We know why.

We do not have to suffer and yet we do it. And if at all possible, we do it in a group. On a massive scale. A way of letting the feeling of standing alone dissolve for a moment in a group of fellow sufferers. It justifies our suffering. It is the same for the others. So the suffering cannot be anything but legitimate. The arguments are ready and clear. We know why we are in pain. Or so we think. Suffering comes over us. The cause can lie anywhere, in people and in situations. We like to point the finger at it and, depending on the circumstances, we clench a fist or overstep the boundaries of decent behaviour in order to free ourselves from the pain.

The anniversary of the corona measures that started last March makes me pause for a moment to consider suffering in general, and the suffering families are going through now. Being seriously ill and seeing loved ones pass over are painful life situations. Losing your income is no laughing matter. There is no reason whatsoever to deny that.

As if it were already Easter.

The psychological and emotional effects of the measures, experienced by young and old, are going through the proverbial roof. The alarm bells are ringing at such a rate that you would think it was already Easter. There is a shortage of help. What do you mean, there is a shortage of help? It depends on how you look at it. Along the well-trodden paths the help on offer may not be sufficient, but there are other routes as well. Criticised by the well-trodden paths? Less well known? Less used? Less loved? But effective all the same.

Spots spoil the fair appearance.

The spots of exhaustion, depression, burn-out, violence, abuse and suicidal tendencies have existed for a long time. Until now we could still hide them behind a fair appearance and little pills, but the stinging pressure of the virus’s spikes is determined. The spots have to burst open. The pus has to come out. The wounds have to be rinsed clean. People have to become whole so that they can live. Really live. Live with soul.

The fear technique

Fear is a formidable ally of the measures. Fear is age-old. The history books are full of stories in which fear rages through civilisations and brings large groups of people into physical and emotional slavery, wipes them out or thins them out through illness. Many of us have a little fear button that you only have to point at for it to spring into action. Much use has been made of this technique over the past year. And with success, but fortunately not with everyone.

A whole range of new buttons

Every time we dare to look and step beyond the line of fear, we meet something entirely different. At first it takes your breath away, because we are not used to crossing that line. Then a whole range of buttons shows itself that are still as good as new because we do not use them enough. A new landscape of life reveals itself, with possibilities that lift us up and give us a new drive. We discover how we can make use of our self-worth and self-confidence, how we can use our consciousness for insights and actions that make us feel better. We learn to perceive and think from within ourselves, so that we can separate truth from untruth without being told what to think. The spots become little pimples until, as after puberty, they turn back into smooth skin. You feel healed, stronger, equal to whatever comes your way. A new courage for life carries you along. You realise that what has happened over the past year does not just happen. There is a purpose behind it. You no longer have to believe it because someone tells you so. All your cells are singing it.

The virus speaks a language of its own.

When we were given a little more freedom last summer and I was able to continue my year-long training for family constellation facilitators, I was curious about the effects of the first lockdown on my students. I like to let myself be guided by what my intuition tells me, and I asked them to express in key words how it had been for them. A whole string of experiences appeared on the flip chart. Most of them bore witness to a positive experience. A smaller number referred to the less favourable effects. As a systemic constellation facilitator, I chose to use that material for a constellation* about the virus.

The third eye of humanity

My students each represented one chosen feeling from the list, which they brought into the constellation as citizens. We chose a representative for the virus and several people for the policymakers. Everyone stood a little scattered. The virus stood at the edge and looked straight ahead and out across the circle. It was large, full of energy and powerful. Citizens with a similar attitude moved gently towards one another. They had little or no interest in the virus. The policymakers, by contrast, moved right in front of the virus and did everything they could to catch the virus’s gaze. The closer they came and the harder they tried, the more easily the virus looked over them into the distance, into the open space, into nature, focusing on the sun that was shining radiantly that day. The virus itself showed no interest in the attempts of the policymakers. ‘I have a different aim. I am here to open the third eye of humanity.’ As a group we were impressed by it. The scope of it brought us to silence. The message came through. It made perfect sense.

Consciousness in motion

If we look around us, we see signs of a third eye opening everywhere. People calling on their creativity and launching new initiatives, the rediscovery of nature, moving in the open air, the high value of felt social contact, the distinction between what is and is not important, critical questions and voices, weighing up what is true and what is not true, groups all over the world connecting with one another for a world that protects the essence. Consciousness is descending and reaching the heart. This makes it easier to live and act from self-confidence and love for the world.

The theory tested against reality

Since March last year I knew it for certain. At that moment I was not susceptible to the corona bug. And so it turned out to be. And then, all of a sudden, the energy changed. I felt that I had to be careful, although I had been careful before that as well. It is an advantage if you can read the message of your body and feel in advance that something is going to happen. The surprise is what exactly it will be. At first I still hoped it was an ordinary respiratory infection of the kind I know well. But nausea and headaches were not usually part of it. Something else was going on.
Then the verdict came. The British variant. ‘I have always loved England a lot’, flashed through me at that moment. I am now a little number in the statistics you hear in the media every day. A contact tracer even came to visit me. A smoker, at that. As someone without medical training, I found it a strange combination. My airways reacted to it immediately. ‘Yes, that will be because I smoke.’ I beg your pardon?

The third eye of the individual

Sleeping, I could not get enough of it. Day and night. Did I perhaps need absolute rest, and had the virus come to give me a helping hand? I had no interest in food or drink. After a while I had to hold my ribs to protect them against the coughing. I was ill, worse than some and less badly than others. I remembered the aim of the virus and decided to observe my illness process closely. When you fall ill, there is only one thing you can do. Embrace the illness. Allow it in. That is what I did. Giving my body and my immune system my trust. Taking good care of myself by calling on my self-healing capacity. Using my third eye to see what inner energetic work I could do while I was resting.

Opening doors

For me, illness is the closing of a certain phase that you no longer need, so that a new phase can descend. My osteopath reacted with surprise. ‘How is this possible? In the other patients who have had covid 19, the energy system has collapsed, and in you it has come fully into its power.’ Could the use of my third eye have something to do with it? For me it could. I am experiencing a renewed decisiveness, a now-or-never feeling, a need to stand up and shine, the longing to spread my arms and meet new people, a longing to open doors and walk unknown paths, a longing to be visible and to be received.
Could the covid bug have come to whisper something like that to me? ‘Stand up and go, love and spread light in order to create a conscious world.’ Could that be? What do you think?

Group consciousness and group healing.

In order to allow healing, we have to step out of our convictions. More of the same will not get us out. It is a process of surrender in order to get to know our inner world. That is where our gold mine is to be found. Freeing ourselves daily from the things that hold us back should be as self-evident as brushing your teeth. If we look over our shoulder for a moment, after a while we see the distance we have covered in our growth. Step by step we become whole again. Becoming whole together, as a group and still keeping your individuality, is even more impressive. Group consciousness will become more and more important. The awareness that we can bring balance from the inside where the balance has been disturbed, and that we can create new, favourable situations because we have shaken off our ballast. And that through fine healing work. We need it. Men and women, young and old. Together we make a healing difference in the world.

Here you will find the link to the group healings and the dates. You can also read there how others have experienced the group healing.

Hilde Van Bulck
Speaker — Writer
Systemic advisor for schools and companies — Consciousness coach
AMI Activator — Motivator — Inspirer

• What is a constellation? It is a way of working in which you can set up various elements connected with a particular issue in a space, each facing in a certain direction. The constellation makes clear what could not be understood before.