Opening Space for Peace

Sun Apr 27 16:20:00 PDT 2003

Dear Metta,

 Last October I had the privilege of opening and holding space for the Texas
Families and Inmates Association . My partner, Kelvie Comer lives in Belton.
I've sent three e-mails to friends in Texas letting them know what you are
doing. The world truly seems smaller.

Audrey Coward
2281 Lakeshore Blvd.
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
416-259-6215
audreycoward @bellnet.ca
----- Original Message -----
From: "Metta Zetty" <AIA at AWAKENING.NET>
To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
Sent: Sunday, April 27, 2003 9:43 AM
Subject: Opening Space for Peace

> Dear friends ~
>
> Convergence always is a fascinating dynamic....
>
> Usually, I simply listen, in this virtual community.
> However, for some time now I've been planning to share
> an invitation with you all...and now in response to
> Harrison, Birgitt's and Ashely's recent posts, it
> seems the time has arrived....
>
> In light of recent event world events, Harrison,
> my son and I have come to the same conclusion that
> you and Birgitt have -- we're ready to open more
> space. And, Ashley, we're doing it here in Texas!
>
> So, for those of you are interested, we invite
> you to...
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Join us in ... Opening Space for Peace:
> Imagining the Possibilities,
> Creating a New Reality
>
> http://peacespace.com
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> We will be gathering here in San Antonio on Sunday,
> May 4, and, if you do not live near enough to be
> able to join us, please consider supporting our
> event by inviting others you know in Texas....
>
> If you join our mailing list, we'll send you a sample
> invitation to share with others. And, if you let us
> know you're helping to spread the word:
> mailto:info at peacespace.com?subject=Add_my_name
>
> ...we will be honored to include your name (along
> with a link to the URL of your preferred organization)
> on our list of acknowledgments:
> http://supporters.peacespace.com
>
> Harrison: please note -- we've included a link to
> your new book at the foot of our Questions page:
> http://faqs.peacespace.com
>
> Birgitt: Gary and Nathan and I would *love* to see
> you again if/when you come to Texas....
>
> And, Ashley: where are you?  It would be great to
> meet and share more....
>
> This is a fertile time -- a good time now for all
> of us to tend our gardens, and plant more seeds....
>
> With respect and appreciation,
> Metta Zetty
> http://open-space-technology.com
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Thu, 24 Apr 2003 17:36:58 -0400
> From:    Harrison Owen <owenhh at mindspring.com>
> Subject: Re: Testing
>
> At 06:44 PM 4/24/2003 +0200, Eva P Svensson wrote:
> >So quiet - just have to test that I'm still connected to you all!
>
>
>   The silence is in fact deafening. And particularly noticeable for this
> group. When silences come I find the reasons are usually three: a) Nothing
> to say. b) Nothing need be said. c) What could, or should, be said takes
> people to a place they don't want to go. I vote for c)
>
>   The events of the past month are, indeed, a little overwhelming. The US
> invades Iraq, SARS breaks out. And now North Korea threatens to do a
nuclear
> demonstration -- whatever that might mean. Sufficient to take your breath
> away. Forget about talking. And the prospects for the immediate future are
> hardly encouraging. Speaking just for myself, I can say that at such
times,
> space becomes claustrophobically small. And my daily activities verge on
the
> irrelevant. Silence. Very quiet.
>
>   It is quite possible that we are really in the midst of very, very, deep
> doo-doo, from which there is no easy or obvious escape. Under the
> circumstances it is always nice to have somebody to beat on and blame.
> George the Shrub comes immediately to mind. But regardless of what he did
do
> that he shouldn't have -- or didn't do and should have, the situation is
> probably well beyond him. From where I sit, he remains what he has always
> been -- an embarrassment. As Birgitt might be tempted to say -- We have a
> lot of Dead Moose.
>
>   And yet in such moments, there is the possibility of enormous learning.
> For ourselves, how do we open our personal space so that in this present
> moment we can be fully here -- fully alive? And for our neighbors,
> colleagues, clients and friends, how can we open that communal space so
> breath (and meaningful conversation) becomes a possibility? Opening this
> sort of space is rather different, I think, from filling the air with
trite
> platitudes and the power of positive thinking. It goes to a deeper place.
>
>   Slightly less than a year ago, I was privileged to work with a group of
> Palestinians and Israelis in Rome. Relatively speaking, the world at that
> point (compared to the present moment) seemed almost idyllic -- but for
> those coming from The Middle East it appeared something other than a rose
> garden. And in their presence, I could only share something of the brittle
> fatalism reflected in the forced smiles, and nervous laughter with which
we
> began our gathering. Knowing full well that I could never be fully where
> they were, I nevertheless felt compelled to share my own vulnerability --
In
> my opening of the circle on that first day I said something like..."I had
> come because I cared for my friends in Palestine and Israel, and also for
> myself and my children. And although the people in that circle may feel
> themselves isolated and alone in their own private Hell with their own
> agonizing story, that story was also the story of our world. Like it or
not
> they were in the hot crucible of the future of humankind. The future of
all
> of us is being created in that strange place known as the Holy Land, even
as
> it has been for millennia. So I cared, but I was also on the edge of
despair
> or beyond. I could not think of any way out. The issues were so deep and
> intractable that movement appeared denied. Space was closed. But still I
> came, and still I cared  as I presumed was true for each of them as
well."
>
>   My learning during those days in Rome was profound. It became startling
> clear that neither I, nor any single person there, had the wisdom,
courage,
> strength or perseverance to get us where we needed to go. But none of us
> were called upon to do that -- we all were -- and all rose to the
challenge.
> In that rich space which contained all of our hopes, fears, frustrations
and
> anxieties, we collectively found a collegiality which included and
> transcended them all.  Needless to say, we did not bring peace to The
Middle
> East, but we surely experienced peace in that moment. And that was a
moment
> we will never forget.
>
>   So maybe it is time to break our silence here on good old OSLIST --
share
> what we are, and what we are learning.
>
> 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 http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Thu, 24 Apr 2003 20:29:16 -0400
> From:    Birgitt Williams <birgitt at mindspring.com>
> Subject: Re: Testing
>
> Harrison,
> You are right that I agree that there are a lot of Dead Moose under the
> table. For those of you who don't know about the Dead Moose and its
> relationship to Open Space Technology, please see the invitation at
> http://www.openspacetechnology.com/articles_11.html
>
> I suggest adding another reason to the three you mention regarding silence
> and that is d) busy holding space. I vote for d). I believe in the power
of
> Open Space and what we know from our many years of experience with Open
> Space Technology. The facilitator must not be attached to outcome (and not
> to be shaken by events, even conflict as it happens---I remember from
> working with you at the First Canada US Breast Cancer Advocacy Conference
> what it was like to hold space in the face of huge conflict---a microcosm
of
> what we experience in the world).
>
> And so, hundreds of us around the world are facilitating the "holding of
> space for opportunities for harmony in the world". I stay focused on this,
> on who I am as a being of light in the world, and I retain my balance no
> matter what the events are. I see and experience myself as one of the
> co-facilitators of "holding space" that we opened on Sept 21st of 2001.
> Anyone who cares to join us in the co-facilitation of what is the biggest
> "space holding" experience may join at any time to assist those already
> committed. And because we are co-facilitating, even if one or more of us
is
> having a "down" day, we know that others are holding the space and so it
is
> like a magnet to energize oneself again through meditation and prayer and
> being in nature, as we would do for facilitating an OST meeting, and to
> rejoin the others.
>
> I see and experience many many events and projects to foster harmony and I
> am convinced that we are having an effect. Can I prove it? No. Do I
believe
> it? Yes.
>
> So, Harrison, you got me started on this journey of learning to open and
> hold space for which I continue to be deeply grateful. And now, we are
> simply called to hold space for humanity using all the skills and capacity
> that we have developed over the years.
>
> For anyone who cares to join us in what we have called the Harmony
Project,
> information is at http://www.openspacetechnology.com/harmony.html
>
> In the picture on that page, you will see a circle of stones that
symbolizes
> our holding of space (and remember that as facilitators we cannot be
> attached to outcome). Within that stone circle, there are "seed stones"
that
> I am willing to send out to those who request them and want to use them to
> start a circle in their own location. There are hundreds of such symbolic
> circles in the world now, and we visualize them as all connected, weaving
> this opportunity around the globe. Of course, there are some who have
chosen
> to carry their seed stones in their pockets  and to be connected in that
> way.
>
> I get great comfort from taking action in this way with my state of being
> joined with others. And it gives me great hope. The good news is that Open
> Space always works.
>
> Blessings,
> Birgitt
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Thu, 24 Apr 2003 21:31:00 -0700
> From:    Ashley Cooper <ashcooper at earthlink.net>
> Subject: Silence
>
> Awhile back some of Joelle's words were added to my wall of quotes (tucked
> in between two New Yorker cartoons of people gathered and talking) "Hold
> space for others to have the conversations they are longing for."
>
> I see the theme again with Harrison's words:
>
>     And for our neighbors, colleagues, clients and friends, how can we
open
> that communal space so breath (and meaningful conversation) becomes a
> possibility?
>
> Where I am experiencing unrest is that it is my perception that many
people
> do not want to have these conversations. that the silence is so much
easier
> with which to "deal". i so often feel like i am walking on eggshells just
> to ensure that i don't upset another's day by communicating/ discussing
> matters in which different perspectives/perceptions are present.
>
> on the flip side, i feel like "things" are very stimulated right now.
> change brings about incredible opportunities. i sense this great passion,
> void, feeling (...i haven't figured out what word to use!) that has been
> buried deep within many, surfacing. it's invigorating how many are
> embracing this opportunity to communicate, to drive passion into action,
to
> find motivation in this time, to hold the space. unfortunately in my life,
> i more frequently feel many being stifled with confusion and avoidance. I
> hear many venting (including myself) of the difficulties in their lives,
> how suddenly things seem to be moving so fast. i can't help but to think
> that while situations are occurring in daily life that could cause such
> anxiety, uncertainty... that we are also susceptible to a greater mood
that
> prevails...during this silence.
>
> i am always drawn towards trying to learn the appropriate language to
speak
> to another. attempting to find the words, the sentence structure, the
> visual images which both myself and another are capable of understanding.
>
> presently, i am amazed at how often i find myself sitting back, watching,
> and listening...and yet there is so much bubbling inside. i am just trying
> to find a meaningful way to share.
>
> one last thought: i am also living in a new place. i often wonder if my
> observations are specific to this region in texas or similar realities
> exist all over this beautiful earth we inhabit.
>
> thanks for reading my ponderings!
>
> with love,
> ashley cooper
>
> *
> *
> ==========================================================
> OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> ------------------------------
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
> view the archives of oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu,
> Visit:
>
> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html

*
*
==========================================================
OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
------------------------------
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu,
Visit:

http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html