Meditating with our Ancestors in the Eternal Present

Next Tuesday, 4th November at 7.30pm at Basic Essence, I shall be leading an ‘Earth Healing and Transformation’ meditation on the above topic. With this in mind, I thought it would be a good time to write a little on the subject of our ancestors and the role they can play in our life and evolutionary path. For those of you that can make it, I look forward to seeing you then, for those that cannot, I hope the article will be stimulating nonetheless.

The significance of November 1st

In the northern hemisphere, in ancient cultures, November 1st (May 1st in the southern hemisphere) was seen as an intersection, or gateway between the light part of the year, and the dark winter months. It was, and is, thought to be a time when the ‘veil’ or gap between the outer human world and the inner spiritual world was particularly thin. It, therefore, represented a particularly good time for communication and communion with our ancestors, and the spirit of generations past.

How do we relate to our ancestors when seeking to commune with them?

There are two basic paradigms that are helpful to remember when we consider opening communication with our ancestors.
Firstly, when we seek to commune with the spirit of our ancestors, we should do so in the spirit of love and compassion, not fear. If you think of your intentions toward your children, or to members of the younger generation that you feel close to, your natural intention is one of love, goodwill and benevolence. In a similar way, our ancestors will, in general, be naturally positively disposed toward us, and want us to be successful. Thus when we connect with them we should approach the communication with confidence in the natural positive bond that we enjoy with them, not in fear and trepidation.
Secondly, we should be clear that we are not worshiping them in any way as gods, deities or enlightened beings. We are connecting to them in the same manner as we would with loved ones who are still living. Friends and family may have wisdom and support to offer us, but we would be foolish to regard them as infallible. Instead we take their opinion and perspective on situations, and weigh it up in the light of our own wisdom. It should be the same with the spirit of those departed: wise discernment is needed at all times.

In what way can we communicate with those who are long departed?

This question is an important one to contemplate. Authentic communication with ancestors is very different indeed from ‘spiritualism’ where the so-called ‘ghost of Auntie Meg’ is called up for words of comfort (and to find out where that pesky long- lost will is hidden!).
When we seek to communicate with our ancestors in an authentic way, we should seek to do so within the ‘eternal present’. The eternal present sees time not as a linear concept where the past extends backward in a line from the present moment and the future extends forward. Rather it sees time as being more like a web where all the past, present and future of both ourselves and our ancestors (past and future) are unfolding simultaneously in an interconnected web. Thus, when we connect with our ancestors, we are connecting to them as they are within their own living time, place and present moment.
This can be a challenging concept for those who are only used to seeing time as a linear concept, but viewed from the level of consciousness of the soul, all time is simultaneously unfolding within the eternal present. The past can be influenced and affected by our actions now, in the same way that the actions of our future ancestors can have an effect on our present experience and life.

With this is mind, what I am going to do is describe below two ‘magical images’ that can enable us to connect to the living spirit of our ancestors. A magical image differs from a simple visualized object in that it has the power to act as an interface or gateway between two worlds or dimensional levels of consciousness:

1. The Ancestral Web
After settling your mind in meditation, visualize before you an ‘ancestral web’ made up of lines of light, with nodes/points of light at the intersection between the lines. Each node or point of light is an ancestor, living out their life in the ‘eternal present’ (from a conventional perspective, they may be ancestors from our families’ near or deep past, or from the future). Identify one of these nodes of light as being your place within the ancestral web. Place around yourself a bubble of golden white light, and in your mind’s eye enter into that node of light within the ancestral web. Now within the web open yourself to communion with the spirit of your ancestors in the spirit of love and wisdom. Feel the flow of light between you and your ancestors moving through the lines of light within your ancestral web. Any negative or unbalanced energy from your ancestors is denied entrance to your energy field by the bubble of light surrounding you. Any positive energy communication from the living spirit of your ancestors flows into your being and consciousness.
Sit quietly for a while within your ancestral web and observe the impressions that may come to you intuitively.

2. The Shrine of the Ancestors.
If you like you can do this meditation in front of a shelf or wall where you have pictures of your family and loved ones, past and present.
Visualize yourself in the basement of a house, or in a cave, with the level at which you are sitting being below ground. See in front of you an alcove within the cave or basement wall. Within the alcove there is a ledge made of stone that has upon it pictures of your ancestors and candles lit to illuminate them. Some of the faces are familiar to you, others are unfamiliar, seeming to come from the very distant past, a different age. Take some time to look at these pictures, and, as you do so, feel yourself connecting to the spirit of your ancestors. Consciously state your intent to commune with your ancestors in the spirit of love, light and wisdom.
At the back of the ledge there is a large, flat piece of polished stone, within which you can see your face dimly reflected. As you stare at the reflective surface, your own image fades and you find yourself looking at what appears to be a series of shifting images that are flowing across and within the surface of the stone. Allow yourself to move into a reflective state, and see what your ancestors may wish to communicate to you through these images.