What is the deep intent of a gathering and what form best serves that?

Wed Mar 24 05:34:08 PST 2004

Tim – it is difficult to argue with what you have said. And I don’t think
the issue was about “best” but rather about the possibility (advisability)
of using a combination of Open Space and Café. There are clearly situations
where due to the needs of the “client,” and the group, (and maybe also the
facilitator) where Café will fill the bill. But doing them (OS and Café)
together raises issues of a different sort for me. I suppose part of this
relates to the pragmatic (some would say lazy) American that I am – never
doing more than I have to in order to achieve some result. It also relates
to a basic principle for me, which in medieval times was known as The Law of
Parsimony, and also Occams Razor. My version of all this is to think of one
more thing not to do. This is the way I have approached Open Space
Technology over the years – always trying to do less. Fewer words, fewer
actions, fewer introductions. . . removing accretions to reveal the core. I
think what I discovered in the process is not a new methodology, design or
process, but rather that the essential mechanisms of human community and
meaning making are already hardwired into each and every one of us and all
of us together. Further, that these mechanisms (dynamics if you don’t like
the “mechanistic” flavor) work quite well all by themselves given a chance
AND that they work better when unconstrained by layers of lay-ons which we
might have thought to be good ideas at the time. Such things as community
building activities and other icebreaking approaches at the start. Or in
this case – doing a Café to prepare the ground, as it were. Internally (once
the Open Space is under way), I have found that formal processes like
Dialogue and Appreciative Inquiry, although great in themselves, actually
seem to slow the field in Open Space. Or putting it another way, it appears
to me that dialogue and appreciative inquiry appear as natural concomitants
of just opening space. And it really isn’t about “doing” an Open Space, but
rather simply allowing the ongoing, natural process of self-organization to
do its job. Are there limitations to this approach? Theoretically, I am sure
there are, but at a practical level I personally have never experienced a
situation where The People, given the space could not do very well all by
themselves, and certainly better than anything I might dream up for them.

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 Tim Merry
Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2004 11:03 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: What is the deep intent of a gathering and what form best serves
that?

Hi,

I would like to add something to Cafe, Open Space discussion. It has stirred
something in me around the Art of Hosting. That it is more about the hosting
of the space, than the either/ors of Cafe/Open Space.

I work with both Cafe, Open Space, Peerspirit Circle, Community Music,
Theatre of the Oppressed ... the bottom line is that these all are not
tools, but ways of being. They are experiments in how human beings can be
together in a way that nurtures their spirit and the blue planet we live in.
These processes work when they serve a deep and meaningful intent for all
those gathered. We are on the edge of design and discovery here, of
re-learning and new learning, the bow wave of the boat. Experimenters in the
profound practice of gathering around what we care about and taking
responsibility in terms of action.

It is not a question, for me, of which is better full-stop. It is a question
of what best meets people where they are at and invites the next step into
whole full living. Cafe works well in certain places, participative theatre
catches the spirit in another place, there are no final answers, Open Space
is not the solution, just one of many emergent phenomena which are a
manifestation of a shift/return in spirit and practice.

These spaces are sacred in the world now. They are few and should not be
taken lightly. Each time a gathering is called it needs foreplay,
conversation, honing and shaping. We are challenged by life now to open
spaces through which the future can be born into the present. Cafe is one of
these conduits, should be honoured as such, and used when it is the
appropriate form to hold the storm.

How can we call, design and host spaces that allow humans to create from
their best and highest goodness?

be cool,

Tim

On Thursday, Mar 18, 2004, at 17:13 Europe/Amsterdam, chris macrae wrote:

I enjoyed half a day with Amanda Bucklow yesterday who is keeping the circle
open on how do we explain or do other ‘pre-work’ for openspace to the people
who most need to permit it- this being one of 6 project circles that emerged
from the UK OSonOS in February
http://www.openspaceuk.com/projects/index.html

I am just jotting some notes which blend that conversation with the one I
have been trying to rehearse on Open Space as most undervalued technology
there is and wholly different from any other facilitation café etc . Any
comments: anything stand out? anything my own baggage? I bet some of this is
so obvious to all of you (apologies if its all obvious!) chris macrae

DISCOVERING :INNOVATION, RENEWAL, PEOPLE CONNECTIONS

If we are going to resolve and sustain reconciliation of any of the world’s
biggest conflicts, open space will likely play a part in communing’s immense
but invisible way. Given that, most other innovation challenges are
childsplay for OS. 3R’s of Renewal: 

-Restoring trust where illwill was systemised; 

-Restoring spirit where many may have forgotten the experience. 

-Restoring access to the sustainable connections so that the
community/network will be strong whatever the forces are out there that will
seek to disconnect the people again.  

1 Know that there is a great energy force when people come around the same
deeply human context, the more so if their passions are diametrically in
conflict. Know the 3 C’s (Conflict, Change aka Chaos, Confusion) as a way to
see through the system’s barriers (Conflict means there’s huge value here
(let’s turn system of that from destruction to construction); Change is
always part of the root cause of conflict and the longer this has compounded
the more complex or personally frightening the change field is likely to be.
Usually the top, if has insisted on ruling above all, will have compounded
conflicts however unknowingly so it is the first Confusion to caringly get a
peaceful timeout from –space from the top is one of the greatest gifts a
facilitator can host   

2 Innovate through big conflict by taking ‘power over people’ wholly away
from the conversation so that there is a climate of high trust with people
seeing and respecting one another as people first and , and everyone flying
through the Space’s equality of participation freedoms, and all the self-
and mutual confidences that multiplies

3 Provide a stage/circle/dance-space where people feel the spirit as the
very opposite of what they may experience in everyday organisational work
etc; leaving the question open why cant we open more spaces every day in
every way; could it be the secret of lifting ourselves up from misery starts
with something so naturally simple?  

4 Establish during the days of the space enough deep connections and seeds
for conversations so that from the parting, the network, the community will
continue; make sure everyone leaves with full documentation and permission
access to find where all those seeds for reconnecting with are whenever most
needed

*
*
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