Self-Organization is What Consciousness (Spirit) Does

[Julie Smith]

Thanks, Ralph!
 
As I was pondering this, I realized I didn't quite hit the nail on the
head.  
 
It isn't that Open Space allows for expanded consciousness, perhaps, but
that it invites us to more fully express our current level of
consciousness. (And what a gift that is!)  It is unlike many other group
processes in that it doesn't erect artificial barriers to our full
expression of our present consciousness.  (I get it, Harrison.... we are
invited to more fully express our Now, our current state of
consciousness.... to the extent that we express it and share it, we
individually and collectively expand.)  The experience might lead us on
a spiral of expanding consciousness, and it might not.  That part is up
to each of us to choose.  What Open Space offers is simply the
invitation to more fully express who we are in the present moment.
 
Is that closer?
 
This piece about taking another look at how we think about conflict is
also important.  There is a growing profession developing around this
question, of which I am a tiny part.  I don't hear OS practitioners
talking much about conflict resolution, but I wonder whether there are
some important lessons for conflict resolution professionals in the work
you're doing.  I think the answer is yes, but I haven't quite figured
out what the lessons are.  
 
Julie
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Ralph
Copleman
Sent: Saturday, December 29, 2001 6:32 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Self-Organization is What Consciousness (Spirit) Does
 
> By letting go and letting be, OS allows for an expanded consciousness
that
> results in the natural fading of existing problems (and passionate
engagement
> in what is important to the group), while most forms of mediation and
> facilitation tend to focus on solving problems logically on the
existing level
> of consciousness.
 
Julie and all,
 
Let us be careful....  The key word in your statement may be "allows".
I
have seen what you describe happen in OS countless times ­ but expanded
consciousness does not *automatically* occur.  I also believe that OS is
not
the only technique (large group or other) that makes expanded
consciousness
possible.  So if we're looking for ways to distinguish OS from other
approaches, I'm not sure this is it.
 
But keep at it!
 
--
Ralph Copleman
609-895-1629
 
*
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