WEb-sites for the Open Space Institutes

[Barry Owen]

Larry, Thank you for your message . . . That is a wonderful story you have told,
and I look forward to getting that OSI Canada info when you have climbed out of
the abyss.

The Site for the Global Open Space Institute is
"http://www.geocities.com/athens/oracle/9215"

Anyone and everyone . . . stop in and check it out and email me with any
comments or suggestions . . . I have recently added a Bookstore in association
with Amazon.com . . . where you can buy books from the world's largest bookstore
. . . I am adding titles daily . . . if you want something and it isn't there,
email me and I'll get it.

Thanks,

b

Oh Birgitt . . . not to tease or anything . . . but sunny and 70 again today :-)

Larry Peterson wrote:

> Barry:
>
> Your work has been marvelous and I do have a bunch of stuff to send from OSI
> Canada---soon. I have been Opening some Space lately and still havn't gotten
> to the Workshop finances and receipts. I see a bit of clearing over the next
> few days and hope to catch up, a bit.
>
> Yesterday, On Monday, I Opened the Space with a theme "Creating Welcoming
> Communities". This small group is focused on enabling communities to welcome
> the "disabled" and for communities to discover their ability to foster deep
> relationships and real community. After an hour of context setting by the
> group, which they and I thought was required with a group of largely
> strangers, I Opened the Space for 4 hours. They jumped up, discovered new
> connections and community emerged there. They had gathered bankers,
> community workers, agendy staff, TV producers, academics, retired CEO's,
> existing CEO's, most of whom have some link, through personal experience or
> children, with what is called "disability". They found the stories they told
> each other energizing. They were surprised at their own community in the
> closing. They were taught lessons by one woman with only the use of her head
> (quite proficient at directing her wheelchair with her mouthpiece). She
> knows real community cannot be controlled. She has learned deeply how to
> "let go".
>
> I then spent 3.5 hours the next day (today) enabling a small group (4) to
> converging the reports into a proposal to go to funders. By the end of that
> time, we had the basic elements of the next funding proposal outlined using
> the Open Space reports as much of the data. After reviewing the reports as
> to where the energy lay for future work, we framed the outline of the
> proposal and set the priority reports in that context. We explored each of
> the top reports and developed them into proposals, with elements of the
> strategy and cost projections. Continuing the conversation with more Open
> Space was a top priority. One member of the group will complete the
> wordsmithing for first presentation on Saturday.  The two days went beyond
> her expectations--and mine. The energy stayed high.
>
> Larry