The Ancestors are Calling...

Hi, I'm Joseph. I'm new here.

My name is Joseph, and I’m new here on Substack.

I’ll admit, writing this first post is kind of scary! In fact, several loud, little parts of my psyche are shouting out dozens of reasons why I need to just hit the delete button...

But…let’s do this.

A bit about me…

I’m an Ancestral Healer, spiritual mentor, professional genealogist, health coach, herbalist, and regenerative farmer. Genealogy has been my professional career for over 20 years—having spent 15 of them working with Ancestry. I gained a lot of notoriety in the genealogical community for my work with the popular Emmy-nominated TV series “Who Do You Think You Are?” along with other television appearances to help promote public awareness of genealogy and family history.

A few years ago, I ventured out on my own in a quest for a more simple life and to pursue other passions. This quest led me into the wellness and spirituality space.

I’m also a gay dude who grew up in a strict Mormon family, community, and culture. For the past six-ish years, I’ve been on a journey of spiritual awakening and re-attunement following a painful “dark night of the soul” moment (i.e. coming-out/divorce/faith crisis/all-the-things…).

The wounds of religious trauma have been deep; and as part of my healing, I’ve had to learn how to de-couple spirituality from religiosity and question everything I thought I knew about God and the world at large.

Starting from “Spiritual Ground-Zero” was hard, yet freeing and exciting at the same time! Working from that place allowed me to begin exploring many spiritual pathways and frameworks, and it was empowering to learn how to give myself permission to move into what spoke to me and move past what didn’t—rather than just accept what others told me to believe.

Over the years, I have loved cultivating a more nourishing and vibrant spiritual framework (as opposed to the more rigid, narrow, and harsh one I grew up with). I love learning and deepening my practice and coming into deeper relationship with the Divine, other beautiful humans and the other-than-human world we’re all interconnected with!

So far, my spiritual journey has led me to encompass a variety of paths and traditions. Perhaps one day I will feel more called to train/initiate in a specific, more dedicated tradition/lineage, but for now, I embody of blend of beautiful traditions and teachings.

The best way I can describe myself spiritually is a “Celtic Pagan-Buddhist-Tantric-Witch.” Eclectic? Yes. Weird? Maybe. But that’s me.

Discovering Ancestral Healing

Shortly after my departure from Mormonism, the Universe knocked on my door and delivered the work of Ancestral Healing (longer story for another time…).

Having been a genealogist and obsessed with ancestor stuff since I was a nerdy little gay teenager, I remember having a strong visceral response when I first learned about the work of Ancestral Healing. Mormonism holds very strong theological tenants around ancestors and genealogical research, which were part of my deep interest in the first place. However, after uncoupling myself from the Mormon psychological framework, I felt a bit lost when it came to understanding my relationship with the ancestors and some of the spiritual experiences I had regarding them. Ancestral Healing provided an entirely new and expansive way of seeing, understanding, and relating with the ancestors. This was exciting for me!

Ancestral Healing became a powerful gateway for me to find a vibrant and nourishing new spiritual path; and in my practice, I get to work with many “spiritual newbies” who feel called to something, but who are unclear as to the actual way of navigating their way through the spiritual terrain. Harmful religious systems have done a number on our intuitive abilities and have soured many minds towards anything spiritual (this is ESPECIALLY true for queer folx like me!). So, when people are feeling drawn towards the unseen realms, it can feel a bit scary, confusing, and crazy. I get it!

But I have good news! If you’re feeling drawn to ancestor work, healing intergenerational trauma and patterns, or if you’re new to spirituality, but sensing something in the distance calling you into that world, congratulations, it’s probably your Ancestors! (PS, I intentionally capitalize ‘Ancestors’ here because when it comes to Ancestral Healing work, the ones calling to us are often our more ancient, pre-Christian, earth-honoring ancestors. We often refer to these ones as the Wise, Well, and Loving Ancestors. These are very magickal, energetically vibrant spirit beings who have the gifts and capacity to support any healing work needed along our lineages—healing from the myriad of cultural troubles resulting from a few thousand years of earth disconnection and Colonialism).

And something else I will offer to those new to the concept of ancestral connection and ancestral healing…

Being in connection and deep relationship with one’s ancestors is a historically normal part of being human!

It’s true. Ask ANY person from an indigenous culture.

In fact, the Ancestors are just one of the MANY other-than-human kin who share a part with us in the great web of life!

Why am I here?

In case you haven’t noticed, we live in a pretty crazy time.

We are in a time of massive change on our planet; and more and more people are experiencing spiritual awakenings, soul-expansions, and ego-shattering paradigm shifts than ever before!

We live in a time where the old systems of supremacy, oppression, extraction, and exploitation are breaking down and unraveling right before our eyes in real time. And yet, at the same time, a new era is being birthed—one that is more beautiful, vibrant, regenerative, and life-affirming—an era where, I believe, humans will become co-creators with Mother Earth and move into a deeper state of harmony and right relationship with the Divine and the greater web of life!

As part of this beautiful and tumultuous time, our ancient, wise, loving Ancestors are piercing through the veil and calling us to reclaim and reconnect to the earth-honoring, interconnected ways of being that were once known to them (and that are STILL embedded in our deep psyches and DNA!). Working with other Guardians, Deities, Elemental Forces, Angels, Spirits, etc., the Ancestors are helping to birth a new beautiful era that many of us know and feel in our hearts is possible!

I certified as an Ancestral Lineage Healing Practitioner in 2021, and since that time, I have helped many people reclaim connection to the Wise, Loving Ancestors, and help them find deepened purpose, clarity around their gifts, and a more expansive and nourishing relationship with the other-than-human world!

Turns out, we are not the isolated, floating little islands the great Colonial Project wanted to make us believe. Rather, we are interconnected beings who are in deep need of being in relationship with the larger web of life—beings who yearn for deep belonging and who need to feel needed in deep community. This is part of the great healing work that’s needed today—softening the harsh boundaries and barriers of isolation and toxic individualism and reconnecting awareness to the wholeness that is only found by bringing all of the parts together in a place of symbiotic harmony.

So, why am I here on Substack and the online space? Quite frankly, my Ancestors have charged me with the task of putting myself out there more as an ambassador of the larger collective of Ancestors. With this charge, I’m hoping to do my small little part in bringing more awareness to the great work of reconnecting with them as one of the many medicines for the maladies of our time. (And I’ll admit, it’s a bit scary and intimidating to put myself out there more!)

If you feel a call to begin and/or deepen your spiritual practice, or if you feel nudged to connect with your Ancestors and begin a healing journey with them, then WELCOME! I invite you to join me on my own journey and work together to birth a more beautiful and abundant world for all beings!

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