Voices of Our Ancestors: Their Physical and Subtle Legacies

By Cyndi Dale

During the initial COVID-19 lockdown, I caught myself acting as compulsively as it seemed nearly everyone else was. If there was a spare package of toilet paper to be found, I’d find it.

Only satisfied when I’d pretty darn-near filled my utility room with sundry toilet paper rolls, I turned to other necessities, like cans of beans. I figured if everything went south, even the dogs could survive on bean chili.

After a couple weeks of paranoia, I stopped myself. Why was I acting this way? It wasn’t like we were re-entering the Great Depression — or maybe…

Meditating for a few minutes, I realized that I was behaving as if I actually was in the Great Depression. It seemed like the voices of my ancestors, stirred within me, were prompting a panic response.

That is more of an accurate statement than you might believe.

The scientific field of epigenetics is suggesting that a chemical soup around our genes, called the epigenome, holds at least 14 generations of our ancestors’ memories. Our physical and emotional reactions are often based on what occurred long ago; and even our DNA can be influenced by those who came before us.

As that fact leaped into my mind, even while I contemplated my COVID-19 shopping spree, I realized that I could nearly hear the whispers of my grandparents. They had raised my parents during the economic downturn of the 1930s.

“Store up on staples,” warned my Grandmother Marie, a farmer and nurse. “You never know when everything might disappear.”

“Take care of your family, because I couldn’t,” advised my Grandfather Einar. Though a skilled mechanic by trade, he had been unemployed for nearly a decade.

There is a goodness in our inheritance, which can instruct us in everything from safety to attitudes. Why repeat the mistakes of the past? Why not be availed of applicable wisdom? But there are also drawbacks, such as the perception that we have to stock our larder so fully that we leave nothing for anyone else.

Through our epigenome, we can trigger anything from emotional insecurities to resilience and fortitude; food sensitivities to a precondition for kindness. But there are other birthrights that can get passed down, which can’t all be pinned on our genes.

We are energy beings, energy defined as information that vibrates. Inheritances such as those that are epigenetic are mainly composed of one type of energy, which is physical. But there are other branches on our personal Tree of Life, to include the subtle energetics.

As compared to physical energies, subtle energies are less measurable. But they are oh, so very powerful. My alarm shopping was an attempt to ensure physical security. But the motivations — the overwhelming fear, ghostly memoirs, and my vague sense of unease — were subtle in nature.

One of the more common subtle birthrights are curses. A curse is a negative command sent by one person to another, or even by a group or onto a group. Sometimes they are cast unconsciously. I think I’ve actually cursed people, such as by wishing under my breath that they would fail at something because I’m jealous. These types of curses seldom stick. But the big ones? The family-based curses? Those that are intergenerational? Wow, they can be potent, like the gift that keeps on giving. Though there might be an element of a curse that links to the physical realm; like the epigenome, they also operate independently.

For example, I once worked with a number of sisters who had all been born with the same ovarian disease. Using intuition, I figured out that a great-grandmother had been cursed by a cousin who was envious because she wasn’t fertile, though my client’s ancestress was. Since then, every woman in the lineage had been stricken with the same reproductive challenges.

Psychically appearing like interwoven cords with sticky ends, curses can be transferred generation to generation. They can also be released. When working with the sisters — and yes, we were all in the same room together — we requested forgiveness for all concerned. We then asked for healing energies to be sent backward in time and to all current family members. Slowly, the sisters’ ovaries began to respond, and each of them healed over the next year or so.

Do you feel negatively influenced by your epigenome? Maybe by a curse? Walk through these steps to initialize a shift.

1.     In a quiet place, connect your own inner spirit to whatever you call the Greater Spirit.

2.     Request to understand whether or not ancestral issues are impacting you, and if so, how.

3.     Acknowledge the challenges that might involve the epigenome, a curse, or both.

4.     When you feel ready, ask that your own spirit, along with the Greater Spirit, deliver forgiveness to all concerned.

5.     Wish that any healing energies be sent backward in time, as well as to you, and to any other relatives currently under any negative influences.

6.     Remain in a meditative state until you're ready to return to your day.

Cyndi Dale is an internationally renowned author, speaker, intuitive healer, and business consultant. Her groundbreaking books on chakras and intuition include The Subtle Body: An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy; Energy Healing for Trauma, Stress & Chronic Illnesses; Energy Wellness for Your Pets; Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Chakras; Awaken Clairvoyance; and Energetic Boundaries: How to Stay Protected and Connected in Work, Love, and Life.

Cyndi, who's been a natural intuitive since she was young, offers these gifts to clients and groups seeking to make real and positive change. Her passion includes helping people open their “essential energy” — the powers and perspectives unique to them. She works with thousands of individuals a year, in the United States and internationally. She believes that once an individual understands their own essence, they can tap into the energies of, and beyond, the world, joining a community of like-minded people who want to better themselves and others.

Cyndi has presented seminars and workshops in Russia, England, Wales, Amsterdam, Iceland, and Scotland, and has led groups across South and Central America and into Africa. Her training encompasses shamanism and healing, and has taken her to the Peruvian, Belizean, Hawaiian, and Costa Rican jungles, the Moroccan sands, the Venezuelan savannahs, and the glaciers of Iceland. Her two favorite workshops to lead are her Apprenticeship Program, a 9-month exploration of intuitive and healing powers; and The Subtle Body Certificate Program, led through Normandale College. She seeks to unify the world’s most vital spiritual messages, encouraging understanding and community among all peoples.

Cyndi works with clients and groups on a daily basis, serving as an intuitive coach and energy healer. Clients are commonly referred by professionals, including psychiatrists, medical doctors, and therapists. She continues to hone her ability to help people discover their essential selves so they can make healthy and positive changes in their lives.

^[1] Signe Dean, “Scientists Have Observed Epigenetic Memories Being Passed Down for 14 Generations,” Science Alert, April 17, 2018,