The Knowing Field Issue 7

Issue 7 of ‘The Knowing Field’ marks the 80th birthday of the founder of constellation work, Bert Hellinger. To acknowledge that event, I am pleased to be able to publish a short biography and an article written by Hunter Beaumont for the Festschrift – a publication produced in honour of Bert and his profound contribution to mankind. In a very short space of time, he has managed to take constellation work across the globe, crossing cultures in a way that few people manage to achieve in a lifetime. The theme of crossing cultures is prevalent in this issue and begins with the image on the cover which has been taken from a painting by Parnelli Cutknife, a Cree man from the Hobbema Reserve in Alberta, Canada.

We are fortunate to have in the same issue Daan van Kampenhout’s review of Francesca Mason Boring’s book ‘Feather Medicine’ which takes us more deeply into the Native American culture, giving us a touching insight into their way of life and the sense of community that seems to be so deeply embedded – a kind of ‘weness’ that appears to ride above any need for individualism. Applying the painting to the other articles in this issue, I see the constellation stretching in all directions – open, like the hands. Michael Gurevich stands in the middle, challenging us to take a good look at ourselves and the work we are doing and with examples of his own self-revelations he shows how easily we can miss essential points and make assumptions. Edward Lynch and Andy Stuck are expanding the work sideways, taking us beyond the boundaries of conventional constellations into new, controversial areas.

With Hunter Beaumont’s exploration of the soul, we are drawn more deeply into our experiences of constellation work, whilst Franz Ruppert’s article on the integration of the split components of the soul takes us forward. Looking behind, we see Almut Grosse-Parfuss building bridges between constellation work and the much older psychoanalytic approach and Brigitte Essl demonstrating how the ancient healing science of homoeopathy can be effectively combined with constellation work to treat chronic illness. If we return to the sideways spread we see a reaching-out into different cultures. Decio and Wilma de Oliveira offer a welcome contribution from Brazil that shows a possible cultural influence of the history of racial mixing in that country on current dilemmas for couples, whilst Colette Green shares her experiences, as well as her insecurities, difficulties and rewards, of working in an Indian culture. The cross-cultural theme continues with John Payne’s book extract on Apartheid, another bridge-building attempt in a culture where the pain of that period of history is still very fresh and raw.

By contrast, in her review of ‘Invisible Dynamics’, a book on organisational constellation work, Fiona Coffey is more critical and claims that the authors have been unable to effectively cross cultures from the German to the English organisational field. So how can cross-fertilisation 2The Knowing Field take place effectively? Alun Reynolds’ report on Gunthard Weber’s visit to England to run an organisational workshop in Cambridge is a demonstration of one way. Many of these articles highlight the differences that exist between cultures and how these overlap into our attitudes and ways of working with constellations. One of our challenges is to remain aware of the need for dialogue when we are working across cultural boundaries and to remain open to and aware of historical and current sensitivities.

What are the effects of the cross-fertilisation of cultures? Does it lead to a dilution of identity or belonging to our own group? And what happens within our own group? Does our need for individual identity conflict with the need to belong? Some cultures certainly seem to have a greater emphasis on individualism than others. It may be that those who can best feel that deep sense of community are those who are thrown together in times of adversity. War, with all its atrocities, brings people together in the face of a common enemy and a strong bond is formed. Environmental disasters such as the Tsunami last December seem to have the same effect. Do we need a common ‘enemy’ in order to feel that sense of belonging and care for the greater whole? Is it that, for some of us, the physical and psychological distance between us is so great now, that we can no longer gain a sense of a ‘we’? In some big cities, close physical proximity seems to produce isolation rather than community. 2006 And what about the Constellation community? How far does it stretch? Who belongs? Such questions may arise if an international association is formed and painful issues around inclusion and exclusion may well emerge.

As Editor of this journal I am faced with the dilemma of inclusion and exclusion every day. If I include a radical article, will it turn away certain readers who are stirred up by it? If I choose not to include it or edit it to such an extent that it loses its original thrust, am I turning away certain writers who feel barred from freedom of expression? And what of the journalreading community? How far does it represent the constellation community as a whole? These are interesting questions to ponder and ones that I feel sure will re-emerge on a regular basis as the constellation work continues to expand and evolve. In the next issue, I will include a section ‘Letters to the Editor’ and welcome any comments on the themes I have raised above or on any topics arising from the articles in this or previous issues of the journal.

My grateful thanks again to my Associate Editor, Carol Siederer, the Editorial team and Advisors and all those who help in many different ways with the journal.

Barbara Morgan