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Having worked very closely in the past with two people
who are well known teachers and advocates of shamanic
counseling and healing, Sandra Ingerman, M.A. and Michael
Harner, Ph.D., I am very familiar with the concept of
'soul retrieval'. Soul retrieval is a name given to a
form of shamanic healing meant for those who have 'lost
parts of their soul' as a consequence of any kind of trauma.
Soul retrieval, is the remedial action that a shamanically
trained person does by shifting via a trance state to
'non-ordinary reality'. Typically, in the approach taught
by Harner through his Foundation for Shamanic Studies,
after the client presents his /her problem, the 'shaman'
lies down next to the client, and, with the aid of singing,
dancing and / or drumming, enters a trance state. With
the assistance of his/her spirit helpers, the shamanic
healer discovers and returns that lost part back to the
person by literally blowing it back into the body of the
client in ordinary reality. The aim is to heal the symptoms
of soul loss and to reintegrate the soul.
At the same time that I was both studying and hosting
Harner and Ingermans' work, I was studying with Hal and
Sidra Stone, Ph.D.'s. I also practiced both approaches
concurrently with clients for awhile. What I came to realize
is that the very same symptoms of "soul loss"
are symptoms of the suffering of disowned selves. Some
symptom examples are: depression, illness, anxiety, apathy,
fear, hopelessness, being accident prone, self-loathing,
feeling disconnected and powerlessness.
Harner and his associates are fairly outspoken about being
anti-psychology and they attempt to make a case for a
critical difference between 'soul' and psyche. What is
the difference, really? Exploring and mapping the inner
terrain's of our psyche is the unfolding legacy of psychology
that can lead to our deepest layers of being. I personally
came to feel that shamanic healing techniques are approaches
to working with psyche that rely on the transference of
power to a specially designated person who works 'magically',
that is, in invisible unknown ways. To an extent, hypnotism,
suggestion and transference CAN go a long way towards
alleviating symptoms of disowned selves... for awhile.
In practicing 'shamanic healing', I found that indeed,
a lot of people did get better - as long as they were
convinced of my power to heal, retrieve, extract, etc.,
them from their woes. AND, I had to do considerable education
with them (the non-shamanic people) about what shamanism
was. Since this approach is foreign to our modern mainstream
culture, I had to demonstrate how I was specially capable
of doing this work by virtue of personal power, reputation
or suitable accroutements and ritual behaviors.
I found in particular that, while practicing 'soul retrieval',
sessions were most successful when, in addition to the
perception of my power and abilities, I was able to identify
and honor the "missing fragment" - or disowned
self, in symbolic and direct language and with energetic
resonance. Our deep unconscious responds well to resonant
symbols and metaphors. Our disowned vulnerable selves
leap with hunger and hope when somebody recognizes and
redeems their existence.
The lure to 'be a shaman' was insidious, since, as a shaman,
I got to be mysteriously powerful and special. I got to
represent and carry the power element in the relationship.
This is especially true as a person doing this in a non-shamanic
culture. I have met a number of indigenous shamans who
are very humble, aren't paid for their shamanic efforts
and aren't accorded any elevated position in their community
for being a shaman. However, in the new-age modern communities
where neo-shamanism is practiced, this isn't the case.
There is very definitely an exchange of often monetary
value and social importance going on. "You use your
faith in my power (or connection to mysterious power)
to heal you and I will get to be socially powerful and
you get to be healed." This can be one of the shadow
currencies of doing 'healing work'. What inner selves
of mine were being lusciously fed by 'being a shaman'?
What was eventually unsatisfying to me, was that, in this
context, the vast majority of these clients weren't generally
on a consciousness path, they were on a fix-me path. I
can also relate to that - there are parts of myself that
have also wanted somebody else to be able to just come
in and fix my psycho-spiritual-social-physical pain and
ills. Parts of me wanted an all powerful person to sweep
in like the ideal parent that none of us ever had, and
make it all better. And part of me wanted to be that person
for others.
More than any other practice, the Stones' work was what
gave me a means for rediscovering both my disowned vulnerable
selves and the disowned capacities for taking good care
of them. Their training of an Aware Ego process gives
us a spectacular and everyday means for soulful healing
of all our selves.
Thankfully, for my part, I eventually became disenchanted
with the role of neo-shaman. Yes, I continue to be interested
in working transformatively with people. More to the point,
as I continued to learn about inner selves from my work
with the Stones, I became more interested in being a companion
/ facilitator / fellow traveler on a consciousness JOURNEY.
In this, we each inour own ways are becoming more consciously
empowered to rediscover, reclaim and embrace any /all
parts of ourselves. Unlike in shamanism, or my former
profession as a medical RN, this requires the client to
take full ownership of his/her journey, successes, obstacles,
and healing. It's not in the hands of power animals or
shamans; it is very humbly in the hands of each one of
us. If my former shamanic practice showed me the parts
of myself that needed to be powerfully special, the voice
dialogue work reintroduced me to the parts of myself that
enjoy being ordinary.
AND, I do recognize a great mystery to life and nature,
an infinite presence that I can feel yet never know. I've
come to deeply enjoy the journey through the mysterious
expressions of everyday life! What I personally discovered
by exploring the teachings and practices introduced by
Harner and his associates is that there is no magic formula,
song or dance and no magic person or spirit who can heal
me or do my journey for me. For this inadvertent lesson,
I am deeply grateful. Since then, keeping my evolving
spiritual practice private allows both my clients and
myself our greatest ranges for self discovery.
My own 'healing' journey has been a step by little step
process of becoming more conscious of who I am, who I
can be and more forgiving/accepting of myself for the
ways in which I am not always consciously aware. Like,
even right now! This is why I eventually moved away from
practicing neo-shamanism and moved into a practice of
teaching and facilitating Voice Dialogue. There is amazing
healing to be found by exploring the tremendous and relatively
untapped potentials of our ordinary consciousness.
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