Self-Organization/Free Will

[Julie Smith]

Harrison wrote

The Open Space Experience, for me, is an important and powerful educator in terms of our capacity to "live with and use" the principles (or maybe I could say Laws?) of Self-Organization. We learn, amongst other things, that the one way to close things down is to attempt to organize it (control). This can be a painful lesson, particularly to the old ego, which thought it was in charge. But there is good news as well, for it turns out that much of what we used to work very hard to accomplish will pretty well take care of itself, and we can go on to do some more useful things. Down the road, as we get better at it, I think we can learn to skillfully surf the waves of our collective self-organizations in order to achieve some pretty remarkable stuff. For me, this is where the excitement lies, and the learning curve is a steep one to be sure.

Yesterday I came across this quote from Carl Jung:

"The art of letting things happen, action through non-action, letting go of oneself, as taught by Meister Eckhart, became for me the key opening the door to the way.  We must be able to let things happen in the psyche.  For us, this actually is an art of which few people know anything.  Consciousness is forever interfering...."

This seems to resonate well with what you are saying, Harrison.  

It seems to me that your thinking about things is also very similar to a style of mediation called Transformative Mediation.  In most styles of mediation, the mediator is encouraged to let go of the content of the discussion, but in varying degrees to lead in (control) the process of how the discussion will unfold.  In Transformative Mediation, the mediator is encouraged to follow rather than lead in both the content and process of the discussion.  The role of the mediator practicing Transformative Mediation is to support empowerment of each individual and recognition of the relationship.  In other words, to support each individual (empowerment) and to also support the relationship (recognition).  With just this bit of presence, support and encouragement, many people who have been unable to resolve their differences find a way to do so. 

Perhaps there is a continuum here...... how to be helpful with individuals experiencing internal conflict (psychology), how to be helpful with small groups experiencing external conflict (mediation), and how to be helpful with large groups experiencing external conflict/need for problem-solving (facilitation).  Within each of these sets, we have many choices..... many ways of practicing psychology, mediation, and facilitation.  

If we are interested in looking at choices that are infused with certain characteristics, like spirit, or letting go, or self-determination, or openness, or whatever it is we're trying to express, then we can look for how those values are being expressed at other places on the continuum, and then we have the opportunity to transfer knowledge across disciplines.  Maybe we can consciously engage in the fractal dance.

Off to make stuffing I go.  Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who are celebrating this holiday!

Julie



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