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Issue 17, January 2011

£ 12.00

Contents

Barbara Morgan: Editorial

Colette Green & Angelika Schenk: 5th Intensive Training Camp & Birthday Celebration: Bert & Sophie Hellinger

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

  • Judith Hemming In Conversation with Peter Zuilekom & Otteline Lamet

  • Barbara Morgan In Conversation with Cheng Lap Fung

THE HISTORY OF NATIONS, CULTURES & RELIGIONS

  • Alexander Campbell: Why History Matters in understanding Family Systems

  • Verónica Menduiña: Constellations and Migrations

PERSONAL RELFECTIONS

  • Sadhana Needham & Berthold Schmidt: Healthy Constellation Practice

  • Michael Reddy Ph.D, CPC: Emotional & Psychic Hygiene in Family Constellations: a Shamanic Perspective

  • Rosette Gault: Heartwork

CONSTELLATION WORK AS RITUAL

  • Rachelle Fürer: Constellations & African Ritual

  • Guni Baxa: Ritual as a transformational tool

  • Jen Altman: Constellations in Other Frames

NEW DEVELOPMENTS

  • David Mathes: A System of Healing

  • Karen Carnabucci: Moreno’s Psychodrama: A Forerunner of Constellation Work

  • Yishai Gaster & Dana Ganihar Raz: Biblical Constellations

  • Gary Stuart: Re-incarnational Constellation Experiences

  • Heleen Grooten: What is my voice telling me? A Systemic View on Voice Complaints

CONSTELLATIONS

  • David Miller: On using Constellation Images for Personal Enquiry

  • Dan Booth Cohen: The Bed Woman & The Sami Grandmothers

BOOK REVIEWS

  • Francesca Mason Boring: A Question of Balance: A Systemic Approach to Understanding and Resolving Trauma by Anngwyn St. Just

  • Bert Hellinger: Memories - D-Day Commemorations 2009

Extracts

Veronica Menduina: Constellations and Migrations

Immigration has led to the creation of a fuller and more diverse society, which is rich in nuances and, at the same time, much more multi-culturally complex.
Constellation work enables us to approach this issue in all its compexity, with all that is implied in the decision to leave one’s place of origin and establish one’s residence elsewhere. It uncovers the systemic implications of such moves and the dynamics that may have contributed to difficulties in adaptation. With a systemic view of the problem the person is helped to overcome the difficulteies and come to terms with both their country of origin and Spain.
When we change countries, our points of reference change; the communication codes are different and we have to go back to learning the basics. Everything requires more work and this, in turn, results in more stress. Immigration can lead to high levels of stress that may surpass our tolerance threshold, both physical and emotional, and lead to illness.

Colette Green: Report on Intensive Training Camp with Bert & Sophie Hellinger

“I feel overwhelmed,” Bert said.
“So many here from so many lands, from wherever the family constellation work, given to me as a gift, has been taken up and spread. When I think of all this and I feel within my heart, I look towards an endless energy that has kept me alive for the past 85 years and taken me into her service. There were many times when I was in a dangerous state of health and was saved.
Once in a situation in the second world war at the west front in Germany in the direction of France, I lay down. It was on a railway track that I lay. A comrade lay behind me and in front of us marched the American troops. A grenade exploded exactly on this track; I remained intact and my colleague also survived but he lost his hearing. This is simply one of many examples. I felt that I was having to walk through a minefield and that at any moment a bomb could explode and I came out unharmed. Then I was taken prisoner by the Americans and held captive for a year. I attempted to escape and hid in a train, bringing extra goods for the Americans to Germany. There were several situations like this and I made it into safety.
Then I was free in a very special way, because in Germany as a 17 year old, I had spoken out, spoken out about things that were life-threatening; in this way I was saved as I had to serve in the army. Then after the lost war that was for me a winning war (because I survived), I was free and I managed to stay alive and live my life in a special way.

Alexander Campbell: Why History Matters in understanding Family Systems

Scotland has a somewhat awkward relationship with England. Most people outside of these isles think that the Scots are English, as they see no distinction between the labels ‘Britain’ and ‘England’. We Scots of course know different and because of this we have strained studiously over the years to remind ourselves of our difference. The result is that the average Scot thinks he has a much fuller grip on history than his English neighbour. Furthermore, we take a fierce pride in our national identity and consequently find it rather irritating that the English do not do likewise. Yet if truth be told, we too are playing the history amnesia game.
Scotland likes to imagine that all the worst bits of the British Empire were a result of the actions of the English wth the Scots just there on the list of ‘victims’. The truth, however, is quite the contrary. Glasgow flourished and became the second city of the Empire on the back of the slave trade and tobacco. Scots created many financial institutions that thrived on the rise of the British Empire; for example, Scots founded and exclusively ran for many decades the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation – the present day HSBC. Nyasaland (later Malawi) was, to all intents and purposes, an outpost of the Church of Scotland. Yet Scottish missionaries also played a pivotal role in the struggle for independence in Nyasaland. We Scots have indeed some contradictory truths to face about our relationship with Britain’s imperial past – yet it doesn’t thwart our national pride.