Taking a Nap

Tue Feb 1 01:47:42 PST 2005

I convened a three day open space gathering in November.  I literally
took a nap in the afternoonon the second day.  When I awoke, I was
surrounded by butterflies, people had sat down all around me, one
person sat on the couch I was sleeping on, cosied up next to my feet
and another was leaning against me. People were on the other furniture
all around me.  It was a lovely moment for me.

I felt a bit guilty but now I am feeling OK about it.

On Mon, 31 Jan 2005 05:14:46 -0800, Johann Borquez
<johannborquez at yahoo.com> wrote:
> About this:
>
> check the net for the Zeigarnik effect - our mind
> tends to concentrate on unresolved tasks (that's why
> when we go to sleep with something unresolved we wake
> up with a solution).
>
> check also for "hypnagogic states": The brief
> transition between wakefulness and sleep we experience
> each night has been known by many names: the
> 'borderland state', the 'half-dream state', the
> 'pre-dream condition'. Its technical name is the
> hypnagogic state and, along with dreaming, it is one
> of the most fascinating altered states of
> consciousness we can experience without the use of
> drugs.
>
> Greetings,
>
> Johann Borquez Bohn
> OST Practitioner - CHILE
>
>
> --- Henri Lipmanowicz <henri.lipmanowicz at verizon.net>
> wrote:
>
> > Harrison,
> >
> > Thanks for the lovely thoughts you sent our way.
> > Here is another angle on
> > the same theme. During the day both our bodies and
> > minds take a beating and
> > a number of "things" get damaged, hurt or
> > discombobulated.  If you think of
> > sleep as a time of repair, re-ordering,
> > re-patterning, re-connecting,
> > re-synchronizing, it makes eminent sense that new
> > thoughts would emerge. I
> > personally think this can be to some extend
> > cultivated by extending one's
> > daydreaming (half awake, half asleep) time, a time
> > when unconscious thoughts
> > can be sort of listened to consciously. It is for me
> > like "letting go of
> > thinking" in that it seems to be happening by itself
> > and I am like a
> > spectator. In any case I find it fun. As I travel
> > quite often overseas, jet
> > lag increases my opportunities for this neither nor
> > state. That's about the
> > only positive thing I can say about jet lag!
> >
> > As we get older we must in any case find more
> > reasons to justify the
> > productivity of our naps...
> >
> > Henri
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]
> > On Behalf Of Harrison
> > Owen
> > Sent: Sunday, January 30, 2005 8:22 AM
> > To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
>
> > Subject: Taking a Nap
> >
> > Mikk and Funda - -
> >
> > I never really thought about it, but it may be (as
> > Mikk suggests) that
> > taking a nap is more than an accommodation to my own
> > needs. There is no
> > secret as far as I am concerned that by the time I
> > have gone through the
> > opening of the space, I am pretty well bushed. I
> > start a lot earlier than
> > the participants with some quiet time for myself
> > (meditation), come into the
> > room way before anybody else just to get the feel
> > and sense of the place,
> > and then of course there are all the complex :-)
> > practicalities to take care
> > of like magic markers and Post-its. Once all that is
> > done a whoosh of
> > energetic anticipation erupts, groups form, lots of
> > chaos -- and then
> > (usually) silence if everybody has gone to breakout
> > rooms. I am just plain
> > tuckered out and a nap, or definitely a long quiet
> > walk, is the only option.
> > Certainly seems like the right thing to do.
> >
> > But I can see Mikk's point. It is all about letting
> > go and opening up some
> > more space as well. In order to take a good nap --
> > you just have to let it
> > all go. Otherwise you just toss and turn, and the
> > nap is useless. And by
> > physically removing myself, more space inevitably
> > opens. For anybody who
> > thought I was going to take charge, my absence puts
> > that silly notion to
> > rest. Of course, there have even been times when I
> > had no (other) place to
> > go and found a quiet corner in the main room. Talk
> > about sleeping on the
> > job!
> >
> > There may be something else here as well. I have
> > noticed over the years that
> > my most useful thinking seems to take place when I
> > am asleep. (Don't laugh!)
> > Given a real knotty problem that is going nowhere
> > near solution -- I find
> > that the best thing to do is "sleep on it." More
> > often than not, when the
> > morning comes, the way forward is clearer. I suspect
> > that the secret is that
> > I have given my good old subconscious some space and
> > time to work in --
> > without all the distractions of waking state. I
> > would guess that the same
> > sort of thing happens in dream-time in Open Space. I
> > am no longer distracted
> > by all the words and externals, and have a real
> > opportunity to appreciate
> > the emerging possibility space the group has created
> > and is busy exploring.
> >
> > How is that for a rationalization? But anyhow, I
> > think naps are wonderful.
> >
> > Harrison
> >
> >
> >
> > Harrison Owen
> > 7808 River Falls Drive
> > Potomac, Maryland   20845
> > Phone 301-365-2093
> >
> > Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com
> > Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
> > Personal website
> > http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm
> > OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> > To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view
> > the archives Visit:
> > http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
> >
> >
> >
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]
> > On Behalf Of Mikk Sarv
> > Sent: Sunday, January 30, 2005 5:27 AM
> > To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> > Subject: Re: facilitator & sponsor identity
> >
> > Dear Funda,
> > during last OS facilitator's training I provided,
> > the becoming facilitators,
> > who tried out opening space for others found out,
> > that just "taking a nap"
> > is the most challenging, but most efficient exercise
> > to get the space
> > opened.
> > With best greetings,
> > Mikk Sarv
> > Estonia
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Funda Oral" <fundaoral at ttnet.net.tr>
> > To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
> > Sent: Sunday, January 30, 2005 12:12 PM
> > Subject: Re: facilitator & sponsor identity
> >
> >
> > > thank you Harrison...this is really the best job
> > in the world; the
> > responsibility is "taking a nap" :-)
> > >
> > > > Kimden: Harrison Owen <hhowen at comcast.net>
> > > > Tarih: 2005/01/28 Cum PM 11:47:22 GMT+02:00
> > > > Kime: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> > > > Konu: Re: facilitator & sponsor identity
> > > >
> > > > Funda - for you Anything! Yes I think you have
> > it just right. The
> > sponsor(s)
> > > > is the one(s) who needs the space opened. And
> > the Facilitator is the
> > person
> > > > who does the work. This also includes taking a
> > nap if I am the
> > facilitator.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > 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
> > > > OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> > > >
> > > > To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
> > view the archives Visit:
> > > >
> > http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
> > > >
>
> > > > -----Original Message-----
> >
> === message truncated ===
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> http://mail.yahoo.com
>
> *
> *
> ==========================================================
> 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