Family and Systemic Constellations: stepping from the dark into the light

By  Francesca Mason Boring

There are so many times that people seem baffled by how to describe Family and Systems (also known as Systemic) Constellations).  I can honestly say that I don’t understand the hesitation.

From the beginning, when I co-facilitated constellations sessions with a colleague, we described it as a process though which one could step easily from the dark into the light.

Simple descriptions that many early facilitators used when describing Family Constellations included: “This work increases the flow of love in the family system,” and “This work has the capacity to reveal hidden dynamics within a family system which have interrupted the flow of love.”

Now the work has moved into better understanding of organizational systems, environmental and political discussions, and support for artists and artistic productions, as well as healing processes. 

A paper was presented last year at an engineering conference in Germany, inviting the utilization of systems constellations to find solutions in engineering. I began to be more aware of the capacity this work has to literally shine a light on the subject – any subject – to illuminate that which is present but has previously been unseen. The application of the luminous tool of systems constellation appears to be unlimited. 

Light has lovely properties.

The rising of the sun is a gradual process. It is not rushed, and not everything is revealed at once.  Those features in the landscape which are already light come into view first; eventually nearly everything becomes visible, and still –- there are those parts that are shaded, and perhaps need to be to serve the whole of nature.

As our awareness of the capacity of this illumination grows, I begin to ask myself: when are we offering light to those who are seeking it, and when do we have the temptation to flash a light in someone’s bedroom window without their request or consent?
 
The question of permission is innate for me and likely comes from indigenous influences that construct my world view.

I am grateful that this work has maintained a remarkable welcoming space for development paired with a vigilant discussion of ethics and care.

Conferences are a wonderful opportunity for applications of Systemic Constellations to be showcased, both new applications and refinements of the elegant simplicity of family systems constellation. These are the hubs for face to face discussion and sharing, welcoming new explorers and revisiting those who have been walking this path for some time. 

I look forward to the 2017 North American Systemic Constellations Conference Oct. 5-8 in Virginia Beach, Va. I am looking forward to sitting with the conversations over a coffee, enjoying the East Coast autumn, and learning more about exploring this enlightening tool with curiosity and humility.

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About the author

Francesca Mason Boring, a bicultural woman enrolled with the Western Shoshone Tribe, is an author, international facilitator, teacher, and lecturer who was a keynote speaker at the 2015 North American Systemic Constellations Conference. In working with universal indigenous fields in family constellations, she has supported development of constellation as ceremony, community constellations, and nature constellations. Learn more about Francesca here.
 

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Join us for the 2017 North American Systemic Constellations Conference Oct. 5-8 in Virginia Beach, Va., for health professionals, educators, executive and life coaches, consultants, community activists, change makers and others interested in alternative health and innovative practices. More info here. We'd love to have you subscribe to our e-letter here.

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