Are there particular issues that you have that your parents or others in your family tree also experienced? Maybe you struggle with financial issues. Perhaps specific health problems are at hand. It could be that you have difficulty with relationships. Have you ever found it interesting that you may have some of the same challenges as your parents or others had?
Sometimes, there is a chain of pain that is passed down generation to generation, largely unwittingly. This is not at all to judge anyone or to assume that there weren’t positive aspects. In fact, let’s face it. Without your ancestors, you wouldn’t be here right now. So, honoring the positives is important.
However, addressing the negatives is equally essential. If you are experiencing a painful pattern that you’ve seen in your ancestors, you have an opportunity to break the chain of pain. Even if it seems daunting, you have the ability to take it step by step to transform habits or beliefs that result in your suffering.
Don Miquel Ruiz, teacher, and author of “The Four Agreements,” refers to our ancestral book of law. These are things we learn when we are young that we come to believe as truth. Some of those ideas help us, and some hurt us.
In mindfulness you learn that when you take time for yourself, you are better able to help yourself and serve others. However, you may have been taught self-care is selfish. Similarly, if you were conditioned that being perfect should be your aim, you will suffer greatly. Humans are imperfect. You can shoot for excellence but focusing on perfection causes neuroses.
Breaking the change of pain may have to do with beliefs around money such as “in our family, we’ve always had trouble saving money.” If you buy into that belief, you buy into trouble. To break the chain, you can adopt and practice a new belief and create better conditions for yourself.