Over the past twenty-five years or so I’ve explored a fair few wellbeing practices — yoga, meditation, energy work, breathwork, and various contemplative traditions. Some practices have stayed with me, others have quietly fallen away over time.
Shamanic journeying is one that has remained.
It’s not flashy, complicated, or particularly fashionable. In fact, it’s remarkably simple. Yet again and again I’ve seen how this ancient practice can help people reconnect with parts of themselves that modern life tends to drown out.
This article explores what shamanic journeying is, why people practise it, and how related approaches such as soul retrieval, power retrieval and ancestral healing can support emotional and spiritual wellbeing.
A Practice Older Than Most Religions
Shamanism is often described as one of the oldest spiritual traditions known to humanity. Anthropologists suggest that practices resembling shamanism may date back tens of thousands of years, appearing in cultures across Siberia, the Americas, Northern Europe, Africa and Australia.
Despite huge cultural differences, these traditions share a similar understanding:
- Human beings live in relationship with the natural world
- There are unseen dimensions of experience beyond ordinary awareness
- Healing can involve reconnecting with lost or forgotten parts of ourselves
The word “shaman” comes from the Tungus people of Siberia and is often translated as “one who sees in the dark” or “one who knows.” Traditionally, shamans were community healers, mediators and guides who helped people navigate difficult life experiences.
Modern practitioners tend to approach the work more simply. There’s no need to adopt cultural identities or elaborate rituals. At its core, shamanic work is about direct experience — learning to listen more deeply to yourself and the world around you.
What Is a Shamanic Journey?
A shamanic journey is a guided meditative process that helps you move beyond everyday thinking and into a more intuitive state of awareness.
Traditionally, this shift in consciousness is supported by a steady drumbeat or rhythmic sound. The repetition helps the mind settle, much like the rhythm of waves or the sound of rainfall.
In this relaxed state, people often experience:
- symbolic imagery
- memories or emotions surfacing
- insights about a current challenge
- encounters with archetypal figures, animals or guides
- a strong sense of calm or clarity
Some people see vivid imagery. Others simply feel a shift in mood or perspective. Both are perfectly normal.
The important point is that the journey is your experience, not something imposed by the practitioner.
Why Intention Matters
One of the first things taught in shamanic work is the importance of intention.
Before beginning a journey, you decide what you are exploring. That might be something like:
- Why do I feel stuck in this area of life?
- What support do I need right now?
- How can I reconnect with my confidence or purpose?
Without intention, the mind tends to wander aimlessly. With intention, the journey becomes more focused and meaningful.
Interestingly, this principle applies far beyond shamanic practice. Whether you are starting a new project, recovering from a difficult life event or trying to make a change in your habits, clarity of intention often makes the path forward easier to see.
Soul Retrieval: Reclaiming Lost Parts of Ourselves
One of the most well-known forms of shamanic healing is soul retrieval.
In traditional understanding, when people experience trauma, shock, or prolonged stress, a part of their inner vitality can withdraw as a way of protecting the psyche. This isn’t meant literally in a physical sense, but as a symbolic way of describing how we sometimes feel fragmented or disconnected from ourselves.
People often describe this experience in everyday language:
- “I don’t feel like myself anymore.”
- “Part of me shut down after that happened.”
- “I lost my spark.”
Soul retrieval work aims to help individuals reconnect with those missing parts of themselves. The process usually involves a guided journey where the practitioner symbolically locates and returns lost aspects of energy or identity.
Many people report feeling:
- more emotionally integrated
- clearer about who they are
- more able to move forward in life
It’s important to note that this work is not a substitute for therapy or medical care, but it can be a meaningful complementary practice for those exploring personal growth.
Power Retrieval: Reconnecting With Inner Strength
Closely related is power retrieval.
Across many indigenous traditions, it’s believed that each person has helping forces — sometimes represented as power animals, ancestral guides, or protective energies — that support them throughout life.
In modern terms, you might think of power retrieval as reconnecting with inner resilience and instinct.
When people feel overwhelmed or depleted, they often describe feeling as though their energy has drained away. Power retrieval journeys focus on restoring that sense of vitality and confidence.
Participants frequently report:
- renewed motivation
- a stronger sense of personal direction
- greater emotional stability
Again, the value lies not in believing a particular explanation but in the felt experience of reconnection.
Ancestral Healing: Understanding Where We Come From
Another important area of shamanic work is ancestral healing.
Each of us carries the stories, patterns and influences of those who came before us — family traditions, cultural beliefs, emotional habits and ways of relating to the world.
Sometimes these influences are supportive. Sometimes they can feel limiting or unresolved.
Ancestral healing practices explore questions such as:
- What patterns have I inherited from my family line?
- What strengths or wisdom might also be available to me?
- How can I relate to my heritage in a healthier way?
In journey work, people may symbolically meet ancestors or receive insights about family dynamics. Whether interpreted psychologically, spiritually or metaphorically, the process often helps people reframe their relationship with the past.
Learning to Sit With the Unknown
One of the biggest lessons shamanic practice offers is learning to be comfortable with uncertainty.
Modern culture trains us to analyse, explain and control everything. That works well for many situations, but life inevitably brings experiences that cannot be neatly solved.
When the mind cannot find an answer, it often becomes stuck in loops of overthinking.
Shamanic practices encourage a different response: observation rather than control.
Instead of trying to force an answer, you allow images, feelings or insights to emerge naturally. This approach is similar to many contemplative traditions.
In yoga philosophy, it resembles Ishvara Pranidhana, often translated as surrendering the outcome. In meditation traditions, it’s sometimes described as becoming the observer of thoughts rather than the thinker of them.
That shift alone can bring enormous relief.
Trusting Your Own Experience
One challenge in any spiritual or wellbeing practice is the temptation to compare ourselves with others.
In group journeys, people sometimes wonder:
- “Am I doing this correctly?”
- “Everyone else seems to be seeing something — why can’t I?”
The truth is that every experience is different.
Some people see detailed imagery. Others feel subtle emotional shifts. Sometimes nothing obvious happens during the journey but insights arrive later.
What matters is not how dramatic the experience appears, but whether it creates greater awareness or balance in your life.
The Role of Humour
Another aspect often overlooked in spiritual practices is humour.
Many indigenous traditions emphasise laughter as part of healing. It relaxes the nervous system, softens the ego, and helps people stay grounded.
If something during a journey feels strange, unexpected, or even slightly ridiculous — that’s perfectly normal. Human consciousness is complex and imaginative.
Taking the experience seriously doesn’t mean taking yourself too seriously.
Is Shamanic Work Right for Everyone?
Shamanic journeying isn’t for everyone, and it doesn’t need to be.
Some people connect more with yoga, mindfulness, therapy, or nature-based practices. Others find that journey work opens a new perspective they hadn’t considered before.
It may be particularly helpful for people who:
- feel disconnected from themselves or their intuition
- are exploring personal growth or life transitions
- are curious about spiritual practices but prefer direct experience rather than belief systems
- want to complement existing wellbeing practices such as meditation or yoga
As with any wellbeing practice, it’s best approached with curiosity rather than expectation.
Bringing the Practice Into Everyday Life
The most valuable aspect of shamanic work is not the journey itself but how the insights are integrated afterwards.
People often begin to notice subtle shifts:
- spending more time in nature
- listening more carefully to intuition
- becoming aware of repeating life patterns
- responding to challenges with more calm and perspective
In this sense, the journey becomes less about visiting another world and more about seeing this one more clearly.
If you’re curious to explore these practices further, you’re welcome to view my profile to learn more about my work and upcoming sessions.