Our Mission
We are made to be witnessed. Connected. Expressed.
But we have been severed and separated from the land, from our ancestors, from our traditions and from our direct experience with the mystery.
We have been propagandized and sold a lie of individualism.
Hidden Village is here to hold you in community as we decolonize our minds and reconnect our hearts through ancestral arts, exploring the mystery and community shadow work.
How it all started
As a person who got diagnosed with ADHD at 33, I've always tried to make sense of the patterns of my life. It has come with so much shame: never being able to focus or stay put, or finish what I started. But along the way, I have made friends everywhere and explored so many different traditions, rituals, and healing modalities.
It's so hard to write a professional bio because so much of what I have learned has been in experience and in life. Now, with all the work I have done, I can say that it was a blessing. Hidden Village is the culmination and continuation of this journey of connection, remembrance, land stewardship, shadow work, and so much more.
I've been so lucky to have so many teachers, mentors, friends, and family to guide me into the shadows and back out with fire: Lubaina Choudhury, Alesandra Belloni, Adriana Rizzolo, Lisa Fazio, Mary Beth Bonfiglio, Josh Polier, Matt Bunday, Kate Causbie, my parents and grandparents, and the list just keeps growing.
At first, ancestral work was a way for me to connect with my heritage and my grandfather, who had just passed. It also came as a surprise that while I was chasing spirituality from the East and of indigenous practices, I had no knowledge (or it was hidden in plain sight) that my own ancestry had shamanism and spirituality that came from the land of my people.
Who We Are
Hidden Village is run by Mike LoBello and is a place to reenter the village. Through events, workshops, and community, we create space to remember what it feels like to belong to each other, to the land, and to the ancestors who came before us.
We lead or host these workshops with a land and somatic approach first and foremost. Before we talk about anything, we come into the body and onto the earth, because that is where so much of our remembering lives.
Ancestral work continually evolves. Every time we go deeper into these practices, there is a new layer of grief that must be felt. Ancestral work is grief work; it is joy work; it's land work, and it's decolonization work. It asks us to slow down, feel what has been buried, and tend to it together, which is why the village matters. We aren't meant to do this alone.
Your ancestors and their traditions are waiting for you. They want to help you; they want to see you be whole, and connecting with them is such a beautiful journey that can change your life. This journey is available to everyone, whatever your background and wherever you are starting from. If you want help getting started or don't know how, we are here for you.
“The world is increasingly automated, artificial, disconnected, disingenuous, and cold, and it’s scary to see what it’s all doing to our humanity. I believe it’s the din that helps some hear the call back to ourselves more clearly. Mike is one of those people. With Hidden Village, he’s created a haven for so many of us who’ve been seeking something that gives our lives a little more meaning, and maybe some courage to fight against the grain. Mike is a seeker, too, so he understands those of us who believe meaning comes from rooting down into our own ancestral paths and branching out in solidarity to support the broader community. Hidden Village makes space and offers invaluable opportunities for those of us who find realness in ritual, authenticity through ancestral practices, magic in rhythm, resistance in joy, and joy on the dance floor.”
— Deana Graffeo Weeks, PIACE
We are Here to Welcome You Back into The Village
Our Past Events
“Hidden Village's Piazza Party this summer was the closest thing to an outdoor family gathering one could experience, even if you didn't know a single person there. We spent the whole day dancing, sharing lunches, and getting to witness the talent of many musicians and educators, with the dance led by Summer Minerva an especially high note! If you're looking to belong somewhere among hearts that share the same longing as yours, this is certainly the community to find.”
— Emily, Strega Lucania
Join the Village
