Have you ever felt a deep connection to someone that is difficult to express in words? The close-knit bond can be awesome. Losing yourself to someone can even be euphoric for some people. These soul ties can be quite powerful.

Spiritual soul ties are not entirely new, however. For generations, people have been drawn to each other on deep and meaningful levels. After all, at the heart of every relationship is a spiritual connection. At its best, these relationships are fully connected to God.

At its worst, however, other types of soul ties can be detrimental and negative. If you’ve been linked to or involved with people who cause you pain, you know that breaking away can be difficult.

Signs and symptoms of soul ties can vary. They may include the overwhelming need to be with someone or even something. They may also be the uncanny sense of familiarity or feeling of being at home with another person or at another place. But what happens when you are no longer with this person or at this place? We purposely break off pieces of ourselves much like an animal will chew a leg off that is caught in a trap in order to get away. These pieces can be anywhere. Sometimes the missing parts can be just a memory. Memory resides in time and place. Have you ever driven past the location of an old memory and the memory returns? Or have you thought about the past and felt an emotion and it takes you to that time?

The concept of soul ties translates to time and space. If you’ve asked are soul ties real, consider the idea of soul retrieval. The purpose of soul retrieval is to reclaim parts of yourself that may have been broken off in order to survive. You can physically travel to a place that has great sadness, and if you have a connection to it and openness to receive it, you will feel it. If you can feel it, you can help clear it by allowing it in your consciousness. You then feel the anguish, process it, love it and release it.

This is particularly important for families who may have had car accidents, major trauma and other hugely significant trauma or emotion. Its coordinates of time and space usually lock it in place and its link to you and your family make it accessible when you go to the place or visit it in time through your memory. Where do you go to retrieve your lost parts? Sometimes you need to travel some distance to the funeral for the death of a loved one. If your loved one died suddenly, the shock and trauma will be left in pieces along the way. You may need to visit every place you were at from the time you heard the terrible news to the time you finally accepted the death. At every place you have told that story, you may have left a piece of yourself in that location. In essence, understanding these experiences can help you define soul ties.

Any way you look at it, soul ties and its meaning can be powerful forces in your life—both positively and negatively. If needed, performing a soul retrieval for yourself after a big loss is one way to heal yourself and our planet. Guidance for this is available as a separate CD or download of a guided meditation called Soul Retrieval by Maureen J. St. Germain. Contact Maureen and her professional team at the St. Germain Mystery School to learn more about what ‘soul ties’ means in your life.