Hi All,
Many wonderful perspectives in this thread on tiredness and pricing levels.
Thanks Jack for initiating it, and everyone for their contributions. Late as
usual to catch up here, I offer a few observations.
Dan Booth Cohen says often, and I agree, that North American folks are less
likely to feel comfortable in the workshop setting, as opposed to private
constellations. So I would just suggest that we all keep in mind the
international aspect of this discussion. While it's great to hear and learn
from what works on another continent--that doesn't mean it suits the one you
live on.
I've always charged one price, but had to do sliding scale more than I like to
keep workshops going. Somewhat similar to Chuck, I have a rough, but flexible
priority system around who works. It's a mixture (not necessarily in this
order) of: (1) felt urgency of client's need; (2) number of times attending in
support without working themselves; (3) the flow of the work through the day,
such that I look to avoid if possible, say, 3 very heavy or difficult
constellations in a row, if I can; (4) the emergent theme of the work that day,
which always seems to be there; and sometimes (5) who has paid full price as
opposed to sliding scale, since they do more to support the event in the first
place.
I love the way these things float in my mind, and even somehow in the group
mind, so that Spirit ends of orchestrating the flow in a wonderful way. I
would not like to lose this spontaneity by having a two tier pricing based on
who works and who does not. I don't want to know exactly who is going to work.
As a shaman before coming to constellations, I am very watchful around
"de-roling," and have written about this in an article in TKF 17 (Jan 2011),
republished in the 2011 SF Conference commemorative. I feel obligated to offer
a 48 hour period after the workshop in which I will take an unpaid call from
anyone experiencing troubling after-effects. I did the same when I was leading
sweat lodges.
Dan has argued more and more forcefully that workshops are not going to support
us anytime soon in the US at least. He is starting to teach more focused on
private and remote constellations, and Chapter Four of my book HEALTH,
HAPPINESS, & FAMILY CONSTELLATIONS describes my own effort in a similar
direction. In relation to the theme of tiredness and derolling here, I would
point out that a constellation (whether professionally facilitated or done on
one's own) that takes place on a family altar via repeated visits over one or
more weeks is much gentler than the more intense, compressed workshop
experience. The likelihood of emotional flooding or failure to detach from
other spirits is much smaller.
I repeat that anyone who is interested in my book and cannot buy it on my
website or Amazon can email me privately and receive a free PDF of the book.
I'm also teaching a teleclass on this method starting March 28th. For us in
North America, where the local workshop is a hard form to sustain, the
table-top, Home Altar approach translates extremely well to remote
constellaitons via phone or Skype. I think we need things like this here
increase the geographic range of our practices, whereas in other countries,
that's perhaps not so important.
Best,
Michael
On Mar 15, 2013, at 10:34 AM, Stephen Campbell wrote:
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I am in total agreement with Chris' posting.
I have been holding 3 hour workshops 2 to 4 times per month here in Peru as
well as the occasional all day workshops for five years. In my workshops
everyone pays the same fee. In marketing terms I have been the price leader
and my workshops are well attended. When I first started public workshops,
I had a general admission and an significant extra if you did a
constellation; but that got to be a headache to collect following the
workshop. So, I converted to a single pay model and everyone goes home
happy. And, my attendance level has not dropped.
One of the reasons that I found Systemic Constellations such a powerful
healing modality was that it heals at many levels. As I say in the brief
introduction of my workshops the first level of healing is at the
patient/consultant level. The minimum that person can expect is that they
will have a new optic on the problem they bring to resolve. And, it can go
far deeper than that. The depth of work will depend on
their unconscious availability. Because anyone who comes to a workshop at
a conscious level seeks to heal but as we all know may not be totally
available at an unconscious level and the field will "inform" us if we are
totally present to it. This is why, in my opinion, Bert on occasion tells
someone that they are not "ready". From the first time I saw him work in
person I considered one of his masteries is how clearly he reads the field
and that is not to say that he is infallible. I personally seek that same
clarity.
I continue in my brief introduction to the work to say that the second
level of healing occurs for those who are chosen to represent. For in a
representation one heals and in many cases is not aware that they even
needed to resolve that which gets resolved. To illustrate: following my
introduction to the actual work I conduct a brief guided meditation and
then do two rounds with the workshop participants. In the first I ask them
to tell me their first name and tell the group how they feel...this gives
me a chance to acknowledge their feelings. In the second round, I ask what
the issue is that they came to resolve. My instructions in this case is
that I want it to be stated as briefly as possible. One phrase is ideal Two
is still acceptable. Three phrases and I loose interest and if they must do
it in four phrases it is a story ( which in Spanish is historia- the same
word as history.) and I am not a historian. I find this gets them very
clear on what it is they came to do and concurrently it helps me discern if
their are any "hot group topics" which when a constellation is done can
impact all those with a similar issue. I can not tell you how many times I
have had a person who came with a particular burning issue ask if they can
change their issue because they resolved it either as a representative or
as an observer.
The third level of healing that occurs in a workshop is at the level of the
observer. People see similarities in what is occurring in the filed and get
clarity and resolution of their own issues.
The fourth level of healing occurs at the level of the system. Here again I
get approached in restaurants, theaters on the street by people who have
been in workshops and relate anecdotes of an long absent parent making
contact and often traveling long distances to reconnect in person with a
child. I could write a book on these "street anecdotes" as evidence of the
viability and effectiveness of this work.
The fifth level of healing is the "bonus" level and it is for those of us
who facilitate. I know I have "seen" things that have made my life fuller
and more harmonious out of the work that I am honored to do.
So, in summary I believe that every person who attends a workshop gets
value for I guarantee, with very rare exceptions, that the person that goes
home following the workshop is not the same person that came through the
portal of the workshop space. I set this as a frame from the beginning
Remember that value is in the eyes of the beholder. And coming from a frame
of abundance you can set up the value proposition so that each participant
whether they were selected to do a constellation will go home healed. After
all, the field "knows" and "shares" the knowledge of who is ready to work
and who may not be. It is up to us to read it.
As an added benefit for those who were not selected to work, many contact
me to do individual sessions. So it is a win win for all.
Fondly,
Stephen
On Fri, Mar 15, 2013 at 12:11 AM, Barbara Ashley Phillips <
barbara@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
**
Thank you Chris for this clear statement about the value and benefits of a
single fee structure for constellation workshops.
It is a good reminder of how we communicate value by prioritizing and that
all of the details matter. Much appreciated.
Barbara
Sent from my iPhone
On 2013-03-14, at 4:46 PM, Chris Walsh <chris@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Dear Jackthe
It may be that you have created a self fulfilling prophecy by creating
two different levels of workshop participation in the first place. Inthat
way you have devalued one level of participation in relation to theother.
This is reflected in the different pricing. Becasue that level has beenwould
devlued people then feel justified in paying the lower price for that.
To have one leevel of participation with no guarantee of a participant
getting their own constellation would take courage on your part. You
also have to put up with a period of low enrolments because of thewho
expectations that have already been set up in your clients. One way to
reduce the intensity of this response is to send out a brief but clear
explanation of the reasons behind the change. Also it would help to make
the charge for attendance somewhere between to current two levels.
I really think this is worth it as it would allow your workshops to flow
with greater integrity where you could really be open to selecting the
person who is truly ready to work rather than having to select someone
has paid a higher amount to guarantee their own constellation. A niceside
effect is that out of necessity you will become more attentive to groupand
processes and to the benefits accrued by participants when representing
when sitting in the holding circle.a
Cheers
Chris Walsh
Melbourne, Australia
ph +61 (0)3 9487 4647
www.cwalsh.com.au
On Fri, Mar 15, 2013 at 8:25 AM, jack blackwell <travelerjbjb@xxxxxxxxx
wrote:
**
I want to thank all of you who have answered my call on this issue. For
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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