Guardian Words of the Week: Beloved Ancestors

This week’s Guardian Words come with a personal story.

When I was writing my book, The Guardian Gateway, I found myself guided to sign up with an ancestry website. I’d never researched my genealogy before (even though I felt connected to my ancestors, and I’d even created an ancestors telesummit) but now I found myself going back to the site over and over to learn more about my ancestors.

Sometimes I would say to myself, “Kim! You should be writing right now!” but instead I was drawn again and again to the family tree I was discovering. I realize now that my ancestors were supporting me through the book writing process, and this was my way of connecting with them.

I was especially drawn to one part of my family, my paternal grandmother’s line. My grandma’s father died before I was born, but I remember her mother. She was a sweet, gentle lady who came to every one of my birthday parties when I was a little girl. We called her Grandma Macdonald.

This is a picture of me with my grandma and great-grandma on my 6th birthday:

My great grandpa’s own grandparents came here to the San Francisco Bay Area from Montreal, Canada, and his dad came from Manitoba. I can’t explain why exactly, but I love these people so much! I feel such a heart connection with them.

Fast forward to the present. Lately I’ve been navigating the emotions involved with my parents moving to a care home. My friend Glennie has been a great source of support (as always) and one day she told me about a magnificent cemetery in Oakland she’d discovered. She suggested we go there together after my birthday lunch.

At first I thought, “Ugh, a cemetery for my birthday!” but when I looked the place up online the name rang a bell. I had seen this cemetery listed as the resting place for my great-grandparents, my great-great grandma, and my great-great-great grandma (the one from Montreal).

So away we went, with Glennie driving through the beautiful grounds and me hanging out the window and trying to navigate from the map I’d found online. (The cemetery office wasn’t much help, but I’d been able to find out the general area of my great-grandparents resting place.)

Glennie wasn’t wrong about this place being magnificent. It was designed in 1863 by the same man who designed both Central Park in NYC and the US Capitol grounds in Washington, DC, and it was special.

We didn’t have time to search properly that day, but after we left, I couldn’t get the place out of my mind. It was calling to me!

So yesterday I set out on my own to search for my great-grandparents. I drove through the beautiful grounds to a quiet section at the very back of the property, parked my car, and started searching, headstone-by-headstone.

It wasn’t easy going at first since the sneakers I’d meant to bring were still sitting on the hallway table (typical!) and I was in heels. Still I persevered. But it was hot and I was getting sweaty and a bit afraid of tripping.

Then I noticed the old Oak tree standing several feet from me. (I know! I should have started by noticing it!) I walked over and patted the trunk of the tree, thanking it for its presence, and asking for its help finding my ancestors. I gave it my love and blessing, and resumed my search.

Suddenly a clear thought entered my head: Look up a few rows and to the right.

I followed these instructions and a few seconds later there they were!

I can’t describe the feeling I got when I first saw their shared headstone. I sat down and placed my palm in the center of it, sending love to them, and through them to every ancestor before them. I know my ancestors have been supporting me through the changes I’ve been experiencing with my parents, and I’m so grateful for the universe conspiring to bring me together with them this way.

Which brings us to our Guardian Words. Whether you know anything about your ancestors or not, you have them, and they can be an enduring and powerful source of support as you journey through life.

Connect to the ancestors who are seeking to support you as you say our words:
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors

Feel their love and support ripple out from your body to touch and uplift everything around you.
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors

Now send your love back in time through your own family tree, feeling it uplifting every one of your ancestors as it unites you all in magical, sacred space.
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors
Beloved Ancestors

If you’d like help in connecting more powerfully to your own Guardian Ancestors, the Guardian Ancestors Telesummit I hosted a while back might be a good resource for you. Just click here if you’d like to get it for 1/2 off, and have a wonderful week, being supported by the love of your own ancestors!