SHAMANIC EXTRACTION AND HEALING
by Stephanie Tighe and Kate Durda
This article first appeared in Nexus News in March 1999
Shamanic Extraction is used when someone has in "intrusion." An intrusion is energy in one’s spiritual body which does not belong there. These spiritual intrusions often manifest as physical illnesses with such symptoms as localized pain, discomfort, and more serious illnesses, or even result in death at times.
The Shamanic Healer is concerned with removing these harmful energies from the person’s energetic body. When the energies are removed, the physical illness may be reduced or even eliminated. In some cases, another kind of healing may occur. Remember that with spiritual healing, it isn’t the "body" that is the focus of healing, but the "whole person," most importantly the "spirit " of a person. Thus, after a healing, a physical problem could remain, yet the person might experience less pain, or come to a peaceful acceptance of how to "live with" that physical ailment. Spirit works in ways often not know to us, and sometimes an illness or physical problem may have a teaching that is necessary for the unfolding of that person’s life path.
An example of shamanic extraction is a woman who came to Stephanie for healing who had been having trouble with kidney stones. They had been causing her a great deal of pain for several months. As the stones were too large to pass, she was facing two medical procedures. After the extraction was performed, the pain immediately decreased, then went away within two hours. She still had the first medical procedure done, and the stones did not pass (although the pain remained absent). They were still planning to do the surgery and did the preparatory x-rays. Amazingly, now the kidney stones could not be found, and surgery was canceled! The pain never returned, and the woman did eventually experience the passing of a few tiny stones with only minor discomfort. In this case, it seems that once the spiritual cause of the illness was removed, the painful "energy" of the stones was removed, allowing the stones to disappear or pass without a problem.
Intrusions occur when we are not power filled, not shielded from hostile energy through having the protection of our power animal. They can occur when we experience physical vulnerability resulting from anxiety, stress, and/or fear. The intrusion can be directed at us from someone living, or could be a situation where a deceased person’s spirit attaches itself to us (possession), or the intrusion could be self-created.
Think back over the past 24 hours. Has there been an occasion for anyone to be angry with you? Perhaps when you were driving, had to tell you children "no," had to set limits with someone, had a disagreement with a friend or loved one, or been in a place where someone may have died recently such as a hospital? These energies are all around us on a daily basis, so it is important to keep yourself protected.
Another example is when a co-worker of Stephanie’s had been called to a house where someone had just died. Immediately afterward he felt different, things were not right, he was having a hard time focusing, he lost his sense of serenity, of joy. He came into Stephanie’s office and asked her to journey for him. She told him to come back in 15 minutes and she would tell him what she saw.
While sitting in her office, she "journeyed" to the beat of a rattle. Her teachers showed her a vision of the deceased person clinging to the back of the co-worker. This spirit was in great emotional pain and was fearful. So he was clinging to someone he hoped could help. As Stephanie worked under counsel of her teachers in NOR (non-ordinary reality) the spirit of the deceased person was able to leave the back of the co-worker and was taken to a place of healing and love.
When Stephanie’s co-worker returned in a few minutes, even before he was told what happened shamanically, he reported feeling something lifted off his back and said he was feeling better.
In this example, the person felt immediately that something was different. This is a mark of possession, when there is a dramatic shift in your life. However, if we are not aware of the possibility of possession, then we may sense the shift, but not be aware of its’ cause.
In the matter of self created intrusions, they are generally from messages which we give ourselves, "I weigh too much," "I’m not smart enough," "I’m afraid of (fill in the blank)." Intrusions can also be caused when someone in our lives tells us these things repeatedly. When working with Sandy Ingerman (author of Soul Retrieval) she encourages us to use "healing words" when talking with others, to be careful that the words we use do no harm, but bring healing whenever possible.
Each of us has the potential to use healing words every day with everyone we meet. We all have the ability to be self-reflective on the messages we give to others. Some teachers recommend asking ourselves at the end of each day "Did I send any harmful energy to others?" or "Did I act in a way today, intentionally or unintentionally, that may have caused someone to be angry with me?" I encourage each of you to learn how to remain filled with your power, to work with your power animal and keep yourself safe from energetic and physical harm. It is up to us to heal ourselves and each other, and to create a better future. May Spirit be with us all!
If you feel that you might be experiencing an intrusion and would like to discuss this, or would like to schedule a healing session, please contact us.