Thanks Hunter and Ed, and others following this thread.
Being a representative has given me more access to my own inner workings than
years of therapy. And over the past 9 years, as my access to the energy in a
constellation has grown, I have watched my own behavior as a representative
change with that awareness. Almost every time I am placed as a rep, I
immediately look behind me 2-3 times, just turning my head around. I have come
to understand that this is my particular way of orienting to the energy in the
field rather than being about who/what I am representing; if I am representing
someone/thing that wants to look behind or turn around, that response with
persist or strengthen.
Secondly, I almost always cry. This reaction at the start, likely has to do
with memory stored in my own body, in my own nervous system; if it also is a
part of who or what I am representing, it persists. This differentiation and
its timeline would be a tremendously useful exploration and fascinating subject
for research; I dont know for sure which comes first, but I think the energy
of who/what I am representing activates my own nervous system and early memory
and my reaction to that likely precedes the manifestation of the energy of the
person/thing being represented.
Then, as I settle into the sensations going through me, I recognize another
phase which has definitely profited from experience - I gain greater access to
the energy in the constellation, and from my attention to this energy, the
impulse to move may arise and/or the relationship to others in the
constellation crystallizes. In the beginning, this process was very slow; these
days, for me, this process happens quickly, relative to my self knowledge and
experience in differentiating between what is mine and what is other.
I have had several VERY moving experiences, one in Oaxaca when representing
Columbia and one in DC when representing psychosis. Both times, the extent
of the emotion I experienced was extremely intense and yet the manifestation of
it was conscious, not unconscious. I had control of my own body and I chose to
let the inner awareness that came to me manifest itself outwardly as well. For
some, this was discounted out of hand, as just acting or exaggeration. OK.
Interpretation and judgment tend to keep one separate, separate and above.
Rather, for me, in closely following my own resonance or lack of resonance with
the reps, both when I am acting as facilitator and when I am observing from the
sidelines, I have learned to/ I strive to accept all responses
phenomenologically. As soon as I judge or interpret, I close myself off to the
field and this turns what started out as a constellation, into some other tool
(or weapon). The practice of how to respond to what is coming into my awareness
is of course the greatest challenge.
Greetings to you all from the humid heat of the rain forest of western North
Carolina! sheila
Constellation Intensive with Stephan Hausner July 28-Aug. 2 in Farmington,
CTSheila Saunders, RN, LMFT
www.systemicfamilysolutions.com
PO Box 1011 Weaverville, North Carolina 28787
828-273-5015
Letting your life run in the ordinary way is one option.
To: ConstellationTalk@yahoogroups.comFrom: hbeaumont@t-online.deDate: Sat, 31
May 2008 09:35:23 +0200Subject: Re: [ConstellationTalk] Perpetrator energy
Dear Barbara,That's an interesting question. As you know, there are many
different views about what representatives' reactions in a constellation
actually mean and how to utilize them.I support a very phenomenological
position. Phenomenologically, when representatives turn around it the only
thing I can know for sure is that the representatives turn around. Any
additional meaning it may carry must emerge from the constellation
itself.According to this position, any other meaning it may have should not be
imposed on it from our previous experiences in other constellations. Obviously
there are patterns that repeat over and over again, and our previous
experiences in other constellations are a part of what we get paid for to
facilitate, but I feel strongly that we need to remain methodologically "clean"
and treat all interpretations as hypotheses. The only source of knowledge about
the meaning of a movement comes for the constellation itself.If you watch the
tapes from Hellinger's early USA trips, you will see the same representatives
appearing in different cities. You will notice that some representatives react
to any systemic turbulence with a favored reaction. Some fall down, some start
to sway or shake, some get weak. Once we noticed this repetitive pattern in
representative reactions, we became very cautions about interpretations.There
is a concept from phenomenology that Erv Polster, a well known Gestalt
therapist, picked up called "bracketing". That means that the facilitator
suspends any interpretation as much as he or she can.So, this is most likely
more than you wanted to know, but your question gave me an opportunity to raise
this issue in the forum. I saw that you have already received some suggestions
about how to interpret it, but my recommendation nevertheless is not to
interpret at all (ultimately not possible, I know, so let's say as little as
possible). That is, I recommend not trying to know, but to remain open and
curious about the possible meanings. Premature knowing closes down curiosity
and diminishes the openness of the knowing field.This by the way, is a place
where Bert has been inconsistent in his teaching. At some times he has
eloquently defended the phenomenological position, and then at other times, he
has abandoned it all together. I don't think it is necessary to be consistent,
but I have seen that many students have been confused and haven't noticed this
inconsistency in his work.Just to be clear, I realize that many very skillful
facilitators see this point differently than I do, so I am not saying that the
position I am defending is the RIGHT one, but I have found it to be a huge
support in helping me to protect myself and my clients from the grandiosity
that haunts the constellation work field. I feel safest in a certain kind of
unknowing.Thanks for the question. I hope that it opens a fruitful
discussion.HunterOn 30.05.2008, ad 22:41, Barbara Eggenberger wrote:> I have a
question about what it means in a constellation when > someone is> slowly
turning around and around as if looking in all directions? > Someone> once said
that it is an indication of a perpetrator and if that is > so, can> someone
explain it to me? For instance, does it mean that person is> representing a
perpetrator or is looking for one? Also, what is an> appropriate response? I
have had this show up in three separate cases> recently and though I was able
to reach resolution, I find myself > feeling> uneasy that I might be missing
something important.>> Logo>> www.barbaraeggenberger.com>> 916.484.5016
503.727.2595>> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]>>> Hunter
Beaumonthbeaumont@xxxxxxxxxxx[Non-text portions of this message have been
removed]
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
