Reflections of a Bumblebee

[Ashley Cooper]

For me, Open Space is improv in action. During the Improv conference
itself, I learnt some really neat ways of using improv games to explore
the principles and Law as well as the concept of 'letting go' as a
facilitator.

Hi Viv,

Thanks so much for sharing your experience. Could you expand upon those
ways of using improv games... I'm intrigued!!!

Thanks,
Ashley

> [Original Message]
> From: Viv McWaters <viv at thereef.com.au>
> To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
> Date: 10/25/2004 7:47:23 PM
> Subject: Reflections of a Bumblebee
>
> Hello all
>
> After OSonOS (Open Space on Open Space) in Goa (12th conference) , I
> bumblebbed off to the Improv in Business Conference in San Francisco
> (3rd conference), and then to the Australasian Facilitators' Network in
> Wellington, New Zealand (7th conference). After all that travelling,
> it's a relief to be home at last and I'm enjoying the spring sunshine.
>
> Here's some observations/reflections. Each of the conferences I went to
> attracts people who don't necessarily belong to an 'obvious'
> professional group eg Society of Engineers. As a result, I think, many
> people are looking for a professional 'tribe' or group that they can
> relate to. At each conference there was talk about 'community' - what
> community is, it's role and whether not <this group> constitutes
> community. There was also talk at each conference about 'why we meet',
> what our purpose is, and how we should organise ourselves, and support,
> each other into the future.
>
> OSonOS used Open Space for the whole three days, Imrov in Business used
> Open Space for one day, and AFN used Open Space for half a day. In each
> case, Open Space provided opportunities to explore, deepen and
> improvise :-) At all three conferences there were people who had never
> participated in an Open Space event before. In San Francisco and
> Wellington, the opening was pretty much 'by the book' providing an
> opportunity to experience the process (especially) for those who hadn't
> seen it before. In Goa, the opening was more 'organic'.
>
> The day of Open Space at the end of the Improv conference provided
> opportunities to explore issues/topics that had emerged. Interestingly,
> there seemed to be a bit of 'will you do a session on such-and-such?'
> With the Open Space concluding the conference (except for a fantastic
> Playback Theatre wrap up), the closing circle provided an ideal
> opportunity to also close the conference, with people able to express
> their thanks etc. In Wellington, the Open Space closing circle felt
> like a conference closing (although there was still a free night and
> another half day to go), maybe because it was focused on future
> commitments whereas it could have simply been a reflection on the
> process of using open space. In any case, open space provided people at
> all three conferences to take personal responsibility for their own
> passions, and added an exciting and spontaneous dimension.
>
> For me, Open Space is improv in action. During the Improv conference
> itself, I learnt some really neat ways of using improv games to explore
> the principles and Law as well as  the concept of 'letting go' as a
> facilitator. But a major learning was when we did Team Rhythm with Paul
> Cicco where he uses  a vast array of music-making implements (tubes,
> bells, drums, rattles etc) to explore M Scott Peck's community
> framework that is in his 1987 book 'The Different Drum: Community
> Making and Peace'.
>
> I had a major Ah-Ha! moment when it occurred to me that this framework
> also can help explain people's reactions to Open Space. Forgive me if I
> oversimplify this (or get it wrong) but here's how the framework goes:
> there are four stages to community-building. Stage one is  Organisation
> where people happily go along with rules, structure and being told what
> to do; Stage Two is Chaos where there's uncertainty, exploration and a
> sense of purposelessness; Stage Three is Emptiness that Peck describes
> as 'letting go of the need to heal, convert, fix or solve; the need to
> control; expectations and preconceptions; prejudices; and idealogy,
> theology and solutions. The final stage is Synergy.
>
> As well as describing the experience of Open Space, this also explains
> for  me (or provides a metaphor at least) for the diversity of
> reactions and my own journey in OSonOS over the years. It also throws
> some light on the struggles occurring in three diverse, yet amazingly
> similar, communities - the International Open Space community; the
> Applied Improvisation network; and the Australasian Facilitators'
> network. All are struggling (to a greater or lesser degree) with
> identity, purpose and future directions, while providing fantastic
> opportunities for learning and sharing and doing leading edge work. I
> look forward to being a part of these amazing communities as we
> improvise our way forward, accepting the offers the universe throws at
> us.
>
> Cheers
>
> Viv
>
> PS Sorry for any cross postings
>
> ***************************
> Viv McWaters
> Beyond the Edge Pty Ltd
> PO Box 665 Torquay 3228
> Australia
> (03) 5261 9498
> 0417 135 406
>
> "Thus the task is not so much to see what no one yet has seen, but to
> think what nobody yet has thought about that which everybody sees. "
> Schopenhauer
>
> *
> *
> ==========================================================
> OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> ------------------------------
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
> view the archives of oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:
> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
>
> To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
> http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist

*
*
==========================================================
OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
------------------------------
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:
http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html

To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist