Researching family history can be
a bit spiritual at times. This was true for me. I felt as if it was
something I had to do for years before I actually started researching
and preparing items to share with other relatives. My desire started
when it was suggested I write a family book. Then the motivation
followed wanting to leave something special behind for my children.
Followed by more inspiration when I heard of "kissing cousins"
in the family, I didn't want my sons to encounter that issue in the
future since the family is very large with hundreds in one city
alone--that was enough for me to keep seeking family history.
If you are a spiritual believer, you might experience many emotions including feeling like it is your calling or duty to expose lies and share truth about relatives. Most likely, you or someone you know was moved to initiate the family project after any one of the following or something else like: a traumatic experience, much idle time, something you saw or read, or someone being a beacon of light for you. But whatever your reasons for wanting to learn more about your family, remember these three Ps, remain Positive, Pure, and Persistent.
1) Be positive. The good, bad
and ugly about the past might cause problems for the family. Keep
the love flowing for yourself and others even if you have to distance
yourself from negative kinfolk during your time of self-discovery and
family history exploration. Safeguard your heart and mind concerning
them and don't be discouraged by the naysayers and liars.
2) Stay pure. You work on your family history project like an innocent child seated at a table drawing a picture. He or she periodically says, "Look what I have drawn...Could you help me with...?" Like the youngster, you have no ill intent when you create and aren't trying to hurt anyone; therefore, don't be tempted to spread your own personal hate or revise family history, because you (or someone else) doesn't agree with something or don't like someone. Avoid the temptation to take what you have learned and destroy someone else with it.
3) Remain persistent. You just want answers to your questions--nothing wrong with that. Be like a child in your quest for understanding and truth about ancestors and other kin. Children won't always accept, "No" for an answer. So keep asking and searching until you find what you are looking for.
No one could have prepared me for the myriad of emotions I felt while preparing a fifth family book at the time during 2013. A particular family story left my head spinning because there were smaller stories that branched off of that one coming from so many relatives which provided details that were quite sad and also made me angry. Around the same time I was engrossed with those family stories, too many stored files and images caused my computer to crash (I had forgotten to free hard drive space, so you will want to remember to do this or hook up a backup server to your computer--mine had failed back then.) The questions I asked of relatives awakened the ghosts of the past and during that time; I saw my share of visions and received visitations. It might be hard for some skeptics to wrap their heads around spiritual experiences so I won't go any further, but for those who have experienced strange occurrences during the gathering and recording process of family documents and relics, I validate you.
Excerpt taken from Genealogy X: What to Do When Researching Family History by Nicholl McGuire
If you are a spiritual believer, you might experience many emotions including feeling like it is your calling or duty to expose lies and share truth about relatives. Most likely, you or someone you know was moved to initiate the family project after any one of the following or something else like: a traumatic experience, much idle time, something you saw or read, or someone being a beacon of light for you. But whatever your reasons for wanting to learn more about your family, remember these three Ps, remain Positive, Pure, and Persistent.
1) Be positive. The good, bad
and ugly about the past might cause problems for the family. Keep
the love flowing for yourself and others even if you have to distance
yourself from negative kinfolk during your time of self-discovery and
family history exploration. Safeguard your heart and mind concerning
them and don't be discouraged by the naysayers and liars.2) Stay pure. You work on your family history project like an innocent child seated at a table drawing a picture. He or she periodically says, "Look what I have drawn...Could you help me with...?" Like the youngster, you have no ill intent when you create and aren't trying to hurt anyone; therefore, don't be tempted to spread your own personal hate or revise family history, because you (or someone else) doesn't agree with something or don't like someone. Avoid the temptation to take what you have learned and destroy someone else with it.
3) Remain persistent. You just want answers to your questions--nothing wrong with that. Be like a child in your quest for understanding and truth about ancestors and other kin. Children won't always accept, "No" for an answer. So keep asking and searching until you find what you are looking for.
No one could have prepared me for the myriad of emotions I felt while preparing a fifth family book at the time during 2013. A particular family story left my head spinning because there were smaller stories that branched off of that one coming from so many relatives which provided details that were quite sad and also made me angry. Around the same time I was engrossed with those family stories, too many stored files and images caused my computer to crash (I had forgotten to free hard drive space, so you will want to remember to do this or hook up a backup server to your computer--mine had failed back then.) The questions I asked of relatives awakened the ghosts of the past and during that time; I saw my share of visions and received visitations. It might be hard for some skeptics to wrap their heads around spiritual experiences so I won't go any further, but for those who have experienced strange occurrences during the gathering and recording process of family documents and relics, I validate you.
Excerpt taken from Genealogy X: What to Do When Researching Family History by Nicholl McGuire
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