Melanated Talk + Meditation | Ancestral Clearing-Money Focus

Are you struggling with money? Even after doing all the things to stabilize and sustain your finances - things like how-to books and online courses, money management apps, and cash envelope systems - I name it; you've tried it!

Sometimes, it's not about you or your struggles alone. Sometimes it's also about the struggles of those who came before you. What have you inherited that you've not yet considered that may be in play as well, and needs to be cleared for you to reach your financial goals - and beyond?

Make time and space for this in-depth, advanced talk + meditation for melanated bodies to clear ancestral clutter for improved money flow + sustainability. Asé.

This somatic meditation practice includes ancient techniques published in Resmaa Menakem's book, My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma And The Pathway To Mending Our Hearts And Bodies (2017).

Transcript

Hey there.

Welcome to another of our Melanated Talks and Meditations.

As the title conveys,

These talks and meditations are for Black and Brown people,

Specific for our distinct experiences,

For our needs.

Today's Ancestral Clearing is even more specific,

Being for African Americans,

Black descendants of enslaved Americans.

I am Rev.

Dr.

Candy Dugas and I will be your facilitator and guide through this experience.

This experience is meant only for mild to moderate physical discomfort associated with financial frustration or anxiety.

If you are ever strongly triggered and it feels traumatic to you,

Please immediately stop this practice and reach out to your emotional mental health care professional,

Preferably one who specializes in trauma.

How you engage with this offering depends on where you are with your journey of connecting how your ancestors experienced money and then how that history is impacting your financial situations today.

Your ancestors can be those whom you've known physically in this lifetime,

Or it can be the generations of those whom you only know or know of in spirit.

In either case,

You carry them all within you.

Wow,

Isn't that just an incredible awareness?

That the legacy of how you experience life,

Pleasant and not so much,

Is passed down to you from generation to generation,

As we say,

Dating years and eras,

Centuries back.

So any successes and any struggles are not yours alone.

We may tend not to give much thought to successes.

We say,

Yay for them,

Enjoy the rewards,

And keep moving forward.

But when we get stuck and cannot seem to get out of a persistent struggle,

That's when we tend to look around for answers,

Maybe even doing some digging below the surface to find out exactly what the hell is going on around here.

You say to yourself,

I've tried this,

I've tried that.

So many approaches,

Solutions,

Online courses,

Prayer cloths,

Affirmations,

Meditations,

Manifestations,

Mantras,

Magical potions,

You name it.

And what?

Nothing.

Still stuck.

It's possible that an ancestral clearing is what you need to remove.

Or begin to significantly remove the blocks to your progress and to your triumph.

Now note,

Nothing overcomes proper alignment and right timing.

This ancestral clearing that we're doing today is only designed and delivered to help you if what you're seeking to solve is properly aligned with your purpose,

Is properly aligned with your purpose,

And that you're within the right timing for it to be solved.

If both of these are in place for you,

Proceed.

If not,

Pause and save this to return to it once you've completed some more inner work,

Get some more revelations,

Some sense of what's going on to determine proper alignment and right timing.

It's okay.

Take the time.

I am right here when you return.

Now,

Next thing to determine is to be clear about what aspect of your money concerns you.

Income as an employee or income as a self-generating person,

Meaning like freelance work,

Owning your own business,

Independent contractor,

Gig worker,

That kind of thing.

Do investments and savings concern you?

Repeating patterns that affect your finances,

Do those concern you,

Etc.

?

Again,

If you're not clear,

Feel free to take some time for clarity.

Engage your spiritual practices,

Talk with your spiritual guides and your financial consultants to hone in on what's giving you the blues.

Be very specific and clear about the issue or issues that you need help with the most.

Now,

We want to connect your issue with that of your ancestors.

How is what you're experiencing today connected to what your lineage experienced in their day?

You may be able to answer this intellectually from the jump.

You may already know from your conscious knowledge or you may have to do some intuitive sensing,

Some meditation,

Etc.

To access more intuitive knowledge as the connection between them and you may not be so obvious.

Here are six ways,

Not necessarily an exhaustive list,

But here are six ways that our ancestors have struggled financially in U.

S.

White supremacist systems.

Chattel slavery,

Sharecropping,

Jim Crow,

Redlining,

Mass incarceration,

And employment discrimination.

I will describe each one of them briefly and as I do,

Please note where you may feel a ping in your being,

Some sort of sensation,

Some sort of feeling that will let you know that this may be the connection to your ancestors that you're looking for.

And remember,

It does not have to make sense.

It can be a rumbling in your belly.

It could be a sudden feeling of nausea.

It could be a sudden onslaught of sadness,

Even tears,

Something physically,

Viscerally that lets you know there's something more to know here.

This means something to me.

Chattel slavery systematically exploited kidnapped Africans and their descendants through unpaid labor,

Thereby obviously denying them any opportunity to accumulate wealth.

Now,

It's true that a few earned their freedom and a few inherited property from plantation owners,

But by large,

As a result,

Generations of Black families were without the ability to acquire property,

Assets,

Or savings,

Which are essential for economic stability and intergenerational wealth transfer.

At the same time,

As our ancestors' ability to accumulate wealth was being suppressed,

At the same time,

On the other side of the coin,

The exploitation of enslaved laborers economically enriched white plantation owners and set up a long legacy of systematically broad economic disparity.

See this suppression on one side and catapulting higher on the other side,

And the gap just gets wider and wider and wider.

Sharecropping,

Implemented in the U.

S.

South after the Civil War,

Perpetuated another cycle of economic exploitation and systemic oppression for Black people.

Under this system,

Black farmers,

Who were often formerly enslaved,

Had few to no options than to contract with white landowners to farm land in exchange for a share of the crops produced.

However,

The terms of these contracts were rigged,

Leaving our ancestors stuck,

Repeating patterns of financial loss season after season after season.

You've heard the saying,

One step forward,

Two steps back,

Or more.

The cycles of debt,

Poverty,

And financial instability were impossible to clear.

Moreover,

It just fucked with their mindsets.

Sharecropping reinforced racial hierarchies and entrenched white supremacy by maintaining the economic subjugation of our ancestors while preserving the wealth and power and increasing that of white landowners,

Oftentimes the plantation owners or their descendants.

Our ancestors' fight,

Flight,

Freeze,

Nervous systems were on fleek all the time,

All the time,

No breaks,

With constant,

Baked-in-the-system discrimination,

Violence,

Always the threats of eviction,

Which makes you feel incredibly vulnerable all the time,

Intimidation,

And lynching,

Stuck in little to no hope,

Autonomy,

Or agency.

Jim Crow laws of segregation were not only enforced in public social spaces,

But also restricted access to economic opportunities for our ancestors.

Black-owned businesses faced discriminatory practices.

This is making me sad right now.

Black-owned businesses faced discriminatory practices,

Limited customer bases,

And unequal access to resources and funding.

Additionally,

Segregated education and employment systems perpetuated lower wages and limited career advancement for our people,

Furthering,

Hindering their financial prospects.

Even for those who attained college degrees and practiced white-collar professions like doctors,

Lawyers,

And clergy,

They had to work other jobs,

Quote-unquote blue-collar jobs,

Laborer jobs,

Like carrying mail,

Farming,

Working on the railroad to support their families.

How does that reconcile?

Being a doctor,

Lawyer,

Clergy,

Other professions of esteem,

And yet you can't make a living to support your family doing that.

And you have to do more laborious tasks.

It's like a comment on what you're worth.

Even if we can't stop you from attaining these degrees,

You will not attain the status of these.

These are not for you.

These are only for us.

How does that affect a person?

Redlining.

Systematically denied Black individuals access to the premier path of building wealth,

Owning property.

Denial of housing loans,

Mortgages,

And insurance in certain neighborhoods based on race is how that worked,

And still works today.

As a result,

Our ancestral families were forced into segregated,

Under-resourced communities with limited access to quality housing.

Education and employment opportunities.

The devaluation of properties in these areas,

Coupled with limited home ownership options,

Prevented Black families from building equity and accumulating wealth through home ownership.

Again,

This is the premier source of intergenerational wealth transfer.

If it doesn't accumulate,

If it doesn't even get access,

If it doesn't get access to If it doesn't even get accessed,

And then if it doesn't accumulate,

Then it doesn't transfer.

Mass incarceration disproportionately affects Black individuals,

Leading to economic instability and financial hardship for our families.

The incarceration of a family member often results in loss of income,

Increased financial strain due to legal fees and court costs,

And disruption of family dynamics.

Moreover,

Formerly incarcerated individuals face significant barriers to employment,

Housing,

And financial services upon release,

Exacerbating their economic vulnerability and perpetuating cycles of poverty.

Employment discrimination against our people,

Including hiring biases,

Wage disparities,

And limited career advancement opportunities,

Perpetuates economic disparities and hinders wealth accumulation for generations of Black families.

Preventing accumulation of assets.

Discriminatory practices in hiring and promotion contribute to lower wages and occupational segregation,

Trapping us in low-paying jobs,

Which again exacerbates financial insecurity and economic inequality within Black communities.

Okay,

With which of these ways did you feel a ping or sensation or something visceral with your ancestors?

I'll list your ancestors.

I'll list them again.

Chattel slavery,

Sharecropping,

Jim Crow laws,

Redlining,

Mass incarceration,

Employment discrimination.

If more than one,

Which one of these was the most pronounced?

Go with that one.

That will be the way that you focus on for your ancestral clearing meditation today.

It's a lot.

It's a whole,

Whole lot.

And as I read through the descriptions,

You may have heard me say how sad it made me to hear these descriptions.

If it feels overwhelming to you as well,

Take some moments to breathe and release the tension,

The sadness,

Maybe even the anger.

Take a moment here.

Pause the recording if needed to get settled in a quiet space.

We're Depending on your ancestral revelation,

You may want to gather some items,

Some pictures,

Some candles,

Other objects to strengthen your connection or connections with what you're experiencing.

Once everything is gathered and you're ready,

We'll begin.

I'll wait here for a minute or two.

By the way,

I am recording this in nature,

Early one morning with some rain and with the sunrise.

So you may hear some nature sounds and some park worker sounds in the background.

Okay.

Now take in your surroundings where you're going to do your meditation.

Soak it in.

See where you are.

Take in any objects that you've gathered around you.

Drop in on your intention for this experience and how you're feeling right now.

Be aware of all of this at the same time.

Now we're going to breathe,

Center,

Ground,

Clear,

Cleanse,

And protect.

If you have a spirit team and if they're not already with you,

Invite them to be part of your spirit team.

If you're unfamiliar with what a spirit team is,

This is an advanced practice,

So everyone doing this ought to be aware of what a spirit team is.

But just in case,

Not.

Excuse me.

Spirit team is your Ori,

Your higher self.

Spirit team are spirit guides,

Beings who show up when you're doing work like this or when you need help or even when you are experiencing joy and excitement and celebration in life.

Spirit beings can be the spirits of those who have actually lived and passed on.

They can be animals,

Any creation,

Any plant creation.

They can be angels.

They can be wind.

They can be anything that you sense is a spirit guide for you.

Invite your spirit team to be present with you if they're not already.

For some of us,

When we drop into spaces like these,

The spirit team just shows up.

Feel them around you.

All right,

Let's breathe.

We're going to do five breaths,

Five breaths.

Inhaling deeply,

Holding a bit at the top,

And then exhaling slower than we inhaled.

All right,

I'm going to do five.

Inhale.

Hold.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Hold.

Exhale.

You may exhale with an audible sigh or just audibly.

Inhale.

Hold.

Exhale.

Ah.

Inhale.

Hold.

Exhale.

Ah.

Let's center ourselves in this space,

The cracks of thunder.

You can't see the streaks of lightning that surround me as I do this now,

And I'll share.

Thank you.

And let's ground ourselves,

Imagining not only are we connected to the earth below,

And that connection goes deep,

Deep,

Deep into the center of the earth,

But we are also connected above.

And that connection transcends the atmosphere around our earth all the way up into galaxies,

Connects with the universe above and actually around.

But we see this continuous,

Continuous connection.

You can see it as light if you'd like,

However you perceive it,

However you perceive it,

Connecting above,

Through you,

And below,

Knowing that you are firmly rooted and safe,

Grounded,

Connected.

And you want to ask your auri,

Your higher self,

To cleanse you,

To clear you of any extra debris,

Residue that doesn't serve you,

That does not need to be a part of your aura,

Of your being,

Of your presence,

Things we just pick up in life,

No shade,

We just pick it up.

So we always need to cleanse and clear.

They can clear you with water or liquid of some kind,

With smoke,

With breath,

With wind,

With air.

Ask them to clear and cleanse you.

Now ask for an anointing.

You may envision this as oil of some kind.

It also can be another liquid,

It can be water,

It can be smoke.

Ask for an anointing to replace all the residue that has been cleared and cleansed,

And just to provide you with a substance that adds energy and power to your being,

Helps facilitate the intention and this practice that we are experiencing together.

And finally,

Ask for protection.

You can visualize this protection around you and your spirit team in any way that comes to mind.

It could be smoke,

It could be some sort of physical barrier that is flexible so you can move,

But also keeps you protected.

It can be a haze,

It can be light rain,

It can be just another it can be just another layer of auric presence that surrounds you and keeps you safe.

Another way of keeping you safe and protected.

Now let's bring back to mind the strongest way that pinged you,

That gallery wall,

Look at the gallery wall,

The strongest way that pinged you of how your ancestors struggled with their financial stability and advancement.

I'll list them again.

Chattel slavery,

Sharecropping,

Jim Crow laws,

Redlining,

Mass incarceration,

Employment discrimination.

Now bring to mind that other portrait on the gallery wall,

The way that you struggle with your financial stability and advancement.

See them side by side,

Displayed on this gallery wall.

Then turn to your right and see ahead of you a vast and beautiful meadow and see ahead of you a vast and beautiful meadow of lush green grass,

Gorgeous wildflowers popping with vibrant colors and pigment and majestic trees hundreds of years old,

Trunks full of wisdom and insight.

There are also rocks around,

Stones that also hold wisdom and ancient knowledge and ancient can be anything that occurred before your knowledge and awareness.

See this nature stretch out before you so far that you cannot see where it ends.

Walk toward it until you are now in this meadow.

Now ask all of your ancestors who have had issue with this way of white supremacy,

One of those six ways,

Ask your ancestors to appear before you.

Give them all the time that they need to gather.

See them.

Take the time to take in this sight,

This glorious sight as all of them gather,

As all of them come forward toward you.

Take in this sight of what's before you.

Take in this sight of who is before you.

See them all and welcome them.

You may even thank them with all of the love and great appreciation and honor and gratitude and respect that you can give out to them.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I see you.

Thank you.

Because of you,

I am.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

When they've all gathered,

Let them know why you are here and that you've got this now.

Tell them in your own words now.

Now ask them to place beside them the receipts,

The records of their issues.

See them pull it out of their bosom,

Out of their inner pockets of their jackets,

Out of the outer pockets of their jackets,

Out of the pockets of their pants,

Out of their hearts,

Out of a space that represents where their hearts were,

Their heads were,

Where they held all of these ways they had been suppressed and oppressed,

Tricked and stunk.

See them pull out the receipts,

Pull out the reports,

Pull out the records and stack them next to them.

Everything.

Every single thing.

And see the records stack up of discrimination,

Harassment,

Intimidation,

Betrayal,

Deceit,

Especially by those they trusted.

See it all stack up next to them.

What other words do you hear to describe what your people have endured,

What they've been through?

Say it out loud for yourself.

Say it out loud.

Now as these stack up,

Watch what happens to your ancestors.

Watch as the backs that have been bent over straighten up,

As the shoulders come back,

As the rounded shoulders flatten.

Watch as the weights of carrying all of this,

The weights leave their beings and rest on the earth.

The earth which is much stronger and capable and broader of holding and dealing with all of this.

Notice how your ancestors are much lighter than before,

Clearer,

Stronger,

Standing taller,

Smiling,

Joyous,

Brighter,

Thankful,

Relieved of these weights.

Stay where you are in your relaxed state,

Continue in your relaxed state,

Effortless breathing,

Relaxed in places where you tend to hold tension.

Call your blood vessels to open and the blood to flow freely.

Relax the space between your eyebrows,

Let your tongue drop from the roof of your mouth,

Relax the tension in your shoulders or your neck,

Breathe.

Continue here as you listen to this next brief set of instructions for a basic somatic practice to begin to retrain what Dr.

Resmaa Menakem calls your soul nerve or your primitive primal lizard brain,

Which affects your nervous system,

Which triggers anxieties affecting how highly you vibrate regarding money and financial issues and situations,

Which can cause blocks in the very area that you need to get unstuck,

Other hindrances and unwittingly repeating patterns of financial instability and unsustained prosperity.

As Menakem explains,

The following practice is simple,

It's a blend of my own and his found in his book,

My Grandmother's Hands.

It is simple and profoundly effective.

Invite your ancestors to join you in their version of this with you,

Even though they no longer have a physical body or nervous system,

Ask them to recall what they've just let go of on the ground as you bring to mind again your struggle with your financial stability and advancement.

Don't spend a whole lot of time thinking about it in this moment,

Just bring it to mind.

When this struggle happens in your life,

What you want to answer right here is where do you feel mild or moderate discomfort in your body,

And then ask your ancestors to respond however they are moved as you respond to my prompts from here forward.

Place your hand,

Whichever hand you feel led,

On your place of discomfort and move it as you're guided intuitively.

I sense to place my right hand on my heart and then caress it,

Massage it,

Rub it with gentle taps as well,

Like there,

There,

There,

It's all right,

It's all right.

Let's do this a bit,

Take some time and do this a bit,

Touching,

Connecting with touch.

Now while doing this touching,

You may begin to feel your body sway or rock a bit from side to side or back and forth,

That's fine,

Go with it,

Connection through touch and rocking.

You may also feel a hum rise up,

Go ahead and hum,

It may be a tune you know or maybe not,

Connection through touch,

Rocking and humming.

You may also feel some words to a song rise up,

Go ahead and sing,

Even if you're like me and you can't carry a tune and cannot sing,

That matters not in this moment,

Connection through touch,

Rocking,

Humming and singing.

It's all right,

It's all right,

Have a good time because it's all right.

All right,

What's your song?

This moment is all about soothing,

Soothing and being safe and secure and protected,

Protected,

Touching and soothing where it hurts,

Moving your body,

Releasing anxious energy,

Vocalizing your feelings and retraining your nervous system of how to be in the face of anxiety provoked by financial situation.

Continue doing this a bit more,

Allowing yourself to experience this kind of safety,

Stability and security,

Giving you something to remember when the struggle may reappear or a new struggle comes your way and if you need to keep doing this after I stop this part,

Feel free to pause the recording and come back when you get a sense of completion.

All right,

Now notice how you feel in your body,

What sensations are you experiencing?

I'm feeling lighter and relieved,

More capable and stronger.

Turn your attention to your ancestors,

What have they been doing?

How do y'all want to communicate with each other right now?

Take note of all of this.

We're coming to the end of this practice,

So now express your appreciation to your ancestors and any,

All of your spirit team,

Your guides,

Etc.

Who have been present with you in this moment.

Express appreciation to yourself to yourself for taking this on.

Receive appreciation from them to you for taking this on and do not rush this moment.

Take your time expressing gratitude and honor.

All right,

Let's now return to the here and now from this meadow of lushness,

Beauty and wisdom.

Make your way back the same way that you came.

And let's feel where you are solidly seated.

Wiggle your fingers and your toes and when you're ready,

Slowly open your eyes.

When you open your eyes,

Look around and name five things that you see.

What revelations do you have?

What do you want to chronicle in your journal about this experience?

For at least the next two or more days,

Repeat the somatic part of this experience or you can,

You know,

Repeat the entire thing.

I know time is important and you may not have this entire time and you may need to just go to the somatic part,

But for at least the next two days,

And you can add some days however you're led to do more than two days,

Repeat the somatic part.

And when you get to the part where you are envisioning your financial struggle,

We did it briefly today,

Slowly increase the amount of time that you hold your struggle in your mind around your financial stability and advancement.

Be sure to take note in your journal if there are any shifts in how it feels in your body when you're holding your financial struggle.

Are you able to think about it longer without any associated physical pain?

Also,

Be sure to chronicle in your journal any shifts that you were,

Yeah,

Yeah,

We're looking for reduction of panic and anxiety or whatever that visceral reaction is,

Gripping,

You can have a gripping feeling,

Whatever that is that you experience when your financial struggle happens.

We're looking for reduction of that visceral reaction.

We also are expecting some shifts in how this financial struggle happens in your life.

So also be sure to chronicle in your journal any shifts in how it's playing out tangibly.

Thank you again for taking this considerable amount of time for yourself and for your ancestors.

May your finances reflect exponentially the inner work you're putting in.

Peace and prosperity be upon you in this moment and going forward.

In the name of all that is good and wonderful and intended for this life,

For you and yours,

Ashe,

Ashe,

Asheo.

Reviews

Wow, I’m in awe at the power of this meditation. Thank you.