On April 6, 2024, I traveled to Katy, Texas, to visit my friend and colleague María Alejandra Marcano (@encuentratunorte) and participate in a group Family Constellations workshop that we were hosting that weekend.
Together, we accompanied a wonderful group of individuals on a journey of looking at, understanding, and acknowledging their family histories through the eyes of love.
Sometimes, we come to a Family Constellations session after exploring other therapeutic approaches, seeking a different perspective or hoping to complement the work we have already been doing.
Other times, we are drawn to this experience because we cannot understand why certain patterns continue to repeat themselves, not only in our own lives but also in the lives of other members of our families.
Perhaps we have never noticed these connections until a Family Constellations facilitator helps us explore and reconstruct our family history. It is then that we may begin to recognize that certain experiences are not unique to us.
We might discover that our mother, grandmother, aunts, uncles, great-great-grandparents, or other relatives went through something remarkably similar.
As we explore these stories, we begin to recognize the events that have left a lasting imprint on our family system. From the perspective of Family Constellations, this process invites us to reflect on the importance of restoring balance, acknowledging what has been, and understanding the principles that guide relationships within the family.
Just as spiritual traditions describe universal laws established by a higher intelligence to maintain harmony, Family Constellations proposes that certain principles help bring order and balance to family systems.
These principles are known as the Orders of Love, a foundational concept developed by the German philosopher and psychotherapist Bert Hellinger.
According to this approach, when these principles are disrupted, imbalance and disharmony may arise within the family system. Unresolved experiences and relationship patterns may continue to influence family members until someone chooses to look at the family history with greater awareness and compassion.
Within this framework, restoring order means acknowledging the past, honoring each person's place in the family, and opening the possibility of relating to one another in a different way.
It is an invitation to recognize painful patterns without remaining bound to them, so that present and future generations may have the opportunity to build happier, more conscious, and more fulfilling lives.
The Movement of the Spirit was deeply present throughout our weekend gathering, bringing a sense of peace, order, and belonging to those who participated.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
It was a truly beautiful and meaningful experience.