Srđan Popović – background
I was born on 9 June 1959 as the third child of my father Vlatko (a Yugoslav People’s Army major and later a lawyer) and my mother Branka (a pharmacist) in Zrenjanin. I finished both elementary school and high school in Zrenjanin.
My hometown is also where I started to get serious about sports. I played waterpolo for 19 years, 14 of which I played for the Federal League of Yugoslavia. I had the honour of leading the team as captain most of the time. While I was still an active player, Ratko Rudić, the then best coach inYugoslavia, allowed me to complete his coaching school.
In 1978, I enrolled at the university and moved to Belgrade, knowing that I would continue to live in the city. Later on, in 1985, I launched my first company.
I achieved my greatest business success in 1998 when the multinational US company Sara Lee named me the best manager in Europe. When Yugoslavia started to break up, my wife and I moved to Prague, where I was a businessman and coach to the Prague water poloteamSlavija.
In 1994, I became the proud father of a wonderful girl.
Srđan Popović – background
I was born on 9 June 1959 as the third child of my father Vlatko (a Yugoslav People’s Army major and later a lawyer) and my mother Branka (a pharmacist) in Zrenjanin. I finished both elementary school and high school in Zrenjanin.
My hometown is also where I started to get serious about sports. I played waterpolo for 19 years, 14 of which I played for the Federal League of Yugoslavia. I had the honour of leading the team as captain most of the time. While I was still an active player, Ratko Rudić, the then best coach inYugoslavia, allowed me to complete his coaching school.
In 1978, I enrolled at the university and moved to Belgrade, knowing that I would continue to live in the city. Later on, in 1985, I launched my first company.
I achieved my greatest business success in 1998 when the multinational US company Sara Lee named me the best manager in Europe. When Yugoslavia started to break up, my wife and I moved to Prague, where I was a businessman and coach to the Prague water poloteamSlavija.
In 1994, I became the proud father of a wonderful girl.
Constellations today
When I look back on my life from this point in time, I realise that virtually since 2004 I have been living, thinking, parenting, and advising friends and acquaintances (when they ask me to) according to the principles and philosophy of systemic constellations.
I was happy to realise that they have become an inseparable and permanent part of my everyday life, and since 2017 my professional life, as well. I am also aware and grateful that I can take this path all the way.
I look forward to and strive for new knowledge, insights, and experiences gained through systemic constellations literature, meditations, and workshops. I am also grateful to everyone who comes to my workshops because in doing so they allow me to grow and improve alongside them.
My path of development through constellations
I encountered systemic constellations for the first time in the late 1990s in Belgrade. The sessions were led by Mrs Lidija Pecotić. My serious interest in this technique and learning about it commenced in 2003 with the then famous therapist Mr Vlada Ilić. I made my modest contribution to the organisation of the convention in 2004, when Mr Bert Hellinger first attended an international event in Belgrade.
I spent four years with Vlado and in 2007 I joined Mr Vedran Kraljeta. Vedran, whom I appreciate and respect very much, enabled many opportunities for me and conveyed a wealth of knowledge and experience. I completed around 100 of my works while with him alone and participated in more than 1200 other people’s constellations.
They say this must be the unofficial record in the Balkans, maybe even beyond. As of 2007, Vedran allowed and enabled me to facilitate some work, with his assistance. He also allowed me, at my insistence, to start experimenting in appropriate works. In terms of being a constellator, in June 2016, on the day of Vidovdan, we partnered up to lead the Kosovo Battle constellation. Then, in the constellations, he named me a knight of systemic constellations. That was also the high point of our many years of working together. Since 2017, I have been working closely with Ms Maja Mandić. Every time we meet, I learned something new from her and build on my knowledge and experience. That is the reason why I feel respect and gratitude towards her. I transposed the knowledge and experience accumulated over my years of experimenting on myself into my constellations style, which I later named Meta constellations and which I use as needed in the workshop.
In Meta constellations, depending on the issue that the client wants to resolve, I introduce representatives for meta notions, such as soul, spirit, body, and destiny.
My path of development through constellations
I encountered systemic constellations for the first time in the late 1990s in Belgrade. The sessions were led by Mrs Lidija Pecotić. My serious interest in this technique and learning about it commenced in 2003 with the then famous therapist Mr Vlada Ilić. I made my modest contribution to the organisation of the convention in 2004, when Mr Bert Hellinger first attended an international event in Belgrade.
I spent four years with Vlado and in 2007 I joined Mr Vedran Kraljeta. Vedran, whom I appreciate and respect very much, enabled many opportunities for me and conveyed a wealth of knowledge and experience. I completed around 100 of my works while with him alone and participated in more than 1200 other people’s constellations.
They say this must be the unofficial record in the Balkans, maybe even beyond.
As of 2007, Vedran allowed and enabled me to facilitate some work, with his assistance. He also allowed me, at my insistence, to start experimenting in appropriate works. In terms of being a constellator, in June 2016, on the day of Vidovdan, we partnered up to lead the Kosovo Battle constellation. Then, in the constellations, he named me a knight of systemic constellations. That was also the high point of our many years of working together.
Since 2017, I have been working closely with Ms Maja Mandić. Every time we meet, I learned something new from her and build on my knowledge and experience. That is the reason why I feel respect and gratitude towards her.
I transposed the knowledge and experience accumulated over my years of experimenting on myself into my constellations style, which I later named Meta constellations and which I use as needed in the workshop.
In Meta constellations, depending on the issue that the client wants to resolve, I introduce representatives for meta notions, such as soul, spirit, body, and destiny.
Bert Hellinger and I
Bert Hellinger (1925), German psychotherapist, founder of family constellations (Order of Love, Family Order…). He authored more than 100 books on the subject that are well-known throughout the world. He visited Belgrade for the first time in 2004, which is when this photo was taken. I had the honour of meeting him in person and talking to him more than once on the subject of constellations. Mr Hellinger personally chose me among more than 600 attendees to do my personal work. Today I am grateful to him for the insights I gained. He left us with a legacy of great learning and knowledge in the field of constellations. I feel a personal responsibility to continue expanding and sharing what Mr Hellinger left for all of us to use.
