Soul healing in the modern world
Hello to my return journeyers. A warm welcome to my semi-constant journeyers. And, a very special welcome to my new journeyers.
I am so glad you’re here.
Recently, I’ve found myself wandering through old notebooks of my own Shamanic journeys. There are many reasons to journey or to seek support or healing work from a Shaman or Contemporary Shamanic Practitioner. My return journeyer, you know that I prefer to use the term Contemporary Shamanic Practitioner when referring to my work as a healer to differentiate two things: 1) that I have not been trained by a traditional or tribal Shaman and 2) that the lineage of Shamanism that I connect with and study derives from the places where my ancestors are from rather than from the place where I currently live in Alberta, Canada.
Journeying, the practice of willingly entering an altered state of consciousness, is healing for the soul. Countless people who find their way into my healing room describe feeling dispirited. Dispirited can mean many things, including a loss of sense of self, joy of living, or connection to Soul.
Often, I meet people on their path after they have tried many different approaches (therapy/counselling, yoga, meditation, dieting, substance use, anti-depressants, psychedelics, and so on). Some acknowledge that the approaches that they have tried to this point have aided in the journey to their true self, or towards developing awake awareness, or uncovering the knowing that their undesirable behaviours are rooted in deep wounding. Others feel their journey through the vast terrain of mental health supports and the endless pursuit of wellness has left them even more lost.
More often than not, I hear phrases that indicate that the soul needs healing work when the individual before me describes feeling like something is missing, feeling lost, or feeling that something just isn’t quite right. Others describe events that have a lasting impact and have led to them feeling depressed, anxious, disconnected, or shut off from the joy of life. Often, the experiences of the individual before me have left deeply etched lines on their soul.
I have also worked with individuals to recover aspects of the soul that were fractured during a traumatic event such as a Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA). I have retrieved soul parts for clients who were held by an abusive family member or former partner. I have guided willing souls through ceremonies intended to allow aspects of the Self – thoughtforms, emotions, limiting beliefs – to die. I have compassionately released souls of deceased beings from the client on my table to allow the client an opportunity to regain sovereignty over their own emotional, mental, and physical state. I have travelled with individuals through the dark night of their soul – a time when they are in deep depression and transformation, with little ability to see the path forward. Some of the most impactful sessions involve death work – supporting individuals who have experienced a significant loss or life change and are traversing the deep waters of grief. I have walked with those seeking healing for a reason and, for some, several seasons.
My two soul friends and workshop assistants, Lindsay and Ashley, have often heard me state that “I am not a light-worker.” Although I do journey with individuals seeking connection with their guides or spirit kin, most of my work involves what I would colloquially term “darker work.”
I wholeheartedly believe that Shamanic healing and journey work have a place alongside mental health support and, in particular, trauma therapy. I am fortunate to work closely with a couple of therapists who each hold sacred a deep understanding of the Soul and that healing must involve the four aspects of Self: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.
I often find myself contemplating the type of work that I have been called to as the deep wounding that many humans share around loneliness, lack of community and isolation in a modernized, technologically driven world. We live in the type of world where faux connection is tethered to most of our hands via our mobile devices. We live in a time where it feels as though everything can be bought and sold – even spiritual healing. I find myself at odds with this so often. All of us walk in this world – needing to explore our relationship to Self, Soul and Nature, needing to belong in a community and needing to recognize that while we can seek support from healers, this path is our own to walk — the paradox of healing, I know.
The healing work that I offer is for individuals seeking internal understanding and wholeness. Although you may attend a circle, workshop, or one-on-one session, my hope is that you bring these practices into your daily life. I am almost always at odds with how to share this work without falling into the consumer-driven market in which we identify one of the greatest problems affecting our mental health, physical health, and soul — lack of belonging, disconnection, and trauma — and aim to solve it.
Before you journey with me or any other practitioner, first ask yourself: “Am I seeking something other or outside myself, or am I seeking a way to connect to my Self and Soul?”
Shamanism and Shamanic healing work is a deeply personal path. The purpose of this work is to empower you, to enliven your soul, to support you so that you can stand more firmly in the place of your Self and hear the song of your Soul. When you are empowered, you are less inclined to give away your power to others; your mental clarity is enhanced, and your intuition becomes enlivened. The unseen contracts that you have made can be undone. Your perception filter is adjusted. You can live a soul-filled life.
Your soul is calling to you.
Answering the call is up to you.
As always, thank you for your kind attention.
Until we meet again in this time, this place, this space, happy journeying.
-Heather