gratitude to those holding space for the world

Birgitt Williams birgitt at mindspring.com
Thu Oct 11 06:11:02 PDT 2001


Hello to each of you that responded to us that you were going to join us on
September 21st of 2001 to co-facilitate the intentional opening of space for
harmony in the world.

We acknowledge you in the network of people who are holding this space that
we began on the 21st and will “hold” throughout our lifetimes. Don’t worry
if you are having a bad day and you cannot hold that higher vibrational
frequency, that frequency of love. Just remember that you are not alone. You
have many helpers holding this space with you. And no matter how much
turbulence comes along, we encourage you to hold steady. And we hope that in
time, millions of people will join us in the co-facilitating of the “holding
of space” for harmony.

The first step is us and believing. The next step is welcoming any more
people who will join us over time—please pass the word along and people can
join in this holding of space—and if they were willing to send their name to
us at Birgitt at mindspring.com <mailto:Birgitt at mindspring.com>  we will add
their name to our growing list of people.

Below our signatures, please find some comments and commitments from people
around the world who joined us on the 21st. Most joined us at the energetic
level. 17 individuals were here with us in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA were
we gathered outside amongst the trees and made a circle of stones to
symbolize our commitment and to silently open the space after each of us had
said the words we wished to.

Thank you for the beautiful people that you are,
Birgitt and Ward Williams

“On the 21, I formed a circle with my daughter Phoebe (who was to be 20
months old the following day). We sat on the lawn under clear blue skies in
the exact same spot that you and Ward and the rest of my family had occupied
in the summer. My thoughts were around the subject of stewardship and how we
can pass on a world and life truly fit for Phoebe's generation. I can't
speak for Phoebe's thoughts but there were were lots of smiles and giggling.
I'm sure she appreciated the sentiments.
Much love”
Terry from New Forest, UK

“During the 7am opening this morning, I was on the ridgeline a half a
mile above my home, and I had a marvelous and mysterious encounter with two
coyotes who moved with great deliberation northward through the mist up
toward the Black Mountains, and also with an owl, who heralded the dawn.
Love”
Chris from Asheville, North Carolina, USA

“I had an incredible meditation this morning.  I lay in bed and spent about
half an hour focusing Reiki energy towards your gathering and into the
world.  You could feel the connection to the great amount of energy that was
building in and around your home, and the energy that was coming in from
everywhere else.  I could picture your house (the image in my brain is much
like the image in the photo you sent me) but that image gave way to this
powerful rose colored healing energy.  It was like a large ball, deep into
the earth and reaching out into the sky.  It appeared to be spreading
everywhere.  What a powerful occasion to be a part of.  Thank you for
facilitating it.
Love,”
Rachel from Calgary, Alberta, Canada

“Birgitt, thanks for this message - three of us met at Roffey to hold open
space between 12pm and 1pm here - really glad to be a part of this network
and looking forward to holding this space for the future. Hope things went
well there.
Best wishes,”
Barbara from UK

“Related to this special day, September 21, I made a reference last week of
>From the Four
Directions, an initiative of Meg Wheatly and a number of others. It is also
aimed at
creating a network that mentors new leadership serving others to achieve
harmony in the
world. I am a part of a From the Four Directions Circle in my home town and
I think you
would probably like to know more about this. Their website is
http://www.fromthefourdirections.org/.
It is a little funny to be emailing you while being in your house, but this
way you have
the link in your computer to click on whenever it suits you.

I am so happy to be here
Love”
Koos

“Dear all around the world!
We see, we feel  and we visualize that millions of poeple (in every
country and in every religion) are
doing so, so much for harmony in the world ... day by day. The time is
right to connect more and more of this energy to let grow a special
critical mass.

What can we do in our daily life to support this? I decided for myself
as a founder and leader of a small company to have the courage to speak
about this vision not only in my private environment. Harmony needs
WHOLENESS. In my daily work I am working for this goal. I am speaking
about this issues with my staff. I am speaking about this with my
business  partners and with others. Harmony needs also the COURAGE to
see our own limited behaviours. Harmony needs UNDERSTANDING for other
countries, for other cultures, for other religions and for other
languages. Harmony needs more COMMUNICATION. Harmony needs change of
perspectives. Harmony needs HUMILITY, TOLERANCE and RESPECT for others.
Harmony needs a new definition of the WE in general. WE are the
citiziens of our little world. For all that we should spread LOVE, LOVE
and once again LOVE. Love in our families, Love in our companies, Love
between our neighbours and specially Love to that poeple, which don´t
like us.

Today at 13:00 pm (7am in North Carolina) our time in Germany we will invite
our
staff to make a conscious break for two hours. We decided to go with our
staff
in a little  restaurant having a candle on our table and be aware of this
special connection today.

I am happy to join you in a few hours....

LOVE, LIGHT and PEACE”
Gabriela from Berlin, Germany

“Thank you Birgitt, for organizing this opportunity for a collective
effort... what amazing timing this ended up being... the world needs
something like this right now... THANK YOU
LIGHT AND LOVE, “

Emily from USA

“I will commit to opening and holding space at 7:00 EST tomorrow. The rest
of the
day I will be helping to set up for a weekend gathering beside a whitewater
river. We will be sharing music, food, skills and healing arts for the next
few
days.

Greetings and love to us all!”

Eric from Eagle Lake, Ontario, Canada

“Dear Friends all around Oz

Here is a way in which you may choose to participate in, and contribute to,
the flow of
love and wisdom now pouring forth around our little planet.

Tonight at 9pm Eastern Standard Time in Oz, 8.30 CST and 6pm in the West
there will
be a world wide 'opening of space.'

This is at the initiative of Birgitt Williams and her husband Ward. Birgitt
is a pioneer in
developing Open Space Technology internationally, including in our country.

It has been planned for some months and so it could not be more timely.”
Alan from Adelaide, Australia

“I will join you and the many others who are opening space for harmony
tomorrow morning.  I will commit my energy here in Vancouver 10:00 eastern
(which is 7:00 am for us) and continue with conscious intent thereafter.”
Julie from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

“I am Ulla from Germany -
and I have been reading your OS-messages for almost a year now -
ever since Lisa and Laurel (HI THERE !!!) took me to the OSonOS in
Berlin,
from where some of you might know me.
(I would have loved to see you again in VAncouver - but could not make
it this year.)

I have been thinking about writing to the list myself before lots of
times -
but mostly, there were so many (good) words already
that it did not seem necessary to me.

Anyways -
I am writing NOW to say that
I will join you in opening space today.”
Ulla from Germany

“How did this unfold?  I was connected in prayer on September 21; we need
this. I am concerned about the earth after the tragedy on September 11 and
the following actions to come. Let me know about the website.”
Lynn from Seattle, Washington, USA

“Just to let you know that I opened space at 7:00 a.m. for peace and harmony
and made my commitment. Rather than post topics following the opening, I
journelled some of what that might mean to me. It was wonderful to know that
many people were joining me.
Love”
Michelle from Ancaster, Ontario, Canada

“I was given a 'wake up call' around three weeks ago to get very serious
about my  meditation, raising my own conscious and working only in a higher
vibration.  As the heavier forces rise so are the subtle vibrations awarken
to bring about the change and soften the impact of such heavy forces.”
Darline from USA

“Since I was alone, I  asked for support and blessings and opened the space:
Opportunities and choices for nurturing life as though creation is precious
and our Creator matters.  I changed this a bit to Opportunities and choices
for nurturing life because all life is precious.   I imagined my colleagues
in a circle in Raleigh and then it somehow naturally expanded to add all
those in every corner of the world who were also with me.

It felt very similar to meditating and I simply let the thoughts run through
me pushing out positive energy and holding myself open for all the wonderful
energy that I knew was floating around out there waiting for me to join.

I began to think of all the people over my life who had mentored me, invited
them into the space and thanked them as I remembered all of their wonderful
gifts and how wonderful the nurturing felt.   I began to think about
mentoring and how, in the past almost two years, in a new culture, that I
had rarely had the opportunity to mentor, at least not in the way that I had
in the past in North America,  and how  much it had meant to me and resolved
to shift  my thinking prism and to mentor in not just in my professional
work, but in my volunteer work and in my day to day life.   I remembered
shying away from 'living my life in open space'  I was always afraid that I
would set myself up to fail, and feel as if I have made that first step.

I thought about the tragedy in New York and began to realize just how
important the theme of this open space  is - and how important it is for us
all to keep the space open for nurturing all life because it is precious.

I have decided to deliberately leave London this weekend to stay in the
country to keep the space open as consciously as I can.

Blessings to you all”

Lin from London, UK

Open Space report, 21 September 2001, 1230 UK time

Convenor and reporter: Martin Leith
Participant: Maria Canney

We formed a circle of six chairs. One was occupied by Maria, the other five
were empty.

I stated the theme: Opportunities and choices for nurturing life as though
creation is precious and our Creator matters.

We discussed the theme and amended it to: Opportunities and choices for
nurturing life because creation is precious, and for harnessing human wisdom
and creativity for the greater good.

We discussed the similarities between this theme and our company’s vision,
which is for a world in which co-creating is the norm.

I reminded us of the four principles and one law of Open Space Technology,
and we talked about basing our business, and our whole lives, on these. The
words ‘Be here now’ seemed to be important to us.

Our matrix of times and places had times on the horizontal axis, reaching
from 2001 to infinity, and places on the vertical axis, reaching from the UK
to the entire cosmos to infinity.

We imagined an Open Space facilitator, invisible and infinitely wise, doing
nothing and holding the space.

We reminded ourselves of all the other people around the world opening space
at this time (1230 UK time) and throughout today.

Our conversations included the book Talking With Angels
(www.daimon.ch/Mallasz4.htm) which has been a profound influence on my life
(see below), A Course in Miracles (likewise) and The Transformation Game,
which for many years featured in my work.

The ‘angels’ say that there are seven souls of life:

CREATED WORLD (matter)

1. Mineral

2. Plant

3. Animal

*      *      *      *      *      *      *

4. Man (sic)

*      *      *      *      *      *      *

CREATING WORLD (glory)

5. Angel (peace, silence)

6. Seraph (radiating force, pure joy, shining power)

7. The Seventh (mystery)

The task of humans is to live on the fourth level and become a conscious
link between the created and the creating world, so that the seven souls are
united. To do this requires love, freedom, giving, awareness and living our
individual tasks.

Imagine a menorah with seven candle holders. The fourth level is the central
candle holder. When humans live up to their full potential, the first candle
holder connects with the seventh, the second with the sixth, and the third
with the fifth. The seven chakras and the seven rays seem to be significant
here too. We should not focus solely on matter (lower chakras), or on spirit
(higher chakras), but on an integration of matter and spirit.

I noticed how Open Space gives people a taste of living on the fourth level.
(Here at The Innovation Agency our code word for this is co-creating.)

The space was declared open. We moved on to the next session.

*      *      *      *      *      *      *

Martin Leith

“NOW, I was going to join Birgitt's circle of OS for harmony, when we were
going to meet with my collegue Marina Tyasto (she was trying to join the
list, but somehow couldn't - if somebody can help her? her address is
tysto at sapa.nsk.su) when she called me and ask If I would like to Open Space
for BOSS-club in Novosibirsk. They were gathering more then a year already,
and want to make a meeting "What's next?"
they like the meetings, though it is EVERY week, and all of them are
busy.... but like to gather there.

Marina and me are heading in a week to Khabarovsk - it is East from Baikal
Lake, somewhere in the middle of the distance between Vladivostok and Baikal
lake (do you have a map of Russia yet?), on the Amur river - the boarder
between Russia and China in the East of Russia/China. There will be the 5
day workshop on Effective Communication in Organizations, so we are going to
make some mix of everything including 1 day OS divided in evening and
morning sessions... and presentation of Future Search Conference.

And on Friday the 21st, when we were going to meet at her office (that is in
the center of Novosibirsk, half an hour drive from my place in Akademgorodok
(Academytownship with 20 research institutions here), though there are only
25 kms distance, but with very slow roads...if to be law-listener and
behavour...

Well, so she called me and asked me if I would like to join her - we are
invited to the BOSS club to make the short (3 hours) OS event on the topic
"BOSS-club, where are we heading?"

Well, that was in Novosibirsk, where I was just going to go to Marina, so we
would just do different things... as usual, when we meet on some other
topics...so we did meet and we did go to the meeting of the BOSS club and
there was a sort of a Board, about 10 people, and we made all introductions
needed to start OS meeting, and  there were like 5-6 topics, and some people
started to classify them in order, so I did try to ask them, that they can
do it of course, but if they could try not to do this and discuss them in
several groups, but that is up to them and so on....

but they put the table with tea and coffer in the middle of the room back
and told us, that they would discuss topics in turn, all of them and will
write resume on all discussions which they did not, but the secretary did,
that was her usual job.... so they did it the same way as they are used to,
but we were siting in the nearby room, which was one of the several rooms
supposed to be used for small group discussions and we heard the very good
discussion of the group. We did discuss that probably they are a very good
community as well, and OS work better for people, who know each other less,
then they, and also that they do discuss it in high tensity all the time
with small pauses, so there is a good discussion on topics,...

So they were done in an hour, instead of 1,5 hours (2x45 minutes sessions we
were agreed on) and on the closing sessions one person told us, that there
is nothing new... in the method,

So we spoke a little of possibilities of OS, and how to use it - when there
was our turn to speak with microphone (our tibets bells in hand). one person
was very concern to use OS it he would not do the things which would be
decided by the group, and we discussed that: that OS should not be used in
topics, where he knows the decision, but when he doesn't and nobody
does, -that is the stage for OS.

Another - bank manager, was talking that he would not ask people because
that is HIS job to decide on conception and strategy of the bank (otherwise
he would be fired), and he just manipulates with people that they do what he
wants, and we discussed that, and that the current tendency is to involve
more people in planning and decision making as one person can not know all
the information, it is a lot now...of it...

but there were very few time, so we can not talk too much, and it was
justsmall introduction of everything.... so now I'm thinking....

if they used (nearly) the old pattern, they could not learn anything
new...though the secretary said thank you to us, as they usually talk too
long with no decisions, And now (Friday) the new method gave them more
structured talking - on the topics, which were interesting for those who
post them and as it appears - for all of them, and several (if not all) were
close ... but still they were posted... articulated and gave them idea what
to talk about.

they are all leaders, and OS - looks like a very simple, not much structured
for them and they just don't want to hear, what they don't want... the
typical behavior of Russian leaders... you know may be ... it is the same
everywhere, when it is possible... we need to do it unpossible....

so, now,  my idea is to propose them a new discussion. the reflexing on
topics around that event.first I want to tell them a funny story, which was
retelling in our summer
school of young programmers (computer scientists), may be you know it. My
husband told me about it as the scientific experiment, but when I called the
originator of this story, he laughed at me and said, that it is an
anecdote(funny story), so I was confused, and upset that it was not real
story, which I loved...



5 monkeys were put in a cage. the banana was lowered for them on the rope
from above, but when monkey ran to it and tried to reach it, the cold water
was thrown on them. when any of them approached the banana afterwards, the
cold water was thrown on them ALL. so after a while, when some monkey was
going to approach the banana, the other beat it and did not allow it to
approach the banana.
then 1 monkey was changed, and the new one which was brougt in the cage
wanted to take banana, which was lowered from above. but all other monkeys
beated it and did not gave it the possibility to catch the banana. then the
other monkey was changed and everything was the same.
So, in some time there were only new monkeys, which did not know the reason
why they were beaten, when they approach the banana, but they still beat the
other new one, which was going to approach the banana....

I mean to tell the story to this bosses, as they are really leaders, they
did not want to listen us to try a new method and made it their way, but,
whether it is always good to use old methods? I also want them to learn
about life cycle of organization and probably grief cycle, so they can widen
there knowledge, which they of course know, but that will be probably a new
approach and visioning for them.

As the time is very limited, it is always like this hear, except when we
agree on some several days event - that is really the goal of us to go
there, so we are trying to make some small portions of learning which are
asort of complete but short...

how do you think?

So we did try to Open Space and we did think about harmony and talk a little
bit about this on the meeting but the different way I planned, ... but that
is our life here. be ready for everything and let it go...

best wishes to all of you”

Elena from Novosibirsk, Siberia




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