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C. C. Owens & Son Grocery Store, 1923-1939.

Did you know that simply by putting up a picture or painting of your ancestors that your wealth could immediately improve? Sound bizarre? Why not try it, I thought. The Chinese believe through the balancing of the energies (Feng Shui), aligning the successes of the previous generations (father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncles, or mother, grandmother, great or great-grandmother, aunts, etc.) and your own energy, that in effect, their successes become yours. Not that you prosper in the exact same field, but that you do have an equal or greater amount of wealth and abundance in your chosen profession because it is a heritage of your ancestral blood to succeed.

By enlarging (increasing the symbolic success) on a copier and framing up an old photo of your relatives, preferably in the midst of their heyday in all of their raging glory of prosperity, you are elevating the ancestors' memory to an honored and dignified position in your home. As it hangs in your home, the ancestors are thought to visit and be happy you keep their memory alive and value their wisdom. When this happens, they are pleased and smile down from Heaven and bless the family with good fortune.

Could it get any better? I thought this sounded a little off-the-wall, so I set out to prove to myself that I should be open and let the energies work in the manner they should and watch closely and see where this took me.

I visited Kinko's to blow up the picture of my grandparents, great-grandfather, and great-aunt standing in the grocery store they operated from 1923-1939. Then I stopped at the local discount store for a frame and even sprayed my frame gold for prosperity blessings to surround the family. I was ready to hang it in the right spot.

One thing Feng Shui cautions against is putting pictures of others in your bedroom. Whatever faces (Mom, children, Aunt Gertrude, etc.) are represented in your personal bedroom seem to find their way into running your life. If you have a picture of your kids in the bedroom and none of yourself, think about who is symbolically running your family. Who is the most important? You or them? They grow up and leave home. We did... If you don't take charge and teach them what they will need to learn for their futures, how will they live? If you are not in charge, who is? Consider the pictures in your bedroom and their symbolism. What is the message that hangs there to be reaffirmed daily as you awaken? Look around and read the message.

Also, belief is strong with this custom that the ancestors will actually talk to you in spirit, not necessarily out loud, but you will feel their guidance and impressions as they channel new ideas and thoughts for your own successes to you. As you honor them, they will respond with positive energy blessings upon your life. As this is achieved, your positive energy flow of love, peace and harmony between you and the ancestors elevates your personal life and activates your money potential.

A positive lesson you are silently teaching your family is to honor the value of the family not just for prosperity purposes.

When I started to hang my grandfathers' store photo I thought it might be fun to just see what messages I might get and if it truly would work for me. Being a somewhat skeptical personality, I decided to just experiment and hang it in the bedroom right next to my pillow. If it was going to work I reasoned, I would soon be hearing from them.

The first night nothing happened. The second night came and went uneventfully. By the third night I was tired, hopped into bed and never even thought about it. About three o'clock in the morning I heard ideas being discussed around me, voices I did not recognize discussing concepts for my work.

I sat bolt upright in bed and looked around the room. I was alone, no voices, no people, no dreams, just me. This is weird, I thought, waking myself up with ideas for my work. I wrote it off to an overactive mind that wouldn't calm down and sleep. I must have awakened myself. I went back to sleep.

Later that day I thought about the great new ideas I could use with my work on the web site and in some writing I was doing. Had I imagined it or had the family really shown up and given me some insight. I was really curious. I was wondering if it was a fluke or really did happen to me. That night I looked forward to going to bed.

About 3 a.m. someone was talking to me and telling me specific things I could do to organize and change my life and prosperity level. I sat up to break the dream-like feel of the conversation. I heard about a dozen things that were being recommended and again asked myself aloud if I was making this up. About that time I looked over at the picture of my family and caught the gaze of my great-grandfather. I honest to God saw him wink at me.

As you might imagine I was a little shocked, freaked-out, unnerved at best. Not only was my Papaw telling me stuff to help, he winked in a fun way to say, Hey, I am here to help you! Listen and give this stuff a try. He had died years before I was born and here he was talking to me with valid ideas and concepts I could use in my work and life. Wild!!!

The next day I moved the picture to the office creativity area. I found the blessings of inspiration flow when I sit down and open my mind to the positive blessings of my families' contributions, not just their prosperity level. It is a way to draw positive input from the spirit of my ancestors.

For years I have encouraged people to not fear the love they feel when they remember a precious family member that has gone on, and feel their presence near. This is their way of communicating past the grave, sending forth the love that they still feel towards us as they visit from time to time to bless us.

Family members that come back to encourage us or friends are called spirit guides by the Native Americans, Italians, Irish, Scottish and Jewish faiths. It is their way to bless and love us past the pain of separation of death. It is a means to bless us still even though they had to leave. The love never dies, it remains, and we can draw upon the strength of that love through the power of God as we remember and treasure that memory.

Although I never knew my Cherokee grandmother in this life, I keep a picture of her and the family in the Wisdom and Knowledge corner of my office. I ask often in prayer that any wisdom that God would have for me that might come through her impressions or experiences be sent (channeled) to me. I was unable to know her customs or values as pertained to the Cherokee heritage. I find myself locating articles and books about tribal customs that I did not seek, yet seemingly are sent to me so I can understand more.

I have been in spirit work long enough to know that nothing is coincidence. It's not odd.. It is often .God leading us to other means of wisdom and knowledge that we might not consider. This, I have learned, is called walking a spirit path with the help of your spirit guides.

Seeking wisdom from your spirit guides is fun to try and see what might come up in your thoughts. Always put God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit or Creator as you know Him, first. The Power of God is foremost.

The ancestors' blessings are little bonuses we can receive if we open ourselves to the possibilities.The Chinese Feng Shui principle of honoring the ancestors' success is a fun way to start making positive changes for your own home and sacred environment.

Why not give it a try? You might learn something you never knew before and you might, just through honoring the family, channel some of that prosperity on down to your generation through a little Feng Shui practice and spirit guide work.

May God bring the wisdom of your ancestors to you in a mighty way.