Please speak to me of breath....

[Averbuch]

        chris and Harrison,
Just to add the Hebrew to this stew:
"NESHAMA " means - Soul
"NESHIMA" means - breath,
very close

Tova

Tova averbuch
Israel
averbuch at post.tau.ac.il
  -----Original Message-----
  From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]On Behalf Of Chris
Corrigan
  Sent: Thursday, October 10, 2002 11:35 PM
  To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
  Subject: Re: Please speak to me of breath....


  Breath, inspire, conspire, spirit




  That’s usually the way I make the link.  There is an intimate etymological
(and cultural and theological) link between breathing and spirit.  It’s not
just a metaphor either.



  Chris



  ---
  CHRIS CORRIGAN
  Consultation - Facilitation
  Open Space Technology

  Bowen Island, BC, Canada
  http://www.chriscorrigan.com
  chris at chriscorrigan.com

  -----Original Message-----
  From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Harrison
Owen
  Sent: Thursday, October 10, 2002 4:50 AM
  To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
  Subject: Re: Please speak to me of breath....



  At 08:26 PM 10/9/2002 -0400,  :-Doug. Germann wrote:




  Harrison speaks in the _User's Guide_ of how the village seemed to breathe
  in and out as the "meeting" proceeded. Many of you in the last few weeks
  have mentioned breath and breathing as one of the cornerstones of OST.

  Please speak to me of breath.

  What does it mean to you in OST? How does it inform your work?


  I am not so sure about breath being the cornerstone of OST -- but it sure
comes in handy for lots of other things. I suppose at the simplest level,
breath is simply one of the most fundamental organic functions. And if it
isn't working, not much else does. Practically speaking, if a group arrives
for an OS, all out of breath (literally or figuratively), the space seems
pretty closed. So one of the things that many of us do is to allow time in
the opening for folks to catch that breath. When we walk the circle, lots of
things happen,. but one is that folks get a chance to breath. Breathing is
also something we can do together. Poets and lovers have noticed that folks
who breath together seem to stay together. One Breath -- so to speak. This
is really about alignment at a very fundamental level. So we sometimes say
to everybody assembled -- "You look a little harried -- how about a deep
breath -- and another. If nothing else this gets everybody breathing from
the same page, as it were. If the cadence of our words and our steps then
match the rhythmic breathing of the group (or lead it) you get something
like synchronized breathing. If you want to take this a little further --
breath historically has been a symbol and bearer of Spirit. Indeed, Spirit
and breath are the same words. We inspire and expire... If you think of the
opening moments of an OS more in terms of an invocation than and
introduction -- attention to breath makes a lot of sense.

  Harrison




  Harrison Owen
  7808 River Falls Drive
  Potomac, MD 20854 USA
  phone 301-365-2093
  Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com
  Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
  Personal website www.mindspring.com\~owenhh

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