Recent Open Space (long -- yes, another story)

Harrison Owen owenhh at mindspring.com
Sun Jun 11 04:35:40 PDT 2000


At 12:05 AM 6/10/00 -0700, Chris wrote:

>I used an ending that I learned from Birgitt.  When the talking stick (a
>red marker) came back to me, I asked everyone to stand and turn around
>so they were facing out of the circle.  3/4s of the group were looking
>out at the spectacular view.  I said simply :"The real Open Space is out
>there in the world.  This group will never be together again, but it
>will always be behind you. When you feel ready, take a step forward and
>return to the Open Space of the world taking everything we have done
>together with you.  Thank you."
>
>That really captured the spirit of the moment, and I thank Birgitt for
>this one.  I'll use it again.

**********************************
A slight variant on the above. My practice has been to ask people to stand
FACING each other first. And if the group seems up to it, I even suggest
that they hold hands (shocking!). Then I invite them to allow their eyes to
move slowly around the circle -- noticing the difference a day (2 days)
makes in terms of their relatedness. It is a time to acknowledge friends
new and old. It also brings them back to the first moments of the Open
Space when, as I walked the circle, I made a similar invitation. Things
tend to get pretty thick and gooey just about then, and when it seems that
a massive group hug is almost inevitable I ask that they drop their hands
and turn around 180 degrees (now facing out) and notice that they are now
pointing in all degrees of the compass. You can hear the breath being
sucked in and the shock of separation is palpable. I let that go for a
moment, and then say something like -- "If you feel a little cold and
lonely, just notice all the warmth at your back. And I leave the circle.
Typically the group will stand in silence for a moment, and then the hugs
do break out -- even with some pretty reserved sorts of folks.

The first time I ever did this was in '90 or '91. It was at the gathering
of The Together Foundation in Jackson Hole Wyoming. We had 250 folks from
27 countries, including presidents of same. The Together Foundation never
really got it together, but the Open Space was something I will never
forget, if only because this is where I ran into the naked lady which you
may remember from "The User's Guide." Anyhow, when we got to the end of it
all, and after the closing circle with talking stick -- I stood up and
invited everybody to join me on a journey. They very quickly grabbed hands,
and I took this conga line of 250 out the door and across the fields. We
headed towards a small hill which rose up from the valley floor with the
Grand Tetons towering on either side. Pretty awesome. We climbed to the top
of the hill, and I circled the group -- first facing in -- and then for the
grand finale -- facing out... with snow capped peaks all around and a cool
breeze warmed by an early September sun. Hard way to make a living.

Harrison



Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, MD 20854
USA
phone 301-469-9269
fax 301-983-9314
website
www.mindspring.com/~owenhh
Open Space Institute websites
www.openspaceworld.org



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