This is a great interview to listen to if you are considering doing some in-depth work with constellations. Steve has a great way of articulating the experiences, insights and transformations that he went through when he attended both group and individual sessions in Systemic Constellations. Bali 2021
Systemic Family Constellations
A profound modality that has infinite applications. In Constellations we look at our lives, issues and questions from a broader 'Systemic Perspective' (e.g. our family system, ancestors). They show us where these dynamics are out of balance, often going to the root of the issue. Through gentle but deep ‘Movements of the Soul’, ‘Healing Sentences’ and following the energy in the system, often significant shifts are made at a Soul level, harnessing Support where there was once Limitation, Clarity where there was Confusion, Love where there was once Unhealthy Entanglements .
How do Constellations work ?
It is a fascinating modality because it can show us so much. a phenomenon that we use where even the founder , Bert Hellinger, doesn’t know how it actually how it works, yet it most definitely does. It works in profound ways to show us the energy dynamics within a system that operate in our lives beyond our conscious understanding. It can be used with any type of system. Most commonly it is used to look at dynamics in our family and ancestors, but it can also be used to look at dynamics within ourselves; within our communities, our countries, within companies etc. Its applications are limitless. It can be used to look at what might be affecting us in terms of our health, relationships, finances, work, even to look deeper at our dreams. Its applications are endless!
In a way its like we all become channels even without previous training. Simply by setting the intention to look at something related to us or to a group member, we use representatives, either people or objects, to stand in for people, places, objects, emotions, anything that we are in relationship with, which is pretty much everything in our world. We place these representatives in spatial arrangement with each other according to our intuition. What happens then is that ‘the constellations’ comes alive and these representatives take on the energy of those people, objects, places etc. It even applies to people that are no longer living, so in this way it is a ‘quantum’ experience, beyond the time and space that we are living in.
In a way its like we all become channels even without previous training. Simply by setting the intention to look at something related to us or to a group member, we use representatives, either people or objects, to stand in for people, places, objects, emotions, anything that we are in relationship with, which is pretty much everything in our world. We place these representatives in spatial arrangement with each other according to our intuition. What happens then is that ‘the constellations’ comes alive and these representatives take on the energy of those people, objects, places etc. It even applies to people that are no longer living, so in this way it is a ‘quantum’ experience, beyond the time and space that we are living in.
Hidden Dynamics
We are then able to see the dynamics operating within the system. When these dynamics are made more visible. What often shows up, as we are looking at a particular issue, are the places where the system is in tension, where things are out balance. All systems want to be in a state of harmony, so in the places where the system is out of harmony. We give space for the representatives to follow their impulses, which are beyond the mind, and watch what unfolds. What we are often witnessing are movements of the soul or spirit mind.
This first stage in itself can be very healing as the ‘client’ witnesses the system that he/she is part of from a broader perspective. Time and time again people report that the representatives reflect very accurately the characteristics of people in their family, or whatever system that is being explored.
This first stage in itself can be very healing as the ‘client’ witnesses the system that he/she is part of from a broader perspective. Time and time again people report that the representatives reflect very accurately the characteristics of people in their family, or whatever system that is being explored.
Group Constellations
In the case where there are people as representatives, space is given for the representatives to follow their impulses. These impulses are generally felt quite strongly and the constellation takes on a life of its own. The facilitator can then gently introduce various methods, e.g sentences, movements, gestures to encourage the representatives to move more to a state of health / harmony. This cannot be forced as it needs to be in alignment with what is. Systems generally want to return to a state of harmony, and the tensions show up where it is out of balance.
The energy in a constellation is followed and where possible the suggestions from the facilitator can help unravel places where the energy is stuck, entangled, out of balance and things can start to free up. Through this process shifts can happen at a deep soul level, primarily for the person who is at the focus of the constellation and often also for the people in their families / communities / their health / relationships / finances etc.
Over many years of people practicing constellation work, many patterns that are affecting us are shown. Facilitators are trained to watch out for key patterns that effect systems the most so they know what ‘red flags’ to look out for, and in that way offer various interventions to the system in order for it to free up. However each constellation is unique and needs to be viewed anew to see the specifics of what is operating within it.
The energy in a constellation is followed and where possible the suggestions from the facilitator can help unravel places where the energy is stuck, entangled, out of balance and things can start to free up. Through this process shifts can happen at a deep soul level, primarily for the person who is at the focus of the constellation and often also for the people in their families / communities / their health / relationships / finances etc.
Over many years of people practicing constellation work, many patterns that are affecting us are shown. Facilitators are trained to watch out for key patterns that effect systems the most so they know what ‘red flags’ to look out for, and in that way offer various interventions to the system in order for it to free up. However each constellation is unique and needs to be viewed anew to see the specifics of what is operating within it.
Quantum Shifts in Reality ...
After a constellation, people often report big shifts in their lives and in people around them. For example an estranged brother will suddenly make contact after many years of not being in communication.
Victoria very beautifully shares her experience of doing Constellation work with Ciara.
A Heart Warming Story ...
One example of this that so beautifully highlights the impact that constellations can have is with Client ‘Paul’ (not his real name to protect his identity and privacy). Paul had spiralled down many years of addiction and was close to loosing his life on many occasions. He had no other option but to face his demons and see what could help him out of his self destructive path.
He was 30 years old at the time, and had come to rehab to deal with severe addiction. He had been estranged from his father from the age of 7 years old. Post divorce, his father could no longer handle his crying son and dropped him off at his grandmothers, never to see him again.
On exploring his earlier family life, I discovered that his parents had had 6 miscarriages before he was born, and he was the only living child. The unresolved grief and anger in his family system was palpable as we set up the constellation. It was obvious then that the Paul’s crying as a young child was directly related to the unresolved grief and pain that the parents were not facing.
When we set up a Group Constellation for Paul, it was clear that it was hard for the father to come back into the system. There was a lot of anger directed towards him. One of the representatives burst into tears and was showing the amount of grief in the field. After working through some of the grief and several other movements in the constellation, the representative of the father was able to come closer.
Soon after that constellation, Paul's actual father made contact with him in rehab. His father apologised profusely for the biggest mistake in his life. In that phone call Paul heard his dad say everything that he had wanted to hear from his dad all his life.
One week later another phone-call was made and the relationship was mending very rapidly. The next contact was when the father flew across continents to meet his son in rehab.
It was so wonderful to receive a photo of father arm in arm with his son, with big smiles on both of their faces!
He was 30 years old at the time, and had come to rehab to deal with severe addiction. He had been estranged from his father from the age of 7 years old. Post divorce, his father could no longer handle his crying son and dropped him off at his grandmothers, never to see him again.
On exploring his earlier family life, I discovered that his parents had had 6 miscarriages before he was born, and he was the only living child. The unresolved grief and anger in his family system was palpable as we set up the constellation. It was obvious then that the Paul’s crying as a young child was directly related to the unresolved grief and pain that the parents were not facing.
When we set up a Group Constellation for Paul, it was clear that it was hard for the father to come back into the system. There was a lot of anger directed towards him. One of the representatives burst into tears and was showing the amount of grief in the field. After working through some of the grief and several other movements in the constellation, the representative of the father was able to come closer.
Soon after that constellation, Paul's actual father made contact with him in rehab. His father apologised profusely for the biggest mistake in his life. In that phone call Paul heard his dad say everything that he had wanted to hear from his dad all his life.
One week later another phone-call was made and the relationship was mending very rapidly. The next contact was when the father flew across continents to meet his son in rehab.
It was so wonderful to receive a photo of father arm in arm with his son, with big smiles on both of their faces!
This case alone shows the profound results that this work can affect. Time and time again there are similar examples of the massive shifts that can happen, brining families back together, healing deep core wounds, having more compassion and understanding for where people are coming from, their behaviours etc. Often we see that there is trauma somewhere in the system, which shuts people down or causes them to act in certain ways that they otherwise wouldn’t have at a deep soul level.
Ancestral Patterns
It gets more interesting when we see patterns that pass down through the generations until the root can be identified, witnessed and the entanglements released. ‘Ill gotten gain’ is one interesting phenomena. This is where an ancestor has gotten rich unjustly, through the suffering of others. So unconsciously people in the subsequent generations have the feeling that they are unworthy to be wealthy and sabotage any wealth that they might accumulate, often resulting in bankruptcy. This pattern will repeat until the origin of the suffering is revealed, witnessed and the victims of the situation are honoured for their suffering.
Reckless Behaviour
Another strong dynamic that can be witnessed would be if a parent dies young. The child of that parent can subconsciously want to follow their parent into death, so they are not able to live their lives fully, and can often get themselves into serious accidents or feel strange symptoms at the anniversary of their parents death. This can be worked with in constellations to highlight the pattern. The deceased parent generally wishes that their child would live out their life fully. Once this hidden energy dynamic is revealed and worked through the child is then freed up to be fully in life and often symptoms of depression, reckless behaviour, ill health can disappear.
Individual Constellations
Constellations can also be done in an individual session. In this case we use objects as representatives or cushions that the client him or herself can step into to witness and experience the different elements within his family / system. In a same way the work can be done, patterns and imbalances revealed in order to work with them towards a healing outcome.
Quantum Timeline Therapy
A useful way of working with the phenomenon of constellations in an individual session is to set up a ‘Timeline Constellation’. A linear way of representing Birth, ‘Present State’ and ‘Desired State’, that works in a ‘quantum way’.
Whatever the client is looking to resolve, heal or understand can be encapsulated as their ‘Present State’. Their ‘Desired Sate’ is that which they are hoping to move towards, should this issue be cleared. For example, they might want to move beyond a ‘present state’ of pervasive anger, depression, lack of abundance, ill health etc. towards a ‘desired state’ feeling of peace, contentment, health, abundance and in general free to be themselves and live out their life to the best of their inherent potential.
By setting this up in the therapy room in a spatial way, and having the client step onto their ‘Timeline’, just as in the group Constellation format, the issue comes alive in the felt sense of the body. The Timeline helps the client to tap into his intuition in a profound way and often shows up what might be holding him / her back. The facilitator guides the process by going to the root cause and working there as they would in a group process. At this point a broader constellation may be opened up, with other representatives brought in, e.g. unresolved issue from childhood / issues between a parent or even further back in the ancestry. Once this is worked with, the client often feels that they can move forward easier. Not only this but the client can also access how it might feel like to be in their ‘Desired state’, step into that and tap into wisdom of their ‘Future Self’ to bring back into their current life, often resulting in big shifts happening in the moment.
Whatever the client is looking to resolve, heal or understand can be encapsulated as their ‘Present State’. Their ‘Desired Sate’ is that which they are hoping to move towards, should this issue be cleared. For example, they might want to move beyond a ‘present state’ of pervasive anger, depression, lack of abundance, ill health etc. towards a ‘desired state’ feeling of peace, contentment, health, abundance and in general free to be themselves and live out their life to the best of their inherent potential.
By setting this up in the therapy room in a spatial way, and having the client step onto their ‘Timeline’, just as in the group Constellation format, the issue comes alive in the felt sense of the body. The Timeline helps the client to tap into his intuition in a profound way and often shows up what might be holding him / her back. The facilitator guides the process by going to the root cause and working there as they would in a group process. At this point a broader constellation may be opened up, with other representatives brought in, e.g. unresolved issue from childhood / issues between a parent or even further back in the ancestry. Once this is worked with, the client often feels that they can move forward easier. Not only this but the client can also access how it might feel like to be in their ‘Desired state’, step into that and tap into wisdom of their ‘Future Self’ to bring back into their current life, often resulting in big shifts happening in the moment.
Such a profound way of working that can free up so much. The process is essentially experiential, so one must experience the process in order to feel the benefits.
If nothing else, I hope that this information has opened up new perspectives for you! If you’d like to know more and experience the process for yourself, please get in touch !