The Way of the Warrior: Holding Space for The Fourfold Way

[Harrison Owen]

At 07:01 AM 9/25/2001 -0500, Barry wrote:
>In my own humble opinion (I often am overwhelmed by all that comes across
>this listserve and feel less than "qualified" to jump in and contribute too
>much), These terrorists are getting EXACTLY what they wanted. In the short
>term, all talk in the US is of "UNITED WE STAND" . . . in the long haul
>(this is what the terrorists are banking on), there is and will be discord .
>. . even on this list. From a military standpoint, these people have
>launched the picture perfect assault on our country . . . and believe it or
>not, they are WINNING. They only had to do the first wave assault . . . The
>citizens and government of the US will "finish" it through "in-fighting."
>This is a cancer that has been planted in our "pristine virgin never been
>attacked" country.
>Barry Owen

That there is and will be "infighting" is assured, and the results could
well be as Barry describes (disaster). But I might open the possibility of
a small correction, or perhaps addition. I do so with some circumspection
because Barry and I are rather closely connected. For those of you who
haven't guessed, he is my son. But first -- I couldn't agree more with his
assertion that there are many true Warriors in the US  military -- Warrior
in the sense that I used the term, and as Angie describes. And these folks
are definitely to be distinguished from "just" soldiers. Just to confuse
things -- All Warriors are not soldiers, and all soldiers are not Warriors.
I say all this, not from the point of view of a serving officer, which I am
not and never have been -- but from the view point of a civil activist who
simply could not believe that such exceptional folks actually existed in
uniform. I was wrong -- delightfully and unashamedly -- wrong. And has the
Kingdom of Love and Light descended upon the Military? No, but the same
might be said of much of the rest of the human community.

As for the correction (addition) -- I would have to take some issue with
the notion that "discord" has put in it ugly appearance here on this LIST.
Perhaps it will, 'cause we all seem to be pretty human too. But what I have
experienced is a genuine open space in which all four Ways, Warrior,
Visionary, Healer, and Teacher are all showing up right on cue. There are
differences to be sure, and indeed the "system" requires those differences.
Sometimes those differences can be pretty sharp. Healers and Warriors
sometimes have a difficult time understanding each other. As indeed
Teachers and Visionaries often seem to be singing from a different song
sheet. But Viva La Differance!  The only time we get in trouble, I think,
is when somebody comes to the conclusion that their Way is the only one.
Then the Great Conversation ceases, and that is the true disaster.

This is not to suggest that all ways are right, but that all ways are
partial, and only become complete only when in dialogue (sometimes heated
dialogue) with each other. Of course one Way may be right for a particular
person, and Thank God for that. And so when Winston Kinch affirms his Way,
I salute him in that stedfastness, all the while hoping that the
conversation will continue, as I am sure it will

Of course, none of us are just one thing (Way). I often think of the
Medicine Wheel (Four Fold Way) as the Age old Myers-Briggs. In fact I like
it better than Myers-Briggs, because I don't have to remember the Alphabet
Soup, which seems to be the ticket for admission. Looking at myself, I find
I "score" pretty high as a Warrior and a Visionary, and not bad as a
Healer. However, the Teacher in me needs a lot of work, and maybe I will
just never make it in this incarnation. I just don't have the patience, nor
the attention to detail. In short, my attention span is pretty short, often
measured in minus quantities. Of course, different Ways show up with
different times and circumstances, but when I am whole, and feel myself to
be whole, all my Ways are in useful conversation. Talk about multiple
personalities and Schizoid behavior! But I find my self in the
conversation, and not in the Ways. In the Open Space where it all takes place.

For me this is the essence, Heart and Soul of Open Space. And creating and
sustaining that Space is the core of our task. Or it is certainly the core
of my task as I have come to understand it. Sustaining that rich, open,
nutrient environment in which the Warrior, Visionary, Healer, and Teacher
are not only welcome, but encouraged to show up. It can get pretty hairy as
we all know, and definitely a white knuckle trip. But that is the nature of
the business, I think.

Harrison


Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, MD 20854 USA
phone 301-469-9269
fax 301-983-9314
Summer Phone 207-763-3261
Summer Address
189 Beaucaire Ave.
Camden, ME 04843
Personal website www.mindspring.com/~owenhh
Open Space Institute website www.openspaceworld.org
Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com
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