Ancestors & future beings practice

This practice can be magically transformative. It is also called Seven generations practice because two hundred years roughly corresponds to seven generations.

Setting the stage: We remind everyone of their children or nieces and nephews to create a genuine sense of continuity that we are part of. We divide the group into two subgroups. One group will be of ancestors from 2025 and the other will be of “future beings” who will be alive in 2225 (200 years from now). The assumptions are:

There is human life. There are thriving and content communities living in harmony with each other and more-than-human world.
The future beings are grateful to have had people in 2025 as their ancestors.

Facilitators try to create a magic for the participants in anyway that feels genuine for the facilitators. It can feel like a genuinely other worldly thing to be able to hear the voices of our grandchildren’s great grand-child. Any kind of drumming is considered a good way to help people mentally transition to a twilight zone where people 200 years apart can meet each other. We could make it special with candles and flowers. Afternoon times are not the best if direct harsh sunlight is coming into the room. Use of evocative voice is one way. Facilitators try to evoke connection, love, awe and magic without making it corny.

Once everyone is seated, ancestors who are present day human beings can really meet a human being from 2220! For the first two questions, ancestors speak but the future beings can not respond back to the ancestors. They can only communicate with their facial expressions or eyes. For the last two questions, ancestors can not speak/respond while the future beings explain their world to “ancestors”.

We ask people to keep looking into each other’s eyes as the facilitator starts speaking questions.

First question: The facilitator recites the first question on behalf of future beings. This question starts with setting up the stage for what is happening right now in the world in general. We mention extreme income inequality, cruel and senseless wars, state of the world soils, air and oceans and then ask “Is this really true? Did we really reach a point that all water has to be filtered and most cities were ridden with pollution. And children were being maimed for oil and gas? How was it specifically for you and your families and friends?” We start with general statements and then make it specific for one ancestor, the ancestor sitting in front of the future being who is asking the questions. We give ancestors 5 minutes to respond.

Drumming starts again and ancestors thank their future being and get up to circle again. When drumming stops, they take seat in front of another future being.

Second question: The facilitator recites the second question on behalf of future beings. Second question is about the first steps the ancestors took to come out of the mainstream/dominant paradigm. We start with general statements “We are so proud of you ancestor and so grateful that you took action, you did not stay with status quo. Your generation was very wise — you put changes in place that ensured our well being. What were the first steps did you take in your life as a teacher and community member? What opposition did you face? How did you support each other? How did you create communities that understood the challenges and potential solutions?

Third question: The third question is from the ancestor to the future being in front of them, “We thought we had screwed up all life. We thought we failed you and all other species. I am so moved that you are alive and well. Please tell me what is your relationship with your local ecosystem like? What do your spiritual practices look like? How do you hear messages from crows, trees, river and mountains?”

Last question: The last question is from ancestor to future being that asks future beings to describe their self-image, what is considered beautiful, what does work look like, how do they deal with stress or grief, what is the structure of families, what do their homes look like and how do they resolve conflicts.

We give ~5 minutes to each question. Please remember to ask everyone to write down what they heard or said. It is important to not let these insights gets lost. Some participants feel inspired to act more courageously and some find clarity emerge from deep within their subconscious. Some are unable to suspend the disbelief, tap into the imaginery realm and actively resist the role-play. It is all okay. The facilitators need to trust that everyone will receive the benefits they are ready to receive at this time in their lives. Feel free to modify the instructions so that future beings have more time to speak.

End with drumming and circles together as the whole group to end the magical encounters. We can end with a song or chant if appropriate.