visual bumble bees

Fri Mar 12 00:37:06 PST 2004

Harrison and florian’s experience matches mine too.  In First Nations
organizations and communities, space is held by Elders during meetings,
and in most cases the meetings themselves are wrapped in prayer, so that
we open and close with an acknowledgement of our spiritual connection to
each other, our work and the place in which we are meeting.

But Reinhard, I have also experienced this situation of holding space
from another angle, as the facilitator for an Open Space meeting to
which no one came.  It was in a small and very troubled First Nations
community, racked with violence and drug abuse, and no one, not even my
sponsor showed up for a community meeting at which 70 people were
expected.

I found myself in a strange situation, and instead of packing up, I
stayed and consciously held space for the community.  I figured that I
was there for a reason, and they knew about Open Space and the role of
the facilitator, so I played that role, sitting in the longhouse alone,
in a half-meditative state, holding open the possibility for healing in
the community and reflecting on what it means to hold space.  I had a
copy of the Tao Te Ching with me, which made excellent reading.

At any rate, my work of modeling the process seemed to pay off in that
several folks arrived for lunch (which magically appeared out of the
kitchen) and we continued on in the community running a small OST
meeting the following day for the youth and some Elders.

I like your image of sensing the honey
that is the essence of a lot of
good facilitation practice.

Chris

---
CHRIS CORRIGAN
Bowen Island, BC, Canada
(604) 947-9236

Consultation - Facilitation
Open Space Technology

Weblog: http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot
Homepage: http://www.chriscorrigan.com
chris at chriscorrigan.com
(604) 947-9236

-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of
Harrison Owen
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2004 7:27 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: visual bumble bees

Among the Kpelle, the West African Tribe which largely inspired Open
Space for me, the role of Space Holder is typically played by the Senior
Elder. In a tribal council setting, when all the people are gathered in
a circle, he will normally say nothing until the very end. At that
point, he will utter a short saying or parable which encapsulates the
discussion and essentially articulates the common finding (whatever that
might be). More often than not, the saying or parable is very well
known, but the art is to find just the right one that does the job. I
think the key point for this elder, as also the OS facilitator, is to be
basically invisible (at least in terms of overt participation), and yet
profoundly present. I also saw more than a few situations when the Elder
said nothing, for it was obvious that nothing more needed to be said. He
just nodded his head, and it was over. My own reaction was that this was
by far the most powerful sort of “statement.” Certainly in the lore of
elders as told around the villages, the ones who said least, or nothing,
rose to the head of the pack in the people’s estimation. 

Harrison

Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, Maryland   20845
Phone 301-365-2093
Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com
<http://www.openspaceworld.com/>  
Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
Personal website http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm
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-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of
Florian Fischer
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2004 8:52 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: visual bumble bees

Am 28.02.2004 7:28 Uhr schrieb "Visuelle Protokolle" unter
<mail at visuelle-protokolle.de>:
..I want to ask you a question.
.....When I walk through the groups in an OS, listening here, taking
visual notes there, ...following the energy of honey smell. During the
day I gather lots of images I draw this way, images which I bring
together. ... I show my honey to the group afterwards, many of the
others like it to have a visual overview of the proceedings, .....the
unspoken energy that I felt and drew. So I found out that I create a
group memory this way.
......you often talk about 'holding space'. But at African tribes
meetings, at coffee brakes there is nobody holding space, or it is
everybody. Self organized.
Wouldn't some of you like to test a service to the group similar to the
one I am practizing? Holding space in another way?
Just start walking around drawing little images, not as a participant
talking and arguing with the others, but wandering to and fro silently
and open minded? And thus producing something wich no written protocol
of the groups can substitute? As a stepping stone for sustainability,
something to come back to, to show others?
And maybe this way also participants would follow the example and draw a
bit, like in World Cafè meetings using the table cloth for visual notes?

dear reinhard,
about the question whether there is a space-holder 
in the coffe-brake I´m sure it´s the bar-keeper.
about the question whether there is a spaceholder 
in african tribe meetings,I called my friend irene, 
she is well experienced in ethnology, lived together 
for a lot of while with the tribe of the dinka in sudan.

yes, she answered, they never meet without someone,
who  is called AGAMLONG. 
agam is confirming, long is speach/speaking.
in english we my translate that as confirmer or transmitter
he is repeating part by part of the discussion between
different opinions of the participants.
that´s the way how the the dinka do it 
to give space, to give honour, to expand the now, 
to appreciate the process, to frame the emergence.

your way of confirming a discussion by taking little images
may serve in an equivalent manner.

come to goa, to our next following OSonOS.
show up into the circle, draw your message on a sheet of paper
and offer it on the marketplace
it will be fascinating.

florian

----------------------
florian fischer
begleitung im wandel
d 10779 berlin, muenchener 6
fon 0049.30. 2116752
fax 0049.30. 2115943
ff at begleitung-im-wandel.com
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