There are two ways of becoming disempowered: one is loss of power and the other is soul loss. Soul loss happens when we are traumatised by a difficult experience. The trauma can be mental, emotional, physical or spiritual. When we are severely traumatised, a fragment of our vital nature escapes from that event, enabling us to go into "survival mode". This is a perfectly natural method of survival and usually the soul fragments return spontaneously. Sometimes, though, the soul fragment gets "stuck" or lost and this can leave us feeling spaced out, not really present, having a sense of being an observer in your life, depression, chronic illness and so on. A vital part of who we are is missing and we know it at some level. Clients often say to me that they feel that they've lost something and don't know what it is, or they feel as if there is an empty space inside that they can't fill. They feel that they just can't connect with their life and that they are constantly preoccupied that "something" is missing.
The Shaman or Shamanic Practitioner travels to the Spirit World on behalf of the client and tracks the soul part with the help of his/her Spirit Teachers and Power Animals. Often the soul part will be found in a situation that represents what the client was experiencing when the soul part left. This may be a symbolic representation or a literal event. The Shamanic Practitioner will very gently remove the soul part from the situation and encourage it to return. From a shamanic perspective, there is no such thing as time and if a part of someone's vital self is caught up in an event, then that event is still happening to that person on an energetic level and they can't move on from it: they are literally frozen in time. When a soul part is retrieved, the event is stopped. The soul part is then returned to the client and the work then begins to help the client re-integrate that part. The soul part will often bring back the difficult feelings that were associated with it's reasons for leaving, but the soul part itself is pure life force and is undamaged. It is vital for the client to have adequate support from their friends and family during this time.
No more than three parts are ever returned at one time, as it is important for the client to work with the parts of themselves that have been returned. Often some parts need to be integrated before they are ready to receive others.
I always find this aspect of my work very beautiful and it often moves me very deeply and is akin to witnessing a birth of a baby.
A power retrieval can be useful for someone who has lost energy and vitality. It may be a case of journeying on their behalf for a symbol that they can draw strength from, or it may be a Power Animal retrieval. Sometimes Power Animals leave us for a number of reasons and unless there is another to take its place we can be left feeling power-less. It is similar to a soul retrieval except that you are working directly with the Power Animal of the client.
