Heal Your Ancestral Roots Quotes

“I now visualize the current living generations standing in front of this lineage: the children (mine and my nieces and nephews) in front, my generation standing behind them, those in my parents’ generation behind us. Three generations in front of the ancestral lineages. The prayer goes like this—or at least this is my adaptation of it: From this place of light, love, and harmony, I ask you to bless us as we all stand here before you. I ask you to bless all the children in the lineage, including those who are yet to come. I ask you to bless all of us who stand behind these children as we struggle and muddle through. Bless us with your love and guidance. May there always be peace and harmony among us. I ask you to bless those who stand behind us, including those who I may not know or may have forgotten. Om, Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi.
(Translated: peace, peace, peace.) I”
― Anuradha Dayal-Gulati, Heal Your Ancestral Roots: Release the Family Patterns That Hold You Back

“Yet ultimately, by connecting to the flow of life and love from your parents, grandparents, and lineage, with its gifts and challenges, you start to hear the beat of the drum that echoes in your heart. I see people transformed as they work with their family energy fields. They see their family stories in a new light, and they see their unique purpose because they are releasing victimhood. As they shift, they expand their healing to help others. They start clinics and training programs in distant places, establish community gardens for healing in their towns, create workshops to help people tap into their inner genius, teach mindfulness, translate ancient Buddhist texts—the list is amazing, endless, and creative. A history of pillaging leads to caring for the earth; a history of atrocity toward another race leads to working with Indigenous people. There is something unconscious to this process. When you don’t see yourself as a victim, you start to recover your self-worth, and you begin the journey to peace and harmony.”
― Anuradha Dayal-Gulati, Heal Your Ancestral Roots: Release the Family Patterns That Hold You Back

“If you were to accept the underlying idea behind these rituals—of the need to individuate—you can ask for ancestral or parental blessings rather than permission. Adapt this ritual by lighting a candle before the photographs of your ancestors or parents, asking for their blessings for your life. It doesn’t matter if your parents or grandparents are dead or alive, but receiving blessings, even energetically, instead of subconsciously wanting or waiting for permission, helps you release buried guilt and allows you to move forward. It can also release unconscious loyalties that might be holding you back from living up to your potential.”
― Anuradha Dayal-Gulati, Heal Your Ancestral Roots: Release the Family Patterns That Hold You Back

“However, when you are tired and want to make meaning of your world, you can also open yourself to searching for that connection to something bigger. The act of doing that connects you to yourself and to hope. Sometimes I experience a sequence of frustrations. I can’t put my finger on it, but there appears to be a common underlying pattern to them. For instance, I might be allowing my boundaries to be violated in the same way by the same person each time. Or I might be triggered by someone’s behavior that seems out of proportion to the situation. At that time, I might not be aware of what’s going on and simply feel angry or frustrated. I can’t name the emotions that are coming up that are underlying my anger and irritation, and I can’t see what’s going on. But if I start to reflect, I start to become aware that through these patterns and these emotions, the Universe is trying to bring something to my attention. That is the moment I become aware and need to go within. I need to understand the pieces of me that I am trying to weave back together into coherence. I keep asking myself the questions, “What do I need to see? What do I need to learn? What do I need to understand? What is my resistance to?” The answers to these questions may not show up right away, but the more open I am to receiving answers, the more I am able to receive guidance from the Universe. When I experienced this series of frustrations, I realized that I was not being forthright about the extra help I needed to manage the demands that were being placed on my time. Knowing that everything is part of my journey allows me to stay hopeful and optimistic, and the answers are the catalyst for a deeper connection with myself, allowing me to trust and accept life. From that space, it’s easier to accept others.”
― Anuradha Dayal-Gulati, Heal Your Ancestral Roots: Release the Family Patterns That Hold You Back

“Unresolved traumas can overwhelm families, communities, and even countries for generations and keep getting passed down to each subsequent generation. As you continue to shift, you become less emotionally reactive. You start to see these behaviors for what they are—ways of coping with pain. And you can stop taking them personally because you can see they didn’t originate with you.”
― Anuradha Dayal-Gulati, Heal Your Ancestral Roots: Release the Family Patterns That Hold You Back

“Carl Jung said that until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
― Anuradha Dayal-Gulati, Heal Your Ancestral Roots: Release the Family Patterns That Hold You Back

“Imagine yourself standing before your ancestors. Your maternal ancestors to your right and your paternal ancestors to the left. They extend before you almost like the V shape made by the pattern of flying geese. Each ancestor has two ancestors behind them. If you wish, you may fold your hands and bow before the two lineages before you. This is the prayer that I say to each of my lineages, and you may wish to adapt it for yourself or choose words that resonate with you. It can be done between sunrise and sunset. I do it once in the morning. To my maternal lineage, three generations before me, I bow before you. May the lineage be in peace and love and light and harmony. May each of you be in peace, love, light, and harmony. I am grateful for all that I have received from this lineage, including the gifts of the challenges I face. To my paternal lineage, three generations before me, I bow before you. May the lineage be in peace and love and light and harmony. May each of you be in peace, love, light, and harmony. I am grateful for all that I have received from this lineage, including the gifts of the challenges I face. As I say it, I’m very conscious of my breathing, which grounds me and helps me enter a state of gratitude.”
― Anuradha Dayal-Gulati, Heal Your Ancestral Roots: Release the Family Patterns That Hold You Back

“One of the hardest things to do is to identify how you are feeling. You might be irritable or anxious but not be fully aware of what has triggered your emotions. You might create a connection with others by mirroring them—returning their warmth with a smile or a hug, or being empathetic when needed—but how often do you connect with your feelings? Most often, you disconnect from your feelings by ignoring or suppressing them. However, it actually takes a lot of work to keep your feelings at bay. If you can shift your perception and recognize that these emotions are important messengers about how you have disconnected from yourself or your family energy field, you can learn to honor them. You can start to name the emotions that come up, and slowly, you will begin to understand what triggers the way you feel.”
― Anuradha Dayal-Gulati, Heal Your Ancestral Roots: Release the Family Patterns That Hold You Back

“Polarity—the presence of opposites—is one way that the Universe draws our attention to what we need to see. You might see these polarities, or sharp contrasts, in your life too. Some instances are perhaps a mother who holds down the steady job, while the father is always pursuing new opportunities that may not always pan out. Or you come from a family that struggled financially and marry into a family of wealth and privilege. When challenges exist, the presence of polarities point to the emotional contradictions you might be struggling with internally. For instance, a part of me was drawn to what was westernized, and a part remained deeply traditional. What polarities do you see in your life or lineage?”
― Anuradha Dayal-Gulati, Heal Your Ancestral Roots: Release the Family Patterns That Hold You Back

“Journal Exercises Are there patterns of emotions—positive or negative—that run in your family? Are your family members gregarious and outgoing, or reserved with defined boundaries? Are there patterns of depression, anxiety, or aggression that run in your family? Are there traumatic events that your parents might have experienced? If you go back further, do you know something of what your grandparents or great-grandparents might have experienced? If you don’t know these stories, don’t worry. There’s a lot that you can still do, as you will discover in the next few chapters.”
― Anuradha Dayal-Gulati, Heal Your Ancestral Roots: Release the Family Patterns That Hold You Back

“Stories Play Out in Many Ways As you think about your family story, try this exercise. Write down your family’s story, starting with the words, “In my family, we . . .” This isn’t about morality and ideals but about what you and your family members typically experience. It’s a way for you to see the patterns that might run through your family. For example: “In our family, we give too much to others at great expense to ourselves, and no one ever seems to appreciate that.” “In our family, marriages never seem to last. The men are always betraying the women.” If you have trouble identifying your family story, think of some of the sayings and tales your family tells over and over again. What’s the takeaway of each story? Do you see a common thread of how you “always” seem to have some experiences and “never” seem to have others? You might add some detail about why you and your relatives believe your family has certain patterns of experience.”
― Anuradha Dayal-Gulati, Heal Your Ancestral Roots: Release the Family Patterns That Hold You Back

“How to Start Working with Your Lineage Do you see patterns of experiences or events that run in your family? Perhaps some of these are obvious to you. You might have always noticed them, thought little of them, or treated them simply as a coincidence. Are there particular ages when patterns repeat? You might wish to start with your nuclear family and then move up the maternal or paternal line. Pick just one side of your family to start with. Are there behaviors or emotions that seem to underlie these events or experiences that are similar? There can be one predominant emotion or multiple emotions. Make a note of them. You will return to these in the next few chapters.”
― Anuradha Dayal-Gulati, Heal Your Ancestral Roots: Release the Family Patterns That Hold You Back