Ingerman, Sandra. Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self. [Rev. and Updated ed.]. New York: HarperOne, 2011.
Soul Loss
- Soul LossSoul Loss
Soul loss the process through which, during traumatic events, a part or all of the soul leaves the body. This occurs to protect the victim from the worse effects of the trauma and saves the soul fr...
Psychology compared to Shamanism
In psychology, the idea of Soul Loss is thought of as repressed memories. The healing occurs through helping the individual recover these lost memories. The psychological view of the unconscious is simply as an undifferentiated field of hard to access thought form. To the shaman however, this field is a rich landscape that can be navigated while journeying.
For the psychologist, the nature and topography of the place where the split-off parts go is relatively unimportant. Conceptualized as a place beyond the light of rational consciousness, the unconscious is regarded as an undifferentiated region from which the client, with the help of the therapist, must rescue dissociated contents.
For the shaman, the question of where the split-off parts go is essential to the cure. In the shamanic worldview, vital parts of the self do not go into an undifferentiated, no-man’s-land when they leave the self. Rather, the soul parts live a parallel existence in nonordinary worlds.
Ingerman, Sandra. Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self (p. 29). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
Memory Work
In shamanism, it is not necessary for the client to remember the trauma. That may happen in time, but it occurs after the actual healing takes place. In psychological work, the healing can only occur after the client can rebuild the lost memory of the trauma.
If I don’t know, for example, that a client is aware of incest in his or her background, I would not share any abuse information that I receive on a journey.
Ingerman, Sandra. Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self (p. 46). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.