goal or tool

Filiz Telek filiz at bugday.org
Thu Jan 19 11:46:22 PST 2006


dear Michael

thank you for your wonderfully simple yet enlightining message! I truly 
enjoyed reading the four practices...Chris and you definitely worked out a 
lovely language...

I am trying to connect back with my question..I guess a little background 
will be helpful...
Funda and I are trying to bring in open space into the Turkish scene through 
different means. For example we are planning to organize a training in 
istanbul this spring...I just moved back to Turkey, one of the reasons being 
working with open space here (that makes it both a practice and a goal I 
guess) Funda has been trying to spread the word for quite a while...things 
have been simmering but we havent cooked the full dish yet...
that's what motivated to ask this question because it makes a difference in 
our approach to people. Someone here recently told me what a horrible open 
space experience she had and when I asked why, she said the facilitator 
behaved like an open space missioner! she said that it shouldnt be a goal 
but a tool...
of course this is coming from someone who has obviously not immersed in OS 
simple yet deep philosophy;  yet she makes a point. that made me think about 
this and how we approach people with the solution we offer...there are 
zillion methodologies and practices out there and neither is the ultimate 
answer, is it??
OS is my practice too and I try to practice it in my life as much as 
possible...yet when it comes to offer it to people, I dont want to be in a 
position of defending or struggling with making people to understand. Funny 
enough I know I dont need to, I am well aware when time is ripe (Whenever it 
starts is the right time) the need will surface and space will be 
opened...and we will then happily report it to the list! :)

from a rainy Istanbul,
filiz

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Herman" <michael at michaelherman.com>
To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
Sent: Monday, January 16, 2006 5:06 PM
Subject: Re: goal or tool


> hi filiz,
>
> for me open space is neither a goal nor a tool.  it's a practice, or
> practices.  it's something(s) i do, and pay attention to doing, all
> the time.  i've written in my weblog several times recently about
> this, (www.michaelherman.com) and chris corrigan and i have been
> working out the language for something we've called "the four
> practices of open space".  my latest version of these looks like
> this...
>
> 1. opening heart... this means everything from the meditative time
> setting up the space, letting my heart open, touch and fill the space,
> the chairs, etc., to the more objective 'opening the heart of the
> matter', of the issue, getting to what really matters, because that is
> what we want to invite attention to...
>
> 2. inviting attention... i think of this as what we do with the
> invitation, inviting attandance, bring your attetion to the meeting,
> and then simple things like posting previous information, if necessary
> on the walls, inviting review, ringing the bells to invite attention,
> beginning the opening and inviting attention to the posters, the other
> participants, the purpose, the passion inside of each participant...
> it might be a talking thing or a listening thing here... in coaching
> it might be inviting attention to a question and then letting the
> person talk... it almost always seems a focusing thing... adjusting
> focus... expanding and stretching, or focusing and concentrating... on
> the thing(s) that emerged(ing) from the heart.
>
> 3. supporting connection... when all the people, ideas, information
> and attention shows up in response to the invitation... the next
> practice is to support it staying connected... this is the part of the
> opening where we explain how people will connect with each other,
> posting topics, moving around... notice that the law of two feet
> supports connection between participants, as well as letting people
> stay connected to themselves, their passions, learning and
> contribution in the moment... sometimes i say "if you find your mind
> wandering, take you body with it - stay whole" ...supporting
> connection inside.  this is also where we think about ongoing,
> afterward support structures, online forums, and participant address
> lists and other things that would support connection beyond the event.
>
> 4.  grounding the energy... is the process of making it real... taking
> action, or just noticing action... or in smaller ways, we ring the
> bells and invite everyone back for evening news, grounding the energy
> of the day in the largest circle, the largest whole, remembering that
> we are part of this whole.  returning attention, remembering,  the
> purpose and the place where we started.  saying thank you, in an open
> space or not... is taking the rise of energy we feel and grounding it
> in somebody else.  taking all the conversations and notes and typing
> it all up grounds the energy of the day in a document.  it makes the
> thing real in some way, and gives us a 'solid' place to rest heart a
> little more open in the next cycle.
>
> notice, too, that these practices can be nested, in a fractal sort of
> way, practices inside of practices... holding an event might have an
> "connecting" sort of  purpose, with an opening briefing (one piece of
> the event) whose purpose is still to invite attention to that purpose,
> and within that opening there is the moment where all of the attention
> and internal connecting with passion is grounded in topics that get
> written and taped to the wall.  so these things are all definitely
> happening at once, inside and embracing each other.
>
> having thought all these things, i tried it out at my last opening...
> as i am setting up some chairs, i wonder what to do, the usual inner
> stirrings and butterflies.  checking the practices, i think to myself
> that all i really need to do is open my heart.  touch the space.  so
> then that's all i do... as i set up the chairs.  then when i reach my
> limit and the room is full, i ring the bells, invite all the gathered
> attention into one spot, and the whole circle.  once all the
> participants have noticed the other participantsand the theme, i
> support connection with the usual marketplace, two feet, bulletin
> board, and reflection about personal passion.  then they start
> grounding the energy in written topics.
>
> through the day, i might cycle through these, in little ways, many
> times... always returning to opening heart, which i think is the main
> way in which we lead in these circles.  in and out of open space work,
> i'm starting to pay more attention to these four practices.
>
> more and more, i 'm thinking that what we're really practicing in (and
> out) of these meetings is opening heart, and then inviting and
> supporting others in doing the same.
>
> thanks for the question.  i wonder what anyone else will say.  anyone?
>
> michael
>
>
> On 1/16/06, Jan Cirkola <janorak at hotmail.com> wrote:
>> On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 09:18:21 -0000, Filiz Telek <filiz at bugday.org> wrote:
>>
>> >greetings from Istanbul!
>> >
>> >I have been wondering for a while...acknowledging OS is a way of life, 
>> >in
>> your professional life, is it a goal or a tool for you?
>> >and do you think OS is the only solution there is there to offer?
>> >
>> >cheeky smiles,
>> >filiz
>> >
>>
>> very welcome mr. filiz
>>
>> cirkola
>>
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>
>
> --
>
> Michael Herman
> Michael Herman Associates
> 300 West North Ave #1105
> Chicago IL 60610 USA
> Phone: 312-280-7838
> mherman at globalchicago.net
> skype: globalchicago
>
> http://www.michaelherman.com
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>
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