Inner Constellations Lab is a monthly Saturday program in Portland that gives participants an opportunity to experiment with a psychodrama-inspired inner partswork constellation practice called Clearing.

Clearing begins as all participants sit in a semi-circle. After a few moments of silence, a participant stands up in front of everyone, and elects themself to be the protagonist-director. They begin in neutrality, waiting to see what arises in their inner world. As soon as they notice some kind of inner part emerge (an emotion, an image, a voice, an energy) they move to somewhere in the room and embody that part using gestures, movements, sound, and words. The protagonist then invites a group member to step in and embody the part they inhabited. This process continues as the protagonist notices new parts emerging in relation to the first, embodies them, and then calls on additional participants to play these roles. Soon a living, dynamic tableau of interconnected parts emerge, and as this happens the protagonist begins subtly directing (conducting) this constellation through techniques such as altering spatial positions, postures, dynamics, improvisational levels, and movement. The protagonist may re-join another group member in a particular role, converse or interact with their parts as represented by other group members, pause certain parts and make others louder, and dismiss or re-role parts as their inner landscape unfolds in the space. Each moment involves waiting, sensing, seeing, and then subtly shifting the emergent system to see what happens if we step deeper into a part, or further away, or nudge parts to come slightly closer to another. The practice encourages experimentation as a kind of “tinkering” - not merely for the sake of experimentation - but for liberation. For the sake of seeing ourselves more clearly, and unfolding the beautiful imaginative depths of our inner worlds. At times this practice might involve a type of healing or reconciliation between parts of our system; at other times, it can highlight the subtlety, intensity, complexity, collaboration, and conflict inside of us. One intent is to allow our inner worlds to become outer and to play with that which often is held only inside each of our own minds and bodies. Another is to experience stepping into the parts of others, to embody and experience our own parts and emotions as they map onto the inner world of another person. We might come away feeling more connected, seen, changed, refreshed, shaken up, delighted, overwhelmed, and/or alive.

Instructor bio(s): Katie Eichner is an interpersonal artist and therapist living and breathing in Portland, Oregon. They performed for two years with the Deep Play Performance Troupe and are deeply in love with relational meditation, growing tomatoes, and being naked in the river. Katie holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology and has training in parts work, interpersonal process, and psychodrama. They move to create a world in which everyone can be more real and more connected, internally and externally.

Aaron Finbloom is an ideological polytheist devoted to worshipping the Gods of: play, authenticity, imagination, transformation and beauty. His life work is to creatively expand, collage and integrate healing & fine arts practices through conversation scores, relational games, live action role play, performance art and experimental dance. He is the co-founder of The School of Making Thinking (SMT) and the founder/director of The Deep Play Institute (DPI). Aaron has training in Circling, Psychodrama, Buddhist Meditation and Process Oriented Psychology and holds a PhD in relational practice from Concordia University in Montreal. His projects have been featured internationally at venues such as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, Gallery 151 in New York, Maschinenhaus Kulturbrauerei in Berlin, UNAM in Mexico City, Performance Works Northwest in Portland, and MainLine Theatre in Montreal. He currently teaches philosophy at the City College of New York. finblooming.com