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A SHAMANIC PERSPECTIVE ON MANIFESTATION:
Releasing Ancestral & Past Life Patterns that Block Happiness. © D. Ahern 2011

(Note: This is the text of a talk I gave at a “new age” expo recently. I’ve changed it slightly to adapt for home use.)

The “Secret”! The “Law of Attraction”! It seems so simple – a formula for abundance and manifestation of all that we desire!

Is it really this easy? Sometimes it is. One effective way to manifest is through a simple visualization. Here’s one to do if you wish. Close your eyes, and take three deep relaxing breaths. One… two…. and three. Release all tension as you do so. Now visualize or imagine something that you really want!

This will work best if it’s something concrete and within your realm of likely possibility, such as a new vehicle. Imagine your new vehicle in detail – color, style, accessories such as all-wheel drive, radio & CD player, GPS, sun roof, and type; van, SUV, wagon or truck, etc. Take your time. Don’t forget the wheels and tires! Be sure to see it in the present, not the future – the future never arrives - it remains ‘future’…

When you have the object fully formed in your imagination place a pink bubble or balloon all around it. Hold onto the string of the balloon and check to be sure your picture is complete. Now release the string and watch the balloon float away! Say, “It is done. It is done. It is done.” Trust and know that this is so.
(from "Creative Visualization" by Shakti Gawain)

So why is it that many of us don’t manifest all that we want? From a shamanic perspective, the ‘secret’ and the current general understanding of the Law of Attraction are incomplete. It’s not a failure on your part when this doesn’t seem to work for you, so don’t take on unnecessary self blame. There are several possible explanations. What you want may in some way interfere with another person’s free will, especially if you are focusing on a love relationship – it’s never OK to manipulate or try to control anyone else. Or: You may need to wait longer for what you want. Or: Something better may be manifesting for you. Or: Your Higher Self may know it’s not for your highest good.

Here’s a disclaimer I include when I do any type of manifestation work:

This or something better, is now manifesting for me,
in totally harmonious and satisfactory ways,
For my highest good, for the higher good of all concerned,
and with the free will of all concerned. So may it be.
(Adapted from “Positive Magic” by Marian Weinstein)


The most common reason for lack of success in manifestation work is the least known. You may have deep rooted patterns or beliefs that you don’t even know about, that prevent and block the manifestation of your sincere desires. Again, don’t blame yourself; instead take this opportunity to explore your inner self deeply.

You know that everything is energy, and that energy follows thought. Or: Energy flows where Attention goes. Whatever you manifest or create in your life begins with a thought. When you focus on or think about something you give it some of your own energy, and thus you give it power. The more you focus on lack in your life the greater it becomes, and conversely, the more you focus on abundance the more it comes into your life. ‘Abundance’ means more than just material or financial abundance and prosperity, though that’s included; it also means abundance of health, creativity, friendship, and happiness. One of the most debilitating results of a sense of lack in your life is the feeling of helplessness and loss of control over your life that leads you to feel like a victim. This can cause depression, despair, hopelessness, and a general lack of joy in your life or it can turn you into a tyrant, or an envious, resentful, or angry person.

While it’s true that you can change the energy frequency of anything through your will and intent, many damaging patterns of blame and low self worth are so strong in your belief system that they interfere with your expressed wishes. While some of these patterns are formed by childhood conditioning in this life, the stronger and more persistent ones carry over from past lives - your own and those of your ancestors. They are rooted in your soul memory and ancestral DNA. Scientific studies of DNA show that you inherit many of your patterns of behavior, belief, and emotion from your ancestors. They also come from your own past lives. You may not even be aware of them. You brought them with you when you reincarnated in this lifetime. Your realization of past life patterns and blocks isn’t meant to absolve you of personal responsibility in this life. What happens in your life now is up to you. You can change old patterns and beliefs. Awareness of the choices available to you takes you a long way from being a victim.

A major reason why you choose to reincarnate is to deal with the issues, beliefs, and patterns of your past lives that impede your spiritual growth today. Unfortunately by the time you are born and aware enough, you usually forget your reasons for returning to physical life. Yet the patterns remain.

How do you know if you have a pattern or belief that hinders you?

One indication of a carry-over from either a past life or ancestral DNA is a tendency to judge others and to be overly critical. Another is a feeling of superiority. A feeling of inferiority is another indication! A common one is insecurity that can lead to the need to try to be in control of all events in your life, including the actions of others, with a high expectation that others should conform to your concept of what is right. A strong dislike of a personality trait in someone else may mask its existence within yourself! Current addictions and obsessions – alcohol, drugs, weight problems, sex, gambling - frequently point to past life addictions and obsessions that need to be overcome. A pattern of unsatisfactory, abusive, or co-dependent relationships may be another sign of past life difficulties, as can a tendency to dominate others. If you experience depression, chronic loneliness, anxiety or fear, or a sense of ‘not belonging’, these may point to past life patterns and may also be a sign of Soul Loss, which can be helped by Soul Retrieval therapy as well as Past Life therapy. Always, check with your physician to rule out physical problems before taking other action!

There is a common misunderstanding currently about Karma, and how it affects your present life. I want to offer you a look at Karma from a more loving perspective. Spirit/god/dess and your Higher Self love you and never choose to harm you or make you suffer in order to learn.

Spirit and your own Higher Self never choose anything for your life plan that will harm you!

You choose your general life plan so that you can learn and grow spiritually.

You are not set up to suffer!

You don’t experience rape or abuse or poverty or any other adverse situation because it was in a pre-life contract! Nor do you in any way deserve these. The events of your life are not pre-destined or determined. This is a relatively common and recent misunderstanding of karma. You may make choices about the lesson or lessons you wish to work on for this lifetime, and you may choose the people you wish to be with. You always have free will and so do the people in your life. You can’t control their choices, so they may not return with you and if they do, they may react as they did previously and thus reinforce your old patterns.

I realize not all of you will agree with this view of Karma. If you’ve been taught and you accept the belief of a pre-life contract that determines the details of your life, you are free of course to continue to believe that your Higher Self or you yourself choose harmful situations, but think about this:

Why would your own Higher Self want or need to harm you to teach you?

It’s your Higher Self or Soul that lives between lives and makes any choices about your next life. Your Higher Self loves you and wishes only good for you. So again, Why would your own Higher Self choose to harm you? Does that even make sense? Do you set up your own children?

You suffer because previous life choices formed a pattern or belief that holds you back now and predisposes you to similar choices that aren’t helpful for you.

You suffer because of choices you make in this lifetime rather than from any cosmic punishment for past ones.

You do not need to come back with a burden of guilt, or a feeling that you deserve to suffer, just with the challenge to become aware and to choose to make positive changes now.

If you don’t, there is no blame. You may simply need to repeat the lessons again, so you may choose before another lifetime to work on the same issues again. It’s important to remember that you always do the best you can at the time with the information and knowledge available to you at the time.

The choices you made in this or past lives may not always be in your best interests today. This isn’t meant as judging or criticizing your choices.           You do what seems best at the time.   It’s harmful to go over the past and worry about how it might have been different. It’s in the past.

Deal with the present and release worry and guilt about the past and anxiety about the future. Even small changes today can help you become empowered and can lead to greater ones.

The most powerful choice you can make is to live in this moment with thankfulness and appreciation for what you have now.

This helps you to prioritize situations in your life and gives you the peace you are meant to experience.

Guilt and shame and self–contempt only hold you back. The past has to be released to free you to move forward in the future. You are so much harder on yourself than you would ever be on any one else!

Take a moment now to acknowledge that you are loved and that you deserve love. Send love and forgiveness to yourself and accept it. Breathe it into your Heart Center.

What can you do to change and transform the outworn patterns and beliefs in your life?

First you must become aware of them. You can do this through meditation, where you go into your own inner depths and simply observe yourself.

Self observation helps show you persistent patterns and beliefs. Self-compassion and non-judgment help you to release these patterns. Ceremony is a concrete way to assist you as well. Fire ceremonies are especially profound in releasing and transformative work.

The power of Intention can be harnessed to aid you. As already stated, you can change the energy frequency of anything, including old patterns and beliefs, through your will and intent.

Here’s a way to do this. Think about some habit you would like to change in your life right now – for example, perhaps you tend to judge others more than you would like to do. Set the intention that instead you will now notice the good qualities of others and will compliment them when you do so. Breathe deeply, relax, and enter into an altered state of consciousness or light trance. Breathe in a positive form of the habit – the desire to see the best in others - and hold your firm intention to do so. Now release the detrimental habit of judging others and be aware of its transformation into the beneficial energy that is appreciation of others. Fill yourself with light as you complete this exercise. Repeat this daily for 21 days to reprogram your neural pathways. Be sure to pay attention to your thoughts during the day!

Another positive action you can take on your own is the release of past life vows and promises.

You may have made vows, such as poverty and chastity, or oaths of allegiance and promises in past lives that are no longer helpful. These may cause limitations and blocks in this life. Past life memories hold the vows and beliefs you made. Attitudes, patterns, and beliefs from past lives that were useful as survival tools may limit you now.

Vows of poverty in past lives may prevent your prosperity in this life. Vows of chastity may interfere with happy relationships today.

A common belief is that you are unworthy of the good things you desire in this life - this can restrict happiness and prosperity of all kinds in this life.

You may decide to periodically clear past vows, limiting beliefs and patterns. If you wish, you may release them now, by firmly repeating the following aloud. Breathe deeply several times and exhale slowly. One… two…. and three. Command your subconscious to use the energy thus raised in the following command:

“I declare that I fully and completely release each and every vow, promise, contract, pact, oath and agreement, and any pattern of behavior and belief that I have ever made, either with myself or with others, in this life or any past life, that does not now serve a true purpose and is not for my own highest good, and for the highest good of all concerned. Thank you, it is done.”

Breathe out and know that you are free of these limiting vows. Now bring in positive affirmative light and energy to fill your being. Never leave empty space in yourself – always fill it up with healing loving energy.

Past Life Soul Regression, Shamanic Journeys and Soul Retrieval with the assistance of a trained Shamanic Practitioner or Past Life Soul Regression Therapist are the quickest and most efficient ways to help you uncover the original sources and transform the negative patterns and core issues that block you in this life.

As the client, you do the work, always at your own pace, and only as much as you find comfortable to do. The Shamanic Practitioner or Past Life Soul Regression Therapist works in sacred space and you are always protected by your Guides. Even if you aren’t aware of your Guides or haven’t met them yet, know that you do have Guides and that they are always with you, ready to help you.

Past Life Soul Regression Therapy is an advanced in depth form of hypnosis designed to delve deeply into the soul memories to discover the patterns of your life. Through Past Life Soul Regression you can discover your patterns from past lives and how they affect you now. There are positive patterns as well but the negative ones usually have a stronger emotional impact, so these are the ones most likely to emerge in a session and are the ones you will wish to change.

Once you are deeply relaxed, the PLSR therapist will guide you gently into trance where you can review your past lives to find the source of your blocks and issues and discover how you can change them into ones that are helpful for you today. You do this as you access the necessary past lives and view the progress of your Soul from life to life. Your Guides will assist in the choice of the best life for you to review.

Belief in reincarnation is helpful but not absolutely necessary for past life regression to be successful. You may access your own deep subconscious or the universal collective unconscious in regression sessions.

Soul Retrieval is a shamanic healing technique to recover parts of the soul (the ongoing living personality) that were left or lost somewhere, or that were stolen or borrowed by somebody else. In my experience, spontaneous soul retrievals may emerge during past life regressions. It’s helpful if your regression therapist also has training in soul retrieval work.
Shamans believe that part of the human soul is free to leave the body and may do so to protect itself in situations of severe trauma, especially those that occur in childhood. When this happens the soul piece may then be reluctant or afraid to return to the body on its own. When this happens a shaman must intervene to reassure the soul piece – which often presents as a small child.

Some of the symptoms that indicate soul loss include: depression, a feeling of incompleteness, an inability to resolve a core issue, lost memories, feeling that you’re not in control your life.
Soul loss is often accompanied by a feeling that something is missing from life. You can pick up specific clues about soul loss in people's language. "My sense of security was out the window", "she stole my heart", "I lost my innocence", "my allegiance is still with the old management", "I no longer have my youthful strength". ‘I lost something when I lost my job”, “I never felt the same after my accident... "I lost a piece of themselves" when they parted with a lover, or "you stole my life from me."

There are various causes of soul loss. If a person was in an abusive situation, part of the soul may leave to protect itself from the abuse. If a traumatic accident is about to occur the soul may leave to avoid being affected by the accident. If a loved one dies or is lost through divorce or separation, the soul part may leave until the person is ready to deal with the grief. All of these are mechanisms of protection at the time. In some cases the soul part will return on its own. If it does not know how to return or if it does not realize that it is safe to return - the shaman may need to assist its return.
Soul loss can also occur when you give part of your soul to someone else. When you are in love, or when you are part of a family, or in a close friendship, you may give away part of your soul to the loved one. You may even give it away in a cause. This type of soul exchange seems acceptable or even unselfish to you because of your desire to share deeply with another, but it’s generally not a good idea. The other person can't use this part of your soul, because simply: it is not their soul, and they don’t know how to deal with this extra energy. This can add to their problems. When you give a piece of your soul away you disempower yourself. Your own life is made more difficult because you are not fully present to do the living of your own life. It is a lose/lose situation.

Because you aren’t taught about soul loss you usually do this soul sharing unconsciously. As you become more aware of this dynamic you can find more empowering and desirable ways of sharing love and affection in your close relationships.
When performing a soul retrieval ceremony or session the shamanic practitioner creates sacred space. Your Guides are always asked to assist. The shaman may personally journey to find your lost soul or may guide you as you do this for yourself. The missing piece of the soul is often reluctant to return because it has suffered before and fears to be hurt again, so it must be gently and lovingly encouraged to return. Once it comes back the shaman will aid its integration into your physical body – often by blowing the missing piece back into the person. Once back it’s up to you to comfort your soul piece and reassure it of your love and its security. The return is immediate – the full integration takes a while so be patient and loving.

All PLSR and Soul Retrievals are different and individual. Benefits may include:
-You are able or willing to move forward on an issue that has been troubling you.
-You find it easier to make decisions or make changes you avoided
- traits you have struggled with such as hopelessness, lack of confidence, or anger may improve or go away.
-You feel more fully present in your life.
In addition other challenges may arise:

-Issues and feelings that you have previously been unwilling to deal with can come to the surface such as grief or anger, or the state of a relationship.
-You may realize that you no longer feel able to stay in a situation you’ve been tolerating.
–You may realize that changes are necessary in your life.
-You may begin a healing process which at first feels worse before it feels better.


Personal Tools for use in Manifestation Work:

Once you’ve discovered and worked to transform the patterns and beliefs that block you in manifesting the life you want, there are tools you can use to assist you. Daily Affirmations, always stated in the present, reinforce these tools.

You may find the Pink Balloon visualization, given at the start of this paper, helpful.
You may focus and meditate on what you want as you color in a mandala – these are readily available. Use whatever colors seem to represent what you want. When you finish coloring, hang your mandala in the window for sun and moon energy to aid you. Do this for a week or longer – that’s up to you. When you take your mandala down, release the energy by burning it and tossing the ashes into the wind!
You can walk a physical labyrinth, or use a finger labyrinth. This is a meditative process that’s gaining recognition; You focus on your intention as you walk it.
Another method is the Manifestation board. Decide on what you wish to manifest now, and find as many pictures that represent it as you can. This may be something concrete, such as a new car or home, or it may be a quality of peace or joy, etc. Paste the pictures on a poster board and hang it where you will see it every day. Look at it daily and state that this or something better is now manifesting for you. You may find other tools that also aid you in your focus and intention.


Past Life Regression with a Partner

If you wish, and only if you have a friend or partner who can do this with you, you can do a short past life regression with and for each other. This is not a parlor game! Always create sacred space and ask all your Guides to aid both of you.This will be a gentle regression, only exploring one or two scenes in the chosen life. Don’t review the entire life, or go to the last day of that life. That's better done with a trained therapist. Your Guides are with you and will help you choose the life to explore. Your partner in this will read the following slowly to you: (start now)

Take several deep, deep breaths and relax, letting all tension leave your body……one… two…. and three. Ask your Guides to help you choose the right past life for right now – nothing too intense! Perhaps there is an issue you feel you’d like to know more about. Take a moment to decide what will be the purpose of this past life regression for you…. If you prefer, ask your Guides to choose for you.

Now think quickly of a location for your past life - let your intuition guide you and don’t think about it – just the first one that comes to mind! Don’t worry that you’re imagining this – it doesn’t matter.
Do the same with the time or era.
Now find yourself there, in your past life. You are in your body, and experiencing that life, but without pain.
Are you outside or inside?
If outside, are you in the countryside, a small town or village, or a city?
If inside, look around to see what type of room or area you are in.
Is it day or night?
Is it warm or cool, or cold?
What if anything, do you smell?
Look to see what you are wearing – start with your feet and see what, if anything, you have on your feet.
Now check your legs, what color is your clothing? How is it made?
Is your clothing formal, casual, threadbare, or anything else you notice?

Imagine there is a mirror in front of you and you can see what you look like.
What do you notice about yourself?
Are you a man or a woman?
How old are you? What is your skin color?

What are you doing right now? Are you alone or with others?
What happens next?
Let an important scene in this life unfold. Don’t worry that it’s your imagination – that’s not important. Just let the story unfold. Why is this life important for you today? Take your time now and relive the important scene from this life.

(Allow about 5-10 min. for the experience to unfold, then say:)

It’s time to come back to your current life. Set the intention that you will remember all that you need to remember.
Thank your Guides, and return to this time, and to this room.
When you are fully back, open your eyes, and wiggle your fingers and toes.
Look about you. Send any excess energy into the earth." (end of past life experience)

How was that experience? Did you learn something? Write down your experience as soon as you can so you don’t forget it. You will probably find more details emerge as you write it down. This is a technique you can use at home.

Your dreams may also show you past lives or solutions to this one. Keep paper and pen next to your bed, and when you wake up, before you sit up, write your dream down.


Web of Light meditation:

Shamans and other energy practitioners work with the template of the web of life. This is very real and can also be seen as the energy lines, sometimes called ley lines or dragon lines that encircle the planet. Dowsers have mapped these lines. Mystics have been aware of this energy grid of light for at least 4,000 years.

You may use this web or grid of light. This is a guided meditation that works with this grid of light. The grid can be accessed to manifest whatever you choose in your life.

Take several deep breaths. Visualize planet Earth and be aware of the Moon always above, day and night, visible and invisible, circling about Earth in her ever repeating cycles. The space between the moon and earth is the sub-lunar field of the planet. The moon moves above the planet, weaving her pattern of light about it and creating a grid of light. This grid can be visualized as a large spider web or as bands of light encircling the earth, linking all parts of the planet. This is the web of life that connects all beings. This is the unified field of consciousness of physics and mystics.

All living beings are part of this web or grid – but so are all ideas and concepts, which are formed through human energy and become thought forms in the collective unconsciousness or astral field – and all are connected through the web. Thus abundance and lack both form energy complexes on the web. So do other qualities such as love, prosperity, and health. Each of these has an energy you can access on the web. When you focus on lack you focus on an unbalanced energy or frequency which you can change through your conscious choice, or which you can allow into yourself to reinforce your feelings of lack. When you focus on abundance you bring in a positive frequency that can illuminate and change your life.

Think again about something you want in your life right now. This may be an abstract concept, such as forgiveness or an increase of compassion. Center yourself, breathe deeply, relax your body, and enter into an altered state of consciousness or light trance. You are standing at the center of the web of life, which is also your personal center. The web is made of luminous strands of light that connect with all other strands on the web, and are anchored in your heart center.

Notice that what you wish to manifest is a visible entity on the web. You can link to this energy through use of your will or intent. Build up light and power within yourself. Breathe in self confidence and your personal power. Let this energy fill you. Now send it as a beam of light toward your goal and bring that energy back along the beam until it enters your heart center. Do this with total trust that this is happening. As it enters your heart center send it love and understanding. Fill yourself with light as you complete this exercise. Be aware that this transforms and integrates the energy. This is the Path of the Healer rather than the Path of the Warrior. The Warrior destroys and banishes while the Healer transforms and unifies. Both paths have a long history but the Path of the Healer is most beneficial today to dispel the illusion of separation and bring us together in the healing of oneness and unity,


Shamans teach that life always offers you a gift or lesson. Seek to know what that is.

Difficulties in your life may show you the need for a change, whether physical or emotional, or a change in outlook. Through your conscious choices you can grow in personal strength and compassion for others and their difficulties. The gift of yourself releases focus on your problems as you focus on others rather than just on yourself. The gift of yourself opens your heart to others and is the greatest gift you can offer to anyone. When you develop compassion for others you change your life and are able to manifest the happiness you seek and deserve. Remember: The most powerful choice you can make is to live in this moment with thankfulness and appreciation for what you have now. This is the Path of the Heart and will bring you the happiness and peace you seek.

Bright Blessings!