Training methodology for youth workers about self-awareness (PDF)

Training methodology for youth workers about self-awareness and entrepreneurship for youth in risk  1 This document is published by the SENTYR Consortium, formed by six organizations – National Association of Research Teachers (Bulgaria) Business Intuition (Netherlands), Backslash (Spain), Celjski Mladinski Center (Slovenia), Foundation Future for all of us (Bulgaria), Iğdır Provincial Directorate of National Education (Turkey). The Self-Awareness and Entrepreneurship of Youth in Risk (SENTYR) project was implemented between October 2017 and September 2019, under the framework of the European Commissions’ Programme Erasmus+, within Key Action 2: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices, Action: Strategic partnerships in the field of youth. For more information about the project please visit https://sentyr.eu/ The project has received funding from the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme under Grant Agreement No 2017-2-BG01- KA205-036500. This document reflects the views only of the authors and the European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. Authors of the training methodology: Martijn Meima - Business Intuition (Netherlands), Demian Burgenik - Business Intuition (Netherlands), Frédérique te Dorsthorst-De Muij- Business Intuition (Netherlands), Suzanne Liet - Business Intuition (Netherlands), Katja Kolenc - Celjski Mladinski Center (Slovenia), Sonja Majcen - Celjski Mladinski Center (Slovenia), Onur Gültekin - Iğdır Provincial Directorate of National Education (Turkey), Kamuran Vural - Iğdır Provincial Directorate of National Education (Turkey), Kader Karaca - Iğdır Provincial Directorate of National Education (Turkey), Kaloyan Damyanov - National Association of Research Teachers (Bulgaria), Paulina Petrova - National Association of Research Teachers (Bulgaria), Gilberto Martinez - Backslash (Spain), Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledged. Copyright © 2019 SENTYR Consortium, represented by the National Association of Resource Teachers, Vladovo str. 1, Sofia, Bulgaria Published by National Association of Resource Teachers ISBN 978- 619-7534-03-0  2 Table of content Introduction ________________________________________________________________ 4 Learning outcomes framework _________________________________________________ 5 The European Qualifications Framework (EQF) __________________________________ 5 ➢ EQF levels ____________________________________________________________ 7 General Concept and Theoretical Framework ____________________________________ 8 Method 1 - Composition work (exercises purple color) ___________________________ 10 Method 2 - (Business) Constellations (exercises yellow color) _______________________ 12 Method 3 - Narrative Approach (exercises pink color) _____________________________17 Three Steps for Self-Awareness and Entrepreneurship ____________________________ 21 ➢ Aware of my current situation (color blue) __________________________________ 21 ➢ Creating more freedom, to act towards my dreams (color green) _________________ 21 ➢ Creating my own future (color orange) _____________________________________ 22 Practical exercises ___________________________________________________________ 22 Exercises for the personal development of youth workers _____________________________ 23 Exercise 1: Experience the exercises yourself ____________________________________24 Exercise 2: Discover the different I-positions that play a role in helping youth __________25 Exercise 3: What position are you helping from? _________________________________27 Exercise 4: Can you respect the parents of your trainee? ___________________________ 29 Exercise 5: What is the trainee triggering in you? _________________________________31 Exercises for step 1 – Becoming aware of my current situation _________________________33 Exercise 6: Tell your own story ______________________________________________ 34 Exercise 7: Becoming aware of yourself - exploring your inner self __________________ 36 Exercise 8: Exploring yourself in your context __________________________________ 38 Exercises for step 2 - Creating more freedom ______________________________________ 40  3 Exercise 9: Explore your mission in life _______________________________________ 41 Exercise 10: Explore your dream _____________________________________________44 Exercise 11: Get more connected with your dream and mission _____________________45 Exercise 12: Create your alternative story ______________________________________47 Exercise 13: Practicing new ways of dealing with barriers _________________________49 Exercise 14: Generating business ideas ________________________________________51 Exercises for step 3 – Creating my own future ______________________________________53 Exercise 15: Create more freedom in dealing with barriers, resources related to your goal_54 Exercise 16: Constellation for making choices ___________________________________56 Exercise 17: Marketing constellation ___________________________________________58 Exercise 18: Selecting the right marketing channels _______________________________61 Exercise 19: Creating Your Business Plan - Business Model Canvas __________________63 Exercise 20: Storytelling canvas_______________________________________________66 Exercise 21: Creating a step by step plan________________________________________68 Exercise 22: What is the next step? ____________________________________________70 Appendix 1: List of internal I-positions __________________________________________73 Appendix 2: List of external I-positions _________________________________________ 73 Appendix 3: Check list________________________________________________________74 Sources ____________________________________________________________________76  4 Introduction The partner consortium of the project SENTYR (2017-2-BG01-KA205-036500) has developed a training methodology as youth workers of today face new and more complex challenges than ever. Young people are becoming more and more demanding and critical as to the methods, applied by youth workers - calling for more interactive and attractive training formats and to the problems of wide interest - demanding for increased attention to significant topics, such as "My career path", "Employability", "Meaningful Living". Therefore, the SENTYR project developed a two-part manual consisting of Evaluation and Training methodology to equip you with necessary tools to successfully reply to the overall call for quality in young people’s daily activities. The Evaluation methodology presents the methods and instruments to identify asses and evaluate the training needs of young people at risk of social exclusion and is free for downloading at https://sentyr.eu/outcomes/. The evaluation methodology contributes for the selection of the proper training tools that can be applied and selected from this Training methodology. The checklist used for the evaluation of the needs of young people at risk is also a part of the document and can be found in the Appendix 3. The SENTYR Training methodology is designed for youth workers, who would like to expand and upskill their training portfolio in the field of self-awareness and entrepreneurship education methods. Through the methodology, they will get access to an essential state-of-the-art knowledge base, enabling them to structure their self-awareness and entrepreneurship trainings with youth in risk. The methodology is based on three world known methods: stone composition work or dialogical self-theory, business constellations and narrative approach. All of the three methods are described at the end of the training methodology. The training methodology will be a combination of experiential learning and theoretical knowledge about the self-awareness and entrepreneurship processes. The methodology will enable effective facilitation, participatory and experiential learning and thus will lead to sustainable knowledge and skills gain of and for the intended participants. The training methodology is based on three steps for the personal development of youth workers and each step has particular exercises. Each step and corresponding exercises as well as method used are distinguished with a specific color. Youth workers can go through all three steps and all exercises or can choose particular exercises that correspond to their needs. The next paragraphs will introduce some methods in a way that enable you to use the exercises in this training methodology that are based on these methods. We have also included some further reading suggestions in case you want to explore the methods some more. Happy reading! SENTYR team  5 Learning outcomes framework This learning outcome framework will step on the model of EQF and existing descriptions adding specific attributes, linked to the needs of the target group addressed and to the self-awareness topic. Furthermore, the framework will provide specific examples of learning outcomes when applying this training methodology. The European Qualifications Framework (EQF) “is a common European reference framework whose purpose is to make qualifications more readable and understandable across different countries and systems. Covering qualifications at all levels and in all sub-systems of education and training, the EQF provides a comprehensive overview over qualifications in the 39 European countries currently involved in its implementation” (Source 1). EQF has eight reference levels defined in terms of learning outcomes, i.e. knowledge, skills and autonomy-responsibility. Learning outcomes express what individuals know, understand and are able to do at the end of a learning process. The main purpose of the EQF is to make qualifications more readable and understandable across countries and systems. This is important to support cross- border mobility of learners and workers and lifelong learning across Europe (Source 1). The EQF levels are not related to any specific qualifications or education programmes, but they indicate the extent, to which a learner has acquired relevant knowledge, skills and competences during their learning. Thus, the EQF levels cover all education sectors (vocational, general and higher education), all education levels (basic, secondary and higher education, continuing education), as well as all education forms (formal, non-formal and informal learning). Even though the EQF framework can be applied to non-formal education as well it is well known that from the methodological stand point of view assessing and measuring non-formal knowledge, competences and skills is fairly difficult in comparison to formal education. Before we are able to assess or measure any kind of progress, we have to have a look form the starting point, which in our case of learning outcomes the starting points are the eight key competences of non-formal learning. "Competencies are in the Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council defined as "a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the context. Key competences are those, which all individuals need for personal fulfilment and development, active citizenship, social inclusion and employment. Key competencies are transferable, they intertwine among themselves and connect and form the basis for lifelong learning. " (Source 3). Reference framework sets out eight key competences: 1. Communication in the mother tongue; 2. Communication in foreign languages; 3. Mathematical competence and basic competences in science and technology; 4. Digital competence;  6 5. Learning to learn; 6. Social and civic competences; 7. Self-initiative and enterprise; 8. Cultural awareness and expression. (Source 3). Threw any kind of process of learning, observing, experiencing young people are taking into new information, comparing them to already existing values and information they are possessing and maybe even questioning the existing beliefs or behaviour they might already have. Youth workers aim is to follow through and accompany the youngster threw the learning process by guiding and mentoring him or her and nevertheless at its end helping the youngster realize the competences, skills and knowledge he obtained or increased. By doing this a youth worker can establish (favourably) alongside the youngster the learning outcomes. If the youngster is included in the process of identifying his or her own learning outcomes, they are already establishing their own wishes and guidelines for their personal or professional development. Knowledge may be defined as the ability to recall or remember facts without necessarily understanding them. Some of the active verbs used to assess knowledge are: arrange, collect, define, describe, duplicate, enumerate, examine, find, identify, label, list, memorize, name, order, outline, present, quote, recall, recognize, recollect, record, recount, relate, repeat, reproduce, show, state, tabulate, tell (Source 4). Some examples of learning outcomes for this training methodology: ➢ Recall genetics terminology: homozygous, heterozygous, phenotype, genotype, homologous chromosome pair, etc. ➢ Describe the method of Composition work ➢ List the criteria to be taken into account when talking about (Business) Constellation ➢ Define the 3 steps pf Self-awareness and Entrepreneurship Note that each learning outcome begins with an action verb. Literature usually describes the best way to specify general learning outcomes is to specify the minimum acceptable standards to which a pupil or student can pass a module, program, etc. While this might be true for the formal education, this is not recommended nor practically applicable in the non-formal education. The core idea of non-formal education if we simplify it is the ability to learn. How much, how often, threw what approaches or methods, at whose pace, for how long, those are not the main characteristics of non-formal learning therefore any kind of increase of the knowledge, skills or competences for a youngster from their starting point is a passing standard in a non-formal education. Continuing the idea of individual learning processes, tempo of learning, approaches and methods used to acquire knowledge, from this standpoint of view the project consortium should not assume what are and how many learning outcomes are the right ones for each youngster learning journey. Threw listing individual verbs that might help you and your youngster to identify the learning outcome we believe that this is all the guidance a youth worker should have and merely respond  7 with this knowledge to the youngster’s wishes and ideas to where he or she wishes to be after the learning process. ➢ EQF levels Each of the eight levels is defined by a set of descriptors indicating the learning outcomes relevant to qualifications at that level in any system of qualifications (Source 2). Knowledge Skills Responsibility and autonomy In the context of EQF, knowledge is described as theoretical and/or factual. In the context of EQF, skills are described as cognitive (involving the use of logical, intuitive and creative thinking) and practical (involving manual dexterity and the use of methods, materials, tools and instruments). In the context of the EQF responsibility and autonomy is described as the ability of the learner to apply knowledge and skills autonomously and with responsibility The learning outcomes relevant to Level 1 are Basic general knowledge Basic skills required to carry out simple tasks Work or study under direct supervision in a structured context The learning outcomes relevant to Level 2 are Basic factual knowledge of a field of work or study Basic cognitive and practical skills required to use relevant information in order to carry out tasks and to solve routine problems using simple rules and tools Work or study under supervision with some autonomy The learning outcomes relevant to Level 3 are Knowledge of facts, principles, processes and general concepts, in a field of work or study A range of cognitive and practical skills required to accomplish tasks and solve problems by selecting and applying basic methods, tools, materials and information Take responsibility for completion of tasks in work or study; adapt own behaviour to circumstances in solving problems The learning outcomes relevant to Level 4 are Factual and theoretical knowledge in broad contexts within a field of work or study A range of cognitive and practical skills required to generate solutions to specific problems in a field of work or study Exercise self-management within the guidelines of work or study contexts that are usually predictable, but are subject to change; supervise the routine work of others, taking some responsibility for the evaluation and improvement of work or study activities The learning outcomes relevant to Level 5 are Comprehensive, specialized, factual and theoretical knowledge within a field of work or study and an awareness of the boundaries of that knowledge A comprehensive range of cognitive and practical skills required to develop creative solutions to abstract problems Exercise management and supervision in contexts of work or study activities where there is unpredictable change; review and develop performance of self and others The learning outcomes relevant to Level 6 are Advanced knowledge of a field of work or study, involving a critical understanding of theories and principles Advanced skills, demonstrating mastery and innovation, required to solve complex and unpredictable Manage complex technical or professional activities or projects, taking responsibility for decision-making in unpredictable work or study  8 problems in a specialized field of work or study contexts; take responsibility for managing professional development of individuals and groups The learning outcomes relevant to Level 7 are Highly specialized knowledge, some of which is at the forefront of knowledge in a field of work or study, as the basis for original thinking and/or research Critical awareness of knowledge issues in a field and at the interface between different fields Specialized problem-solving skills required in research and/or innovation in order to develop new knowledge and procedures and to integrate knowledge from different fields Manage and transform work or study contexts that are complex, unpredictable and require new strategic approaches; take responsibility for contributing to professional knowledge and practice and/or for reviewing the strategic performance of teams The learning outcomes relevant to Level 8 are Knowledge at the most advanced frontier of a field of work or study and at the interface between fields The most advanced and specialized skills and techniques, including synthesis and evaluation, required to solve critical problems in research and/or innovation and to extend and redefine existing knowledge or professional practice Demonstrate substantial authority, innovation, autonomy, scholarly and professional integrity and sustained commitment to the development of new ideas or processes at the forefront of work or study contexts including research Source 2. General Concept and Theoretical Framework This training methodology is based on the outcome of the questionnaire/checklist the youth worker has done in advance with the trainee. The questionnaire is an evaluation tool that helps the youth workers to have a starting point of subjects to attend during the training. The training methodology is only then suitable for the trainee if a) the basic needs, like psychological needs and safety needs, of the trainee are fulfilled. b) the trainee has a (vague) dream of being an entrepreneur. If the trainee has another dream than (social) entrepreneurship, step 1 and 2 of this method (aware of current situation and creating more freedom) could be used, but there are also other training methods in that case. The goal of this training method is to educate a trainee explicitly to explore the idea of his or her own enterprise and what (personal) development is needed to succeed. ➢ Personal development of youth worker The methodology is based on three world known methods: 1. Stone composition work or dialogical self-theory (purple color) 2. Business constellations (yellow color) 3. Narrative approach (pink color) The background of these three methods are explained in the following chapter. Each exercise for each step also has a corresponding method, which is clearly divided also by color. The exercises are also explained step by step. Therefore, the youth worker doesn’t have to be an expert on the used methods. Nevertheless, we strongly recommend that the youth workers themselves do the exercises with a colleague before starting the training methodology with a trainee. There is an  9 important aspect of the methodology that is necessary to make this methodology work. This is the personal development of the youth worker. Working with youth (or working with people in general) requires reflecting on your own patterns and pitfalls. This way you will be able to take a neutral position in helping the youth. That is why we have included a part in the methodology for the youth workers to reflect upon their own position and the patterns in their way of helping. ➢ Set up of the training methodology The training method is set up by a general structure of three steps. This is a pure practical division to create a logical sequence in order to support focus during the training. In practice, it is often experienced that exercises of a step can create insights, which match the following or the former steps. Therefore, the steps will alternate continuously.  10 Method 1 - Composition work (exercises purple color) Composition work is a tool for investigating the organization of one’s self as well as a method for stimulating personal and professional development. It was developed by Agnieszka Konopka and Hubert Hermans and is based on dialogical self-theory, according to which the self is understood as a multiplicity of I-positions (different sides of the self) in the landscape of the mind. The person making the composition uses language and stones to represent relevant I-positions of her- or himself self, thus externalizing these and creating a personal landscape of mind. As a result, a meta-position is taken to this landscape, which facilitates its overview and understanding and may stimulate its further development. The method relates to the two basic dimensions of the self: verbal/reflexive and nonverbal/sensory, the integration of which forms an optimal condition for the development of the self. The idea of representing I-positions by using stones is inspired by Japanese rock gardens, which often represent the organization or development of the self. By their abstract and sensory quality, stones help to evoke and symbolize nonverbal aspects of the I-positions. The dialogical self has been described as dynamic multiplicity of I-positions in the landscape of mind. I-positions are understood as different aspects of one’s self, which act like characters belonging to a person (e.g., I as anxious, I as strong, I as happy, I as a clown). I-positions are not only internal but also external. Significant others or external aspects of one’s self (e.g., my friend, nature, my father) can also be seen as parts of the self. I-positions can entertain a variety of relations with each other: for example, conflicting or opposing, but also cooperating as coalitions. The quality of relations between I-positions determines the development and well- being of a person, similar to a society, in which the relations among people determine the dynamism and development of the group. Exploration of the quality of relations among positions is one of the basic aims in composition work. By externalizing I-positions and representing them in a composition, a special kind of position is created, called “meta-position”. This is a position that allows for observing situations from a certain distance, giving an overarching view from where several I-positions can be seen simultaneously. This opens the possibility of an exploration and evaluation of the organization of the self. One of the main advantages of using the metaphor of landscape for the investigation of the mind in composition work is that it enables working with spatial relations between positions and in this way has the potential to stimulate insight in the organization of the self, both on horizontal and vertical dimensions. Two opposite positions—like joy and disappointment, or vertical and horizontal powers—need to be integrated by finding a third position. This process of integration can be addressed and stimulated in composition work, when two opposite positions represented by stones are juxtaposed, explored experientially, and looked at from a meta-position. This often results in finding a third, encompassing position. For example, in the case of one of our clients two opposite positions were identified: “I as hard” (represented by a dark stone) and “I as friendly” (represented by a pink stone). In the process of composition work, these were encompassed by a new, third position: “I as human” (represented by a multicolour stone). The new position was a result of a change in the experience of the client from being stuck in an either/or situation toward envisioning  11 a more integrated one. He described “being human” as allowing for “different colors of the self, even in the same relation.” The concept of “third position” is understood as an integrative answer to contradictions in the self on the level of I-positions. However, the organization of stones and spaces in most of the Japanese gardens also suggests another dimension, which may play a crucial role in dealing with opposites in the self. It is the sandy space in which the stones are placed that adds a unique quality to the whole composition. This “space in-between” becomes a holding environment encompassing the opposites. This witnessing space goes beyond the duality of positions and becomes a developmental resource for the self, offering unity as a counterforce to the (opposing) multiplicity, simplicity as a counterforce to complexity, silence in answer to sound, and space as a ground for objects. Every stone is surrounded by a space, just as every feeling is surrounded by the experiential space of our mind, as in a figure/ground relation. In composition work, stones are used to represent I-positions and feelings and their interrelations. They can be useful in the exploration of the human mind, because of their appeal to the unconscious and to the affective, nonverbal dimension of the self by means of their nonverbal and nonfigurative properties and the combination of their naturalistic and abstract qualities. The abstract qualities of stones invite a person to the world beyond words, into no conceptual perception, and stimulate the nonverbal, affective dimension of the self. In composition work, we use both nonverbal material and verbal labelling with the purpose of integrating both levels of experience. We may conclude that successful integration of these two dimensions forms an important basis for the development of emotional awareness. Emotional awareness develops in the interaction or “dynamic dance” between the two streams of consciousness: rational-linguistic and sensual direct. It must be taken into account that these two dimensions can easily conflict because of the neural competition between them. For this reason, we aim to stimulate the development of the self and emotions by a combination of practices that activate both levels: verbal and nonverbal. Further reading suggestions: ➢ Dialogical Self Theory. Positioning and counter-positioning in a globalizing society (2010) - Hubert Hermans & Agnieszka Konopka ➢ Agnieszka Konopka & Wim Van Beers (2014) Compositionwork: A Method for Self- Investigation, Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 27:3, 194-210, ➢ Agnieszka Konopka (2012). The depositioning of the I: emotional coaching in the context of transcendental awareness, pp: 423-438. In Handbook of Dialogical Self Theory, Hermans, H. & Gieser, T., Cambridge University Press, 2012 ➢ Hubert Hermans (2014), Self as a Society of I-Positions:A Dialogical Approach to Counseling, Journal of Humanistic Counseling,Vol. 53 ➢ www.compositionwork.com  12 Method 2 - (Business) Constellations (exercises yellow color) Constellations support a way of looking at problems and questions from a systemic point of view. Systemic should not be confused with systematic. It is something completely different. Systemic is a German concept that cannot easily be translated. It means something like “relating to the whole system”. In our education and day-to-day life, we are used to analysing problems and use our analytical skills. Constellations invite us to use a phenomenological approach. Instead of looking at the parts of a system, you look at the system as a whole. You allow the phenomena to talk for themselves. You do not want to change or fix anything. This way you are able to not only observe the layer of visible and tangible objects and events. By looking phenomenological you also include the so-called under current that what is below the surface. It is like with iron filings and a magnetic field. Without the iron filings you do not see the magnetic field, but it is there and it influences objects that are in the field. By putting iron filings in the field, you can see the field and explain why certain things happen. Constellations are mainly used when interventions in the so-called ‘overcurrent’ do not have the desired effect. They help us to explore the under current and to find the root cause of complex problems. Bert Hellinger was the founder of family constellations. He integrated many theoretical streams and therapeutically approaches into the method of family constellations. Gunthard Weber has developed the method into the realm of organizations and businesses, calling it business constellations. These days there are many forms of constellations related to health, career, marketing, management or society and world issues. That is why we use the general term constellations in this methodology. When you take a systemic approach to a problem, you look at the bigger picture. Instead of zooming in, you zoom out. At the same time, you let go of the linear or even the circular thinking where there are causes and effect or in logical consequences. Instead you approach the issue as a whole. You allow everything to be at the same time. Everything you feel, see, hear and know is connected. The history, the future, they all exist in the now. Events from the past still influence the present. Traumatic experiences keep influencing later generations, even if we don’t know about them. What you see depends on the focus and the perspective. Just like in a hologram, every part of the system consists of properties of the whole. This way you will be able to know about the whole by looking at a part and vice versa. This way we might look at problems as a manifestation of something going on in the under current. This can be very helpful when working with young people with all kinds of problems. These problems might not be problems, but symptoms of something else going on in the systems they are part of. There are many different systems one is part of. First, there is the family system you were born in. This is a system that you will always be part of, whether you like it or not. At the same time, you are part of a country system, a religious system, an ethnic system. Just by being born. Then there are systems you (more or less) choose to be part of like a sports club, school or users of a certain drug. All systems have their own dynamics, rules, norms and values. Constellations are a practical way to get insight in the systemic dimension of issues and questions. A constellation generally consists of the following steps: 1. Interview to find out what the real question is and what the relevant elements are  13 2. Selecting representatives for the chosen elements. This can be people that know nothing about the issue or even objects like pieces of paper or gems. 3. Place the representatives in space. This can be done in a room or on a table. This already gives a lot of insight in the question. 4. Exploring the constellation. Without wanting to change anything the facilitator explores what is there. What does the system want to tell us? Basically, this step is done by asking the representatives what they sense and experience and asking them to follow their inner movements. 5. Carry out systemic interventions. The facilitator can decide to carry out some interventions to create a new situation. These interventions include moving representatives, having representative say healing sentences and adding new elements. 6. Rounding up. When the facilitator senses that the constellations have finished, he asks the representatives to release themselves from their roles and thanks everyone who has participated. Most of the times there is not an extensive discussion afterwards. The constellation does its work silently and subconsciously. By facilitating many constellations, Bert Hellinger and others have found systemic laws that apply to every system. First, he has discovered three survival mechanisms or consciousness’s: 1. The group consciousness that ensures the survival of the individual in a group. It works just like your sense of balance. Subconsciously you are continuously being told by your sense of balance to move a little to the right, a little to the front and so on. This works the same for being able to survive in a group. You are continuously sensing what you need to do or not do to belong to the group. 2. The system consciousness that ensures the survival of the system as a whole. This consciousness works subconsciously and surpasses the boundaries of space and time. It is not tangible nor audible. It also transcends right and wrong and does not consider what or who is affected. It acts like a memory of the system. This consciousness ‘employees’ parts of the system, meaning that people can show a certain behaviour because the system consciousness wants to express that someone is excluded in the system or that something in the past should not be forgotten. There is no rational explanation for the behaviour of this person and when for example by coaching of therapy this person changes, someone else in the system will show the behaviour. 3. The evolutionary consciousness that ensures the development of society as a whole. It reaches far beyond the other two and is called Geist by Bert Hellinger or ‘spirit-mind’. It will create and destroy without judgement. It creates light and dark, good and evil, peace and war, crisis and prosperity. It is an impulse with a focus and direction that affects all systems. There are three life-giving forces active in systems that influence the way the system and members of the system behave. It is interesting to approach problems of issues with these three forces in mind. 1. Belonging Systems want to be complete and include all parts of the system. Everyone connected to a system is entitled a position. Because systems do not behave linear nor circular time and space have no influence. This means that persons and events from the past are also entitled a place. As soon as someone or something is being excluded by members of the system, the system consciousness will  14 create a way to express this. This will show through all kinds of symptoms in our daily life like addictions, lack of money, suicide, complaining or anxieties. These are just symptoms and cannot be solved by zooming in or working with just the symptoms. They are a reflection of something going on in the under current. Including everyone and every event that is and has been part of the system does not mean that you have to agree with it. It means that you acknowledge that it is part of the system. 2. Order Every system has a natural order. Families have a very clear order. There is the order of generations (children, parents, grandparents and so on) and the order of age. In other systems there can be other orders like seniority, hierarchy, contribution to the product or service. Unlike families in organization you can change your position in the order. As soon as the order is disturbed by for example a child taking the position of a parent or a subordinate taking the place of his boss, there will be problems in the system. These problems or symptoms cannot always be easily be connected to a disturbance in the order. Sometimes they occur at a different place in the system or they show up in a different form. 3. Exchange In order to survive a system needs to exchange with its environment. This exchange needs to be balanced. Giving and taking should be about the same over time. The balance will always be disturbed and in a healthy system there will be actions to restore this balance by giving a bit more or by taking more. When the balance between giving and taking tips too much to one side, the system becomes instable and as a result the system consciousness will create something to balance it again. In the visible world this shows up as a problem or issue, but actually, it is a solution of the system for the imbalance in exchange. ➢ The basic stance of a facilitator To facilitate a full constellation requires quite some training and experience. In this methodology we have therefore created exercises that have a fixed format and make it easier to facilitate. It is still good to realize that working with constellations requires a special stance from you as a facilitator, most importantly. ➢ Embracing the not-knowing. You should not have an idea or a plan or steps that you want the trainee to take. You accept that you and the trainee don’t know what is going to happen. Let go of all your expectations. ➢ Sensing the rhythm of the constellation Working with a constellation is sometimes fast and sometimes it goes slowly. This depends on all kind of things. It is important to follow this rhythm and not to push things or to go more slowly than is needed. ➢ Letting go of the urge to solve anything