Ancestral Vision Boarding Workshop
An offering of The Rootwater Project
The Rootwater Project supports descendants of enslaved Africans in alchemizing intergenerational grief and trauma
into healing and celebration through storytelling,
education, and ritual.
Many of us feel simultaneously disconnected from our history while also feeling overwhelmed by the
legacy we have inherited.
It’s a lot.
So much pain. So much promise.
And a hell of a lot more that lives between the two.
In this 3-hour online workshop, we’ll be creating
Ancestral Vision Boards in a reflective ritual process that allows us to deepen our connection with our ancestors and
their wildest dreams for our lives.
Dates: May 16 + 30
Time: 11a - 2p pst
Online
For many of us, we talk about our ancestors, but the bond is more intellectual than emotional. We aren’t really able to connect to the idea of them as real and whole people. The conditions they overcame were so monumental they take on the status of myths in our memorializing of them but this also dehumanizes them and we might find ourselves feeling intimidated by the idea that we can be just as powerful. Many of us struggle to find real information about our lineage as it is either locked up tight in institutional archives and the memories of our elders, or it has been intentionally disrupted and/or destroyed by those same institutions and elders, though for widely different reasons.
Although, of course, it helps to have factual information,
this isn’t the only way to build meaningful and
powerful connections with our ancestors.
What’s needed even more is the desire.
Trust me, they hear you.
And they want to connect.
But let’s be real, many of us are afraid of what we might hear
if we open ourselves to listening.
Totally understandable. But it doesn’t work.
Shutting ourselves off from the conversation leaves us spiritually uprooted which negatively impacts our energy and our health. It is no longer considered “woo-woo” to acknowledge that the way we feel impacts the ways we show up in the world. Sick days due to fatigue we can’t explain. Strained relationships because our epigenetics are acting a fool. And this strange feeling like something is missing in your soul that you just can’t
seem to find the words for.
Connection to our cultural lineage is essential for our wholistic well-being as human(e) beings. The fact that so much effort has been put into the destruction of our connection to our cultural and familial lineages, which continues in this current era of neo-Reconstruction, is proof in itself of
how powerful a force this knowledge is.
When we feel rooted in who we are, we: advocate for ourselves better at work; we pick better friends and lovers; take better care of our health and wellness because we know we are so much more than just our own ego.
We’re more willing to be courageous because we know
who’s got our back.
In Ancestral vision boarding, you’ll be guided through a process of Grounding, Connecting, and Integrating with your ancestors through conversation prompts, guided meditation, and creative arts processing.
Ground
We’ll do a somatic practice to support presence and attunement. We’ll also cover some spiritual hygiene practices to protect your process.
Connect
You’ll be guided through a visualization meditation exercise that connects you with your ancestors familial, cultural, and spiritual.
Integrate
You’ll create a collage integrating the insights and perspective that arose for you during the Connect process.
We’re not just talking.
Information without imagination falls short of
its transformative potential. Genealogical research is,
of course, an important aspect of ancestral healing work but without including creative processing of the information it stays in our brains and doesn’t get integrated into our living experience.
This process engages a variety of our human capacities
for imagination and meaning making, which are foundational to practical spiritual work, and is what
ensures the journey is more than a single experience
but an investment that pays dividends in
your spiritual growth.
About Jihan (Them/Them)
I am a nonbinary Black woman with 15+ years of experience in education, facilitation, spiritual direction, and ritual processes. I also have over 40 years of lived experience as a Black person in America.
If you’re a proud descendant of enslaved Africans looking
to deepen your connection with your ancestry,
this space is for you.
The Americas. Europe. Asia. And even back to Africa.
Our diaspora as spread by trans-Atlantic enslavement stretches around the world. And we have kept it moving continuously, creating communities on every continent,
in our searches for freedom.
This space is for all of us.
What if I don’t have a lot of information about my family history?
As long as you have an authentic desire to connect with your familial and cultural lineage, this space is for you.
What if I don't have a specific spiritual or religious practice?
A lot of ancestral work takes place within a specific religious or cultural traditions, such as Ifa or Candomble. This process, while being spiritual, is designed with the African diaspora in mind, which includes a wide array of spiritual and religious practices and beliefs.
How long will this take?
The workshop is 3-hours. The work of building strong and beneficial relationships with the ancestors is the work of a lifetime. And then some. Once you know the protocol, you’ll be able to use it again on your own or drop back into another gathering to work more specifically with distinct lineages.
If you are inspired to go deeper, you can join the "Watering Your roots" cohort.
Is this right for me if I’m an atheist?
Epigenetics are non-denominational. There is ample empirical evidence that we literally walk with the traces of those who came before us in our bodies, minds, and whatever you may conceive of to be- or not to be- spirits. The process draws from tried and true truths of the human experience: where we put our attention matters, utilizing our creative capacities to process intellectual information often creates unexpected insights and connections, and processing in a supportive community helps us grow.
Is this right for me if I’m religious?
Epigenetics are non-denominational. There is ample empirical evidence that we literally walk with the traces of those who came before us in our bodies, minds, and whatever you may conceive of to be- or not to be- spirits. The process draws from tried and true truths of the human experience: where we put our attention matters, utilizing our creative capacities to process intellectual information often creates unexpected insights and connections, and processing in a supportive community helps us grow.
Spaces are limited to protect the integrity of the container.
The Rootwater Project uses a sliding scale for value exchange.
Payment plans available.
10 spots @ $350
10 spots @ $500
10 spots @ $750
10 spots @ $1,500
To Register:
1) Complete the registration form
2)
Complete payment through paypal