Ancestral Futures
Men’s Retreat 2026
October 15—18
River’s Bend Retreat Center
Mendocino County, California
We welcome men of good will
from all walks of life.
About Ancestral Futures
This gathering will provide men with a dynamic and supportive space to explore 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.
Mornings will begin with meditation/breathwork, dreamwork, or music sessions. Days will be filled with large and small group meetings/workshops with down-time to enjoy the river and the land. Evenings will be filled with evocative rituals, poetry, music, and movement practices that carry us toward ancient and future memories that snap time and care for the soul.
Throughout, healthy, fresh and nourishing meals will be provided.
If you have any questions, please contact us.
Between What’s Been and What Will Be
Ancestral Futures Men’s Retreat 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. We will innovate on these creation spirituality, mytho-poetic, and cross-cultural events by weaving Internal Family Systems practices. In particular, this years event will foster our connection to music, poetry, story, and food of the Silk Road and the sacred spirit once shared in abundance by those traditions.
The invocation of the Silk Road is meant to break the spell of our modern convictions and reconnect us to the long story of humanity. As we do, we will support one another to awaken personal meaning and more honestly enter into this phase of our lives, between what’s been and what will come to be.
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.
registration opens
March 15, 2026
registration opens
March 15th
Stay tuned for retreat application process
Teachers
Jef Szilagyi
I’ve learned the more clarity and compassion we have for what lives inside of us, the stronger the bridge we can be. The gift and power in a men’s retreat is in how the collective energy helps us anchor into our lives in a way that’s unique and transformative.
I hold the possibility that IFS informed wisdom will help us, as we seek to make sense of our lives and acknowledge the truth of time and change.