Ancestral Chills

I want to share an experience I had this weekend, and I would love to hear other people’s experiences that may be similar.

I went to my hometown, Gettysburg, PA, to connect with my ancestors who lived there at the time of the battle. They were free Black people by the names Basil and Mary Biggs. They were conductors of the Underground Railroad and after the battle, Basil was given the job of disinterring the dead from mass graves and reinterring the Union soldiers in the National Cemetery. He was paid well for the grisly task, so he bought a 120 acre farm. He sold part of the land to the National Park Service where they and the Battlefield Memorial Association erected the monument of the High Water Mark and in front of the Copse of Trees. This is the sight where the Union stopped Pickett’s Charge.

I sat at the monument on Sunday and reflected on their lives and achievements. I have a picture of them standing on the very monument that I was sitting on. When I started walking away, I had full-body chills, head to toe. I stood there and smiled, turned around, and went back. This happened 5 more times! Full-body chills every single time. Thousands of people died violently at this location, but the chills I had were comforting and peaceful. I wasn’t the least bit frightened. I whispered to them, thanked them for everything they did in life and for guiding their descendants now from the ancestral realm. I had a deep bonding and connecting experience this weekend. I am so proud of them and love them so much.

Again, I would love to hear of other people’s experiences in communicating with their ancestors. What kinds of things do you think they’re telling you? Do you dream of them? When you get the spiritual chills, what thoughts cross your minds? How do you connect with your ancestors?