By Kristy McCaffrey
This is the month in the U.S. where we celebrate the
Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family. It got me thinking about our
connection to our ancestors.
Kinship with our ancestors can serve to ground us. In some
cultures, bones of the deceased are revered and even worshiped as vessels of
spirit. Today, we visit cemeteries of our loved ones to pay our respects, but
we often remember our kin with altars—photographs and mementos that remind us
of our connection to the past and to the Earth, remind us of blood that flows
through us today.
In Australia, Aborigines believe that messages are relayed
from ancestors while in the Dream state. In this way, sacred stories, songs,
and rituals are transferred to the earthly plane from the realm of spirit.
Robert Moss, a pioneer in active dreaming, states that our ability to receive
information isn't restricted to our own ancestors but can also come from the
place in which we live. The great ones of indigenous peoples may stay close to
the earth and watch over it, seeking to share insights and wisdom to those 'in
the vicinity.'
The wind that carried
away your grandfather's last breath, gave it to a newborn wolf as its first
breath of life. ~ Michio Hoshino
An ancestral connection can unlock great creative potential.
Learning about where one came from might not only help in understanding family
history, it can also lead to a rich collection of knowledge that can be fed
into creative projects.
It is in the shelter
of each other that the people live. ~ Irish proverb
May we honor those that have passed before us. We’re tied to
them more than we can ever know.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Kristy xoxo
Works Cited
Estés,
Dr. Clarissa Pinkola. Women Who
Run With The Wolves. Ballantine Books, 1992.
Moss, Robert. Dreamgates: Exploring the Worlds of Soul,
Imagination, and Life Beyond Death. New World Library, 2010.
Kristy, this article so resonated with me and my beliefs. In the small town of Catawissa, PA, just 4 miles from my dad's family home in Numidia is a cemetery where the McNeals are buried. I bought a monument for my grandparents and Uncle John who had no headstones to mark their graves. In this monument is an opening with a glass door and in the that opening is where I intend my family to place my ashes along with those of my pets. I wanted to be in that cemetery with my ancestors because, when I visited that place and saw all those relatives, it felt comforting and peaceful.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I did not get to know most of my ancestors in that cemetery, I've heard their stories from my father. I feel close to them in spirit.
I loved the beautiful quotes you posted. What a lovely Thanksgiving post. Thank you!
Sarah,
DeleteThat's lovely. I believe that connection is more powerful than we realize. Happy Thanksgiving to you!!
Excellent. I spend so much time researching the past and visiting cemeteries that I can relate to your thoughts. Thank you. Doris
ReplyDeleteDoris,
DeleteI do believe your connection runs quite deep, beyond just your desire to write a story. It's almost as if you're a channel. :-)
Kristy,
ReplyDeleteIt is important to maintain the ancestral connections and stories. They are so easily lost from the neglect of time.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Happy Thanksgiving, Kaye!!
DeleteOur connections with our antecedents are so mysterious--a veritable mine for writers!
ReplyDelete