We live much of our lives assuming that we are individual agents living a collective life. In healing spaces, we presuppose that our grievances are just our own, the sediments of our years on earth. As a species, we have been so cut off from our incredible capacity for imagination1, that we often forget the intricate nature of the fabric of life. If perceived wholly, we would realise that much of what we carry as individuals, are things that we inherited from our ancestors. We carry their collective joys, and their disturbing pain, in our hearts, our minds and most of all, in our bodies. 

Epigenetic studies of famine, conducted on mice, show causal evidence of the hereditary nature of trauma and its imprints on our bodies2. The transmission of these energetic fields of pain, though glaringly obvious, are not consciously accessible to most humans beings. Perhaps we have pruned our imagination, deliberately and ruthlessly, so that we can be safe. Safe in the unexamined, the unfelt, and the unseen. 

Yet, our bodies carry these legacy burdens. Alongside countless others who hold space for ancestral healing, I see these burdens reflected in my clients’ lives over and over again. In addition to being imprinted in our DNA and our disease profile, the burdens might also lurk behind subtler expressions - the contractions and tightness in our muscles, the stiffness of our calves, the high pressure felt in our arteries, the irritability of our intestines, or the fragility of our tendons. Just as one would intentionally cultivate a scientific mind, it is vital to nurture a healthy relationship with our imagination as well, to allow the experiential nature of knowledge to seep through.

As we navigate this era of frequent political strife and intense polarisations, it is increasingly clear how burdens of different ancestral lines can clash so violently that even astute observers are left with no remarkable solutions to heal humanity. When everyone is hurting, there can be no sustained peace. 

You may see this as a call to open yourself up to the mysterious realm of ancestral pain. The path is deeply painful, yet soulfully rewarding.

References:

1Robert Sapolsky, The uniqueness of humans: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ueJ69qtrKM

2Heijmans BT, Tobi EW, Stein AD, Putter H, Blauw GJ, Susser ES, Slagboom PE, Lumey LH. Persistent epigenetic differences associated with prenatal exposure to famine in humans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Nov 4;105(44):17046-9. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0806560105