It is often assumed that our ancestors belong to the past and their absence from the physical dimension is an indicator they are absent from our present lives. This is assumption is specially strong if they have been dead for many years or we never got to know them personally. This assumption is a belief from our part, not a fact of nature.

The energy reality concerning our ancestors is that they are ever present in every aspect our lives. They are present in the genetic code; in our blood; in the physical features of our body; in the emotional structure we have woven in our lives; in the situations that keep recycling and repeating through our family structure. They are present not only in the negative things we have inherited but also in our talents and abilities; the professions we chose and even in the locations we chose to live.

The traumas our ancestors experienced; the wishes they were unable to fulfill; the promises they made and emotional patterns they developed have been inherited by every member of the family structure as cycles seeking resolution in a positive way.

The personal path of inner development doesn’t follow the route of Lao Tze or the Buddha, it follows the road established by our ancestors as they crossed through the world making good and bad choices. The work with the emotions deals with clearing obstacles from our past.

The hexagram 18 in the I Ching, names this stage, “Working on What Has Been Spoiled.” One powerful assumption we need to work at transcending is the one that says that the past cannot be influenced or changed.