Open Space / Open List

Chris Corrigan chris at chriscorrigan.com
Thu Mar 18 11:09:27 PST 2004


Thanks for that Harrison...I'm adding it the FAQ as a "word from our
sponsor!"

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 18, 2004 8:59 AM
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: Open Space / Open List
>
> >From the very beginning (1985) Open Space Technology has been free
and
> freely available. I can't possibly remember how many times I have said
> this
> in print, verbally, and online - but I am reasonably certain that
whenever
> I
> said it, I followed with the words -- But there is a cost. That we
freely
> share what we are learning. The mechanisms of sharing are multiple
> including
> training programs, public presentations, private emails and of course
> OSLIST. The substance of what we share is even more diverse: Technical
> "How
> toss," Philosophical meanderings, and deep feelings from the heart.
And in
> many ways, I think the deep feelings are the most important. It is
from
> those feelings that we learn who we are, what we are doing, and what
the
> true value might be. Were Open Space simply a technical approach to
better
> meetings, we might avoid both the philosophy and the feelings. I
believe
> we
> have discovered, however, that OS as a meeting methodology is but a
tiny
> part of the reality. Over time we have wandered into the strange world
of
> self-organizing systems, questions of peace making, human dignity,
> personal
> sense of worth, constructive conflict. And our journey has always been
a
> shared one. No single person has, or could have, the total experience.
And
> no one has the interpretive capacity to explain and elucidate that
> experience. We can only do this together, freely and openly.
>
> Occasionally I am asked why I never trademarked, patented, or
franchised
> Open Space Technology. A flip, but honest answer would be that I was
too
> lazy, in addition to the fact that I had better things to do than
spend my
> time defending the sacred precincts. The same might be said for my
refusal
> to "Certify" OS Practitioners. More to the point, and closer to my
heart
> (true feelings :-)), I really felt/feel that OS does some good in ways
> that
> this funny world of ours can truly benefit from. Therefore I wanted it
to
> be
> freely available to whomever, wherever, and however. . . And I don't
just
> mean Open Space Technology as a narrowly prescribed methodology. I
mean
> the
> whole enchilada - Method, Philosophy, Feelings, and anything else that
has
> popped up along the way.
>
> The OSLIST has been one critical part of the Open Space experience,
and
> the
> evolution of the global Open Space community. From the very beginning
it
> was
> open to anybody who cared - with no questions asked about why they
cared
> or
> how much. People have come, people have gone, and some have just hung
out.
> There has never been any promise of privacy or exclusivity, indeed
just
> the
> opposite. Anybody who thought they had joined a private, exclusive
club
> was
> operating under a severe misunderstanding. Indeed, the nature of the
> Internet, of which OSLIST is an infinitesimally small part, fosters
this
> openness, for anything that appears anywhere in cyberspace is quite
likely
> to show up somewhere else. In the case of OSLIST, all of this has been
> profoundly and wonderfully true. Messages forwarded and copied have
gone
> around the world multiple times making Open Space, and the
possibilities
> of
> Open Space, available to people and places we will never know.
Fantastic!
>
> For myself, I propose to keep the space fully open. Or if we do
restrict
> it
> to a particular community, I propose the community of the Planet. And
that
> is a very strong feeling.
>
> 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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>
>
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