Bringing Ancestral Awareness to Our Spiritual Journey | 2026

Program Start Date & Time: January 22nd, 2026  |  5:30 pm

Program End Date & Time: January 25th, 2026  |  12:30 pm

As we travel along the spiritual path, we realize the importance of including all of ourselves on the journey of becoming more sane, compassionate and awake. When our ancestral or cultural inheritance is cut off from our spiritual practice, we may feel a disconnect between who we are and the teachings we aspire to integrate. Inherited wounds can be avoided, suppressed or side-stepped for decades, only to resurface at some point later in our lives. Rather than being a problem to be fixed, opening to our ancestral heritage can connect us with a deeper sense of our humanity, revealing resources we may not have appreciated, and healing deep wounds.

Especially at this time of collective unraveling and rapid change, many of us feel called to transform patterns that have been carried by our ancestors and handed down to us, in order to contribute to a kinder, more liberated world. This joining of outer and inner realities is, in fact, one of the definitions of “drala” — the transformational power of life we experience in personal moments of connection with any living energy, including the ancestral energy and strength we carry and our connection with all of life.

The journey of this 3-day workshop will include acknowledging both the wounds and strengths handed to us from our ancestors and the collectives to which we belong. By opening to these dimensions without bias, we open to ourselves and gain a deeper, more personal access to basic goodness so that our spiritual practices can more fully take root.

Through embodied mindfulness and awareness practices, engaging with the felt sense, and deep listening to each other, we will invite the field of our ancestors within a larger sense of nowness to create a space where transformation and healing are possible. Opening to the ground of our humanity with honesty, courage, and compassion, we may naturally find ourselves touching into a realm of sacredness that supports and strengthens our journey forward as well as our relations with others, including those of other cultures, beliefs or practices.

Practices will include:

Embodied mindfulness and awareness practices – facilitated by guided meditations and short readings,

Instruction in the practice of “felt sensing” (also called Focusing), which can be regarded as an extension of embodied mindfulness/

Simple rituals such as creating an ancestral altar together. Unless inappropriate, certain Shambhala and/or Buddhist chants can be included.

Deep listening and sharing in circles of 6 and/or Focusing (felt sensing) in pairs or triads.

Testimonials

“I recently attended Ellen’s course Bringing Our Ancestral Lineage to the Spiritual Path.  My ancestral lineage includes generations of catastrophic experiences related to being Jewish – most recently, the Holocaust.  My childhood and personal identity were bound to post Holocaust terror.  Ellen’s gentle, healing style of communication, providing guided focusing and safety while exploring trauma, allowed me to become free of that bondage. I am so grateful.”

– P. Ohm

No special preparation needed for this program, but participants are encouraged to bring 1 or more objects with them that represent an aspect or part of their ancestral lineage. This could include a photo, piece of jewelry, cloth or other personal possession, or an object from the natural world, such as a rock, stone, shell or feather that has personal significance. Also a notebook for journaling.

Program Sample Schedule

Thursday (January 22nd)

2:00 – 5:00 pm Registration

5:30 – 6:00 pm Orientation

6:00 – 7:00 pm Dinner

7:15 – 9:00 pm Program Session

Friday & Saturday (January 23-24)

(6:30 – 7:15 am – Optional Early Morning Session)

7:30 – 9:00 am Breakfast

9:30 – 12:15 pm Program Session

12:30 – 1:30 pm Lunch

1:30 – 2:30 pm Free Time

2:30 – 4:00 pm Program Session (DMC FR talk during this period on Saturday)

4:00 – 4:30 pm Tea Break

4:30 – 6:00 pm Program Session

6:00 – 7:00 pm Dinner

Sunday (January 25th)

(6:30 – 7:15 am – Optional Early Morning Session)

7:30 – 9:00 am Breakfast

9:30 – 12:30 pm Program Session

12:45 – 1:30 pm Lunch and Departure