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Back in the 1980s, there were two books that dramatically influenced me and shaped some of what I believe about my relationship to my Ancestors and my family tree research. In those days, there weren’t computers, technology of linking to cousins or DNA research to help us with proving our connections to each other and ancestors. But books were a huge part of my early learning in the genealogy field as I didn’t know about societies, national organizations (the National Genealogical Society, New England Historical and Genealogical Society, and others existed), or other helps other than what librarians in my locale could teach me. I found some “beginner” books and talked to many in my family, especially my beloved Aunt Catherine, my mom’s older sister.
But what changed it all were two books that I discovered and bought!
Henry Z. “Hank” Jones, Jr. wrote these two books back in the 1980s.
As I had, for years, studied various spiritual and philosophical topics, learning about how we as people learn, grow and develop personalities. Yes, I’d also been in therapy, which opened some doors too. Having completed college (B.S. in medical technology in 1975 from Michigan State University), I was exposed to psychics, quantum mechanics (a bit … not deeply), and initial college courses in psychology.
Hank’s books opened a very big world to me, as I had experienced some very weird feelings and events that had me wondering what was going on. As I’ve always been a very spiritually-oriented person from childhood, I was comfortable with the sense that my beloved grandmother, Mary Elsie Cecelia (Elliott) Sutinen, was in contact with me after her death (why and how is perhaps a story for later). So Hank’s books “landed”! There were people, nationally-known genealogists (I didn’t know them then but some of them I know now) and some “regular” people like me, who had shared with Hank about the occurrences that made them wonder about the hints, odd findings in books, chance encounters with parking in cemeteries right AT their ancestor’s grave and more that propelled their research forward.
So the scientist in me began questioning what was going on! I was young, didn’t have the worldwide access to resources that we do now, but I used libraries, conversations with very smart people, and a LOT of reading. And life was moving me around – my husband Denny was in the US Air Force so we moved about every 4 years. As the years passed, the experiences and encounters came more frequently, in varied forms and about different ancestors. As our Air Force travel gave me opportunities to visit more distant cemeteries, farms and libraries, I found that I would feel odd body sensations when I was near an ancestral connection – maybe just feet away from a relative’s grave, or finding a homestead while using a map in Quebec without really knowing where we were going (I found the Belanger original homestead on the St. Lawrence through a combination of paper maps, French conversation with locals, and the odd body feelings that gave me the courage to knock on a stranger’s door – confirming that I was in the right place!).
Skip forward some decades and the wonderful advent of the computer, technology advances that gave us the internet, Google and researchers around the world. AND finding people who could explain aspects of quantum mechanics, basic physics concepts (I had been a good physics student in high school, but college gave me more), and my spiritual beliefs were deeper and broader. Without all of the detail, a magazine directed me to the concept of “luck” and the cognitive science behind it. A local university professor, met at a networking event, told me about a book about synchronicity, and various spiritual discussions and readings guided me to ancestral connections and understandings.
And it all started falling into place more significantly as I fully emersed myself in readings, study, and openly discussing what I was learning. That took me to others who would quietly confirm that they too were sensing something very unique, fascinating and warm that led them, through intuition, “chance” occurrences or meetings. Books fell off shelves, microfilm machines stopped at just the RIGHT page, and encounters with librarians stacking books offered random (were they random?) conversation leading to more!
Yes, this sounds weird, right? Didn’t matter to me as it had felt real for so long that I was beyond the idea of hiding it and I was emboldened to talk to anyone who would listen. And I emailed Hank, to ask him for a conversation by phone. He answered in twenty minutes! In that first conversation (and there have been more), he confirmed all that I was saying and encouraged me to dig into the science. I proposed to him that I wanted to create a presentation for the genealogy community about what I was discovering and he agreed to attend the first presentation.
The Allen County Public Library was kind enough to allow me to offer the first presentation that, while not as refined as now, got my point across!
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The feedback from that event propelled me forward, with people sharing emails and information with me afterwards! More resources, more books to read, more people to talk to and knowledgeable people to help me with the concepts.
I’ve offered the presentation, modified each time as I learn, for perhaps twelve times now to various groups. With each sharing, people have opened up about their personal experiences either during the presentation or privately afterwards. Some people came forward to share about a professor or university publication that could help me refine some of my concepts. Connections had grown and grown! The handout for the presentations is already six pages and could easily be over ten with all of the sources I’ve found. People knowledgeable about physics and especially quantum mechanics have helped me to keep that information simple for general audiences, and I’m even getting “random” Facebook page information to deeper concepts (odd, isn’t it that even my Facebook feed somehow knows what I want to see?! ). That’s the exciting and energizing part of this work – a feeling of confirmation, encouragement and new information that is now seemingly on a free flow for whenever I’m ready for the next piece.
What’s been your experience with what I’m sharing? Have you driven into a cemetery, not knowing where to go, and finding that you’ve stopped the car within feet of the tombstone you were seeking? Have you been at a library and a chance comment, conversation or shelf scan resulted in a key piece of information that you needed? Please share in the comments or reach out to me via judynmuhn@gmail.com – I’d love to hear more! And if you are knowledgeable in psychology, cognitive theory, quantum mechanics, synchronicity or spiritual concepts, please DO let me know – having a conversation would be awesome!
Get out there and listen, look, feel for input from “odd” sources or feelings – go with it and then tell me what happened, ok? Our Ancestors want us to find them and know about their lives. I KNOW it, I don’t just believe it. You?
How so very cool that Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. came to speak at the conference! He has been such a pioneer in developing the relationship between genealogy and genetics! He shared about some of the miracles that have happened even as recently as yesterday at the Family History Library!
Lineage Journeys 