The Medicine Circle

It is an ancient healing art practiced in many native cultures all over the world. A trance healer uses various methods to access spiritual power and healing information. One of the most widely used methods is called the trance journey whereby a one enters non-ordinary reality (The Hidden Universe) aided by drumming and other techniques. The trance state is generated when a monotonous drumbeat is heard altering brainwaves, thus creating a deep state of relaxation or trance. In the trance state, practitioners can obtain healing visions and access spiritual guidance and power often represented as animals and nature spirits. The goal of trance healing is to restore power. Power loss is seen as the spiritual cause for illness, an unhappy life, addictions, accidents and poor luck. But how do we lose our power in the first place? In this understanding and view of life, traumatic events in our lives often cause us to lose our power, our soul. In order to alleviate pain during a traumatic event, our soul flees. In our modern culture we have forgotten the knowledge of the impact of traumas on our soul essence. Soul loss is a defence mechanism and is in itself a positive occurrence. However, in most cases, the soul does not return on its own. Other instances of soul loss are what we call soul stealing, when in relationship, we give away pieces of ourselves or they are simply taken from us. For example, a depressed parent can steal a child’s ‘light’ inadvertently in order to help themselves feel better. After soul loss, many of us spend the rest of our lives trying to put ourselves back together so that we may feel whole again. And, from my own observation, I would say that the emotions that crystallize in our bodies during trauma create a magnet that keeps attracting similar events to our lives, creating a pattern. The impact of soul loss is significant since major soul loss often occurs before the age of three. Soul loss is likely one of the root causes of addictive behaviours. Other symptoms can manifest as illness, chronic depression, panic attacks, eating disorders and so on. Deprived of our vital essence, we are more prone to becoming unwell, physically and mentally. Many of us experience soul loss at an early age simply to cope with the conditions of our lives. For a child, soul loss can be caused by emotional abandonment from a parent, the birth of a sibling, abuse, surgery, an accident or a divorce. Soul loss is so common in our culture that most of us have forgotten what it feels like to be fully at home in our body. We hear ourselves say “He has not been himself since she passed away” or “I don’t feel like I am all here since the car accident”. After a break-up we will sometimes say: “This person stole my soul”. The soul parts we lose often contain our innate gifts and talents, our willpower and desire to do well, as well as our self-love, joy and laughter. After soul loss, we may give up a much enjoyed hobby, an art form or activities that nurture our soul. Reiki is an ancient energy healing system originating in Japan and 'rediscovered' at the turn of the 20th century. A practitioner passes the energy of Reiki to another through their hands, but the energy is not the practitioner's own. Reiki is the benevolent life force that surrounds us and is intensified in the practitioner's body after he is initiated by a master. The initiation, continued practice and intent to pass the energy onto the client intensify the energy and make the practitioner a channel for the healing force of Reiki. Reiki assists physical healing and helps people with the emotional, spiritual and physical aspects of their health. It facilitates the movement of energy in the body helping to clear emotions, thought patterns and traumas. Reiki is very helpful in healing Post Traumatic Syndrome [PTSD] and has been shown to enhance physical healing in the case of surgery, accidents or chronic conditions.