Transforming Ancestral Trauma through Nature, Ritual, and Community
Jul 3rd, 2022 - Jul 9th, 2022 | Wild Mountain, Colorado | Nancy Jane, Bettina Straub
When we heal our roots, we open up new possibilities for our future.
–Thomas Hubl
This program provides an opportunity to consciously explore how the shadows of the past remain undigested in our personal and collective lives. To what degree are we aware of their impact on our present day experiences? How does our behavior reflect some trauma or dysfunction from the past? What resilience and wisdom have we inherited through our lineage?
The stories of our ancestors are part of who we are today, but much of their influence remains unconscious. Through immersion in wild nature, supported by ritual and safe community, we can begin a process of healing. When we explore and bring awareness to what is unintegrated in our ancestral line, we create more presence and more vitality in our life that helps with the challenges we face. The journey is both a deeply personal exploration as well as an inquiry into our collective trauma.
Historical events, such as war, the Holocaust, slavery, the genocide of Native Americans, and the Depression, intersect with the traumas in our lineage and are carried across generations. Through awareness and the courage to face the past, we can bring light to the shame, fear, mistrust, numbness, grief, and other feelings that perhaps lie dormant from “looking away.”
The format of the 7-day program is spacious, to allow for delicate insights to emerge. We will meet daily in sharing councils, with teachings followed by experiential reflection walks on the land, and then further councils in the evenings. The framework of the Four Shields will support and help us map out our exploration of ancestral wounding. Other rituals and practices will enhance our time together. On day 5, participants will undertake a 24-hour solo with optional fasting. Upon return participants will share their stories and have them mirrored by the guides.
Program Overview: This 7-day program provides an opportunity to transform the energy we have inherited. We sit in a sea of personal and collective influences that color how we react, what motivates us, and how much we trust ourselves and others. Through awareness and the courage to face the past, our deep dive into our genealogy leads to a beautiful liberation of aliveness, inspiration, and gratitude for ourselves and those who came before us.
Program Questions Contact: Nancy Jane at [email protected]
Additional course details & Materials
We encourage people to arrive at 9:00am on July 3. The ceremony will end by noon on July 9. More logistical info will be sent when you register for the program. ADDITIONAL FEES: Land Use Fee $80 to be collected at or before the time of the program.
You will be responsible for bringing your own food and equipment, though we can provide some gear if needed. We ask everyone to come prepared to live self-sufficiently. You will need to bring shelter and clothing suitable for a full range of inclement weather.
All participants must submit the required health questionnaire and liability form.
If you have questions about the enrollment process contact us at [email protected] or call 760-938-3333.
A recommended reading list will be provided.
Wild Mountain is land of the Tabeguache Ute people and other Indigenous tribes who traveled through this area of the Colorado Rockies. The Ute lived and hunted in this abundant land of elk, buffalo, deer, and bear before white settlers came and forced them onto reservations in southwest Colorado and Utah.
To learn more about our commitment to regenerative relationships please visit Cultural Relations.