Who are we to be born into this time? Humanity is finally starting to connect the dots between past and present and beginning the search for a better future. Everything that has brought us to this point has also prepared us to make this shift and we are not alone.
Within our bodies lies a deep, untapped sense of emotional wisdom, one that has been passed down for generations. It’s rising now in this time, handing us our megaphones and echoing our chants in the streets. It’s making us feel deeply for what lies before us and behind us. It’s that emotion that triggers you without explanation, the nightmares and fears you can’t explain, that voice in your head to do something and be something. It’s the patterns begging to be unraveled. This hidden pull is our ancestors joining us from what was to what is in preparation for what can be.
The Science
Ancestral healing is a highly emotive field. It gets its girth from the science of Epigenetics, which studies inherited genetic changes in an individual based upon the experiences of those in their family line. Epigeneticists have found that after someone experiences a stressful event or emotional trauma, this can leave a chemical coating on the chromosomes of their body and make those that come after them more susceptible to being triggered by such stress.
This “coating becomes a sort of ‘memory’ of the cell and since all cells in our body carry this kind of memory, it becomes a constant physical reminder of past events; our own and those of our parents, grandparents and beyond.” (Nathan P.F. Kellermann)
Evidence of this has been examined by one of the leading Epigeneticists in the field, Dr. Rachel Yehuda. In her interview on the On Being Podcast, Dr. Yehuda recounts her experience studying the children of Holocaust survivors. Some of the people she worked with came to her because they were having nightmares of things they never personally experienced but their parents did. She found that these children were “three times more likely to develop a post-traumatic stress disorder, if they were exposed to a traumatic event, than a demographically similar Jewish person whose parents did not survive the Holocaust.” In other words, they were more vulnerable and triggered by stress because of something they never experienced but their parents did. She had similar findings when it came to children of 9/11 survivors.
The Magic
In my work as an Energy Healer, I have found three main ways that trauma can be passed down through family lines:
- The first is called an age 0 emotion. This is an emotion you are born with and you have probably lived with and felt most of your life. Usually these emotions are absorbed in the womb from one of your parents. Worthless is the emotion I see the most in these cases. A parent who is unsure of his or her worth can in fact pass that feeling onto their unborn child. Why would one emotion be absorbed and not another? Our bodies are smart and know what needs to be done in order to survive. Looking ahead we may try and take these emotions from our parents so they feel more confident when we arrive or to assure them that everything will be ok. Similarly, our parents may be trying to prepare us for the world by giving us their experiences before we have our own. When we release these emotions, we are not giving them back to our parents; we release them from you and your parent as well. Sometimes this changes family dynamics. I have seen family relationships be healed and reborn just from releasing these emotions.
- The second way trauma can be passed down is through what is called a Miasm. This is an inherited distortion of our energetic field that comes from a suppressed disease or illness during one of our ancestor’s lives. This could be Depression, Diabetes, Cancer, Arthritis, Dementia and more. This can cause our energy to be more responsive when it comes to triggers for this disease. Twenty-five-year-olds can suddenly start developing achy joints, memory loss, or fears and nightmares of being diagnosed with a health issue or dying. Releasing these suppressed diseases not only affects you but also those who come after you. Although it is not a guarantee that you will not develop the disease after releasing a Miasm, it does adjust your energetic field so your body can act with more power, vitality, and individuality. You can release the weight of carrying an invisible health burden with you for your whole life and continuing the cycle.
- The last and most powerful way I have seen trauma passed down energetically is through inherited emotions. These are emotions that have been passed down in your family line for generations. I have found things like one person’s despair from four generations back linking up to depression and even multiple suicides within one family line. Self-abuse manifesting in addiction is another form of this. Perhaps the most powerful inherited emotions I’ve found recently have come from people whose ancestors lived through slavery. Things like panic, creative insecurity, grief, hatred, overwhelm and more are being unshackled simply because one person showed up to do the work.
What Gets Passed Down Must Come Up
There are a few magical things about these inherited emotions. First, they only show up in a specific individual. I have done work on multiple family members before and an inherited emotion that should show up in all of the family members will only allow a specific person to release it. This is what I can only deem as destiny. That person has to be the one to break this cycle for their family. It has to be them.
The second most special thing about inherited emotions is that when we release it from one person, we are able to release it all the way up and down the family line. That means you get to not only do work on yourself but on all those who came before you and all your descendants as well. We get to learn about where and who the emotion came from and where it has taken your family. Then we get to release generations of trapped trauma and pain. One person gets to end an entire generational cycle. One person gets to heal and shift an entire family legacy.
It’s important to note that trauma isn’t the only thing that gets passed down, but also things like strength, resilience, kindness, understanding, coping strategies, and thousands more incredible qualities that build up humanity. That means we have hundreds of years of tools at our disposal. Our ancestors are not there just to weigh us down but to lift us up as well.
What About Them?
So what about them? Your ancestors, those who gave us all we have and made us what we are. Are they just martyrs in the sacrifice of progress? No. Here’s why:
Things don’t just pass down; they pass up. One explanation of this is the phenomenon of energy cords.
Energy cords allow us to exchange energy between two people. They’re the reason why someone keeps magically showing up in your life, why you can be on the same page as another human, and how someone knows what you need before you can tell them. The amazing thing about energy and energy cords is that they don’t run by the same laws of time and space. You can have a cord with your loved one thousands of miles away and still get that feeling when you need to call them. Similarly, energy cords don’t have to be created only while the two individuals are alive. You can have, break, and create cords with people who have passed on. These cords are not just one-way communication from one person to another. They’re more like a conversation. They are a two-way highway for energy to run back and forth. That means if your deceased ancestors can give you support, you can support them right back. You can converse with them and you can heal them too.
If trauma can be passed on, healing can too.
The Way You Live Your Life Matters.
Ancestral healing is not just a conversation about the past and present. It also alludes to the future and what our actions today will imprint on those who come after. Every time you sit down with the intention to heal, you are not just working on yourself; you are doing work for all those who came before and all those who come after you. The way you live your life matters, not just to you but to your entire family line.
For years cultures have worshipped ancestors. We hold them to a higher standard and wisdom. Today we are starting to see the mistakes and the humanity that lie within them as well. Ancestral healing lets us transform stories we thought had already ended. It allows us to reflect on past trauma and honor and understand those who went through it and give them a new beginning. But we too are a part of this sacred line of guides and wisdom. We too are our ancestors. Are we taking the time and the intention to worship the ancestor we are and will be?
You are an important piece of your lineage and of history. Just like the heart is a piece of the larger system of the body, you too are a part of a larger system of individuals enacting change upon the world.
So who are we to be born in this time? We are a collision of the past and the future all wrapped up in the present. We are a culmination and a fresh start. What will you pass on and up?
Resources to check out:
On Being with Krista Tippett Podcast. Episode #553 “How Trauma and Resilience Cross Generations” with Rachel Yehuda
Interested in learning more about your family line and Ancestral Healing? Book your One-On-One Energy Healing Session. Together we’ll explore the missing links in your family story and why you are here now.
As an Energy Healer I use muscle testing, breath work, chakra clearing, and more to connect you to the truth your body is telling you. I work with experienced healers and first time explorers looking to release mental, physical, and emotional blocks that are causing pain. Book your energy healing session here to start your healing journey.
