questions on OS's form + Berdsk story

[Elena A. Marchuk]

Hi Peggy, Birgitt, Joelle and ALL!
I was just going to write about the ideas I got while reading (sorry for
late literacy) a book 'Calling the Circle' and wondering that the idea is
good and the form if even with the topic indeficated sounds like not very
easy to come to everybodies understanding. when coming to chaos the idea of
the auther is to get silence for a while when somebody will be ready to move
forward.

of course any idea of calling the circle is good and should be apreciated, I
think, but it is not easy to call the circle at least at our counry.
the last try I did, though of course it was not much time to organize all
things in proper way, but it seems that there are always something which not
allow to do things... when people don't want them to do.

even knowing they need to, they avoid everything which is not familiar and
use their two legs as soon as they see nothing 'interesting' for them is
happenning

on the 27th of June after a two months of talking through the deputy of the
city Berdsk which in near Novosibirsk and Akademgorodok (15 minutes drive)
where I live, but 10 days before I managed to have a meeting with the mayor
or the city (after a week of asking) he got the idea and as the summer is on
already in Siberia and it is like 30 + C, and the time of vacations for most
part of the population, we decided that the 27th of June will be OK to try
to gather people for OS on topic "Encreasing the effectiveness of the
communal service of the city Berdsk"

it was Wednesday, 18th, when we decide to do it, and on Friday when I call
the secretary, she told me that she gave the 'orders of the mayor' to
certain people, so better to call them ... on Monday, when papers will
arrive to them...
so it was less then a week which will be rested,
well, on Monday the chiif of the communal sevice department said that he
wants to meet me ... tomorrow, and after an hour of retelling the stories
and his sayings that they have a program for reforming the communal service
of Berdsk he did understand the purpose of the OS and we agreed... to follow
the order of the mayor

he said that they will invite people of his department, non-profits and
owners of facilities, as well as deputies... but there was not many people
who show up and half of them 'use their feets' during the first session.
before they go to sign for topics one said that they came to LISTEN for the
proposals how to emprove the work of their communal service. I said that we
are going right now to define problems, probably set on priorities and will
learn together what we should do to improve the service...

he was not satisfied and left though after working for some time with one of
the groups... and leaving his own topic without leader on the second
session...

well, whatever happens...

there were only 6 topics posted and that was enough only for 2 sessions,
though the idea was to work the whole day.
the chief of the department though asked me if we could work half of the
day... I said we could do everything, but I'm not sure that we can go to any
question in details if we work for half a day..

nevertheless, we had only 6 topics, half people left and though the very
emotional discussions the reports were very short and always with the asking
what can we do, if the financing is so small, not enough for repairment of
the old equipment and so on...

the only active group was the one which discussed the Association of owners
of facilities (appartments actually), and the 10 people left said it was a
very good and counstructive and not foraml way of discussing things. the
person from private let's say condominium said that she find all the right
people she wants to work with, that she discussed all the questions which
were interesting for her and

I HOPE, that the news about this calling the circle will be spread all over
the city. the chief of the communal service department said that the meeting
really could be called an OPEN FORUM as I proposed to call it... though it
was 10 people left...

I think that he did not give much effort to really call peple as he was
afraid of what kind a meeting it will be himself, now he knows and we agreed
that we will call a circle - a bigger one - in Autumn, and I hope that we
will really work on spreading the information of what it will be

people don't believe they can do anything as the problems of communal
service which is financed from the budget of the city 50% (though the law in
Russia is 90% - that is not 2 not 1.5 as we say, - what means 'half of the
decision') but that is because the deputies of the city - which did not show
up on the meeting, even the one who was a messenger to the mayor!) did not
allow to do that - because of afraidness of not-popular decisions - but the
reason they say is that the income of people is very low, and even with
given compensation they will not be able to pay for new tarifs...

the low income is the country problem, not only the city's Berdsk and ... so
on as the circle again

there are a lot of possibilities, but if people don't want to solve them =
to change their life , even if it is not the life they want to live, but it
could be WORSE as everybody is thinking and though there are a lot of hided
extra work, payments and staff... all people are trying to keep the way they
are used to be...

well,

sorry for the long letter again, it is of course less painful then Raffi's
questions, but still the same NOT-BELIEF  in people's possibilities to form
a program and realizing of it

I don't think that it was an OS which DID NOT WORK, it work as it could and
should, and it was the start, but the start which was not as I planned -
working for the whole day, as we were out of topics, people asked me what we
will do next, so I said that now we shall discuss the results and it will be
the closing session, which was very optimistic for all who was 'strong'
enough to stay up to the end. and also I got a call that the woman wants to
make the same kind of meeting for the 'owners of the facilities' but with
many people (as much as possible) invited. she said she liked the form of
the meeting.

so, moving to understanding and listening each other...

best wishes

elena
novosibirsk, russia
----- Original Message -----
From: "Birgitt Williams" <birgitt at MINDSPRING.COM>
To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
Sent: Monday, July 07, 2003 11:14 PM
Subject: Re: questions on OS's form


> Peggy,
> I smile at your gift to us of your making sure you are clear in what you
are
> communicating. And as you know, I too believe that for something to be an
> OST event, there are elements of the form that define it as an OST event.
> The form assists us as humans in our current state of evolution, to access
> the essence of life and living (what some of us refer to as the great Open
> Space).
>
> There are other forms that also assist us as humans in accessing the
essence
> of life and living. In group work, for me, this includes Appreciative
> Inquiry, Whole Person Process Facilitation, World Cafe, and Calling the
> Circle. And then there are various forms of art that assist us in doing
this
> including poetry, painting(s), music.... And then there are various forms
> from the healing arts that assist us in doing this, including color
healing,
> aromatherapy, meditation, yoga, reiki healing, tai Chi and so on. Each
> provides a path to us to consciously access All That Is, to remember what
we
> know. And for whatever reason, we need these paths, each of us choosing
the
> ones that work for us.
>
> Blessings,
> Birgitt
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]On Behalf Of Peggy
> Holman
> Sent: Sunday, July 06, 2003 5:00 PM
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: Re: questions on OS's form
>
>
> I find myself still pondering what feels like a contradiction in my answer
> to Birgit's question.  It has to do with the essence and form of Open
Space.
>
> Raffi described the meeting he attended saying:
> >But the energy of the sessions felt very much like OS. I wouldn't call
> >it full OS.
>
> and then said:
> >I am inclined to believe that in their hearts the facilitators trusted
> >the space would be opened and that internal opening allowed for the
> >space to open externally.
>
>
> Of the two meetings I described, the corporate one didn't even have the
> spirit of an OS.  The second one did to an extent, more like Raffi's
> description.  So, I would say, these gatherings exhibited a bit of the
> essence of OS.
>
> So, on the one hand, I would say form isn't necessary when the essence
shows
> up unaided.  That said, the form of OST is useful (i.e., the circle, the
> law, principles and marketplace) because it just about guarantees that
> self-organization happens and spirit emerges.  Without the form, I
wouldn't
> call a gathering an Open Space meeting, although the space may well be
open.
>
> So, don't know if anyone else felt the need for more detail, but I feel
> better!
>
> From still sunny Seattle (and thinking thoughts of travel to Denmark),
> Peggy
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Peggy Holman" <peggy at OPENCIRCLECOMPANY.COM>
> To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
> Sent: Saturday, July 05, 2003 2:46 PM
> Subject: Re: questions on OS's form
>
>
> > Birgitt,
> >
> > Good question!  You help me test my thinking.  I would not call
something
> an
> > open space event without the circle, the law and the principles.
> > That said, taking responsibility for what you care about in the context
of
> > the whole, is at the heart of what makes open space more than a meeting
> > methodology for me.  As a personal life practice, this is essence guides
> me.
> > As a collective practice, coming together periodically (that design
> element
> > of breath) in a circle, speaking the law and the principles, and
creating
> a
> > marketplace seems to matter.
> >
> > Peggy
> >
> > P.S.  As I re-read my message, one thing that I didn't make clear is
that
> I
> > would not have called either of the meetings I described open space
> events.
> > To me, it was a misuse of the name.
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Birgitt Williams" <birgitt at MINDSPRING.COM>
> > To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
> > Sent: Friday, July 04, 2003 2:02 PM
> > Subject: Re: questions on OS's form
> >
> >
> > > Peggy,
> > > along that theme of one more thing not to do, am I understanding
> correctly
> > > that for you, so long as people "take responsibility for what they
care
> > > about in the context of the whole" that is enough---no circle needed,
no
> > > principles stated and so on. Or am I understanding your words
correctly?
> > >
> > > Blessings to you,
> > > Birgitt
> > >
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]On Behalf Of Peggy
> > > Holman
> > > Sent: Friday, July 04, 2003 4:42 PM
> > > To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> > > Subject: Re: questions on OS's form
> > >
> > >
> > > Raffi,
> > >
> > > A comment on the OS you attended with:
> > >
> > > >no walking in a circle (the two co-facilitators sat at the head of
the
> > > room)
> > >
> > > and Harrison's response:
> > > >Walking the circle focuses and centers the group. If the group is
> already
> > > focused, and knows where it is, save the effort and sit down.
> > >
> > > I've attended 2 sessions called OS where there was no circle or
stating
> of
> > > the principles and the law.
> > >
> > > One was a corporate setting with lots of tables.  They had some
> > > pre-determined topics "just in case".  No surprise: the only topics
were
> > the
> > > pre-selected ones.  The work of focus and centering, which creates
space
> > by
> > > defining its edges was not in their consicousness and therefore not
> done.
> > >
> > > The other setting was the Leadership Institute of Seattle.  This was a
> > group
> > > in which most people knew each other.  They had common values from
> working
> > > together over time.  In this setting, while people sat in little
circles
> > of
> > > 3 at the opening, there was no issue with sessions getting posted.  I
> did
> > > notice that people did not use their two feet at all to travel between
> > > sessions.  So something was lost in the mix.
> > >
> > >
> > > So, what is the essence?  I continue to use that wonderful design
lesson
> > > from Harrison:  what's one less thing to do and have the experience be
> > > whole?
> > >
> > > I've come to believe the essence of open space is taking responsiblity
> for
> > > what you care about in the context of the whole.  This to me is the
law
> of
> > > two feet.  The principles flow from this way of being.  Circles help.
> > > Naming the law and the principles make them much more visible.
> > >
> > > Peggy
> > >
> > > *
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