It has been almost a decade since I began researching my family history. It was an odd occurence that sent me on this path. Always a history lover, I was watching a documentary on the world wars and realized I knew nothing about my ancestors who fought in both wars. This blog is almost 8 years old too. I started a second one where I muse on the ups and downs of being a researcher discovering forgotten facts and forbidden secrets. As I wait patiently for more records on other continents to become available for researchers online, I tip-toed into the realm of ancestral healing. I think most of us, wishing to be the storytellers for our ancestors, are naturally honoring them, and thereby assisting with ancestral healing. How many reading this had a moment in their detective work where we said, “Oh, that may be why he/she did….” Right?
So you see where this is going. I do plan to continue translating all of the midwife records in my tree. This post is my brief review of the first book, of um…I think 5.
Ancestral Medicine by Daniel B. Foor, Ph.D, 2017
This was the first book I ever picked up on the subject. The author is a doctor of psychology and a licensed psychotherapist who has been leading workshops on this subject for almost two decades.
I can’t appreciate any book related to family history without the author providing information on how to accurately and respectfully research your family tree. First and foremost, he mentions the fact that online family trees should not be relied on for accurate information. That is a plus!
Daniel Foor believes our lineages are made up of the not yet born, the living, the remembered dead, the lineage between the remembered dead and ancestral guides (happy ancestors), and the collective human ancestors.
The author mentions that our ancestors are made up of, not just the collective dead, and those that are happy dead, that have made it to the realm of ancestors, but also, the unhappy dead, those that have not yet made it to the happy ancestors. I must note that the unhappy dead include disturbed souls, in the fashion of what we think of as ghosts who are still on this plain. If you are open to meditation, the book details many exercises to help you connect to ancestal guides and to heal each part of your lineage by finding the first unhappy ancestor and when you work through all of this, to sychronize all lines. This will take dedication and not a month of your time. It can take years.
If you are not open to this type of belief, the book does contain a few prayer suggestions and ideas on how to honor your ancestors. The middle section, and stories throughout the book that detail ancestral worship throughout the world, are worth the read if you are not intending to do the work the author has laid out.
The last third of the book mentions other types of ancestors, such as ancestors of place and affinity ancestors. Finally, he completes the book as a person with his medical training would….nah uh uh…won’t give it away…read it for yourself…
Growing up around relatives with little areas in the home dedicated to the deceased loved ones didn’t make this book a far-fetched read.
Thank you for reading this. I rarely leave online reviews and this was my second book review on genealogy. Go get this book if it interests you! Next book is Ancestral Healing Made Easy.
-cinziarosagenealogy@comcast.net
Cinziarosa's Descendants (c) 