the dark side of circle practices

[Colin Morley]

In Community Building I am used to discussing this as the question of 'Task
and Process'.  I am very interested in the question of when in an Open Space
event to use the circle.

In Open Space we are usually working on a particular task or theme.  And
'spirit shows up'.  In Community Building (Chris you must come to a CB event
in the autumn), the circle can be an opportunity to allow some change in me
and in the group that can be independent of any task.  The goal can be just
to experience community or spirit.  As we go through pseudo community, chaos
and emptiness to community I get deep detailed learning on how others are
thinking and feeling, and on how I am thinking and feeling.

In Open Space it seems to me that the ideal is to work on the task for long
enough that people have experienced chaos, emptiness and changes in
themselves and in the group - and then a talking stick circle works well
because people are ready to listen and just 'be' as well as having a task
agenda.

Colin Morley


-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Harrison
Owen
Sent: 09 July 2004 12:36
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: the dark side of circle practices

I look forward to the follow-on. I guess if people want to be miserable they
can certainly do it. Question: Do "THEY"call this Open Space?

ho
----- Original Message -----
From: "chris macrae" <wcbn007 at easynet.co.uk>
To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
Sent: Friday, July 09, 2004 2:24 AM
Subject: Re: the dark side of circle practices


> For example, imagine twenty people spend two day together in a retreat
> and its intent is to sustain and maximise communal intelligence around
> an invitation that sets up a huge change area. Such a retreat often
> rotates between a big circle (with taking stick and timeout clangers)
> and breakout groups, but the hosts/directors of the 2 day's format
> thereby:
>
> --miss opportunities to create markets for breakouts
>
> --Make the main circle time almost impossible culturally to use 2 feet
> from without upsetting everyone's belief in we are communal/collective
>
> The process starts erring to absolute democracy of everyone must have
> equal time contributions to speak at each phase (to the extent that
> energy gets lost if this doesn't happen); yet the truth might be that
> there are certain deep experiences in the room which at stages during
> the 2 days either need to be outed in direct conversation or written up
> and circulated so that everyone has access to the
> experienced/conflicting view before they leave the 2 days. In other
> word's the circle's communal harmony only permits it to pass through one
> type of conflicts ; in fact it can co-creates such deep love of nice
> behaviours to each other that it misses the biggest spiral out above our
> communal thinking's common denominator
>
> I'm in a rush today (to catch a plane). If this doesn't clarify a
> nagging problem I have about how an increasing fashion for circles in
> big change arenas without having a deeply experienced open space
> facilitator there, forgive me if I have a second bite in a few days
>
> Chris macrae
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of
> Harrison Owen
> Sent: 08 July 2004 21:45
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: Re: the dark side of circle practices
>
> I guess I am in the darkside of the darkside. What is/are circle
> practices -- in the West or anywhere else????
>
> Harrison
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "chris macrae" <wcbn007 at easynet.co.uk>
> To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
> Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2004 2:57 PM
> Subject: the dark side of circle practices
>
>
> > From some recent experiences, I have realised that it would be jolly
> > useful to have some open space guidelines for circle practitioners in
> > the west who never quite get to open space but also believe in the
> > 'democracy' of speak when you have the talking stick, and gong when
> the
> > group needs a timeout
> >
> > The strength and weakness of circle culture (divorced from other rules
> > of open space) is that it takes everyone's equal right to chat about a
> > context to democratic extremes. I realise that this is useful where
> the
> > eldest are the most confused; but its not always useful in the case
> > where the youngest are the least systemicly connected either in their
> > own experiences or in the stories they are able to tell representing a
> > diversity of views (beyond that the person actually holds)
> >
> > Enough said to start a conversation, or do I need to amplify?
> >
> > Cheers, chris macrae
> >
> > *
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