Ocean love (they/them) is a two-spirit, Metis Cree, native-identified, nature-loving, nomadic, van-living facilitator, writer, artist, and entrepreneur thriving with an invisible chronic illness.

They have been bewildered by and averse to civilization since being born into poverty in Whitefish Montana in the early 1970s. Guided by dreams and visions since childhood, ocean began studying dream tending and consciously embarking on the shamanic path in the mid-90s. They graduated from a self-designed program at Antioch Seattle in indigenous consciousness (paleo-psychology) in 2009.

Ocean has been studying constellation since 2004, facilitating since 2006, and training facilitators since 2010. They published a chapter on dream constellations in Returning to Membership in Earth Community, an anthology on nature constellations by Francesca Mason Boring and Ken Sloan. They acted as program director for the 2013 U.S. Systemic Constellations Conference in Seattle. Recently ocean has been studying relational neuroscience, nonviolent communication (nvc), and trauma healing with Sarah Peyton, as well as social justice leadership with the BayNVC Leadership Program. ocean is a seasoned facilitator and master healer, as well as a dreamer and visionary who believes in the healing power of love and the primacy of the heart and body.

You can read more and reach ocean (formerly known as Kirsten Love Lauzon) at www.healing-earth.net.

Workshop Title:  Revealing systemic oppression in nature Constellations

How can we, as facilitators, begin to acknowledge and address systemic oppression when it shows up in constellation? What could be different in the healing outcomes of our clients, communities, nations, and indeed all our relations if we can decolonize our approach to this intrinsically healing aspect of nature?

I will guide participants through these concepts, welcome group discussion, facilitate a demonstration in the large group, and then offer a small group exploration that will give participants opportunity to facilitate and/or receive a constellation that seeks to reveal unnamed systemic oppression.

In our time together, participants will learn to:
Approach constellation as an earth-based phenomenon
Define and understand the need for social justice
Identify some of the dynamics of systemic oppression
Notice when systemic oppression shows up in constellation
Apply at least three different strategies for healing the dynamic
Explain the impact on nervous systems from microaggressions
Explain why resonant empathic intervention is uniquely effective
Offer ongoing strategies for long-term healing

I am currently exploring these concepts in my facilitation and training groups in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, including at the Nonviolent Leadership for Social Justice Retreat and in several BIPOC-only constellation retreats in the San Francisco Bay area.

I believe that social justice is one of the brightest lights illuminating the way forward into a future where our belonging and mattering to each as humans and with this beautiful blue planet are central to every human activity.

In addition to my presentation, I am available to support a panel, open-group discussion, or other kind of seminar to share group wisdom about the intersections of constellation work, systemic oppression, and social justice. I’ve presented at a multiple U.S. conferences, and I would welcome the possible opportunity to present in the international arena.