Imposed Structure, Self-Organisation, Ritual

Wed Apr 25 03:53:28 PDT 2007

Andrew - you may be whacky, and so am I. What you have described so briefly
and so well I had to take a whole book. Actually two of them.

Harrison 

Harrison Owen

7808 River Falls Drive

Potomac, Maryland   20854

Phone 301-365-2093

Skype hhowen

Open Space Training  <http://www.openspaceworld.com/> www.openspaceworld.com

Open Space Institute  <http://www.openspaceworld.org/>
www.openspaceworld.org

Personal website  <http://www.ho-image.com/> www.ho-image.com 

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-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Andrew
Ballance
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2007 6:35 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Imposed Structure, Self-Organisation, Ritual

Wow, I love where this discussion has gone. I really appreciated Tania's
story said about how spirit is preserved outside of the ritual space... in
the ongoing story of a system.

In these last two posts, I have been prompted to reflect on this
polarity/interaction/tension between what Harrison calls Mythos and Spirit.
If Mythos is ritual and myth, then these to me are mechanisms for ensuring
the continuation of Spirit. Myth is story, and story is a part of culture (I
lean towards this definition of culture: "the sum total of ways of living
built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to
another"). Also if Ritual is a set of steps used to recreate Myth, or to act
congruently with Myth then...
Mythos is a way of ensuring that a particular Spirit is preserved. Mythos is
the making of something. Whereas Spirit is the being of something.

It strikes me that in some of our work we (as external agents, disturbing an
existing system) when we use something like OST, we are creating a space and
tone in which new Mythos can emerge. We do this consciously. It is very much
like the interaction that cognitive behavioural therapy recognises between
doing and feeling. If you do something often enough, not only does it evoke
a particular mood in the momet, but also generates a longer term perceptual
shift - as well as (the more recognised) vice versa.

In this way, through providing a space in which new ritual and myth can
occur, through providing an empty space that can be filled with whatever is
in the room, through modelling ritual, we move the system into a behaviour
where it identifies its Spirit. Well, that's the way I see it. That's just
whacky me, I'm sure!! :)

----- Original Message ----
From: Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net>
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2007 8:28:35 PM
Subject: Re: Imposed Structure, Self-Organisation, Ritual

Nancy - For sure the world is filled with dead rituals along with their
cousins, the myths. That is just what happens when Spirit moves on. But just
because we have some dead ones does not invalidate the class. Myths and
rituals (what I call Mythos) are profoundly useful if only because they form
the essential ground of our self understanding. In a very real sense, we are
the stories we tell (and the rituals we enact). But as our consciousness
changes (evolves or devolves) all of that is made manifest in our mythos. I
suppose you could get into an interesting conversation about whether Mythos
creates consciousness or visa versa. I would guess it sort of goes both
ways. The church has a wonderful word for myth and ritual, but because it is
churchy, people tend to shy away from it - but it still has power I think.
The word is Liturgy. Comes from two Greek words "laos" and "ergos"
(people/work) - and can be translated "what the people do." I like that. All
of life is liturgy. It is what we do. 

And why bring any of this up on OSLIST (apart from the fact that you gave me
an opening, for which I thank you)? I think that when we pay attention, deep
attention to what is happening in Open Space, we are quite apt to catch
Spirit in the act - performing new stories/myths, new rituals, new mythos.
It is what the people do. Sure they are having a meeting. Maybe they a
designing a new airplane, launching a new business, solving deep problems in
their community, and that is very important. But they are also creating new
understandings of what and who they are. It is a birthing process, and we
are privileged to be there in that moment. I think it helps if we have some
idea of what is going on, even if we don't understand (or even care about)
the details.

Harrison

Harrison Owen

7808 River Falls Drive

Potomac, Maryland   20854

Phone 301-365-2093

Skype hhowen

Open Space Training  <http://www.openspaceworld.com/> www.openspaceworld.com

Open Space Institute  <http://www.openspaceworld.org/>
www.openspaceworld.org

Personal website  <http://www.ho-image.com/> www.ho-image.com 

OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives
Visit:  <http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html>
www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html

-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Nancy
Wells
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2007 11:17 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Imposed Structure, Self-Organisation, Ritual

Interesting topic... form exists as long as there is life ... we create form
in as many ways as we choose... and... ritual is, in my mind, only of value
if there is a deeper understanding of what is behind the ritual.... call it
spirit, call it nature, call it unity...  if one is just 'going through the
motions' of a ritual then it has lost its sense of meaning/purpose... so if
you find meaning/purpose in ALL things, then no matter what the form or
ritual can you come to the same place?  Or do some forms/rituals lend
themselves more easily to coming together?  Certainly the circle form has
been around in many cultures for centuries...

Just random thoughts floating through...

Nancy

  _____  

From: Scott Willard <revscott_2000 at yahoo.com>
Reply-To: OSLIST <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Imposed Structure, Self-Organisation, Ritual
Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2007 10:42:26 -0700

One thing that I would add to the definition of ritual is that ritual is all
about spirit.  I just finished reading The Healing Wisdom of Africa- great
book.  I believe it was by P.M. Some' and he states very clearly that ritual
is an opportunity for spirit to impact the lives of the observant.  To me,
that's what happens in OST.  One idea sparks the room and the market place,
conversations, evening news act as litany that welcomes the spirit of unity
and community to emerge.  

Writing this, I wonder about what happens after folks leave the room.  While
in the ritual space of OST a pseudo community is formed.  Do folks have
experience in fostering community once the meeting is closed and folks go
back to their homes?  I see the meetings that happen all over the world,
where folks go back time after time for OS on OS, but what about smaller
scale scenario's?

Scott Willard
Affinity Consulting Group
affinity-scottwillard.com 

----- Original Message ----
From: Andrew Ballance <andrew_ballance at yahoo.com>
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Sent: Monday, April 23, 2007 5:45:56 AM
Subject: Imposed Structure, Self-Organisation, Ritual

Hi again!

On the subject of my writing.. When it rains, it pours.. I didn't want to
clutter the previous post with too much reflection and interpretation. [If
you didn't read the previous post, you need to, or you might not know where
this is coming from]

There appeared to be a polarity at play here, between order and chaos, or
between imposed structure and self-organisation, something that the chaordic
thinkers have probably already chanced upon. To paraphrase what some of the
participants said, "Why do we need Open Space? Surely we can just decide to
be free, and have whatever conversations matter, that's our decision and
responsibility, and if anyone needs some help doing that, I'm here to help."
This is an important point: Open Space is a structure. To my mind, though,
there is an important dimension to it: it is a ritual structure. Rituals
allow us to say or do things that don't normally come out in everyday
conversation, they set the tone and say it's ok to express yourself now in a
particular way.
There are two definitions of ritual that I find quite interesting in this
context:
  - any practice or pattern of behavior regularly performed in a set manner
  - a prescribed code of behavior regulating social conduct, as that
exemplified by the raising of one's hat or the shaking of hands in greeting
It's clear to me that OS already is the first of these. That's great,
because that's the way we get results, or rather that's the way in which we
as facilitators regular social conduct for a period of time. But what about
that word 'prescribed'? What do you think of that? What happens if it is
prescribed? By whom? If it's not by anyone in particular, then that means OS
is accepted practice. But as accepted (expected?) practice.. does that limit
its effectiveness? Is that no longer a structure that generates energy, but
one that feels like an imposition and so acts as a dampener?

OK, enough philosophising for one day. Not that I expect we can come to an
answer to these questions, I'd be interested to hear what other people think
about OS as ritual?

Andrew

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