Can we be space invaders ?? - similar experiences
Judi Richardson
judir at accesswave.ca
Wed Apr 28 12:59:18 PDT 2004
Is that where they get the term poop deck?
<grin> Judi
-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]On Behalf Of Christine
Whitney Sanchez
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2004 3:22 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Can we be space invaders ?? - similar experiences
Dear Marei,
I especially appreciate you sharing your own self-reflective process. My
own hidden agendas have often come to light when I realize that I've been
encouraging the sponsor(s) to invite a "more inclusive" group. More is not
always better. Whoever comes...
Open Space work has certainly gone a long way to keeping me honest about
my own biases. Reminds me of a bit of trivia I just received about one of
our favorite English/American expressions:
In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything had to be transported by ship.
It was also before commercial fertilizer's invention, so large shipments
of manure were common.
It was shipped dry, because in that form it weighed a lot less than when
wet, but once water at sea hit it, it not only became heavier, but the
process of fermentation began again, of which a by-product is methane gas.
As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see what could (and
did) happen. Methane began to build up below decks and the first time
someone came below at night with a lantern, BOOOOM!
Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was determined just
what was happening.
After that, the bundles of manure were always stamped with the term "Ship
High In Transit" on them which meant for the sailors to stow it high enough
off the lower decks so that any water that came into the hold would not
touch this volatile cargo and start the production of methane.
Thus evolved the term "S.H.I.T," which has come down through the centuries
and is in use to this very day.
Might this also speak to what we all need to do with our shit - ship high
(be transparent - reveal your own stuff) in transit (as we journey to new
lands together :-) ?
Christine
Christine Whitney Sanchez
Triune Milagro, LTD
2717 E. Mountain Sky Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85048-8990
milagro27 at cox.net
480.759.0262 phone
480.759.0403 fax
VISIT OUR WEBSITE: www.triunemilagro.com
Invoking the wisdom and capacity of the human spirit!
-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]On Behalf Of Marei
Kiele
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2004 4:05 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Can we be space invaders ?? - similar experiences
Dear Gerard,
back on the web after three weeks off I am overwhelmed by some 300
postings to be read. And more and more are coming in each day. I started
answering your mail before I left but didn't have the chance to send it any
more. Sorry for my being late - but I decide to write late better than not
at all - loving your idea of sharing our mistakes, ups, our learnings ;-)
Opposite to Harrison I agree with you. So if I believed in the idea of
space invaders (which for me is a theoratical construction I don't like very
much - who decides when space is invaded and when not?) I'd say you did
invade - I guess already by asking the question. Questions open. But on the
other hand they lead (in german we have this saying: "Wer fragt, der führt"
= "who is asking is leading"). And should not the participants of an open
space be their own leaders?
You wrote:
"If there would be a good reason for this to happen, what would that
reason be ??"
and
"Why invading the space was the only thing this facilitator could do ?"
One of the many possible good reasons (and of course there was one)
could have been that the facilitator felt so connected with the pain or the
fear he witnessed that he couldn't wait till they found their own
problem-serving-strategy. And as you said: He was totally convinced to serve
the system.
Thank you for sharing. I like your two questions very much and find them
very helpful for accepting what I or others are doing.
Will you be solving the riddle one day?
With love,
Marei
PS: I tried to escape without my own share - but opened up this posting
before sending it out. Here it comes:
Facilitating a prepatory-meeting some weeks ago I tried to convince the
planing-commitee to invite additional people by saying "I as a facilitator
would include...". First I thought this was only because of my being
attached to the outcome and my fearing the group might be to small for
finding out the suitable theme. And later I took a deeper look into myself
and discovered a second reason: I had prefered doing something else on the
date we fixed and by including these new people the date would have been
defered. And I didn't want to let go of my other plans without being sure
the prep-meeting was going to be sucessful.
Fortunately they stayed to their own intention, we meet in a small group
on the agreed-upon date and had a wonderful meeting (with conflict inside
the group showing up and all the timetable going down the tubes me doing
nothing but witnessing...).
In the end it's been a great experience and learning-opportunity for me.
And the group was satisfied with my work, too.
Anybody else out there with similar experiences?
Marei
"Harrison Owen" <hhowen at comcast.net> schrieb:
> I guess I see your action less as "invading the space" than as
"opening the
> space." The significant thing to me is that you posed a question
("What is
> the most important topic we have forgotten?"). In my experience,
questions
> open space. Statements close it. We see this happening every time we
open
> space with something like -- "What are the issues and opportunities
(fill in
> the blank)?" I think the atmosphere would be radically different were
we to
> begin with a statement. And then when you "let go the arms of the
chair" You
> offered a choice -- again another question.
>
> I see my major role as facilitator in terms of keeping the space open,
even
> when that becomes quite uncomfortable. Ordinarily this can be done
without
> saying a word -- just be present and open yourself. I don't have a
clue how
> this works, but I have seen it happen again and again. The folks get
stuck,
> and I just sit there. I suppose they are expecting that I will "fix
it" --
> but I just hang in there as a witness to the unasked question(s). Most
times
> I don't even know what the question is -- most particularly when the
> operative language is one I don't understand. But there do come times
when
> some more overt word or action seems to be called for -- but only
after
> being a silent witness for longer than you can bare. It is a dangerous
call,
> for it is quite likely that things are going on beneath the surface in
ways
> that you (I) will never understand. God forbid that you jump in with
an
> answer (statement) just as the folks are figuring it all out for
themselves.
> But with a question, there are choices, and if you have misperceived
the
> situation I find that the folks just smile at your lack of cultural
> awareness. Humbling for sure, but not fatal.
>
> Harrison
>
> Harrison Owen
> 7808 River Falls Drive
> Potomac, Maryland 20845
> 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
> OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives
Visit:
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>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of
Gerard
> Muller
> Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2004 5:47 AM
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: Can we be space invaders ??
>
> In one of the Open Spaces I facilitated seven years ago I featured as
a
> space invader.
> It took me a long time to begin to look at it that way, so here it is.
>
> The client was a national association, the issue an internal
conflict -
> basically concerning the interface between the national Board of the
> organization and the regional ones.
>
> The chairman opened and clearly stated the issue, ending with
something
> like:
> "I am convinced that if we do not solve this issue together, our
> organization could die.
> Help us resolve it "
>
> And everyone involved was there.
>
> Plenty of topics on the agenda.
> Not a single one directly related to the central issue - as far as I
> could see.
>
> After half an hour, the first participant came and complained "The
most
> important topic is not on
> the agenda !". So I suggested he might put it there. "No, I am not the
> right person to do this".
>
> Number 2, 3 and 4 came. Same story.
> To number five I said "you are the fifth who tells me you need this
> topic but that you are not the right person to put it there, I wonder
> why ?".
> More followed.
>
> By lunch time, the situation was unchanged.
>
> Instead of continuing to do what I was doing, I made a sign posted
where
> all would pass by when returning from lunch saying "What is the most
> important topic we have forgotten ?".
>
> Right after lunch, someone posted the missing topic (at the time I
> thought I had "helped", little did I know).
>
> Everybody had soon left all other discussions and 70 participants were
> talking in a room I never had though could contain so many people.
> Something important was clearly going on there.
>
> But it was the closing circle that really got me.
> The first person said "I am quite willing to say what I have to say,
but
> only if the National Board promises to take me seriously"
> The second one said "I will speak, but only if everyone else promises
to
> speak"
>
> I could not help myself. I felt all that had been achieved was at risk
> of going down the drain again.
> So I forgot to hold on to the armrests of my chair and invaded the
> space.
>
> "This morning your chairman asked your help to solve a problem. If you
> choose to continue this way, you might be back where you started from.
> Or you could choose to do something else".
>
> I sat down again. It seemed like 140 angry eyes looked at me. There
was
> a silence.
> Then, there was a constructive closing.
>
>
> I really like the principle "Whatever happens......" .
> I have come to develop a habit that if something happens which really
> should not have (given my expectations, statistics, what have you) to
> ask myself "If there would be a good reason for this to happen, what
> would that reason be ??
>
> So what is your guestimate as to why invading the space was the only
> thing this facilitator could do ?
>
> Similar experiences ?
>
>
> Greetings from Svenmark,
>
>
>
>
> Gerard Muller
> Open Space Institute Denmark
> Phone (+45) 21269621
> gm at openspace.dk
>
> *
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