Here is the ancestral mind body guide I promised:

When Mom and I meet with people that have cancer or any other sickness, we don't look at the symptoms we look at the way they are sleeping, eating but the most important thing question there is What have you been carrying that never felt enough to express? 

What Might the Body Be Asking Us to Feel?

In my ancestral and spiritual beliefs, the body, mind and spirit are never completely separate. Our ancestors cared for the whole person through prayer, plants, nourishing food, rest, movement, time in nature and the love of community.

They believed that pain deserves to be heard not feared, judged or hidden.

The reflections below are not statements about what causes cancer. They are gentle questions that may help us explore what the heart has been carrying while doctors and qualified professionals care for the body.

Colon: Releasing the Past

The colon may symbolize releasing what the body no longer needs. Emotionally, it can invite us to reflect on resentment, control or painful experiences we have struggled to let go of.

Letting go does not mean pretending something never happened. It means slowly releasing its power over our peace.

Ask yourself:
What am I still holding because I never received the apology, justice or closure I needed?

Lungs:Making Space for Grief

The lungs receive and release every breath. Ancestrally, breath represents life, spirit and our connection to God.

The lungs may invite reflection on grief, sorrow or losses that were never fully mourned. This could be the death of someone we loved, the loss of a relationship, a dream, a home or the person we used to be.

Grieving does not mean living in sadness forever. It means giving sorrow a safe place to move through us.

Ask yourself:
What loss have I never allowed myself to fully grieve?

Liver:Anger, Frustration and Powerlessness

In traditional Chinese medicine, the liver has long been symbolically associated with anger and the healthy movement of energy.

This does not mean anger damages the liver or causes liver cancer. It may simply invite us to notice anger that has been swallowed, denied or turned inwarespecially anger connected to injustice, betrayal or feeling powerless.

Anger is not always something to fear. Sometimes it reveals where a boundary was crossed.

Ask yourself:
What am I angry about—and what is my anger trying to protect?

Breasts :Sorrow, Nurturing and Overgiving

The breasts can symbolize nurturing, nourishment and care. They may invite reflection on the ways we care for everyone while forgetting ourselves.

Some people give until they feel empty because they learned that love must be earned through sacrifice. Healing may begin with receiving the same tenderness we freely give to others.

Ask yourself:
Where have I abandoned my own needs while caring for everyone else?

Throat:The Truths We Swallowed

The throat carries our voice. It allows us to name our needs, tell our stories and speak our truth.

Symbolically, the throat may invite reflection on words we swallowed because speaking did not feel safe. Perhaps we feared rejection, conflict, punishment or disappointing someone we loved.

Ask yourself:
What truth have I been afraid to say out loud?

Thyroid :Voice, Truth and the Pace of Life

Located in the throat, the thyroid may symbolically connect with expression, personal truth and the pace at which we live.

It may invite reflection on feeling silenced, constantly rushed or pressured to become someone others expected us to be.

Ask yourself:
Where have I silenced myself to keep the peace and whose pace have I been trying to follow?

Stomach:Worry and What We Cannot “Digest”

The stomach receives and processes nourishment. In symbolic mind–body traditions, it may also represent our ability to process difficult experiences.

Chronic worry, uncertainty or an experience that feels impossible to accept may leave us feeling emotionally unsettled. Caring for ourselves may include slowing down, praying, resting and asking for support.

Ask yourself:
What situation am I still struggling to accept or understand?

Kidneys :Fear and Survival

The kidneys may symbolically invite reflection on deep fear, insecurity and living in survival mode.

Sometimes the danger has passed, but the body and heart still feel as though they must remain alert. Healing can mean gently learning that we are allowed to rest, trust and receive help.

Ask yourself:
What am I afraid will happen if I finally let myself rest?

Pancreas :Bitterness and Life’s Sweetness

Symbolically, the pancreas may invite us to explore bitterness, disappointment or the feeling that life has lost its sweetness.

This does not mean forcing ourselves to be positive. It means allowing small moments of joy to return without feeling guilty for them.

Ask yourself:
When did I stop allowing myself to experience joy?

Uterus : Safety, Intimacy and Buried Pain

The uterus can symbolize creation, womanhood, intimacy and safety. It may invite reflection on pain connected to relationships, rejection, abuse, sexuality or experiences that made someone feel unsafe in their own body.

Abuse is never the survivor’s fault. Healing does not require silence, shame or forced forgiveness. It may begin with being believed, receiving trauma-informed support and reclaiming ownership of one’s body and story.

Ask yourself:
What part of my story still needs to be witnessed with love and without judgment?

Ovaries : Creativity, Loss and Feminine Identity

The ovaries may symbolically connect with creativity, fertility, womanhood and the ability to bring something new into the world.

They may invite reflection on reproductive loss, lost dreams, aging or wounds connected to feminine identity. Creativity is larger than motherhood it can also live through art, service, ideas, relationships and the life we build.

Ask yourself:
What dream, loss or part of my identity have I not given myself permission to grieve?

Skin: Protection, Rejection and Boundaries

The skin is our physical boundary between the inner self and the outside world. Symbolically, it may invite reflection on protection, touch, rejection and personal boundaries.

Some of us were taught to tolerate behavior that made us uncomfortable. Healing can include learning that “no” is a complete sentence and that protecting our peace is not unkind.

Ask yourself:
Where do I need a loving but stronger boundary?

Bones: Support and Our Foundation

Bones give the body structure and support. Symbolically, they may represent our foundation, sense of belonging and the people or beliefs that hold us up.

They may invite reflection on feeling unsupported, unseen or uncertain about where we belong.

Ask yourself:
Where do I need support and have I allowed myself to ask for it?

Beginning to Release What We Carry

In the traditions I was raised around, emotional healing may begin by:

• Naming the pain without judging ourselves

• Speaking with someone who feels safe

• Writing the words we were never able to say

• Allowing ourselves to cry and grieve

• Praying and placing what we cannot control in God’s hands

• Resting without guilt

• Moving, breathing and spending time in nature

• Nourishing the body with care

• Creating boundaries that protect our peace

• Accepting love and support from our community

• Working with a counselor or trauma-informed professional

Forgiveness should never be rushed or forced. It does not require reconnecting with someone who harmed us, excusing what happened or giving up healthy boundaries.