We're born with a clean slate.....or are we?

The psychology genre tells us we are born with a clean slate, we're not born racist, mean, anti this and anti that. All that is learned from our family, peers and society.......but are we really born with a completely clean slate? Hmmm....let's explore this theory a little more earth dwellers.

To a certain point we are born with a clean slate, a clean slate that is devoid of racism, hatred, bias, self hatred and shame. We are born as these sweet little information sponges, ready to learn everything from the world we live in. So here's where it gets interesting. Ever heard of generational trauma? Or perhaps 'stuff' that's been handed down through the generations, like all the old sayings you heard your parents or grandparents say.

Generational trauma and beliefs can be handed down to us through our DNA as far back as fourteen generations!!! What???? Yep! Let's look at an example; you've always felt the need to eat absolutely everything on your plate, even when you felt full, eat quickly so you can get seconds before everyone else. You always over indulge, you see food and fill up your plate to it's capacity and more. You feel so much happier and safer when the pantry and the fridge is full of food. Any of this ring true for you? Look back into your family lineage and see if any of your ancestors lived through the great depression or any other famine or perhaps were very poor and struggled to feed their family. I bet if you look back far enough you'll find something like that in your lineage. Living with these sorts of stressors is traumatic and the example I gave you is what we call trauma responses.

Your parents might have instilled the value of not wasting food because their great, great grandparents lived through a famine and it's a terrible waste to throw away food. We would call that a learned belief and corresponding behaviour. But the urge to gorge yourself with food when you're at a party or at an all you can eat buffet or stock your fridge and pantry full of food is more of a sense that you need to eat or have as much food as you can while it's plentiful because you never know when the next meal will be is an unconscious behaviour. And this little gem has been gifted down to each generation and will continue to be gifted to future generations until we resolve the trauma of ancestors past.

There are many other types of generational trauma, and this was just one example. Family violence, sexual abuse, and poverty are just to name a few. You can also experience the physiological symptoms of trauma from ancestors who were in a war, having absolutely no idea why you seem to have PTSD symptoms because you haven't experienced any traumatic events in your life to date, and were labelled an anxious child from birth

So here's where the power of knowledge and acknowledgement can really change the path you travel in life. When you can see the stories and beliefs that have been handed down from generation to generation, you are in an empowered position to resolve what has been gifted to you and end that cycle of trauma for yourself, your children and their children. What an amazing thing to do for yourself and the generations to come. Imagine living a life devoid of beliefs and behaviours that weren't even yours to begin with. Imagine choosing a life partner who is kind and loving in place of a violet partner who is exactly like your father and his father or having a healthy relationship with food to prevent obesity and food related diseases? Trauma really does change the path that you travel in life.

Like to know more on how I can help you resolve the unwanted and unhealthy gifts of your ancestors? Contact Lynda at amorah.healing@gmail.com.