How To Connect With Your Ancestral Guides

Try guided meditation

While getting ready for the day with sunscreen, eye drops, and lotion, I usually listen to a guided meditation, channeled message, or personal development podcast.

But last Tuesday, as I turned up the thermostat in the bathroom to make it feel like a sauna, a new meditation revealed itself via YouTube, a Guided Shamanic Journey to the Akashic Field: Connect With Your Spirit Guides.

This is going to be good, I thought, and even though I had to leave to pick up my son in 15 short minutes, I couldn’t resist listening to the rhythmic drums while briefly visiting the quiet, lush forests of the other world to commune with my ancestral spirit guides.

It was a fast descent.

My heart started to drum in rhythm with the shamanic ritual, and as I heard the words, “You are standing in an ancient forest,” I realized that I was going there quickly — maybe too quickly! “Stay in your body, stay in your body,” I repeated silently to myself.

Then, like a whisper of wind on a peaceful summer day, I felt a presence and instantly knew who it was, Elkanah, my great-great-grandfather. “Elkanah, hello, old friend,” I said. A loud “pop” in the kitchen, echoed this sentiment, and wouldn’t you know it, another light bulb blew out of the overhead fixture as I walked under it and out into the evening sun.

This brief shamanic journey had a different enticing energy than I usually encounter, not negative or positive, just different, like a universal wireless internet allowing the mind to rapidly journey to higher planes of existence also known as the akashic field.

What is the Akashic Field?

The akashic field is a theoretical field containing all of the knowledge and experience of the universe. This transcendent space contains detailed records of mystical knowledge encoded in a non-physical plane of existence known as the astral plane. The akashic records are every thought that has ever been and every probability that will ever be. We can learn about our past lives by accessing our records, and this helps us to deepen our spiritual lives and find the answers we seek.

Why connect with our ancestors?

It’s easy to get caught up in the belief of separation due to death. However, it’s important to remember that your ancestors are you; they are part of your DNA. Every experience, memory, and characteristic exists within your genetic makeup. It’s also possible to have a child or other family member who not only exhibits a striking similarity but also similar mannerisms to an ancestor that they have never met.

The connection with ancestors transcends time and space.

That’s why opening up your heart and learning how to communicate with your ancestors can provide deep, transformational healing on all levels. Our ancestors want to guide us, they want to enrich our lives with the enlightenment gleaned from their earthly experiences.

How to connect with your ancestors

The desire to communicate with our ancestors is an innate part of the human experience.

When we think of our ancestors, most think of those who are recently deceased. But ancestral work doesn’t mean just working with your grandfather or great aunt; it also means reaching out to those in the distant past — to the ancients.

There are trillions to connect with, and many are just waiting for you to reach out. Really, they are!

Plus, working with our ancient ancestors in our spiritual practice is not only protective, but is also healing for you and your entire bloodline.

The mode is up to you and your comfort level. I’ve included a few methods below that I have personal experience with, but a connection can take any form and at any time.

Communication is often spurred through mediation, being in nature, creation of art, writing, prayer, music, food, or ceremony.

Note: Being open is vitally important. And remember to connect with positive ancestors who lived a life of altruism toward others and demonstrated high morals in how they lived their lives. Call in protection if you feel the need for it and remember to pay attention to your intuition and do what feels right for you.

Open your mind and heart and wondrous things can happen.

Here are four ways to heighten your connection with and communicate with your ancestors:

1. Learn and listen.

If you feel connected to a certain ancestor or period of time, do some research to increase focus on what feels right and true. I’ve used Ancestry, Find A Grave, and MyHeritage to weave a tapestry of the past. Census records, death certificates, tribal documents, county histories, military records, and obituaries can tell us quite a lot about our ancestors’ time on Earth.

Go where your curiosity takes you, and be open to new knowledge and experiences.

2. Create an ancestor altar.

Setting up a sacred space in your home can be very beneficial for establishing a place of peace, meditation, and focused thought, and to allow necessary time out from our busy lives. This process facilitates a ritual setting to connect with higher aspects of ourselves.

There is no right or wrong way to set up an altar. You can cover a table with a cloth and add items that are related to your intention. You may wish to add a photograph of a family member or an item that reminds you of them. You could also light a candle and add a glass of water to the altar as well as stones, crystals, or flowers. Your intuition will guide you on what to add. You can go to this area when wanting to make communication with a loved one.

When my father passed, I brought yellow daisies to his grave. Later on, I was gifted with a vision and communication with him in a field of endless daisies.

3. Practice dreamwork.

Our ancestors will come to us in dreams as soon as we ask. Try it and you will be surprised at how quickly they show up. In one dream, I met an ancient ancestor who was a Sephardic Jew. Later through genealogy research, I found that this was one of the earliest ancestors in one of my family lines that can be traced all the way back to Barbados in the 1400s.

All that you have to do is to ask them to show up and they will. It’s also beneficial to record your ancestor dreams so you can refer to them later.

4. Use guided meditation.

Thanks to YouTube, it’s easy to find meditations to connect with ancestors.

Here are three that I have used:

Guided Shamanic Journey to the Akashic Field: Connect With Your Spirit Guides

Connecting with the Ancestors a Guided Meditation

Connect with Your Ancestors Guided meditation. Heal Ancestral Lineage, Wounds & Karma. Gain Wisdom

As an alternative to guided meditation, try listening to shamanic drumming and putting your intention out there.

You can also learn more about ancestral meditations by reading Ancestral Medicine: Rituals for Personal and Family Healing, by Daniel Foor. The book has several practices to connect with your ancestors, including a guided meditation to meet one of your ancestral guides.

Remember to set an intention before the meditation, such as “I want to connect with an ancient ancestral guide.”

You don’t have to be an indigenous shaman to have a direct and healthy contact with your ancestors.

We all have loving ancestors who want us to fulfill our destiny as well-adjusted and happy humans. And like any meaningful relationship, our ancestral bonds call for care and renewal. So by engaging in simple actions to honor and nurture these relationships, our ancestors can become a significant source of healing, empowerment, and sustenance in our daily lives.

Anyone with true intent can connect.