Today's post is an extract from my unpublished book Light and Shadow at the Edge of Mind. I wrote this autobiography about four years ago, but when I tried to find a publisher I came to realise that autobiographies were really only marketable if you are famous, or having an intimate relationship with someone famous. Scarlett Johansson, if you are reading this I am willing to negotiate...
I believe that many indigenous peoples are correct in stating that the psyches of ancestors continue to influence the minds of people in the present. This occurs when an individual ancestor’s spirit continues to deliberately or unconsciously manipulate the psyche of individuals alive now. This may be malevolent in nature, but may also come in the form of guidance – which is essentially helpful. I have had powerful dreams where what I believe to be my on ancestors visited me.
About three years ago I found myself speaking to a woman in a dream-state interaction. The woman looked a little like my maternal grandmother,(deceased) ,but her ‘energy’ was much different – so I suspect it was not the actual spirit of my grandmother. We came together for a few moments. I asked her why I had such a natural inquisitive intelligence when nobody else in my family appeared to have this trait. She told me that she had been a linguist, and had written a book. There was the sense that there were writers and thinkers from her side of the family, going back a few generations. The most unusual thing about this dream was that the woman was not speaking English. I knew that she was not speaking English, but I could understand her nonetheless. She told me that she was speaking a Russian dialect. As I have mentioned, human beings are quite capable of telepathic communication in non-ordinary states of consciousness. This may transcend the need for a common language.
After this dream I became quite interested in my family’s past. That woman seemed to me to be Jewish. She did not say that she was Jewish. It was just a very strong sense. But my own family was not Jewish, as far as I knew, and nobody had ever mentioned Jews in my family. So the next time I met my mother ( a few months later) I asked her if we had any Russian ancestors. She did not know of any Russians, but she told me that on her mother’s side there were Polish people who were Jews. Poland borders directly with Russia – indeed their history is interwoven along with their borders. Polish and Belarusan are spoken in both countries. I have to say that I was not in the least bit surprised. I have come to trust certain ‘knowing’ that exists at a non-intellectual level. This kind of knowing is strongly associated with affectivity – feelings. Our education systems have effectively deleted these ways of knowing from existence. This is one of the great tragedies of the modern era.
However my mother knew nothing of any linguists. To this day I have no idea who that woman was, if indeed she was an ancestor.
I would put money on it that she was....or even a portion of your own soul, come to encourage you on your path.
ReplyDeleteOne or two generations can easily become removed from knowledge of important ancestors. If just one parent or grandparent drops the ball with recording or at least passing on family heritage...it's gone forever.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! This reminds me also of the theory of "race memories" that all humans share. Michael Tsarion speaks interestingly on this.
From a sci-fi point of view, remember Frank Herbert's "Dune" series? The fascinating Bene Gesserit breeding program was based on the female race memories. A Reverend Mother had within her all the memories of all the women back to a common origin -after entering an altered state (drinking concentrated "spice" known as the "water of life").
I remember from the movie "The Joy Luck Club" the comment that women "were like stairs" basically meaning that women were often repeating the same mistakes from generation to generation.
In Nashville, I happened on a psychic who told me that a spirit of a strong Cherokee woman seemed to be protecting me. I already knew that my paternal great-grandmother was a full-blooded Cherokee Native American and assumed it was her.
Interestingly, A Discovery Channel show talked about how western U.S. Cherokee Native Americans were related to Jews who had traveled from the Middle East via the Pacific and settled in Native tribal areas. Fascinating to me because my mother was always jokingly referred to as being "Jewish"! But of course there is no known Jewish relative in several generations.
More interestingly, though I'm mixed race with Scottish, Cherokee and African heritage, when I walk into a "Chinese" restaurant in any place I've visited, I'm always asked if I'm Asian. Remarkable! There are no known Asian relatives in my family.
I think various races can recognize parts of themselves in other mixed race people. One professor I had remarked that mixed race people seem to be an amalgam of the best of all races. This gives me hope for future generations as the world becomes more intermingled.
Sorry to make such a long comment but your post was so interesting!
Thanks! KE
Natalie, you may be right. I also have interactions in dreams with some living relatives whom I haven't seen for years. But it is often (but not always) their oversoul I am interacting with, and doesn't seem to correlate too strongly with their ego/personality.
ReplyDeleteKE, interesting perspectives. I think native Americans traveled across the land bridge from Eastern Russia, no? E Russia is heavily Asian. Consciousness and energy patterns can indeed be passed down from generation to generation. In fact, it is inevitable. One of my ancestors from 7 generations ago contracted a sexual disease, and the "shame" of that was passed down through many generations of the family.
Re:
ReplyDelete"...but she told me that on her mother’s side there were Polish people who were Jews."
Marcus,
Being genetically Jewish myself (Ashkenazi)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashkenazi_Jews
one of my little hobbies is to look for little genetic traits in peoples physical features,and guess whether there are Jewish genes in that persons make-up,or not.When I saw your photo,I could see you had Jewish genes,just by looking at your features.
For instance,take a look at this picture of George Gershwin and your own photo.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:George_Gershwin_1937.jpg
I would bet good money that you have Jewish genes,but if you really want to make sure,take a DNA test.
I would be very surprised if you didn't have a significant batch of Jewish genes in your body.
Well, I had suspected it nto be honest. Photos on my mother when she was young are a dead ringer for Anne Frank.
ReplyDelete