| There are so many expressions in our culture to | | | | with spiritual guides or helping spirits that can take |
| exemplify the power our ancestors have in our lives, | | | | the form of power or totem animals. My dad loved |
| "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree" or "The | | | | owls when he was here and I inherited part of his |
| Sins of the Father are passed to the children" which | | | | ceramic owl collection. He has appeared to me in the |
| is taken from a biblical passage. | | | | shamanic world several times now in the form of a |
| So what does this mean for us? Can we expect to | | | | lovely, brown owl! |
| make the same mistakes our relatives did? Not | | | | In my healing practice, I will often see a client's |
| necessarily. We can make different choices. We do | | | | relative(s) around them spiritually to offer guidance, |
| carry our ancestors with us in a deep way. Chinese | | | | protection and support to them. |
| medicine speaks of something that is called our | | | | A weak constitution and stresses can make a person |
| ancestral chi (energy). | | | | more likely to be affected by negative congenital |
| My friend and acupuncturist Lisa Gibilie offered this | | | | problems. We can positively affect our energy |
| information: | | | | through diet, self-nurturing, healing treatments and a |
| In the area of the crown chakra is the acupuncture | | | | positive attitude. |
| point known as Bai Hui, "one hundred meetings." This | | | | An example of this is in a healing treatment with a |
| is a point that is physically and mentally uplifting, a | | | | client named Jenny. She was a cigarette smoker and |
| meeting place of the Yang meridians of the body. It | | | | wanted to quit. Jenny had tried many methods, all of |
| is also where we meet with our ancestors, the place | | | | which had been ineffective for her. In our session she |
| the soul exits the body at death, the place we | | | | told me that her grandfather was a smoker and died |
| connect with the Universe. | | | | from lung cancer. His death traumatized her family |
| We have an inherited essence, which is known as our | | | | greatly and they were all quite upset that she had |
| Ancestral chi (Yuan Qi), also called Source or | | | | taken up the habit of smoking. |
| congenital chi. This includes specific physical traits such | | | | As I looked at her energy clairvoyantly, I could see |
| eye and hair color, past life cellular memories, as well | | | | an intrusion in her solar plexus area. I felt strongly |
| as our connection with the Divine. Over work, over | | | | that this was connected to her grandfather and was |
| stress, poor lifestyle choices, environmental toxins, | | | | some type of thoughtform regarding addiction and |
| aging, and unresolved desires and emotions are | | | | smoking. I felt that she had picked this up when she |
| financed by our inherited essence. We cannot alter | | | | was a young girl as she was defenseless to resist it, |
| our Pre-Heaven Qi (pre-natal constitution), but we | | | | also that she wanted to take some of this from her |
| can guard and protect it with right lifestyle and | | | | Grandfather to help him. We worked together to |
| treatment aimed at resolution of those issues that | | | | release it which was quite easy and painless for her. |
| deplete it. | | | | She called me a week later to tell me that she had |
| Our ancestors are accessible to us through our | | | | not smoked a cigarette and had no desire to do so! |
| constitutions, our gifts and even our challenges and | | | | Our ancestors are part of our personal legacy, our |
| issues. These influences can be friend or foe | | | | path and our promise. In shamanic terms, we are all |
| depending on our consciousness, our flexibility and our | | | | part of the "web of life" that connects each one of |
| willingness to work with these aspects. | | | | us to each other and the universe. I have found that |
| The topic of ancestors and their power and influence | | | | overcoming ancestral or genetic limitations in my own |
| is something that is very personal to me. My beloved | | | | life has given me a strong sense of personal power |
| stepfather passed away in 2003 and that was a | | | | and accomplishment. A spiritual teacher once |
| wonderful opportunity for me to be of service to | | | | explained to me that what we clear and heal for |
| him and also to do shamanic "psychopomping" work, | | | | ourselves we also heal for our ancestral lineage |
| which is about helping a dying person safely across to | | | | through our positive intentions to do so. What a |
| the other side. As a shamanic practitioner, I do work | | | | blessing! |