The seeds of this book were planted quite some time ago. They took root and became spectral pages of ancient memory, but this collection was left in some inner attic chest for safekeeping. To enter the attic and open the chest is to pass directly into the source. We must do more than speak the praises of that source, we must swim the depths of its current. When we emerge, only then are we worthy to read from the wisdom of the Ancestral tome that we and those who came before us have been writing all along.
Several years back, during a casual conversation with friend and fellow author Thorn Coyle, an idea arose. She suggested that I write a book on the Ancestors. As I recall we were talking about things related to that theme. Over the following years we met at various author events from time to time. Each time she brought up again the subject of writing this book. My feeling was that while I could write a nice article on the Ancestors, I did not have a book's worth in me. That is never a comfortable thought for an author, but the lessons of truth are not there for our convenience.
Thorn insisted that she could “see” this project, this book, and that I really needed to write it. It felt to me that she may have perceived a “meant to be” type of thing. I explained to her that because of our previous talks, I had gone to my Ancestors and asked about writing this book. I added that nothing came back to me from them. She suggested that I go and ask them questions, ask for a vision of the book. So I asked again, but nothing came to me.
In February of 2014, if memory serves me correctly, Thorn and I had a last discussion about the book idea. During the conversation she added that the book should be about “The” Ancestors, all of ours, not any singular bloodline. This made sense of course, and I told her that I was seriously thinking about taking on the project. Over the next few months I fell back into feeling that this book just wasn't in me, and that the Ancestors were not encouraging me to write the book.
I struggled with the idea off and on over the next couple of months. Then in the late spring of 2014 something happened to change everything. My wife and I were having breakfast at IHOP, and the topic of the book came up again. After some discussion I told her that I was not going to write the book. I repeated that the Ancestors were not sending me any message, any encouragement.
We left the restaurant, and while we were sitting in the car getting ready to drive off, a white semi-trailer truck pulled into the parking lot. It drove slowly across my view out of the front windshield. Across the huge trailer was written one word that took up the entire side of the panel; one word and one word only—it was “Ancestral.” Nowhere on the trailer was there any logo, company name, or phone number. There was only the single word itself. I guess sometimes I have to be almost run over by a truck for something to get my attention.
My wife and I looked over at each other, paused in semi-disbelief (no pun intended), and then laughed out loud. She looked me in the eyes and said with a grin, “So?” I replied: “Looks like I am writing the book!” When I arrived home, I went on to the Internet to try and locate the company, the truck, or whatever I could find. Nothing came up at all except for an unrelated business over in England. The experience with the truck remains a mystery, which I suppose is as it should be.
Once I was committed to writing this book I sat down to formulate an outline so that I could propose the work to my publisher. I do not believe that I have ever had a book be exactly what I proposed and outlined, but this one turned out to be a very unique process and experience. It began as usual with me pulling some books from my library to see what others had already written on the subject. I made some notes and then turned to plan out the chapter themes.
When I write a book, I bring what I know to the project and try to add a more expanded view beyond what I have settled into as a practitioner. So I tried to write this book from what I believed I already knew about the subject and what would evolve during the writing process. This approach faltered no matter how much I pressed forward. I thought I was simply having “writer's block,” so I decided to go outside for awhile and clear my head. Instead I found myself walking around in my study. I stopped in front of a bookcase and saw an old book with a piece of colored paper inserted as a book marker.
I opened the book and looked at the paper marker. It was a handwritten address that my godmother once gave me after she moved out of state. She died many years ago, and I guess I kept this piece of paper out of sentimentality. The book was one I had not looked at for well over a decade; it was on the Hawaiian Huna system. Out of curiosity I looked to see what page was marked. It was a chapter on how the conscious mind can block spiritual communication. I sat down and read the chapter; it changed everything.
The event of finding this book ushered in a series of other events. I had to stop writing the book and let the book be written. My nightly dreams included friends, family, and loved ones who had passed away. This apparently spilled over, and my wife began to dream about various deceased people in her family line on an almost nightly basis as well. The fount was flowing in abundance.
Whenever I tried to think into a chapter, the words withered away. This was something alien to me as a writer, and it was very frustrating. During the writing of this book I found myself pushed to abandon many of my previous ideas, thoughts, and beliefs on the subject of Ancestors. It was as though the Ancestors were saying that this book is about something else than what I already think I know. So I set up a mini-Ancestral shrine on my computer desk and turned the project over to the Ancestors. Every time I tried to write from my personal gnosis I became blocked. This led to what I feel was me being directed to another source outside of myself. These sources were books in my study, something said in a movie or TV show, a bumper sticker, a side comment in an unrelated conversation, and so on. It became clearer all the time that this was not my book to write.
One day I chanced upon an article written on the subject of old Scandinavian beliefs. One section addressed the idea of Three “Selves” attached to the body or spirit of a person. Although the idea of a Higher, Middle, and Lower Self is not a new concept these days, I was still intrigued. This region of the world was among the last to fall to Christianization, and in this I saw an opportunity to explore remnants that were not entirely lost to distant centuries. As I read this section, I realized that the basic ideas were almost identical to the Huna beliefs I knew from earlier studies. The destruction of old Hawaiian beliefs by Christian missionaries and the suppression of Hawaiian religion and spirituality came relatively late; it can be marked to around 1812. Like old Scandinavian beliefs, the Hawaiian old ways are not so deeply buried beneath Christian culture. We can excavate them and find less fragmented remains than in many other cultures displaced by Christianity.
The reason that any of this is important is because ancient systems reflect the beliefs of a people who lived closer to Nature. In this we see perceptions of a people less modified by advancing human culture/civilization. Instead we are looking at perceptions of the primal, or at what was birthed directly from the ancient world into the minds of our Ancestors. Political influences, strict dogma, and finite doctrine came much later. While there is as much ancient folly as there is ancient wisdom, discernment is not a lost art.
Admittedly I knew very little of Hawaiian Huna beliefs in comparison to decades of my studies in old European ones. I imagined the Huna system to be not unlike Santeria, Macumba, and other such systems. Those cultures and ways had less appeal to me in my studies, practices, and beliefs. So, in the process of writing this book I took some time to read a few more books on the old Huna perspective.
Like many people of my generation I had read books by Max Freedom Long back in the 1960s and 1970s. He wrote several books on the ways of Kahuna in Hawaii, and from his research today we have the organization known as Huna Research Associates. Popularization of the Huna system has altered its rooted ways; in many cases New Age philosophy has transformed it into a non-cultural system of positive thinking. It was for this reason that I wanted to read something written by Hawaiians who preserved the old ways, or who were connecting with them. I was directed to the work of Moke Kupihea.
Kupihea is descended from a lineage of Kahuna practitioners, and although he does not refer to himself as one, at the very least he clearly carries the heart and soul of the Kahuna. I found his writings to be very inspirational in terms of Ancestral themes. I found his way of phrasing words to be very spiritual and moving for me. As a result I have adapted some of them for my own use in communication. You will find a few of them in the pages of this book.
As previously mentioned, the old Scandinavian and Hawaiian views of the Three Selves are very close and easily match up. They present an Old World view, and an Enchanted World view, of our inner landscape as spiritual beings. I personally prefer them over modern New Age views because they go deep into our psyche in a very powerful and primal way. What I experienced through exploring these old concepts changed several of my previously held views, and shaped new models that are actually quite old ones.
In the book I spend a lot of time presenting and exploring the teachings about the Three Selves. I will quickly add that these are not the popular New Age concepts of the Higher, Middle, and Lower Selves. What I present here is an older model, an earthly rooted concept. These rooted ways help us to understand ourselves as non-material beings and how to better function in a material reality. This might not be the material that one expects from a book on the Ancestors, but because our Ancestors are an important part of our inner selves and our spiritual journey, the material is indeed very relevant.
Two chapters in the book deal with reincarnation, death, and the process of the return of the soul. In those chapters you will discover teachings about the role of the Ancestors in those processes; you will also see the relationship between the soul on one plane of existence and the Ancestor on another. Related to this is the teaching on why souls are drawn to specific bloodlines. One of the goals of this book is to stir new thought while at the same time building upon rooted ideas that are strong and enriching. To that end the sections on reincarnation draw together concepts that are integrated into an alternative to commonly held views on the topic. The book presents a “start to finish” look at the process and purpose of reincarnation (and the role that the Ancestors play in it).
Writing this book brought me many teachers in order for it to come together in the way it needed to take form. Some of them I feel were my own Ancestors and the newly dead who surround me—old friends and my mother. However, there was also one who I cannot truly define or assign to my life and personal lineage. I call this entity “The” Ancestral Spirit. It brought out a non-cultural understanding underlying the views of individual cultural expressions.
The basic idea of the Ancestors is that they stay in contact with their living descendants. They are, through a process we will later explore, attached to family lines and to individuals within bloodlines. However, people who describe past life memories often depict themselves as having lived in different cultures. For example, a person might recall once being an ancient Egyptian, a Celtic warrior, an African witch doctor, and a Spanish pirate. If reincarnation allows one to jump around like that, how do the Ancestors stay connected through time to a specific lineage if the traveler does not? In writing this book these were the types of questions and thoughts I experienced in the process. They guided me through a spiritual maze that was well worth the effort.
Perhaps the most profound experience in writing this book is that I became a student to it. I passed from being in my collective knowledge to participating with the spirits who previously directed me to that storehouse of knowledge. I realized the difference between writing from my own sense of “personal correctness” and writing from the reason I spent all these years gathering in the grain, so to speak. In the final analysis I feel that why we do things is of equal if not more importance than how we do it. It may not be the best working model for daily life, but I feel it is an excellent one for inner spirituality.
In addition to being a book on the Ancestors it is also one on associated spirituality. In this light the book is about the journey of the soul and its connection to Ancestral lines. I hope it will be a catalyst to books being written by other authors willing to take it to the next level down the road. There are so many different views of the Ancestors, perhaps as many views as there are individual people. This should not separate us; instead it should bring our visions together for a broader understanding.
In the pages of this book you will find things that are controversial and challenging as well as empowering and foundational. There are mystical elements that the average reader may find difficult to embrace. Once example is the teaching about a particular form used by an Ancestor that attaches itself to a person in a specific lifetime. This is reminiscent of what we find in shamanic tales of transformation into animal forms—the shapeshifter. Another challenging element is the association of serpents with the Ancestors. Western culture typically views the serpent with negativity and uses its form to denote danger or treachery. However in this book the Ancestral view of the serpent is redeemed, pointing to such things as the twin serpents on the caduceus, which is a symbol of health and enlightenment.
The concept of redemption itself, or of healing, is a recurring theme in the book. This is rooted in the teaching that some of our Ancestors need to be released from the energy of misdeeds performed in a lifetime. This is not only connected to a grievous wrongdoing by an Ancestor but also of serious wrongs perpetrated against her or him. The energy of such deeds can remain with us after death and bind us from being able to move on.
A theme that is growing in popularity—The Living River of Blood—is explored in several chapters. I present it as a current of energy that flows from each generation through time. Many people regard it as a stream of consciousness emanating from the Ancestral pool. The general idea is that the Ancestors can be contacted, or connected with, through the River of Blood. If the theme strikes a chord with you, and you want additional information, then I recommend the works of R.J. Stewart and Orion Foxwood for a deeper exploration of the topic.
The core theme of my book is that the Ancestors are conscious beings. They constitute the human line that is of the earth and connected to it. The teachings I present separate souls from human beings, and further separate the physical body from the consciousness of the person inhabiting it. For the purposes of the book Human Consciousness is referred to as the personality or persona.
The typical dictionary defines person as the composition of characteristics that make up an individual personality. The word personality is further defined: a person as the embodiment of distinctive traits of mind and behavior. Both words are ultimately derived from the Latin word persona, which means a mask or a role. This strongly reflects the idea that our human self is actually covering something else that we truly are behind it (just as a face mask hides our identity). In the context of the book, the soul is wearing the personality much like a person attending a costume party. Staying in role is part of the experience, but at some point the mask must be discarded.
The soul is often defined as that which animates the personality and is the immortal being within the body. This suggests that the persona or personality is indeed a separate entity from that of the soul and the body. We can liken this to understanding the difference between the brain and the mind. The brain masks the mind through appearing to be the lead character. However, the mind directs the brain; the brain provides the mechanism through which consciousness is fixed to a physical form. It is like a microphone for the voice; without it the voice is diminished by space, but the voice still exists even when the microphone malfunctions or is turned off.
In this book I treat the body as a separate and sentient being. This is actually a very old belief among primitive tribal people, which again speaks to me of important primal roots. I do not dismiss evolved ideas or philosophical ones; I find them useful for exploring and examining the higher elements of our being as spiritual entities. I just think that primal ideas are more effective at revealing matters of material existence. They are closer to the flesh if you will. So in this light the flesh body is called the Elemental Body. It is formed from the processes within the Elemental Plane of Existence. As described in this book, that process is overseen by the Ancestors. Here we are dealing with the “as above, so below” teaching as it relates to DNA. This is a teaching stating that every material object or principle has a non-material counterpart operating on a higher plane. So the point here is that there is spirit-like DNA and material DNA. One is directed by the Ancestors, which generates what will become a formation of energy. The other one becomes a formation that will generate a Material Body. The latter is ultimately directed by the descendants who procreate.
One difficult concept that emerged while writing this book is that of the origins of Human Consciousness (or more accurately the origins of humans as beings). What was passed to me is the idea that this goes back to the tales of star beings who came down to Earth and created humans. Almost all primitive cultures have myths of this kind. Whereas the soul can be ascribed to creation by that which created all things, what about the creation of humankind that followed? In working with this idea I came to see humans as the Clay race and souls as the Star race.
Gerald Massey, a 19th-century writer on Egyptian mythology, points to the creation of humans as originating from the Elements. He talks about the Seven Elements of ancient Egyptian thought, listing them as Darkness, Light, Breath (Air), Water, Earth, Fire, and Blood. Massey goes on to say that humans were made from the last Element, that of blood. He adds that the blood was that of a virgin maiden, but he does not provide any identifying details. We can assume that because humans did not exist at the time of this creative blood that it must be non-human.
Proponents of the theory that space aliens visited the earth in the past, and either created or genetically altered humans, may find the following to be of interest. Scientists have discovered new stem cells, dubbed endometrial regenerative cells, in the menstrual blood of women. They are unique in that they reproduce faster than other stem cells in the body, and have a better adaptability to become anything in the body. With these stem cells there is a reduced chance of rejection by a flesh body when the cells develop into something specific. In this light, alien intervention enthusiasts might be excited to think of the possibility that such cells were used to generate humans from alien blood through genetic engineering. This is not my position, but it is an interesting thought to play with while sitting in a waiting room.
Using the old myths of Egypt, Massey depicts the creative period of Earth as producing life-forms that were “bound up” together; they were the same animistic nature power. He states that at one point humankind reached a distinction between other life-forms on Earth. Massey adds that this separated humans forever from the mysterious relationship and bond of unity; they could no longer return to the “soul” of the animal, fish, bird, and reptile.
Among the ideas put forth by Massey, he introduces the tales of a Star race known as the Watchers. He draws upon the ancient Book of Enoch in which we find these beings assigned to seven primary powers (suggestive of a link to the Seven Elemental Forces in the mythos provided by Massey). One feature of the Watcher tale is their association with the biblical lore in which the “sons of god” mate with human women and produce offspring. To borrow a line from Alice in Wonderland, things get “curiouser and curiouser.”
Earlier I mentioned my personal vision about the Clay race and the Star race (in thinking of us as being comprised of the consciousness of both). When the two are joined together, they share one consciousness, which is strongly suggested by the fact that we talk to ourselves, that we have internal dialogue. If there is only “one of us” inside, then there is no reason or need for internal disagreements or debates! However, our Human Consciousness is often in internal conflict. Psychology looks at the human mind as being comprised of the conscious and subconscious factions. This treats humans as though they are schizophrenic-like beings. Might it be instead that humans are beings that host a higher consciousness that is not human? In some systems of belief such as the Huna, communication within us is assigned to three separate beings that interact: body, mind, and soul.
In many schools of thought the body and Human Consciousness dissolve after death, but the soul continues to exist. However, if Human Consciousness is obliterated, then does this not negate a direct connection to the Ancestors? If souls reincarnate, and live many lives in different genetic bodies, how do the Ancestors continue in a stream of consciousness to their descendants? Who is at home in the body to receive them—a familiar soul or a stranger?
Such questions lead me back to thinking of humans as a separate race, beings that are separate from the body and the indwelling soul. This train of thought became somewhat science fiction-like in the consideration that one of us (body, mind, or soul) might be an alien! As mentioned earlier, some very old cultures seem to be telling us that humans were created by gods who came to Earth (not THE god, but the gods). If we accept that souls were created before humans, then in effect there are two different races.
In the old Huna belief there is a suggestion that humans, as a people or race, belong to a pool of consciousness. In essence, after death, Human Consciousness returns to this pool and is drawn out again to embody a descendant. This is not an official Kahuna teaching per se; it is an elaboration passed to me as I read the old Hawaiian myths that Moke Kupihea wrote about in his books. He would likely disagree with my interpretation, or perhaps he might grin with a secret inner knowing. I like to think it would be the latter.
During the course of working with the Ancestral Spirit on this book, a variety of ideas about an Ancestral Realm arose. However, they varied in significant ways from most found in popular myths and legends. In other words they did not mesh well with pre-fashioned concepts about feasting halls, Ancestral banquets, Elysian Fields, the Summer Land, the Underworld, merrily dancing around the throne of “God” in adoration, or sitting in an honored place aside the gods in a cloud city. What I envisioned is a dimension, a place or zone connecting the past and present together. I see it as one of the in-between places that our Ancestors believed were magical or mystical realms.
This Ancestral Realm can be thought of as containing the collective spirit of all departed humans. Think of this as the past, holding the memory of its time along with the life energy of the people of a particular land (or even culture). We can liken this to a containment field. Human Consciousness, when without a body, resides in this field. The Ancestors direct individuals out from the field into a new human body. An Ancestor accompanies an individual, or several, coming and going between the world of the Living and the Ancestral Realm as need be.
In contrast to Human Consciousness the soul is depicted as entirely celestial in nature. It does not originate from the earth. From a mystical perspective the soul is said to originate amidst the stars. Throughout the book this metaphor is maintained in connection with the soul. However, in connection with reincarnation, other realms such as the Lunar Sphere are linked to the soul. This is primarily by way of addressing the soul as transcending into non-material realms as it evolves from lifetime experiences in the Wheel of Rebirth.
All of the tenets in this book coalesce in the chapter on connective rituals. None of the rites are taken from preexisting outside sources. However, in terms of the Ancestral shrine, because of the commonality of cultural practices associated with a shrine, similarities were unavoidable. The section on the Ancestral Altar contains the core idea depicted in previous books I have written, but the rite is different enough to spare the reader from another rehash of the same material. I have included other rites for the blessing of an infant/child and a funeral rite.
The chapter on connective rites also contains rituals that work with more esoteric themes and natures. One ritual is designed to heal Ancestral wounds, and another is crafted to summon an Ancestor into shared consciousness (of a temporary nature). I have also included a rite to quell discords we have with other souls in this lifetime—in other words, with people we have wronged or who wronged us. The ritual helps dissolve the disharmony and to release fault.
Although this work is titled a book on the Ancestors, it is in addition a journey taken with them. We are not alone in this lifetime; we are accompanied. There are voices whispering to us from within our blood. These are the Ancestors who have lived lives before us and want to share the benefits of their experiences. You and I have been called back into physical life for a purpose. Yes, your life has a purpose and a reason for being in this time and place. Listen to those who discovered this in their own lifetimes and now see things from the other side of life with greater understanding.