Last night I led a group through the journey of Soul Retrieval. In a small cottage south of Miami — sliding doors opening to a garden of gravel pathways, overflowing bougainvillea and lush green trees and bushes, secret spaces to sit and rest — we practiced yoga for an hour and then my group settled into savasana, to drift and journey into the underworld, into dark places. A bonfire was lit, fire casting shadows on the walls of the cottage. I called on the spirit of Jaguar, who sees into dark places, who knows no fear in this life or the next, to be with each of us on our journey.

The journey of Soul Retrieval is an ancient one, in which we travel to find and reclaim the lost pieces of ourselves so that we may once again become whole, fully alive in all our potential. Along the way, we observe painful or traumatic incidents which may have promoted this soul fragmentation, and caused us to create limiting agreements with ourselves and the world in the belief that this would keep us safe from harm.

In these past weeks I have been called down some dark pathways of my own. What I have come to believe is that this impulse to go deep into the fearsome night, to stand right on the edge looking out into blackness, is for most of us part of our greater journey as human beings in this lifetime. The important questions is: “Why now, why am I called to follow this path now? What is it time for me to learn?”

You cannot take a journey like this without allies.  In the small group I led last night, we were safe in the embrace of our own love and support for each other. No one was going down there alone. In my own exploration, my dearest friends came to my side, without judgement.  And in this way I was able to learn some valuable lessons about myself, what I am ready to let go of and what I am now fully prepared to embrace in my life. I could not have done this alone.

At the end of our experience together last night, we came back into the light of the bonfire, burning those old agreements. Laughing, chatting again, reaching for a drink of water, a piece of fruit, or a hug from a friend. All individual souls with our own paths through the dark and the light; all intimately connected and so necessary to each other.

I bow to you, my friends and fellow travelers. Namaste.

Photo: Deer Cave, Borneo