A Good Ancestor: exploring your emotional legacy

Have you, or previous generations of your family, experienced any of the following?

  • broken sibling relationships

  • estrangements of family members

  • unexplained illness

  • early deaths

  • illicit financial gain

  • involvement in wars or crimes (either as perpetrator or victim)

Our societal focus on money means that ‘inheritance’ is often regarding as being synonymous with positive financial transfers. Yet, whilst some have inherited wealth, others have inherited poverty. Not just financial poverty, but a poverty of emotions. Broken parents. Broken families. Unprocessed trauma. Family loyalties, and even secrets, passed from generation to generation.

There is clear evidence that repressed trauma is passed on epigenetically across generations [e.g. 1]. This means that most people alive today carry different layers of trauma to varying degrees. This includes not only personal and intergenerational trauma, but also collective trauma from events such as wars, genocides, slavery or refugee experiences [2].

Are you conscious of all aspects of the legacy which you are passing to future generations? Do you want to be able to say “It stops with me.”?

This is a systemic constellation workshop and will include an opportunities for some participants to explore a transgenerational issue from their own family. Representing in someone else’s constellation can also bring clarity to your own situation. For more information on the methodology of systemic constellations read this.

Next workshop dates:

Online: Friday 15th May 13:30-17:00 UTC

RESERVE YOUR PLACE (online)

London: Tuesday 7th July 18:30-21:30, Hammersmith Quaker Meeting House, 30-32 Bradmore Park Road, London W6 0DT

RESERVE YOUR PLACE (IN PERSON)

Reserve your place for £65. A limited number of concessions are available at £40, enter code AGA-0526 (online) or AGA-0726 (in person) at checkout. Please select the regular priced option if you can, to ensure concessions remain available to those whose need is greatest. If cost is a barrier to participation, please email Steph.

[1] Yehuda, R., Daskalakis, N. P., Bierer, L. M., Bader, H. N., Klengel, T., Holsboer, F., & Binder, E. B. (2016). Holocaust Exposure Induced Intergenerational Effects on FKBP5 Methylation. Biological Psychiatry, 80(5), 372–380

[2] Calderon de la Barca, L., Milligan K. & Kania J. (2023), How recognizing trauma in ourselves, other people, and the systems around us can open up new pathways to solving social problems., Stanford Social Innovation Review, Feb 12 2024

With thanks to Roman Krznaric, whose book The Good Ancestor: How to Think Long Term in a Short-Term World inspired the name of this workshop.