Before you can go forward, you have to look backward. The past shows you your history, your wounded patterns and any perceived “mistakes” you may have made.  Wisdom traditions across the world acknowledge their ancestors, their history and self-reflect on their own actions and behaviours. So in that light, I can reflect on my-Self and my identity differently. I am Jennifer, daughter of Jane, grand daughter of Stamatia and great-grandaugher of Vassilia.  The egg that created me (and you) was formed in my mother’s fetus while she was inside my grandmother’s womb.  It is important to try to look back and get to know your lineage, your history and what circumstances affected these women. Their story imprinted on my story and not always in a good or positive way. The science of epigenetics is started to prove this. Medicine people around the world have known this for thousands of years. So in effect, I’m standing in “their” shoes. I’m standing in the shoes of my grandmothers and all of their struggle living through WW2 in Europe, acts of every day courage to survive that Nazis invading their island, immigrating to Canada, facing economic hardship and cultural integration challenges. They have paved the way for me to be here with you today. I am standing up here in their shoes. I am standing up here today in the shoes of the Wisdom Keepers and the Ancestors of my teachers who have courageously lit the torches along the path of enlightment so I that may find my way here today. I am standing in their shoes.  I am standing here in front of you today in the shoes of the pioneering women who have gone before me to pave the way to make my walk easier. I am also standing in their shoes.

It takes courage, humility and self-awareness to dive deep, look back and acknowledge your own Shadow and take responsibility for your own shi(f)t. The word courage is a heart word. The latin root word is cor which means heart. In the earliest translations of courage  it meant to speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart. Dr. Brene Brown calls this ordinary courage.  Vulnerablity and authenticity are the tools of change today. If you don’t have those two resources, you’ll fail at some point.  It’s time to get real with yourself, have real conversations and divine encounters every day. What I call every day magic. It’s the beauty of the flow that can bring you money, opportunity, support, tribe, resources of all kinds. You have to be open. You have to be self-aware because your imprints from your past trigger you and can constrict your field allow you to make judgements against others and more importantly yourself.  The late Debbie Ford one of my teachers called this The Secret of The Shadow. Once you can unlock the secrets of your own past, your own history, your own wounded behaviours and responses, you can create a massive tipping point and set your compass toward’s your destiny.