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Integration: A Lost Opportunity

Soul loss was a primary source of illness in traditional shamanic cultures. The reasons for soul loss in the past are similar to the reasons now. The techniques for retrieving lost soul parts are also very much the same. What has changed is the need for integration.

In the past, before contact with the western world or organized religions, shamanic people lived differently. They noticed soul loss when it happened and recognized it for what it is. Then they did whatever was necessary to fix it, even walking for days to find a shaman powerful enough to retrieve the lost soul. The important thing is that they got the soul part back before the person could adapt to the part being gone. They never treated a person in a state of soul loss as if that state was normal so the person had no need to cope and carry on as if nothing had happened.

Our soul loss doesn't get noticed or named. We must cope and carry on the best we can. We are forced to adapt to the loss and act "normal." That adaptation creates the need for integration after a lost soul part is retrieved and put back in the body where it belongs.

There are four depths of integration. The first integration happens automatically by virtue of the soul part being put back in the body. These are the differences we notice right way. It may be feeling great or a rise in our overall energy. Chronic fears or low grade physical illnesses may just go away. We may or may not be aware of the soul parts themselves.

This is where many people stop. These initial changes soon feel "normal" and nothing else happens so people turn their attention to other things. The problem with this is that the parts, though back in the body, are still separate parts. More importantly, few of the potential benefits of soul retrieval have been realized at this depth of integration.

The next level of integration occurs in the first two weeks if you communicate with your soul parts and get to know them. This won't happen unless you do it. To do it you must find an effective means of communication. Some people can just talk to their parts. Others have to do something intentional like paint, write, meditate, or take walks out in nature. The key here is to be creative, trust your instincts, and don't give up when it doesn't happen the way you think it should. What we gain at this second level of integration is self knowledge. We start to know our self, specifically these parts of our self that have been inaccessible to us, in some cases for decades. From self knowledge flows understanding and compassion for why we are the way we are and renewed hope that we can now make changes in the way we have been.

If communication is established, then the third level of integration can happen. Every soul part is different so the specifics of every integration are different. Only the part itself really knows what we need to un-adapt so that they can fit back in. This is also why shamanic journeying to access the soul parts and our helping spirits is important at this level.

What we gain at this level is the ability to change the parts of our self that really don't want to change, our ego and our identity. If we don't allow our ego and identity to merge with and be changed by our soul parts we won't change. All our issues and fears stay the same. This level of integration is the most important because it is where we actually become a different person who experiences life differently.

The fourth level of integration comes from being our new self out in the world. We have to trust in the new person we have become to let the other changes happen in our life. This can be anything from a new wardrobe to new friends, lovers, and even careers. This is what I wish for each of you, the joyful expression of your true, whole self in the world.