Notes on the Theme from Kirsten Love Lauzon, Program Chair
Our 2013 Constellation Conference is scheduled for October in beautiful Seattle, WA. Our theme, Courage at the Edge ~ Love in the Center, has emerged from our sense of the movements we experience as individuals and as a collective at this unique moment in our human evolution. As we engage with Constellation Work, we reveal the love in the center of everything. As that loves grows, we are pushed, encouraged to acknowledge our learning edges – our growth edges, which prompts us to face our fears, release old expectations or integrate new realities. These movements require great courage and strength, and can bring us to the edges of ourselves as humans … which expands the breadth and scope of the love we share with all our systems. More love stimulates more growth ~ which requires more courage!
It is my perception that this theme lends itself to many potential foci. The first that emerges for me is in exploring the growth edges of Systemic Constellation Work itself. Where is the work expanding and evolving to incorporate new ideas, and in what directions? In what ways are we as facilitators and students of the work challenging ourselves to grow beyond our current comfort levels?
And of course, how does the Constellation Work support the work we’re doing at the edges of our comfort zones as a collective human species? In what ways can this work be applied in service of the healing the edges we’re facing as an earth community?
As a team, we are dedicated to honoring the immense indigenous wisdom out of which the deep roots of Constellation Work have grown, and continue to blossom. As Malidoma Some so poignantly expressed as our featured speaker in 2011, the indigenous spirit manifests in the hearts of everyone, and that perhaps, with courage and love, we, as westerners, can help bridge the perceived gap between Western and indigenous minds. How can we best apply the work for this function? How might we consciously and authentically honor the indigenous roots of our work? How do we hold dear, honor and respect those things that our indigenous ancestors held dear, while trusting our impulses toward innovation, revolution and the unknown of our future?
And where do we find the support to face the edges of our comfort zones, and our precarious future? These rites of passage require the support of our elders … our ancestors. How do our unique connections with our ancestors inform our place in this circle of love? How can we make right use of the support and resources our ancestors cultivated during their lifetimes and best honor them, bringing them to bear in ours? They are so excited when we do this work! How do we continue to expand our sense of reciprocity with our ancestors, both past and future, those whose ancestors we are? And indeed, how do we open ourselves more fully to honoring all our ancestors just as our ancestors did, as all our relations, both human and more-than-human?
Let’s look at using constellations as a tool to more fully grok our ‘good place’ as a species in the larger system of things. Where do we locate ourselves in the eco-systems of the Earth? How can we improve our understanding of and sensitivity to the eco-libriums we’re blindly interfacing with everyday? How do we mitigate the effects of our unconsciousness up to this point, in these areas, and at this crucial time in our human history? These questions, to me, seem central to our survival on this beautiful, blue, miraculous planet!
And finally, I believe that we are entering a time of great collaborative potential. By focusing together on shared common concerns, we forget our differences and recognize the true priorities at hand. Where are we building bridges of support between ourselves and the ‘other’ by collaboratively focusing our efforts on projects in any of these areas? How do we improve camaraderie, interdependence, resource sharing and collaboration in and among constellation communities? In what ways or areas can constellation communities collaborate with other communities, organizations, healing modalities or philosophies?
The last note I’ll offer is one that comes as a bit of a synchronicity … as is this trickster’s way. It has come strongly into my awareness recently that we all need consistent reminders to jump, frolic, play and roll in the grass sometimes. And so, I suggest that we invite Coyote in to play with us just a little bit this year, just to keep it fresh and interesting for everyone!
~Kirsten Love Lauzon, Program Chair
Courage at the Edge, Love in the Center
- Explore the Growth Edges of Constellations
- Increase Awareness of the Power, Beauty, and Diverse Applications of the Work
- Demonstrate Innovative Approaches in Family Constellations
- Showcase Creative Techniques in Organizational Constellations
- Apply Constellations in Service at the Edges of Our Earth Community
- Extend Love into our Engagement with Economic and Political Edges
- Strengthen Our Connection to Our Ancestors, Both Human and More than Human
- Engage in Dialogue around Questions of Community and Organizational Integrity
- Emphasize Healthy Relations between Western and Indigenous worlds
- Build Bridges of Mutual Support by Creating Collaborative Projects
