Many of us are aware that we develop our belief paradigm in childhood and throughout life by learning from our parents, teachers, peers, culture, and through our experiences. If we take into consideration where our parents learned their beliefs, and where their parents learned their beliefs, and so on down the line, it becomes clear how ancestral patterning can affect us in a very physical way.

Many of these ancestral beliefs or patterns develop through trauma, which can either be collective trauma such as The Great Depression, or personal trauma such as the loss of a mother during childbirth. These traumas result in beliefs and patterning in an individual, and that individual acts through those beliefs and often teaches them to those they are connected to – consciously or unconsciously. We can often follow this type of pattern through a lineage in a very physical way if we have the genealogical data, however most of us can only trace our ancestors and their experiences back so far.

Limiting patterns with roots in ancestral trauma are often difficult to explain or understand in the context of a person’s own life, as they do not originate from any direct experience that a person has had. This makes it very difficult to heal these patterns with methods that do not address ancestral or intergenerational effects on a person in some capacity. As different facets of ancestral patterning are worked with and shifted, individuals often experience greater clarity of purpose and sense of identity, breaking toxic or addictive patterns, improved mental health and a more positive outlook on life, and a deep sense of connection and empowerment.

Shifting Generational Patterns Through Ancestral Healing

Ancestral healing work can have a profound impact on toxic or dysfunctional family dynamics as well. Doing the work to actually uncover and look at these patterns and heal the root causes of those patterns within oneself, is critical work when it comes to stopping toxic patterns from persisting in future generations. When we become conscious of limiting patterns and shift these patterns in our own lives, we then become capable of passing those healed patterns on to our future generations. This “viral” effect of ancestral healing through a lineage also shows us that we do not need to be physically connected to our relatives in order to receive healing for our familial traumas and patterns. We only need to do the work within ourselves to achieve the healing we desire and to share it with our lineage.

When we choose to do ancestral healing work on ourselves in conjunction with addressing the limiting patterns that ancestral energies can contribute to in our lives, we participate in a grassroots effort of healing the collective as a whole. Although personal healing work might seem inconsequential when it comes to the “bigger picture” of humanity, this personal work has an infinite and profound effect on everyone we are connected to in this life, as well as future generations down the line. Ancestral healing on a personal level is critical for healing collective traumas and the resulting patterning that developed in past generations. We are ultimately only responsible for our own healing, yet personal healing truly can have a significant impact on humanity. Breaking toxic patterns within ourselves creates a ripple effect both within our own lineage, as well as with all of the connections that we have in this life, and can serve as an antidote to pervasive generational trauma and the resulting effects.

Connecting with healing intergenerational patterns within ourselves is deep and profound work. In my personal experience as life coach, I have yet to find an approach to healing that as as significant of an effect as ancestral healing has on the well-being, prosperity, upliftment, and overall happiness of an individual. To acknowledge, connect with, and heal the influences of our past, we secure a more positive future for ourselves and our future generations.