intro & question-visioning during opening of OS?

Harrison Owen hhowen at comcast.net
Thu Dec 11 04:42:53 PST 2003


Jennifer Wrote:

"Has anyone on the list ever used a "visioning" meditation exercise as
part
of the opening of an Open Space?  The kind of exercise I'm thinking of
would
be something like this . . ."

A little bit of a "Johnny-come-lately" on this, but I did have a thought
or two. First off -- Visioning is undoubtedly a useful, no essential,
activity. Second -- in my experience of Open Space, visioning is where
it starts and ends. So it is not so much about "adding" visioning to
Open Space, but rather, enhancing the quality of visioning already
taking place. I am sure there are multiple preconditions for effective
visioning -- but two which seem paramount to me are focus and presence.
By focus I mean a clear intention on the part of the groups to deal with
the issue at hand -- and everybody knows what that is. Further more they
really care about it. Secondly, Presence -- which means to me that the
group is really and truly in that present moment with their full
attention. Nothing is perfect, but this means that idle thoughts have
largely been put to one side (last week's sales numbers, next week's
convention, tonight's football game) and the space is really open for
new possibilities to emerge. In my experience, when these preconditions
are in effect, powerful visioning seems to happen all by itself. Indeed,
it sometimes seems that it could not -- NOT happen, not just at the
beginning of the Open Space, but also as a recurring phenomenon through
out -- and beyond.

One other thing which seems to be relevant here is the whole notion of
"Less is more" -- or stated in terms of my personal mantra -- "Think of
one more thing NOT to do." I find that vision (particularly collective
vision) happens best when there is space for it to occur -- in the
silences. In a word, vision is not something to be given -- rather
something to be experienced in its own emergence. So I would be very
careful not to get in the way.

Anyhow, I can see no way to answer your question except to try what you
propose and see how it works. My sole caution would be not to let your
process get in the way of the people's process, thereby filling up the
space in which vision can and will occur.

Last thought -- I have (and I know others have) done something like what
you propose, but I have always done it the night before. This allows for
the good old subconscious to do its work overnight so that the folks are
ready for a clear, fast start on the following morning. Occasionally I
have used a rather more formal visioning process, such as an extended
guided imagery. On other occasions I have found that good old Story
Telling has much the same effect.

Good luck, and let us know how it all turns out.

Harrison

-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of
Jennifer Hurley
Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2003 12:19 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: intro & question-visioning during opening of OS?

Hello everyone.  I recently joined the list and have been lurking for a
couple of weeks and learning lots.

By way of introduction--I am a City Planner in Philadelphia, PA, USA
with a
background in conflict resolution and group facilitation.  My private
practice in planning focuses on facilitating public involvement in
community
development.  For anyone interested in finding out more about me, see my
firm's website at http://www.hfadesign.com.

On to my question--
Has anyone on the list ever used a "visioning" meditation exercise as
part
of the opening of an Open Space?  The kind of exercise I'm thinking of
would
be something like this:

***
I want you to close your eyes, put your feet flat on the floor, and
breathe
deeply.  Let all of the constraints of the present fall away.  Know that
anything is possible.  Pretend that you have a magic wand and can make
anything you want happen.

Imagine First Church 20 years from now.  What does it look like?  What
kinds
of rooms do you see in the building?  What¹s happening in the rooms?
Who
are the people in the rooms?  How old are they?  Where do they come
from?
What are they doing?  What are they saying?  What is happening around
the
Church building?  What are Church members doing outside of the building?
What kinds of activities are they engaged in?  What¹s the relationship
between First Church and the surrounding area?  What do the neighbors
say
about First Church?  What do other Unitarians think about First Church?

Now, take that vision and seal it, stamp it in your mind so that you can
call it up anytime you want.  You may want to write down a few key
phrases
to remind you of your vision later.
***

What do people on the list think?

Thanks for your input,
Jennifer Hurley
-------------------------------
Hurley~Franks and Associates
Planning & Urban Design

1429 Walnut St., Ste. 601
Philadelphia, PA 19102

P: 215-988-9440
JLHurley at HFAdesign.com
http://www.hfadesign.com

Association for the New Urbanism in PennsylvaniA (ANUPA)
http://www.anupa.org

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