When we listen to the system, we can discern its energy and support it in the direction it needs to go. Systems energy field can be explored from the viewpoint of the four Buddha families.
I have always loved how Buddhism works with energetic fields. Long before anyone talked about metaskills or there was such a thing as psychology, the Tibetans were out there charting the uses of energetic fields. The four Buddha Families are energy forms that arise naturally and which can also be invoked and used.
Think of them as meta-metaskills—powerful energies which shape the emotional field for better or worse. Each of these energies have positive and neurotic aspects, which means they can be used skillfully or unskillfully. In bringing them to our attention, we can be aware of these forces and get conscious and intentional about them.
Pacifying
Pacifying is not synonymous with placating! It is the first of the Buddha families because it is about awareness. Without awareness our actions will not be skillful.
Pacifying is the principle of listening deeply and penetrating to the heart of a matter.
- It seeks to comprehend and develop empathy.
- It is concerned with understanding rather than promoting a position.
- It is non-judgmental and creates space for all experiences.
Sound familiar? Yup, Deep Democracy is one of the skills that lives within the energy of Pacifying.
Pacifying is similar to another Buddhist term called Prajna or the wisdom of discernment. When I am in Pacifying energy, I slow down, ask questions, feel into things deeply.
Pacifying energy allows me to intuit what is trying to happen for a system and to read the emotional field. It is always the first Buddha family employed because it sets up the foundation for anything else to follow.
Here are just a few of the Organization and Relationship Systems Coaching (ORSC™) skills and tools associated with Pacifying energy:
- Deep Democracy
- Unfolding
- Powerful Questions
- Reading the Emotional Field
- Ventilation
- Who Knows What is Good and What is Bad?
- Voice of the System
- Third Entity™
- Constellations
- Relationship Myth
- High/Low Dream
Pacifying energy is most needed in systems where:
- the situation is unclear, angry or emotionally intense.
- the system needs information or clearing.
- things need time to unfold.
To enter Pacifying energy we need to drop our agenda, stay centered, listen deeply and acknowledge what we hear. Then when we have penetrated to the heart of what is happening, the next appropriate energy or action will naturally arise.
Remember, when things get gnarly the Buddha Family of Pacifying is the place to start!
Author
Faith Fuller ORSCC, CPCC, ICF-PCC
Faith co-founded CRR Global and co-created Organization and Relationship Systems Coaching (ORSC™). She is a psychologist and experienced trainer and coach, with decades of experience in working with organizations, couples and communities. Faith is also the author of Relationship Matters: A New Paradigm for an Evolutionary Leap in Relationship.
