Our Ancestors are all who have walked before us. Typically we think of ancestors as our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and all who share our DNA who have passed. Yet many tribal peoples have a larger view of who our ancestors are. The Lakota people say Mitakuye Oyasin, "All are my relations. Tree, water, sky, earth, animals, brothers, sisters, and those that have taken their spirit walk are our kin." The Q'ero people of the Andes say Kausay Pacha, "All is connected; all is an abundance of living energy. All is life, and all have the essence of love. All are children of the Great Mother and Father – in spirit and physical form." These Ancestors who have walked before us are the ones who have taken a physical body to experience love, sorry, joy, and the pain of being human. They have now moved into the Spirit Realm.
Because they have experienced human incarnation, they share both spiritual and physical DNA. They can have great compassion and empathy for the experiences and lessons you are experiencing now. They also have another perspective now that they are in the spirit world. They can support and give guidance, teachings, healing, forgiveness, and even protection.
Just because they are in the spirit realm doesn't mean they are more evolved than you. Some ancestors are more developed, and some are not. Some ancestors even receive healing because of your path of healing and awakening. They are in observation and respect your journey.
There are different types of ancestors you can call upon. You have familial ancestors born of your physical DNA specific to this incarnation. They can be helpful when working to heal specific ancestral patterns. They often offer much love and protection. You may even experience their gratitude as you can heal patterns born of this lineage.
There are also ancestors specific to land areas, known as Land Ancestors. These territorial or land ancestors are stewards and spiritual guides connected to a particular land or area/territory. Honoring these ancestors is highly beneficial when buying a home or property. Suppose you have a property with problems — such as a lack of property value, arguments in the house, bad water, accidents, and mishaps of any sort. In that case, you may want to get to know the Land Ancestors and Spirits and ask for their help. Working with them can more readily bring the property back to balance.
Spiritual Ancestors are lineages of Spirit beings that your soul repeatedly chooses to work with, such as archangel Michael, Buddha, Christ, Kuan Yin, Mother Mary, White Buffalo Calf Woman, etc. You may have had significant lifetimes in Egypt or as a Buddhist Monk, or in a particular religious sect. You may recognize this early in life though it may not make much sense then. An example of identifying a spiritual lineage may look like this: "I grew up Christian and loved Jesus, but I found myself reading the Tao de Ching and asking about reincarnation by the time I was a teen. Buddhism, Hinduism, and Egyptian mystery teachings powerfully resonated when I got into my 20s. The core teachings of Jesus resonated, but the religion's hell, fire, and damnation did not. Eastern religions and philosophies, metaphysics, and shamanism all rang true without question once they came into my awareness.
There are infinite possibilities, and a particular ancestor may reside in multiple "categories."
Being on planet Earth is a soul's learning opportunity. We choose our parents, siblings, and DNA lineage when we jump into a body. Every part of our soul's choice to incarnate offers opportunities to advance as a soul, whether it be loving or born of fear. Your DNA codes from your earth family carry gifts and challenges. There may be diseases that your parents, grandparents, and others in your DNA pool have again and again experienced, such as heart disease or cancer. As a soul, this does not mean you will get these diseases, yet it may show you a pattern that you will face. You may be the one to break the pattern and heal that which was not healed before you. Or the pattern is part of your learning and growth. Earth family DNA also offers many gifts. Often there are families who are all artists, or doctors, or musicians. These DNA codes may also be part of why you chose that DNA. You may want to carry on a particular focus from another life, or begin a new focus. The DNA supports either. Or you may be the different one who does not carry on with the family pattern, whether it be the gift or the challenge to heal.
Recognizing the patterns of your earth family is one of the first steps to healing in your soul's earth adventure, as well as offering healing to your family lineage. Looking backwards to your parents and their experiences, as well as their parents and beyond can give you greater understanding of what you inherited. The traces of trauma within the body of your mother, your father, your grandparents, etc. are passed on if they are not healed in that person (epigenetic.) These trauma patterns can manifest in different ways. Difficult relationship patterns, abandonment, broken heartedness, ill-health, etc. can all be passed on as patterns that you have to face to heal. Alcoholism, drug abuse, and other types of abuse are often sent through family lines.
We often choose our Earth family stories and DNA that mirror patterns we have been working on in other lifetimes. The learning, growth, and healing we take on in a life through our physical DNA patterns give us opportunity to heal misunderstandings and to bring more love into our lives. Karma is the indebtedness to ourselves to grow through mistakes and misunderstandings that we return to more love within ourselves, and for the world around us.
To heal it requires that you face the patterns and acknowledge them. By the time we realize there is a trauma pattern in our ancestral line we have most likely already begun to heal. Working with intention, energy work, shamanic journey, prayer work, altar work, meditation, etc. is a path inward to one's higher self, as well as ancestral healing. Shamanic journey work and healing can support the spiritual and psychospiritual work required to transform and transmute the pain of the past. Forgiveness is a very important part of the journey.
Having a safe and wise healer and guide can be a very important part of the journey.
Healing with Our Ancestors is a path of soul healing, physical DNA Healing, and one that sends healing backwards and forwards through generations. This path of healing our ancestors can also transfer to others outside our physical DNA, assisting all of humanity in healing.