Ancestral Healing

In this meditation, you can explore how an issue you deal with relates to mental emotional patterns passed along by your ancestors. Your ancestors live on within you, in your DNA, nervous system, and energy field, affecting your habits, beliefs, unresolved struggles, stored tensions, and preferences. All of this is carried in our collective, community, ethnic, national, and global consciousness as well. Through the power of attention, awareness, and inner dialogue, you can recognize, release, and transform these patterns for you, your lineage, and the greater whole. In this way, you restore greater flow to your own nervous system, your familial system, and our collective consciousness.

Transcript

Ancestral Healing This meditation is dedicated to my dad,

Douglas Schoeninger,

Whose life work is ancestral and collective healing,

As expressed in his latest book,

Healing Seven Generations.

In this meditation,

You can explore how an issue you deal with relates to mental-emotional patterns passed along by your ancestors.

Your ancestors live on within you,

In your DNA,

Nervous system,

And energy field,

Affecting your habits,

Beliefs,

Unresolved struggles,

Stored tensions,

And preferences.

All of this is carried in our collective,

Community,

Ethnic,

National,

And global consciousness as well.

Through the power of attention and awareness,

You can recognize,

Release,

And transform these patterns for you,

Your lineage,

And the greater whole.

In this way,

You restore greater flow to your own nervous system,

Your familial system,

And our collective consciousness.

For this meditation,

Choose one issue that you would like to work with.

If you're new to this type of process,

Choose something that feels doable for you at this time.

Whatever you choose,

As best as you can,

Adopt an attitude of openness,

Acceptance,

And kindness toward yourself and the family members that come forth in this practice.

Acknowledge that you and everyone involved is doing and have done the best you each could at the moment in time,

Given what each of you know and what each have been through.

See if you can observe whatever arises with equanimity and compassion,

Trusting that there is a greater wisdom guiding what happens.

By recognizing challenges and accepting yourself and others as you are,

You open the door to discovering the gifts in these challenges.

Now,

Before you begin,

Be open to what issue you would like to work with in this session.

It could be a pattern of thinking and feeling,

A habit,

Or some unresolved struggle in your life.

Choose one issue to work with now.

As you move into this practice,

You'll tune into this issue,

And then you'll call to mind one or more ancestors who perhaps experienced a similar issue.

You'll imagine sitting with this person or persons.

You'll open up a relational space,

Be present with them,

And allow communication,

Insight,

And healing to arise naturally,

Noticing and being present with whatever arises,

Even if it feels like nothing is happening.

See if it's possible to maintain an attitude of receptivity and allowing.

Be open to the simple intention that this process will benefit you and any others that appear,

As much as seven generations before and seven generations after you,

And that this process will have a positive impact across the expanse of our collective consciousness.

Let's begin by settling into a relaxed meditative state.

Sit comfortably upright with your feet firmly on the ground.

Rest your hands cupped in your lap in an open,

Receptive posture,

With the tips of your thumbs touching lightly.

Lightly close your eyes.

Take a moment to settle in your seat and be present here.

Now,

Allow yourself to be just as you are.

Feel out into the space around you as a sacred space,

A safe space,

A space that embraces you.

Notice how your body begins to relax as you sit in this sacred,

Safe space.

If you feel guided to,

You can call in a spiritual presence to sit with you in this practice and guide the process.

Now,

Consider your intention for this practice.

Why is this important to you?

And consider that this practice is not only for you,

That the effect of this practice extends to all of your loved ones,

To all who came before you,

And to all who will come after in your family line.

And even more widely and invisibly,

To all beings across our collective consciousness and all that is.

You are an important part of your family line,

Of our human community,

And of the greater whole.

Consider dedicating your practice to the well-being of all your ancestors and all beings past,

Present,

And yet to come.

That all beings might come to a greater felt sense of connection,

Belonging,

And wholeness.

Now,

Focus down into feeling the sensations of contact of the soles of your feet on the ground.

Soften and relax your feet and your toes as if they are melting deep down into the earth.

Feel the solid support and grounding presence of the earth underneath you.

Feel your connection with all of life through the earth.

Feel this sense of connection flowing up through your shins and calves.

Up through your knees and thighs,

Into your hips and pelvic bowl,

Resting down in your seat.

Feel the weight of your body resting down in your pelvic bowl,

Resting down in your seat,

Resting down on the earth.

Focus into your palms and fingers resting cupped in your lap.

Awaken sensory awareness here in your hands and allow your hands to soften and relax as if they are melting down into your legs.

Feel the soft openness in your hands connected to the soft openness in your heart.

As your hands relax,

Allow your arms and shoulders to relax down,

Releasing any tension in your shoulders,

Your neck,

And your head.

Imagine and feel as if a string is attached to the top of your head,

Drawing your spine gently upright like a string of luminous pearls.

Feel your spine gently stretched from your perineum and tailbone right up through the top of your head.

Feel your spine like a channel of light flowing upwards through the top of your head and opening to the vastness of the sky above.

Now tuck your chin just slightly to gently lengthen the back of your neck.

Lightly close your lips and breathe in and out through your nose.

Rest your tongue upon the roof of your mouth,

With the tip of your tongue touching the gum line behind your upper front teeth.

Soften and relax your tongue here,

Softening your tongue sense a relaxation signal through your vagus nerve,

From your brain stem,

Down through your heart,

Your abdomen,

And out through your whole body.

As you feel this relaxation,

Smile,

A subtle smile of calm happiness,

Of appreciation and gratitude for this life brought forth from your ancestors.

Allow this feeling of appreciation,

This smile of gratitude,

To shine through your eyes.

Release any tension from your eyebrows and your forehead.

Allow this gentle feeling of smiling to wash down from the top of your head,

Down through your whole body,

Creating a relaxed,

Positive,

Nurturing inner environment.

Feel every cell is smiling,

Communicating with every other cell,

Communicating with the DNA carried forth from your ancestors.

Allowing familial patterns to come forth and be bathed in pure positive energy,

Here,

Now.

Feel this empowered positive energy shining through your DNA and reaching back through your family line,

Bringing openness and communication across the generations.

Now,

In this open,

Empowered space,

Call to mind an issue or challenge that you would like to work with in this session.

It can be anything you are working with in your life,

Anything at all,

Big or small.

Whatever you feel ready to work with,

Now.

Choose one issue to work with.

As you feel into this issue,

Notice if it seems to reside in a location in your body.

Perhaps there is somewhere in your body that feels restricted,

Tight,

Painful,

Numb,

Or that is calling out to you in some way.

If no location comes to you,

Simply focus into your abdomen.

Notice the sensory qualities held in the location you are focused on.

Is there a shape to the energy here?

Does it have a color?

A size?

A texture?

Does it have a smell or taste?

Does it make a sound?

Just notice what is present,

And notice any shifts as you sense into what is present here.

Does this area have a message for you?

This message might arise as a shift in shape,

Color,

Or density,

Or some other quality.

It might give you a message in a symbol or words.

As you continue to lightly focus on this issue,

Notice the most prominent emotion associated with this issue.

There may be more than one.

If so,

Which emotion is most prominent at this moment as you feel into this issue?

Notice any thoughts or story around this issue.

What do you tell yourself about this issue?

What beliefs do you have about yourself in relation to this issue?

Perhaps you feel inadequate,

Incapable,

Unsupported,

Guilty,

Ashamed.

Be present with these thoughts,

Feelings,

And sensations,

Allowing them to arise,

And being present with them like a compassionate friend.

Now,

Call to mind one family member or ancestor who might share this issue with you.

Just notice who comes to mind.

If you are not very familiar with your family members or ancestors,

See if you can be open to however the familial presence might present itself to you.

As a family member,

Ancestor,

Or familial presence comes to mind,

Welcome them to sit down here with you.

If there's more than one family member or ancestor that comes forth,

They can sit with you in a circle.

Again,

If you feel guided,

You might invite a spiritual presence into your circle to watch over and guide this communication.

You might feel that you know these family members well or hardly at all.

See if you can be open to what you might discover as you tune into them,

Communicate with them,

And share experiences verbally and non-verbally,

However this communication happens.

As you sit with them,

Ask this family member to tell you their story about how this issue affects them or arose in them.

If there's more than one person,

You can go around the circle,

One at a time.

Stay present with whatever communication comes forth,

In whatever form it takes,

Whether it's words,

Gestures,

Sounds,

Images,

Sensory qualities,

Or silent,

Intuitive knowing.

You might be shown images of other times and places,

Events.

See if you can rest in openness and compassion,

Allowing them to share.

Welcome any insights they have to offer.

When the moment feels right,

Share anything that you'd like to about your struggle with this issue or any insights that come to you.

If there are any challenging things that need to be said from any one of you,

See if it's possible to welcome that,

Too.

Open to awareness of whatever healing movement is arising within or between you and your family member or ancestor.

Relate to your family member or ancestors in any way that feels good and healing to you.

You might want to hold hands or embrace,

Or simply speak words that convey care and understanding to them.

See if you can allow whatever needs to happen for recognition,

Release,

And healing.

You might sense a wisdom coming forth across the generations and coming to fruition here,

Now.

Allow a deeper wisdom to guide this process and bring it to resolution for the moment.

You can return to this meditation and remain open to communication with your familial line in whatever way arises naturally throughout your day and your life.

If it feels good to you,

Set an intention to be open to more ongoing relational attunement.

To bring this session to a close,

Thank those that came forth into your circle.

Thank any spiritual presence that was here assisting you,

Seen or unseen.

And send a blessing of connection and wholeness to your whole family line,

Forwards and backwards in time,

Seven generations and beyond.

Feel this blessing infusing your body,

Infusing the whole space inside and including your skin.

Feel this blessing infusing and transforming your DNA and energy field.

Feel this blessing extending out through the space all around you to all your family members and throughout our collective consciousness.

Slowly begin to open your eyes and feel this blessing here and now.

Here,

Now,

With your eyes open.

Take this blessing of connection and wholeness with you,

Sharing it with others everywhere you go.