“The Knowing Field” is a phenomenon I first encountered as a participant in a Family Constellation group. What I witnessed and experienced then left such deep traces in my consciousness that my perception—both as a person and as a psychotherapist—has never been the same since.
I was deeply impressed not only by Bert Hellinger’s theory of the existence of a family soul but also by the practical method of work through which participants come into contact with the “records” of this soul. The info-energetic field containing the records of our family soul, along with many other records from our collective unconscious, is the “Knowing Field” I wish to describe.
To an outside observer, Family Constellation groups might seem like a complete mystery. Simply by entering different roles as representatives of a family system, participants find these roles coming to life and filling with experiences. The feelings that arise can be incredibly powerful for the person in the role, but what is more impressive is that they are psychologically accurate for the actual member of the family system they represent.
When I say “simply entering roles,” I mean something very straightforward. The person chosen for a role is told: “You are…” This could be “my mother,” “my grandmother,” “my great-grandfather,” or even something abstract like “the family secret.” Nothing more. Yet, the role comes alive—real, deep, and authentic. One word to name the role, one body—our ordinary human body—and the contact with the Knowing Field is established. We begin to experience emotional, physical, or mental reactions that are not our own, without knowing anything about the person whose role we have taken.
It is astonishing that these reactions are strikingly accurate for the person we represent. Even more surprising is that after therapeutic work with them, something deep and positive changes—both for those present in the group and for people connected to the family theme who were not personally there.
If it weren’t for the authenticity of these experiences—both my own while in a role and those embodied by others representing my family soul—I could not have believed in the mystery of what happens in these groups. Furthermore, if I hadn’t witnessed the positive changes that subsequently occurred in my life, I wouldn’t have believed in the healing power of this method. It is my personal experience that makes me believe in the deep healing processes occurring within the Knowing Field.
For those who lack personal experience with this phenomenon, belief is not necessary. It is enough to be open and unbiased toward such an experience and to apply the pragmatic criterion for truth: truth is that which works and leads to a specific result, even if the mechanism behind it is currently unknown. Bert Hellinger, the creator of the method, used to say:
“I cannot explain this phenomenon, but I see that it is so, and I use it.”
Although I was introduced to the “Knowing Field” through Family Constellations, it has been explored, described, and utilized by people in other professions as well. The scientific approach to this phenomenology is presented by Rupert Sheldrake and his research on “morphic resonance,” in which he experimentally proves the existence of a connection between members of the same biological species who are physically separated. This connection cannot be explained in any other way except through the existence of this peculiar type of informational field.
In the tradition of esoteric knowledge and mysticism, the Knowing Field is known as the Akashic Records—the source of information that clairvoyants and prophets have accessed throughout history, from the “sleeping prophet” Edgar Cayce to the Bulgarian prophetess Vanga.
In the tradition of psychotherapy, long before Hellinger, C.G. Jung spoke of this field using a different term: the “collective unconscious.” He viewed it as a reservoir of the archetypal memory of all humanity, to which we are all connected at our deepest roots.
I believe the future will increasingly reveal the scientific basis of this incredible phenomenon, which highlights the mysterious matter our bodies are made of and the way our souls function. An invisible field that connects us all in the “cosmic soup” of infinity.
Kameliya Hadzhiyska
