goal or tool

Belinda Henson belindahenson at gmail.com
Thu Jan 19 10:30:15 PST 2006


Hey Filiz,

Glad to know that Bugday has caught on to OS!   I am planning to do my
research project on it in the next few months - perhaps I can correspond
with you?

Give my love to Victor,

Belinda in London


On 19/01/06, Filiz Telek <filiz at bugday.org> wrote:
>
> 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
> > http://www.globalchicago.net/wiki
> > http://www.openspaceworld.org
> >
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--
Belinda Henson
020 8204 1512
07957 450 681
belindahenson at gmail.com

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