The Knowing Field Issue 33

Dear Reader,

This has been an incredibly intense time for me as I’ve woven my way through the multicultural themes that have arisen recently—not just in bringing together this issue of the journal, but in my life with constellations generally. This is a bumper issue, reflecting the swell of articles revolving around these larger questions and the interest in working with them.

Due mainly to enhanced communication systems and greater ease of travel, the world has become a much smaller place. Access to and awareness of what is happening elsewhere in the world has never been greater. This is both a blessing and a difficulty, as we are faced every day with war, natural disasters, refugees and immigration problems, wildlife extinctions, the effects of climate change, etc. Sometimes for me, it feels so enormous I need to withdraw for a while and return to my ‘small’ life.

At the same time, I know we have an amazing tool in Constellation work for tackling some of these larger themes—not with any kind of grandiose idea of changing the world, but at least with a humility and a capacity of open-heartedness for meeting and facing ‘what is’. Moving beyond the huge divides and general lack of awareness and education feels like a mammoth task. Nevertheless, we have made a beginning.

It is my hope that in reading some of these contributions, you as a reader will be able to increase your own awareness, to allow yourself to be educated, and to become more open-hearted about some of the issues you may find it difficult to face.

I am pleased to be able to lead us into this theme with two touching submissions from Bert Hellinger, who has just had his 93rd birthday. These extracts are from two of his earlier books, and his image of victim and perpetrator lying side by side beyond the grave is a profound one.

The workshop on Colonialism & its Aftermath in Bristol brought together around 65 people and included direct descendants of both perpetrators and victims of colonialism and slavery. Organised by Lynn and Paul Stoney, Janet Hermann, and myself, it was an important first step into this potentially turbulent field. We were helped to begin to bridge the gap between the African-Caribbean community in Bristol and the white population with the help of Nadinne Dyen. Anngwyn St. Just, well-known historian, social traumatologist, and regular contributor to this journal, held the group through two days of constellations focused around this theme. She talks about her experiences of the workshop with Diana Claire Douglas in the first Spotlight interview in this issue. Later in the journal are contributions from other people present, some of whom were interviewed by Diana. Others are trainees of mine who had an email exchange following the workshop. Also included is an individual story from Geerte Vink on her personal journey with being a descendant of colonisers.

It was interesting to note the field phenomena that emerged in that group, which seemed to centre around the overall theme. It takes courage to look at these huge issues, as well as self-compassion and an ability to face and be with what is. We are grateful for the opening and closing ceremonies to the event offered by members of the African-Caribbean Community in Bristol.

The second Spotlight interview is with Tanja Meyburgh, who organised the first African Constellations Experience held in KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, which was preceded by a visit to the Mariannhill Monastery, where Bert Hellinger spent 16 years as a missionary, to honour the Zulus and their contribution to Constellation work. I was sorry I was unable to join the visit to the Monastery but delighted to attend the Experience. Being present at this Experience was profound for me. I am deeply respectful of the work Tanja and her team are doing—attempting to bring together previously divided people and training people from different cultures to facilitate constellations.

It is a privilege to have submissions in this issue from members of the Zulu nation who have added their own contributions to the Experience. We are also grateful to Francesca Mason Boring, one of the main facilitators, for her report on the event. South Africa is a stunningly beautiful country, and the Experience was made all the more nourishing by the presence of wild animals in the nearby reserve and the acres of unspoilt countryside.

Three other contributors add to this theme. Sonya Welch-Moring, who was present at both the African Constellations Experience and the Colonialism workshop, offers her personal reflections on being a black constellator in a field of predominantly white facilitators and trainers. Lana Mareno writes movingly of her personal struggles in spanning both black and white influences. Her submission formed part of the opening ceremony of the Colonialism workshop in Bristol, as did the stirring poem from Dr. Edson Burton entitled Ship. The Colonialism workshop and the African Constellations Experience seemed to be deeply connected across the miles.

Staying with the theme of colonialism and the violence that so often accompanies it, we have an account of two constellations submitted by Ingala Robl, which she facilitated as part of her training in Mexico. These constellations reminded me of a time in Germany when I represented the indigenous of Mexico in a large-group constellation facilitated by Daan van Kampenhout. I recall feeling the strength of the community I was in and seeing the approaching white immigrant population as a group of isolated individuals wanting something from us, rather than the other way around. This image has been very much with me as I have been navigating my way through this theme.

Also in the Constellations section, we have an article submitted by an anonymous author on the difficult subject of paedophilia, which of course links so deeply into the theme of victims and perpetrators. This may make difficult reading for some, but it is the painful, yet authentic, journey of a man who, through therapy and constellations, managed to come to a place of safety around others. I want to acknowledge Judith Hemming here—she worked tirelessly with him over many years and helped him reach a place where he has found the courage to speak out about his journey so far.

We have two further contributions from Anngwyn St. Just that are linked to this theme: the first on her visit to Nijmegen in the Netherlands, which was occupied by the Germans in the war, and the powerfully evocative display of shoes hanging from overhead wires that connected her with the time of the war and Auschwitz. Her second contribution is based in the USA and again looks at the history of slavery and the atrocities perpetuated by Americans (themselves immigrants originally, of course) on refugees, even to this day. She draws on the writings of German-born Hannah Arendt, who managed to gain citizenship in the USA and fought repeatedly for the rights of refugees there.

Continuing to travel around the world, we have the second part of Lap Fung’s article on Social Trauma in China, which makes very harrowing reading at times, and the contrasting soulful experience of both Colette Green and Annie Cariapa working in India—two other countries that have suffered terribly in the past, India very much at the hands of the British.

In the Personal Reflections section, in addition to Sonya Welch-Moring and Lana Mareno, we have two submissions that are essentially about the journey towards self-acceptance: one from Melody Allen on being a single woman over 30, the other from Nancy Bennett on her battle with her constant drive for perfectionism and her difficulty accepting what is.

Sarah Peyton continues her exciting journey through brain development with a further exploration into the right and left hemispheres and the shadows that lie inside—our blind spots—which she presented at the International Intensive in Germany last May, held at the new location of Kochel.

Also in the Research & Development section is a submission from Russian-born Yelena Barbash, who writes about her approach of combining Eriksonian hypnosis with constellations to work with psychosomatic symptoms. By creating somatic bridges (moving along a timeline while observing bodily sensations), she feels this method can offer powerful opportunities for healing.

The third major international event that took place this autumn, around the same time as the African Constellations Experience, was the ISCA Gathering in Croatia, entitled Constellating Community. It is clear from the numerous reports that this event was significant in empowering many people to take up leadership positions who may not normally do so, and thus expanding the field and setting the scene for increased empowerment among facilitators.

I understand Max Dauskardt is standing down as Chairman of ISCA, and I would like to use this forum to thank him and his wife Alemka for the tireless way they have held the field over the past number of years. Making the transition from the ‘ISCA that was’ to what it has now become was, I’m sure, not an easy one.

In addition to the poem from Edson Burton, we have two other poems in our Poets’ Corner: Truth from Angus Landman and Hungary from Rafael Ruiz-Amdal.

My thanks, as always, to my team of Advisors and Editors and to my graphic designer.

Barbara Morgan
Editor