Hello to all,
The decision to dissolve ISCA immediately saddened me. As a relatively new
member of the systemic constellation community, it has been my “go to” place
for information. I learned about the Bernried Intensive in late 2011 on the
ISCA website. I learned about the Connecting Fields Congress in Copenhagen in
2012 on the ISCA website. Through communication with Lutz Bessel, I discovered
the timing of the two events would allow me to participate in both. When you
live in a part of the world where introducing Systemic Constellations is a
great challenge, a sense of belonging to a greater whole provides extra
incentive to carry on with the effort.
I don’t feel isolated because there is a network – a family system – filled
with members around the world. Having ventured all over the world myself, I
looked into the eyes of the stranger and saw my brother and my sister. The
world is my village – and I see in the eyes of each facilitator I meet, my
brother and my sister. I feel the Systemic Constellation community as my
greater family system. As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a
child. Each new constellation facilitator finds a place of belonging in the
family system within ISCA. Of course, the input shared on Constellation Talk
greatly extends that feeling. Like any family there are many different
opinions and the system benefits when each voice is valued and has the
opportunity to be heard. I do have a question here - I realize Chris Walsh
perhaps started and keeps CT moving and thriving in a healthy way, but is it
formally a part of ISCA? If it isn’t, it should be. An organization thrives
with open dialogue, listening, communication, and communion. The vital
conversations on CT hold the ISCA family system together. ISCA needs that
dialogue to feel tied to its family members. The members are the heart and
soul of ISCA. I don’t know if it’s been the case, but perhaps the directors
have felt like the brain, organizing and planning, isolated or estranged from
the feelings and emotions of the heart and soul. I couldn’t find CT on the
ISCA website as a resource - hence the question. I found a site label -
Discuss Systemic Constellations - with a 404 error page.
I’ve gone through the process of setting up a society in the past. Connections
– Bridging Communities was a means of setting up dialogue between indigenous
and non-indigenous Canadians. It was a forum that gave legitimacy to the
community work of volunteers in the eyes of those not directly involved. It
was a means of drawing others into the dialogue. Living in a world that loves
and champions the expert, a world that loves associations and institutional
backing, this sense of legitimacy can be very important. With my life shifting
into the world of systemic constellations, I was guided energetically to
dissolve that society and let go of all my work to maintain it. My world had
shifted and I shifted with it. I carry on the work in a different way through
systemic constellations and other energy shifting practices. At the personal
level, I don’t feel the need to justify my existence or competency to others,
however, in the real world that surrounds me, belonging to a greater system
serves a vital purpose. ISCA is that greater system even though it doesn’t
speak to my competency; it speaks of connection and legitimacy. This thing
called Systemic Constellations that I’m putting forward to my community has a
history and a background based in theory and practice.
As you know, we don’t become unwell in isolation and we don’t heal in
isolation. We are not meant to live in isolation and that is why we are born
into a family system. We thrive in community and we thrive in relationship.
In the 21st century, the lone wolf practitioner soon feels isolated without
collaboration and support from others, even if it is at a distance. As we learn
from systemic constellations, the family is always there in our energy field
affecting our life whether we acknowledge the impact or not. So it is with ISCA
and our work. We thrive in this relationship even if we don’t always have the
time or desire to gather at the family table. Perhaps that contributes to the
current status of ISCA, too few family members gathering at the table.
I thought it might be helpful to bring forward the ISCA mission:
“One of our central tasks is the delivery of our quality annual intensive,
featuring elders and leaders in this work.
Then, moving outwards into the world, we seek
To encourage conversations amongst members,
To support members' projects,
To support and commission research that informs quality practice,
To be a holder and provider of resources and literature,
To be a keeper of memory from the constellation ancestors,
To catalyse depth of thought and dialogue about ethical practice,
To maintain a useful and attractive website for members and for the public.”
It seems to me that ISCA is a great success if it is evaluated against this
mission statement. It serves an essential purpose and I value its contribution
to the family system. It is quietly there behind the scenes in support like
the knowing field that flows energetically through and around the work. The
young family members have the opportunity to read the work of others and learn
ethical practices from the more experienced family members.
I feel that part of the role of ISCA is to act as the family genealogist. I
serve as the genealogist of my family system, the holder of information and the
keeper of the ancestral memory. I carry out the research, compile it, and
share it with other family members, both immediate and more distant. I
communicate with others around the world to expand the knowledge base. I do
DNA research to tie what I know into the science. I study epigenetics to bring
the science alive for me. I am the catalyst for conversation, creating a
healthier family system. I laugh as I think about how it all got started. I
was just a child when I sat at each dinner table in the homes of my
grandmothers, listening to them talk about the ancestors and the past. I madly
recorded everything they could remember onto long scrolls of paper. I am so
grateful for those opportunities. While my family history is now computerized,
I still have those scrolls to remember where it all began. I sit back and
imagine the birthing pains of ISCA not so long ago. I’ve learned that my years
of effort and the seeds that I have blown into the wind have paid off for many
of my family members in ways I could never anticipate. When I was introduced to
Systemic Constellations it was a natural fit – I felt at home with this greater
family system. I always knew my draw to the ancestors was so much greater than
dates and barren events. It’s the people - the members - and the foundation of
knowledge that is so key to the success of the whole.
I believe ISCA serves a similar role in the global family of Systemic
Constellation Facilitators as each facilitator nurtures a new branch of the
family tree. It serves as a resource for the greater community, the clients
and their families, as they branch out further as the twigs on the tree. Like
any tree, we are only as strong as our roots. As differences evolve in the
constellation field, ISCA brings us back to our common roots, the source of our
strength.
Patricia Robertson
Peaceful Possibilities Consulting
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
www.peacefulpossibilities.ca <http://www.peacefulpossibilities.ca/>
patricia@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
