If you had asked me this question a year ago, before all the lockdowns, I would have said NO. But then all the lockdowns came. However, I did not want to sit still and insisted on continuing my work. And why shouldn’t that be possible? After all, with Systemic Constellations and Systemic Ritual you work with the knowing field. This field is independent of time and space. I went for it and experience has taught me that you can do the job very well ONLINE. Of course, it is more convenient face to face, because physical touch, which can mean a new, healing physical experience for a client, is in that sense also essential in this work. But not necessarily a must. That which happens in the knowing field is nevertheless the essence of systemic work – at least in my view, the more spiritual view of systemic work.
The knowing field
But what is that “knowing field”?
Albrecht Mahr, a leading family constellations therapist, introduced the term “das wissende Feld”, the “knowing field”. By tuning in the “knowing field”, representatives will have access to a knowledge of the persons whose places the representatives have taken in. The representatives perceive the feelings and interrelationships of the persons whose family system is set up (or any other system can be set up.
The representatives come into contact with a deeper layer or truth of the mutual relationships in a foreign system. In family constellations, strangers become a channel for the reality of the system in question. Until now, this is an inexplicable phenomenon.
The energy of the “knowing field” leads in two directions. First, the “knowing field” provides information about the current (family) system. It indicates where someone is standing, the distance someone has from other family members and the direction someone is looking. The representatives perceive this energy and tell these observations. The “knowing field” also contains an energy that strives for “healing” of the system. To a greater or lesser extent, the representatives are driven in a particular direction. The direction to which the representatives are driven indicates how the system can be put in order.
The term “knowing field” has similarities with the term “morphogenetic field” that has become known through Rupert Sheldrake. Both concepts do not assume material fields or energies. These fields can direct a change, but cannot be perceived themselves; just as gravity and electromagnetic fields cannot be perceived. They are invisible, intangible, inaudible, tasteless and odourless. They can only be perceived through the effect on a system. Such a “knowing field” connects members of social groups and can continue to connect them even when they are far from each other. These invisible connections act as channels for telepathic communication between people (and other organisms). This connection is not bound by time or space.
During a constellation, the facilitator and representatives tune in to the “knowing field” (provided there is permission). We do not need to be in the same room for this, but we need to tune in simultaneously to the field concerned. That is also possible ONLINE.
Literature:
Hazen, S., Röder, I. (2001) Genezen vanuit hart en ziel. Systemische opstellingen van patiënten en hun problematiek. Scriptie, juli 2001.
Sheldrake, R. (1999) Honden weten wanneer hun baas thuiskomt. Een onderzoek naar de mysterieuze vermogens van dieren. Oorspronkelijke titel: Dogs that know when their owners are coming home (1999).
Ulsamer, B. (1999). Ohne Wurzeln keine Flügel. Die systemische Therapie van Bert Hellinger.
Systemic Ritual en Familieopstellingen 