Especially when you’re in the middle of it, in the field of tension between the two groups. It’s about the “players” and the “builders”. You may already be nodding in agreement or you may have a big question mark over your head. I’ll try an example first, then it will become clearer what I mean.

In kindergarten – an example

Imagine a group of children in kindergarten and a pile of building blocks. Huge chaos, great fun, everyone starts doing something. Even if it seems that way at first glance, not all children play with these building blocks in the same way.

I’m not talking about individual differences in behavior; of course, each child plays a little differently than the others. No, there are, roughly speaking, two groups of children who interact very differently with the blocks and with each other.

And these two groups aren’t always compatible, which often leads to tears and, in extreme cases, deep frustration. The “Players” and the “Builders.” There’s no judgment here—both are good, but both need to be understood.

Most of the children will probably be the “Players.” They play with the blocks and whatever else is available. They build something together, giggle, chatter, and incorporate their dolls or toy cars into the game.

In between, they may throw the blocks around, wrestle a bit, sing, laugh, and then return to the other kids and the blocks. They’re clearly having a lot of fun. They might argue sometimes but have fun again shortly after. It’s all about the group, open to anyone who wants to join.

The classic definition of fun is the priority here. There’s no “higher goal” – it’s all about enjoying the moment. The Players live in the here and now, relishing life. They’re often in a good mood, laugh, and love being surrounded by other kids. They constantly come up with new ideas and are always active.

They also have a magnetic pull on other kids because they’re fun to be around, and they’re usually kind-hearted people.

Then there are the Builders. They seem to have less fun, appearing more serious. They are alone or in very small, closed-off groups. Sometimes it seems like they’re not even participating, just sitting there, watching, observing. And—this is crucial to understand—they’re not playing, they’re building. That’s a key difference. You can play with blocks, or you can build with them.

They have a plan, and they execute it. Not a plan like an architect, after all, they’re still little kids.

But maybe they’ve decided to build a big tower, and so they build a big tower. Often alone because the plan is in their head. Only in their head. Sometimes these kids live more in their heads than in the “real” world. But not always. They build their thing, stick to it, and end up with a tower. Not infrequently, the tallest one the kindergarten has ever seen.

It’s not about having a tower for them; it’s about building one. Not playing, building. Creating. Purposeful. Often alone, because when a Builder has a plan, their whole life energy is focused on making that plan a reality. Exactly as it exists in their head.

Builders often come across as distant, sometimes strange. Or even arrogant. They don’t want anyone to “play” with them. Maybe they’ll allow someone to help build, but definitely not to play. And that’s where the big problems begin.

Both can exist in a kindergarten—Players or Builders, or rather, Players AND Builders. And that’s where the clashes happen. Because they don’t understand each other. They’re children in kindergarten, and children at that age don’t “understand” other kids’ behavior. It’s due to their age. That’s where adults need to step in to mediate. But first, adults need to understand what’s going on.

It’s not uncommon for a Player, in their burst of energy, to knock over a Builder’s tower. Or something might fly through the air and destroy their creation, either before it’s finished or after. Or the Player just wants to join in the fun. But the Builder rudely rejects them, which the Player can’t understand. They want fun, they want friends, they want to play. Why are they causing trouble? They don’t get it. Why can’t they laugh when the tower comes crashing down? It’s not that big of a deal.

And that’s when the trouble starts.

It’s just a silly tower made of blocks—why is the Builder getting so upset? … well, objectively, maybe it is. But what if, in that moment, the tower is the Builder’s entire world? What if that Builder has put all their life energy into this one project? What if the plan, the goal, is their whole life right now? And the Player not only destroys it but laughs about it?

A Player will never understand that. They’re here, there, and somewhere else the next second, always living in the moment. Not in the future, and certainly not in a plan. They won’t understand why the Builder is crying so bitterly, why they withdraw, why they are sad and desperate.

They’ll see the Builder as “weird” for a second, and then their thoughts are already somewhere else. The Player CAN’T understand. It’s not in their nature.

And Builders despair over never “belonging.” They despair that no one sees their effort, no one understands what they’re doing and why. No one sees the sense in their actions. They become outsiders, standing outside while the party is inside.

Now you might say, “well, kids are just different.”

As adults

But it’s not about a childlike behavior pattern that “grows out.” It’s about fundamentally different approaches to the world. And depending on how pronounced they are, they can lead to significant problems later in life.

Not all people exhibit such clear behavior patterns that they can be definitively classified. But some do.

Problems arise when Players and Builders cross paths in the world, whether professionally, privately, or even politically, and are unaware of their core patterns. Many people don’t even know that different core patterns exist. Who has the time in their action-packed life to think about something like that? Builders might, out of necessity. Players, less so. After all, they’re busy with their party and many friends, and life is good for them.

Players and builders in adult life

Adults also have their building blocks. Of course, they’re different, and they don’t look like children’s toys. But the principle remains the same. The distinction between these two groups is never entirely clear.

Players can build things, and Builders can play. There are many hybrids who get along just fine. But there are also those who are more clearly defined, and they can clash like cats and dogs—drawn to each other but repelling each other intensely.

The builders

Here we have the Builders, with a plan or several plans. They derive joy and satisfaction from implementing plans. Building something, creating and maintaining something.

A builder enjoys building a company. He can sit in the office and work 16 hours a day. He can build a house, he can save and invest. He can plan. He can also plan a family or a relationship. Build something.

Sometimes too much, builders often live too much in the future. But they also see it through. Even if what they do seems banal to the observer. They go through with it and then it works. Most of the time anyway. If the others help build it or at least don’t stand in the way.

The players

And there are the Players, who find joy in bouncing around, partying, and spreading good vibes. They also build things, but often not as purposefully. These are often people with lots of friends who love to enjoy life and have fun.

They are the center of attention, don’t take life too seriously and trust that things will work out somehow. They don’t have a great deal of love for firm commitments, and they don’t like to worry about things like “old-age provision”. Someone will pay, somehow it will work out.

Building for the future is boring—it’s tedious, it’s work. That doesn’t mean they aren’t successful. Just look at the world of artists or athletes—there are many Players there. But they’re all playing, not building. Often, they have a Builder by their side. Or Builders have Players by their side. THAT can be extremely successful.

Understanding?

The builders can’t understand the players, because why do they never build anything? Why do they do so much at once and nothing right? Why don’t they stick to the task at hand? Why do you always have to save them because they don’t think ahead themselves? Why don’t they develop? They must understand!

A pure Builder can despair over these questions. Especially when it involves people close to them, like a partner or even their own children. Why doesn’t this person see the seriousness of the situation? Why do they ignore all the good advice, why don’t they build something for themselves?

Why do they waste their time on nonsense, not using it purposefully? Builders always feel like they need to rescue the Players or at least push them through life. And they never get a thank you—in fact, if things go badly, they just get ridiculed and end up standing alone.

The players really don’t understand the seriousness of the builders. Why aren’t they having fun? They have to have fun sometimes, don’t they? Why do they always analyze everything? Why are they so determined? What’s the point? Does everything always work out anyway? Why is he angry again? I haven’t done anything.

The Player won’t put nearly as much energy into understanding the Builder as the Builder does in the other direction, because the Player has far more ways to operate in the world and evade issues. Players don’t analyze; they laugh, mock, and then move on without looking back.

This imbalance can lead to big problems. And to a lot of pain, usually for the Builders. They often feel like Players are toying with them. But Builders don’t know how to play, and they almost always lose.

The Players often have no idea why the Builder suddenly seems “weird.” Why they withdraw or turn into a malicious narcissist and start playing with people themselves.

Spiritual builders

It gets even more complicated if a Builder has spiritual abilities, perceiving many levels, not just the material one.

They are at risk of seeing the Player on every level of their life. And what they see isn’t just the fun, good vibes, and play. No, they also perceive the pain behind it. The Builder perceives it, not the Player! The Player can’t, and never will.

If the builder then reacts to the level that the player doesn’t see at all, perhaps not in his entire life, he only reaps even more incomprehension and even more ridicule.

The opportunities

They are two fundamentally different types of people and each of them is just right the way they are. Neither can be made to change their entire nature. A solution can therefore only consist of understanding the “other side” and categorizing their actions.

The problem and the pain are usually with the Builder, and if you’ve read this far, you’re probably a Builder. So the solution must come from YOU, the Builder. The Player doesn’t see a problem, and they don’t analyze. They do what they do best: play.

The Builder is called upon to understand the issue. To understand the Player’s nature, their own nature, and the problems that arise between them. And then to implement what they’ve understood in daily life.

Changing the way they deal with Players. Because they’re not wrong—they can even be included in the Builder’s plan. Whenever good vibes are needed, or artistic expression. Or when people need to be inspired, brought together.

Players are very good at that. But you can’t put them in too tight of a corset and can’t expect anything from them that they’re not capable of. That may also mean letting go of people who, in their nature, don’t fit with you at all.

Whatever the solution looks like, it always begins with understanding the connections and understanding yourself. Those who know why they react the way they do can work on themselves and design their life so that the people in it work together. And everyone else can be removed.

Feel free to ask me any questions: mail@gerhard-zirkel.com

A story

Imagine you take out a subscription to a magazine. Maybe one of those gardening magazines because you want to start your own garden or because you are simply interested in beautiful design. You simply enjoy reading it. Alternatively, something about cars or fashion or shares.

You read it for a while, but you don’t really have the time. Sure, the magazine continues to arrive every week and you’re happy that it comes. But you don’t really have the time to read it.

But maybe later. You put it on the table and after a week the next one arrives and you haven’t even looked at the previous one. But maybe at the weekend.

The amount is debited once a month, which is starting to get on your nerves a bit. It’s not a lot of money, but it is a bit. But it doesn’t really affect you. Even the fact that you have to put the older copies aside at some point doesn’t really bother you.

Just have a small pile on the sideboard, you’ll find time for it at some point. Maybe on vacation. Until then, the pile will get bigger every week and you’ll be debiting it every month. But you’re completely ignoring that now. Otherwise you’ll just get annoyed and who wants to get annoyed?

Until a friend says at some point, “why don’t you cancel the subscription?” … “yeah … are you crazy?”, “it’s my hobby, the gardening”, “do you want me to stop having fun?”

Having to cancel your subscription really pisses you off. Yes, of course, you don’t need it and you don’t read the stuff either and you now live on the seventh floor in the city … or you’re no longer interested in cars or shares. But the subscription stays!

Do you see where I’m going with this?

Sometimes we have issues in life that we drag along with us. They annoy us a little from time to time, but never so much that we really look at them. Not the really difficult childhood and not that one traumatic event or illness that forces us to do so. Nothing that really stands out, that you have to work on.

Maybe the topics only ever come up when we see the parents and siblings at family gatherings, but then we always get into really nasty arguments.

Or it only shows up when that one stupid colleague says something. Or you keep getting involved with the same type of partner, which then always goes wrong in the same way.

Or you always jump when your mother, children or partner want something, even though you don’t want to, and you get annoyed every time afterwards. But then you forget about it because the next distraction is there or the TV is on and you don’t have time anyway.

You may also realize that you are the same to your children as your parents are to you, even though you never wanted to be like them.

Maybe you keep messing up your finances just when you’re about to get on a green branch. But you can blame it on someone else, it’s not that bad … it’s just annoying.

The examples are endless, you know them, these issues that trigger you, annoy you, rob you of your strength… but somehow never so strongly that you really get to grips with them. Because you don’t know exactly how and where it will lead you. Because you can get over it with a glass of wine or a beer. Or with a bit of fun and positive thinking.

Like this subscription. You know you don’t need it, but you don’t want to cancel it either. But it’s costing you energy, you realize that.

What if there are a lot of them?

Now there are people out there who don’t just have one subscription. They have 753 of them. And not just one stack of magazines, but 753 of them. All meters high and close together. It’s like the whole place is full of them, you can hardly get through.

They do, because they have practiced. If necessary, they do yoga, which makes them flexible enough to get through the stacks without any problems and yoga does so much for you. Works great. Sometimes it’s annoying because the piles don’t go away, but as long as you ignore them and wriggle your way through, everything is fine.

We simply don’t look at the account, then we don’t see the 753 debits either. Everything is fine the way it is. You just have to relax from time to time and “refuel” somewhere. There’s nothing you can do anyway, isn’t there?

And then a new partner, boss, colleague, neighbor, etc. comes into their lives and because they don’t know the stacks, sooner or later they will knock you over.

And then you have the salad. Everything’s a mess in the apartment, you can’t get the door open, the wine is spilt, it’s a huge mess.

That stupid ass… why can’t he pay attention? You’ll quickly throw the stupid jerk out of your life. This is the twelfth time you’ve stupidly caught the wrong person, another toxic narcissist who doesn’t watch where he’s going, why does it always happen to you? They’re all the same anyway. Have a quick beer … or go to yoga.

Why only?

Well, why does it always happen to you? Why do you always catch the one who can’t cope with all the piles of magazines in your life and always knocks one over? Or all of them.

Or is the problem not this guy, but your 753 subscriptions for the 753 stacks in your living room? That would be a thought to pursue, wouldn’t it?

Who wants to be in your life if they have to muddle through in exactly the same way as you do? Who does that to themselves? Who CAN do that? Sure, you can wait for that one super prince or super boss, or for your parents to finally die or for you to win the lottery. But that won’t solve the problem.

Your piles stay and get bigger and bigger. Until you start canceling those subscriptions.

Yes, of course, it’s not that easy. Some of them you didn’t even take out yourself, you got them from someone else. Others you’ve had for ages and some you don’t even know about.

It’s hard to get there on your own, you need someone who can see the subscriptions and where they come from. Someone who can help you cancel them one by one, someone who can help you get rid of all the old paper, someone who can help you deal with all the free space and all the free energy you’ll then have. You realize that no one is going to do that for you. You’ll have to do it yourself. You also have to decide first.

It’s not that easy. But if it were easy, you wouldn’t have the problem, would you?

Once the decision has been made, you are welcome to contact me, because I have answers for the “how” and I will be happy to give them to you.

The literal translation of the term burnout is “being burnt out”. And that says it all: burnout is a state of total physical, emotional and mental exhaustion. Interestingly, the “official” definitions also refer to reduced performance.

Which is true, in burnout you are not “able to perform” at all. But emphasizing this only makes sense if the purpose of recovering from burnout is to restore performance. Which leads us directly and immediately to the core of this article.

To perform or not to perform? That is the question here

We live in a meritocracy, at least that’s one of the buzzwords that comes up again and again when it comes to burnout, stress, demotivation or social issues in general. But what is this meritocracy supposed to be?

And compared to what is it? If we look back a few centuries, we quickly realize that people used to work a lot more, i.e. “achieve”, than they do today. In rural areas in particular, people naturally worked from sunrise to sunset, six days a week, sometimes seven.

And not somewhere in an air-conditioned office, but with a hoe in the field. Where were all the burnouts back then?

If we don’t go back quite so far, perhaps only one or two generations, we still see a significantly higher workload than is normal for most people today. Nevertheless, burnouts seem to be much more common in this day and age and stress is already part of the norm.

It’s obviously not about simply being overworked. Even today, there are people who work incredibly hard all their lives and don’t even come close to burnout. Why are they doing well if too much work is supposed to be a trigger?

Well, work is not the trigger.

There is even the term “boreout”, a kind of burnout caused by boredom. I can tell you a thing or two about it myself: I started my career as a chemical laboratory technician at Stadtwerke München and I had days with just 2-3 hours of effective work. I did the rest of it and looked more or less busy.

That was more stressful than any stress I ever had afterwards. I quit there quite soon, if I had stayed, who knows how my health would have developed.

But what is the core of stress, burnout and boreout? Where is the problem really?

From a shamanic perspective

From a shamanic point of view, we are spiritual beings who incarnate here in the material world. In other words, we create a body to embody ourselves here in this dual world. And we don’t do this just like that, but with the aim of having experiences.

The kind of experience that is only possible in a material world. We certainly do that quite often, but we rarely really remember it.

What we also do not clearly remember is what we want to experience in the current incarnation and also what abilities and dispositions we have brought with us for this.

Ideally, we develop this in our childhood and live life to our full potential as adults. And we live what we came here to do. You guessed it, this case is ideal but rather theoretical.

Because we arrive in a ready-made system to which we first have to adapt. See my article on this: What are soul parts.

Against ourselves

If we have ended up in a construct of behavioral patterns and hidden soul parts that run counter to us and our very own energy, it costs us so much energy that at some point we literally collapse under the weight.

One symptom of such a breakdown is burnout. And if you’ve read this far, you’ll probably realize why restoring our performance can’t be the solution.

After all, it ensures that we continue with the very thing that caused us to collapse. That may well be good for everyone who benefits from our performance. But it’s not good for the person affected. Because sooner or later they will collapse again.

Example from life

Let’s call her Petra. The name is fictitious, but the story behind it is not. Petra is an employee in a corporate group. Middle management, good salary, demanding job.

Her starting point was not ideal. She comes from a working-class family, her father a locksmith and her mother a housewife. Nothing wrong with that, her childhood wasn’t exactly lavish, but she had everything she needed.

From an early age, her parents worked towards her “becoming something”. She should be better off, have to work less and earn more. And so she was guided through school until she graduated.

After that, I did a commercial apprenticeship, which was all I could afford, but still. Much better than the “old trade” with all the drudgery.

Then came the career. It was tempting for her. Suddenly earning a lot of money by her standards. Fourteen monthly salaries, then came the company car and now she flies business class.

This brings with it status and, of course, the opportunity to make a good material living. Sure, it’s a lot of work, but her father worked a lot back then too. For a fraction of the money she earns now.

Then came the collapse. From one day to the next. Dizziness, trembling, fainting, depression, sick note. Completely out of the blue. Although … it wasn’t completely out of the blue, she had always felt that what she was doing wasn’t quite right. But it doesn’t help, a job is a job and she was doing well.

With psychological help and rehab, she got back on her feet and was soon back at work as before. A little more thoughtful perhaps, but just like before.

Then she collapsed again, this time the physical symptoms were alarming. Emergency room, clinic, therapy. Everything started all over again and during the second collapse she began to think about what was fundamentally wrong. Because she had sensed for a long time that something was wrong. She just didn’t want to admit it and there was no alternative. Really not?

And then we worked and started to work out their true nature. We connected them with their very own energy, we worked on very old ancestral issues and on many a “healed” childhood trauma. We worked on beliefs, deep convictions, blind spots, fears and a lot of guilt and shame.

In the end, she realized that she had worked her whole life to play a role that was unconsciously prescribed to her. Mainly by her parents, who of course meant well. She had worked to achieve goals that were not hers. She tried to achieve a status that did not correspond to her nature at all.

And this has led to a perpetual battle against itself. And you can neither win nor lose a fight like that. You can only end it.

She ended it by realizing who she really is and what she wants to do here. She still has a job, but a completely different one in a completely different industry. And for the first time in her life, she has the feeling that she is going her own way. With joy and a good portion of lightness.

So what is to be done? The way out

The only way to really get out of such a situation is to follow your own energy. Living your own energy. And in a way that suits you and your purpose here in this world.

That sounds very vague now, because if you knew what your parts are, what your energy really is, why you’re here, then you wouldn’t have ended up in burnout.

But that is precisely the core of my work. I can see you with all your energy, with all your parts. Especially with those you don’t bring into your life. And I can guide you there, accompany you in making the connection. Because I not only see you, I also see what I have to do to bring you to yourself. Where you couldn’t look before.

I won’t tell you the story about the dog, I’ll take you there myself. So that YOU recognize who you are. This will reveal your true path and once you see it, you can walk it.

In the end, you will bring your energy into life and go your own way. How much work you then have, whether you are an employee or an entrepreneur, whether you earn a lot or a little money or where and how you live will be determined. In any case, it will be your work that corresponds to your energy.

You can’t burn out on your own energy. That is not possible. If you have any questions or recognize yourself, feel free to send me an email without obligation: mail@gerhard-zirkel.com

The chakras

In a nutshell, our chakras are energy centers in our aura, i.e. the energy field that surrounds us in our material incarnation. The chakras establish the connection between the physical body of a person, the various layers of their aura and the energy channels of the universe.

The chakras connect us to the source of our life energy. And this is a primordial shamanic principle, even if the term “chakra” comes from the Far Eastern wisdom traditions of Hinduism, Tantra, yoga and Buddhism. The term comes from Sanskrit and means “circle” or “wheel”.

But chakras are also known from the Jewish Kabbalah and the Christian mystery schools. Many indigenous peoples such as the Maya and the Aztecs also worked with them. They are also known from the Tibetan Bon religion, from the Tsalgi (Cherokee) Indians in North America and even from the African Zulu.

And of course they have always existed in our culture, even if their representation was rather subtle. But if you take a closer look at the halo, it is nothing other than the radiance of the crown chakra. While a throne represents the support of the root chakra.

Shamans and energy

This means that shamans have always worked with the chakras, even if they may have done it differently than today’s yoga teachings. And of course with other terms.

The chakras are often understood as the “connection points” of the energy channels that run through the human body. They can be imagined as alternately right or left rotating subtle or energetic energy wheels or energy vortices. However, this representation is very simplified.

There are people who can actually see chakras, many can feel them and this perception is slightly different for everyone. Ultimately, energy has no fixed form anyway and can only ever be described inadequately. Entire books could be filled without having a comprehensive description.

The flow of energy within the human body and its exchange with its aura and the spiritual world is of the utmost importance. Because a person who is not properly connected to the energy of the universe will not have enough life energy available to make his way in the material world.

The seven main chakras

Root chakra (Muladhara)

Sacral chakra (Swadhisthana)

Solar plexus chakra (Manipura)

Heart chakra (Anahata)

Throat chakra (Vishuddha)

Forehead chakra / third eye (Ajna)

Crown chakra / crown chakra (Sahasrara)

More on this in the article: Chakra and chakra work in shamanism

The root chakra

The root chakra, also known as the Muladhara chakra, is the first of the seven main chakras.

It is the seat of our primal energy and it is the direct connection between us and Mother Earth, the supporting ground of our material existence. And that’s exactly what makes it so incredibly important.

The consequences of a blocked root chakra are insecurity, fear, doubt or even excessive feelings of shame and guilt. Material symptoms such as obesity, depression and illness are also often linked to this.

If the connection to the load-bearing floor is disturbed, you will not feel safe. And when you don’t feel safe, you inevitably start to cling to things or aspects of your environment. But this can never be a substitute for connecting to your own primal energy.

This feeling of insecurity will make you do things you don’t really want to do. It will make you tolerate people around you who are not good for you. It will promote and retain “toxic” compounds. It will ensure that you continue to repeat old patterns, seemingly without being able to do anything about it.

It will end up making you sick and addicted. It often leads to obesity because the body tries to compensate for the lack of energy with food. Which of course does not work. A vicious circle.

People with a disturbed connection to the root chakra often find themselves in unhealthy relationship patterns, and always in the same ones. From the relationship with the parents to the partner to the children and grandchildren.

A lack of connection to your own primal energy can have an impact professionally, or often also financially. You literally can’t get a leg on the ground. Always feels torn out, uprooted or as if on black ice. It doesn’t solve itself, you have to actively work on it. Either on your own or with professional help.

A first exercise

There is an exercise for the root chakra that you can do regularly to support the process of reconnection. Maybe you already know it, it is quite common. But still do them regularly for a while:

Sit down, relax, concentrate on your breath. Feel the air being sucked into your lungs and out again. Let yourself go, concentrate on your breath.

And when you’re ready, start putting down roots. Feel how the first tentative shoots grow out of you, into Mother Earth. Deeper and deeper, more and more branched, stronger and stronger.

Until they reach the center of the earth. Then begin to draw the energy of Mother Earth up to you with each inhalation. Absorb the energy until it fills you completely.

Do this exercise as often as possible, it will get easier each time and eventually it will become normal. You will find that you can also do them standing up and even walking. It even works perfectly in an airplane at an altitude of 10,000 meters.

What I can do for you

As valuable as this exercise is, it is usually not enough on its own. Because the blockages are so deep in your system that you need to actively work on them. And the root chakra is not everything, there are many more starting points.

In this case, I would be happy to work with you, take a look at my starter package or send me an email: mail@gerhard-zirkel.com

The soul

Explanations of the concept of the soul alone vary widely. Every belief system, every religion and, of course, every spiritual direction has its very own model of explanation. Does a human being have a soul? And if so, where does it sit and what does it look like?

You won’t find THE one truth in this article either. But let me explain how I see it.

In my understanding, “the soul” is nothing other than the spiritual being that we are. Our familiar material world is not everything, it is only a small part of the whole. Fundamentally, we are energy.

Spiritual beings in a dimension without space and time. We create our material world from this energy and incarnate in it. This means that we create a body in order to be able to act in matter.

The soul is nothing other than our energy with which we create our matter and act within it. And we do this time and time again. When our material life is over, we return to the level of energy and from there we come back. Into a new life.

Why?

The question of why we do this is a very good one. I often reply jokingly that I’ve probably lost a bet and that’s why I have to be here … 🙂 But joking aside, I think we do this to gain experience.

To develop ourselves. To experience something like duality or dense matter, which cannot exist on the purely spiritual level. I cannot answer whether we only incarnate here in this world or whether there are an infinite number of different ones. In principle, I think both are possible.

Incomplete?

But how can it be that soul parts are lost? Is that even possible? So, if the soul is the energy with which we incarnate here, then none of it can actually disappear anywhere, can it?

That is not what is meant. Basically, each of us incarnates with our full energy. Nothing is missing, everything you need is there. Always.

But in this incarnation we often find ourselves in situations very early on that make it difficult for us to use all this energy in matter. Especially when we bring skills with us that are not seen or not wanted in the environment in which we end up.

If this happens in early childhood or even before we are born, then we adapt and put the parts of our energy that we cannot use into a drawer, so to speak, and we close it.

And forget that this drawer exists or what’s in it. And this is exactly what the shaman means when he speaks of a split-off or lost part of the soul. It’s not really lost, it’s just stored away and usually forgotten.

Like a tool that you have in the cellar, but you no longer know that you have it. And you don’t seem to need it either, because you can somehow manage your things with other tools. You may feel that something is missing, but you don’t know what.

But shares that you have already brought into life can also find their way into such a drawer. Trauma is a common cause. In other words, everything that you experience but cannot process at that moment.

This can be a drastic experience such as an accident or violence. But also seemingly small things that you may not even perceive as traumatic. This can be something sudden or a situation that has been tormenting you for a long time and to which you seem to be helplessly at the mercy of.

Since people are not made to actively carry unresolved problems with them, they put them aside. In a drawer like this. Together with the part of his energy that seems to have triggered the problem. In this way, the problematic part of life is excluded and locked away.

Example

Imagine you have a car and suddenly the air conditioning stops working. Instead of having it repaired because that may not be possible at the moment, you remove it completely and store it in the cellar. You forget them there. From now on, you’ll be driving without air conditioning. It works, but you just sweat.

Not so bad, you say now. Imagine it’s the engine …

But on with the text …

The same applies to parts of ourselves that seem socially or morally undesirable. With the “dark” parts of us, with the “evil” parts. With everything that “one” does not do, does not live, does not say.

What that is always depends on the social and religious context in which we find ourselves. Classic themes include sexuality, but also money and power. These are complexes that are often suppressed, marginalized and tainted with guilt and shame. So we put them in the drawer.

Even our “normal” everyday life can cause us to store parts of ourselves. Job, children, school, money, everyday life itself, can overwhelm us to such an extent that we limit our lives to pure functioning.

The car again

Imagine it drives perfectly. But the society you live in condemns it if you move fast. People see it as bad if you are fast. So you throttle the engine so that your car only drives at 30 km/h. Now you have to live with it and at some point you forget that it could actually go 200. You’re at a big disadvantage because of it, but you no longer know that you can change that.

But what then?

So when the shaman talks about split-off or lost soul parts, he means the parts that you have in your drawers. Some have been with you all your life, others perhaps only recently.

What they have in common is that they are not gone. They are there and they want to be lived. Whether you are aware of it or not. And these parts report back to you. They do this very timidly at first, but if you ignore them they become louder.

If you’ve ever tried to ignore a small child, you’ll know what I mean. It doesn’t stop tugging at you, it just gets louder and louder and at some point it goes completely berserk.

Soul parts do this too. They pull, they scream and if you don’t listen, you get sick. This can be classic depression or burnout, or it can be physical illnesses.

It could be tinnitus, it could be a cold every two months, it could be a migraine or stomach ache, it could be cancer. And this increases the longer you ignore it.

Addictions, from nicotine and alcohol to hard drugs and adrenaline, can also be desperate cries from your stored parts. Or you suffer for long periods of time without being able to pinpoint exactly what it is. There is always a latent feeling of dissatisfaction, of being uprooted, of not belonging.

And time and again we find ourselves in situations that aggravate our symptoms, make us feel powerless and helpless, overwhelm us emotionally and seem to be stimulated from outside. Without being able to see a solution.

In this context, we speak of “triggers”. Triggers that seem to come from outside and repeatedly put their finger in precisely those of our wounds that hurt the most.

Effects

In addition to the illnesses already mentioned, “stored” soul parts can also cause other things. They are able to prevent stable partnerships or even any form of partnership.

They are able to prevent us from having children, they are able to put us in financially hopeless situations. They are capable of making our lives so miserable that we are dissatisfied even in outwardly perfect situations.

They prevent us from being happy, they prevent us from feeling joy. They ensure that we always feel homeless and uprooted. They rush us, they torment us, they lead us into the role of victim.

And what they all have in common is that we generally have no idea why we are so miserable while everyone else is happy.

Example

You have locked away a part of yourself, which ultimately means that you cannot enter into a satisfying partnership. You could accept that, of course, but life will seemingly keep nudging you in the nose that you’re missing something.

You will always get into trouble, always see that others seem to be doing better. You will always find yourself in situations that make you suffer terribly. Until you recognize the issue and solve it at the root.

It’s exactly the same with money, power, sexuality, self-determination, etc.

What to do?

As hopeless as it may all seem to you, there is a way out. You just can’t see it yourself. You may know that there are such things as locked away parts of you because you have read my article up to this point. But you can’t see them yourself and you certainly can’t release them.

Your whole system will rebel if you try. Because there was a reason why you locked her away. There are huge fears in between that will prevent you from simply bringing out your parts and living them again.

This is exactly where you can start. It’s about going back to the cause. Wherever this may be, it often leads very far into the past. Sometimes even into your past lives, very often into your ancestral line and almost always into your childhood.

Fears that can split off parts of the soul are often passed down through generations. In such cases, you put the parts of yourself that don’t fit in the drawer before you give birth. So you don’t know them at all.

And if you try to get to it, the patterns of your ancestors from countless generations will turn against you. But it can be solved, you just have to go deep enough and get to the root of the problem.

The goal of the human being is to be fully incarnated. Only then can you be truly happy and healthy in the long term. The aim is to find and reintegrate all these split-off parts piece by piece.

Not so bad

This all sounds terribly dramatic, but in practice it is not. Of course, it sometimes takes overcoming and courage to tackle the very topics that scare you the most. But there is no courage without fear.

I always say: “Behind the greatest fear, lies the coolest path”

What will happen to me then?

Do I have to give away all my money, do I have to leave my family, quit my job, walk the Camino de Santiago or will everyone laugh at me?

Such fears seem to stand in the way of your path. Especially when you are responsible for other people. For your family or your company.

I can reassure you. You will certainly jump over your shadow at one point or another and those around you won’t think everything you do is super great if you go down one path.

But at the end of the day, there is nothing better you can do for your children or your employees than to come into your own power. This is the only way you can accompany them into their power. You don’t have to give away your money or leave your family. Unless you want to.

The process

Of course, this doesn’t work overnight. This is a process that is sometimes longer and sometimes shorter, that can sometimes be painful, but that also brings a lot of joy. And at the end of it, there is a person who can live their soul potential fully and freely.

However long your personal journey may be, it starts with the first step. With the realization that there is a way and with the decision to set off, even without being able to see the destination yet.

Questions, or are you ready to go? Then write to me: mail@gerhard-zirkel.com or take the first step directly with the starter package.

The great fear

That is indeed very common and starts within the family. What does the partner think? Do they think I’m stupid? Do they still take me seriously? Can they relate to it? He or she might be more rationally inclined, can’t relate to such things, or doesn’t want to.

Then you finally dare to talk about it, and the first crooked grin comes from your partner – and suddenly you’re the little girl or boy who has never been taken seriously. The child with the ‘vivid imagination,’ the child who always causes trouble and never gets anything right, or the child who always sat on the sidelines.

This is a very real problem and often leads to spiritual people hiding and bending for years or decades. Until they can’t anymore.

A story

The protagonist of the story is entirely fictional; she is a mix of many of my clients who have experienced similar things. Women and men.

Petra, 41 years old, married, mother of two children, lives and works in her hometown at the savings bank. Deputy branch manager, pretty much everyone in the town knows her. The children go to elementary school, she is on the parents’ council, and in several clubs. That’s just how it is when you have lived there your whole life.

It’s going well for her, you might think. But that’s not the case. Because she bends over backwards not to stand out.

It started about 10 years ago. At first, it was ‘just’ a mild depression, nothing dramatic, she managed it inconspicuously. A short therapy, a bit of ‘sick leave,’ no one noticed. Maybe no one wanted to notice, as people don’t like to deal with such things.

Now she functions again, anyway. She has to at the savings bank too, because the customers there are quite conservative and there’s a lot of gossip.

But something is fermenting inside her that is almost eating her up. There’s something there. She discovered this after the therapy. When she was looking for what she was really missing. There was such a pulling inside her, such a burning, as if a part of her had developed a life of its own. Very difficult to describe and not to talk about anyway.

She started doing yoga back then and then ended up in this meditation circle. There she met people who were really spiritual. For the first time in her life, she felt understood and seen.

And she has slowly figured out what she is missing. She has realized that she also perceives more than most other people. That she can see really deeply, at soul level. That she simply knows things that others don’t know. That she can lay her hands on them and actually make a difference.

Not only with their own children, but also with complete strangers. Recognizing that did her good. But it also made her lonely. Apart from this small circle of spiritual people, she couldn’t talk to anyone about it.

At some point she told her husband and he was really understanding. At least on the surface. He just didn’t take them seriously. It was a bit uncomfortable for him. What are people supposed to say? The topic was quickly taken off the table again.

She’d better not talk about it so much, he suggested. She has her circle, so she is allowed to go there once a week. But it’s better not to tell anyone. Maybe take a week’s vacation, get back to normal. Topic closed.

Now she’s sitting there and she realizes that she can’t do it anymore. She realizes that the part of her that wants to live now is open, big and free! But what should the neighbors think?

And your customers at the savings bank? Your boss? The other moms at school? None of this is possible …

And if it does?

Until one of her spiritual companions told her that it was possible after all. Because there is no other way. You can’t spend your whole life suppressing the biggest and strongest part of you just because you think someone doesn’t want you to.

Well, of course you can, but it will first torture you and then kill you. Literally. Cancer, for example, is predominantly based on the suppression of one’s own parts. Depression anyway.

So what did she do, Petra? She plucked up all her courage and started talking openly about the fact that she is a healer. First with other mothers, then in clubs and then at work.

Phew … tough stuff … she thought

And what happened? Nothing! Sure, a few people looked at you funny, but so do they if you drive the wrong car, like cats instead of dogs or dogs instead of cats, or dress your kids in clothes that are too colorful.

But that was the most dramatic thing that happened to her. On the contrary, she received an incredible number of positive reactions and often even “oh you too, I can also do xyz … I’ve also been to the shaman … do you know healer abc from the neighboring village?” and so on.

Even the customers at the savings bank talk to her about it. Not to call them stupid, but because they are looking for advice and help or simply want to share their own spiritual experiences.

And her husband now accepts it too. He was just uncomfortable at first, he’s only human and a graduate engineer, so he’s more of a guy with facts and figures. But that is no longer an issue for him. He just has a healer for a wife. Nobody really cares these days.

Well, what do the neighbors think?

Mostly nothing at all. At least not about you. They have their own topics to think about.

This fear of being rejected, ridiculed, perhaps even punished goes back a long way. Think back to your childhood. Were you taken seriously? Or were you that child with the “vivid imagination”?

Were you allowed to be as you were, or were you expected to function? That you “adapt”? That you shut up?

And then go back even further. How did your parents grow up, like your grandparents? Were children taken seriously back then? Spiritual children even? Sometimes there are ancestral patterns behind them that go back tens of generations. And you stand there and suffer from these patterns, even though it’s not necessary.

Now, as an adult, you are no longer dependent on someone liking you. It’s just the old pattern inside you that’s still crying out for love. Time to change that, what do you think?

Because when you do, you’ll realize that there are a lot of people out there who love you just the way you are, precisely BECAUSE of who you are. And spiritual abilities are much more widespread than you think anyway.

At the time, I was amazed at how many shamans there were. Like sand by the sea. Look at how many meditation circles there are, how many offers, how many healers. The moment you appear in all your power, you will realize that you are not alone at all.

So, what are you waiting for? Show yourself! Now! The world is waiting for you.

I have accompanied countless people on this journey. Once these patterns of obstruction are released within you, you will realize how much energy you have been holding back. And you’ll notice that this is definitely not an issue for your neighbors, nor for your partner.

Write to me right now and let’s get going: mail@gerhard-zirkel.com

Your favorite shaman