The Knowing Field Issue 19

Editorial

I recently attended a talk on crop circles. I had always held a somewhat sceptical view of them, wondering how it was physically possible, but assuming that they were, for the most part, man-made. On listening to the speaker describe her experience of these strange phenomena, I am now convinced that something extraordinary is happening which is completely beyond my understanding, beyond the concept of time and space as I now know it. Is this where we sit with constellations? Is this the same strange f ield we are inhabiting and each trying in our own way to making meaning of?

So how do we make meaning of constellation work? This issue of the journal brings an impending sea change with views and meaningmaking diverging in different, sometimes opposing directions. We have been going for many years now and maybe the time is ripe for us to take stock, consolidate, see where we are headed, and share new ideas. Bert Hellinger sets us on the road through this issue with a controversial and thought-provoking piece entitled: God and the Holocausts. He makes reference to the Bible and quotes passages to describe the route of the word holocaust and invites us to move beyond our own conscience to a place where there is no right or wrong, no good or bad.

His talk is addressed to the Armenian people during his visit there, but the message is for all of us. the knowing field 2 In the Spotlight this time are Chris Walsh talking to Bubula Lardi and Dimitris Stavropoulos, interviewed here by Janos Szabo. Chris Walsh talks of the development of constellation work in Australia and his current inclusion of mindfulness in his facilitation. With Bubula, he reflects on the history of the growth of the very popular online discussion group which he set up, known to all as ConstellationTalk.

Dimitris offers some contentious comments on male/female relationships and links his ideas to his ongoing work with archetypes in constellations and his increasing use of what he refers to as ‘The Resonance Method’ – involving the wider field of group participants as self-selecting representatives. Franz Ruppert and Vivian Broughton in their slightly different but connected descriptions of Trauma Constellations are set on a course for creating a completely new paradigm for constellation work. Franz’s contention that his only connection with the original constellation work is the setting up of representatives provokes the question: what is a constellation?

This question runs through all the articles in this issue in some form or other and is something that only the field of constellators can ultimately decide upon. The word itself somehow emerged and I guess any possible shift in the field will also be an emergent process. Vivian links Trauma Constellations to her roots in Gestalt and the need for working phenomenologically, the autonomy of the client being paramount. Franz’s background is in psychology and he has worked extensively in the field of mental illness so his approach has a slightly different emphasis but the underlying message is the same: “We are offering something radically different.”

It is ironic that Franz Ruppert’s underlying theory is around splits in the soul triggered by trauma and actually the effect of this innovation is that a split seems to be happening in the field of constellation work. Jane James & Terry Ingham, alongside Una O’Connell remind us to stay grounded by explaining to us tangible ways in which they are making a difference within the field of education, using some of the tools and ways of thinking of constellation work with very positive results. Liliane van der Velde ventures into the world of organisations and offers her approach to incorporating ‘spirit’ into her organisational work. Painter of the cover design, Diana Douglas, on the other hand, offers us a link between her personal approach to painting and the way she facilitates constellations – a return to the less definable realm of constellations. At the other end of the continuum from Franz and Vivian are suggestions such as that made by Elmar Dornberger with his Liminal Constellations – surrendering completely to the wider field and whatever it has to offer.

He ventures to suggest we may be approaching the 100th monkey syndrome, a new paradigm in constellation work, which links back to my initial contention that we are approaching a sea change. In amongst all this new development, it is also important to stop and take stock, to reflect and consolidate where we have arrived as a constellations community. Some experienced people are doing just that. In the first of his keynote addresses at the US Conference, Hunter Beaumont asks the question: How do Constellations Mean? Most of us with experience recognise by now that a constellation does not hold the objective truth in relation to a specific individual; it appears to pick up on energies in the system and we make meaning in our own way – one important reason why it is useful to exercise caution when it comes to interpreting what we see.

Michael Reddy takes us on the second part of his journey to try and make meaning out of constellation work by looking at time, space and consciousness and building bridges to the scientific world and the research that is taking place there. Next to reflect and consolidate is Judith Hemming. She writes in a very moving way of her personal journey through constellation work and a systemic approach to life, reflecting on the changes to her family relationships and friendships. She then takes her philosophy out beyond the boundaries of her personal life and describes how her work has influenced the field of politics and the knowing field education.

Stephen Busby puts his own slant on the same theme as he vividly describes how constellations are about a completely different philosophy of living – no wonder Bert Hellinger refers to himself as a philosopher. It is a pleasure to include another contribution from Russia with Elena Veselago offering us some of her current ways of working – choosing more than one representative for one client, asking people in the holding circle to follow their instincts and step in as they feel moved, standing in ourselves as facilitators and testing the f ield. These are exciting developments for us all to consider and discuss. Before we leave this section, Don Opatrny reflects on his experience of the US Conference and offers us a cautionary note amongst all the euphoria present there – the risk of dilution of some of the concepts of constellation work and a move away from what many of us hold dear, as the need for making money appears to take precedence over careful consideration and scrutiny of the quality of the work we are offering.

The report on the Moscow Congress shows that the US is not the only place where constellations are really taking hold. Elena surprised me with her report on how many facilitators there are in Russia and all the amazing work they are doing there. Mira Tveitane reports on the training Vivian is offering in Sweden, along with Tore Kval on Trauma Constellations. She gives us some insight into this innovative approach. Alongside Don’s reservations, the US Conference is, for the most part, full of glowing reports of connections made, stimulating addresses and interesting workshops; links with indigenous peoples (albeit with some possible difficulties) and the importance of ritual introduced by Francesca Mason Boring and Malidoma Somé. The predominant theme seems to have been one of building community, which in the far flung reaches of the US is a very important factor.

In the Book Review section, we have two complementary reviews: Gary Stuart’s on Bert Hellinger’s new book Laws of Healing, focusing on how to achieve good health and John Ainscough’s impressions of Stephan Hausner’s book on his work with constellations and illness. In the last of the book reviews, Max Dauskardt shows us that some people are already in that new paradigm discussed elsewhere in the journal, with his description of Ervin Laszlo’s thinking in his book: Science and the Akashic Field: an integral theory of everything. He writes of his excitement in being able to make direct links between Lazslo’s writing and constellation work.

As I reflect on this collection of articles for this issue, it seems to me that we are at a cross-roads where we have to decide whether we wish to continue in this new, indefinable place where we surrender to the greater forces of the wider field and trust the outcome or whether we attempt to take ourselves beyond it and carve our own, individual path. Vivian, Franz and Elena all talk about our intention. Maybe it’s time for all of us to examine what our own intentions are in relation to the ongoing spread of this important work. Or do we see if it is possible to be without intention, simply letting ourselves be guided by the knowing field? This divergence of approaches may lead to a split in the field or it may not. Time will tell.

My thank you goes to all those who created the commemorative issue of the journal for the US Conference and included in it an acknowledgement of the r’s hard work in keeping this journal going. It felt very touching to be acknowledged in this way and in turn I want once again to thank my advisory team for their unfailing support.

Don Opatrny has now been included in that team, as his work to boost sales in the US is beginning to pay off. Thank you readers, for helping us by spreading the word amongst your colleagues! You are the true foundation of this journal. Finally, we have a new website! We also have a new, user-friendly forum for discussion of articles and I invite you to offer your views there.

What do you want from this journal? What really supports the internal community of constellators? Please visit it and let us know what you think.

Barbara Morgan