Grimassi - Communing with the Ancestors: Your Spirit Guides, Bloodline Allies, and the Cycle of Reincarnation

First published in 2016 by Weiser Books, an imprint of

Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC

With offices at:

65 Parker St, Suite 7

Newburyport, MA 01950

www.redwheelweiser.com

Copyright 2016 by Raven Grimassi

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser. Reviewers may quote brief passages.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request

ISBN: 978-1-57863-593-1

Names: Grimassi, Raven, 1951- author.

Title: Communing with the ancestors : your spirit guides, bloodline allies, and the cycle of reincarnation / Raven Grimassi.

Description: Newburyport : Weiser Books, 2016.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015047090 | ISBN 9781578635931 (6 9 tp : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Spiritualism.

Classification: LCC BF1261.2 .G75 2016 | DDC 133.9--dc23

LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015047090

Cover design by Jim Warner

Text design by Ryan Kenney

Typeset in Warnock Pro

Cover photograph: Inukshuk monument on English Bay, Vancouver,

Canada Ian Wilson | Dreamstime.com

Spirit-Rider image by Jane Star Weils

Printed in Canada

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The topic of the Ancestors is not as simple as one might think. It is more than just the idea that they exist; questions arise that call for exploring much deeper. When I set out to write this book, my desire was to avoid any single cultural views or practices. I also realized that many cultures in the world today practice formal Ancestral veneration. These systems tend to be very old traditions that continue to effectively serve their practitioners well. So it was clear to me that my book was more for people exploring ways to honor and work with Ancestors. That being said, I do not avoid traditional ways, I simply focus on clearing new walkways into the Ancestral landscape.

I felt that the best approach for me in writing this book was to open myself up to the Ancestral Spirit. In general I feel that my hand is guided when I write, but in this case I came to feel that I had to get out of the way as opposed to lending my hand in the writing process. This became a very real situation for me because on the days I was left alone with the manuscript I found it a struggle to produce words of any significance to the project.

The teachings in this book came together as opposed to already being in place in one system or another. While the book draws on ancient ideas, the overall view is a descendant of them as opposed to a survival of any single tradition. In this light one can enjoy the roots as well as the new branches and fruit that are offered.

In writing this book through the Ancestral Voices I found myself having to rethink my own views. In some cases I had to abandon things I once fully integrated into my inner and outer worldviews. It is not that they were wrong or faulty; they simply did not part the curtain wide enough for a more expansive view. This yielding was not easy for me and it may not be easy for you. For myself I prefer to grow rather than to remain captive to all that I carry from past studies and experiences. In this light the book is a richer perspective from a higher vantage pointthe shoulders of the Ancestors.

As my previously held beliefs were being modified, dissolved, or reconfigured in the writing of this book, I revisited the idea of belief itself. The typical dictionary defines belief as the mental act, condition, or habit of placing trust or confidence in another. A secondary definition is having a conviction that something is true. After some reflection on the word, I discovered that I didn't believe in what was being written; instead I acknowledged it at every stage.

The definition of acknowledge is to admit the existence, reality, or truth of something. It also means to recognize, to report receipt, and to give thanks or gratitude. With the completion of the book I feel all of those things. To feel, understand, and integrate the difference between belief and acknowledgment is a powerful gateway.

It seems there is a fount from which things of a mystical nature come to us. It is, no doubt, the same magical waters from which our Ancestors drank, and then dreamed and wrote their myths and legends. We need not rely only upon what is passed to us from preexisting sources. We who stand in the present are touched, inspired, guided, and driven by the same forces that moved our Ancestors. The old well is still there, although we quite likely need a new rope and bucket.

Throughout the book you will find various Ancestral views, beliefs, and practices. I have drawn from the oldest because I believe the roots are where nourishment is drawn. The oldest records we have are the least tampered with, and the least able to be ignored even by those determined to do so. When new ideas come flooding in and wash away the buildings and foundations, we still have the old blueprints from which to reconstruct what was lost.

My primary goal in this book is to provide pathways through which the Ancestors can regain access past the things that have stood in their way. The methods I feel they have taught me while writing this book can help their distracted descendants to hear the Ancestral Voices that offer guidance and personal empowerment. These are the voices offering peace and inner balance through returning to receptivity, returning to living in common cause with Nature. I caution the reader to not skim this book. It needs to be read page by page because each concept is connective and built upon another.

I fully expect that some readers will complain that I repeat material here and there throughout the book. To a certain degree this is true, but I do so to enrich the concepts through context. An old teacher of mine once said that a person can reveal all the secrets and mysteries in an afternoon, but without context no one can understand them. It will appear as gibberish. So it is not so much what is said as how and where it is said that brings the light to the surface. There was once a popular saying: Guard the Mysteries, reveal them daily.

It is likely that the most challenging concept in the book is the material on Human Consciousness as a separate entity within what is our whole being. The hidden roots of this idea go back to the primordial world, and to those races that preexisted humankind. It is mixed in with tales of star gods, faery beings, and conflicting theological models. I found it to be a well-tangled ball of string. What I present in this book is over four months of steady work at trying to unravel what was laid at my doorstep.

Without my Ancestors, and a handful of Otherworld Allies, I do not believe this book would have been possible. Had I written it myself, I believe it would have turned out to be not unlike most published books on the Ancestors. I do not mean that in terms of quality or superiority; I mean that in terms of where one can be faery-led into the thicket. Fortunately, I was able to return with but little loss of time and just a touch more madness to my thinking.

In this book you will find the concept of the Spirit-Rider. The being, as I present it, is a blend of very old beliefs found in Mayan and Hawaiian beliefs. These beliefs are not unlike those of some old European cultures (the Scandinavian in particular). This can be seen to indicate an ancient commonality. The Spirit-Rider ties in with the Vision Serpent of Mayan culture. Here it is a serpent that delivers the spirits of the Ancestors when summoned by a priest. What I present in the book is a spiritual legacy as opposed to any specific cultural history. In other words I am using the essential concept as a mechanism, but the complete picture is something that arose within my own consciousness based upon older models.