I attended two particularly inspirational Constellation Workshops
this year based on the work of Bert Hellinger. One focussed
around resolving work issues and one around family patterns.
I love the efficiency of this work. In an hour you can see
and resolve something which years of conventional therapy
or management consultation might never uncover.
Seven Generations
The North American Indians say that we should make any decision
with the next seven generations in mind and when you see a
constellation this wisdom becomes immediately apparent. Most
of us have ancestors somewhere in our family line who have
been unable to resolve grief, loss or separation or who have
taken a decision without taking responsibility for its consequences.
Whenever this happens a karmic burden is passed on down the
line, unwittingly creating problems for those who come after.
Our Family Soul
We don't just have an individual soul, we also have a family
soul which yearns for wholeness; for a clear flow of love
through our family system. In the same way that we often find
a partner in life who can show us the issue we most need to
heal, so our life often mirrors the issue in our family which
most needs healing too. Thus if we have an ancestor who was
excluded through a scandalous action or an early death, we
may live a reclusive life, living abroad or alienated from
our family, feeling we 'don't belong' as we unconsciously
act out their fate. In systemic terms this is known as 'entanglement'
and the more entanglements which are present in your family,
the more you will see confusion, repetitive disease and self-destructive
behaviour, as we unconsiously seek healing and completion.
Karmic Illness
I'd recommend some very accessible books by John Payne who
explains how such entanglements cause physical disease.
Suffering on behalf of others is a common theme we see
in Family Constellation work. Such suffering often manifests
as physical illness, but also as disruptive life patterns.
When illness is observed within the context of an entanglement
with one who has suffered, it is not necessarily an identical
illness that manifests. Often, when individuals who are entangled
with the fate of one who has died tragically, unlawfully,
or has been forgotten, it is a drain on the physical organism
that leads to the development of illness and disease.
When we are identified with one who has died, we have
one foot in the grave, so to speak, and therefore we are not
fully present in physical life. From an energetic perspective
there are cords of energy that connect us primarily from the
first chakra to our biological family and ancestors....The
first chakra - directly related to our physical apparatus
- when damaged or drained by unhealthy relationship cords
to ancestors, a parent or grandparent, can weaken the overall
health of the physical body and have an impact on the immune
system.
The Healing of Individuals, Families and Nations by John L
Payne
Living
in Limbo - How Nature can Help
I frequently deal with clients who have a reduced life force;
in the sense that they feel depressed, apathetic and lacking
in vitality. When we explore their family tree it can be easy
to see where the entanglement and dis-connection may be happening.
There are many flower and crystal essences which help to
release this kind of karmic issue. To use one example, Snowflake
Obsidian pictured above, works with the issue just outlined,
where our soul feels conflicted between wanting to be fully
here, enjoying life but also needs to be loyal to our family
system by 'including' their ancestor's fate of perhaps an
early, tragic death. So this would be an ideal element to
any remedy blend for this situation. The definition follows:
Snowflake Obsidian:
This essence is excellent for those of us who feel pulled
between life and death. Not suicidal, but still unable to
commit fully to being present in our life. This essence helps
to bring light into the darkness and also to release that
which is not desired in our life by making us aware of the
beliefs and thought patterns that have held the unwanted conditions
in place.
Chin up! Just Grin and Bear it
I'm also frequently asked by baffled members of older generations
why my generation and those coming after me feel the need
for all this 'therapy'. In their day you just 'got on with
it'. "We were too busy earning a living/ surviving the
Blitz/ bringing up children on a shoestring/ to gaze at our
navels!" goes the argument.
And they're right - just surviving life events took all
their time and energy. But there was an emotional cost to
this. A cost which the post-war generation are now paying.
John Payne expresses it eloquently:
The only way in which an individual can survive war,
mulitple infant deaths, loss through disease and oppressive
work conditions is to suppress emotion. In this way, previous
generations could stuff their feelings away so as not to be
conscious of the depth of the pain they were in.
However, as each of us is part of a greater family system
that spans several generations, when feelings are 'stuffed'
the family soul becomes like a balloon that's squeezed on
one side causing the other end of it to bulge out. Feelings
don't disappear when they're suppressed, they simply surface
elsewhere.
From The Presence of the Soul
I'm sure it's no coincidence that, as our karmic bills fall
due, we're seeing such an increase both in understanding these
dynamics and in having access to tools such as essences and
constellation work which can help us towards deep family healing.
To learn more about Flower and Crystal Essences and other
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Seven Generations 
Living
in Limbo - How Nature can Help 
Chin up! Just Grin and Bear it 
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