History repeats itself through Choices

I can look back on my life, and there is a particular delineation - a line where I realise I was waking up.

This was at the early stages of meditation, yoga, healing, and intuitive classes. I had a moment where I realised that (too) many of the choices I'd made had been less conscious, more conditioned.

When we are children, we look to our families; we follow their rules, attend school, and participate in cultural and religious groups based on their guidance. I went along with a lot of this as a child because a lot of it suited me well. I attended piano lessons, thrived on a few sports teams, and enjoyed the youth group at my church. I made great friends and learned a lot about myself, my strengths, and my preferences.

When it came time to choose a university, my options were mountains or beach. I wasn't sure what to choose. And I remember thinking - my parents enjoyed their time at ASU, so I'll try that and see how it goes.

In the long run, I do believe that ASU was a great fit for me, I loved it there. But years later, when I started to look at the choices that shaped my life, I realised that I had defaulted to their paths.

There is a quote by the Greek philosopher Archilochus - "We don't rise to the level of our expectations; we fall to the level of our training”. I've heard this quote over and over again about discipline and training. But now I see that it applies to the "training" or conditioning that lives within our families.

Much of our conditioning can be positive and helpful. We may have family members who deeply understood art or music, or who had cultivated great skill with their hands or minds. Intelligence runs through ancestral lines, as does a sense of humour, athletic ability, and healing capacity. I'm sure we can all recognise aspects that we are grateful to inherit.

But can you also recognise where you defaulted to a choice made by another, because you didn't feel capable of making the choice yourself?

I was excited to go off to university. But at that point, I'm not sure I trusted myself to choose with confidence. I don't think I knew myself enough consciously to decide what would serve.

Over time, lived experiences, travel, and many lessons learned, I have gained a higher perspective and greater awareness of what resonates and what does not. Through my healing journey and a lot of introspection, I now feel clearer in choosing each step of my journey, instead of unconsciously defaulting to the paths that were carved before me.

While you may not be able to change the past, you can change your current trajectory. But only when you take the time to recognise what you want to build, instead of following along the routes already laid out.

Michael Pollan talks about how changing your mind is like laying a fresh layer of snow - so that instead of your mind following the old pathways, there are fresh options to choose from.

We are required to question habitual thinking, to ask ourselves what we truly want, instead of simply going through the motions.

Over the coming days (especially Wednesday with the Sagittarius Full Moon), I encourage you to meditate on the following:

• What have I been choosing (lifestyle, work/career, expression, health, relationships) that is more in line with a family member's preferences? How could I recognise what I want to choose?
• Am I trying to fulfill a family member's goal or dream? What would I like to pursue instead?
• Am I defaulting to my family's philosophies, religion, and social norms instead of what would suit me? What am I obligated to follow/be?
• If I were to clear the slate in my mind, what fresh thoughts or points of view could emerge?

You are not obligated to follow tradition or to be the same as your ancestors. You can lean into and receive their gifts, without having to have the same thoughts or experiences that they had. Allow yourself to awaken to a fresh perspective and a newer, more aligned way of being.

Sending each of you blessings for freedom, confidence, and fresh perspective!

-Jennifer

P.S. If you'd like some help discerning your own inner voice from your ancestors, please join us online for our Clearing the Veil event! You can join us HERE

And if you want to go all in, we'll gather in-person at Dalkeith Country Park on Solstice weekend. I can't wait to witness what unfolds during the Ancestral Wisdom, Guidance, + Gifts event! You can book your place(s) HERE