The-Knowing-Field-Issue-29

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Dear Reader,

For the first time in many years, we have no article written by Bert Hellinger. I understand he had a car accident recently, but the latest news is that he is fine! It has been interesting to me to discover how integral to the Journal Bert and his support have been over the years and how accustomed I have become to being able to include his contributions. However, I am delighted to say that instead, I have an article sent in by Sophie Hellinger from a judge at the State Court in Bahia, Brazil – Sami Storch, who has been very successfully using constellations in his judicial system – a fascinating read holding great promise for the future of the legal system if it catches on elsewhere too.

Our *In the Spotlight* section this time includes Diana Douglas, now a regular contributor, in conversation with Hence Ganti of Hungary on his experience of facilitating a very large group constellation on the socio-political situation in Europe. He gives his views on how to hold such a large group and facilitate the whole, at the same time as looking after individual processes – not an easy task!

Moving on to the *Research & Development* section, I am always pleased to include Sarah Peyton’s Bernried talks, as I find them very informative and inspiring. This one took place last May and is on the subject of Microchimerism. A new word to me, microchimerism is the transfer of cells from the fetus in the womb across the placenta into the body of the mother. Sarah talks about this phenomenon in the context of Hellinger’s balance of giving and taking, as the infant’s cells have been proven to repair damaged cells in the mother’s body. She also talks about the way, as pre-natal infants, we have a sense of who has been in our mother’s womb before us, whether live siblings or previous miscarriages, abortions, etc. This raises questions for me about the modern phenomenon of surrogacy and IVF treatment and what long-term effect it may have on both mother and child. These are contentious areas which are not easy to speak or write about.

Sarah goes further and explores the way the range of emotional expression in the mother or main caregiver can place limitations on the tiny infant. This has far-reaching implications for those of us working in different cultures, where the dominant emotion may be different from our own.

Also in this section is a further welcome exploration, this time by Jeffrey Rich, of the links between Shamanism and Constellation Work. Jeffrey beautifully describes how he has expanded his experience of working shamanically by including constellations in his ‘Soul Retrieval’ journeys with clients.

We have a theme in the *Personal Reflections* section, with four articles on the stance of the facilitator. Firstly, John Waite strongly challenges Bert Hellinger’s assertions in terms of gender and equality between the sexes. He also challenges the divide between the stated phenomenological stance of constellation facilitation and what is written about order, and the virtual impossibility of remaining truly phenomenological as facilitators, free of our own prejudices and subjectivity.

Leslie Nipps also reflects on the phenomenological method and, like John Waite, she too emphasizes the impossibility of remaining completely phenomenological in our approach. She challenges us all to look at our shared values and lists her own, inviting us as readers to check out ours and to be open to our blind spots in the work.

Following John and Leslie, Sneh Victoria Schnabel shares with us another aspect of phenomenology – her experience of moving into a space of ‘not-knowing’ and using the ‘field’ to inform what is happening. This article formed the basis of her keynote speech at the sixth Constellations Conference held in San Diego in November 2015. She is challenging us to enter fully into that space and to trust what happens as facilitators in the field.

The fourth and final article in this section comes from Ty Francis, who, as a coach, organizational consultant, and constellations facilitator, has a different emphasis, encouraging us to ‘become ourselves,’ to allow ‘love’ into the relationship with a client, without falling into the trap of becoming the ‘helper’ and infantilizing our clients and thus weakening them.

Moving on to *Constellations & Rituals,* we have a further case study from Judith Hemming, reported by David Presswell. This one is on the theme of emigration and how turning our backs on our homeland can have a long-term effect on how we settle in our new country and relate to others. If, for practical reasons, it is not possible for us to return to our homeland, then acknowledging our roots and finding some way to integrate some of our original culture with our current way of life seems to be essential if we are to thrive and find peace in our soul.

Bill Mannle, in his ongoing work with young people, adds a poignant reminder of the value of ritual in helping the soul to heal old wounds. Working with a young woman who has had an abortion, using a ritual that includes all the women in the room, seems to have had a profound effect on her soul and ability to cope.

With Anngwyn St. Just and Karl-Heinz Rauscher, we return to the large group constellation environment as they describe their work with Men, Women, and Peace. This constellation was presented at the Congress for Systemic Intelligence held in Mexico City in May 2016. As both authors come from countries with a heavy history of war and destruction – Anngwyn from the USA with ancestral roots in Cornwall, Britain, and Karl-Heinz from Germany – they seem ideally suited to lead a constellation on such an issue. The constellation was done ‘blind’ and some surprising and, for some, disturbing outcomes were revealed. The article ends with some proposed individual exercises to help with inner peace, peace with your partner, and peace within the world.

In the *Reviews* section, Jen Altman once again delights the reader with her ability to ‘sniff out’ exhibitions, films, and books, which offer another perspective to complement the work we are doing with constellations. She writes about an artist’s exploration of her excluded aunt and the possible impact this loss had on her mother and thus on the artist as the daughter. This is a very moving piece of artwork that can’t help but touch the soul of the reader.

The various reports on the ISCA Gathering in the final section are full of admiration for the courage and hard work of the Chairman, Max Dauskardt, and the Organizing Committee led by his wife Alemka, in setting up and running this Conference, following the near demise of the organization the previous year. It seems that the whole event was not without its difficulties, but the most positive outcome was that they managed to work through these, to amend the Charter so Bert Hellinger was re-included in his rightful place as the Founder and to reach a celebratory place together by the end. Congratulations to Max and Alemka Dauskardt and all those who helped to make it such a successful event.

We have a poem from Jamie Hasenfuss titled ‘Voices’ to follow the ISCA reports. Jamie writes about the power of the superego and how we can find a way to ‘include’ it rather than be ruled by it. A touching reminder of how to move forward from the pain of our childhood memories and internalized messages.

I end this Editorial on a sad note. Included here are dedications to two significant men in the constellations community who have recently died. The first is friend and colleague, Donald Pogue, who was a regular attendee at the Bernried Intensive in Germany. I have many loving memories of time spent together with him and his wife Susan at that beautiful venue in the south of Germany. Less well known to me was Michael Blumenstein, who died just two weeks after Donald. These two well-loved men will leave a gap in the constellations community, but their memory will live on in those they leave behind.

With all kinds of turbulence in the wider world, we are entering a precarious time in 2017, but such turbulence can be a great motivator for action, so I am excited at the prospect of what might happen too! Within the constellations field, I think our place in the wider scheme of what’s happening is becoming increasingly important. At the same time, the call for humility, keeping our feet on the ground, and knowing our own limits is equally crucial. I say this as a reminder to myself too!

I wish all readers a New Year full of wonderful surprises and adventures, nourishing times with family and friends, and above all a peaceful and joyful time in this amazing world we inhabit.

Barbara