Sense-making in change

Our  daily struggle is real and thankfully so is our clarity and compassion.

Whether you are grappling with going back to the office, the threat of cut backs and layoffs in your industry or a different change there can be a lot to sit with at the moment as we start our voyage through this global long Covid experience.

Dramatic change can hit us instantaneously but the transitional journey that we go on to shape our new reality usually takes a while longer. Even more so when we have to go on this journey as an organisation, an intergenerational diverse society or a confused and busy planet.

When navigating these seas of change, or any organisational change, a compassionate, respectful and non-judgemental way to view our selves and our reality can help to bring clarity and peace. Using the compass of the ordering principles of systems as described by Bert Hellinger can help on this journey.

I invite you to try these simple steps, if you are experiencing any tensions or questions in your changing systems…

First, gently let the feeling of being in this system find a place in your body. Allow it to wash over you. Breathe into it.

When you have taken a few moments to do this, allow the most important elements of the system to float to the surface of your consciousness. These might be people or maybe they are emotions or something else altogether. It’s okay to get it wrong, whatever comes out will be information on some level 🙂

Next sense into the relationship between these elements. How far away from each other are they? Which is bigger or smaller than the other? Who or what is missing or not acknowledged? What are you noticing in yourself and in your system?

You can then slowly, taking the place each element of the system in turn, reflect on the ordering principles in relation to them.

Time – Who or what came first and is that important, respected or acknowledged in this system?
Place – Who is in an unhelpful place or excluded from the system?
Exchange – What is or has been given or taken in this system and where is this out of balance?
Size – Who or what feels too big or too small in this system?

Don’t worry too much about answering the questions with absolute accuracy or rushing to action, the objective is to surface truths, imbalances and systemic tensions so it is more about sensing into what “feels true” as you acknowledge it and make the unconscious conscious.

Acknowledging the truths of a system, seeing it as it is without judgement, and respectfully acknowledging the tensions and imbalances can often be enough to enable the start of movement and change.

…and if you want to talk about any of this, please get in touch.