INDIVIDUALITY & UNIVERSALITY; Pt 4: Walking with Our Ancestors: A Journey of Surrender and Support
- Colleen Akiko
- Sep 17
- 5 min read
"It’s crucial for us all to have support systems. Yeah, I don’t know what I would have done without the monks when I was going through some of those vicious samskaras and patterns of intense darkness."
"It’s very easy to get mixed up and lose the foresight—or the higher perspective—of things. So having touch points… a lot of people see that as a weakness. No, it’s actually absolutely crucial. That’s where the whole guru tradition was born from. Otherwise, you get caught in the maya, you get caught in the thorns, and it’s a big thing to walk through all that."
PROLOGUE:
Thank you so much for joining us in this We Be the Change segment: Walking With Our Ancestors—A Journey of Surrender and Support. In part four, we open with the mystery of surrender and feeling the unseen support of our ancestors. We’ll conclude by naming some topics we’d like to explore in the future—like how to connect with the right mentor, as well as the energetics of music and the body.
The Mystery of Support
Colleen: Can I share an experience I just had a couple of weeks ago? Chris and I were next to the ocean, near some very sacred Indigenous burial grounds.
We walked out, and there was a labyrinth. I don’t know if you remember the labyrinth we used to have—it was much bigger than that one, and it took some time to walk. But we had the time, so we started.
I walked in. It was contemplative, sweet, calming. There were people on the outside saying things, but it was okay.
I came into the center of the labyrinth, and this was good. The doorway in is the same as the doorway out. So I’m walking back the opposite way along the outside, and suddenly I have this sense: a myriad of beings—ancestors, helpers—people who are with me, who love me.
They weren’t leading me so much as following me. They were behind me. And I just teared up. I was overwhelmed by how many there were, and how supportive and loving they felt.
Part of me was crying out, like a little child who doesn’t even know how to walk yet. And then—the word that came so clear for where I was in that moment, and that I still feel now—was surrender.
That’s what I came out of the labyrinth with.
The Call to Surrender
Colleen: To my mind, surrender is counterintuitive. My mind says, “This is a crazy time. You need to do one, two, three, four, five. Be vigilant. Be prepared. Anything could happen.”
I’m not saying we shouldn’t operate on that level. But for me, surrender is the word of the hour.
Matthew: Beautiful. The sacred surrender.
Colleen: Yes. It feels so different from the kind of surrender I grew up hearing—“Give your heart to Jesus.” This was something else. This was surrender with this infinite number of beings.
Matthew: With your tribe.
Colleen: Yes. It was, we’re all in this together. What’s my part? My part is surrender. For me, that translates into dissolving the illusion that I have to be a certain way to receive the help that’s here—the support, the accompaniment, the grace, the connection.
Matthew: Yes.
Ancestors, Elders, and Our Light Tribe
Matthew: What you shared is so important—that vision of the team of beings, the ancestors. That’s true for each of us.
We all have this light tribe of elders and ascended masters and our seven generations. And they want to support us.
They can support us when we open to willingness. But it often takes surrendering our constant need to hold onto the steering wheel—for their presence to really come in and support us in a big way.
Colleen: A big way—more than the mind can comprehend.
Matthew: Yes.
Connection Points and Future Conversations
Matthew: I feel complete with our time today. And yet I’d love to have more conversations with you—about your music, how embodiment is expanding into your music, and other offerings you’re putting out there.
What we can do is put this out in some podcast episodes, and I’d invite the listeners to respond with how it resonates.
Colleen: Would you be alright if we hear from people who’d like to suggest conversation topics, or even aspects of your story they’d like to hear more about?
Matthew: Of course. I love sharing. My truth isn’t just my truth—because of the way my path has unfolded, it aligns with universal principles.
That’s the beauty of a personal story. It gives us relationship and connection points. And when we talk about surrender, I’m right there with you. These are principles of the path. Sharing them brings me joy. Yes—I’m here for it.
Colleen: I love what you just said—connection points. That is my hope and prayer for this podcast: that it be a connection point.
What you’ve expressed, and the place you’ve expressed it from, is so vital right now—offered as connection points.
And you are one human connection point I deeply appreciate talking with again.
Matthew: Same, Colleen. Back at you.
Colleen: Thank you. I’d like to segment this conversation into a few episodes and include some of your music at the end, if that’s alright.
Matthew: I love that.
Colleen: It would give people processing time.
Some traditions push away or dishonor the body. But in the yogic tradition, we embrace it. The body is the temple—from the feet to the crown. The crown resides in the heavens. The feet root into the mother. The full spectrum is right here...
Opening to Grace Through Music
Matthew: Yes—because there’s such a beautiful dynamic there. We share words, stories, principles… then we open to grace through music.
Music holds truth in a different vibration—one the body can receive more deeply. The mind gets its appetizers, but what’s important is the assimilation that happens in the body.
Colleen: Yes—receiving it in the body. I know that’s what I need. If I stay too much in my head, I don’t sleep. I feel the tension. I can function, but I’m subpar. And it’s not so hard to be in a better place.
Matthew: That’s the gift of the body. It responds, it lets us know. Some traditions push away or dishonor the body. But in the yogic tradition, we embrace it. The body is the temple—from the feet to the crown.
The crown resides in the heavens. The feet root into the mother. The full spectrum is right here. The more we tune in, listen, and provide what the body needs, the rest happens naturally.
Colleen: Yes. That’s We Be the Change. Just being who we truly are, in the body. Nothing is more change-making than that.
Matthew: Totally. Walking luminaries.
Colleen: Victory to the luminaries!
Matthew: Victory to the luminaries!
Epilogue:
This concludes our series with Matthew Hara. As we ended this conversation, we named some possibilities for future episodes—like feeling music in our bodies, building supportive networks, and other explorations.
So what would you like to hear? What would resonate with you in a We Be the Change conversation with Matthew Hara?
We’d love to hear from you. Your reviews, subscriptions, and engagement mean so much.
You can reach me, Colleen Akiko, through SongRise.live. And you can find more of Matthew Hara’s content on our bonus content page. To connect with him directly, visit matthewhara.com.
Comments