Hello and welcome to your Insight Timer talk and meditation on intergenerational healing and resilience,
Specifically made for anyone who self-identifies as Black,
Indigenous,
Or a person of color,
Which I will refer to as BIPOCs.
My name is Dr.
Marielle Bouquet.
I'm a psychologist and an intergenerational trauma expert.
And today,
I will be introducing you to the concept of intergenerational resilience.
You will find that some aspects of what I present here will be new to you.
I welcome you to invite in some curiosity about what these topics are and what the practice is,
But to try and see how it can help.
Any healing practice should be paced according to what your heart can hold.
So take your time to take in the information.
Pace yourself and make this practice your own.
Personalize this practice and cater to the unique way that you are made to heal.
As you listen,
Be sure to give yourself some grace.
Give yourself a gentle pause,
An affirmation,
And anything else that can help you to remain grounded.
And remember that you can always harness the power of the ancestral strength that you hold within you whenever you need it.
When you're ready,
Comfortable,
And willing,
Let's get you started on building on your generational resilience.
Find a comfortable seat,
Find your breath,
Deepen your breath,
Deepen it some more.
Take five seconds on the inhale,
Take seven seconds on the exhale,
And let's begin.
In this talk,
I will be breaking down what intergenerational trauma is so that you can familiarize yourself with this type of emotional wound.
However,
My bigger focus here is on emphasizing how much the generational resilience that also accompanies it already lies within you.
I'm glad you're here and eager to learn,
So let's get into it.
Intergenerational trauma is the type of trauma that runs through a person's lineage and community through two modes of transmission.
Genetic expressions,
Meaning a person's biology,
And psychosocial experiences,
Meaning everything else that happens after they're conceived.
It's a unique type of trauma in that it keeps getting fed when trauma responses remain undisrupted and continue from generation to generation.
For BIPOC specifically,
Generations of genocide,
Chattel slavery,
Displacement,
Land theft,
And present-day occurrences of racial oppression and ethnic racism have made it challenging to do away with generational trauma.
The daily traumatic experiences that are directly connected to the racial ethnic identities of BIPOC individuals continue to this day,
Which makes living in a traumatized body highly prevalent for BIPOCs.
But just as prevalent is the generational resilience that is carried in the lineage of BIPOC communities.
There is a deep wounding in our communities,
But also deep wisdom and abundance.
Oftentimes,
When approaching the intergenerational healing journey,
People want to hyper-focus on their trauma.
This makes it easy to lose sight of an equally important aspect of this experience,
Which is your intergenerational strength.
Because trauma isn't the only experience that can be passed down from generation to generation.
You also have the power of an entire community,
The gentle words of love that you hear from people who genuinely wish you well,
The ways in which your culture continues to thrive,
And ways in which your humanity is affirmed on a daily basis.
And if it isn't,
If you don't feel like your humanity is catered to or hasn't been in some time,
Let me take this moment to offer you just that.
Let me remind you that you are powerful.
You are wise,
Boundless,
The embodiment of joy,
A container for love,
A beam of light.
You are your ancestors' wildest dreams.
You are all of this.
Hold that truth in your heart,
Because intergenerational trauma can plant lies in your mind and make you forget all the wonderful things that you are,
And all the amazing ancestors that you come from.
Now with that in mind,
Let's continue.
Intergenerational resilience is an innate strength that you hold within you that was passed down through generations of your family and community.
It is what has helped generations before you to survive adversity,
And is also helping you in this very moment to survive.
It is where your wisest mind lies.
It is where a lot of your innate wisdom lives.
It is a combination of your own instinct and the intuition that was passed down.
It is what helps you alchemize out of the ashes of your pain.
It is what lifts you beyond survival to thrive.
This resilience helps you feel more grounded,
Because you can stand on the truth that you are worthy,
And not subscribe to the lies that trauma makes you internalize,
Like imposter syndrome,
Or a belief that the skin that you're in isn't beautiful.
It shakes you out of that frame of mind,
And helps you step into your authentic self,
Fully and unapologetically.
It helps you to release survival mode,
And settle your nervous system,
So that you can feel more ease and joy.
That's your intergenerational resilience at work.
The most beautiful thing about it,
Is that it's always there,
Ready for you to access it.
And no matter what this world tries to take away from you,
You always have that generational gift to help elevate you back to where you belong,
A place of truth and authenticity.
A large part of how we gather internal strength,
And connect on a deeper level to our generational resilience,
Is through our bodies.
Because our bodies carry a lot of our old intergenerational traumas,
It is there that we must also focus our healing,
And create greater pockets of strength.
So let's get into a body-centered practice to help absorb more of your resilience,
And tap into that intergenerational wisdom.
Let's start with a comfortable pose,
Cozy into your seat.
If it feels safe to do so,
Lower your gaze or close your eyes,
And start to draw attention to your breath.
You'll notice that it has a natural flow,
A rhythm.
That rhythm is as old as your eldest ancestor.
Place your hand on your heart,
And see if you can feel the rhythm of your heart,
And how it connects to the pace of your breath.
And let's stay here for a few seconds.
These rhythms tell you that you're alive.
You're a living embodiment of the people that came before you.
And every breath you take is a continuation of their life.
Every beat in your heart is an expression of their wildest dreams.
That you would be here,
Caring for yourself,
And that in doing so,
You would also be honoring them.
As you take your next inhale,
Bring to mind the image of someone in your lineage who wishes the very best for you.
See if you can make out their face.
They're so proud of you.
Take that in.
Now look at their hands.
They're so proud of you.
And now,
Now look at their hands.
They have a gift that they want to give you.
It's the gift of generational wisdom.
Imagine yourself taking this gift and holding it close to your heart.
It is yours,
An ancestral gift to hold you steady whenever you need it.
Thank them for this gift,
And take in a deep breath of gratitude.
Let's pause here.
Notice any sensations in your body.
What emotions are coming up for you?
As you gather this information,
Take note of the fact that this is the way your mind and body respond to you connecting to generational resilience.
This is how you feel when you're emboldened by your truth and purpose.
Take in one more final breath to seal your practice.
With your hand on your heart,
Give yourself a gentle tap and say to yourself,
Thank you for taking in this moment to grow and heal.
I hope you're proud.
Your ancestors surely are.
I'm Dr.
Marielle Bouquet.
Thank you for joining me here on Insight Timer.
Take care of that beautiful intergenerational soul of yours.
