Mayan Soul Retrieval Experience
Mayan Soul Retrieval: A Cacao and Gong Healing Journey
Soul retrieval is one of the most profound healing practices I offer — and one of the most personally meaningful. I have trained in this practice across many traditions, and the Peruvian-Mayan method I share in this ceremony is the one I return to most often. It is beautifully clear in its structure, deeply safe, and accessible to anyone — whether you are completely new to shamanic work or have been walking this path for years.
In this post, I want to walk you through exactly what this ceremony involves, why it works, and what you can expect — so that whether you join me live, work with the video recording, or simply want to understand the practice more deeply, you feel fully prepared and held.
What Is Soul Loss?
Soul loss occurs when we experience trauma. In the moment of a deeply painful or overwhelming experience — being abandoned by someone we love, a sudden loss, a violation of trust, any event that is more than the psyche can fully integrate at the time — a fragment of our soul separates and travels into the lower realm, our inner realm, our subconscious. It goes there to be safe, held far away from the place of pain.
In Mayan shamanism, the teaching is that these lost soul parts are protected in the lower realm by Huasca, the god of the underworld. We remain connected to them by a thread, but without them, we are incomplete. We may feel it as a persistent numbness, a low-level flatness, a sense that something is missing even when life appears to be going well. We may notice we cannot fully give ourselves to love, to creativity, to joy — because there is a part of us still waiting in the dark, not yet ready to return.
Often, in the moment of losing a soul part, we also make a contract. A fourteen-year-old whose first love leaves them might make the contract: I will never fully give myself to another person again. This contract was born from self-protection, and at the time, it served a purpose. But carried forward, it shapes every relationship that follows. Soul retrieval allows us to find that part, dissolve that old contract, and come home to ourselves — whole.
The Role of Cacao and Gong in Soul Retrieval
Ceremonial cacao is a heart-opening medicine. It gently expands our awareness, helps us connect with our emotional body, and opens the channels through which spirit can speak to us. Cacao is entirely optional in this ceremony — some people prefer not to drink the medicine, and the journey works beautifully without it. If you are on medications that affect the heart, blood pressure, or mood (including antidepressants), take a lower dose or simply hold the cup with intention.
Ceremonial dosage varies — as little as 10 grams in a cup can offer a beautiful effect, while some practitioners work with up to 42 grams for a more intense experience. Work with what feels right for you.
The gongs do much of the deeper work. Our everyday consciousness — the left-brain, linear mind that reminds us of our name, our to-do list, what to cook for dinner — is gently distracted by the complex, overlapping frequencies of the gong. A single gong can produce upwards of thirteen distinct sounds simultaneously. This beautiful confusion gives the right brain space to awaken: the part of our consciousness that connects to everything in the universe, that can feel the soul parts we have lost, and can help us call them home.
Together, cacao and gong guide us from beta — our everyday waking state — through alpha, and into the theta and delta states where visioning becomes possible. We remain awake, but dreaming. This is the shamanic brain.
Cleansing Your Energy Before the Journey
Before we enter the ceremony, we cleanse our energy field. When we journey into the spirit realms, we become a powerful magnet for manifestation — so we want to make sure we are clear and bright, attracting only what serves us.
I guide participants through a hand-cleansing practice that works with the three layers of the aura:
The outer layer — approximately an arm’s length around the body. This holds the residue of the day: projections from others, the energetic imprint of difficult spaces we have moved through.
The emotional layer — closer in, this is where our current emotional states live. We cleanse away anything uncomfortable that we do not want to carry into the journey.
The physical layer — the body itself, which is also energy. We cleanse through it to release any physical tension or stagnation.
For each layer, we begin at the heart — opening it like a fountain of love and light, pouring that energy into cupped hands, scooping it up over the crown, opening to the universe, and allowing that love and light to wash down through the layer we are cleansing, all the way to the ground. Any energies that do not belong to us are given to Mama Earth, who composts them and returns them as nourishing energy. You can shake your hands or stamp your feet to help release anything stubborn.
Calling In the Seven Directions
We open the ceremonial space by calling in the seven directions, sharing our cacao with each as an offering. This is a Mayan medicine wheel prayer — though you may have your own tradition, or your own way of calling in sacred space. The intention is always the same: to invite in the wisdom, protection, and guidance of the spirit world before we begin.
We call to the East (fire, dawn, Eagle and Condor — to help us see with clarity as we journey), the South (water, flow, Snake — to help us shed the old contracts that no longer serve us), the West (earth, dusk, Jaguar — to protect our medicine space and help us face our shadow), and the North (air, night, Hummingbird — to teach us to trust the path and dare to dream ourselves whole). We call to the Earth beneath us, Father Sky above, and Great Spirit — the unnameable one — who flows through all that is.
The Four Chambers of Healing
The heart of this ceremony is a guided journey into the lower realm — our inner realm, our subconscious — where we work with Huasca through four specific chambers. Each chamber holds a distinct piece of the healing.
The Chamber of Wounds
The first chamber we visit is the Chamber of Wounds. Here, Huasca shows us the soul part that needs to come home. It may appear literally, or symbolically — as a younger version of ourselves, an image, a feeling, or a knowing. We witness this soul part with compassion, as we would witness our very best friend. We observe the wound that caused the separation, without getting pulled into its emotional current. Simply seeing, with love.
The Chamber of Contracts
The second chamber looks like a library. Here we find the contract that was written at the moment of the wound — perhaps on a scroll, perhaps in a book, perhaps glowing or golden so we can find it easily. We open it, and we read the words: I will never love again. I am not good enough. I am weak. We recognise how this contract has rippled outward through our lives, shaping our choices and our experiences ever since.
Then we destroy it — with great enjoyment. Burn it, shred it, dissolve it: choose your method and relish it. Huasca is happy to assist. Once the old contract is destroyed, we write a new one. Something simple, clear, and true. I am loved. I am good enough. I am free. A short affirmation — the words that represent the healing of this part of us.
The Chamber of Grace
The third chamber is where we meet the healed version of our soul part. This is the same part we first glimpsed in the Chamber of Wounds — but now, with the old contract dissolved and a new one written, they are beginning to transform. We show them our new contract. We talk them through the words, and we ask if they are willing to come home.
Most of the time, they will be ready — sometimes even jumping at the chance. Occasionally, there is a little resistance, and if so, we simply ask: what do you need from me? What would help you trust? An inner child soul part might ask you to commit to something playful — to go to the beach, to draw, to make a sandcastle. Trust whatever comes. That is the medicine.
The Chamber of Treasures
The fourth and final chamber holds all the gifts we have been unable to receive during the years since the original wound. Dreams that never manifested. Qualities we lost touch with. Capacities and creativities that have been waiting in the spirit realm because we were not yet whole enough to hold them.
Here we look around and choose the treasure that calls to us most strongly. We receive it, feeling its quality, its meaning, understanding what it opens in us. And then Huasca offers us one final gift: a new power animal, whose nature and gifts are perfectly matched to help us hold the new contract and keep this soul part safely home.
Travelling Into the Lower Realm
I guide participants to journey by imagining a tiny light — a little like Tinkerbell — that leaves through the crown chakra, flies across the landscape wrapped in a protective golden mist, and comes to land in a place in nature that feels completely safe and calm. From that place, we find a portal — a hole in tree roots, a fairy door, a spiral staircase lit with candles, a mudslide (my personal favourite) — and we descend.
The way down, and the landscape you arrive in, will be unique to you. Some people are very visual; others sense or feel or simply know. All of it is valid. We are working shamanically here — seeing without seeing. Spirit will communicate in whatever way works best for you. The only thing required is willingness and an open imagination.
Because this ceremony is available as a recording, you can pause at any point, rewind if you drift, and work at your own pace. I guide you through the full journey and bring you home completely at the end.
How to Prepare for Your Soul Retrieval Journey
A little preparation goes a long way in making this experience as rich and as safe as possible:
Use good headphones or speakers close to you — the nuances of the gong frequencies are important, and the fuller you can receive them, the deeper the experience
Create a comfortable, supported space — a reclining chair with cushions, or lying down on a mat or your bed. When we rest this deeply, body temperature can drop a degree or two, so have a blanket or something warm nearby
Prepare your ceremonial cacao beforehand if you are choosing to drink it, so you are ready to begin when we call in the directions.
Have a journal or paper close to hand — after a shamanic journey, the experience can fade like a dream. Writing immediately afterwards helps you capture and integrate what you received.
Give yourself a gentle day after the ceremony — rest, drink plenty of water, spend time in nature if you can, and be kind to yourself as the integration unfolds.
Avoid alcohol and recreational drugs on the day of your journey — these can create a leaky aura, and the soul part you bring home may drift away more easily
Soul loss is something every single one of us experiences at some point in our lives. I have never worked with another person to find soul parts — nor journeyed myself — without finding something waiting to come home. This practice is one of the greatest gifts I know how to offer.
Experience Soul Retrieval with Me
Whether you are ready to do this work online, would prefer a deeply personal one-to-one session, or feel called to learn the practice yourself, there are several ways I can support you:
→ Watch the free Mayan Soul Retrieval ceremony on YouTube
→ Book a one-to-one soul retrieval session
→ Join a live cacao and sound healing ceremony
→ Learn soul retrieval and shamanic practice on The Shaman’s Way
The more of us who heal, the more we raise the vibration of this planet. We heal the world by healing our hearts first. I look forward to journeying with you.
