We’re in South Africa... and We’re Bringing You With Us
As we write this, the early morning sun is rising over the South African landscape, casting golden light across the land known as the cradle of humanity.
We are about to begin our sold-out Emoyeni we-Ubuntu retreat—our hearts full, our feet touching sacred soil, and our senses tuned to the quiet pulse of consciousness in every stone and breeze.
This is not a typical travel adventure. When we journey to a new place, we don’t come as tourists. We come to listen—to the land, to the ancestors, to the stories that have shaped the soil, the people, and the present moment.
For us, travel is not an escape. It’s an engagement. We travel to remember.
Every step is a prayer for connection. Every workshop we offer is held in co-creation with the living field of consciousness that surrounds us—seen and unseen.
We have led workshops and trainings in more than a dozen nations and yet, this is our first time in Africa. We have countless stories about how, wherever we travel, the land itself and the first peoples of the land make their presence known;
* In Ireland, we were guided by a spirit-being pointing us to road signs we needed to follow.
* In Brazil, we trembled with Oshun crying her river of tears for the destruction of trees by men wielding metal blades.
* In Aotearoa/New Zealand, a mountain made its power known, standing against colonial arrogance with an unshakable presence.
And now, here in South Africa, we will constellate with who is in the circle and what is in our world, in our lives, and in that moment. We come to let go and step back, to suspend what we know and to breathe with what breathes us.
We come to South Africa with eyes wide open to the immeasurable cruelty and destruction that European colonialism inflicted on the peoples of this land. The extraction of resources, the exploitation of wealth, and the enslavement of her people have left wounds too deep to heal in a single lifetime. Even as we celebrate the beauty, strength, and resilience that lives here, we do so without bypassing the grief and sorrow woven through the soil and story.
As we journey to KwaZulu-Natal, we arrive as humble guests—curious, reverent, and listening. We return to the land of the First Mother: Mother Earth, the cradle of humanity, the ancient pulse that carries us all. Here, we root in the rhythms of nature, honor the ancestors who walked before us, and open to the deep, timeless interconnectedness that binds us to this sacred place and its people.
We walk with reverence for both the joy and the grief, allowing the fullness of life to be felt.
Why South Africa? Why now?
South Africa is a land with ancient memory and living resilience.
Here, the spirit of Ubuntu—I am because we are—echoes through every conversation, every story, every heartbeat.
KwaZulu Natal and its people occupy a special place in the world of Systemic Family Constellations. In the early 1950s, Bert Hellinger, the founder of Systemic Family Constellations, was dispatched to South Africa where he was assigned as a missionary to Zulu communities.
Hellinger lived in South Africa for 16 years. During these years he served as a parish priest, teacher and, finally, as headmaster of a large school for African students in Marionville. He became fluent in the Zulu language, participated in their rituals, and gained an appreciation for their distinct worldview.
In retrospect, Hellinger’s missionary years can be viewed as a case where the hunter was captured by the game, as Hellinger became a convert to humanity’s oldest traditions of reverence for land, nature, ancestors, and cosmos. Although Hellinger never claimed to be an interpreter or promoter of Zulu culture, his immersion in their lives had a profound impact on him, and by extension, on all of us who benefit from Constellations.
Of particular significance is the dramatic difference between Zulu and European attitudes towards children, parents, and ancestors. In Zulu culture, Hellinger said, “I never heard anyone speak disrespectfully about their parents. That would have been inconceivable.”
These early experiences planted seeds that would later blossom into the core of his work. In following the trail where it leads, Seeing with Your Heart Constellations encourage representatives to use their hearts as organs of perception, opening pathways through which the living and the dead can support and heal one another. In this way, we have returned to humanity’s roots in more ways than one.
South African Family Constellation facilitator Erik Andersen (faculty on the Alchemical Constellations Training), his wife Christel Andersen, Founder of Soul Journey Tours, and Zulu healer, Gogo Nomzimane Dlamini, join Dan Cohen and Emily Blefeld to co-facilitate a transformational retreat rooted in presence, belonging, and ancestral wisdom. Erik invites us into stillness and embodied connection with the Earth and Spirit. Dan guides participants into mythic space, offering masterful facilitation and deep humility. Emily listens for what wants to emerge beyond separation, creating containers where love flows and wholeness awakens. Christel bridges land and lineage, ensuring participants are nourished, supported, and connected to local wisdom. Together, we are not offering a program—we are tending a sacred fire, listening to the call from the roots of humanity. This is not a return, but a remembering. Not a teaching, but a transmission. And we are honored to walk it with you.
Join Us in the Field
Even though this retreat is full, we’d like to invite you into the energetic field of this circle.
We’ll be sharing insights, moments, and reflections on our journey throughout the week on Instagram and Facebook. We hope you’ll follow along and feel the ripple of this work:
Every time we open a field of transformation, it reaches far beyond the room.
So even if you’re halfway around the world, you’re already part of this movement—of remembering, restoring, and rising.
We are grateful to walk this path with you.
May the spirit of Ubuntu find its way to your heart this week.
May you feel, even from afar, that we are walking together.
With love,
Emily & Dan
Upcoming Events
Waves of Remembering: Ancestral Healing and Transformation on Martha’s Vineyard
Stillpoint, Martha’s Vineyard
Facilitated by freedom Cartwright, Dan Cohen, and Emily Blefeld
We are excited to be offering a continuous series of heart-led workshops on Martha’s Vineyard.
“The beat of your heart is part of the Island’s song. When we truly listen, we can remember how to move in rhythm and harmonize with our heart’s desires for love, life, peace, and belonging. Join us in this sacred tide of remembrance.”
Monthly Circles: 5:30–8:30 PM on 6/4, 7/30, 8/20, 9/10, 10/8, 11/19, and 12/10
Into the Dark: Meeting The Season, Tending The Past, Planting The Future
Facilitated by Rotger Heilmeier, Emily Blefeld, and Dan Cohen
October 30 – November 2, 2025
As the veil thins and the air turns crisp with memory, we enter a sacred turning of the wheel—an ancient invitation to slow down, listen deeply, and return to what matters most.
Scheduled during Samhain, a time long revered as a natural threshold between worlds, this gathering offers a luminous pause—between what has been and what wants to be born.
Held by the heart of Systemic Family Constellations, and threaded with ritual and embodied inquiry, we gather to remember what has been forgotten, restore what has been broken, and reclaim what is most essential: the wisdom of the heart, the blessing of the ancestors, and the wild intelligence of the dark.
Bonus Resources
Every step on your journey is a choice. Whether you feel called to unravel the imprints of history or embody the rhythm of your wilderness, these programs are here to support and guide you.
This is your moment to root down into the essence of who you are and rise into the fullness of what’s possible.
Watch a Live Alchemical Constellation
Enjoy watching a free Zoom call that features an actual constellation.
Read Seeing with Your Heart Blog
Reflections on family systems, breaking free from patterns, and living fully.
Science, Myth & Magic Deep Dive Master Class Participant Stories
Hear Alchemical Constellations Training Graduates Reflections
With love and presence,
Emily and Dan
Seeing with Your Heart
