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Category Archives: mental health
Talisman of gratitude
According to Mayan shaman Martín Prechtel, all inspiration comes from the Other World. When we create something, we are supposed to give back to our ancestors in the Other World, using the form of “eloquent sound,” or by offering something … Continue reading
Posted in death, genealogy, mental health
Tagged African spirituality, ancestors, indigenous teachings, Martin Prechtel, mayan spirituality, ritual, shaman, shamanism
2 Comments
Interview with my father
My father died five years ago. Our relationship continues to evolve. Last summer, while brainstorming an exercise for a group at an artists’ and writers’ retreat organized by my friend Bethany Ides, I invented the ancestor interview. It turned out … Continue reading
Posted in genealogy, mental health, spirituality
Tagged African spirituality, Ancestor Interview, ancestors, Bethany Ides, Father's Day, Glenn Leisching, ritual
6 Comments
The insane asylum next door
In a letter to my great-grandmother in about 1941, her sister, Emma Davies Sharp Smith, sketched her memories of their childhood home in Columbus, Ohio, where they lived on Marion Street: It was a dead end st. at both ends … Continue reading
Posted in Civil War, genealogy, mental health
Tagged ancestors, Andersonville, Civil War, columbus, letters, lunatic asylum, Ohio
2 Comments
Tarantella, an ancient Sicilian dance ritual
My Italian ancestors lived in the Dolomite Mountains, the Alps near the Austrian border. However, there’s a theory that the family name, Ciliotta, referred to a migration from Sicily (note the “cil” in both words), many centuries back. So when … Continue reading
Posted in mental health, spirituality
Tagged ancestors, dance ritual, healing, indigenous teachings, Post-Traumatic Stress, ritual, Sicily, tarantella
8 Comments
Divining Eddie
A few weeks ago, in the midst of a divination (a reading of my spiritual status, based on objects I spread around on a cloth inscribed with nature symbols) by my friend Glenn, he said, out of nowhere, “There’s something … Continue reading
Posted in genealogy, mental health, spirituality
Tagged AHRC, ancestors, divination, Glenn Leisching, sibling groups
3 Comments
Alpine avalanche in World War I
My grandfather, Attilio Ciliotta, was born in the Italian Alps, near the Austrian border. At the start of World War I, his older brothers applied to join the elite Alpini Corps. Only Mario, the oldest, was accepted. Attilio, at nine … Continue reading
A loss talisman
Loss is awful. Loss keeps coming up in my life this month, not as in new losses but as in memories of past losses, perhaps insufficiently grieved. In the West, we use therapy to uncover and discharge past griefs. Indigenous … Continue reading
Posted in mental health, spirituality
Tagged African spirituality, ancestors, Dagara, Glenn Leisching, grief, loss, shamanism, talisman
5 Comments
Ancestral flood relief
I’m not saying I totally believe in this stuff, but it does seem to work. I’ve been excessively anxious since the hurricane. I’m grateful the water didn’t enter my house, but cleaning up the flooded garage and crawlspace has been … Continue reading
Posted in genealogy, mental health, spirituality
Tagged African spirituality, ancestors, Dagara, flood, Glenn Leisching, Post-Traumatic Stress, ritual, shamanism, wedeme
4 Comments