HOW ANCESTORS COMMUNICATE: ANCESTOR ALTAR BEST PRACTICES
Ancestors are widely acknowledged as highly responsive spirits; some attribute this to the fact that without descendants, ancestors cease to fulfill their ancestral roles, while others view the transition from 3D life to spirit form as a means for ancestors to continue offering nourishment, safety, and comfort in a way that spans wider and more impactfully than during their earthly form. A simple yet potent way to cultivate a connection with departed ancestors is by creating an ancestor altar. These altars, whether dedicated to specific individuals (a grandmother, for instance) or a group of ancestors (grandparents and great grandparents), serve as sacred spaces—be it a shelf, table, or another surface—reserved for spirit communication, offering sites, or energetic communion.
THE OFFERING ARRIVED
Qing Ming Jie, a dedicated day in early spring for traditional Chinese peoples to visit loved ones who have passed on at their graves and pay respects, was on a Wednesday this year, the day of Mercury. By custom, with the tombs freshly swept by the living, and the debris removed, the spaces consecrated as doorways to connect with the living dead were renewed at a minimum of each year. Even portals need cleaning.
WHEN GRIEVING
When grieving, it was the comfort of the familiar that anchored and lulled me.
The scrubbing of eggs stuck to the bottom of a pan, the wiping down of crusted sauce on a shelf in the fridge, the low hum of the washing machine.
THE DEAD NEED LOVE, TOO
The dead need love, too.
Rocks need contact, too.
Spirits need witnessing, too.
Trees need honouring, too.
Fires need tending to, too.
Water needs holding, too.
Màn màn zǒu (Slowly, slowly walk)
慢慢走 Màn màn zǒu, they say.
Slowly, slowly, walk, they say.
Walk slowly, unhurried, easefully.
An expression commonly uttered by the living and by ancestors, the Unseen living.
Slowly, as our feet touches the ground tenderly,
Unhurried, as a blessing to be carefree,
Easefully, as each step is protected and guided.
As even walking is a devotional act of heart-mind-body, an act so ordinary and mundane for me, yet holy for my ancestors to care about.
WRITING WITH SPIRIT Winter Retreat
The WRITING WITH SPIRIT RETREAT welcomes an intimate group of 13 attendees to explore the intersection of writing and the supernatural by unwrapping the words that are already contained within and to call them forth with clarity and boldness. We’ll discuss supportive writing techniques, powerful esoteric tools, and will be actively collaborating with our intuition and the Great Mystery. Open to anyone who is needing space, desires a heightened embodiment, and a safe container to focus on their inner (and outer) work.
Say it til you know it...
Say it til you know it…
We are the People.
We are the Love.
We are the Change.
We are the Archetypes.
THE HOT SAUCE IS ALIVE
The Hunan bloodline in my family loves spicy, aromatic foods. Almost every dish includes the option of hot sauce – whether it is soupy thin noodles, saucy thick noodles, sautéed greens, or braised meats. Gong Gong (my mother’s father), as well as each of his grown children (all five of them), had an entire shelf in their fridge dedicated to hot sauces of all varieties. Smoky peppers. Tangy ones. Chilis that had been fermented. Ones you had to shake because the solids sank to the bottom of the bottle with the crimson-hued chilli oil on the top. Part of this is because as with many Chinese families, there are distinct, almost fanatical, preferences of what type of hot sauce pairs best with specific dishes.
THERE WILL BE MESSAGES TONIGHT
The other night, when I was lying in bed with the lights out and eyes closed, about to drift off to sleep, I intuitively smelled one of my ancestors, the covers ever so slightly felt more snug around my body, and then felt a gentle warmth on my head. This is the first time I can recall this happening with the spirits, as I was being tucked in by my Ah Zoh (my great Grandmother)! And at 41 years of age, there is something rare and precious about this. To be cherished as a child in the mundane activity of going to bed.
WHY WOMEN STRUGGLE MAKING DECISIONS AND WHY THEY SHOULDN'T CARE
What do these questions have in common?Do I study XXX or YYY?Do I relocate to LA / Tokyo / Shanghai / Paris / quiet place in the middle of nowhere?Do I have a baby? Or a subsequent one?Do I marry this person?Do I quit my office day job in a cubicle that pays fairly well and begin a new career in permaculture?
HOW DO WE HEAL INTERNALIZED COLONIALISM?
Colonialism isn’t just about destroying and taking over an existing local culture, exploiting the land and people, and maintaining domination.
Colonialism is also about eradicating the people’s memories, exploiting and twisting those memories, and ensuring any effective connection to the past is severed so the conquered are left crippled and dependent on the dominating system. Let them forget who they were (past) so they do not know who they ever will be (present and future).This is most noticeable in the myth of the angry, jealous, and punishing, father god who cannot tolerate us having any form of connection to anything / anyone other than himself; he needed to invent an enemy - the devil - as a method to instill fear and preserve amnesia. What signifies the devil may differ, but common symbols are:
RESPONSIBLE MANIFESTATION
For the last two months, I've been probing the shadow side of the spiritual notion called the 'Manifestation Principle', and the potentially dangerous misuses of the Law of Attraction, particularly by leaders, healers, and teachers in the wellness and spiritual community. (For those who are just joining this discussion, feel free to read April's story HERE and May's story HERE).
UNDER THE NEW MOON: DECOLONIZING, GROWTH, MANIFESTING
Sometimes, my own fears and irrational habits surprise myself. I have internalized oppression of general Chinese/Taiwanese culture (not to mention cultural purging that modern China has experienced) and Christian patriarchy; being a female in a white-centric worldview also adds nuanced complexity. So many painful and limiting layers. So much living small and self-oppression. But I'm hopeful. I think the first step is awareness, then release, and lots and lots of patience and self-love. I find using shamanic and ritual-based practices effective in identifying the limitations as well as work through them. (For those who know me and my work, I’m all about integrating the spiritual with practical, everyday life. Spirituality without real-life application is lip service).