The Knowing Field Issue 14

I hope you like the new look for the journal. We have a new Graphic Designer so he has given us a bit of a ‘facelift’. I would appreciate any feedback you may have on it. the knowing field 2 It’s a privilege to receive another piece of writing from Bert Hellinger. This particular article was taken from a lecture he gave at the last Pichl gathering in Austria and talks of our relationship to mother and how relevant that is in terms of how successful we are in life. Continuing with the ‘In the Spotlight’ series, Francesca Mason Boring speaks to Daan van Kampenhout, and Ken Sloan and Berchthold Wasser. Daan gives us some insight into the background behind his combination the Hakim Dervishes of Kafiristan whom he witnessed, with astounding synchronicity, doing what can only be described as constellation work. He also quotes from the I Ching and demonstrates how Bert Hellinger’s Orders of Love can also be found with amazing similarity listed in this famous book. of shamanism and constellation work and how he came to be working the way he is.

Ken and Berchthold share with us their passion for nature and the way constellations can be used in this field, with wonderfully moving results, particularly pertinent in these times of potential climate change and environmental upheaval. In an entirely different arena, Ty Francis speaks with Jan Jacob Stam who describes for us his relationship to the organisational f ield and where he sees constellations fitting into that and the adjustments that may be necessary in terms of the use of language and understanding. We are pleased to include a rare contribution from France, in the name of an interview with Idris Lahore who talks about his encounter with Guni Baxa and Christine Essen provide us with some new ways of combining ritual and constellation work, drawing on the approach of West African shaman Malidoma Somé; an article which, in addition to Daan van Kampenhout’s interview, prompted the idea for a cover design connected to ritual, for this issue. (See separate note on front inside cover for description).

Some readers may remember Joseph Roevens and Peter van den Berg’s research article from issue 9 of The Knowing Field. This article is the completion of Joseph’s research leading to his doctorate and is an interesting snapshot of the way a number of experienced constellators are working. We have four constellation articles this time. Shannon Fleming and Sara Vaughan have produced for us a very moving and rather disturbing article informing us about what goes on behind the scenes in the use of horses to provide women with the hormone replacement drug Premarin. They show how, through setting up a community constellation, it is possible to envisage some healing for all concerned. In the second article, Thomas Bryson introduces us to a new approach to working with constellations using the modern technological tool of Skype. Finally, in this section we have two constellations from our regular contributor Ed Lynch who writes a short, but moving piece about a priest whose mother had nine miscarriages before him and a second piece about a woman’s anger.

Hopefully, Reinekke Lengelle will be providing us with a more indepth article in a future issue of The Knowing Field on the connections she has made between the histories of Sylvia Plath and Ernest Hemingway to constellation work. For now, we can be very content with the beautiful poem she has submitted and the brief background she provides us with linking their suicides to Bert Hellinger’s Orders of Love which help to set the poem in context. Also under ‘Personal Reflections’ is a submission from Franz Kalab who discusses his findings from the CSISS Colloquium held last November in Birmingham and the work of Rupert Sheldrake in particular. Following this, Peter Bourquin tells us of his views on adoption and offers some very interesting statistics taken from recent newspaper articles in Spain. Finally, in this section, Sadhana (Kay Needham) describes her soul’s journey and links it to the synchronicities that eventually brought her to constellation work. FRIENDS AND DISTRIBUTORS We are deeply grateful to the following people who continue to support the journal with donations and bulk sales: Friends We have two book reviews in this issue. The first is from Clare Kavanagh who gives us a detailed look at the structure and content of Franz Ruppert’s book: Trauma, Bonding & Family Constellations – a must for those of us working in the field of constellations and trauma.

The second is from Richard Wallstein and is a critique of Daan van Kampenhout’s book The Tears of the Ancestors. Hunter Beaumont offers a brief report and a thank you to those who attended the first ISCA gathering in Innsbruck and there are reports from the last Pichl camp in Austria, the Intensive at Kloster Bernried and a submission on Bert Hellinger’s visit to Kuala Lumpur earlier this year. I would like to invite others to offer this submissions to this section which is such a good way for people to keep abreast of what is happening in the wider field of constellation work. Finally, we have one letter from Vivian Broughton responding to a letter in the previous issue from Tomás Kohn. All four people interviewed for the ‘In the Spotlight’ section in this issue have talked of their hopes and concerns for the future of constellation work.

Daan is grateful for the inception of ISCA which he sees as helping the maturation of the work and building a kind of community. He is also excited about the gradual emergence of ‘local’ constellators working within particular cultures in a way in which outsiders would not be able to. Ken is glad to see the work moving beyond the boundaries of psychotherapy and would like to see more research into the effectiveness of constellations. Berchthold talks of his concern that people will reject Bert Hellinger, whilst Jan Jacob’s concern is how to bring in new people for the next generation who won’t simply repeat patterns but will take the work forward in new and exciting ways.

My thanks once again to my editorial and advisory team for their unfailing support.

Barbara Morgan

Editor