The Post Post-Christian Opportunity
In Thumotic spirituality, we have an opportunity to once again understand the importance of our ancestors. We owe them our lives. We would not be here without them. Their life, their spirit lives on in us. It spirits us and gives us life. We are a continuation of them in body, mind, and spirit.
Unfortunately, we know little about our ancestors beyond our grandparents. We cannot tell their stories or sing their songs. They are lost to us. At best we might be able to discover their names, birth and death dates, and where they lived. Depending on who they were and what they did, we might stories about them in books and other written records.
Under the dominance of Christianity, nationalism, and capitalism we lost a great treasure. We lost our conscious connection with our ancestors, the ones who gave us life and who live on in us. Our lack of knowing them means we know ourselves less.
How to Begin Reconnecting With Our Ancestors
The good news is that we can begin now to reclaim our lost treasure. If we know our parents and grandparents and their siblings, we can harvest their stories, record them in a variety of ways, and tell them to the next generation and the one after that.
We can trace our ancestry and fill out our family tree. As we do, we can research historical writings to see if anything was written about our ancestors.
We can also learn about our ancestry from genetic testing. Genetic testing can show us where our ancestors originated and migrated down through history up to the present day.
In these and other ways we will once again remember, honor, value, and give worth to those who gave us life and whose spirit spirits us.
In knowing and valuing our ancestors, we will better know and affirm our own spirit as well.
I am the genealogist in my family, and have spent much time researching our origins. I was able to track the arrival of both the paternal and maternal sides of my father's family back before the American Revolution. I found fascinating and intriguing stories of emigration and valour. One side came for religious freedom, the other seemingly for the adventure of exploration. One of my distant relations was a Captain in the Revolutionary War, serving under Washington at Valley Forge. Others died in the Johnstown Flood. There were artists, and musicians and murderers. The stories I recovered once I started looking are amazing.
ReplyDeleteWhat's even more amazing are the synchroncities that started happening once I began this research. One of the most spectacular was encountering diaries of a distant cousin that chronicled everyday life. It was there I learned the details of injuries received by my great-grandfather in what was known at the time as The Great Hatfield Train Wreck, and read details of his funeral.
All of the rich detail helped me channel their experiences woven into the fabric of history. I tell those stories to other members of my family and in doing so, better know myself and reaffirm my own spirit. I see where the current generation's musical talent derives.
I can't think of anything better than following the journeys each of them took. Everyone should take this journey, and each will be amazed at what they learn. I applaud you for encouraging this. It is a way to reclaim our selves and our spirits in these often impersonal and disconnected times.
Wow! What you've done is wonderful. It illustrates one way we can reclaim giving worth to our ancestors in our own time, in our own ways.
DeleteMy son and I have done some research too. One thing we learned is that we're direct descendants of Jesse Neville who fought in the decisive Revolutionary War at King's Mountain. We learned that he grew up and lived not far from where we live now. We also found his grave. As a result we joined the Sons of the American Revolution. I was surprised at how proud I felt having an ancestor who fought for our freedom.
I've been meaning to return to this. One of the great additional benefits of this is the connections I've made with very distant relatives. The Revolutionary War ancestor is not in my direct lineage, however, I was able to use my research to help a distant cousin and his sons join the Sons of the American Revolution. He's what's known in genealogical terms as a 1-5X--first cousin, five times removed. I so enjoy making these family connections.
DeleteI also find that those doing family research are among the most generous people I've met, willingly sharing their research and records.
I reiterate that I very much like your bringing this "ancestor worship" to the forefront.