Alberto Villoldo - Soul Journeying: Shamanic Tools for Finding Your Destiny and Recovering Your Spirit

Words of Praise for

Soul Journeying

Alberto Villoldo provides an awesome vision portraying the ancient shamanic worldview with that shown to be evident in quantum physics. Dr. Villoldo writes well, tells us an interesting story, and at the same time lets us see into the magical workings of the universe. But this is more than just a descriptionit is a path to well-being and self-healing, one you can take with the new universal soul realization offered by the author.

Fred Alan Wolf, Ph.D., the National Book Awardwinning author of The Yoga of Time Travel, The Eagles Quest, The Spiritual Universe, and many other books

Alberto has that magical combination, fashioned by an open heart and a fine mind, of (1) the finest teachings of healers among primary peoples, (2) an understanding of modern science, and (3) an enchanting and practical way of sharing the wisdom with us through his words. Use this book to clear old traumas, and to awaken your own joy and gifts, both of which are precious to this world.

Brooke Medicine Eagle, the author of The Last Ghost Dance and Buffalo Woman Comes Singing

Alberto Villoldo is almost without peer in translating the understanding of ancient and tribal communities for the modern world. He is, moreover, an embodiment of these understandings.

Catherine Ingram, the author of Passionate Presence and In the Footsteps of Gandhi

This book is a wondrous journey filled with ancient wisdom particularly relevant to the predicaments of our modern life. Every reader will benefit from what Alberto Villoldo presents here; I highly recommend it.

Stephan Rechtschaffen, M.D., the cofounder and CEO of the Omega Institute

Villoldo presents a vital way to retrieve your own soul so that you will thrive and not just survive. He guides us clearly and in a masterful way into our inner landscapes where healing and evolution occurs. This is important, and a much-needed work right now.

Sandra Ingerman, the author of Soul Retrieval and Medicine for the Earth

Also by Alberto Villoldo, Ph.D.

Courageous Dreaming

Dance of the Four Winds (with Erik Jendresen)

The First Story Ever Told

The Four Insights

Healing States (with Stanley Krippner, Ph.D.)

Illumination

Island of the Sun (with Erik Jendresen)

Millennium Glimpses into the 21st Century

One Spirit Medicine

Power Up Your Brain (with David Perlmutter, M.D.)

The Realms of Healing (with Stanley Krippner, Ph.D.)

Shaman, Healer, Sage

Yoga, Power & Spirit

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Copyright 2005 by Alberto Villoldo

Revised Copyright 2017

Published and distributed in the United States by: Hay House, Inc.: www.hayhouse.com Published and distributed in Australia by: Hay House Australia Pty. Ltd.: www.hayhouse.com.au Published and distributed in the United Kingdom by: Hay House UK, Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.uk Published and distributed in the Republic of South Africa by: Hay House SA (Pty), Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.za Distributed in Canada by: Raincoast Books: www.raincoast.com Published in India by: Hay House Publishers India: www.hayhouse.co.in

Editorial supervision: Jill Kramer Editorial consultation: Nancy Peske, Chris Morris Design: Tricia Breidenthal Momentum tunnel illustration: Diana Hocking

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews without prior written permission of the publisher.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Originally published as Mending the Past and Healing the Future with Soul Retrieval 978-1-4019-0625-2.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017942145

ISBN 978-1-4019-5399-7

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1st edition, May 2005

2nd edition, July 2017

Printed in the United States of America

To my mother, Elena Villoldo,
who showed me the way of love,
and to La Loba.

CONTENTS

This book is the result of more than 25 years of research and training with the shamans of the Americas. The rites of passage I underwent in the high mountains of the Andes and the low jungles of the Amazon adhered to ancient tradition and required months of preparation. My quest to discover the healing traditions of this continent was guided by an old Inka, don Antonio. My adventures with this renowned healer are chronicled in my earlier books Shaman, Healer, Sage; Dance of the Four Winds; and Island of the Sun.

The soul-retrieval techniques in this book represent my contemporary reinterpretation of ancient healing practices that are still in use in North and South America. Among Hispanic and Native American communities throughout the U.S., when children suffer from susto (or fright), theyre taken to a special place to retrieve the part of their soul that was lost or taken from them; Ive adapted and translated these practices within a modern scientific context.

Destiny-retrieval practices have been lost among most aboriginal societies. Yet I was very fortunate to spend many years with the Laika, master seers of the Inka nation, where I learned these skills. Please keep in mind that the practices Im going to share with you in this book are extraordinarily powerful and effective, and must only be used with the strongest code of ethics and integrity. In fact, much of the shamans lengthy training is spent developing a high sense of ethics founded on a deep reverence for all life. Only then can the techniques and processes be properly mastered and used to heal others. Similarly, a Western medical doctor spends at least five years learning his or her craft.

Is it prudent to turn my physical- or mental-health care over to someone whos taken a weekend workshop in shamanism or energy medicine? This is the quandary for Westerners who take a short course in the healing arts. If you have a calling to practice these healing arts, be sure to take the time to train with teachers whose integrity, wisdom, and technical knowledge will assist you in developing your individual spiritual gifts.

My own journey into shamanism was guided by my desire to become whole. In healing my own soul wounds, I learned to love myself and others. I walked the path of the wounded healer and learned to transform the grief, pain, anger, and shame that lived within me into sources of strength and compassion. At the Healing the Light Body School that I direct, every student embarks on a quest for self-healing in which he or she transforms soul wounds into sources of power and wisdom. Students learn that this is one of the greatest gifts that theyll later offer their clients: the opportunity to discover the power and wisdom within their own healing journey.