On the 16th of February 2018, my Step Father Leon Orsmond went missing in Kigali, Rwanda. Through sources, it was discovered that he was arrested for being politically expressive about his opposing political views. Police had no records of his arrest and government institutions were of no proactive assistance, even to this day.

Hovering in darkness, grief and confusion I was extremely grateful to Amanda for offering a constellation space for me to digest this unnerving experience. Through a specific embodied structure, the family constellation space offers an opportunity to become conscious of and break patterns connected to ancestors and current family members. Inspired by Zulu wisdom and structural beliefs around family, Bert Hellinger developed this multi-dimensional group process to guide one towards healing unconscious family wounds that still play out through us on a daily basis. Members of the group are ‘enrolled’ as representatives of one’s family, while the therapist guides you towards recognizing and confronting these wounds.

The beauty of this therapy is that you never know what you’re going into, yet you come out with peace either way – so there really isn’t much to fear if you approach the process with courage. During my constellation, Amanda effectively guided me towards connecting with the energy of what was going down and what could be done to move forward in the situation with Leon. My initial ‘goal’ was to find out what happened to him and what to do to find him but that’s not totally how it works, although there was strong reason to believe that he either did not want to be found or he was already dead. As Amanda weaved us deeper into the journey, I was rolled into a profound understanding and awareness of how I was holding onto deep pain from Leon living in another country for the past 8 years. I also gained a new awareness of how this pain had been negatively playing out in my life – specifically through my career and romantic relationships. All of this was plenty of new ‘stuff’ to digest so the session ended at this point. Had I chosen to go deeper into the process I would have likely gone into broader ancestral patterns calling for healing. I definitely recommend several sessions to deepen the cleansing.

I have been part of several constellation sessions with Amanda where I was a representative for others diving into the entanglements of family wounds. Overall, with her own grounded cosmic wisdom, Amanda brings an expanded mindfulness of the broad possibilities of where a wound is sitting in the family line and what needs to happen to confront and heal this wound, for the sake of the individual and their descendants. Amanda’s use of elements (such as water) and various medicines placed in the space as representatives adds extra support and power to the process. If you’re brave enough to do this work, I highly recommend Amanda to hold you through it. With her magical and grounded feminine presence, you’ll be sure to experience subtle, yet mind-blowing breakthroughs.

If you are keen to get in touch with Amanda for a constellation, here are her details: Whatsapp – 0784996472, Email – amanda@geniuslab.co.za. Visit her website – www.amandagifford.co.za