Silence and Breath and an OS tomorrow (Sat)

Sharon Quarrington sharonq at pdesigns.com
Fri May 2 15:49:11 PDT 2003


I am opening a space tomorrow for an alternative school and as I sit
here trying to write what I am going to say in the opening I'm having a
bit of trouble.  I've rarely included the "breath" in my openings and
this time I need it.

This is a school in conflict - it was started by a group of
homeschoolers who took their proposal to the board of education and
after two years of work finally managed to sell the idea.  The school
became an "alternative" but the spaces in it were/are open to any parent
in the district - and most of the joining parents are not homeschoolers.
The "sell" of the program was that it would bring in new people into the
board (they get funded per student so homeschoolers are lost money). Now
that the program is permanently approved they do not need to attract
homeschoolers.  The teachers and admin are "in charge" and are refitting
the program to align with board policy - which will take it even further
from the initial dream.

The conflict between the parents who started this program and the one
who now "own" it has been very painful but all agree that it is time to
move on and get some clarity on where the program is heading.
The group has agreed to come together in Open Space and come up with
priorities for next year.  We have worked hard on givens (mostly on
cutting them down....)

Somehow I need the opening to help the group focus on the future and yet
I know that many are grieving the past.  I would like to use the breath
to help us all get "in the room" and focus on being present for the day.
The group has also asked for an opening "exercise" to help them get
centered.

So a few questions for more experience folk:

How do you introduce the breath (a script would help....)  do you just
ask people to take a few deep breaths?

Should I ask them to reflect on the past as part of the opening and then
let the group think silently or should I ask them just to try to clear
their minds and breath?

Is there anything else people have used as part of the opening to help a
group get centered?

Thanks, Sharon

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