Can spiritual sensitivity run in families, and how should similar family experiences be understood?

In the religious experiences I have encountered, some families do have more than one person sensitive to unseen influences, so I have discussed a possible family connection. But this understanding comes from people I have met and family stories I have heard. It does not establish that sensitive parents must have children with identical perceptions, nor does family experience alone determine the cause of every discomfort.

At a party in my early years, I watched a woman read tarot for people. When my turn came, she did not shuffle and draw as before, but simply listened to the question and answered. Later she said her grandmother was connected with a temple and her mother seemed to have similar sensitivity. This made me wonder about a possible family connection. It was background she told me, not personal investigation of every family member.

My own mother became a red-head ritual master's student when young and later continued reciting the Buddha's name and scriptures. I only gradually learned this history afterward. Looking back through my present practice, I suspect she may have experienced what we call spiritual pressure on the body. References to aptitude, mission, or DNA therefore reflect these possible connections, not a claim that everything about her condition then has been established.

Ming Fen also shared experiences of older male and female cousins and younger relatives that seemed sensitive to her. Those are her family's stories, separate from my mother's experience. Similar family accounts can invite further inquiry, but the focus should still return to the present: what is happening now, what influence is involved, and then how to help.