Receiving Support From Your Ancestors

Humans have venerated their dead from the early beginning of their existence. Many thousands of years ago, the dead were seen as the protectors and supporters of the living, who had many gifts to give to us. The ancestors don´t need healing, but they are ready to help us heal and thrive. They do crave our attention though, so they can be of assistance to us.

In this talk and meditation, we´ll discuss what an ancestor practice can look like and we´ll connect with them in a guided meditation.

Transcript

Today I want to talk a little bit about working with the ancestors,

Which I've been doing for a number of years now,

With more and more increasingly rewarding encounters and results working with the ancestors.

I've started with my own ancestors,

The ones who I've known or I had known off,

And then over the years things start to expand,

Not just to human beings but also to the more than human world,

And to people that I started working with in groups,

And then we started calling on each other's ancestors when they had particular talents to share or insights to share,

And sometimes it even expands out into the public world and you include people that you may know from the news or from literature or the arts and that somehow resonate with you,

And then you can start to include them into your support system,

And you can start to ask them to support you.

I have had some stunning encounters over the years.

The dead have helped me with financial stuff,

Payments that were somewhere stalled in the transition between the countries all of a sudden moved through.

I've had support with health issues.

The dead helped me make new friends after I moved back here to Germany.

Sometimes they help with communications,

Like if I have already written so many follow-up emails that you just can't write another one,

I ask the dead to remind the person on the other end maybe to just come in and respond.

I've had help with publishing and writing books.

Actually,

This course on Inside Timer about feminine power,

One of my helpers among the ancestors made that happen and helped move that through.

The dead have helped me find a community,

Helped me find an office,

Which was really neat,

And sometimes I ask them to help me find stuff that I misplace and then they flash me a picture and boom,

I know where it is.

Sometimes the dead help with protection,

Protection,

You know,

Of your physical body,

But also protection of your boundaries from people that may not be very wholesome.

So that too is a job that the dead do not shy away from.

Hi Rich,

Hello to Maryland.

So the veneration of the dead has been known to human beings for many,

Many years.

There are indications that back to when humans were Neanderthals 400,

000 years ago,

They buried their dead and they used their bones in certain spiritual ways.

And it is shown today through DNA analysis and other technical tools that early humans really did venerate the dead and ask them for support.

Some cultures buried their ancestors facing the east,

Signifying rebirth,

Inviting them to return to their new life when they were ready to come back.

And other cultures buried their bones under the kitchen floor because they wanted the support of the dead around,

And that was the closest way to have them there.

One of the feast days is today is Saw Wain,

Or Saw Wain as it is called in Ireland.

It is the day of the dead that was traditionally celebrated among the Celts,

And the Celts have not only lived in Ireland and Scotland and England as it is believed,

But they were once at home in all of Europe,

All of Central Europe.

They lived in areas that are now Germany,

France,

Spain,

Including some of the Eastern European countries.

So one can safely say that if you have European ancestry,

That at some point in their lives they celebrated Saw Wain,

Which is the day of the dead,

Which is today on November 1st.

November 1st is exactly between the fall equinox and the winter solstice,

So that was sort of a transition time for early humans and the Celts to move from the peak of the harvest and the summer into the dark season,

And it was a time to celebrate what they had been given for food and shelter and protection,

And to also ask the gods and the spirits to continue to support them as they were moving into the cold seasons.

So the day of the dead was a way to include the ancestors in these celebrations.

There are still to this day customs where the dead are invited to dinner,

That is called a silent dinner,

Where there is a set of plates prepared to invite them when the family gathers to have a feast meal,

That there is also a plate for the dead,

And some people just include a small period of silence to commune with the dead who may show up.

And those feast days were also used to pay respects for the ancestors,

Because it was believed that all the good things that happened to them happened with the support of the dead and with the ancestors.

With the spread of Christianity in Europe,

Those ancient holidays were phased out,

But often integrated into the year,

Into the calendar of the church,

So now the day of the dead is celebrated in many countries on November 2nd,

Because the first has been reserved for the saints.

And that has happened throughout the year,

That those formerly pagan holidays have been integrated into the Christian calendar.

The same happened with Christmas,

For example.

They actually did not know when Christ was born,

So they said,

Okay,

Let's place his birth date around the winter solstice,

Because people celebrated the winter solstice with much more dedication in the early centuries,

So the two kind of merged together,

Because they could not eradicate these festivities,

So they kind of came to the conclusion,

If you can't beat them,

Join them,

So to speak.

I concentrate in my work on the supportive and the loving dead.

There's always relationships with the dead that we have known that may not have been healthy relationships,

Where there may be resentment or hurt or trauma.

So those are the more difficult relationships,

And if you're not ready to work with them or include them into your life or forgive them,

Then there is no rush to do that.

We want to focus on the ancestors that you know,

We're loving,

That you have a good relationship with,

Or that you have an interest in,

If you don't know them all that well.

I know that when I first started out,

I didn't really know many of my ancestors,

So over the years I collected more and more information about them and learned what they were good at,

What they were skilled at,

What they may be good at supporting me in.

They say that the dead do not need our help.

I often hear,

And I too believed myself in the very early days,

That I need to help the dead,

To unburden them from their trauma or to heal their past wounds.

But every psychic medium that I've consulted,

And I've consulted some very,

Very talented ones,

They all say the dead do not need healing.

They help us heal.

They're already healed because they don't have a body anymore.

That means whatever physical illness they may have had does not burden their emotional wellness anymore,

And any trauma they may have been carrying in their DNA is no longer present.

They are in spirit,

So they are already healed.

So the only thing the dead want from us is our attention.

So when we put up pictures on our altars,

Or on the mantelpiece,

Or if we offer little food offerings on a day like today,

For example,

Or burn incense,

Or say a prayer,

Or simple greeting,

Whatever your belief system is,

That is the attention that they crave,

And that is how we can bring them joy and validation,

And that makes them want to help us even more.

So what may happen over the years when you do find that you are ready to forgive somebody who has passed over,

That is really the only form of help that they may want is our forgiveness when we are ready to do that,

Because then we are also ready to invite them back into our lives so they can help.

And I often hear it that people say,

Okay,

You know,

Dad or mom,

I don't really know what to do with you because we've had such a complicated relationship,

And I don't know how to heal all that through the veil,

That some people,

When they were ready,

They asked them really big favors,

You know,

To ask them to help them find a new home,

To ask them with their relationships in families that may be complicated,

They asked them to heal physical illness,

And that then became a way to reconcile,

Because it felt like,

Okay,

Somehow I can feel that I'm receiving help from the other side,

And now I'm ready or more inclined to forgive and to re-establish these relationships.

The way to contact the dead is often through animals.

They say that I spend a lot of time in the forest or outside.

They say,

For example,

That moths are the messengers of the dead,

So whenever you walk outside and you see some moths flitting around,

You can be sure that some of your ancestors are around.

Sometimes they just kind of pop up in conversations that you may be grappling with a certain thing,

Or you may be looking for help from the other side,

And then you overhear a family member talk about a dead uncle or a dead grandmother.

Sometimes they come through in ways that are very unforeseen.

Sometimes they come in dreams that they pop up with some words.

I had a grandfather who used to love to smoke big fat cigars,

And one night I had a dream about him.

He was asking,

Like,

You got a smoke?

You got a smoke for me?

That's what he used to say,

So that was one way for me of knowing he's close,

And he wants me to connect,

And he's ready to do me favors,

Which he has.

He has helped me a great deal also with protection,

With cleansing space from outside energy.

There is a really beautiful quote by John O'Donohue,

The Irish poet.

He said that when we ourselves enter the eternal world and come to see our lives on earth in full view,

We may be surprised at the immense assistance and support with which our departed loved ones have accompanied every moment of our lives.

So only when we are back in the spirit world we understand just how much they do every day.

There is this meme on Facebook that says,

You're still supported by the prayers of your grandmother,

And you don't even know that she has prayed for you while she was alive.

So what we can do is we can bring our heart's desire to them.

Whatever it is that we crave,

Whether it's love,

Or health,

Or a new job,

Or belonging,

Or finding friends,

Finding community,

Whatever you really feel in your heart that you want,

The dead are there for you to support you in what you really desire.

So with that,

I'm going to move on to do a meditation about the ancestors and connecting with them.

There will be room for questions after that,

And we'll meditate for maybe 10 minutes or so.

So I invite you to get into a comfortable position,

Turn off your phones,

And close your eyes,

And begin focusing on your breathing,

And tap into the energy of the space around you,

Maybe an arm length around your body in all directions,

And sense the energy in that space.

And I invite you to call on your ancestors,

The beloved ones,

The supportive ones,

The ones who you know have your back,

And pay attention who comes to mind first.

Imagine family members,

Or friends,

Or neighbors who have passed,

And who you loved.

See their faces,

Remember the names,

What they looked like,

What they liked,

What they were good at.

It can be just one or two of them,

Or more.

Include animals,

Beloved pets,

Trees that you've known that were important to me,

To you.

Send them a greeting,

And tell them that you want to connect with them.

And if you're so inclined,

Go all the way back in deep time,

And invite your indigenous ancestors,

Europeans too,

At once indigenous tribes,

And acknowledge that they have a lot of wisdom to share,

And that they want to share that with you.

That you come from them,

And an acknowledgement of non-linear time,

They come from you.

See an infinite net of connections that connects them with each other,

Connects them to you.

It goes far beyond the people you know.

It goes very far into deep time,

Back to the animals,

And the forests,

And the oceans.

You are a part of this infinite network.

You belong to it,

And it is there to support you.

Continue to pay attention who pops into your head.

That is their way of making contact with you.

Invite those you want to connect with,

And ask those you're not ready to talk to,

To step back.

And now become aware of a heart's desire,

One desire that has been on your mind,

And invite one or several ancestors to help you manifest that desire.

Make sure that those you invite,

That you feel 100% comfortable with them.

When you have one or more of your ancestors you want to invite,

Strike up a conversation with them.

Imagine they're offering their support,

And if it feels right,

Imagine that you are receiving that support.

How does it feel to connect with them?

Feel it in your body.

Imagine what it looks like when your heart's desire comes true with the support of your ancestors.

How will your life change?

How does your life feel?

How do your relationships change when your desire is manifested?

Imagine that they're always there to support you,

And extend gratitude towards them,

That they've come into your life to be at your side.

And then bring your attention back to your breathing,

Send the greeting to your ancestors,

And receive their greeting.

And when you're ready,

Open your eyes.

Welcome back in the present.

If you've liked what you heard,

Feel free to donate any amount.

It helps me continue this work to offer more of these meditations in the future.

If you have any questions,

Feel free to put them in the chat.

The way I prepared my altar today is that I cleaned everything up,

I wiped down the surface,

And washed the cloth where everything is on,

And cleaned everything up.

I added a couple of new pictures of people.

Thank you Lisa,

And thank you Rich and Lavender for your comments,

And Gloria.

I've added a couple of pictures of some of the dead who have helped me in these past couple of months and weeks.

I've also wrote a whole list of dead that came to mind,

Because at some point there's so many pictures on the altar that you can't add anymore.

So I just wrote those who don't have space right now on a piece of paper,

And put that piece on the altar.

Sometimes I move pictures around,

There's like a side altar for those dead who are resting,

Who have done the job,

But are not active at the moment.

So I move those pictures to a different space,

And move the ones that are currently in my life,

Or working for me on the main altar,

Together with a statue of the sacred goddess that is on there.

And then I have a little bit of water,

Because I honor the water every day,

The waters of the land.

I put fresh flowers on,

Fresh incense.

After this I'm going to pour a little bit of beer and wine,

Because the spirits do attract the spirits.

I always light a candle every day in the morning when I greet them.

There is an ancestor practice of greeting them every day,

And that's really the best way to make a connection with them,

If you don't have one already.

To just put up an altar with the pictures or other objects from your ancestors,

And every morning light a candle,

Say hello to them,

Talk to them,

What's coming up this day,

If there's anything you need help with,

Because you have a difficult conversation,

Or a presentation,

Or something that wants support from them.

And then,

You know,

Just after a minute you go about your day,

And then at the end of the day you come back to them,

Give them another greeting,

And then maybe check if anything happened during the day that made their presence known,

That something unexpected happened,

That felt like,

Okay,

There was support from the ancestors there that otherwise wouldn't have happened.

That is really the best way to forge a strong connection with them,

To check in every day,

Even just for a hello and a goodbye,

No big,

You know,

Prayers or anything needed,

But to just bring them to your mind.

And the more you look at their picture,

The more they will pop into your head.

And whenever they pop into your head,

That means they are reaching out.

It's not just us who initiate or reach out,

It's really them who seek the contact with us.

And that happens when they just show up in your thoughts,

Or you remember something that they might have worn.

My mother used to wear this very distinct perfume that she put on only on holidays and very big celebrations.

I know exactly what that smells like,

So if that comes anywhere near me,

That is my mother speaking.

My father is really good with providing stability.

I was just thinking the other day,

Because I've moved to Germany a year ago,

And it's been quite a transition.

I've spent 25 years in the US,

And this past year,

There were so many new things,

So many challenges,

But overall,

Things were stable.

And that's my dad.

That's my dad making sure that things are stable,

Even when there's lots of ups and downs,

And a thousand unknowns.

There's basic stability that was felt,

And that I know he was there for,

For me.

And we had a very complicated relationship earlier,

And early in my life.

So we made a full recovery,

And he is my biggest supporter,

And I know that he's always there.

So I encourage you to explore these relationships.

Do them in your own time.

Don't rush anything.

Don't force anything.

Just do it as feels right to you,

And then they will be there for you,

And support you in ways that you may not have imagined.