how ironic that I was going to have an ancient tribal healing ceremony performed by a shamanic healer who lived in an upper- middle class neighborhood in Calgary, Alberta?"
In time, I earned my exit off the freeway and drove towards my destination. I passed by parcels of land that were neatly kept, dotted with homes one might view on the cover of home and garden magazines. My mind wandered back over my life's journey.
Mentally squinting, struggling for 20-20 vision to observe my past, I thought, "Isn't it sfrange and out of context, how did I end up here? Having a soul retrieval performed was not even close to being on my life's previous agenda."
As far back as I can remember I was always looking for my holy grail, searching for the elusive "something" that always seemed to be just out of reach. Once in a while it would cross my mind, "Why do I tend to feel incomplete as if something was missing?"
The answer to the riddle seemed just out of grasp. I thought back to an earlier time in my
29 life, a moment in time, when this idea of "something missing" presented quite clearly. I reflected on an earlier entry in my journal. I was twenty-two:
When at times consumed within, frantically searching for the rhyme and reason
for being - without conclusion, my mind falls exhausted, my eyes staring at my
life, a puzzle on the floor. An ever changing multitude of beliefs and thoughts that
will one day harmonically fit together to form my destiny. Always, experience has
proven that the completion of my puzzle is impossible, for always the last
remaining piece is lost to the unknown. Hungry for answers, my mind attempts in
vain to understand the missing piece. Only finding questions and paradox, I
humbly accept the possibility that some things are not for me to know in this
fleeting time in my life in the realm of matter (Flack, 1984).
Internally I reflected, "even though I might not have possessed an accurate vocabulary, had I not been trying to describe what shamanism refers to as soul loss?"
Most of my life has involved seeking ways of filling this void. In the past, I have tried means that weren't so healthy and positive. Addictive behaviors have scarred and etched their presence on me. Childish demands on others have torn relationships in the past and left me bleeding in isolation. My own self-inflicted mental and emotional torture has tempted me to step over the edge of suicidal abyss. Seeking personal healing, I have stepped back from the edge to initiate positive steps in an attempt to complete myself- to make myself whole. Yet with all that I have done: overcome substance abuse, sought altruistic personal growth, communed with the Divine through a variety of religious and spiritual paths, sought insight through psychotherapy, surrounded myself with healthy
30 relationships, and nurtured professional and academic growth, I am still left incomplete,
"my life a puzzle on the floor, the last remaining piece is lost to the unknown."
A little over two years ago, the terminology related to shamanism and soul retrieval were not even residing in my awareness. And when the concept of soul retrieval first entered my consciousness, I responded in disbelief, "this is too far out, perhaps the person telling me about this stuff is psychotic or at the very least, lying!" However, in an intuitive manner, it did seem intriguing, both personally and professionally.
Often, the repeated lesson offered to me on my life journey is that the universe is unfolding alternative paths for me, often ones that oppose my best laid plans. Perhaps, regarding soul retrieval, it was to be no different. Looking back over the last few months, people fi-om many facets of my life began speaking to me about shamanism and healing ceremonies. These discussions were unplanned and the topic area unsolicited. I have learned that when information is continually being presented to me it is an opportunity to pause and ask "is this odd or is it God ... is God trying to get my attention?" hi this case it took awhile for me to ask, but quickly thereafter, I began to seek information so that I might better understand this alternative spiritual path that was continually knocking at the door of my consciousness, waiting for an invitation to enter. I began to open my mind to the concept of soul retrieval, not just on an academic level, but also on a personal level. I desired to fully experience this phenomenon for myself
Shifting my awareness back to the present, I realized that instead of walking up a well worn dirt path to visit a traditional tribal shaman, I felt the hard concrete of the city boulevard push back at my feet. I was making my way towards the well-kept home of my first research participant and contemporary shamanic practitioner. She had agreed to
31 perform my first soul retrieval ceremony. When I reached the front door, I hesitantly
pressed the illuminated door bell and thought to myself, "I hope I'm not making a
mistake?" Before the door chime finished singing out its welcome she was at the door,
"come on in, Bryan!" Without knowing at the time, my understanding of the world
around me would be invited to shift at this very moment.
She directed me to sit, and as I did, I sank deeply into a well constructed couch. I
shared with her my unrest regarding the persistence in which shamanism was calling me.
"Was I going crazy? Was this a "right path" to go down?"
As I looked around, it struck me that her home felt peaceful and well-lived in. As
I was looking intently at her family photos on the coffee table, she began to tell me her
story and how she had come to know shamanism and the healing work associated with it.
As with most people, her journey into shamanism was not without its struggles. As she
began to tell her story, I sensed it was revealed to ensure me that others besides me
receive the calling to do healing work and that I was not a strange anomaly. Soon I was to
learn that her story was her business card, letting people know who were seeking her
services as a shaman that she had gone through much training and hard struggle to earn
her abilities. The following is her story she shared with me.
She began, "My name is Meta-Compassa and I am old. I presently serve God as a shamanic practitioner and as a grief counselor at a local hospital. I have degrees in nursing and I am near completing graduate studies in pastoral counseling psychology."
"I was bom into a family with nine other siblings, four are still living. My mother was bom and raised in Belfast, Ireland. My father was Scottish Canadian. I was raised in
32 Chatham, Ontario and moved with my husband to Calgary, Alberta in 1981. For years I
have been heavily involved in the United Church of Canada with my family."
"I am married to Paul and we have three adult children. Since my earliest recollection, I have always been a perceptive person about people and presenting life situations. I have had the ability to identify other people's emotions with good accuracy.
This has been a helpful gift throughout my life and in mpy ways I simply took it for granted. It was just another, natural way of knowing information. In my first career as a registered nurse, this ability became a valuable inner alert and something I depended on when caring for my patients. During those years I was a head nurse in an Intensive
Coronary Care Unit. People were often in a critical state and careful monitoring of their condition was mandatory. Often, my inner alert system would warn me of impending serious changes in the patient's condition even before it was apparent through traditional nursing methods of assessment."
"I left nursing to raise my family. Two of my children experienced life threatening illnesses. One child was bom prematurely and his immune system was not developed. He required constant care and protection from his environment for four years until his own immune system activated and he could ward off infections and other illnesses. In the same period of time my middle daughter suffered a head injury and fractured skull from a bicycle accident. Her injuries and weakened condition required specialized care and careful monitoring for several years. Needless to say, this was a stressful demanding time in our family life."
"Our children had excellent medical attention, but it seemed they were not progressing. I began to realize that I had to heal them from the inside out. At this same
33 time I read a book called Clan of the Cave Bear, a classic book written by Jean M. Auel.
It tells the story of a primitive clan, their methods of survival and their strong connection to nature. In particular it talked about one woman Ayla, who was trained as a medicine woman using plants and herbs and things of nature. This booked awakened something in me. I felt a profound stirring and a remembering of knowledge held deep in my DNA history. I knew these methods would heal my children. This started my interest in natural healing methods. Eventually, a combination of traditional medicine and natural healing did heal my children."
I was also introduced to Reiki, a form of natural healing. Using this energy balancing technique on my family and others was an incredible experience. Reiki promoted reduction or clearing of symptoms and deep relaxation. As I developed my skill in this healing art, I began to offer it to the general public. Once again, I noted my ability to clearly identify my client's emotional state or other issues related to their current situation when I was treating them. During these Reiki sessions, I began to have powerful out of body experiences where I was able to see myself floating in the galaxy or moving amongst the stars (accompanied with the client). Some form of healing would happen for the client during this experience. They were usually aware that something special had happened and would report improvement in their situation."
"I had no frame of reference for these situations and I was left feeling confused and unsettled. I felt reluctant to discuss these experiences with anyone for fear they would think I was strange. I borrowed books from the library to investigate my experience, but I could not find any answers. In the midst of all my searching, I attended an information session on the topic of Shamanism. I was curious about the topic but I had
34 never heard of this. To my relief and concern, I learned from the speaker that I was
having what was called spontaneous shamanic experiences. She recommended I take
training as soon as possible to assist me. This began several years of training and
practicing shamanic techniques with clients and participating in a drumming group."
"I completed Basic Training of core shamanism from The Foundation of
Shamanic Studies and the Extraction Workshop and Retrieval of Life Symbol. I also
completed two courses on Soul Retrieval. One was a weekend course in Bozeman,
Montana in 1992 and the other one was a week long course on the Morley Reserve,
Alberta in 1994. Both were taught by Sandra Ingerman, a faculty member at The
Foundation for Shamanic Studies, who rediscovered this technique and has written two
books on the subject. I have completed two courses with Tom Cowan on Celtic
Shamanism and the Spirits of Nature, and a weekend fraining with Serge Kahlili King on
Hawaiian Huna. All of the workshop material was enhanced by belonging to a
drumming group that met regularly over an eight year period to improve our journeying
skills and to offer healing to other individuals in need."
"When I took the Soul Retrieval workshop in Montana each of us had the
opportunity to have a soul retrieval done on our behalf. When my soul part was blown
in, I received a message that the reason I was infroduced to shamanism was to do soul
retrievals for other people. Individuals in Calgary were waiting for me to return and do this work for them. Within a month of the training, I had been given a beautiful ceremonial blanket, a drum and a drum stick, a Paua shell, native tobacco and sweet grass, sage and a rattle. Everything I needed to do the soul retrieval work! I have not advertised this work, but people continue to call me and they come for this shamanic
35 intervention. I have also had referrals from psychologists to assist them with their more difficult clients. The sessions have been consistently successful and meaningful to the clients."
"Somewhere in all of this adventure into shamanism, something powerful and life altering happened to me. I went through a psychological experience where I briefly lost touch with reality and was hospitalized. I am convinced that I underwent a shamanic initiation. I cannot explain how I know this, but I believe that I died and came back to life in a new way. Of course there is no evidence of this ever happening, but deep inside of me, I know this happened. I have never been the same since that time."
"In Aboriginal Siberia, a death/rebirth experience was often a major source of knowIedge"(Hamer, 1990, p.xviii). The structure of my entire being was shattered and a new, better way of being and seeing the world emerged over time. I knew shamanism would always be part of my life in some form. Despite the frightening experience, I felt protected throughout. I learned the meaning of the word surrender. Petty jealousies and fears were gone and replaced by confidence and inner peace. The compassion I have always felt for others was magnified to a greater degree. The spirit name I was given was
'Meta-Compassa'. My faith in a greater spiritual power was solidified and is unshakeable. I understood that for the rest of my life I would always be in a role where I would be helping others journey through suffering. I have been called to this work. It came and got me in a most dramatic way. I will always be a shamanic practitioner."
"Commitment to this path has not been easy on the family front. Observing his wife joining drumming groups and doing shamanic work (his franslation... satanic, scary, weird, not wifely, not normal) was very difficult for my husband. He was afraid for me
36 and for the influence this would have on our family. His concerns were understandable.
However, 1 persisted because the calling would not leave me alone. Following my hospital stay, he was certain that I would drop all interest in shamanism. To the contrary, it felt stronger than ever and 1 told him that he must accept that I have to do this. It will never go away. Although Paul does not understand it or get it, he has accepted this as part of our life together. His tensions and fears have dissipated."
After she finished sharing her story, I felt a kinship between us. I respected her for her honesty. It is easy to present only the positives and to omit the struggles. To me she was a wounded healer. I was now willing to journey with her into the realm of soul retrieval.
Together we prepared a sacred space by offering up prayer to God and inviting helping spirits to be present for the soul retrieval. She initiated the course of action by making known to all, a clear intention, outlining the exact purpose for the ceremony. As pungent smoke emanated from a smudge stick made up of a bouquet of sacred plants, it curled around my body and rose up to the heavens.
"The smoke will take our prayers and intentions with it to the creator," she quietly whispered.
Now, as I comfortably lay on my back she began to beat a hand drum in a quick rhythmic cadence. She had told me previously that this drum beat would help her to enter into an altered state of consciousness so that she could journey to a nonordinary reality where she would meet up with caring helpers who could guide her to the missing parts of my soul. While working with these helping spirits, she would bring the soul fragments back to me in the present reality in which the ceremony was being facilitated. After a
37 time, she began to speak about what she was experiencing: sensing, seeing, feeling and doing. The following is the narrative story of my soul retrieval ceremony done on my behalf.
The first missing piece of my soul she came across was one that was associated with my life time just after conception. She began, "It was a soul piece that was happy, happy and peaceful in the spirit realm connected to the life source. Then came the time in which you were released into your mother's womb and you did not want to leave the source. There was a resulting conflict, a part of you did not want to enter into this world and it stayed behind wanting to remain with the Divine. There is a clinginess associated
... there is a fear not allowing you to move forward. There is a stretching, a part of you stayed were you were. So there is a part of you that never felt connected right firom the beginning; thus, you are always yearning for what was."
She paused and then mentioned, "I'm going to have a talk with this soul part."
The silence seemed an eternity and she then revealed, "the part has a string-like substance stretched and still connected to the source, there was a belief that if you were to let go you would lose your connection to God. But you are wrong, because that string connection is what feeds us humans spiritually while we are on earth. This fear has held you back Irom experiencing more from life, not just your spiritual life but your everyday relations."
"The part wants you to agree to release it from the God-source." She spoke, as if taking direction from someone else, "this won't mean you will be disconnected, but you will be more complete and live more folly in the physical realm and yet still feel
38 supported and loved. Bryan are you willing to release this piece and accept it back to your being?"
"Yes," I replied.
Things became quiet once again as she seemed to be navigating in some other place that I was not aware of.
"Bryan," she said, breaking the stillness, "the second soul part is associated with an experience between you and your father when you were a toddler."
The tone of her voice at the end of her last statement seemed to beg for my reply.
"Yes," I choked out.
"There was definitely a complex range of emotions and mixed feelings happening here. There you were as this loving baby, receiving so much love from your mother, this environment of complete safety, and conversely, there was this barrier between you and your father."
She paused, and then continued matter of factly, "Your father saw you as a threat to his sense of security in his life as he knew it. There was a part of him that was curious about you, that wanted to love you, but was jealous and with-holding at the same time.
There was always this 'push me-pull me' kind of situation between the two of you. From this, you experienced much rejection. In order to gain love fi-om your father you would actually give a piece of yourself to him."
Her speaking cadence shifted, "this is how you can experience soul loss, too. You projected a part of you to him, and releasing it to him, because you were a very loving child. Although he was not conscious of this, he would hold it briefly and then just let it go. So for you the connection never felt complete and satisfactory."
39 "I see little parts of you all around him," she added, "they never went far away from him as they remained in his energy field. He could always feel your love, but because of his own life circumstance, he could never give you the kind of love you needed from him."
She went silent for awhile and then continued, "I still see a lot of these circles of light, some big, some small, all around him. There are many around his arms and this gives the impression that he was not able to hold you much, that was your mother's job!
He knew about love, but experientially, he was restricted by his own sense of being a father. He was a little boy himself."
She seemed to go away for a time, not physically, but her presence seemed to wander and then she shared, "My power animal is gently going through your father's energy gathering up these parts that you gave away to him, those small parts are coming together and forming an image of yourself as a baby, of about eighteen months, where there was an element of sadness already concerning your father. This image is being taken by angelic presence and all the sadness is being washed away. This baby needs a power animal to help it to heal and integrate, the animal spirit that has come to help you is the spirit of the elephant, a great and powerful animal yet loving and nurturing. It has skin that will protect it from any hurts from the external world. It will allow you to interact fully and completely in sensitive ways."
She went silent once again and then reported, "The elephant is being blown into the baby in the spiritual realm first, the baby is lively and animated. It is now volunteering to come back and be integrated."
40 Nearing the end of the ceremony, she gently offered, "I'm returning with the soul
parts that agreed to return with me."
She then cupped her hands and blew them into the top of my head with her
breath. Taking a ceremonial rattle made from a turtle shell, she shook it rhythmically
around my body to seal in the re-integrated soul parts. We prayed in thanks.
During the time of the ceremony I did not sense that anything was happening to
me; however, I did receive intuitive thoughts from some deeper place within that seemed
to recognize the scenarios that she was mentioning during the ceremony. I believe I had
somehow experienced them, yet they were out of the range of my conscious memory. At
the very least, they made sense in the context of the reality of my lived experience.
One incident that occurred that let me know that, indeed, something had been
altered was when 1 tried to get up from the laying position and onto my feet. When I tried
to do this, I could not move. I could feel my body, but I could not lift my torso to begin
sitting up; my body seemed to weigh a ton. This phenomenon did not alarm me as
something internally let me knew that it was all okay. Within ten minutes I was able to
begin to move and with great effort was able to physically stand. After this had occurred,
I inquired of Meta-Compassa, "what do you think happened there?"
Without pause, she stated, "soul parts have weight and sometimes it takes a bit of
time for your being to readjust."
With what seemed so foreign to me, instead seemed commonplace and familiar to the shamanic practitioner. Thus, it is the same with my initial journey into the world of
ancient wisdom of indigenous peoples. To be sure, the common knowledge of the master
is not so common to the initiate.
41 Next, we participated in what she called the "Welcome Home" ceremony. We sat and shared some Suit and bread. She explained, "the food ceremony is the completion of the soul retrieval. It is an honoring and a thanking of the soul parts' return."
After this ceremony, she presented me with a small paper package. She said it was a thank offering. Within the package was tobacco and commeal.
She taught, "This offering recognizes the participation of the Universe in the healing. It promotes a settling effect following the soul retrieval. This requires the participant to acknowledge and give thanks for the healing."
I later took this small package, said a prayer of thanks and buried it in the ground, giving it back to mother earth, back to where it originated.
42 CHAPTER FOUR
In the Midst of Story: Path of the Urban Shamanic Practitioner
"We should not pretend to understand the world only by the intellect.
The judgment of the intellect is only part of the truth."
Carl Jung
The methodology of narrative inquiry insists that there be a mutual construction of relationship between both participants and researcher which permits equal empowerment to share voice. Participants are given the time and space to tell their stories so that they may gain a sense of authority and legitimacy so long experienced only by the researcher and the traditional role of expert (Clandinin & Connelly, 1990). To provide an arena for the research participants to legitimize and to own their story, the following narrative is a snapshot exposing one of the participant's personal journeys into the world of shamanism.
As I pulled into the parking lot with great purpose, I reminded myself of why I am at this particular location. I was there to meet one of my research participants, an urban shamanic practitioner. As I turned my car left, it came to a rest directly in front of her office. Like the needle on a compass pointing true north, with surety my car pointed directly to where I had to go. Even the yellow parking lines seemed to guide me purposefully in her direction. The shamanic practitioner's office space was nestled within a small trendy strip mall. The mall is in one of those trendy locations where urbanites tend to gravitate to experience small coffee shops and eateries.
I swung open the heavy retail-like glass door and as I did I was greeted by the sweet aroma of burning incense and the sound of Celtic music. The atmosphere that
43 greeted me was so thick that it seemed as if the wisps of smoke hung like silk off the
melodic movements of a dancer. As I entered, I immediately made visual contact with the
receptionist at the front counter. She inquired if I have an appointment. I replied that I did
and she expediently checked off my name in an appointment book. Navigating a very
technologically advanced looking phone, she announced to the person on the other end
that her 10:00 o'clock appointment was there.
1 was struck by the juxtaposition of the decor and the surroundings. On one hand,
the office had the feel of a dental or medical office yet it was filled with unusual scents
and sights which are not commonly found in such an office. A variety of pictures hung on
the wall which contained images of religious and spiritual paths from around the world.
Tribal-like musical instruments such as drums and rattles lay about the tables begging to
be held and played. Instead of the bookshelves storing Cosmopolitan or People
magazines, books and magazines which shared information on spirituality, natural foods
and healing modalities reside instead. It quickly became clear that this was a professional
office space shared by a group of helping professionals who offered services in a variety
of alternative healing methods.
The Urban Shamanic Practitioner's Story
Previously, I had met my research participant in a shamanic workshop as a
co-participant, and then, we met semi-formally to discuss the research project. But now,
I was meeting her in her space of familiarity to hear her story of initiation into the world of shamanism and infroduction to soul retrieval.
Taking a sip of tea, she dampened her lips as if to lubricate them in preparation of the words that were to come. She took a deep breath and began, "My name is Raven-
44 Hope and welcome to my story. You could identify me by a variety of descriptors. I am a middle-aged woman, grandmother, mother, sister, and daughter. You could also identify me by my geographical homeland. I was bom in central Alberta and raised in a small cluster of small farming communities. You could even try to define me by what I have done for a living. Most of my early life I was a mother and home-maker. Between feeding my children and mending clothes, I ensured the livestock on the farm was cared for. Later in life, I went back to school and earned a degree in Sociology. Also, you could further understand me by my faith tradition. Throughout my life I have attended the
United Church of Canada within a rural Alberta setting. It was in this setting that I was baptized, went to Sunday school, learned to sing the old hymns, was married and found fellowship with others."
She took another long sip of tea, pointed at a small speaker where the soft background music was emanating from and then continued, "Music was important and had a special place in my family while growing up. I remember large gatherings in alternating neighborhood homes each weekend to celebrate life through song and dance.
All types of music were played and sung from church classics to traditional folk music from Scotland and Ireland."
"But the most relevant piece of information that I could give you that would provide insight into this story-teller is my name I have chosen, Raven-Hope. For my name holds the key to my ancestral history and provides a foreshadowing of my spiritual journey."
Raven-Hope and I looked through some old yellowing photographs of her and her family that were stored within a shoe box. In the midst of her act of longingly touching
45 them and me trying to create a genealogical picture in my mind, she blurted out, "I'm a mix, a half-bread as they used to say."
Some time passed. She was gathering her thoughts in the same manner in which she scanned her family photographs. Once prepared, she started once again, "Now in the present day where political correctness is important, I am a Metis woman. I am of both
Cree and Scottish descent. My father was bom in Canada, the first son to Scottish/ Irish immigrants seeking a better life than the one they left behind. If I were to describe him the way he liked to be described, I would say he was a hard worker and earned his way.
However, if it were up to me, then I would describe him as a master storyteller. My mother was a full-blood Cree woman. I remember her as kind and quiet. My mother was a good woman, but she fought her own internal battles with depression as she tried to out run the memories of her residential school experience. She used to share that some of the memories were good and some were really bad - just like the way life is. And that was it.
Not much else was said, but she always seemed to be looking into the distance as if she was waiting on someone or something's return."
Through her story I learned that as a small girl growing up on the Alberta landscape, Raven-Hope felt related to the ever-changing seasons. No matter what the season, Raven-Hope was always enthralled by the beauty of it all. She always had a sense that she was connected to this land and she desired to move with it. The beauty of what she saw around her always alerted her to what she intuitively knew within. For it was within that Raven-Hope knew God existed and everything was alive with his spirit. To her it seemed that the other world and the spirits that resided there were playfully just out of reach. One could not see them, but never the less, they were still there.
46 As a child, Raven-Hope collected wild flowers in the meadows and frogs from the stagnant ponds in the pastures. The world of God was her chosen classroom. However, when she sat in her childhood schoolhouse classroom, she longingly gazed out the windows all the while tapping the tip of her pencil on the desk as if keeping cadence with the slow moving time. She was waiting on the bell which would ring and give her permission to re-enter God's natural grace. School was as she put it "okay", but it provided a reminder of something she could not escape. She shared, "I was teased at school. They teased me because I was part Indian. This hurt me because I did not understand how my classmates and friends could do this. However, this teasing from some of the children was short-lived, usually stopping when they found someone else to focus their attention on."
I learned most times Raven-Hope was a happy girl, but there were times when things did not feel right. "I felt foreign in my own community and sadly sometimes in my own skin. Something about being a half breed separated me from others and myself.
Somehow I was not complete or somehow one part of me did not recognize the other."
Of course Raven-Hope began to understand this feeling of separation more as she grew up and became a wife, mother and eventually a grandmother. She primarily lived in the white society where she grew up. However, there were times when she quietly and somewhat secretly explored her Aboriginal heritage.
"It was if this Indian stuff was taboo and it energized my character frait of curiosity," she revealed, "it was as if I were a young girl secretly peering into the Hudson
Bay store window, spying a doll I wanted but knew I couldn't have. There was always
47 the sense that I was trying to walk in two worlds, native and non-native; never fully feeling comfortable in either."
During her sharing, she mentioned she usually found herself in default mode which was to live within white society. In this society, Raven-Hope felt she had to view her Aboriginal heritage as being less than honorable and somewhat inferior. Throughout her life she had always found comfort in the faith she had found in the local church. ^
Raven-Hope emphasized, "I knew Jesus loved me and my little family and we were all safe in his arms. Even though there were times of suffering, such as the eventual loss of my parents and some family members, the church community was always there to provide love and support."
For a time, Raven-Hope and I flipped through a book that lay on a table near where we were sitting. It was a book about Aboriginal spirituality and its expression through cultural art. She explained how some things have changed from when she was a little girl. Over time, the social atmosphere regarding Aboriginal culture both in the church and greater society began to shift. There was a growing interest in the visual and performing arts connected with her Aboriginal culture. Even more interesting to her was this societal attraction towards native spirituality. Wanting to experience this pull as well, she only felt internal dissonance "I felt emotionally and mentally awkward as I began to entertain my internal spiritual yearnings towards this unfamiliar culture that was part of me. I was always left with that old familiar feeling like I was that little girl looking into the Hudson Bay department store window longing for something I shouldn't be longing for."
48 Then in 1998, Raven-Hope's whole world shifted on its axis. Specifically, it moved on Tuesday, October 27, 1998. It was this day that the United Church of Canada apologized for its part in the residential schools and the trauma that these institutions caused individuals and Aboriginal communities. Raven-Hope stated she always keeps a copy of the apology in her purse as if it provided the magical ability to "pinch her skin" to ensure what she felt was real. r She reached into her purse and pulled out a deeply creased piece of letterhead. It appeared as if when she touched it, it unfolded by its own volition. Indeed, she had read what was written on it many times. As she shared what was on the paper, it was difficult to ascertain what she was truly reading or what was committed to her memory. In a slow and purposefully voice she shared its content:
As Moderator of The United Church of Canada, I wish to speak the words that
many people have wanted to hear for a very long time. On behalf of The United
Church of Canada, I apologize for the pain and suffering that our church's
involvement in the Indian Residential School system has caused. We are aware
of some of the damage that this cruel and ill-conceived system of assimilation
has perpetrated on Canada's First Nations peoples. For this we are truly and
most humbly sorry. To those individuals who were physically, sexually, and
mentally abused as students of the Indian Residential Schools in which The
United Church of Canada was involved, I offer you our most sincere apology.
You did nothing wrong. You were and are the victims of evil acts that cannot
under any circumstances be justified or excused. We know that many within
our church will still not understand why each of us must bear the scar, the
49 blame for this horrendous period in Canadian history. But the truth is, we are
the bearers of many blessings from our ancestors, and therefore, we must also
bear their burdens. Our burdens include dishonouring the depths of the
struggles of First Nations peoples and the richness of your gifts. We seek God's
forgiveness and healing grace as we take steps toward building respectftil,
compassionate, and loving relationships with First Nations peoples. We are in
the midst of a long and painful journey as we reflect on the cries that we did not
or would not hear, and how we have behaved as a church. As we travel this
difficult road of repentance, reconciliation, and healing, we commit ourselves
to work toward ensuring that we will never again use our power as a church to
hurt others with attitudes of racial and spiritual superiority. We pray that you
will hear the sincerity of our words today and that you will witness the living
out of our apology in our actions in the future.
After finishing, Raven-Hope sat silent for a time. She reached for a tissue in preparation to cry, but she did not let one teardrop fall. She spoke, "I am proud of my church. They are strong enough in their faith in the Creator to admit there are other paths to God and not one is any better than the other. All paths must be honored for the
Divine speaks to and hears all of his children in a variety of ways. By having the courage to admit wrong doing and making attempts at healing, they are practicing what they preach - love and tolerance."
Raven-Hope revealed that it was upon the first reading of this official church message that it touched a sacred place inside of her. Little did she know, it would ignite a passion in her to heal and ultimately initiate her on a spiritual journey that she could have never imagined. She insisted, "This apology from the church that I had
known all my life helped me to recognize a part of myself that I had often tried to
ignore, my native self. It encouraged me to look deeper within myself to find out who I
was. Finally, here was a message that gave me permission to honor my heritage. I soon
realized that the conflict I felt inside myself for all of my life was not mine. It was a
conflict between two cultures, two views of the world and two views of God." I ^
Although Raven-Hope did not experience the residential school system herself,
she lived them through my mother's mental and emotional absence. Collaterally, she
too suffered from the traumatic effects of assimilation and denial of cultural expression
perpetrated by the government and church. "In my healing journey, I soon realized that
both the perpetrator and victim lived within me. The internal wounding I felt mirrored
the external wounding to a whole culture. Then came the moment of great anxiety, it
was now time to reconcile the two worlds that I came from. The journey of giving and
accepting forgiveness that I was to experience would be arduous and overwhelming."
Within months of hearing this message of apology from her church, she became deathly ill for no apparent reason. She declared, "Intense pain was my constant
companion. My entire body of nerves pulsated unconfrollably as if I were a bare wire, electricity shooting out uncontrollably. My joints ached and I seemed to age overnight."
Racked in pain, her personal and professional life suffered. Eventually she became bedridden and was forced to take a leave of absence from her position at the social agency where she worked. What made this situation more painful was that all
51 attempts at diagnosis were unsuccessful. The medical staff was perplexed and she was offered a variety of possible causes. None seemed plausible for none fully fit all the symptoms she was displaying. Similar to the variety of attempts to diagnosis, doctors offered her a plethora of medications but none of them fully eradicated the pain.
Raven-Hope was getting incrementally sick as time went on. As the physical intrusion of pain became unbearable, the accompanying mental and emotional strain felt even worse. "Depression became my constant companion and I am sorry to admit, there were times I wished for my own death," she emotionally declared, "I cried out. Creator please take me!" After almost a year of living with constant throbbing pain and unsatisfactory diagnosis from the medical field, her resistance to seek alternative paths of treatment weakened.
"Through a series of social contacts and resulting conversations, I found myself under the care of a medicine man who was a native healer from a Sioux tribe down in the southern states." Raven-Hope explained that this man and his wife traveled to wherever they were called to serve and help individuals heal through the petition of the
Creator and helping spirits. Their whole life focused on this purpose and in the Lidian- way they traveled on faith and monetary gifts provided to them by those they helped.
They said it was always just enough to get to the next person to help.
And heal her they did. Within a couple of weeks Raven-Hope's pain subsided.
Through a number of healing ceremonies, helping spirits were contacted and information was provided as to how the medicine man could help her. Raven-Hope provided her first spiritual teaching to me as she witnessed, "It was shared with me that in all indigenous tribal ways of understanding, both the cause and the cure are always found on the spiritual plane. The medicine man explained to me that the western
medical ways failed was because it looked at the problem only through the physical
realm of what can be observed. There is more to see in the unseen than there is in the
seen."
Raven-Hope shared that she and the medicine man talked much, however one
comment in their conversation left a lasting impression and altered her life's path. She
poignantly shared with me, "As he was speaking, I mentioned that deep down inside
there seemed to be a part of me that recognized what he was talking about even though
I'd never heard it before. He then shared that all peoples around the world had this
spiritual knowledge at one time but it has been forgotten by most. Only few tribal
peoples remain holders of this sacred knowledge, waiting for the time again when it
will be right to reveal it again. He pointed to my red hair, and said that even your
people (referring to my Scottish/ Irish heritage) had this knowledge once upon a time."
Through his stories, Raven-Hope learned that her European ancestors had once
lived in tribes made up of many families and clans just as her Aboriginal ancestors had.
Indeed, her European ancestors had spiritual healers and medicine people; and most
importantly, they too had the ability to directly communicate with the natural and
spiritual worlds. It was at this point Raven-Hope's internal compass was re-orientated;
she would seek out spiritual ways of understanding through her tribal heritage as a
European descendant all the while being informed by her Aboriginal culture.
Raven-Hope hypothesized, "Looking back, it was by making peace with my
Aboriginal ancestry and embracing its related animistic worldview that allowed me to
53 honor and hear the similar views that my Scottish/ Irish culture once held. Indeed, it seems my Aboriginal side allowed me to be open to hearing and learning about my other ancestral heritage which also adhered to shamanic views and practices. As I delved deeper into acquiring shamanic knowledge, having both cultures express themselves within me has been an immense blessing. Underpinning this shamanic venture has been my unshakable faith in my savior Jesus Christ and his eternal love and support. It is through his example of love and his desire to heal through the power of the Great Mystery that has fired my desire to help in assisting in the healing others through shamanic ceremony found in both my combined cultural backgrounds."
Although Raven-Hope first entered into an understanding of shamanic practice through Aboriginal heritage and culture, she has made a conscious decision not to use their spiritual and healing practices. She supported this decision by declaring,
"Because I do not have membership to a particular tribe, I feel it is less than honorable to take what is not mine. Practices that are associated with particular tribes are deeply interwoven within the social fabric and cannot be neatly appropriated without causing severe social and spiritual damage. I only feel comfortable participating in these culturally bound ceremonies as a guest. I do not have the transfer rights to use them on my own."
Instead, she now leans towards learning about her Celtic heritage and its related shamanic ways. Raven-Hope alluded to the fact that the knowledge in this area is incomplete. Little is known about Celtic shamanism as these practices are just beginning to be remembered as compared to the familiarity Aboriginal peoples have of their spiritual practices. Because of this incomplete knowledge, she bases her shamanic
54 practice and soul retrieval activities on the teachings of Core Shamanism. This type of shamanism is a modem model that does not intrude upon any tribal culture for its intimate spiritual/ religious understandings, but instead, uses only common shamanic practices found in all tribal-based cultures.
Raven-Hope illuminated, "I have been providing shamanic healing ceremonies to the public for almost eight years now. Through a shamanic journeying experience, it was revealed to me that I was to provide soul retrievals in the service to others. My primary focus is to provide soul retrievals to help facilitate the healing process for those suffering from soul loss."
Although there is not a professional association for shamanic healers per se,
Raven-Hope's learning in a collegial setting is never complete. She explained that she finds support and guidance within small communities of like-minded people. "I belong to a shamanic drumming circle, and as well, a group of alternative healers that donate time and expertise to healing less fortunate individuals in the community. I continue to seek mentorship from shamanic practitioners with more experience and I do not hesitate to seek insight from local Aboriginal elders. Li a more institutional way, I continue to take shamanic healing training from the Foundation for Shamanic Studies and other training facilities around the world. In particular, I have a special interest in shamanism within the
Celtic tradition. But most importantly, I rely on the teachings and direction of my God, spirit helpers and power animals."
At that moment my attentive listening was interrupted. The inter-office phone system impolitely pushed its way into our discussion and disconnected it. Raven-Hope put down the receiver and stated that her next appointment was here. This next client was
55 coming to her for a soul retrieval and some shamanic counseling. I was eager to witness her performing her craft and debriefing with her; however, consent had not been previously organized. I thanked her for her time and her willingness to share, in such intimate detail, her path into shamanism and her calling to perform soul retrievals. We shook hands and within seconds, I was walking through the waiting area towards the exit.
I still had so rtiany questions. For example, what was she talking about when she mentioned spirit helpers and power animals?
As my vehicle took my body away from my meeting with Raven-Hope, my mind remained engaged with the relational exchange that had just occurred. I began to reflect. I could not help but to reflect on my previous meeting with another shamanic practitioner.
Like Meta-Compassa, the shamanic practitioner who provided me with my first soul retrieval experience, it was important for this research participant to share her journey into shamanism and the practice of soul retrieval.
Both of these shamanic practitioners had very different life experiences and cultural backgrounds but there were essential similarities that quickly surfaced. Both shared fond experiences of being involved with the United Church of Canada and finding great comfort and support there. Within the church community there was generally an acceptance of their interest in shamanism and support for their struggle to make meaning of this path. One woman experienced a type of seamless inclusion of belonging to the congregation's multidisciplinary healing team.
Reflecting further, both participants were educated women. One had an undergraduate degree while the other was near completing graduate studies at a master's level. To be sure, the most striking and interesting similarity was that neither women set
56 out purposefully to enter the spirit world of shamanism, instead, it found them. In similar fashion to individuals originating from traditional tribal communities, these women were set apart and called to awareness through a type of "dark night of the soul" process.
Indeed, for both women, it was a calling that could not be ignored.
57 CHAPTER FIVE
In the Midst of Story: The Shamanic Worldview
"Quantum theory also tells us that the world is not simply objective;
somehow it's something more subtle than that. In some sense it is veiled from us,
but it has structure that we can understand."
John Polkinghome
The research project did not focus primarily on shamanism as a whole; however,
to begin to understand the shamanic healing technique of soul retrieval there must be
some discussion to illuminate and define shamanism and its coexisting worldview. The
following description of the complex world of the shaman and shamanic practitioner is
not meant to be exhaustive, but only cursory in nature. Its purpose is to provide a context
which might situate the narrative exploration of the shamanic healing technique of soul
retrieval.
To begin to more deeply understand shamanism and its inherent healing
techniques, I made concerted efforts to immerse myself into the practices of modem
urban shamanic practitioners. An opportunity arose to attend a weekend-long teaching
workshop which explored a variety of practices and ceremony. It was co-facilitated by
my research participant, Raven-Hope. She and another facilitator presented to about
fifteen attendees throughout the two day event. It was at this gathering my mind opened
to experience the shaman's world for myself. The following storied narrative finds its home within my contemplation on this ceremonial filled weekend.
It was good to take a break. I was physically and psychologically drained. It was the final day of a weekend shamanic workshop held out on the land. It was being lead by
58 my research participant, Raven-Hope. We had just completed a robust morning of dancing our power animals and learning about the technique and theory behind shamanic drumming. My mind was exhausted as it often is after being challenged to expand just a little more to accept new concepts.
I enjoyed a moment of solitude by a small creek that meandered across the flowered meadow. The flowers seemed fluorescent as they reflected brightly against the backdrop of tall evergreen trees and beyond that, the majestic Rocky Mountains as they jutted up as if they were guardians of all the land. My mind scrambled to make sense of all the new shamanic concepts I was being presented with. It was without notice that
Raven-Hope came and sat down beside me by the creek. When I noticed her I stated,
"This shaman's cosmos is difficult to grasp at times. To me it seems to be an Alice in
Wonderland, upside down world that is resistant to logical understanding."
Moments after I spoke these words to her, Raven-Hope got up fi-om her sitting position and leaned over the creek and slowly dipped her hands into the creek. As she sat back down beside me, she had a small amount of water cradled in her cupped hands.
Then she held the water out for my inspection and she began to speak, "The shaman's world is not so hard to comprehend if we start with something you already understand.
As you can see, I have water fi-om the creek in my hands. On one level, we can all agree that it is water that I hold. But if one had a tool or a mechanism such as a microscope to look even deeper within, one would be able to see an alternative world much different than our own. This aquatic world runs parallel to ours and has properties and laws that govern it. This water is actually teaming with organisms that would rival any of the
59 creatures portrayed in a science fiction movie. Just because you cannot see them, does not mean they do not exist. Are you following me?"
I nodded yes and replied, "I have witnessed this world for myself as I have studied aquatic biology in my earlier school days."
Raven-Hope continued, "The shaman's cosmos is not much different. Shamanic practitioners speak of an alternative world much like that within a drop of water. Similar to the purpose and ability of a microscope, a shamanic practitioner employs the shamanic journey to view this other reality. However, the shamanic journey not only allows one to view the otherworld, but it also permits one to enter into and interact with its inhabitants."
The chief feature that sets shamanic practitioners apart firom all other types of healers is that they journey into otherworlds to gain information and direction on how to be helpful in the physical reality that they presently reside. Whether a shaman practices in a traditional sense within a tribe or as modem shamanic practitioner, "the essence of the shaman remains the same - they have the ability to invoke the power that enables an individual to see or step into a non-ordinary world of spirits" (Graham-Scott, 2002, p.6).
To be sure, the shamanic journey is a common or core technique practiced among all shamanic practitioners regardless of being traditional or contemporary in nature.
"The shamanic journey involves the shamanic practitioner intentionally entering an altered state of consciousness," stated Raven-Hope, "and this permits one to contact and employ an ordinarily hidden reality in order to acquire knowledge, power and to help others." Kalweit (1988) shared, "The perverse upside-down physics of the shamanic universe - in which time is stretchable, space is solid, matter is transparent, and
60 conventional manifestations of energy are replaced by invisible subtle forces - cannot be grasped by our customary mode of perception" (p.xii). Indeed, to experience these alternate otherworlds the shamanic practitioner must first alter their consciousness to enter in.
Raven-Hope proposed, "These other worlds are not imaginary. They are real, but they are out of sight and thus, out of mind. Shamans have the ability to shift their consciousness and then initiate the journey into these alternate realities." Meadows
(2004) concured with Raven-Hope, "This altered state of awareness is not of the mind or a figment of the imagination, but an experience of another reality made possible through a change in conscious awareness ..." (p.149). Hamer (1990) explained that shamanic practitioners purposefully move between ordinary states of consciousness and shamanic states of consciousness. Ordinary states of consciousness are associated with functioning on the plane of every day life, the world as we commonly know it. Conversely, shamanic states of consciousness allow the shaman to experience non-ordinary worlds.
In the process of journeying, the shamanic practitioner "typically experiences an ineffable joy in what he sees, an awe of the beautifiil and mysterious worlds that open up before him. His experiences are like dreams, but waking ones that feel real and which he can control his actions and direct his adventures" (Hamer, 1990, p.21). Kalweit (1988) also spoke of these joyous adventures as the shamanic practitioner "... leaps across our ideas about time and causality, contracts space telepathically, and subscribes to communicating with all that is. It considers the individual as being harnessed to a universal energy field of magic, in which even the most fleeting thought causes the whole universe to tremble ..." (p.xi).
61 Matthews & Matthews (2003) shared that "it is evident that in the Foretime of prehistory, landscape and cosmos were formative sacred influences and people had an understanding of reality's two sides - of both everyday consciousness and the unseen but no less real Otherworld inhabited by the dead and other spirits" (p.9). Raven-Hope explained, "Even the term shaman at its very core indicates the essence of what they do."
Meadows (2003) revealed, "The word shaman has been defined as one who walks between the worlds (italics added), and this, too, is a meaningful interpretation because it identifies the shaman with different kinds of reality" (p.3).
Raven-Hope continued this train of thought, "One of the main functions of the shamanic practitioner is to interface between the world of the seen and the world of the unseen. In the Celtic tradition, we refer to this as journeying betwixt and between. We enter otherworlds at the point of tension, the crack between the meeting of the earth and sky, or the meeting of the sea and sore. By entering into this cosmic crack, a part of us remains in the ordinary while another is experiencing the nonordinary. We are conscious of both simultaneously - we experience the earth and sky, the sea and shore!"
Raven-Hope postulated, "The cosmos of the shamanic practitioner is constantly moving, everything in the shamanic world has its own special vibration or unique energy and power."
Wolfe (2006) presented that "the quest for the shaman is to achieve attunement with these vibrations and familiarity with Spirit" (p.xiii). Similarly, Raven-Hope posited
"attaining vibrational harmony with the vibrational tones of the spirit world allows the shamanic practitioners the ability to slip through the cracks into another reality."
62 Meadows (2003) provided a brief description of this otherworld where shamanic practitioners desire to travel through vibrational shifting:
.. .there are mountains and valleys, trees and flowers, rivers, streams and lakes,
and even oceans - and makes us feel comfortable and secure. But the physical
laws or ordinary reality no longer apply. You can defy the law of gravity as you
^ do in a dream. You can fly! Space and distance are no problem for your travel is
not merely supersonic, but super luminary - faster than the speed of light! You
can swim like an Olympic champion, dive to great depths without the need for
cumbersome underwater equipment, scale high mountains, perform tasks that are
beyond the skills of the greatest stuntmen, and even stretch out time - or contract
it (p.86).
To begin to understand the nonordinary reality in which the shamanic practitioner moves into and functions, one must first attempt to understand the construct of the shamanic cosmos. Both traditional shamans and modem shamanic practitioners perceive the totality of reality as primarily functioning on three levels (Meadows, 2004). These realities are referred to as the lower, middle and upper worlds. Although this proposition may seem absurd, all tribal societies as well as our own ancestors did at one time subscribe to such a universe (Kalweit, 1988).
To begin to flesh-out a deeper comprehension of these three worlds, Villoldo
(2005) simply presented that the middle world is another term for the plane upon the earth, the place where we work and raise our families. Meadows (2003) added that the middle world is a place suspended between heaven and earth. When a shamanic practitioner takes a middle world journey, it involves traveling to a sacred place on the
63 earth, to contact spirits and to work with the elements of nature. Existing on an earthly plane, the middle world is distinguished from the lower and upper worlds (Graham-Scott,
20M).
The lower and upper worlds exist in non-ordinary reality. The lower world is typically associated with mother earth, her support, and protection and nurturing. Here, the landscape is filled with tunnels and caves below the surface of the earth. And within this lower world is where the records of history are held. It is primordial Eden, the realm of the soul which legend says we have all lost (Villoldo, 2005). Conversely, the upper world is generally described as being associated with the heavens and father sky. This reality is filled with higher spirits, a place where the universe is ordered, where wisdom and inspiration reside (Graham-Scott, 2002), These otherworlds are not believed to be separated by time and distance, but via their vibrational wavelength; they occupy the same space but different dimensions (Meadows, 2003).
Each of the shamanic worlds or realities is related to a specific level of conscious awareness (Meadows, 2003). The lower world is associated with the subconscious. It is the realm of the non-manifest; the place of that which is coming into being. The middle world extents out of the awareness level of ego-consciousness. It is the place of the physical being where things become manifest. Lastly, the upper world is the world of the super-conscious. It is the place of creativity, the realm of light, knowledge and the spiritual being.
As Raven-Hope and I moved away from the creek and walked along a path leading back to the area where the other workshop participants were gathered, she began another teaching, "Shamanism is a practice that starts any healing process by focusing
64 within, hi the Celtic ways we say, 'As above - As below'. We are not separate from the
Divine. The same laws and values exist on this plane just as they do on the spirit realm.
We humans mirror the universe and the universe mirrors us."
I nodded in approval and Raven-Hope continued, "Just as the shamanic
practitioner must have an understanding of otherworlds to be of service to others, they
must also have an intimate awareness of the universe found within each of us."
The shamanic map of the human being is comprised of the Body, Mind, Soul and
Spirit (Meadows, 2004). The Body "is a bridge between your Soul and your Mind. It is
what enables you to be grounded and rooted. It is your friend and companion on your
Earth Walk" (p.10). The Mind is "an intangible receptacle in which information is
processed. Thoughts are the movement of energy-patterns within the reality of the Mind
and which can be shaped and fashioned to manifest in the physical reality. In shamanic
understanding, the Mind should serve the Spirit" (p.235). The Soul is "the body of Lightr
energy which enables the individual Spirit within to express itself and gain experience at
conscious, sub-conscious and super-conscious levels. The vehicle of the Spirit and of
Life-energy. A life expression system which retains the essence of relevant life
experience" (p.237). The Spirit is the "intelligent essence that animates a life form but
usually cannot be seen, though its presence is experienced. That which is. The
intelligence within that is aware of its own being-ness and alive-ness. Spirit is
experienced as awareness of being" (p.237).
At one point during the weekend workshop, Raven-Hope stated that our only requirement as shamanic practitioners was to "suit up and show up." What happened after that was not up to us. Our task was to continue to practice going into shamanic states of
65 consciousness and entering into nonordinary reality. We must give up ego, and let ourselves detach, once entering other realities. "Shamanism takes this concept of detachment one step further. Not only are you required to surrender your attachment to achieve success, but you must also accept what comes in its place. Even if the information you receive during a journey does not seem useful to you, accept it graciously and do not resist or judge it. You may realize later the real value of what you experienced" (Stevens & Stevens, 1988, p.22).
"Like relationships on our plane of existence, our otherworld interactions with spirit beings must be nurtured," admonished Raven-Hope. Lyons (2004) added,
"Primarily, the shaman's job is to form and maintain working relationships with the occupants of the spiritual realms ... they will appear to the shaman in the form of a human, a humanoid, an animal, a form from the natural world, or combinations thereof
(p.60).
Raven-Hope instructed, "Shamanic practitioners need to be able to access power beyond their own to gain the ability to see, know, and access guiding information from the otherworlds to achieve their goals of being of service to others. Ultimately, power is critical because it is utilized by shamanic practitioners to overcome negative forces which may cause spiritual, mental, emotional and physical dis-ease." For shamanic practitioners, power can come from a variety of sources (Graham-Scott, 2002) such as compassionate and helping spirits (Hamer, 1990).
"Two of the major sources of power come from contact and relationship with power animals and spirit helpers," postulated Raven-Hope. Indeed, "cultural identifications with animals are so strong that entire civilizations have taken them as their
66 symbols" (Villoldo, 2005, p.109). Villoldo further demonstrated our connection with animals as he declared, "The bible is filled with animal references as well: King Solomon is referred to as the Lion of Judea, and Jesus is called the Lamb of God. In Hindu religion, cows are held to be sacred; and there are animal gods such as Hanuman, the monkey god; and Ganesh, the elephant god. The zodiac also has many animals as its symbols, as does the Chinese calendar" (pi09). ^
Andrews (2005) disclosed that "there was a time when humanity recognized itself as a part of nature, and nature as a part of itself. Dreaming and waking were inseparable realities; the natural and the supernatural merged and blended. People used images of nature to express this unity and to instil a transpersonal kind of experience" (p.l).
Raven-Hope further instructed, "Connecting with power animals to achieve this transpersonal kind of experience, the shamanic practitioner will often journey to the lower world, below the earth." Power animals are generally used to assist in the finding of knowledge and healing procedures. A power animal is an energy-pattern that presents in animal form and carries out voluntary movement to perform the specific work it characterizes. The shamanic practitioner does not experience a type of possession by an external energy; on the contrary, the shamanic practitioner possesses "it" to harness its capabilities (Meadows, 2004).
At one point, Raven-Hope queried her workshop audience, "Why do shamans need to contact and connect with power animals during shamanic journeys?" Before waiting for a response, she continued, "Shamanic practitioners desire to connect with animal helpers to access their powers and abilities."
67 "Compared to human beings, animals collectively possess greater strengths and
powers. In the animal population we find individuals who can run faster, swim better,
see, hear, and smell more acutely; climb rocks and trees faster, hunt more successfully;
and of course, fl/' (Cowan, 1996, p.25). Power animals also provide a mode of
transportation for the shamanic practitioner as they travel in other-worlds (Graham-Scott,
2002). Some practitioners ride horses, using a drum as a wind-horse to call up the animal
spirit. Others use birds to fly up into the heavens and fish to dive deep into the waters.
Vitebsky (2001) added that still other shamanic practitioners may rely on the powers of a mouse to move through very small openings.
Although shamanic practitioners look to animals to provide power, they also seek
union with spiritual helpers, guides and teachers. To make contact with these spirit helpers, the practitioner may journey to the upper world, up in the air above the earth.
The types of teachers and how they are experienced are varied. Traditionally, they have typically been spiritual and religious figures, mythological beings, deities, saints, ancestors, and culturally significant figures. But in more modem streams of practice the spirit helpers may be more related to contemporary culture (Graham-Scott, 2002).
Raven-Hope concluded this portion of her teaching by stating, "The shamanic practitioner's relationships with both power animals and helping spirits can be viewed as a win-win situation for all." Lyons (2004) concurred, "This alliance is a mutually beneficial one, with the shaman 'feeding the spirits' with words and deeds that are appropriate to the spirit's 'tastes,' while the spirits are consulted in times of human need so that they may provide the shaman with information, knowledge, and power to be used to help oneself, another, or the community" (p.60). Wesselman (2003) stated.
68 "Accomplished shamans do healing work on various levels, and interestingly, all agree that it is the spirits who do what is required, not themselves" (p.21). But the shamanic practitioner has a role to play as "... these sympathetic spirits are not all powerful - they need our help in opening up a bridge or channel between their reality and ours in order for them to be of service to us" (p. 18).
"Throughout time, shamans have been called upon to serve their communities as healers, oracles, counselors, guides and death-walkers. These are not merely unusual people with bizarre experiences. They are experts in navigating Otherworlds and returning safely. They are highly functioning and productive members of society with a deep and powerful calling to facilitate health and harmony in society" (Madden, 2004, p.xix).
To the outside observer they may appear insane. "They easily resemble schizophrenics who have lost touch with the reality of the physical world. But shamans are not psychotics by a long shot. They are masters of their trade and they have become so through much practice and discipline" (Stevens & Stevens, 1988, p.100). Raven-Hope stated, "Schizophrenics have no control over their delusions, whereas shamans are in complete control. Shamans have conquered themselves and their own woundedness."
Horn (2000) reasoned, "It is said that the true definition of a shaman is one who battles to heal self and in doing so, discovers ways to heal others" (p.i). Indeed, they could be considered wounded healers.
As another way to understand these otherworld travelers more fully, one has only to inspect an example of the origin of the word shaman. Cowan (1996) unpacked the term as he stated that "among the early root-words from which shaman may have been derived
69 are words for knowledge and heat - two ideas that capture fully the rich traditions of classical shamanism and its modem counterparts. The shaman is someone on fire with certain kinds of knowledge that come from the spirit world" (preface).
As the workshop ended and I drove away from the foothills of the Rocky
Mountains back to the city of Calgary, I marveled at the beauty of the Alberta landscape.
Indeed, it was only within miles that the landscape turned from mountainous terrain, to rolling hills dotted with trees and finally to vast ocean of grasslands. After learning more about shamanism during the weekend workshop, I considered that the mountains, foothills and grasslands I was witnessing were not the only landscapes to be experienced.
Indeed, there were landscapes beyond our consciousness level of awareness. Along with that thought came the memory of one of the final comments Raven-Hope made at the closure of the weekend shamanic workshop, "Shamanic practitioners fraverse landscapes of otherworlds and return with potent psycho-mythical medicine. Indeed, the shaman returns on fire with the Spirit!"
70 CHAPTER SIX
In the Midst of Story: Soul Loss
"For what is a man profited,
if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?"
Jesus Christ
"I was almost nineteen. Life was challenging but very exciting. It was the second
month into my first year of studies at university. All that changed in an instant. After an
evening in the faculty study area, it was time to go home for some much needed rest. As I
slid the key into the lock on my car door I thought I heard a noise, but I let it pass. As I leaned into my car, I felt someone roughly push me from behind. I heard a male voice aggressively whisper that he had been watching me and not to make any noise or he
would really hurt me. I remember being raped so clearly. I had the perfect viewing place
as I was standing beside the car on the passenger side peering in. I watched in horror as I
was invaded by this stranger inside the car," Susan choked back her tears as she made courageous efforts to clearly articulate her traumatic event to Raven-Hope, a shamanic practitioner.
Susan, thirty years old, had come to seek the services of a shamanic practitioner to help ease the emotional and psychological pain she still felt after years of suffering as a result of being raped. I came to learn that after Susan was raped she dropped out of school and fell into long periods of dark depression. She has accumulated an excess of fears and tended to remain very withdrawn. She was left to replay the incident over and over in her mind, and yet, there are large lapses in her memory. For instance, how did she even get home that night? The one dominating feature displayed during her telling to
71 Raven-Hope was how Susan described her awareness of this internal wounding, "I feel empty inside ... ever since the rape 1 have never felt the same ... it's as if a part of me is missing, something inside feels foreign."
Over the years Susan has attended counseling in one form or another to address an eating disorder and depression. Although she was hopeful at the outset of every treatment, they have provided some relief but not full recovery. She believed at the very core of herself that she remained the same - empty. She heard about shamans and soul retrievals from another counselor she had previously seen and it sounded hopeful although quite foreign to her.
Raven-Hope described Susan's presentation as a classic case of soul loss. Raven-
Hope explained, "Susan intuitively knows. Although she does not have the vocabulary to accurately explain it, she knows she is not whole. A piece of her is actually missing and she needs it back."
During another session at Raven-Hope's office, Bob sat before us and shared his reason for coming to a shamanic practitioner. A friend had told him about Raven-Hope's services and suggested he try it. He made it very clear that this was not his first choice as a place to come to seek help for his "situation" as he called it. He's not sure whether this is all bullshit, but he has run out of options. As Bob put it, "I can't get my life back together since we broke up almost two years ago!"
He was obviously distraught as he began to tell a tale of relationship betrayal and loss, "Our relationship was steeped in passion so deep it felt like I was being taken away.
I willingly gave up a lot of who I was just to be with her. And when she just up and left me my life just shattered. Now, I'm a big boy and I've gone through many break-ups
72 before and I was able to move on after a period of time. But this situation was different.
I've tried grief counseling, a new relationship, I've even immersed myself in my hobbies, and nothing seemed to fill the void. It's as if she's taken a part of me with her."
While debriefing with me after the session with Bob, Raven-Hope shared that soul loss may be at the root of his struggles to move on with his life. Again, language was one of the first clues to the true nature of the presenting problem. "The old adage that
Bob sold his soul is not far off the mark," she smiles, "he speaks of losing himself to her, his life is shattered, he feels a void, a part of him is with her. All these are clues."
Both of these situations that arose in Raven-Hope's office are possible cases of soul loss. Soul loss begins to bleed into conscious awareness through how the client is feeling and how they may be verbally expressing this discomfort. After hearing someone reveal their traumatic incident and listening for descriptive language that may indicate soul loss, it is still just a hypothesis. Raven-Hope exhorted, "Coming to an understanding of the soul's condition cannot be reached through the ego self which relies on logic and the intellect."
Madden (2004) commented, "It is very important that, we as healers do not get caught up in the ego. We must be able to release how much we know or how good we believe we are. Once we fall into that trap, our very judgment is suspect because it originates fi-om within a very limited belief system that is dominated by the protection of the personality" (p. 169).
Indeed, Raven-Hope on several occasions had made it very clear that a shamanic practitioner can only "assume" that soul loss is present without some sort of assessment.
Drake (2003) revealed that the assessment tool must be specific to shamanic thought.
73 Drake declared, "Shamanism does not work within the confines of a traditional diagnostic system" (p.51). In shamanic terms, efforts to assess are referred to as divination. In most cases, divination is defined as Divine guidance. It is a method of consulting a higher power that has superior wisdom (Meadows, 2004).
Raven-Hope shared, "By only relying on logic and reason to conclude that someone is suffering fi-om soul loss, it is just that, a hunch." To come to a proper diagnosis of soul loss, the shamanic practitioner must first seek Divine guidance through divination. "Because divination is subjective and also highly personal, a shamanist develops his or her own way of making use of a particular method" Meadows, 2004, p. 195). In Raven-Hope's case, she favors the shamanic journey to seek guidance on how to be of service to her clients.
Therefore to make a proper diagnosis of soul loss for both Susan and Bob, Raven-
Hope must enter into nonordinary reality through the means of a shamanic journey, make contact with helping spirits, inquire on behalf of the person they are hoping to heal and take direction as to how this might be accomplished. Raven-Hope confirmed, "After receiving consent fi-om the client to convene on their behalf, I make contact with a
Creative Intelligence outside of our time and space. It is important to always get consent; you just don't mess with someone's energetic personhood without their okay!"
"It is not me who is the healer. I am just the helper or assistant," insisted Raven-
Hope, "my ability to help clients comes fi-om spirit helpers who reside in nonordinary reality. I have a relationship with them and it has developed over time just like any other relationship. I have learned to trust them and them with me."
74 On the same topic, but during a different occasion, Raven-Hope added, "My relationship with them is not secret, but it is sacred. There are different opinions regarding this, but I do not share who my power animals and helping spirits are to others.
In traditional tribal forms of shamanism, if a shaman revealed who their helpers were, the spirits might be offended and the shaman would lose their ability to communicate and heal through spiritual means."
In our previous discussions, Raven-Hope taught that her spirit companions would sometimes help her understand the nature of her client's suffering telepathically. On the other hand, they may verbally direct her to an object, that unknown to her, when described to the client reveals the origin of their suffering. Raven-Hope described such an incident, "Once while on a journey, no matter where I traveled there was a small shiny stone that followed. Sometimes it hid in a tree, sometime burrowing into the ground, and often coming in and out of view as if it slipped back and forth from one reality to another.
After my return, I told my client of this stone and how it looked. I looked at her and she was crying. When asked to share more, the client explained that she had totally forgotten about the incident. She believed it was the stone in her mother's ring. She told a story of when she was around seven years old and she had lost it while playing dress-up. She began to shudder as she told of how her mother was so upset because that ring was given to her as a young girl after her mother's death. It was how she stayed in touch with the memory of her mother. Her mother's anger was so poignant and sharp that it speared a piece of this client's soul from her. After this, both of us knew soul retrieval was necessary."
75 Raven-Hope explained that often her spirit helpers would take her to where the client's lost soul was stuck or hiding in nonordinary reality. "When I enter otherworlds, which are often accessed through lower journeys, my spirit companions will take me to where my client's lost soul fi^agments are residing," she illuminated, "once I see them for myself, I know for sure that soul retrieval is necessary to initiate fiill healing for the client."
During the initial sessions, Raven-Hope intently listened to both Susan and Bob's recounting of their previous traumatic incidences. She listened for clues that might indicate soul loss. She explained the concept of the soul, soul loss and the subsequent need for soul retrieval to them. These explanations caused a certain internal dissonance for both of the clients. I too shared their reaction of curiosity, confusion and wonder. As if he had just seen a ghost, Bob replied to the news, "But what is the soul?"
Raven-Hope went on to teach the each of us has a soul. It is the deepest level of who we are. She pauses and stated, "The soul is the part of us that is in constant connection with our Creator. It is our highest self."
Ingerman, (cited in Webb, 2004) indicated the definition of the soul that she used not only comes from the shamanic point of view but also that straight out of a dictionary.
The Oxford English Dictionary defined the soul as "the principle of life, commonly regarded as an entity distinct fi-om the body; the spiritual parts as distinct fi-om the purely physical. According to this authority, our language also regards the soul as the seat of emotions, feelings, or sentiments" (Ingerman, 1991, p.11). Villoldo (2005) included,
"Soul is the best word we have for that essential part of ourselves that seems to have preceded our entry into this world, yet also endures beyond our lifetime" (p.28).
76 Raven-Hope also described the soul by differentiating it Irom the spirit. This method is also supported by several other shamatiic practitioners in the literature. For example, Meadows (2004) revealed, "The words Soul and Spirit are often used as synonyms in theological, metaphysical and philosophical writings, but they are not identical, for the Soul was brought into being by the Spirit!" (163). Ingerman (2000) exposed that differentiation between the two is a complex issue and has been debated for eons. However, her own work in retrieving souls has solidified her own opinion.
Ingerman unpacks this concept as she viewed it;
... spirit is the part of myself that can never be hurt. It is the exact image of the
divine; it is perfect, doesn't need to evolve, and doesn't need to be healed. My
spirit lives inside of me in a state of complete perfection and will endure after my
body has ceased to exist... [b]y contrast, my soul is the essence of myself that
came into the world to grow and evolve. My soul came into this world to have
adventures (p.58).
And lastly, Meadows (2004) concluded, "Quite simply, your Soul is your internal being.
It is what houses your own inexhaustible creative Source. The Soul is to the spirit what bones are to the physical body. It is the supportive structure at the spiritual level" (p.145).
Raven-Hope's explanation of the soul shifted into what seemed a lesson in modem science or quantum physics. "The soul is pure vibrational light energy," she posited. Other shamans speak of the soul in this way as well. "The substance of the Soul body in its dimension has radiance," stated Meadows (2004), "... when on the physical plane someone compliments another person for looking 'radiant', or 'glowing', or being
'bright', they are sensing the substance of the person's Soul body" (p.148). Indeed,
77 shamanism subscribes to such ideas as they exist in a cosmos made up of energetic matter.
Raven-Hope further explained, "Everything we see in our physical world is actually vibrational light. Each item we see is actually separated from another item by vibrational frequency patterns. However, for the shaman it all comes from the same source - The Great Mystery." "So nothing is as it appears," stated Meadows (2003),
"what seems to be solid, in physical reality is, in fact, a complex system of vibrating energies. What our eyes actually see are dancing patterns that we recognize as objects or as other living creatures" (p.12). Raven-Hope emphasized, "The soul, which is a body of energetic light, is a vehicle for the Divine spirit that is within us. The soul body allows the spirit to express itself and to experience all levels of earthly consciousness."
After Raven-Hope felt as if she had satisfactorily explained the soul as best she could, she turned her attention to leaping off from that explanation and began to illuminate the process of how soul loss occurs. "The human soul is a wonderful thing,"
Raven-Hope began, "it likes to have adventures. Like a young child exploring their new environment it can sometimes become separated from its home."
My enquiry to her was, "how does the soul even manage to become separated?"
"Because it can," Raven-Hope shyly giggled and then resumed, "no seriously, from a shamanic perspective the human soul is attached to the physical body and acts as a tether to the spirit. Although being attached, a part of the soul can travel away from its physical home. That part of the soul is known as the free soul. This ability to travel is a double edge sword for the soul. On one hand, it provides the ability to experience the physical plane more thoroughly. On the other hand, because of this ability of the soul to allow
78 parts to detach and travel, parts of it can involuntarily split off under duress and become lost."
Drake (2003) declared, "Soul loss is when a part of the soul or essence splits away from the core and is vibrationally disconnected from the core aspect of the person"
(p.194). Raven-Hope continued to explore the concept of soul loss, "the soul can suffer depletion as a result of any type or degree of frauma. A fragment of it can become detached, leaving the person less than whole. This is the essence of soul loss." Following this stream of the thought, Raven-Hope admonished, "The piece of the soul that splits off from the soul body takes on a different vibrational frequency from that of the main soul body and becomes energetically separated."
Before 1 could fully grasp her last comment, Raven-Hope quickly added, "not only does the fragmented soul piece become separated from the soul body, but it also gets lost in different dimensions of reality."
When the soul leaves the body for any reason, like all energy it will follow the path of least resistance. Because of this principle, it most likely will take flight to the otherworld that is easiest to reach (Heaven, 2003). These alternate realities from that of our own, function at different frequencies that are inconceivable to us on the plane of existence that we all know. This concept may, at first, seem far fetched; but we experience this concept daily in modem world of mass media and technological communication. "We are aware that energy exists on different frequencies. This is how our telecommunications system operates, with many frequencies sharing the same space and time" (Drake, 2003, p.49).
79 This shamanic perspective gains credibility, as science begins to reveal that such
ideas have potential and that other dimensions outside of our three dimensional reference
exist. Villoldo (2005) stated, "Today, scientific discoveries confirm that when we look
deeply into the heart of matter at the most fimdamental level, all we find is vibration and
light (p.xix). Wolf (1991) declared that, "Shamans, although few of them understood the
principle of quanWm physics, believed in a similar vibrational understructure of the
universe. Thus quantum physics, like the shamanic belief, indicates that the universe is
also made from vibrations and that everything in it is connected by these vibrations"
(p.24). Madden (2004) included, "Recent advances in modem physics, specifically string
theory, supports this shamanic perspective. They suggest that our reality is simply a
membrane floating within higher dimensional space. Other realities may only lie
millimeters apart fi-om our universe ..." (p.163). Raven-Hope confirmed, "Lideed, these
other realities operate within different firequency ranges that share the same space and
time."
Historically, those living within indigenous cultures believed that the free soul
could just wander off to places it should not be and become stuck or lost (Madden, 2004).
It is Raven-Hope's view that within the modem constructs of shamanism, soul loss is
caused by pieces of the firee soul splitting off as a result of trauma. Drake (2003) agreed,
"Violence to the soul is a major cause of our most serious emotional problems. It is both
the cause of soul loss and the result of it" (p. 105). Ingerman (1991) concurred, "Today
we often find soul loss is the result of such traumas as incest, abuse, loss of a loved one,
surgery, accident, illness, miscarriage, abortion, the stress of combat, or addiction"
(p.ll).
80 During each session with Susan and Bob, Raven-Hope took the time with each to describe what type or degree of traumatic incident could have caused such devastating effects on the human soul. "What trauma is to one person may not be traumatic for another. Soul loss can occur by whatever means as long as the person perceives it as traumatic. It is purely individual and subjective," revealed Raven-Hope
Having described trauma to her client, Raven-Hope explained, "Susan, your rape experience would be considered, by most, to be extremely traumatic and it would be quite appropriate for a piece of your soul to split off to cope with the overwhelming fear and possible humiliation. It is an incident that is almost guaranteed to lead to soul loss."
Raven-Hope shared with Bob, "Your soul loss actually resulted from the trauma of a broken heart. In the shamanic perspective, it is possible to give up pieces of ourselves to others. We can give up our power or energy. And when that person leaves, the pieces leave with them, leaving us feeling powerless. We lose our life force or vitality without even knowing it. Something was left behind. What is interesting to note was that you have lost other relationships but did not experience the same trauma as you did with the one you are coming here for. It's purely perceptional."
There are many incidents of trauma that happen every day that may result in soul loss. Meadows (2003, 2004) revealed that soul depletion can be caused by separation or divorce, bereavement, rape, sexual abuse, bad illness, loss of job, enforced retirement, or even constant frustration. It can happen as a result of embarrassment or perceived failure
(Madden, 2004). Even children can suffer soul loss as a result of not feeling loved and thus feeling abandoned. Additionally, soul loss might occur due to a parent continually yelling at a child or it might be due to falling off their bike (Ingerman, 1991).
81 "We all have an amount of energy within us that comprises the totality of our
souls" (Heaven, 2003, p.229). Villoldo (2000) posited that "in the west we identify with
the side of matter, which is by nature finite. The shaman identifies with the side of
energy, which is by nature infinite" (p. 9). Raven-Hope expanded on this concept, "The
energetic make up of the soul is finite. That is compared to the 'All That Is', which is
^ infinite. We all suffer slow depletion of the soul throughout our daily lives. Looking
through the shamanic lens, cases of minor shock may precipitate some minimal soul split-
off. Of course, it then follows that if there is a major trauma experienced, there may be
the possibility of major soul loss. In extreme cases of trauma, a coma may result.
Unfortunately, if there is more of the free soul separated from that of the main body of
the soul, physical death will result."
Ingerman (1991) disclosed, "... almost everyone I have ever met suffers from
some sense of incompleteness and emptiness. They sense that parts of themselves are
missing and they are cut off from a deep connection with life. For some people, this
feeling of incompleteness and alienation causes great suffering. For most, the sense of not
being fully alive is a continual, low-grade pain often masked with drugs, entertainment,
compulsive sex, and addictions of many other kinds" (p.18).
"People usually suspect something is up but they are not able to put their finger
on it," stated Raven-Hope, "they feel something has shifted internally. People tend to
describe this new uncomfortable feeling in many different ways. How do you explain
something that you are unaware of? Most people are unaware of the concept of soul loss.
Having no vocabulary to accurately communicate this deep unseen anguish, they are left
to describe the sensation through their everyday experiential descriptors. As a shamanic
82 practitioner and healer it is my role to listen for these desperate efforts to convey a concept not fully grasped, knowing they may be an indication of soul loss."
People who are suffering from soul loss tend to describe the phenomenon through their symptoms. Indicators of soul loss include, "chronic depression, loss of memory, illness or pain that defies medical diagnosis, debility, emotional turmoil and a sense of being 'incomplete' - of being 'dis-spirited'" (^Meadows, 2004, p.150). Individuals may state they feel deadened, disconnected, spaced out, or fragmented. Additionally, they may state they are feeling that they are not totally in their bodies or that they are experiencing gaps in memory (Ingerman, 1991). They may feel tired and may lack motivation, complaining of no will power (Drake, 2003).
Meadows (2003) posited ".. .all [traumas] can cause a feeling of prolonged numbness, a strange sensation that something is 'missing'. And, indeed, that is exactly what has happened" (p.165). Ingerman (1991) hypothesized that these are descriptions of soul loss and "we jokingly say 'Nobody's home'. This is no joke. Few of us are fully home, and some of us have been so badly fraumatized that, indeed, almost no one is at home" (p.19).
Raven-Hope reported, "Soul loss of itself is not all negative. A piece of the soul separates as a response to trauma. The soul views this traumatic event as threatening to its existence. To me, it further gives evidence to the fact that the soul has innate intelligence and volition."
Ingerman (2000) expounded "... soul loss is a survival mechanism. It is how our psyche survives pain" (p.59). Raven-Hope clarified, "From the outside view, soul loss appears as shock. It is an electrical jolt that interrupts our perception of reality that is
83 emotionally unacceptable at the time." In another statement, Ingerman (cited in Webb,
2004) added, "Our psyches cannot endure that kind of pain, so we have this brilliant self- protection mechanism where a part of us leaves the body while the pain is occurring so we don't have to get the full impact of it" (p.223). Raven-Hope closed, "The only problem with this wonderful adaptive mechanism is that the soul parts that become separated as a result of the traumatic incident often fail to come back on their own."
With soul loss, so much energy has been taken from us that we are permanently depleted and have little hope of recovery without the intervention by a healer (Heaven,
2003). It takes another person to search through nonordinary reality, frack down where the soul has fled, and then to bring it back home (Ingerman, 2000). Referring to this heroic task. Meadows (2003) stated, "Only the shaman seems to have retained the ancient knowledge of how to find it, how to return it, and how to restore a sufferer to wholeness"
(p.165). Madden (2004) further endorsed the shamanic practitioner as the appropriate healer of soul loss, "For the shaman, knowledge of the location of the lost fragments and the properties of the specific world within which they reside are vital to the process of successfully returning them to the person in need. The shaman is qualified to go in search of theses fragments due to a knowledge of and the ability to further explore the
Otherworlds" (p.163).
After explaining the shamanic concept of the soul and soul loss, Raven-Hope proposed to both Susan and Bob, "Do you better understand what we are dealing with here? Without help, a person suffering from soul loss is left to feel non-whole even after concerted efforts to manifest wholeness through personal care, medical attention or counseling. The shamanic practitioner, on behalf of the client, must enter the realms of
84 nonordinary reality, search for the lost soul pieces and bring them back. Only then can full healing proceed on the physical plane. Would you like me to provide this type of help for you?"
After a brief continuation of the discussion, both Susan and Bob agreed to have this procedure done for them. By agreeing, they had demonstrated their trust in Raven-
Hope and her shamanic abilities.
Raven-Hope finished with the comment, "The procedure that I will do for you is actually a procedure that is steeped in antiquity. It has been employed by shamans throughout world history to help their communities and individuals within mend from traumatic events. Within tribal culture, knowing what they know about the nature of the soul, it was common for this procedure to occur within three days of the critical incident.
True and full healing could not begin without the return of the missing soul pieces. In that respect, it is with great sadness I reflect on our modem civilization as people suffer multiple traumatic events, losing much of their energetic essence and never receiving the correct diagnosis and care. We are indeed a society of the walking-wounded. I honor all who are willing to heal through the shamanic ceremony. I will provide you with a soul retrieval ceremony during our next session."
85 CHAPTER SEVEN
In the Midst of Story: The Soul Retrieval
"No problem can be solved
from the same level of consciousness that created it."
Albert Einstein
I had been waiting for this event for some time. On this particular day, I was going to assist Raven-Hope perform a soul retrieval ceremony. It would be performed for
Susan who had been raped and left to suffer from the effects of soul loss for many years.
As I sat in the front reception area of Raven-Hope's professional practice, I could feel my body begin to react to the anticipation of participating in such an event. I had prepared for this opportunity in all the ways I could imagine. I had intellectually devoured all the literature I could consume. In the last year, I had gone to many shamanic workshops and drumming circles. I had soaked up as much wisdom as I could while I enjoyed many discussions with Raven-Hope which focused on shamanism and soul retrieval. And although I had prepared myself spiritually in the morning with a centering ritual of meditation and prayer, my heart rate picked up its pace and my palms were moist. To address this rising anxiety, I tried to calm myself down. I felt a sense of reassurance as I too had previously received a soul retrieval ceremony. All had worked out well. As I thought back to my own soul retrieval experience with my other research participant and urban shamanic practitioner, my mind began to reflect on a story Meta-Compassa had shared with me during our discussions.
Meta-Compassa had just finished the main component of my soul retrieval. We were participating in the final ritual called the "Welcome Home' ceremony. We were
86 celebrating my soul's return by feasting on ftuit and pastries. We discussed and reflected
on the events that occurred during my retrieval ceremony. While I savored the sweet
fruit, Meta-Compassa began to share another story about soul retrieval.
Meta-Compassa began, "The middle aged client came to me suffering from
depression. She was off medication at the time and wanted to deal with early life issues.
She revealed several fraumatic events in her life. At age three, her sister had been taken
from the family by social services. At age seventeen, she had an abortion. A few years
later, her brother overdosed on drugs and died. She also experienced a go-cart accident
that was fraumatic for her."
Meta-Compassa relayed to me that after the journey the following had occurred.
Three soul parts returned. The client received an elephant as a power animal, a spiritual healing of a broken heart, and a drink of courage from a chalice.
"I fraveled with my power animal to the upperworld and found myself in the universe," Meta-Compass stated, "I was shown a part of the client that had broken off at the time of the brother's death. This part felt hysterical, disoriented, unbelieving, but had to remain clear-headed to help with decisions. It felt frill of rage and shame."
Before she continued her narrative, Meta-Compassa revealed that before the soul part could be returned to the client, there was a sense that the part had to be sfrengthened first. This sense was validated by her power animal. Also, it needed to know that the experience happened a long time ago. Furthermore, this part that had broken off needed to be returned to help the client gain wholeness once again.
Meta-Compassa persisted in her telling, "I was told that a power animal was needed to help this part return and integrate. The spirit of an elephant came forward to
87 offer itself to the client and this was blown into the soul part in the spiritual realms by my power animal. This part was then ready to return with me, but first, it led me to another soul part in the upperworld. There, I saw a second soul part that represented a small child."
Meta-Compassa revealed that this small child had shared that she had felt lost in her big family. She witnessed her parents not dealing well with a sick child in the family.
She felt alone, neglected and lonely. She lacked any sense of identity. The child became watchful and needed to be in small spaces to feel safe. To protect herself, the child sent part of herself to a magical world.
Meta-Compassa intently wove the story about this girl-like figure. She looked at me directly and resumed, "When I communicated with this small girl, it was revealed that it was here she could be creative and spontaneous. Here, she had a magical animal family of brothers, sisters and parents. It was a special and loving place. When the soul part heard that she was being asked to return, she agreed. And when told of this part in the journey, the client thanked this soul part for making her feel safe."
Meta-Compassa took a sip of her coffee and re-organized the pieces of Suit on her plate and then she spoke, "A third soul part was found with a broken heart. It was uncertain or unclear, but this had possibly occurred at the time of the abortion at age seventeen. My power animal performed a healing on this part. I saw the heart being wrapped in protection. The raw emotional pain in the heart began to heal. The soul part stated it was ready to return. The part was then given a drink of courage fi-om a chalice."
Similar to my soul retrieval process, Meta-Compassa gathered all the returning soul parts and blew them into the head and the heart of her client. One by one they
88 returned, along with the power animal and the quality of courage. To complete the return
of the soul parts, she rattled around the client three times.
"I then asked her to lie quietly while she listened to the shamanic singing bowls
music to assist with integration of the soul parts," said Meta-Compassa's as her verbal
tone softened, "the client cried upon completion of the soul retrieval and stated that all
the information was accurate and meaningful to her. When the parts were blown in, she
felt a warmth and fullness fill her body. She felt more complete. She described it as an
important day for her. We concluded with food and drink. She was sent home with
instructions on how to promote further integration. Commeal and tobacco were provided
for a ritual offering of thanks."
Hearing the metallic screech of the storefiront door opening, my awareness was
oriented back into my body. I was sitting in the reception area of Raven-Hope's shamanic
healing practice. The figure entering through the door was Susan, coming for her
appointment with Raven-Hope. I had not seen her since her initial appointment where she
disclosed her horrific and traumatic story of rape to us. She had come for a soul retrieval.
Within a short spell we were all in Raven-Hope's office. By this time, none of the
tribal artifacts which could be spied throughout her room seemed foreign to me. My
elementary study of shamanism quickly introduced me to these items. Drums, rattles and blankets were laid out strategically for her use. After a brief re-acquainting, Raven-Hope asked both of us if we were ready to participate in the soul retrieval. "There are no spectators, we are all participants in our own ways," coached Raven-Hope.
Raven-Hope invited both of us to sit down with her on a beautiful and richly colored Pendleton blanket which lay in the middle of the floor. After we settled on the
89 floor, she spoke, "It's necessary for all of us to be on the same page regarding what is going to occur and how it will happen. We are all here to participate in the shamanic ceremony of soul retrieval. Susan, you have experienced soul loss as a result of being raped when you were younger. Through divination it was revealed that a piece of you, a soul piece split-off from you in an attempt to survive the intense pain of being raped. As a result, you have suffered much emotional and psychological distress. The task of soul retrieval will involve me journeying into nonordinary reality, locating your missing soul part or parts and with the support of my spirit companions return it or them to you. I say parts because often we often have more than one soul part missing."
Raven-Hope then got up and removed a suitcase from a nearby closet. While doing so she continued explaining, "In our modem society we experience multiple traumas without receiving healing to facilitate re-integration. In tribal cultures they are aware of the nature of the soul and the resulting soul loss after a traumatic incident. It was common to receive a soul retrieval ceremony by a tribal shaman within three days of the incident. If I find more than one soul part, I will ask your permission first before I try to invite them back. You must understand that you must be willing to bare the original pain of each returning piece. Thus, it is safe only to bring back so many soul parts at a time."
Raven-Hope then took some time to talk about safety and trust. Raven-Hope illuminated that there would be some physical contact during the ceremony and inquired if Susan would be okay with this. As Susan confirmed this would be alright, I remembered what Raven-Hope had shared with me in this regard, "Many of my clients who come for soul retrievals have lost soul parts because of sexual or physical abuse. I do
90 not want to enter into the safety of their personal space without their consent. I do not need to re-traumatize them."
After she gave an overview of the process, Raven-Hope began to arrange all of her shamanic tools and to make an altar. She began to systematically remove the items out of the small grey suitcase that she previously placed to the edge of the blanket. One by one, she removed them and placed them next to her for her use. She brought out small cloth pouches with draw-strings. As I observed her ritualistic movements, I recognized these pouches fi'om previous ceremonies I had participated in. They were filled with sacred plants and healing herbs. Next, she pulled out a tortoise shell that was to be used as a smudge bowl to bum the plants and herbs. Immediately after placing the shell in firont of her, with great care she removed an eagle feather fi'om a cedar box. The box was well crafted and it had beautiftil Celtic carvings etched into it. Laying the feather next to the shell and pouches which she had arranged for her employment, Raven-Hope began to re-establish her dialogue with Susan.
Raven-Hope stated, "In preparation for your soul retrieval, I took a shamanic journey earlier in the day to communicate with my spirit helpers. While on this journey it was made very clear to me that some preliminary healing must be done before the soul retrieval is initiated."
As she gently removed a rosary from a crimson velvet cloth to place before her,
Raven-Hope continued, "An extraction must be done first - why an extraction? Because it was made known to me that you have a piece of foreign energy matter that has become embedded in your soul body. In the shamanic way of perceiving, this situation is called an intrusion. This sometimes occurs after soul loss as an energetic void is created in the
91 soul body. A void is a place of possibility and an intrusion took advantage of it. My spirit helper revealed to me that a fragment of your perpetrator's soul was left to reside in you.
It must be removed. It is partly responsible for the unrelenting suffering you have experienced. To create a nurturing and safe space for your soul's return, the healing process must ensure this energetic intrusion is first extracted. Do you understand, and if you do, would you like me to proceed?"
Susan seemed somewhat taken aback by this revelation. Tears began to well in her eyes and she quickly blurted out that she no longer wanted any part of the man who raped her. As she said this, her tears miraculously dried and disappeared. Susan then confirmed that she was ready to follow through with the healing ceremony of extraction.
After listening with intense empathetic intent, my mind shifted out of its hypnotic state. I heard the snake-like hiss of Raven-Hope's rattle as it was released from the confines of her suitcase. Staying on the topic, Raven-Hope added, "Susan, after the extraction, I will invite your soul piece back through the process of soul retrieval. If it is willing to return you must ensure that is welcomed home. If your soul part comes back, but you are not able to provide a safe home for it, the soul piece might once again flee.
Susan, are you ready to receive it and make healthy changes in your life so that it might remain?"
Susan replied that she was exhausted firom continually feeling like a piece of herself was missing or that intuitively something internally wasn't right. She then stated that she was ready for this part of her journey towards healing.
After hearing Susan's sincere desire to experience her soul's return, Raven-Hope continued her preliminary discussion. She took great care to emphasize the concept of
92 partnership in healing. It was made clear that soul retrieval was a partnership between the spirit helpers, the shamanic practitioner, the person seeking healing and their associated supportive community and family.
Raven-Hope had ensured Susan had such a community of care. Susan had followed through with an earlier directive to have someone there to drive her home and to spend time with her at home after the ceremony. Susan confirmed that her sister was there but had decided to wait in the reception area rather than be present for the soul retrieval. After hearing all supports were in place, Raven-Hope started to prepare a cleansing smudge.
As Raven-Hope methodically built the sacred smudge, the room took on a spiritual atmosphere. She added together portions of tobacco, sage, sweetgrass and healing lavender. As the ceremony drew closer to commencement, Raven-Hope clarified with Susan, "Soul retrieval can be extraordinarily potent, many have experienced life- changing healing. Most times this occurs through one retrieval process. But please remember it is not like a magic wand, making everything as if it had never happened.
Rather than the end of a journey - it is actually the beginning."
Raven-Hope paused and observed Susan's facial expressions. She was discerning whether she should continue with the process or retreat to more prefatory work her client.
Confirming that Susan was in agreement, Raven-Hope sustained her teaching,
"After the process of soul retrieval, people have many different responses - some are dramatic and others are subtle - but all are noteworthy! Shamanism works with illness, whether it is physical or psycho-emotional on a spiritual level. Cure subscribes to eradicating the symptoms where healing indicates bringing internal and external life back
93 into harmony. Once harmony is restored, renewed efforts must be commenced to deal with the issues that caused the disharmony in the first place." Raven-Hope then had
Susan lay on her back in preparation for the extraction procedure.
By now, Raven-Hope was fanning the concoction of sacred plants stacked in the turtle shell with her eagle feather. As she did, smoke began to fill the air bringing with it an intriguing aroma. For her last step of preparation, she grasped a leather band around her neck and slid her hand forward along it and away fi-om her body until an object tethered to the necklace popped out fi-om her shirt. It was Raven-Hope's crane-bag.
Within it were her sacred talismans and earthly medicine objects. Raven-Hope explained at an earlier sitting that the origin of the bag was from the Celtic shamanic tradition.
Within this tradition the crane bird is viewed as the guardian of the otherworlds. Because the crane has the ability to function in multiple worlds of land, water and air, this bird is considered very sacred.
Holding onto her crane-bag with her lefl; hand, she gave the sign of the cross with her right. Raven-Hope stated she was about to pray in a Gaelic tongue to facilitate the creation of a sacred space. She invited both Susan and I to pray in our own way as well.
At the end of her unfamiliar speech, she shifted her prayer into English and closed with,
"in Jesus' name we pray. Amen."
Raven-Hope next transferred from a cross-legged to a kneeling position. Beside
Susan lying on the blanket, she stayed in that position, silent, for many minutes. Although her body seemed present, other parts of her seemed worlds away. I knew from her teachings she was calling upon her spirit guides, requesting their guidance and blessings for this specific mission of extraction.
94 The static scenario was broken by a shift in the physical domain, as Raven-Hope began to stroke the air just above Susan's body. Like smoothing out the soil in a garden, she was feeling for the intrusion, its mass and depth. She stopped her search just over
Susan's abdomen. With great intent she began to pull and scoop at the area with her hands. Grasping and tugging, like a candy-maker working toffee. She appeared physically to be pulling wisps of something and dropping it into a large jar of water that stood near by.
One time during a teaching, Raven-Hope explained that water is of monumental importance in the Celtic shamanic culture as it is believed that all water is related and it all comes from the sacred pool in the otherworld. As I reflected on this teaching, I thought to myself that perhaps the perpetrator's soul piece might one day find its way back to its home too. He must have been lost himself to seek wholeness through stealing and damaging Susan. Raven-Hope had taught at an earlier visit, "Soul loss begets soul loss!"
After this discarding process, the silence was broken by Raven-Hope's whispering voice, "It is done. The intrusion is gone. It was heavy with toxicity, both from the perpetrator's soul piece and your still-birth attempts of eliminating it from yourself.
Susan, can you please sit up."
Susan sat up from her laying position and sat facing Raven-Hope. I sat facing both of them, forming a triangle. Raven-Hope asked Susan for any responses to the extraction procedure. Susan began to weep gently and she expressed that she felt like an unwanted guest had finally left. Raven-Hope suggested we pray and give thanks to
Creator and the helping spirits that facilitated the process. So we did.
95 After a short period of reflection from the three of us, Raven-Hope announced the time to begin the soul retrieval was at hand. The extraction, although vital in the healing process, would have little lasting effect unless followed at once by the soul retrieval.
Raven-Hope explained, "If I do not return the soul part to you as quickly as I can, the void from the extracted energetic intrusion will remain gaping, open to anything energetic willing to adopt it as its home."
Raven-Hope notified us that while she was in the process of journeying to find and return Susan's soul fragments, she would be sharing out loud what she was experiencing. Raven-Hope stated this helpful method was called simultaneous narration.
She mentioned it was developed by Michael Hamer, the founder and director of the
Foundation for Shamanic Studies. Raven-Hope exposed to Susan, "It helps you be a part of the process, but it also makes the journey more vivid for me, the shamanic practitioner."
Raven-Hope continued to talk but her voice tightened as she twisted hard to her right and took hold of a beautifiil woven drum bag. As she pulled the hand-made drum from its nesting place, its Celtic designs became apparent. The front surface was decorated with the Sacred Cosmic Tree which illusfrated the map of the shaman's cosmos. I remembered Raven-Hope's teachings. The roots of the tree represented the lowerworld, the trunk the middle world and the tree branches and leaves depicted the upperworld of the heavens. The tree is one entity, yet it is many worlds within it. Raven-
Hope would always add, "Just like the kingdom of heaven!" It is the cosmic free depicted on the surface of her drum that provides directional map for Raven-Hope to shamanically travel from one world to another seeking spiritual guidance and advice.
96 Around the edge of the drum there was a crown of thorns. Painted black and grey, there was blood-red on some of the thorn tips. In previous discussions, Raven-Hope shared with me that this circle of thorns represented her faith in Jesus Christ, hi Celtic fashion, the thorny wreath circled the drum without separation or end. She declared that this symbolized her Savior's never ending love and grace. The memory of her drum teachings ended for me as she trustingly placed it in my hand.
As I grasped the leather web-like strands at the back of the drum, Raven-Hope continued her introductory discussion, "During the ceremony, Bryan who is apprenticing, will provide the drumming to facilitate my shamanic journey. Susan, you and I will lay side-by-side on the blanket with our arms and shoulders touching. There must be some physical contact as our bodies serve as a type of energetic transformer. Did you know that in most indigenous cultures the laying position is considered the most healing posture a person can take? They say that the laying posture places the body in the spirit canoe, carrying it, drifting down the river of consciousness levels, noticing along the way the
Great Spirit, our ancestors and helping spirits."
After stating that, Raven-Hope drew a deep breath into her lungs and let it out a slow, controlled manner. I knew from past training that she was beginning to centre and calm herself. In the shamanic way, she was preparing to become a conduit which would permit the free soul's easy flow towards compassionate and caring spirits in the otherworld. But most important, she would become a conduit to facilitate the return of lost soul parts of those she was serving. Raven-Hope took up her laying position next to
Susan on the colorful blanket. She conveyed to Susan that her only responsibility was to relax and be open to the healing process of soul parts returning.
97 Before I was called to drum, Raven-Hope commenced to state her intention, "I am going on a shamanic journey to the lower world to seek the lost soul part or parts for
Susan and return them to her." She repeated this same intention another three times for a total of four times. This protocol was congruent with all the journeying instruction I had received in the past. Raven-Hope once said to me, "One doesn't just journey to the otherworld just for fun; there must be a purpose and our statement of intention which will guide our free soul to where it needs to go. Intention orientates the trip - it provides the route!" She went on further and explained that keeping the intention succinct was critical for when doing sham anic work the practitioner must only focus on one issue at a time.
Keep it simple she would state.
Raven-Hope then placed a densely-knitted cloth over her eyes and she instructed
Susan to do the same. From the position of observer and from my minimal past experiences in shamanic training, I knew that for the two of them, day had just turned to night. Reflecting on their experience of being in the dark, my thoughts turned to another definition of the term shaman that I was exposed to. The term shaman can also mean
"one who sees in the dark", both literally and symbolically. They can see in the dark because of their enlightenment. The enlightenment gives off light as their free soul traverses the otherworlds. In a related sense, Raven-Hope had previously shared that her
Christian faith also recognized this throwing of light as most of the art work depicting
Divine images have glowing halos that either encircled their whole body or their heads.
I then noticed Raven-Hope give the pre-arranged signal to start the drumming to initiate her shamanic journey for the purpose of Susan's soul retrieval. I felt my fingers on my left hand sink deeper into the leather webbing on the back of the drum that I was
98 holding. And as the drumstick struck the sweet-spot in the centre of the drum-skin, the resulting vibration seemed to run up my arms and fill my entire body. The resonating sound felt like waves that rolled up and upon my being. As I allowed myself to ease into their depth, my consciousness responded. All the teachings about shamanic drumming and journeying rhythmically danced across the sands of my mind. For instance, the ei^t leather spokes that I held represented the eight cardinal and non-cardinal directions, and in the European shamanic traditions, they symbolically represented the eight legs of the mythical horse that transported the Norse god and shaman, Odin, to other mystical realities.
I once asked Raven-Hope about the significance of the drum and how it transported the shamanic practitioner into and around other realities. While holding onto her drum with one hand and stroking it in a circular motion with the tip of her drum-stick with her other hand, she began to tell the story of the drum. She opened with, "My drum is alive and it has a name. My drum's name is Anum Cara, which in the Celtic tradition means 'Soul Friend'. The drum represents the heartbeat, not just the heartbeat of the human being, but that of the earth and the whole universe. It provides a resonating and driving energetic force that constantly moves forward, always creating as it advances."
On another occasion, while participating in a drumming circle, Raven-Hope stated, "If it is the intention that provides the route to be taken on the shamanic journey map, then surely the shaman's drum is the vehicle that transports us!"
Seeking to further answer my questions about the drum as it relates to soul retrieval, Raven-Hope gave an in depth explanation using some recent findings by the field of science. These findings appear to support long-held tribal knowledge regarding
99 the special abilities of the drum. She postulated, "Through the sonic driving of the drum, a natural altered state of consciousness is achieved by the shamanic practitioner. The beat of the drum alters the frequency of the brainwaves which then permits the shamanic practitioner to have an awareness of nonordinary realities."
During a past workshop, Raven-Hope attempted to explain this shifting of brainwaves to her audience. She posited that to achieve a shamanic state of consciousness via brainwave frequency alteration, the goal was to achieve a steady monotonous rapid drumbeat of three to four beats per second. That's about two hundred beats per minute.
"This frequency corresponds to what neurophysiologists call the theta-wave rhythm, in which the human brain fires impulses at four to seven cycles per second" (Wesselman,
2003, p.36).
As the brainwaves gently shifts the frequency, the brain moves from Beta waves, which are associated with being awake, to theta-waves, which reflect brain activity just above consciousness. It is while in this state of theta brainwave activity that a shamanic state of consciousness is achieved. And once achieved, there is a freedom for the shamanic practitioner to encounter an increased degree of sensory related imagery and mystical experience.
It is thought that once a theta brainwave pattern is attained, it comes into harmony with the frequency of realities other than that of our material world in which we normally live. Raven-Hope taught that this vibrational harmony creates what are referred to in the
Celtic tradition as "thin places." In the shamanic view, these thin places are energetic vortexes leading to otherworlds which reside close to us geographically but on a complete different frequency range than our own. It is at the point of these thin places
100 that the shamanic practitioner's free soul, which flows on the pulse of rhythmic sound, travels into these otherworlds.
As my awareness shifted back to my responsibility of drumming, I could not see anything in particular happening in the physical space of the room. A candle's flame was flickering. The cleansing smoke circled up and out of the smudge bowl. Susan and
Raven-Hope were still laying side-by-side on the blanket. However, relying on my shamanic instruction and related experience, I knew there was something unseen occurring. I just could not bring the unseen to my awareness through the use of my natural five senses.
I conscientiously continued to beat the drum rapidly. In spite of this, my thoughts began to drift back to the teachings I first received on how to undertake a shamanic journey. Raven-Hope started some of my initial training by instructing, "When someone takes a shamanic journey they are not experiencing a trance nor are they participating in a type of guided imagery. The shamanic journey is neither of these states. Instead, the person journeying has complete control of their thinking and actions. There is no external controlling factor or force. It is similar to a lucid dream where one has full control in both realms of awareness. A part of oneself is experiencing the dream, while at the same time; awareness continues to exist in the physical awake state."
In the past I have questioned whether these other realities and related experiences exist or was it just my imagination creating them. "For shamans imagination encompasses more than just brain activity; vital and principle vehicle, imagination connects us with the web of power and the spirit in all things. Imagination in shamanic terms links us with the spirit world or as Michael Hamer calls it, the world of non-
101 ordinary reality" (Stevens & Stevens, 1988, p. 16). Raven-Hope explained that the imagination does play an initial part in the shamanic journey and soul retrieval, but not in the sense of creating the whole experience. Raven-Hope shared, "The role of the imagination is an accelerant, like a lit match being introduced to a flammable material.
The potential was not reaUzed until the catalyst was present. Thus it is with imagination and shamanic journeying. The potential for shamanic journeying is there but it first must be ignited by the imagination!"
To begin my own shamanic journeys, I was instructed to imagine a place in nature where I intuitively sensed the closeness of the spirit world. I used my imagination to create a full and rich image of the place where I felt called to enter the otherworld. For a lower world journey, I imagined myself crawling through a small hole on the top of a large rock jutting up from the ground. During my childhood, I sought solace at this place which I referred to as whale-rock. To begin an upperworld journey, I imaged myself climbing an old oak tree in the fi-ont yard of my childhood home. 1 began climbing and soon found myself having a type of "Jack and the Beanstalk" experience, climbing up and up into the sky. To me these places are "thin places" where I employ my imagination to gain access into the otherworlds which exist within dimensions of my inner universe.
But like Raven-Hope stated, "It is at this point that the imagination ceases to be of use." Once I am able to enter the energetic vortexes, the imagination is no longer required and I am called to let go of the logical constraints of the physical world. A part of me is swept away into an alternate reality by the reverberation of the sonic pulse of a shaman's drum. Once there, the journey takes on a life of its own. The otherworld and its inhabitants begin to interact with me utilizing their own free-will and volition.
102 Regarding soul retrieval, I was instructed that the journey to find soul parts could include all of the otherworlds: lower, middle and upper. However, most soul retrieval journeys focus on the lowerworld. Raven-Hope made it clear, "Lowerworld journeys don't require traveling through the dark and damp, musty earth - clawing through unsightly bugs and worms. Instead, it requires the shamanic practitioner to see the tunnel or vortex as quickly as possible once passing through the thin places on the surface of the earth. Once entered into the tunnel, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, it will lead to a magical realm perceived just below the earth's crust. It is here in the lowerworld that soul fragments fleeing from trauma seek asylum."
Another participant at a prior shamanic workshop reported what was taught to him pertaining as to why the lowerworld was the preferred destination of fleeing soul parts. He relayed, "All creatures that crawl, walk, and fly upon the surface of earth come from the earth and will eventually return to earth - ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The soul pieces that are lost or missing seek reftige back into the womb of their mother, mother earth. They seek maternal comfort."
If this is so, then it is into the depths of the lowerworld that the shamanic practitioner must travel. It is there that the shamanic practitioner will find and return the lost soul pieces of trauma victims so they might start their healing journey of wholeness.
My brief reflection on the shamanic journey was interrupted by the sound of Raven-
Hope's voice as she began reporting what she was experiencing during Susan's soul retrieval. "I sense I am like a ball of mercury, fluid, quicksilver - separating from my physical body and flowing down a pulsating, ribbed tunnel," reported Raven-Hope, "I see
103 a bright hght. It is the entrance way into lowerworld. I know this place. 1 have
experienced this place many times."
She paused for a time, and then continued, "My power animals are greeting me!"
Raven-Hope chuckles lightly as she explains that they are being curt with her, telling her
there is no time for casual conversation - there is a job to be done! Raven-Hope's
revelation reminds me of what she once told me about her power animals. She laughed as
she revealed, "I have learned to love them, but they are difficult to get to know, no
nonsense characters they are. I must always be quick to pay attention to what they have to
teach!"
As Raven-Hope lay there beside Susan, she illuminated that her power animals
were taking her to an area of the lowerworld that she was not too very familiar with. It
was a place of folklore and inhabited with animals of mystical powers. Her power
animals telepathically related to her that Susan's ability to safely contain the returning the
lost soul part was precarious. To help strengthen her present jfragile soul body she will
require a power animal first before her soul piece is asked to return to her. Without
notice, a dragon-like creature appeared before them. It then shot up into the sky upon its
wings and disappeared out of sight. Raven-Hope described that she knew it was the
dragon who was offering its services to Susan. Within a short span of time, it had introduced itself four separate times.
Cognizant that this was the guiding criteria in the lowerworld, Raven-Hope began to explain the dragon power animal to Susan. "Susan, a dragon is offering itself to you as
a power animal. It wants to help you on your healing journey. It is offering you its characteristics and powers to support you. It is saying do not be afi-aid because of its
104 appearance and erroneous evil reputation." Raven-Hope declared, "It will help you travel to the shadow areas within where you will need to go, for the dragon was known as a beneficent dweller of the inner earth in ancient times. The dragon also possesses a searing, searching gaze that you will require for the task of looking within to find your answers. The dragon is associated with strength and fearlessness, but most importantly for your requirements, the dragon represents 'initiation'. To me, these attributes, if accepted by you, will help you on your healing pilgrimage of which the first step is to return your lost soul to you."
As she lay still, Susan began to speak through a broadening smile, "I know this was meant to be, I collect dragons! I receive dragon gifts fi-om people for all of the special occasions in my life. Most of my life, I have been drawn to them for some unknown reason. Most people though I was a little excessive, now I'll really have something to tell them!"
Due to the monotonous beating of the drum, I was aware that I was struggling to stay present to the situation. In the drumming circles I had attended, I was made aware that one could slip in and out of awareness because of the trance producing beat. My responsibility to the soul retrieval process was to stay focused, be a guardian of the process in the physical world, and operate the spiritual vehicle of the drum. As my hands became numb, I could no longer feel the drum being connected to me; instead, it seemed to float detached in fi-ont of me. To help me focus, I listened more intently on what
Raven-Hope was saying to Susan as she continued to describe the shamanic journey she was experiencing while searching for her lost soul part.
105 Raven-Hope verbally illustrated, "I am finding myself walking through a large building, it's almost seems like a castle, but it is not. No, it's an ancient place of learning, like a school or college. There are textbooks all over. It's a library! The books are all bound in tattered leather and they are stacked high, teetering columns. The walls are made of stone and there are marble pillars supporting large spanning archways. There is an odour of decaying paper and candle wax."
"I am continuing to look for you Susan, I now see many burning candles flicker
... lighting the way for the readers to navigate the words on the pages of their books. I see hundreds of people studiously reading textbooks. Those who are not reading are debating amongst each other. I am trying to listen to what they are saying, but I cannot make it out. The input is overwhelming my sense of hearing and it just sounds like millions of people speaking in tongues. I'm calling out to you now Susan. Everything just stops, the books and all the people are instantaneously gone and everything is dark. I'm peering through the darkness into the distance. I see one candle burning instead of many.
There, far in the distance, there is one person that remains. I am walking towards the person. I can now tell it is a young woman. Her facial features are flickering in and out of view as the candle labours to bum. Are you Susan I ask? While peering up from her book, she hesitantly and shyly replies - yes, I am Susan."
As Raven-Hope paused at this point, I noticed Susan's breathing quicken as her chest rose and fell. Raven-Hope went on to describe what the image of the soul part was wearing in the otherworld. Surprisingly, it was very similar to what Susan remembers wearing the evening she was raped. This similarity adheres to some of the shamanic teachings around the lost soul and how it appearances in nonordinary reality. Raven-
106 Hope had previously explained that when the soul piece splits off in ordinary reality, its
image is captured and remains static in the nonordinary reality. This phenomenon is
comparable to capturing a beautiful sunset image with a video camera. The fleeting
images are captured only to remain constant in the reality of the digital world. But in the
present reality, time continues and the living sky moves on, shifting into darkness. What
Raven-Hope was witnessing was Susan's soul fragment, which is pure vibrational
energetic light, captured at the point of trauma and transferred and held in an alternate
nonordinary reality.
Struggling to listen over the sound of the rhythmic drumming, I heard Raven-
Hope speak, "Susan, I have just communicated with your soul piece and I have conveyed
that you desperately want her back. However, the soul piece is very frightened that the
bad man that hurt you is still there. I am confirming with her that he is not. She is now
smiling. I also let her know of all the healing work you have accomplished so far. Susan,
the soul part has agreed to come back. Susan, are you ready for the return of your lost soul piece?"
Without hesitation Susan replied that she was ready for her soul's return. After hearing Susan's approval, Raven-Hope continued the verbal description of the soul retrieval journey. "Susan, the soul part wants me to look at a page within the book she was reading. As I look, I am being drawn into the story on the page, past the words, into the emotion. I now see a small girl about five. She is laying, frightened, on a canopy bed with a half-dressed man shadowing over her. Susan, does this scene have any significance for you?"
107 Susan paused in her reply, as if searching the pages of her memory, "No, I can't
recall any situation like that." After Susan's non-confirming reply, Raven-Hope then stated she seemed to traverse time and space and immediately found herself back in the library setting with Susan's lost soul piece. Having agreed to return, the younger image of
Susan entered Raven-Hope's free soul awaiting transport back to ordinary reality.
At this point in the soul retrieval I found myself contemplating the ethics of soul retrieval. I was cognizant that Raven-Hope had found another soul piece within the book but she did not pursue its return. Once during a conversation over coffee, Raven-Hope spoke to me about shamanism, healings and the associated ethical code she aspires to adhere to. She stated that if she was carrying out a soul retrieval for someone and witnessed a violent or disturbing incident while on the journey, she would not go into great detail to describe it. She would briefly touch upon the scene to see if it resonated with the client. If it didn't, she would move on. She made it clear that this information is. only shared if the client indicated that they were ready or they had previously exposed the traumatic incident to her. Raven-Hope presented that it would be unethical to share such information — it may cause trauma in of itself. She reported that each client will receive such memories in their own time, naturally through awake or sleeping dreams. In due course, the client may desire a soul retrieval when the time is right, when it is meant to be.
As our agreed upon time limit had arrived, I made use of the drum to signal the end of the shamanic journey for Raven-Hope. I started the call-back procedure as I was instructed. I paused for a couple of seconds after halting the steady beat that I provided throughout Raven-Hope's soul retrieval journey. I then gave four drum rolls, each having
108 seven beats. Then for about thirty seconds I beat the drum as quickly as possible. To close, I softly and gently repeated the four drum rolls with seven beats. While providing this signal, I knew Raven-Hope would be making her way back to the entrance way into the lowerworld by which she came. Most likely her power animals would escort her there, ensuring her safe return with Susan's soul piece. Once entering the passageway back to ordinary reality, she would quickly find herself back in the material world, entering back fully into her body.
After orientating ourselves to the still silence of the moment, Raven-Hope pulled the cloth from her eyes and rolled onto her side and up onto her-knees. She asked Susan to also remove the cloth from her eyes but to remain lying down. As shamans have done throughout history, Raven-Hope blew the power animal of the dragon from within her cupped hands which rested on Susan's breastbone. She then helped Susan to a sitting position, and blew any residual power of the dragon into the crown of her head. Using her rattle, Raven-Hope shook it intensely around Susan. Next, Raven-Hope helped Susan return to a laying position on the blanket. Then, Raven-Hope cupped her hands over her own heart-spot and captured the soul part that was safely carried within. She stated openly that she was now going to re-integrate the lost soul part back into Susan's soul body. She then located Susan's breastbone once again and blew with all her might.
Then mirroring the same procedure previously executed to blow in the power animal, she sat Susan up and blew long and hard into the crown of her head. Raven-Hope took her shaman's rattle once again, but this time spoke, "I am going to rattle now to seal in the power animal and the returning soul part." Raven-Hope shook the rattle vigorously
109 and circled Susan's body four times. When she stopped the rattling, Raven-Hope stared directly into the eyes of Susan and whispered, "Welcome home."
At that very moment, I considered the phenomenon of the returning lost soul. I could not help but reflect on the shamanic-like journey Dorothy experienced to find her soul's return in the motion picture, (1939) The Wizard of Oz. Dorothy, the main character, clicks her ruby slippers three times to initiate the journey from the otherworld of nonordinary reality back to the realm of the ordinary. All the while, like a mantra, she repeats to herself, "There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home." Welcome home, Dorothy ... welcome home, Susan!
110 CHAPTER EIGHT
Final Insights, Thoughts and Possibilities
"And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."
^ T.S. Elliot (Four Quartets)
As the research text nears completion, it too, like the soul of Susan and Dorothy, is invited to "come home." Having explored the phenomenon of the shamanic healing technique of soul retrieval, my concept of home is forever altered. Like any spiritual awakening, everything appears new. I am catching a glimpse of what Raven-Hope shared about where clients usually find themselves on their healing journey after receiving a soul retrieval soul. She declared that, "instead of being the end of a journey - it is actually the beginning."
Paradoxically, the new leg of Susan's healing journey commenced the moment
Raven-Hope whispered, "Welcome Home." All of us who were involved experienced the soul retrieval ceremony in our own way, but the one element that we all shared was a sense of completion. This impression of completion felt like a mother's relief upon locating her child after frantically searching the labyrinth-like clothing isles of a department store.
After welcoming Susan's soul piece back home, Raven-Hope silently gestured to me to get up and sit in one of the comfortable chairs in her office. Raven-Hope put on some gentle and soothing Celtic music and suggested that Susan rest while continuing to lie on the Pendleton blanket. Raven-Hope instructed Susan to "just relax and feel yourself
111 in your body and experience what it feels like to be home." While Susan reflected,
Raven-Hope joined me as she sat in a chair next to mine. She took an affirming breath and gave a small and acknowledging smile, as if indicating a job well done.
For a period of time, Raven-Hope and Susan discussed the soul retrieval and the messages brought back and the lessons learned. Aware that much of what is experienced during the journey is metaphoric; Raven-Hope encouraged Susan to develop her own interpretation of the experience. Susan reported feeling a sense of peace even though she knew she would have to face more painful memories in the future to continue to heal. To complete the ceremony, Raven-Hope gave Susan a small stone that was etched with a
Celtic knot. This was her gift to Susan to help her remember the courageous step she had just taken. Although an initial step, it was still a great one.
After the soul retrieval ceremony had ended and Susan had left, I entered a period of reflection. I felt a dissonance as I tried to process all that had just occurred. The experience was so incredible it was difficult to believe it had just happened. I thought to myself that one could better understand and summarize the totality of the experience by reflecting on Dorothy's nonordinary experience in the popular motion picture, The
Wizard of Oz.
The story revealed the concept of soul loss, soul retrieval and the post reactions of
Dorothy, the experiencer, and the others who must try to make sense of this incredible story. I believe the story is popular and timeless because it speaks to a place deep within us all that still intuitively recognizes that such a world exists "just an awareness" away.
Indeed, the sacred is here with us, confirming all along what we have sensed - we are not alone.
112 In brief, Dorothy experiences the compounded trauma of having her special dog
Toto stolen by a wicked woman from her neighbourhood, followed by hitting her head in a fall shortly there after. From a shamanic perspective, she experiences soul loss as a result. A piece of her soul splits-off and enters into a realm of nonordinary reality referred to as Oz in the story. Here, her soul becomes lost as it enters into an alternate reality much different from her own mundane world. As her body remains physically in Kansas, a part of her is experiencing a world of little people, talking trees, winged flying creatures, guardian entities, and the helping spirit companions of the Scarecrow, Tin-man and the Lion.
Dorothy is on a journey that can also be viewed as a soul retrieval. She is on a quest to find healing in the other world of Oz. Dorothy just had to get back home. To do so, she was guided by benevolent beings in the other world for the metaphoric quest for a brain, a heart, and courage. Having completed this healing task, her soul begins its return to ordinary reality by clicking her newly acquired ruby slippers three times. Dorothy must wave good-bye to her helping spirit companions and return to the home that she knows and longs for. After having her soul piece return, Dorothy becomes aware that she is back in Kansas, back in her body.
Her Uncle Henry stated, "She got quite a bump on her head - we kind of thought there for a minute she was going to leave us."
Dorothy frantically replied, trying to explain that a part of her did leave to another reality, "But I did leave you, Uncle Henry - that's just the trouble. And I tried to get back for days and days!"
113 Not having knowledge and experience regarding the concept of soul loss and retrieval, most would dismiss such a concept as fanciful. Such is the case with her Aunt
Em, as she reacts to Dorothy's efforts to explain the other world she had just experienced,
"There, there, lie quite now. You just had a bad dream."
But within the world of indigenous people and shamanic practitioners there is such a reality. It is not a dream or a trance, for shamans can function at will within it.
Indeed, it is real and they will defend it. Dorothy tries to do the same, "No. But it wasn't a dream - it was a place!"
"Oh, we dream lots of silly things when we ...," countered Aunt Em.
Trying to defend and honour her shamanic experience, Dorothy makes an effort to describe the unseen to the people in the world of the seen, "No, Aunt Em - this was real, a truly live place. And I remember that some of it wasn't very nice .. .but most of it was beautiful. But just the same, all I kept saying to everybody was I want to go home."
Realizing that most people do not have the capacity to surrender their logic and intellect, thus initiating the free-fall into an altered state of consciousness, most shamanic practitioners might first react similar to Dorothy, "Doesn't anyone believe me?"
Perhaps some in western society, where such knowledge and understanding does not flourish, might react similar to Uncle Henry's patronizing attempt to pacify Dorothy's obvious frustration that people who surround her are "not getting" what she is conveying,
"Of course we believe you, Dorothy."
People who originate from a society that subscribes to the scientific worldview find it less complicated to acknowledge what they can observe and touch. Like Dorothy's
Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, they believed in Dorothy, but they did not have the capacity
114 to believe in her experiences in another dimension. Like most shamanic practitioners who
do have the ability to intentionally enter into these other dimensional realities, Dorothy
cannot and will not deny her experience. Others peoples' doubts cannot erase her
commitment that her experience of nonordinary reality actually occurred. Like Dorothy,
shamanic practitioners do not waste much of their time trying to convince the
disbelievers. It is often less trouble to be labelled a dreamer by others and then get on
with the healing work they are called to. Most times, shamanic practitioners continue
their courageous journeys to other realities, seeking assistance for the sake of others
without much fanfare.
Being employed at an Aboriginal based counselling agency on a daily basis, I
have witnessed the special time taken to honour those who courageously face their fear
and return to talk about it. The concept of the "rite of passage" is crucial to the
adhesiveness of the indigenous community. Not only is time set apart for recognition
from others, but time is taken to listen to the story of the hero or heroine who has returned from their journey somehow much different, van Gennep (1960) spoke of these
"rites of passages" as a natural form of regeneration, a type of death and rebirth. He described the phenomenon of fransition via the process of ritual as occurring in a tripartite sequence: separation, transition, and incorporation. Reflecting on van Gennep's work, it becomes apparent that a similar sequence of events had occurred during Susan's soul retrieval. Moreover, by reflecting on research participants, Raven-Hope and Meta-
Compassa's transition stories, we see something quite analogous. It is crucial to recognize and honour the participants who have shared the story of their heroic journey.
115 Indeed, I have been deeply touched and affected by the courage displayed by all who participated in this study on the practice of soul retrieval. And as I pause to reflect, each person is somehow much different from when we commenced the research journey.
My primary research resource has been the urban shamanic practitioner, Raven-Hope.
Ultimately, Raven-Hope agreed to participate in the research study because she believed soul retrieval was too important to the process of healing to keep it silent. At the risk of appearing strange and eccentric by the greater society, Raven-Hope shared her life story and how she came to be "called to do the work."
Even more incredible has been her courageous faith in her God and Jesus Christ.
She remains firm in her faith that her healing practice is being Divinely led, even while encountering some resistance from other Christian people. It has not always been an easy journey walking between both worlds. It seems that walking shamanically between nonordinary and ordinary worlds is easier to navigate compared to walking the wounded road between her Aboriginal and European ancestry. However, great rewards continue to come to her and to those she comes in contact with as a shamanic practitioner.
I would also like to recognize my secondary research resource who also led me to a deeper understanding of shamanism and soul retrieval practice. Meta-Compassa's story of how she entered into the practice of shamanism was awe-inspiring. Reflecting the
"bear spirit", she confronted great adversity while protecting her children. After medical science failed to provide a cure, she desperately sought alternative means to care for her sick children. While searching for a cure, the concept of shamanism broke through to her consciousness. To follow such a calling was emotionally and mentally courageous. She was a nurse at a large metropolitan city hospital working within the very field she
116 worshipped and aspired to be in. She had to let go of the intellectual constructs she depended upon to function within the institution of medicine. However, by doing so she became stronger in her conviction to learn more from the spirit world thus increasing her knowledge of healing others. Shamanism became a way of life, and ultimately, her profession. She whole-heartily believes that pieces of the soul leave to safer places when faced with potential harm. Meta-Compassa's main task in the healing process is to trust the helping spirits that come to help her. These compassionate helpers provide assistance in the return of lost soul parts. This process has never failed to occur, just as they never failed to help her children.
An Aboriginal elder once said to me that many people in western society tend not to suffer well, and thus, do not grow much spiritually. It is a society that is all about
"looking good." If this be the case, we tend to hide our pitiful appearance from others and
God as we struggle with the large and small traumas of life. But in the Aboriginal way, it is when we risk appearing pitiful that the helping spirits come calling to help us. They take pity on us. Adhering to this conceptual teaching, it is important to acknowledge both
Bob and Susan for their willingness to stand vulnerable for all to witness. It was their hope that by doing so, it would open them up to the potentiality of healing. By sharing their stories of trauma and their exploration into the world of shamanic healing, both individuals felt it would be worth the risk of being misunderstood to be of benefit to others. Both of Raven-Hope's clients received help shamanically after conventional means were totally exhausted. Like most healing journeys, new awareness is only acquired once we are forced to shed old beliefs and ideas because they, like old coats, no longer bring us comfort.
117 I must also recognize and honour my own journey as a person, counsellor, and academic researcher. This journey has not been for the faint of heart. It has insisted that I become willing to abandon pet concepts regarding the nature of trauma, counselling, spirituality and the universe I reside in. It has also encouraged me to question the status quo pertaining to the prescribed worldviews of western society. Living in the question, while mentally and emotionally stimulating, can become exhausting and anxiety producing. And if 1 am truly honest, having gone against the grain of the overt and covert religious and social beliefs of my society, I am left with the slight sting of guilt.
Being willing to suffer well, as the native elder challenged, I have entered into a new awareness regarding other dimensions of reality and how these influence us on the physical plane. In truth, I have only experienced a fraction of what the veteran shamanic practitioners in the study describe of these other dimensions of reality. However, even this minute portion I have experienced for myself has been enough to incite sacred awe within me. In most instances, I am left only to believe what these respectful and kind individuals are describing to me. However, in the shamanic way, this is not satisfactory.
No, the spirit world is available to all of us and its access is not guarded by the requirements of belief or religious doctrine. It is for all of us to "know" through personal experience. Because of my brief and limited contact with other realities through the process of altered consciousness, I feel compelled to continue my exploration of the practices of shamanism and soul retrieval in both my personal and professional areas of my life.
As a researcher, I believe I have achieved some of the indicators of success while working within the paradigm of the narrative inquirer. By remaining present to the once
118 foreign practice of soul retrieval as a means of addressing the symptoms of trauma, I have been altered by the intimate proximity of my interactions with the shamanic practitioners.
Clandinin & Connelly (2000) contended:
In order to join the narrative, to become part of the landscape, the researcher
needs to be there long enough and to be a sensitive reader of and questioner of
situations in an effort to grasp the huge number of events and stories, the many
twisting and turning narrative threads that pulse through every moment and show
up in what appears to the new and inexperienced eyes of the researcher as
mysterious code. One might say that intimacy for a narrative inquirer is being able
to take with participants at least some of the same things for granted (p.77).
Not only was I able to take some of the same things for granted, but to my surprise, I was becoming one of them. However, although 1 had an opportunity to closely interact with the shamanic practitioners and participate in soul retrievals, throughout the research process I felt sceptical and confused at times. I suffered from a type of spiritual culture shock much of the time. If my reactions were such after extended close contact with the shamanic practitioners, I am empathetic to the reader's potential reaction of confusion and doubt who may not have the benefit and privilege of direct contact with such healers.
Ingerman (1991) recognized such a conundrum and empathetically challenges readers of her text to be open to new ideas involving shamanic soul retrieval;
The concepts I will talk about may be very hard to understand from a rational,
logical place. In our society and culture, we tend to support left-brain functions.
But as we leam more and more in the evolution of our consciousness, we discover
119 that reality is not as logical as we may have supposed it to be. There is more to be
'seen' than what can be seen literally by the human eye. But new belief systems
are sometimes hard to deal with. Using our intuitive part of ourselves is just not
accepted in our society. We've developed such a structured system that to leave it
is seen as dangerous. We've lost our imagination (p.2).
A common saying heard throughout local Aboriginal communities is, "The Great
Spirit must have loved stories because he made so many people." In creating this narrative text, I hope I have honoured the essence of this statement. It is my hope that I have developed a new way of telling an old story that respectfully combines many people and their storied lives relative to the human condition, shamanism and soul retrieval. This story purposefully resists the practice of academic dissection and prescriptive application.
Instead, it strives to remain alive and creative. It is hoped that the story is alluring enough for the reader to take up the invitation to wrestle with and ponder the possibilities of such insights presented. Clandinin & Connelly (2000) posited that, "the narrative inquirer does not prescribe general applications and uses but rather creates texts that when well done, offer readers a place to imagine their own uses and applications" (p.42).
I hope I have created a rich text that honours what I have witnessed and supports the healing salve of the story recognized within indigenous cultures. Shamanic cultures understand that storytelling can reshape a person's life story. Most shamanic practitioners are great storytellers. They have the ability to "shape-shift", shifting the appearance of an individual's story and even themselves. A shaman having this gift is considered a healing catalyst and change agent (Arrien, 1993). My desire is that the reader profit by this
120 narrative text in such a way that they are more open to becoming a healing catalyst and change agents in what ever they do.
The intention that originally oriented this research project was to hear storied experiences of modem, urban shamanic practitioners who employ soul retrieval to help individuals heal from the negative effects of trauma. The main body of the research task was to immerse myself as completely as possible into the world of the shamanic practitioner and their practice of soul retrieval. A secondary task of the research process was directly dependent on the first and main task. Having explored these experiences narratively, my goal was to initiate a cursory exploration into how psychology and the shamanic practice of soul retrieval might be compared and contrasted. There is the possibility that this cursory exploration may lead to future research on the connection between psychology and soul retrieval and how their theoretical relationship might be strategically utilized in therapeutic counseling setting to address trauma.
Regarding the first and main task, to explore the shamanic journey and soul retrieval, I wanted to try to satisfy my own curiosity both personally and professionally regarding these practices. Throughout my life, I have always passionately sought communion with the Divine. After initially hearing about shamanism and soul retrieval, I wanted to experience this phenomenon and to understand it for myself. I wanted to explore this other world of spirit that I always sensed was so close to me, yet seemed out of reach because of my indoctrination into the western worldview, rational thought, and associated dualism. Rather than just being an observer, I wanted to be a participant in this worldview where the "divine power permeated the physical world. Divinity was
121 everywhere and in everything, and all things that existed were parts of a whole bound together as one great web of life" (Webb, 2004, p. xiv).
In my efforts to immerse myself into the ways of shamanic practice, I was able to catch a glimpse of the other worlds that shamans profess to exist. I must admit that I have not fully satisfied my curiosity; however, I have piqued it. histead of finding a flat, two dimensional experience, I have tapped into a multi-dimensional universe that resisted full understanding with just a brief visit. Left with such a realization, I now confirm what research participant, Raven-Hope initially admonished, "The otherworld of the shaman is vast. The internal universe is much greater than the external one science continually seeks to survey and map. As shamanic practitioners, we become astronauts of inner space rather than outer space. We must continually go to these unexplored regions, experience and remember them, so that we can know the landscape and where to look for lost souls if one is called to perform soul retrieval."
I have been encouraged by Raven-Hope to practice shamanic journeying on regular basis to continue to leam more about these other dimensions of reality. One must continue to practice and form relationship with the spirit world. Supporting this idea,
Ingerman, (cited in Webb, 2004) pointed out, "hi our culture we are into fast-food spiritualism that people take a weekend workshop and they think they know everything.
Also, we are spiritually lazy people. People often do not take the time to really practice shamanism ..." (p.227).
Having opened my mind just enough to accommodate the new concept of the shamanic practice of soul retrieval, I was now ready to address the secondary task of looking for the connections between psychological and shamanic thought regarding the
122 effects of trauma and curative paths. It could be said, if shamanic journeying takes
considerable daily practice, it could be said that to ethically provide the advanced healing
technique of soul retrieval one must acquire years of training and mentorship. Villoldo
(2005) confirmed that "much of the shaman's lengthy training is spent developing a high
sense of ethics founded on a deep reverence for all life. Only then can techniques and
processes be properly mastered and used to heal others" (p.xi). Madden (2004) added,
"These people have undergone a considerable amount of focused training under the
supervision of an experienced shamanic practitioner" (p. 172).
As a counseling professional who is confronted daily with what shamanic
practitioners describe as soul loss, I was particularly interested in the practice of soul
retrieval. For me, these shamanic concepts offered deeper insight into afflictions that my
clients presented with as a result of traumatic experience. This deeper and richer
shamanic perspective of soul loss and retrieval reveals that the psychological theory that
my counseling practice relied upon is somewhat powerless to address the true nature of
trauma. I reasoned that if this be true, it would my responsibility to pursue with due
diligence into the exploration of the shamanic practice of soul retrieval. The juxtaposition
of these two healing systems raised some questions and ethically, it was my responsibility
to provide the most relevant and effect treatment for my clients.
I concur with Ingerman (1991) as she stated, "The ancient practice of soul retrieval and modem psychology have much to offer each other" (p.39). If reconciled, both of these perspectives have much to offer the client who is suffering from the effects of trauma. Indeed, they do not have to be considered mutually exclusive because they can be most effective working in partnership. Together, they provide a comprehensive
123 understanding of what occurs when someone is traumatized and what can be done for them on a short and long term basis to alleviate the resulting adverse symptoms. "On one hand, psychology becomes enriched by the infusion of spirit, and on the other hand, shamanism gains theoretical possibilities. Collectively, they accelerate the healing of societal wounds" (Gagan, 1998, p.3). But with any potential partnership, it is vital to explore what the two parties are bringing to the table. What are the similarities that draw them together and what are the differences, that when strategically utilized, can more folly inform and help the other?
It is true that at first glance shamanic views and techniques contrast radically with those of contemporary psychology. But when it comes to acknowledging trauma, both are very similar and share certain features (Gagan, 1998). Both theoretical camps confirm that trauma has the ability to wound human beings very deeply. To create such a wound, it does not matter whether the traumatic event appears great or insignificant to the objective observer, what seems to matter is the perspective of the subjective experiencer.
The wounding occurs so deeply that if nothing is done therapeutically in response to the trauma, the sufferer may continue to experience the effects for a lifetime.
Both perspectives understand that the human being has adaptive and protective strategies for surviving the emotional intensity of traumatic events. These strategies are considered beneficial in both shamanism and psychology as they are viewed as mechanisms to ensure personal survival. However, they become problematic when they are not disengaged after the intensity of the traumatic event has passed. Actually, the person continues suffering because they are unable to return to a normal state that existed before the traumatic event. Here the adaptive strategy becomes maladaptive.
124 It is at this point where shamanic and psychological thought diverge. Psychology
refers to this adaptive survival strategy as "dissociation," while shamanism refers to it as
"soul loss". This is not a small matter as the concepts of dissociation and soul loss are
fundamentally quite different. Additionally, because of this theoretical difference, the
associated strategies and practical techniques for addressing the maladaptive state take
^differing paths. However, when viewed in a positive light, it is this difference that makes
the union of psychology and shamanic task of soul retrieval that much more profitable to
the therapist and the suffering client.
Referring to the American Psychiatric Association's (2000) Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) for some clarity, one might
conclude that a client may be suffering fi'om a Dissociative Disorder when they present
with a "disruption in the usually integrated functions of consciousness, memory, identity,
or perception" (p.519), as a result of trauma, hi this state of dissociation, it is hypothesized that parts of the psyche split-off or firagment because of the trauma the person experiences (Gagan, 1998). For example, Dayton (2000) stated that victims experiencing sexual abuse may temporarily "leave their bodies." These victims mentally go to another place internally where it is perceived as safe. The science of psychology may further illuminate the phenomenon of dissociation by referring to the ego-defense mechanism of "repression." Repression helps the individual cope with anxiety through the construction of a mental barrier to help the ego from being too overwhelmed (Corey,
2001). Freud referred to this defense mechanism as one that involuntarily removes something objectionable fi-om conscious awareness and moves it to the unconscious.
125 Cohen (2003) added, "... painful feelings or memories are repressed and lodged in the unconscious, a hidden aspect of the mind" (p.179).
As with all defense mechanisms, the psychological relief comes at the cost of distortion of one's perception of reality (Stratton & Hayes, 1999). Unfortunately, the psychic strength needed to continue to push the awareness of trauma down, drains the personality of much physical, emotional, and mental vitality (Dayton, 2000). What at first seems a neat and tidy plan begins to unravel as uninvited and chaotic pieces of the traumatic memory begin to seep into the victim's present day experiences. This disorganized intrusion of thought and emotion can greatly affect the person's ability to ftmction and often leads to addiction, physical and mental illnesses.
If the psychological constructs of dissociation and repression are adhered to, the curative path may include the process of psychotherapy that focuses on what Lefton,
Boyes and Ogden (2000) referred to as attempts to discover relationships between unconscious motivations and presenting abnormal behaviors. The main goal of therapy is to bring these submerged and sometimes well-defended areas of the psyche back to consciousness by discussing them with the client (Cohen, 2003). Over time the submerged parts of the client's psyche can be re-integrated back into the realm of consciousness.
This psychological approach is somewhat like putting the pieces of a puzzle together (Corey, 2001). As a therapist working with this process, I am often left with troubling questions such as: Why do I feel so powerless at times during the counseling process? What are these pieces of the psyche that split-off? Where do these fragmented parts of the psyche go? What is the unconscious and what does it look like? How long
126 will it take for these fragmented pieces to return to consciousness? How will they return?
Is there really anything I can do, except to wait patiently with my client until we
inadvertently create a doorway or opportunity for each missing part to return?
Borysenko (1993) insisted that, "the limited scope of traditional psychology has been stunningly revealed over the past decade by breakthroughs in our understanding of trauma ..." (p.6). As the field becomes open to broadening its scope regarding trauma, I
propose that the ancient practice of shamanism offers interpretations of trauma that go
beyond the psychological theories of dissociation and repression.
In both shamanism and psychology, the practitioners are interested in what dissociates and where it goes, but both view this phenomenon quite differently
(Ingerman, 1991). While psychology describes a fragment of the psyche being relegated to the dimension of unconscious within the mind, shamanism's contrasting view subscribes to an understanding that views a piece of the soul becoming lost in another dimension of reality which is not located in the mind but in a totally different physical space. Thus, shamanism views the task of psychotherapy to cure the ill effects of trauma, although helpfiil, as being limited to solve the true nature of the problem. Ingerman
(1991) asserted, "We may spend years in therapy or self-help groups trying to uncover traumas and to become whole" (p.12), and not solve the trauma problem because we are looking for answers in the mind.
If one adheres to the shamanic view, there is nothing to "uncover" or to find
"repressed" because what is missing is not in the mind, but instead, stuck within a parallel reality separate from our own being. "In such cases, an advanced shamanic technique called soul retrieval may be used to restore harmony. Retrieval of a 'missing'
127 portion of the soul is among the greatest skills exercised by modem shamans" (Meadows,
2003, p.165). The shamanic practitioner's primary task is to intentionally journey to these
other realities, find the lost soul part and bring it back home. "Without this 'soul
retrieval', other counseling methods such as talk therapy may be ineffective, since the
counselor would only be talking to a fragment of the whole person and not to the part that
needs to be understood, inte^ated, and healed" (Cohen, 2003, p.179).
Once the soul parts are retrieved and re-integrated, the work is not complete. The
soul retrieval now provides a "whole client" to the counselor or psychologist to work
with. Now the psychological work can truly be effective and expedient. Referring to soul
retrieval, Villoldo (2005) insisted that by using shamanic techniques "deep healing [can]
occur in the space of days and weeks rather than months and years" (p.xviii). "Adjusting
to being fully in the body again, learning healthy ways of relating to the self and others,
can certainly provide a good deal of work for the psychotherapist and the client"
(Ingerman, 1991, p.40). Indeed, once the soul fi-agment completes its transition back
within to the main soul body, the task of integration begins.
To be sure, alternative healing practices have much to offer the field of
psychology for the art and practice of psychotherapy is in its infancy as compared to the
millennia-old history of shamanism (Sandner, 1997). Shamanism offers knowledge and
practice that have shown prodigious results for thousands of years within tribal cultures.
The technique of soul retrieval works from the inside out, which is the opposite of
psychology, which works from outside in. Horn (2000) insisted the psychological approach is laborious because traveling from the conscious mind to the inner spirit, one must overcome personality defenses and emotional turmoil. Often this task is never fully
128 completed. Conversely, soul retrieval starts with the spirit first. Starting with the origin of the wound first, the effects then filter out to toward the emotions and consciousness. Horn stated, "Spirit's powerful yet subtle force swiftly bypasses conscious defenses and gently wipes away emotional blocks, producing quick, lasting change" (p.ii).
At first glance, the idea of partnering psychological and soul retrieval approaches to address trauma may seem absurd. However, the concept of psychology and searching for the soul is not so far fetched. At one time in its history, psychology and the nurturing interest in the soul were synonymous. Benner (1998) revealed the etymology of the word psychology indicated that its primary concern was once the "care of souls." Holding to its original purpose, Villoldo (2005) contended, "For years, psychology searched for the soul, first in the heart, and eventually in the brain. Finding no evidence for its existence, psychology gave up, leaving exploration of souls to the artists and poets" (p.28).
Today, it is easy to discern that there is not much theoretical space to include the concept of the soul within modem psychological thought. It is often omitted within most definitions and practice. For instance, it is eerily absent in the Merriam-Webster's
Collegiate Dictionary (2003) definition, as it defined psychology as "the science of the mind and behavior." As with most definitions of psychology, there is no mention of the human soul. Instead, the scientific field focuses on the inner workings of the mind believing the source of human thought and behavior lies hidden within.
Benner (1998) succinctly illuminated the disconnection of the soul fi"om modem psychological practice:
Any conception of the soul whatsoever [became] anathema to modem
psychology. This was quite paradoxical since the word psychology literally means
129 'the science of the soul.' However, under the over-riding influence of
philosophical positivism, the science of the soul was about to become the science
without a soul as psychologists avoided anything unobservable, taking behavior
as their focus of study. Seeking to align itself with science and distance itself from
religion, modem psychology viewed the soul as unnecessary baggage from its
past and sought to avoid it at all costs, (p.12)
By omitting the concept of the soul, psychological practice cannot frilly address its original mandate. Additionally, without a focus on the soul and relegating itself to working only with the mechanism of the mind, psychological practice falls short in addressing the frill nature of traumatic suffering. D.H. Lawrence (cited in Keamy, 1996) presented the soul as the central place of suffering, "I am not a mechanism, an assembly of various sections. And it is not because the mechanism is working wrongly, that I am ilL I am ill because of wounds to the soul ..." (p.7). Thus, if wounding as a result of trauma occurs to the soul and not the mind, then the soul-less psychology of contemporary times can only act in a helpfril yet superficial manner. Even during or after psychotherapy, the sense of incompleteness is never frilly alleviated for the client because the care was not directed to a deeper spiritual level where the wound actually exists.
Psychotherapy which frinctions primarily from a cognitive standpoint and not at a deep spiritual level only reworks the trauma as if rubbing salt into the wound.
Metaphorically, the soul-less psychological practice of addressing the effects of trauma is in need of a soul retrieval. The phrase "care of souls" offered by Benner (1998) finds its origin in the Latin phrase, "cura animarum". Most often today "cura" is franslated to mean "care", but its deeper more powerful meaning was "cure". If modem
130 psychological practice is to once again provide "cure" to wounded souls at the hands of trauma, it becomes paramount that it must be supplemented with views and techniques taken from outside its presently defined theoretical parameters.
Shamanism and the practice of soul retrieval offer such a supplement. The addition of soul retrieval presents as one component of a potentially powerful partnership with contemporary psychological practice. By embracing this complementary view of soul loss and retrieval, psychological practice may be restored to its original mandate of
"caring for souls."
To be sure, shamanism and its associated healing techniques are alive and well in modem times. Tedlock (2005) declared that "shamanism is the oldest spiritual healing tradition still in general practice today" (p.14). Indeed, shamanism has been making resurgence back into daily life, most predominantly into urban strongholds within modem western society (Hamer, 1990). Graham-Scott (2002) included that this new type of shamanism is attracting significant attention in the contemporary world as the holistic healthcare movement continues to gather force.
Wesselman (2003) shared that as a response to the continental spiritual awakening that is occurring, "increasing numbers of modem scholars and spiritual seekers alike are reconsidering who we are as human beings and where we come from. And in doing so, we're rediscovering the ancient, time-tested methods for expanding consciousness that were pioneered tens of millermia ago by shamans and mystics of the traditional peoples - techniques that are now known to be a form of technology - a technology of the sacred"(p.5).
131 Utilizing Bridges (2001) three-phase process of transition, as the end of this text draws nears, I realize I have experienced a creative neutral zone while exploring soul retrieval and I now find myself back at the beginning. I metaphorically return to where my research journey began. And as I reflect back on the initial thoughts and concerns that ignited my research project, I now view them quite differently; it is as if they are brand new. As a result of what I witnessed and experienced during my research journey, I can never be the same again both personally and professionally as I now realize symptoms that often express themselves mentally and physically probably have their origins with the soul. Drake (2003) expressed concern regarding the efficacy of her clinical practice to effectively address the wounds left behind by traumatic experience. Her comments remind me of my own thoughts and concerns, which looking back, were the catalyst to commencing the research journey. Drake reflected:
My clients reported feeling a big hole inside of them - as if nothing was there.
Some felt anxious and feared that if the anxiety was taken away, they would have
to face the nothingness that they intuitively knew was at the core of there being ...
At the time I wondered if it was possible to heal the pain that many had endured. I
wanted to believe clients' wounds could be healed and clients made to feel whole
again by the safe and consistent 'holding environment' of the psychotherapeutic
relationship, which ideally allows for the processing and release of painfial
emotions ... And for some this did happen ... But others clung to the darkness, or
fear of this darkness, making outward or structural changes but never feeling
whole and content. For years I sat with a sense of disquiet, not having language
and theory to explain my unease (p.20).
132 My whole being resonated with Drake's forlorn description. To find a language and theory to capture what was truly happening to my clients, I had to risk moving past the intellect and seek answers in the realm of the spirit. I had to do what Kubler-Ross
(cited in Kalweit, 1988) instructed, "If we can, at least occasionally, sever the chains that bind us to our material world and turn inward, we are rewarded by an expansion of our consciousness and corresponding insight into realities beyond this three-dimensional world. We will then become aware of our true spiritual potential of what has been called the 'divine spark' that dwells in every one of us" (p.viii). Indeed, I found this instruction to be true. By severing my connection to the material world and turning inward, I not only observed the concepts of shamanic soul loss and the healing powers of soul retrieval in action, I lived them.
133 REFERENCES
American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental
disorders. (4* ed.) (DSM-IV-TR). Washington, DC: Author.
Andrews, T. (2005). Animal speak: The spiritual and magical powers of creatures great
and small. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications.
Arrien, A. (1993). The fourfold way: Walking the paths of the warrior, teacher, healer
and visionary. New York: HarperSanFrancisco.
Benner, D.G. (1998). Care of souls: Revisioning Christian nurture and counsel. Grand
Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
Borysenko, J. (1993). Fire in the soul: A new psychology of spiritual optimism. New
York: Warner Books, Inc..
Bridges, W. (2001). The way of transition: Embracing life's most dijficult moments. New
York: Perseus Publishing.
Clandinin, D.J., & Connelly, P.M. (1988). Studying teacher's knowledge of classrooms:
Collaborative research, ethics, and the negotiation of narrative. The Journal of
Educational Thought, 22 (2A), 269-282.
Clandinin, D.J., & Connelly, P.M. (1994). Personal experience methods. InN.K. Denzin
& Y.S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research, (pp.413-427).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Clandinin, D.J., & Connelly, P.M. (2000). Narrative inquiry: Experience and story in
qualitative research. San Francisco: Josey-Bass Publishers.
Cohen, K. (2003). Honoring the medicine: The essential guide to Native American
healing. New York: One World Ballantine Books.
134 Connelly, P.M. & Clandinin, D.J. (1990). Stories of experience and narrative inquiry.
Educational researcher, June/July, 2-14.
Corey, G. (2001). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy. Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth/ Thomson Learning.
Cowan, T.D. (1996). Shamanism as a spiritual practice for daily life. Berkeley, CA: The
Crossing Press.
Dayton, T. (2000). Trauma and addiction: Ending the cycle of pain through emotional
literacy. Deerfield Beach: FA: Health Communications, Inc..
Drake, A. (2003). Healing the soul: shamanism and psyche. Ithaca, NY: Busca, Inc..
Eliade, M. (1964). Shamanism: Archaic techniques of ecstasy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press.
Flack, B. (1984). Journal entry.
Flemming, V. (Director). (1939). The wizard of oz. [Motion Picture]. United States:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mater.
Gagan, J. (1998). Journeying: Where shamanism and psychology meet. Sante Fe, NM:
Rio Chama Publications.
Graham-Scott, G. (2002). The idiot's guide to shamanism. Indianapolis, IN: Alpha
Books.
Grizzlybear Lake, M. (1991). Native healer: The path to an ancient healing art. New
York: HarperPaperbacks.
Hamer, M.J. (1990). The way of the shaman. New York: HarperSanFranciso.
Heaven, R. (2003). Vodou shaman: The Haitian way of healing and power. Rochester,
VT: Destiny Books.
135 Horn, M.P. (2000). Soul integration: A shamanic path to freedom and wholeness.
Pittsboro, NC: Living Light Publishers.
Ingerman, S. (1991). Soul retrieval: Mending the fragmented soul. New York:
Harper S anFrancisco.
Ingerman, S. (2000). Medicine for the earth: How to transform personal and
environmental toxins. New York: Three Rivers Press. ^
Kalweit, H. (1988). Dreamtime and inner space: The world of the shaman. Boston, MA:
Shambhala Publications,Inc..
Kearney, M. (1996). Mortally wounded: Stories of soul pain, death, and healing. New
York: Scribner.
Lambert, M.J., & Bergin, A.E. (1994). The effectiveness of psychotherapy. In Bergin,
A.E & Garfield, S. (Eds.), Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behavior Change.
(pp. 141-150).New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Lefton, L., Boyes, M., & Ogden, N. (2000). Psychology. Toronto: Allyn and Bacon
Canada.
Lyons, R. (2004). Shamanism: stone-age wisdom treats modem-day problems.
Counselor: The Magazine for Addictions Professionals. October, v.5, n.5, (p.60-
61).
Madden, K. (2004). The book of shamanic healing. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications.
Matthews, C. & Matthews, J. (2003). Walkers between the worlds: The western mysteries
from shaman to magus. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions.
Meadows, K. (2003). Shamanic Experience: A practical guide to contemporary
shamanism. Rockport, MA: Element, Inc..
136 Meadows, K. (2004). Shamanic spirit: A practical guide to personal fulfillment.
Rochester, VT: Bear & Company.
Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (ll"' ed.). (2003). Springfield, MA: Merriam
Webster.
Moursund, J., & Kenny, M.C. (2002). The process of counseling and therapy. Upper
I Saddle River,' NJ: Prentice Hall. Rama, L. (1998). Shamanic practice: Ancient ways bring richness to contemporary life.
Wholife Magazine, March Issue.
Sandner, D. (1997). The sacred heritage: The influence of shamanism on analytical
psychology. New York: Routledge.
Stevens, J. & Stevens, L.S. (1988). Secrets of shamanism: Tapping the spirit power
within you. New York: Avon Books.
Stratton, P. &, Hayes, N. (1999). A student's dictionary of psychology. New York:Arnold
Student Reference.
St. Stephen's College (2002). Ethical conduct for research involving humans. Edmonton:
Author.
Tedlock, B. (2005). The woman in the shaman's body: Reclaiming the feminine in
religion and medicine. New York: Bantam Books. van Gennep, A. (1960). The rites of passage. (M.B. Vizedom & G.B. Caffee, Trans.)
Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (Original work published in 1909).
Villoldo, A. (2000). Shaman, healer, sage: How to heal yourself and others with the
energy medicine of the Americas. New York: Harmony Books.
137 Villoldo, A. (2005). Mending the past and healing the future with soul retrieval.
Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, Inc..
Vitebsky, P. (2001). Shamanism. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.
Webb, H.S. (2004). Traveling between the worlds: Conversations with contemporary
shamans. Charlottesville,VA: Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc..
Wesselman, H. (2003). The journey to the sacred garden: A guide to traveling in the
spiritual realms. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, Inc..
Wolf, F.A. (1991). The eagle's quest: A physicist's search for the truth in the heart of the
shamanic world. New York: Touchstone.
Wolfe, A. (2006). In the shadow of the shaman: Connecting with self nature, and spirit.
St. Paul: MN: Llewellyn Publications.
138 APPENDIX A
INFORMED CONSENT LETTER
I, , consent to being a willing participant in this research study entitled: "Soul Retrieval: Storied Journeys". I am aware that the researcher is Bryan E. Flack who is a graduate student at St. Stephen's College. This research project is a partial requirement pertaining to the degree, Master of Arts in Pastoral Psychology and Counseling. Also, he is under the supervision of Dr. Graeme T. Clark.
A. I understand that the purpose of this study is to gain a deeper awareness and understanding of the issues related to the shamanic healing technique of Soul Retrieval. B. I understand that this project has no direct benefit for me and that I will not receive any compensation for my involvement. C. I understand my participation is on a voluntary basis. I may choose to withdraw from the process at any time without any adverse consequences. Should I withdraw, all data provided by me will be destroyed. D. I understand that all personal information will be held in strict confidence. All information in the study that could identify me will be altered. E. I understand that a professional will be hired for the transcription process and he/she will be required to sign an agreement of confidentiality. F. I understand that the interviews/ conversations that I will provide will be tape recorded and then transcribed. These tapes and transcriptions will be securely stored and will be only accessible to Bryan E. Flack, his thesis supervisor Dr. Graeme T. Clark, and the person hired to perform the transcription. Once the thesis is complete all items relating . me to the study will be destroyed. G. I understand that as a participant of this study, I will be required to engage in multiple interviews/ conversations. These conversations wiU entail providing storied descriptions for data collection and continual verification of narrative texts. These interviews will occur at a mutually arranged time and place. H. I understand that the data that I provide may be used in a secondary fashion such as in journal articles and books. I. I understand the full nature of the proposed study after being involved in a discussion with researcher, Bryan E. Flack. If I need further information, I can contact the researcher's supervisor. Dr. Graeme T. Clark at his office in Edmonton at (780) 421- 1747.
Participant Signature Date
Witness Date
139 APPENDIX B
ASSISTANT/ TRANSCRIBER ETHICAL GUIDELINE AGREEMENT
I, , agree to transcribe audio interviews with participants in this research study tentatively entitled; "Soul Retrieval: Storied Journeys I am aware that the researcher is Bryan E. Flack who is a graduate student at St. Stephen's College. This research project is a partial requirement pertaining to the degree. Master of Arts in Pastoral Psychology and Counseling. Also, he is under the supervision of Dr. Graeme T. Clark.
Having agreed to perform the task of transcribing, I am also agreeing to adhere to the following requirements and procedures:
1. I will read all ethical documentation provided by St. Stephen's College and come to an understanding that will allow one to operate to the standards required. If I do not understand folly, I will seek clarity from either Bryan E. Flack or Dr. Graeme T. Clark.
2. I will be aware of the reverence and responsibility of the well being of human research participants (co-researchers) involved in the study.
3. I will ensure that anonymity and confidentiality of the participant is of paramount importance. I am aware that all information in the study that could identify the participant will be altered. Names will be changed to protect true identity. Li this regard, the participant will have the opportunity to choose his/ her own code name. All types of data will be securely stored in locked area. After the project is complete, all information will be destroyed.
4. I will ensure that the participant information whether it is in document, diskette or audio recording storage devices, will be securely stored in a locked filing cabinet.
Transcriber Signature Date
Witness Date
140