The Knowing Field Issue 34

Dear Reader,

It’s interesting to me that the journal seems to have an ebb and flow rhythm to it, much like life in general. The last issue was a real bumper one and this time we have fewer articles, but nonetheless some very interesting themes.

We start out as usual with two pieces from Bert Hellinger: the first taken from his book Neue Geschichten which describes how often something or someone is knocking at our door and we often try to resist it—whether it be an illness, love, or even death—and actually, if we open the door, the effect can be transformative. The second piece is taken from his book The Churches and their God and looks at the prefixes of Des- and Dis- in the words Despair and Discord, through the lens of separation. He describes how bringing our mother and father together in union can bring many things together again within us, with a resulting feeling of oneness with all that is.

Diana Claire Douglas interviews Karl-Heinz Rauscher in this issue on her ongoing interest in the theme of collective constellations. Karl-Heinz describes in detail the work he does on this important theme, both with Anngwyn St. Just and on his own. He talks about his work with ‘Healing Voices’ (sounds and voices that come to him from the Field during constellations) and how they can help with particularly difficult situations involving victims and perpetrators.

Anngwyn St. Just continues to shock us with her images of the effects of the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl and the long-term devastation, which seems to have had an impact on every aspect of the environment there. She paints a picture of the strange irony of a group of people having a rave on this dangerous site and speculates on the attraction many feel towards dangerous and horrific scenes. In a second piece entitled Exodus, Anngwyn reports on the plight of migrants from the Central American countries who meet a hostile reception in many of the countries they find themselves in. The USA, with its history as a country formed on immigration, genocide, and slavery, is the most adamant in its rejection of immigrants, Donald Trump representing a deeply racist section of American society.

Her final piece entitled Rashomon (from the Japanese film carrying that title) takes the examination of this racism a step further and depicts a young, white American apparently mocking a Native American. Coming from a Catholic area promoting ‘white supremacy’, it is hardly surprising such a confrontation would take place. More disturbing is the attempt at an apology later on with its associated different versions of the ‘truth’ in the media.

I am pleased to have from Jonathan Hooton a first-time article on Shame. Hopefully, this will prove a helpful and enlightening article for both facilitators and trainers, as it is important for us all to be able to recognise when we might be triggering shame in a client, and how to deal with it if we do.

Representation is a strong theme in this issue. For the first time since beginning my job as Editor, I published on Facebook an extract from two articles addressing the theme of representation and invited further articles for this issue. I received two extra ones as a result, from Catherine Geils and Alemka Dauskardt. In her response, Alemka challenges us all to have the courage to step forward and allow ourselves to be fully part of the new emerging paradigm which addresses the theme as part of an as-yet unverified, new way of viewing the world as a holographic, self-organising, Field-based phenomenon. Through this kind of lens, the separation between representatives, clients, and the holding group becomes irrelevant and challenges our deeply cultural belief in individualism.

It was timely that Catherine Geils, Thirusha Naidu, and Stephen Edwards were just in the process of completing a research project into representation at the time of my invitation and I am pleased to be able to include that research article here too.

As Karin Dremel writes in her reflective piece on the same theme, given what a vital part representation plays in Constellation Work, it is surprising that not more is written or said about it. In my own experience, being a representative is an enormous gift and I feel sure I have gained as much, if not more, from continuing to be a representative than I have as a client.

In fact, as Poppy Altmann highlights, there are a fair number of facilitators who charge less for participants who only represent than those who come as clients, which can give the impression that representation is somehow less important than being a client. Her exploration of this theme covers a wider area that encompasses the essential aspects of attunement and embodiment, both of which are needed for effective representation.

Ricí Ní Chléirigh picks up the theme of Fields and writes of her own experience with this phenomenon and her ability to tap into it when out in nature. Inextricably linked to the concept of Fields is presence—a quality needed as representative, group participant, client, and facilitator. David Cagney writes candidly of his own journey towards this quality and recounts a harrowing tale where he lost presence and the ensuing consequences of that.

With embodiment such an important part of representation, I appreciate the contribution from Franziska Pretsch on body image, a subject that is an ongoing issue for many people. She describes her own personal journey and how she has worked with this theme professionally, with both adults and children.

We have just one report this time on the recent West Coast Systemic Constellations Intensive, from Josh Alexander, who makes it sound like it was a very nourishing experience for all.

Karin Dremel returns again at the end of the journal to review Anngwyn St. Just’s latest book Time, Space and Fractals Volume II which is yet another challenge from Anngwyn for us all to face up to the fact that ongoing trauma is systemic, rather than individual, and will continue to repeat until we wake up to the new paradigm of fractals in Trauma.

We finish with some soul nourishment through the moving poems of Angus Landman and first-time contributor Samo Koprivec.

With the upcoming departure of our own Prime Minister after a long fight to gain for Britain a dignified exit from Europe, alongside the increasingly pressing issue of climate change, the future seems unpredictable—and not only in our own country. At the same time, what we have to offer through Constellation Work brings hope to what would otherwise be a pretty devastating global picture for us to pass on to our children and grandchildren.

My thanks to my team, in particular Francesca Mason Boring and Abi Eva, and as always, my graphic designer Lubosh Cech.

Barbara Morgan
Editor