Ask the Elders

Eighteen Voices·Across Time·Speaking Now

Ask the Elders

Choose a figure. Ask them something. See what comes back.

Here are some voices (mostly) from the past whose own struggles may just shed some light on the deep challenges we now face in the modern world. All their responses are based on each figure’s life work, writings, and teachings.

You can assume they’ve all been watching our modern world unfold — in all its beauty, and pain. Some are watching from the other side, some very much still in it.

So have a go — here’s your chance to speak directly to some of the most consequential minds in human history!

J. Krishnamurti

J. Krishnamurti
Philosopher of total freedom
Ram Dass

Ram Dass
Teacher of loving awareness
Thich Nhat Hanh

Thich Nhat Hanh
Teacher of interbeing
Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi
Pioneer of nonviolent resistance
Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr.
Prophet of the beloved community
Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela
Architect of reconciliation
Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin
Scientist, diplomat, abolitionist
Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln
Preserver of the Union
Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth
Prophet of freedom and dignity
Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt
Champion of human rights
Robert F. Kennedy

Robert F. Kennedy
Witness to tragedy and hope
Marianne Williamson

Marianne Williamson
Teacher of love and transformation
Black Elk

Black Elk
Oglala Lakota holy man
Rigoberta Menchú

Rigoberta Menchú
Indigenous rights Nobel laureate
Cesar Chavez

Cesar Chavez
Organizer for human dignity
Wangari Maathai

Wangari Maathai
Founder of the Green Belt Movement
Simone Weil

Simone Weil
Mystic philosopher of attention
Pablo Neruda

Pablo Neruda
Poet of love and justice
Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein
Physicist of cosmic wonder
David Bohm

David Bohm
Physicist of wholeness
Gregory Bateson

Gregory Bateson
Ecologist of mind and pattern
Carl Jung

Carl Jung
Explorer of the unconscious
Richard Tarnas

Richard Tarnas
Archetypal cosmologist
James Hillman

James Hillman
Founder of archetypal psychology
Now In Conversation With


← Choose a different figure

These responses are generated by AI drawing on the historical writings, speeches, and documented ideas of each figure. They are offered as imaginative reflections on their known thought, not as authoritative statements. Some figures are contemporary; their responses reflect their published teachings, not their current views.