In this visualisation,
You will travel through time to meet an ancient wise ancestor who represents the best qualities of the lore archetype,
Which is embodied in your upper right wisdom tooth,
Or the space where that tooth would be.
This may be an ancestor from your family lineage,
From the indigenous lineage of the land where you are,
Or an ancestor by affinity.
Before we start,
Take a moment to get in a really comfortable position,
Sitting or lying.
Whatever feels best right now.
When you feel settled,
Close your eyes.
Take a slow,
Deep breath in through your nose,
Feeling your lungs fill,
Your belly rise and then fall as you breathe out through your nose.
Feeling warm air trickle across your top lip.
Follow another breath all the way in and all the way out.
Slow,
Steady breathing.
With your tongue,
Or just your attention,
Touch your upper right wisdom tooth,
Or the space near the back of your mouth where that wisdom would be.
With relaxed curiosity and an open mind,
Invite the essence of your upper right wisdom tooth,
The lore archetype,
To meet with you.
Now imagine yourself on a pebbled beach beside a calm ocean,
Under a pale blue sky.
Smell the salty tang of the sea.
Feel warm sunshine and a gentle breeze kiss your skin.
Hear the sussuration of waves lapping gently on the shore,
And the scramble of stones moved by the water.
Bend down and choose a particularly perfect little pebble to pick up for its intriguing shape.
Color and texture.
Put this little stone in your pocket and feel the tug of its slight weight on your clothes.
When you look up,
You see someone who you love from one generation older than you.
They stand at the start of a long line of people that stretches out along the length of the beach.
Your beloved elder extends their hand so you can take it in yours,
Returning their warm smile.
Wordlessly,
They pass your hand back through time to the previous generation.
Feel the light touch of brushing fingers.
Catch a glimpse of vintage clothing.
Relax with a tangible sense of their kindness.
Without hesitation,
This beloved elder of your grandparents' generation passes your hand along to the great-grandparent generation before them.
Hand to hand,
You travel back through generations of great-great-great ancestors,
More and more swiftly through past centuries,
The flickering of the digital world,
The industrial world,
Before modernity or colonization,
Along the way glimpsing a few significant episodes,
And occasionally a stranger's face which reminds you of someone you know.
But mostly,
These ancestors pass you in a blur of strong hands,
Gently guiding you back through time.
You lose count of the generations as you traverse this lineage back into ancient history until,
At last,
The spinning wheel of time slows and you find stillness with a wise ancestor worthy of your respect.
This is your lore archetype and they welcome you with a long assessing look that recognizes you as a returning relative.
They greet you as family and as an honored guest.
Your wise ancestor holds both your hands and looks into your eyes.
Lore can see in you how the most essential values they live by have been able to survive millennia.
You can feel the depth of lore's wisdom,
Their knowledge of the land and its cycles,
Of plants and animals,
Of the human body and psyche,
Of community dynamics and challenges.
You can sense their talent for turning complicated events into influential stories for teaching and healing.
Lore invites you to climb a hill with them.
You walk together,
Step by step,
Up an easy slope until you reach the very top.
From this perspective,
You can look out over the beach and the ocean beyond in one direction and in another you can see across abundant land to a distant village.
From so high on the hilltop,
There are no details to distract you.
You can only see what is important,
What has the most influence.
As you gaze out over the expansive view,
Lore points out those features which are essential and timeless truths.
The aspects of their culture which continue to be valuable and meaningful,
No matter what era you live in.
You point out to your wise ancestor those features which in your time have become rigid or oppressive,
Those elements of your culture which are holding you back from a better future.
Your wise ancestor listens carefully,
Looking where you point and honouring your perspective.
Taking that all in,
Lore gives you a map of the landscape which is in front of you now,
Annotated with your shared insights.
They tell you,
This is my legacy and your birthright.
I give you this bird's eye view of the evolving traditions of our lineage and the cultures that have shaped you,
Laid over the timeless values of a timeless earth.
This map shows clearly which elements are worthy of continuation and which no longer serve your highest good.
I'll pause now to allow space for any other guidance your wise ancestor has for you today.
When your time with lore feels complete,
Thank them and reach into your pocket to offer them the stone you brought as a gift from your time to theirs.
Saying farewell,
But knowing you can return anytime you need to,
You walk down the hill towards the beach to find the line of your ancestors ready to help you make your way back through time into the present.
As they guide you through the centuries,
Your new map brushes the hands of each ancestor,
So that the perspective,
Wisdom and insights you've gained from this meeting with lore,
Your ancient wise ancestor,
Helps to heal your whole lineage.
When you arrive back in the present time,
Back on the pebble beach where you started,
Tuck the map into a safe place in your memory,
As though filing it with the upper right wisdom tooth in your mind's archive.
Take a deeper breath and start to come back into the here and now,
Wriggling your fingers and toes,
Stretching and opening your eyes when you are ready.
Look around the space you are in,
Find something pleasant to rest your attention on for a moment.
You might like to take a few minutes now to journal about what you saw and learned while meeting the lore archetype of your upper right wisdom tooth,
Before you forget.
I'd love to hear about your experience,
So feel free to share about this in the Secret Lives of Teeth discussion group on Insight Timer.
