What is Soul Retrieval?

Shamanism is the oldest spiritual practice known to humankind. A shaman is as a practitioner who has developed the mastery of "accessing altered states of consciousness" and "mediating between the needs of the spirit world and those of the physical world in a way that can be understood by the community. Most shamanic cultures around the world believe that whenever we suffer an emotional or physical trauma a part of our soul flees the body in order to survive the experience. By soul I mean our spiritual essence, life force, the part of our vitality that keeps us alive and thriving. It has always been the role of the shaman to go into an altered state of consciousness and track down where the soul fled to in the alternate realities and restore it. In indigenous societies like those of the Pacific Northwest, soul retrieval specialists were often known as soul catchers.

The loss of life force is known as soul loss. It is important to understand that soul loss is a natural thing that happens to us. It is how we survive pain. Our psyche cannot endure the kind of pain associated with a severe emotional or physical trauma. So our psyches have this self protect mechanism where a part of our essence or soul leaves the body so that we do not feel the full impact of a painful experience. In psychology we call this disassociation. The major characteristic of all dissociative phenomena involves a detachment from reality. It isn't hard to recognize that there is a lot of planetary soul loss today based on how we behave towards each other and the web of life. To learn more, look inside Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self  by Sandra Ingerman.

The Planetary Grid

Earth, human, and solar processes are interwoven through a vibrational resonant network around the planet. The lines and intersection points of this energy grid match most of the Earth's seismic fracture zones and ocean ridges, as well as worldwide atmospheric highs and lows, paths of migratory birds, gravitational anomalies, and the sites of ancient temples and megalithic structures. Early man discovered these planetary currents called ley lines. In China, they were known as dragon currents. The Aborigines of Australia know them as a line of songs. In England, the Druids referred to the old straight track. Native Americans regarded the energy channels as the serpent power or the great dragons. According to Cherokee mythology, the dragons once followed the will of the great shamans who would invoke them to protect the people and the land.

Through a type of dowsing called geomancy, the ley lines were located and marked. Roads and pathways were often constructed along the lines, such as those leading out of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, or the series of tracks emanating from the ancient Inca capital of Cuzco, Peru. In China, dragon currents marked all sacred paths and centers throughout the country. Visible lines tie together every major religious site in England. Early Christian churches were located along the currents, their steeples serving to unite heavenly and earthly energies.

At the intersection points of the planet's energy web exist holy places, power spots, or acupuncture points. According to the Hopi, the world would fall apart without these nodes of concentrated vitality. These sacred places are like nerve centers that distribute vital energy throughout the surrounding natural systems. Primal peoples around the world discovered these power places and their significance long ago. They made pilgrimages to the power points, often linking them together with a network of wide and defined trails, such as those leading into the great ceremonial complex in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. They interacted geomantically with grid nodes by building such landscape temples as Palenque, Stonehenge, and the Great Pyramid. They performed sacred rituals and ceremonies at these sites to maintain the harmonious flow of the planetary energy currents.

Earth and humans exist in a reciprocal bioresonant relationship. Through the planet's resonant web, we affect our environment; our environment, in turn, affects us. By interacting with sacred places, we are capable of generating a world of peace and harmony. Seek out power places. Your power spots can be identified by your desire to go to them. Their significance to you is always revealed by your planned or accidental presence at them. Every square inch of the Earth Mother is sacred and a potential connecting place for someone. You can create a powerful vortex of energy in your own home by making an altar or shrine where you may sit each day and offer prayers and incense. Like the ancient temples, such a sanctuary space serves as a drawing point for the healing energy needed by the planet.

Siberian Neoshaman Zarina Kopyrina

Zarina Kopyrina

Zarina Kopyrina is a Yakutian ethno singer from the Republic of Sakha, in northern Siberia. From her tiny village, she has traveled to several continents, absorbing new perspectives but ever guided by an unfailing passion for her ancestors' spiritual beliefs. Thus she has created a unique harmony between the old and the new, from the traditional deerskin tambourines and mouth harps to the latest in electronic drums. Drawing from her kaleidoscope of interactions, she blends those that speak to her to create a voice in the world that is truly her own.

Playing an instrument so closely tied to the powerful Shamans carries a daunting amount of responsibility. "At first I was scared to play," Zarina said. "It's really sacral. To be a shaman – it's not work; it's a way of living. It's a mission." A true shaman, in her view, is someone with a finger on the pulse of nature, living in the forest, possessing supernatural abilities such as hypnosis, healing and the ability to fall into trances. The title of shaman is not for her to claim, she said with assurance. Instead, she aligns herself with neoshamanism, a contemporary form of spirituality for people who live in cities, including musicians, painters, writers and more. These people don't have the full set of qualities of a shaman – yet they possess some of these aspects. "They get some signals from the universe, and they transfer information through themselves," she explained. Read more.

Meet Mexico's Curandero Healers

Paloma Cervantes

A curandero (from the Spanish curar: to heal) is a traditional Native healer or shaman found in the United States and Latin America. However, Mexico, in particular, has a rich and fascinating history of curandero healers, who administer remedies for mental, emotional, physical and spiritual illnesses based on their evaluation. The role of a curandero or curandera can also incorporate the roles of psychiatrist along with that of doctor and healer. The history of Mexico's curanderos dates right back to the pre-Hispanic period, making it one of the country's most authentic and long-standing practices, with a firm root in indigenous culture. Here's everything you need to know about the curanderos of Mexico.