The stars made a circle, and in the center we danced.

Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī

Renew Your Energy and Spirit with

Four Days of Brotherhood in Nature

About The Ancestral Futures Project:

]Ancestral Futures Men’s Retreat is a five-year project that seeks to carry forward the traditions of the Shem Center’s Male Spirit Retreats, Mosaic Multicultural Foundation’s Men’s Conferences, and the I-Group practices of the ManKind Project, among others.

Our goal is to create healing events for men of goodwill from all walks of life who are negotiating the tapestry of their experience and quality of their relationships.

AF creates healing retreats for men of goodwill from all walks of life. We welcome men and male-identified individuals from all walks of life—cultures, creeds, and identities—who want to gather as community and experience the blessings and power of spiritual renewal.

Ancestral Futures will emulate and innovate on our creation-spirituality, mytho-poetic, and cross-cultural lineages. In particular, we will explore how Internal Family Systems practices can increase the capacity for men to strengthen their understanding of themselves.

Every Ancestral Future’s Retreat will have a core theme. 2026’s theme is the Silk Road, and we will call upon the music, poetry, stories, and food of those ancient centuries to awaken a fuller connection to the caravan of soul in our gathering.

In large part, the Silk Road was chosen for its power to break the spell of limited convictions and reconnect us to the long chain of humanity. In this way, we can both unbind the mind and heart to better know what’s possible.

Together, we will support one another in opening ourselves up to personal meaning and in more honestly entering into this phase of our lives, between what’s been and what will come to be. When we hold our moment, we honor the ancestral and bless the forthcoming.