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Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Ancestors


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.



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7 comments:

  1. 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.
    Although 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!

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    Replies
    1. Sarah,
      That's lovely. I believe that connection is more powerful than we realize. Happy Thanksgiving to you!!

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  2. Excellent. I spend so much time researching the past and visiting cemeteries that I can relate to your thoughts. Thank you. Doris

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    Replies
    1. Doris,
      I do believe your connection runs quite deep, beyond just your desire to write a story. It's almost as if you're a channel. :-)

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  3. Kristy,

    It is important to maintain the ancestral connections and stories. They are so easily lost from the neglect of time.

    Happy Thanksgiving!!!

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  4. Our connections with our antecedents are so mysterious--a veritable mine for writers!

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