Sister Chan Khong, the first fully-ordained monastic disciple of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, offers us this guidance on Touching the Earth during the "How To Grieve" online retreat 2021.
We are first invited to acknowledge our blood ancestors - our genetic roots - and consider the positive qualities and strengths that we have inherited from our lineage, even if we have a challenging / non-existent relationship with our blood family. We are then encouraged to pour onto the earth the pain, grief, suffering and negative habits of our family, so that these can be held by Mother Earth and transformed.
Sister Chan Khong then invites us to consider our land and spiritual ancestors, and what we may have inherited from these lineages.
Finally, she guides us in a Touching the Earth practice, where we are invited to listen to her words and touch the earth alongside her.