Friday, August 22, 2008

Care and Feeding of the Soul



Was yesterday's post too heavy? My apologies. I've been re-reading James Hillman, gathering every idea about soul that I can. Compared to Hillman, Rilke seems "lite."

I like the Rilke prayer very much. It's so practical as last-minute advice to a soul about to be incarnated. Feel it all - beauty and terror - do it all, flame up, cast shadows. Carpe diem, in other words. L'chaim!

Another reason I picked up the Rilke book is because I remembered that he "spontaneously received" his Book of Hours, which is how I received the soul retrieval technique. OK. I know he was a brilliant poet, and, well, I'm not ... but still, he had the nerve to admit spontaneous reception. I feel a kinship.

BTW, I completed the first attempt at soul retrieval this week, working with someone who has done lots of energy work and psychotherapy. I wanted the first proto-client to be someone with an abundance of resilience and self awareness, in case it didn't work or something went terribly wrong. What she tells me is that the treatment gave her increased clarity, a renewed sense of purpose, and feelings of peace and wholeness. That sounds good, yes?

One question she had afterwards was about how to hang on to the soul bits that were retrieved, cleansed and re-ensouled into her being.

D'oh! Am I supposed to know that?? Good question, proto-client! Hence, Rilke and Hillman.

10 comments:

A Concerned Citizen said...

That Rilke poem yesterday was beautiful -- not beautiful in an ordinary kind of way, but beautiful in a words-can't-do-it-justice kind of way. Thank you!

I'm glad that your first soul retrieval went so well. Go Reya! And I like proto-client's question, which for me brings up another: how do bits of soul get lost in the first place?

Reya Mellicker said...

I have that same question, Adrianne. According to all available literature, trauma, illness, shock, betrayals, loss - that sort of thing - can shock a person so much that parts of the soul go missing as a result.

I believe that.

Many cultures also include in their lore the fact that souls regularly come and go from the body. If that's true, then you can see how easy it would be for a soul bit to get lost.

I guess the best answer to your question is, Who Knows??

lacochran said...

Glad your first attempt went well! Sounds like you are pursuing the right questions. :)

Deborah said...

yesterday's post was beautiful
perfect
when I googled the German headline
I got your blog
so still cannot translate it

so glad your first attempt went well and as to holding the pieces
'soul superglue'?

How about an exercise where the edges meld with the original
like a puzzle becoming 'uncut'

Love you
Your advice is excellent
I treasure you so much

And did anyone else notice how in yesterday's reflection picture--the 'stop' stood alone and unreflected?

edward said...

the last two posts were sad. i wish jake happy days.

Reya Mellicker said...

Deborah you would be such a talented shaman! Thank you.

The first line of the poem is the "title" - in German, at the top of the post. I don't think these prayers were named, but I might be wrong about that.

About the stop sign - yes that was intentional.

Shabbat Shalom, dear sister.

lettuce said...

i'm glad it went well - yes, clarity, purpose peace and wholeness sound very good

Aileen said...

Reya-
wow...your description of soul retrieval just sounds so...soothing!

Let me know when you are done with "proto-clients" and ready for regular ones!

Reya Mellicker said...

My spirit guides tell me that soul travel, from and back to the body, is normal. It has always happened, and always will. Keeping the soul caged in the body all the time is not necessarily a healthy idea.

As for maintaining soul wholeness, they remind me of the many thousands of ways we already know about, to feed and care for the soul. In fact, practically everything we do that we believe makes us "good" will work.

Prayer, good deeds, good thoughts, doing no harm, creative expression, thoughtfulness, mindfulness, compassion, taking good care of ourselves and others, etc. etc. I could go on and on.

Soul retrieval can take almost as many forms.

Apparently the soul's travel in and out of the body, and all the adventures that attend getting it back, are part of what makes us human, a big piece of how we learn and evolve.

The answer to Proto-Client is: all your practices? Meditating and prayer, receiving treatments including psychotherapy, all your creativity and goodness? Just keep doing what you're doing, not to worry about soul bits. Mazel tov!

kila said...

I know one answer to this question....hope we talk soon:)