Each of our four main parts corresponds to a realm. Soul is the Lower-WorldLower-World. The realm of Mother Earth: pure, unspoilt, wild nature, with no technology and no agriculture. Home of the Peoples and of our own Soul, and completely safe: feeling threatened in a journey is a reliable sign of not having reached it. Read the full answer part of us, our true nature and the person we were meant to be; Spirit is the Upper-WorldUpper-World. The realm of Father Sky and of Spirit: spacious, rarefied and clear, layered in tiers, offering not escape but perspective. Not better than the Lower-World: we ascend rooted, and bring the gifts back down. Read the full answer part, a spark of Father SkyFather Sky. The sacred Masculine pole: pure consciousness, from which the Upper-World arises. Paired with Mother Earth. ‘Father Sun’ is the older name for the same pole, found in the first three books. More about this; and the middle-world gives us two parts, the physical body and the middle-world self made of stories. Both spiritual realms matter equally: the Lower-World is spirituality as belonging and ecology, the Upper-World is spirituality as perspective and oneness, and a healthy life lets Soul and Spirit express themselves through the body and middle-world self.
How do the parts of the self relate to the realms? #
Each part belongs to one. There are four primary parts of the selfParts of the self. There are four parts of the self, the realm-corresponding members of the Inner Tribe: the Body and the middle-world self (both of the middle-world), the Soul (of the Lower-World) and the Spirit (of the Upper-World). The Aware Self, also called the Witness, is not a fifth part but a capacity: the awareness that can watch all four, with compassion and equanimity. Read the full answer, and “each of these four corresponds to (and is an aspect of) one of the main shamanic realms. This means, as we shall see, that each part has different needs.”1 There are four rather than three because “there are four realmsFour Realms. Sea, Land, Sky and Fire: living elemental environments met within the Lower-World, corresponding to water, earth, air and fire. Distinct from the three cosmological realms. Not to be confused with the four realms in Rewilding Yourself: the Upper-World, the Lower-World and the physical and non-physical middle-worlds. Read the full answer: the Upper-World, the Lower-World; the physical middle-world; and the non-physical (or, shamanic) middle-world. These give rise to the four main parts-of-self.”2
So we have an Upper-World Spirit, a Lower-World Soul, and two middle-world parts: our physical body, which “corresponds to the physical middle-world”, and our middle-world self, which “corresponds to the shamanic middle-world.”3 See What are the different parts of the self in Therapeutic Shamanism?
What is the relationship between the Lower-World and Soul? #
Soul is the Lower-World part of us. “Our Lower-World Soul is our true Self-identity. It is part of Mother EarthMother Earth. The sacred Feminine pole: pure potential, from whom all the Peoples arise. The Lower-World is her realm, and she is all the realms: “The Earth is indeed our Mother.” More about this, but it is also the unique individual that Mother Earth intended (and still intends) us to be… Unlike our middle-world self, our Soul is not a collection of human-made stories. It is the untamed and undiminished part of us”.4 It is “our authentic Soul, our true, deep Soul. It is who we were meant to be.”5
Soul is found, not retrieved. Lower-World Soul is not something we lose, but something we have to find, if and when we are ready: a lifelong process, not something we can retrieve via soul retrieval. Middle-world soul partsSoul-part. A small-s, middle-world part of the self that can be lost (sent away) and can be retrieved. Not the capital-S Soul. Read the full answer can become lost, so most shamanic soul retrievalSoul retrieval. Finding an exiled soul-part and inviting it home. In the modern psyche the fort-holder who sent it away must consent first, and the retrieval itself is a beginning: the real work is integration. Read the full answer is of middle-world parts. Therapeutic Shamanism writes Soul with a capital S for the Lower-World Soul, and soul with a small s for the middle-world.
What is the relationship between the Upper-World and Spirit? #
Spirit is the Upper-World part of us. “This part of us is pure consciousness. It is a fragment of Father Sky (or God, if you like), in the same way that a water drop is part of the ocean, or that a spark is part of a fire. This part of us likes to soar and transcend; to rise above things and see the bigger picture.”6 It is the part with the least individuality, and it “needs us to live in a way that is ethical and moral, kind and compassionate.”
In an image drawn from James Hillman, “whilst our Spirit loves the peaks and dazzling heights, our Soul wants to lead us to the valleys and the depths. When we follow our Soul, we experience a sense of “deepening”.”7
Where does the middle-world self fit? #
It is the vehicle for Soul and Spirit. The middle-world self “is made of the stories we tell ourselves about who we are, and of the stories society tells us. It is the domesticated, socialised part of us. It is also the part that most people identify with as being who they are.”8 It is not the enemy: “The ego is not “bad”, it just needs to be of service and not in charge. From a shamanic perspective, it is the tool through which both our Soul and Spirit can express themselves and be of service to the world.”9
“Our middle-world self is meant to reflect our Lower-World Soul… our middle-world self should be the vehicle through which our authentic Soul can express itself in the world. This is what living authentically means.”10
What about the body? #
The body is a part of us in its own right, not just a vehicle. It “corresponds to the physical middle-world” and has its own needs: water, warmth, food, rest, safety, and to move as it was designed to.11 Yet “many people these days are barely in their bodies at all, but ungrounded and living in their heads.” A shamanic life honours the body as much as Soul and Spirit.
What is the Lower-World’s role in spirituality? #
It is spirituality as belonging. It is where we find our place. The Lower-World is “not in any way ‘lesser’” than the Upper-World,12 and Lower-World practices are “the equally spiritual journey to dig down and discover the true nature of our Soul… In doing so we realise that we are unique and of value, and at the same time that we are but a part of something vastly greater, a part of an immeasurably greater whole.”13 The Lower-World shows us that oneness is ecological, based on reciprocity and healthy interdependence.
What is the Upper-World’s role in spirituality? #
It is spirituality as perspective. “Upper-World practices help us transcend the sense of separation. They help us move beyond our limited Self and experience non-duality in the sense of everything being part of an undifferentiated whole. They also help us see the bigger picture”, and help us align with good ethics and compassion.14 But Spirit alone is not enough: “Trying to transcend both our middle-world self and Lower-World Soul by focusing primarily on our Upper-World Spirit, unsurprisingly often results in becoming overly-detached, other-worldly, and ungrounded.”15
How do they all fit together? #
In balance. “This is what shamanism teaches, that we must cultivate Soul and Spirit in equal measure. Our body and middle-world self can then become the means by which we express our Soul and Spirit and be of service in the world.”16 Soul gives us our roots and our place; Spirit gives us perspective; the body and middle-world self are how we live both out here. See Why does Therapeutic Shamanism begin with the Lower-World?
