Kia Ora, James
Re; shifting assumptions of western supremacy and re-rooting
Earth connections
Systemic constellations is appealing to many of us
interested in recovering indigeneity and healing intergenerational/ancestral
wounds. What I would like to add to the more familiar guidelines offered by
Thomas Bryson, is that Western or Eurocentric approaches may not meet your
needs. Indeed, given your years of deep work with Maori elders and circles in
New Zealand, you have much to
teach us around decolonizing the work, shifting assumptions of western
supremacy and re-rooting Earth connections.
There are some, like Francesca Mason Boring, working from an
indigenous worldview. Others from a diversity of peoples, weave a shamanistic
understanding through their training. The reality is that, at this stage of its
development, systemic constellations is like a sensitive adolescent in a family
in conflict. It appears to be moving through the same transformative shift as
many other human-centric systems in this pivotal time. That is there is
increasing tension between hierarchically ordered fundamentalisms and a more
inclusive fluid exploration of the larger cosmological “field” in which humans
and the larger more-than-human world, is unfolding. Maybe it is time for those
of us interested in developing the field from all four directions to meet in
circle.
Beannachtai na domhanda (Earth’s Blessings in Gaelic)
Eimear
Eimear O'Neill PhD Website;http://www.eimearoneill.com University ;
Afiliationhttp://www.oise.utoronto.ca/tlc/ Community GroupsSpirit Matters, ;
Rekindling Spirit You Tube, Wildflowers Collective, A Spoonful of Honey
Intergenerational Storytelling Circles
--- On Tue, 8/28/12, Thomas Bryson <tb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: Thomas Bryson <tb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [ConstellationTalk] Request for information about training
opportunities in UK/Europe for 2013
To: ConstellationTalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Received: Tuesday, August 28, 2012, 10:24 AM
Dear James,
The great many opportunities to train in systemic constellation in Europe and
the UK may make it difficult for you to choose where to place your time, money
and energy for the best learning.
The questions which I would ask myself would be:
Is the trainer recognized by their national association?
In German there is the DGfS http://www.familienaufstellung.org which has a list ;
of recognized trainers. Many countries do not have associations.
Does the trainer have sound professional credentials both as a therapist or
coach and as a trainer?
The best teaching comes from direct experience of the teacher.
Does the trainer offer a good balance between practice and theory?
I think a good training will have an array of teaching tools including didactic
teaching, small group exercises, learning by doing and have opportunities for
self-experience. Having a sound theoretical basis helps to understand and
organize one's experiences.
Is the trainer actively engaged in his or her own personal development in an
active peer group?
A constellation facilitator or therapist can only offer their clients what they
have. If they are not engaged with their own inner world, they will have blind
spots in working with their clients.
Do other trainers in the field recognize the trainer as an excellent trainer?
If there are facilitators who you have a good feeling for, who do they
recommend? And on what basis do they recommend this person.
That is the approach that I would use. i am sure there will be many others on
this forum.
Kindly yours,
Thomas Bryson
tb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Our new book Encounters with Death is now available.
On Aug 28, 2012, at 12:33 PM, "whakatane_lad" <jt_hudson@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Kia ora tatou, Greetings all,the economic, social and cultural wellbeing of a tribe - today and for the
My name is James Hudson and I'm posting from Aotearoa/New Zealand. I am Māori
– the indigenous people of Aotearoa. My iwi (tribes) are Tuhoe, Ngati Awa and
Ngaitai. The primary purpose of this post is to invite suggestions from the
Systemic Constellation Community about opportunities to experience and train
in systemic/organizational constellations in 2003, ideally in the UK/Europe.
I have been passionately involved in systemic constellations for 6 six years
now. And for the past couple of years I've had the privilege of assisting
Angelika Chisholm in the facilitation of her workshops, here in Auckland. I'm
also very grateful to have experienced the skilled facilitation of other
facilitators from New Zealand/Aotearoa, Australia and beyond.
Professionally, my former career was in legal practice and I completed my
Masters degree in law as well. More recently, though, I have been undertaking
research within a university in the area of Māori development and am
currently in the final stages of completing my doctorate. My doctoral
research has developed an integrated, outcomes framework to measure the
progress of positive Māori development.
With respect to systemic constellations, I have a growing interest in two
areas: systemic constellations within a Māori context; and organizational
constellations. I view the two complementing each other very well.
With respect to working with Māori, I believe systemic constellation
approaches align well with our traditional Māori values and worldviews.
Angelika and I had honor of introducing systemic constellations to Māori by
way of a workshop for members of my iwi and those from neighbouring regions.
The workshop was attended primarily by Māori, and incorporated Māori
protocol. Approximately 50 participants attended the workshop (purely by word
of mouth!) ranging from traditional healers to tribal development
practitioners to family members `just checking it out'. And we were
especially privileged to have our tribal tohunga (tribal spiritual
leader/elder) attend and bless with work. He also supported its future
application within Māori communities in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
I also have a growing interest in organizational constellations. My
experience with it to date suggests that it would be particularly useful
within the collective, tribal settings within which Māori operate. For the
last 30 years I have been personally and professionally involved with various
Māori tribal authorities, all of whom are trusted with the governance and/or
management of tribal resources, both tangible and intangible. A variety of
organisations will typically be found within any tribal setting, including
tribal authorities, land and resource trusts, health, social service and
education providers, and the like. A dominant feature of the governance of
any tribe is the role of whakapapa (genealogical connection) to tribal
ancestors of the past, and the whakapapa that connects hapu (sub-tribes) and
whanau (extended families) within the tribe in the present. To some extent,
whakapapa is integral to all decision-making made by Māori concerning
So, in addition to providing some background about me, as mentioned earlier,
the primary purpose of this post is to explore opportunities to experience
and train in systemic/organizational constellations in 2013. I expect to
complete my doctoral study by the end of this year, following which I intend
to spend time overseas with the main focus of gaining as much experience and
training in constellation facilitation and approaches. I am particularly
interested in the UK/Europe region. I suspect the period of time I spend
doing this will be determined by what may be available!
If anyone can provide helpful suggestions in this respect, I'd be very
grateful to receive them. My email address is: jt_hudson@xxxxxxxxxxx. I
welcome warmly any direct communications.
Heoi ano, kia tau te rangimarie ki runga i a koutou katoa.
