Systemic Consciousness
What It Is
What do we mean by systemic consciousness? Systemic consciousness could be described as how a system -- whether team, group, or organization -- makes sense of its world: what its rules are, how one remains in good standing within the community, what it values, what it believes. We can tap directly into this consciousness by tuning our own perception beyond our individual consciousness, by learning to read and skillfully articulate the emotional field in a room, and by using systemic constellations to see the effects of this consciousness on the system by experiencing the relationship between different elements of the system.
There are many implications to our ability to perceive systemic consciousness, regardless of our role. The first system all of us belong to is our family; when we tune into systemic consciousness, we see that our ancestors are frequently with us, influencing our decisions — sometimes in helpful ways, other times based on the anxiety they grew up in.
In regards to the current pandemic of Covid-19, recall that our ancestors lived through many such world-wide occurrences, which have left an imprint in our collective unconscious that helps determine how we experience this new challenge.
Michael Spayd hosts systemic consciousness exploration and healing groups on a regular basis in this time of pandemic. This will allow one or two people each time to setup a systemic constellation to explore their personal concerns, the impact on their organization, or help them make decisions for the business that they lead. Others participating will serve as witness, may be asked to represent in the constellation, and invariably gain as much (sometimes more) than the person setting the constellation. Michael announces weekly sessions on LinkedIn. Connect with him there for details.
Additional resources are listed at the bottom of this page.
For Leaders
Leaders can expand their own effectiveness by tuning into systemic consciousness, exploring the unconscious and entangled patterns within the organization they lead, seeing clearly their own entanglements, and allowing the system to respond to its natural movement to greater self-organization.
For Organizations
Systemic Consciousness is the basis of culture in an organization. This is captured by the concept of conscience. When we are within the conscience of our group or system, we feel ‘innocent’; when we are outside it, we feel ‘guilt’. This is independent of moral or ethical definitions, as it applies to hate groups as much as it does spiritually evolved systems. Conscience provides the standards of belonging that are invisibly imposed by any system on its members — namely, the one’s who belong.
Resources
Online resources:
Podcast: Systemic Constellations Joekub Podcast interview with Michael Spayd.
North American Systemic Constellations - industry association & bi-annual conference.
Organizational Constellations: Basics and Special Situations, Gunthard Weber.
International Forum for Systems Constellations in Organizations.