The Knowing Field Issue 9

A committee of which I am a member, has been meeting and working on a set of proposals for an international networking association; the working name for the association we have been using is the International Systemic Constellations Association (ISCA). I am writing to tell you a bit about the direction of the Committee’s thinking and to invite you to participate in an open meeting on 29 May immediately after the conference in Cologne. The work of the committee seems especially relevant since Bert has announced that he will not attend the International Congress in Cologne this year, and that he is offering his own Summer Training Camp as an alternative to the 6th International Intensive Workshop in Germany that precedes the conference. Like a lot of people, I went through a personal process when I heard the news, but the dust has cleared, and I think I see some things more clearly. I feel a bit like those two theatre masks, laughing and crying at the same time.

Those of you who know of my long association with Bert will understand the sadness. It is personal, and I hope the community will respect that. However, I do want to say something about the good side of Bert’s decision in connection to the work of the committee. I think that it is excellent that he is offering the summer camp. Hopefully it will be a real opportunity to have close personal contact with Bert that has not been possible for those who have only known him in the large public demonstrations. I greatly value my many hours of close personal contact, the repeated opportunity to know him in his humanness and as a friend. I know this is true of the other facilitators who have worked with him in small groups and personal sessions over many years. I wish this experience for everyone interested in the constellation work.

At the same time, I have been concerned for some years about the future of the work, about ‘constellations after Bert’. I observe two primary approaches to supporting the continuing growth of the work. One has been ‘Bertcentred’, trying to gain as much as possible from him while he is still active. The other has been to support a networking among practitioners, to encourage an atmosphere of open communication and exchange of information and experience among colleagues. While I do not see these two approaches as contradictory, I have the knowing field felt more strongly called to support the second. Organising the International Intensive Workshop has been one way to help build the international community. Volunteering for committee work has been another. On May 29, immediately following the congress in Cologne, there will be a meeting open to everyone interested in the future of the constellation work. The purpose of the meeting is to make some decisions about the international constellation community.

The questions to be decided are fundamental and may set the course for the next few years. Some people have concerns about being excluded, others about standards, about avoiding misuse of power and manipulation. There is genuine concern about how to learn more, how to deepen our work and how best to support the development of the work itself. That meeting will be the place to make your views heard. It is important that the international community be as widely represented as possible. Not only are you welcome, you are needed. Any network can only function if it serves the interests of the community. The committee I mentioned has been working on these questions and will make some recommendations to the meeting. Several things have become clear in our discussions: Any international network or organisation must be inclusive; its focus must be on making information available, facilitating communication.

The committee has worked hard to think these questions through and to be able to present clear recommendations. Now your voice is needed. If you have been wondering about whether or not to go to Cologne, this is a great year to get involved. Will the constellation work that Bert channelled into the world survive him? It is up to us.