First thing to say is that Systemic Constellations have nothing to do with the stars or astrology; “constellation” in this case merely refers to a physical map we make, either using desk top markers, post-it notes, pieces of paper or coloured squares, of the “system” we are looking at.
The “system” might be a workplace scenario, personal relationship, your family of origin, a new business venture or a difficult repeating behavioural pattern you have wanted to be free from for so long.
I’ve heard it said that Systemic Constellation is a methodology that people turn to when nothing else they’ve tried has worked!
Primarily because most other “change” methodologies work from the premise that the pattern which is troubling you, belongs to you, you own it, it’s your problem.
Systemic Constellations opens up the possibility that this unwanted pattern didn’t actually start with you
But instead has been passed down to you through the generations just like our physical DNA!
Old traumas, behaviours and difficulties can be passed down through the generations, we often see imprints from the Irish potato famine and the 2 World Wars cropping up as recurring themes in constellations.
The occupation of Guernsey is also a recurring theme for islanders who’s families experienced it.
The information is passed down in a sort of energetic source code, which can be explained somewhat by looking at the science of Epigentics.
But in truth, that doesn’t wholly explain the phenomenon, since Constellation techniques work equally well in business environments where we are not related to the actual people.
My dear friend and mentor, Elaine R Harris, describes trying to explain what we do in constellations in her informative website as like “trying to explain to an alien what an orange looks like and tastes like”.
In other words, it’s really hard to convey what this methodology is all about through words alone, because what happens is an experience beyond words, conveyed through a somatic, bodily experience.
The practice of Systemic Constellations, as first encountered by Bert Hellinger and developed into the methodology it is today, came before the science.
Both Epigenetics and Quantum Physics are beginning to give scientific explanations for the work, but at its heart it is still a mystery.
But the practices and techniques have been developed experientially through 10,000s of hours by practitioners around the world to build into a volume of knowledge which I have been training in for the past 9 years.
Family Constellations whether on a One-to-One basis or in a group workshop, help us to discover how factors in our family history are having a direct impact on our lives and professional success in the present day.
To understand how this works in practice we can think of a constellation as creating a shift between 2 pictures of how we see the world.
The 1st picture is our head picture, the way we are accustomed to seeing and understanding the world. Within this picture sometimes we meet situations we’d like to change but they are resistant to change even with coaching or therapy.
Constellations are a way to navigate to see the 2nd picture – the deeper, emotional, holistic, embodied picture. We all know this view exists, but it usually hangs our below our conscious awareness where we can’t access it by talking alone.
When we swap between these two pictures, we often find just how incredibly loyal we are being to our family systems and the sacrifices we are making to ensure our belonging.
Constellations help us understand why we have become accustomed to unconsciously behaving in undesired ways, which creates an embodied shift in how we see and experience the world, enabling us to belong to our family systems just as securely, but just in a different more helpful way.
Subsequent behaviour changes flows from our unconscious mind, meaning we don’t need to try to do anything different! Things shift and change as the old patterns dissolve.
I love Systemic Constellation work because of the profound shifts I have experienced in my own personal growth journey while participating in coaching sessions, workshops and trainings.
It brings me great joy to help create similar experiential shifts for the people who come to me for coaching and support.
