Spirited Work 2003 - January Gathering

Toni Petrinovich sacred at anacortes.net
Tue Dec 24 23:51:16 PST 2002





Dear Friends and Colleagues, 

We invite you to answer the call to integrate spirit with your work in the world. Join us in Spirited Work -- a learning community of explorers, celebrators, mentors, learners, artists, and leaders. Experience a new way of being and working together, an opportunity to be fully present to your spirit, the spirit of community, and your connection to the natural world. Feel renewal of your connectedness to all beings and the support to do what you need to fulfill your highest purpose. 
Spirited Work kept me moving forward in my personal and spiritual growth. It consists of an amazing community of people who are doing all kinds of interesting and important work in the world. It has brought me closer to remembering what is real and important in life. There is a lot of creativity, including music, art, dance, writing, as well as an opportunity to be in nature and give it my full attention. And a place to spend some quality time alone.

Spirited Work is an Open Space learning community of practice, engaged in deepening our commitment to personal and collective transformation through service in the world. Our purpose is to build personal and collective capacity for healthy and productive relationships, organizations and communities for the sustainable evolution of earth, spirit and the human future. Our intention is to welcome and be open to all who are attracted to Spirited Work, and to create the abundance necessary for their full participation.

We meet seasonally and will launch our 5th annual cycle in January.  Our next gathering is January 23 - 26, 2003.  Each gathering begins Thursday evening at dinner and ends Sunday afternoon. In between our four seasonal face-to-face gatherings, we are linked via a web-based learning community supported by BigMindMedia.. 

Our learning themes for each season are based, in part, on the seasonal archetypes of anthropologist and educator Angeles Arrien. The archetypes and wisdom of her book, The Four-Fold Way, build on the collected wisdom of indigenous people around the world.

Our gatherings are conducted in Open Space, a method of self-organizing based on the simplest structural principles inviting the highest level of personal responsibility, creativity and leadership. In Open Space, which is based on the work of Harrison Owen, people gather in a marketplace of inquiry to offer and participate in topics they care about, reflect and learn from one another, and engage in "spirited work."

We use appreciative inquiry to track the emergence of spirit. We communicate by telling stories, offering poetry, songs, and images, as well as engaging in lively conversation and sharing silence. We meet in ritual space several times each seasonal gathering for openings, closings, attunements, and meditation. The affirmation of spirit is central to Spirited Work. There is always a strong emphasis on the land of Chinook as a source of wisdom and inspiration, and the reminder of our calling to responsibility for the whole earth.

Our circle is open. We encourage people to participate for all four seasons, and we also welcome those who are only able to join us for one or more of our seasonal gatherings. People from a broad variety of backgrounds have been attracted to Spirited Work: from the arts, corporate life, and the non-profit arena; educators, service providers, elders; people of diverse belief systems, cultures, and nationalities. 

Our seasonal gatherings provide opportunities for Spirited Workers to express themselves creatively in all modalities: art, poetry, music, dance, theater, clearing trails, tending the land, making new additions to the material well-being of the Whidbey Institute. We express spirit in practical action for the benefit of our community life as well as in our work in the world. So we "chop wood, carry water" --- do our dishes, cleanup after ourselves, help set up and put away whatever we use, and we take responsibility for the exchange of money at the material level of our group life, as well.

Individual practice is grounded in taking responsibility for what has heart and meaning: for evolving our selves, the collective, and our service in the world. We are learning to live Open Space principles and the Four-Fold Way in our daily lives. We are also opening space for organizational forms based on our practice. 

Organizational initiatives such as Watershed Legacy, Bountiful Table, and PeaceTrees Vietnam have benefited from the practice ground provided by Spirited Work. The Heart of America Bus project and the web portal CONNECT arose out of Spirited Work. The concept of a Radiant Bank has been a continuing focus of our attention as we've explored how to create abundance by sharing gifts and resources. Participants have applied their learnings in other non-profits, in corporate life and in higher education, too.

Seasonal gatherings are held on the Chinook land of the Whidbey Institute, a beautiful retreat and conference center nestled in the intimacy of a hundred acres of forest located three miles from the Clinton ferry dock on Whidbey Island and about one hour travel time from Seattle. 

We invite you to consider this as an opportunity to nourish the continuing spiritual transformation of yourself, your life's work, the people and organizations you touch, and your commitment to the shared future of our earth. We consider these times urgent in nature yet fertile with opportunity, demanding from us new forms of conscious spirit and dedicated action.

Please read the enclosed program description to learn more about Spirited Work. A more detailed description of how our community operates - Community Understandings - can be provided upon request.  Also attached to this invitation is the Registration form.  A Community Fund financial assistance form is available upon request.  Call Toni Sar'h Petrinovich at 360-293-2853 if you wish to inquire about financial assistance.

The Spirited Work 2003 Stewards,

Joy Elohim, Peggy Holman, Fritz and Vivienne Hull, Mark R. Jones, Mary Ella Keblusek, Sue Keblusek, Sue McNab, Joy Moulton, Toni Sar'h Petrinovich, Jo Shelver, Gabriel Shirley, Anne Stadler, Kent Wales and David Womeldorff 



Whidbey Institute / Spirited Work 2003

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

 

 

Statement of Commitment

 

Spirited Work is a program sponsored by the Whidbey Institute.  Spirited Work participants are asked to commit to being part of a community of practice which gathers seasonally and whose members are linked in an on-line learning environment.  We ask participants to familiarize themselves with the work of Angeles Arrien, author of The Four-Fold Way, and Harrison Owen, creator of Open Space Technology.  

 

As participants in a learning community, we are committed to creating and sustaining a community that manifests higher purpose in every day life.  We are committed to the expansiveness and diversity of age and to true rights of passage (from babies through elders).  We are committed to learning to acknowledge and honor the spirit of each person.  

 
Community Practice of Open Space  (Harrison Owen)

 

The Law of Two Feet: Take responsibility for what has heart and meaning.  

Each of us exercises personal choice about who we are being; our views and mental models; what we intend; what we say; what we do; what we explore; and how we live and work together.  We are each responsible for our own learning, and the learning of the Community.

 

The Four Principles of Open Space
. Whoever Comes are the Right People  

. Whatever Happens is the Only Thing that Could Have 

. Whenever It Starts is the Right Time 

. When It's Over It's Over 

 

Seasonal Gatherings and Themes 
 
Learning themes are based on the Seasonal Archetypes of The Four-Fold Way (Angeles Arrien)
               Winter: January 23-26, 2003           The Way of the Warrior

"Show up and choose to be present."  Being present allows us to access the human resources of power, presence and communication.

 

Spring: April 24-27, 2003                The Way of the Healer

"Pay attention to what has heart and meaning."   Paying attention opens us to the human resources of love, gratitude, acknowledgment and validation.

 

 

Summer: July 31-August 3, 2003     The Way of the Visionary

"Tell the truth without blame or judgment."  Non-judgmental truthfulness maintains our authenticity, and develops our inner vision and intuition.

 

Fall: November 13-16, 2003                The Way of the Teacher

"Be open to outcome, not attached to outcome."  Openness and non-attachment help us recover the human resources of wisdom and objectivity.

 

We encourage you to read The Four-Fold Way by Angeles Arrien (Harper San Francisco, 1993), Expanding our Now: The Story of Open Space Technology, by Harrison Owen (Berrett Kohler, 1997), and The Power of Spirit: How Organizations Transform (Berrett Kohler, 2000), also by Harrison Owen.

                                                                        

Who Participates in Spirited Work?

 

. People with awareness of themselves as both learners and leaders

. People who feel called to participate in a conscious learning community with a committed group of people over a committed period of time

. People who are firmly cognizant of the environmental, social and spiritual challenges facing our generation and that of our children

. People in touch with the spirituality of their being who possess the courage and openness to explore the universality of human wisdom as it appears and reappears in diverse faith traditions

. People who seek a new "economic imagination" in organizing for productivity and sustainability

Spirited Work is convened and managed by a group of Stewards, members of the community who volunteer to take responsibility for Spirited Work administration for one year.


We are committed to sharing all costs for facilities, food, materials, and administration, and to keeping these costs to a minimum.  The price for a full cycle of four seasonal gatherings is $1,370. The price for a single seasonal gathering is $410.  Each season's tuition includes 3 nights accommodation (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights) and all meals from Thursday dinner through Sunday brunch.  Costs are lower for participants who do not require housing at Chinook or who camp.  Additional details are included on the Registration Form. 

 

Limited financial assistance generally is available. Please see Community Fund Guidelines on our website www.spiritedwork.org for details. Participants receiving financial assistance are expected to pay a minimum of $150 for each seasonal gathering they attend.  For information about the Community Fund or the application and review process, please contact Toni Sar'h Petrinovich at the number below.

 

Children of all ages are welcome at a reduced charge.  Guest fees for meals and housing have been established for those who wish to bring a partner, spouse, or colleague to participate for a portion of a gathering. Details are included on the Registration Form. If bringing guests or making payments, please print and submit the registration form with the payment for your guest.

 

Seasonal reservations need to be made at least 10 days in advance.  Late registrations are accommodated on a "space available" basis and may involve additional costs. Policies on cancellations and refunds are explained on the Registration Form.  A note:  Whidbey Institute policy prohibits the presence of dogs on Chinook Land whether on or off a leash.

 

Once we receive your registration information, we will acknowledge receipt via email, noting balance due, if any. 

For questions or more information,

see www.spiritedwork.org

or

contact Toni Sar'h Petrinovich

[360-293-2853 or info at spiritedwork.org]

 
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