Introduction to the Special Section on “Ancient Wisdom: Anticipating the Future”

Abstract

This introduction to the special section of the Journal of Constructivist Psychology gives an overview of the papers included, which were all originally presented at the XXIIIrd International Congress on Personal Construct Psychology in Cairns (Gimuy), Australia in July 2019. Ancient Wisdom was chosen as the theme for congress because the First Nations People of Australia – despite having lived through a history of invasion and genocide – are members of the oldest continually living culture on our planet. Wishing to utilize this wisdom, the organizers of the conference invited members of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to speak. Keynote speakers from Australia and overseas addressed the topic of Ancient Wisdom and how we can apply that to our anticipations of the future. Other topics included physical and mental health, therapeutic techniques and conflict measurement in repertory grid data, and using Kelly’s self-characterization process in the form of poetry to explore grief.

Acknowledgments

The Australian members of the George Kelly Society acknowledge the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of this nation. We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands on which our conference was held, and on which we live and work. We pay our respects to Ancestors, and Elders – past, present, and emerging. We are committed to honoring Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and seas and their rich contribution to society.