I had a wild and undeniably synchronistic last week of Therapy Outside the Box. It came to head in a session which I’ll detail in PT 2, after some more processing. In the meantime I’ll set the stage, and try to present this in layman’s language as much as possible.
On that note, a few definitions of terms:
INTERNAL FAMILY SYSTEM THERAPY (IFS)—A revolutionary, de-pathologizing, compassionate, shamanic-based, comprehensive therapy, life practice, and spiritual path. I discovered IFS in 2006 and have been studying and practicing it on and off ever since. At this point, with how the model has evolved, and its natural crossover with the shamanic and transpersonal and my own unfolding spiritual odyssey, I’m all in. Anyhow, IFS views our inner system/psyche as naturally multiple; both one and many, made up of 1) A core Self—the undamaged, eternal, infinitely whole healing essence within all of us, as has been written about in the great spiritual traditions for an eon. And 2) Parts (aka subpersonalities). Parts become psychically separated from the Self, mainly as a result of trauma and attachment wounds early on. Some parts carry old pain and extreme beliefs (called burdens in IFS) while others inhabit managerial roles to protect both the Self and the vulnerable parts from being exposed to more hurt. The larger goal of IFS is harmony amongst our parts, unburdening the pain and extreme beliefs our vulnerable parts carry, relieving our protective parts of the need to hyper-protect and take on newer, more updated roles, and increased trust in the Self to lead.
The qualities of Self (The 8 C’s) are: calm, curiosity, courage, confident, compassion, clarity, creativity, and connectedness.
An important ‘off-label’ concept in IFS—central to what this post series is about— is the concept of unattached burdens. These are considered to be something ‘other.’ Not originally parts of us, but things, constructs, energies— entities of unknow origin, and for all we know vast, multiple varieties. These are entities that become attached to the person (on the etheric body level I believe) with the permission of a part or parts, usually in times of extreme trauma, distress, or vulnerability resulting from overt abuse, surgery, or near-death experiences.
According to IFS lead trainer Robert Falconer, who specializes in releasing unattached burdens, these entities persuade [parts of us] to allow entrance with the promise of power to the powerless, or power in times of helplessness. We’ll get more into this with the case example to follow in PT 2. For now, note the synchronistic Divine Timing of my recent exploration into this territory, culminating in the case example to come.
You can’t make this shit up. Well, I guess you can. But no need when it happens on its own for real.
Back to definition of terms:
COMPASSIONATE DEPOSSESSION—A neo-shamanic term coined by a buddhist-trained shamanic practitioner named Betsy Bergstrom who developed this modern, non-adversarial approach to dealing with all forms of attached suffering beings. This type of spirit-release work can include the depossession of so-called ‘demonic,’ shadow beings, and extra-terrestrial (ET) entities. It’s a kinder, gentler, no-drama way of helping a spirit move towards the light. In this view, if a person who has experienced soul loss or other serious traumas have become a host to suffering beings or entities, these beings may live off of that person's energy and influence them in a variety of ways. Illness, depression, substance abuse, phobias, emotional problems, suicidal tendencies and other issues may be in part due to the influence or overshadowing of entities that have attached to the person. These beings may be people whose own experience at the time of death has become compromised in such a way that they did not successfully make their own journey to the Light.
Compassionate Depossession benefits both the person and the entity from whatever reality the being comes from. Akin to the Catholic Rite of Exorcism, but without the formality, pomp and circumstance, and with non-judgement and compassion (obviously) replacing reliance on aggression, command, authority and forceful banishment of the religious approach. One that’s often led to great harm to the individual and performing priest/exorcist alike.
SOME BACKGROUND—As you may know if you follow my blog or my Instagram, I’ve been in a post-spiritual emergence(y)/Dark Night of the Soul/Spirit Guide/Ascended Master-led initiation for a few years now. In surviving, surrendering, and integrating the experience, I was graced with a kind of claircognizant/clairsentient capacity. I’m also being prepared to become some type of channel, or so my ongoing spirit communion meditations seem to suggest. All of this is what led to my transition from more or less conventional therapist to nearly giving it all up entirely, to my re-emergence/rebranding as Therapy Outside the Box. What’s clear now is that I was always meant to go full woo woo (in the most grounded and still clinical way possible, of course ;) with my life’s work. Apparently, it took me experiencing a full on mid-life, to-the-knees-breakdown and (thankfully temporary) descent into madness to wake me up to it. Better late than never. And now the farther I go with courage, trust, faith, patience and surrender to The Divine and The Divine Plan, the more outside the box things get, with no agenda or forcing on my part. It’s fucking beautiful, honestly. I’m in awe. As they say here in the south, I’m blessed.
Anyway, as I’ve been forging ahead in curating and applying my transpersonal IFS approach, there have been a number of spontaneously shamanic, mediumistic, even psychopompic occurrences as of late. [A ‘psychopomp' is one, usually a shaman, or hermetic figure classically, who guides the spirits of the dead to the afterlife or the otherworld. In some religions, psychopomps can be creatures, spirits, angels, or deities whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afterlife]. These occurrences have come about simply as a result of myself and my clients together formally inviting the Divine, The Christ, Holy Spirit, Archangels, Guides, Ministering Angels, Masters, ancestors, crossed over loved ones, spirit and shamanic power animals into the fold at the start of each session—to assist, enlighten, guide, direct and facilitate healing in whatever way is in the highest and best good. ‘And so it is.’
STAGE SETTING EXAMPLES:
Recently, in the middle of an otherwise straightforward IFS session, there emerged the appearance of a client’s spirit animal (A wise old wolf in this case). The wolf came through suddenly and clearly to the client with a PROFOUND, life-altering message, then proceeded to chaperone the retrieval of a young vulnerable part into the present and help guide the shamanic unburdening/transmuting of the younger part’s wounds and extreme beliefs into fire. Extraordinary.
In another case, confirmed by my higher guidance, with a young, precocious, highly intelligent and psychically advanced client who is what’s called a *‘soul walk-in’ from age 12, we’ve experienced on more than one occasion thus far the intervention of spirit guides, elementals, and cosmic/galactic culture guides, making for quite uncommon happenings with the shamanic-based IFS process. [*A soul “walk-in” is considered a higher soul, other than the original soul, that enters in the body as a result of a prior deal/contract. The original soul returns to higher dimensions while the higher soul uses the body for a new destiny]. In this individual’s case, we believe there’s a variation at play. Our understanding, again confirmed by my guidance, is that members of this individual’s soul pod (group soul) came in at age 12, in dramatic fashion, for specific reasons, some connected to the client’s difficult family dynamics, and that did not in this case include the departure of the original soul. More like an addition. Talk about multiplicity! :>
On two other occasions with a different client, immediately upon beginning the IFS process, after calling in the ‘highest and holiest,’ guides, ancestors and loved ones, etc, what I can only describe as spontaneous mediumistic visitations, or after-death communications, (ADC’s) took place. Meaning, one of the client’s crossed-over loved ones came right through with a peaceful presence, and a few uplifting, freeing messages. It was unmistakably real, natural, and healing for the client. This presence was viscerally felt, recognized, and unquestionably accepted as the consciousness of the deceased. All I can say is that is was definitely not a part, not the clients Self , and most certainly not an unattached burden/entity. No question.
In the next session, the second of two loved ones appeared, in stark contrast to those before, in a state of quiet distress—trapped between walls, seemingly dazed, in a state of suspension. My own guidance helped me intuit that this loved one was here not to provide validation of well being, or encourage my client’s being at peace, like the prior visitors had. This loved one came in need of help— to begin facing and accepting the very fact of his crossing over. And this made sense based on what we’d discussed about the circumstances of his life and passing. The client went with it, took my que, and functioned in this case as a both medium and psychopomp—providing context, validation, and ultimately freeing the loved one from the liminal/bardo state he’s been stuck in since passing, on to wherever his soul is meant to proceed from there. By the end, the walls gave way, he stood up straighter, and simply wandered off, as if exploring his ability to be spiritually mobile for the first time since shedding the body.
Of note is that for all my woo woo and personal spiritual goings on, I’m not a medium or psychopomp, nor intending to become any of these. And neither is this client. This person has no particular spiritual leanings or practice! This was an organic, but welcomed occurrence. One that’s brought about a unique and unexpected sense of healing and peace. The beginning of real closure in regards to the multiple losses incurred.
In PT 2, after I’ve gathered more of my thoughts and checked in some more with my higher guidance to be sure I’ve sufficiently understood to the degree that I can what occurred, I’ll be detailing the strangest of the strange to date: A case of unplanned and unexpected ‘compassionate depossession’ of a foreboding, imposing, dark unattached burden/entity occurring in a session literally two days after completely a training on Shamanism and IFS with a focus on unattached burdens in which I learned of the concept of ‘compassionate depossession’ and had just decided to apply for training in the method.
Stay tuned…