Ancestral Futures 2026
Men’s Healing and Spiritual Retreat
River’s Bend Retreat Center
Philo, Mendocino County, California
October 1st —> 4th
About Ancestral Futures 2026
This gathering welcomes men of good will from all walks of life.
This special gathering will provide men with a dynamic and supportive space to explore and work with the gifts and challenges in their lives.
Over 4 days and 3 nights, we will build a community of energy and spirit that can imbue renewal, wisdom, and connection. Each day will have a rich array of experiences that will help men to reconnect with nature, their emotions, their body, their truths, and their need for a life with purpose, vision, and meaning.
Morning sessions will provide spaces for meditation, breathwork, dreamwork, and more. The days will have large group community sessions and small group breakouts and theme specific workshops. Evenings will turn to ceremony, storytelling, and music, so that we can be transported into ancient places in the human soul. Along the way, healthy, fresh and nourishing food will be provided at every meal.
Between What’s Been and What Will Be
This Ancestral Futures Men’s Retreat seeks to carry on and innovate on the traditions of the Shem Center’s Male Spirit Retreats, Mosaic Multicultural Foundation’s Men’s Conferences, and the I-Group practices of the Man Kind Project. It will seek to innovate on these creation spirituality, mytho-poetic, and cross-cultural events by weaving Internal Family Systems practices and the sacred memories and rituals that reach back to ancient, Silk Road, times.
The core aim of this gathering is to awaken personal meaning, that each of us can enter into the this period of time, between what’s been and what will come to be, holding the thread of life with with greater care and fortitude.
Location: River’s Bend Retreat Center
The River’s Bend Retreat Center, is situated along the Navarro River at the far West end of the Anderson Valley. The 80 acre property is also adjacent to Hendy Redwoods and can be found in the stunning contours down a quiet road in Philo, California.
River’s Bend was selected for this gathering because of the extraordinary beauty and simplicity, and the fact that is has a healthy variety of spaces and elements that will bring magic and grounding into the retreat experience.
Additionally, River’s Bend is 75 minutes from the Santa Rosa Airport and reachable from much of the SF Bay Area in under three hours.
Accommodations
River’s Bend offers various accommodation options, including lodges, rustic cabins, tent cabins, and camping.
There’s limited options…
Private Room (Single or Queen)
Shared Room (Twin or Single)
Shared Cabin (Twin or Single)
Rustic Cabin (Private Room or Shared)
Camping (Bring your own gear) 10 spots
Tent Cabin (future available)
Pricing
Full Fee Retreat Package $——
Shared Room Discount of $——
Camping Discount of $——
Limited Work-Trade and Scholarship are available
Payment
Registration Deposit: $450
Balance Due: September 1st
Payment Payment plan arrangements available upon request.
Venmo & Check
Credit Card + 3.5% surcharge
registration opens
Feb 15, 2026
Stay tuned for retreat application process
registration opens
Feb 15, 2026
Stay tuned for retreat application process
Teachers
Jef Szilagyi
Ancestral Futures is a deeper calling into men’s healing work. The aim of my role in this retreat is to bring the power of IFS informed work and a desire to create vital rituals that help move us across common time into sacred spaces and essential places. I’ve learned when men can become clear and honest about what is inside of them, it allows us to do our part between what’s been and what will be.