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Chapter 5

The South: The Space of Discovery and Understanding

Similar to ancient Maya and Mexica understandings, the South is a path that can be somewhat unpredictable and challenging. But dedicated devotion to our spiritual development, healing, and awareness always tempers and can overcome any difficulties and excesses. Many of the ancient Mesoamerican associations with the South still hold for soul retrieval work, but now we will be applying these understandings to help us with our particular modern Western issues.

The South is both the path to and serves as our internal Underworld. It is where we go from within to discover, understand, and heal lost soul pieces, the cause(s) of our lost soul pieces, when the losses happened and why, shadow aspects, undisciplined excesses, and neglected and unloved aspects of ourselves. It is also the space where we begin to comprehend what we need to learn and integrate and how we can truly honor our lost soul pieces and move forward. Moving forward on this path of healing, introspection, and self-awareness can eventually serve as our own resurrection and rebirth, wherein we create a loving and healthy space for our soul piece(s) to come home to.

In the soul retrieval process, the principal sacred essence energy that the South has to offer is a fruitful path of personal discovery, self-awareness, and understanding.

To obtain the greatest benefits in working with the South, it is important to comprehend that the South, or any of the other cardinal spaces, is not simply defined by or limited to the time and space we allot for trance journeying to their realm. If we allow it to be, the wisdom and medicine of the cardinal spaces, in this case the South, can intersect into our seemingly mundane world, and bring synchronicities into our lives that will allow us to further understand the questions we have posed that are integrated into our energetic subtle bodies. This will allow more of our soul pieces to return. Each time a soul piece comes back, we get more energy to persevere and create ideal realities for ourselves.

Journeying into the South

Before journeying into the South choose and create a space you feel comfortable in, and cleanse it. Cleansing spaces generally allows for deeper journeys. One easy way to cleanse your space is to place some copal on a charcoal burner. The copal cleanses spaces, and acts as an offering to the spirits of the South. Begin the journey by thanking the wise Teachers of the South for welcoming you into their sacred space and helping you discover and understand whatever is necessary for the journey.

Going into Trance

Start by inducing a slight trance state. You can engage in any of the suggested ways to go into a trance state: shamanic breathwork, shamanic dancing, drumming, rattling, or using sound frequencies. If you can induce a trance state quite readily, the tools may not be needed. Nonetheless, you may choose to incorporate them with the understanding that these tools encompass your own personal sacred soul retrieval ceremony. It is your journey so create it in a way that complements your life and preferences.

This shamanic breathwork exercise is ideal to slow down brain wave activity and enter into a deep trance state, and of course, drumming, or any of the other shamanic tools also work. The Mudra is Chok (to sprinkle).

For Chok, the index, middle, ring, and pinky are together and slightly curled in, both hands are in chok mudra.

The right hand is above the head with the arm gently extended up, elbow slightly bent, and the left hand is between your navel and sternum.

With a slow inhale switch the position of the hands, so the left hand is now above the head with the arm gently extended up elbow slightly bent, and the right hand is between your navel and sternum.

When the hands have switched positions, take 3 sharp breaths out the mouth contracting the abdomen while doing so.

Repeat this for at least 3 minutes.

Thereafter, take 7 slow inhales and exhales in and out from the nose, feeling the heartbeat slow down as you inhale and exhale.

Journeying in the South

Once you have achieved a trance state, set the intention to journey into the South. When your consciousness navigates you into the South, you can call upon your power animals or other guides to take you to your lost soul piece or you can simply permit yourself to search for this lost soul piece. The whole time you are in this space notice your surroundings, and take note if you can tell which non-ordinary realm you are in.

Once you sense, feel, hear, see, and/or know that you have come across the lost soul piece, observe it with whatever sense(s) are the most predominant. See if you recognize it, and sense whether the energy is you in this lifetime or another lifetime. Let it know that you have come to discover and understand why it left. Allow a light of love to radiate out from your sacred heart and connect to the soul piece. Through that love-light connect to it, and proceed with the discovery. You can ask it questions, such as:

• When did you leave me?
• Why did you feel you have to go?
• What do you have to teach me?
• What do you and I need to be healed?
• How can I honor you?
• How can I look after you?
• How can I help you feel safe?
• How can I love you?
• What, if anything, can I do to create a space within me that you want to come home to?
• Are you ready to come home into our sacred heart?