Terrorized by terror -- Space closes

Fri Mar 30 14:29:39 PDT 2007

Something that Chris said caught my eye. "Phill Cass calls the "private
voice of possibility" which emerges into the public consciousness.  Suddenly
we're not talking about the fearful aspects of a state run system of
colonization, but rather a community owned and support enterprise to put the
needs of children in the centre as seen by indigenous folks." 

I am not sure that I ended up where Chris was leading - but for me what came
through was the end of "they." One thing I have noticed in high fear
dominated situations is the omnipresence of "they." Seems like they did
everything - or didn't do what should have been done. But the net effect is
that the face of fear is "they." The only problem is that "they" has no
face, which I suppose makes them even more fearful. And one of the gifts in
Open Space is "they" simply disappears. It is all us. Sounds kind of flip
and quaint, but I've seen it happen so often. In Jerusalem one time we did
an Open Space (Tova and Avner did the honors) and we had Jews and Muslims.
Not just the polite, usual suspects at such gatherings -- folks on the
extremes. One of the Muslims (reputedly Hamas) offered a session - which
attracted one of the Rabbis, amongst others. I was more than a little
curious how it all might work out, and later I met the Rabbi - and he was
bubbling. He said, I've never really talked to a Muslim before, but they are
us! I think there might have been some problem with the Arabic, Hebrew,
English transition, but the thought was very clear.

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 Chris
Corrigan
Sent: Friday, March 30, 2007 4:04 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Terrorized by terror -- Space closes

This is a wise response Wendy, about Open Space not being safe space but
rather a space in which we can train with our fear.  Many of us who are
martial artists will know the experience of bringing your fear to the dojang
(in Korean, the training gym, like the Japanese dojo) and practice it with
partners there so that you can encounter it and know it and then have it as
a friend when you face the fearful things of the world.   Being hosted in
Open Space is for me very much like training in a dojang. 

I'm drilling holes in the bathtub at the moment in a number of places, the
most significant of which for me right now is in a year long project which
is moving the decision making authority over child welfare from government
to Aboriginal communities on Vancouver Island,.  We've been opening space on
this one for years and now we have an intense engagement strategy set up and
underway which involves convening and hosting meetings of all kinds around
the Island which has, as the premise, "children at the centre."  This
premise, this purpose, is the hole in the bathtub that is drawing people
into what my friend Phill Cass calls the "private voice of possibility"
which emerges into the public consciousness.  Suddenly we're not talking
about the fearful aspects of a state run system of colonization, but rather
a community owned and support enterprise to put the needs of children in the
centre as seen by indigenous folks. 

Hold fear with consciousness and practice.

Chris

On 3/30/07, Wendy Farmer-O'Neil <wendy at xe.net> wrote: 

Dear Harrison,

Thank you so much for starting this thread.  Chris, your analogy of the hole
in the bathtub is a very clear representation of what (little) we know about
creating change in complex systems.  Right now fear seems to be the primary
attractor guiding the energy in the US system-and has been for some time (as
you point out Pat).  Attempts to go head to head with that power vortex tend
to reinforce it (as you suggest Harrison, the BIG EVENT may not be the way
to influence the most change).  Watching for local patterns and opening
space around local issues where folks can reignite their passion and
rediscover their capacity to step into self-responsibility and exert local
agency, does create new vortices, new attractors that inevitably pull energy
away from the fear.  

I find that open space is not so much a place without fear, as an
exceptional place for folks to learn to feel the fear and act anyway-and
learn that they won't die if they do.  That it's okay to let go into the
fear, wander around a bit, keep breathing, until you find your feet and move
on to what's next.  This is an essential skill for thriving in chaotic and
complex times-and open space is a good place to learn and practice it.
Acting to create change or social innovation in a system is going to feel
risky.  Most of us have been trained and educated to create and preserve
security-so we will need to get used to feeling fear and acting anyway-with
all of our wonderful flaws and imperfections.

Whenever we give up basic rights, freedoms, and responsibilities for the
illusion of security, we end up selling off a large part of our souls and
our deepest humanity along with them.  A new trajectory of joy is what I am
busy stumbling around to create.  Attempting to act, not out of fear, or
against fear, but from a completely new and open space of joy and infinite
possibility.  

And yes, Harrison, I feel it as a responsibility.  That's why I risked a lot
and went to Moscow to be there and support the opening of space in anyway
that I could.  I was overcome standing in Red Square in front of Lenin's
Mausoleum and the reviewing stand where so many years before I had watched
on TV Brezhnev reviewing the May Day parade of weaponry.  I could not stop
the tears from coming or from remembering how I felt in 1982 when I
addressed an audience (at a 'peace conference') filled with Reagan's cold
war cronies-that as a 16-year-old, after three days of listening to them, I
was without hope.  So to find myself standing in that place of such cold war
symbolism, and to be there not as a tourist, but as a member of the open
space community-to have actually been a part of an open space event in that
place-felt like nothing short of miraculous-and at the same time so fragile.

So what am I doing these days to open space in spite of the fearosphere?  I
am working hard with Cheryl Honey to refine and spread the practice of
Community Weaving, which uses open space principles and takes it to the
grassroots, non-event, daily life stuff-to remediate poverty and isolation
and build resilient communities of care and belonging.  I'm hosting an OS on
my little island on finding abundance doing what you love.  I have started
the planning for an SOS (Sustainability Open Space) in the fall (I'll be
calling you soon Chris W.).  I am talking to the local social planning
council about the possibility of opening space with the homeless.   I've
introduced the United Way to OS and we are looking at how they might use it
to grow their new community development focus. Last year, we opened space
here for a three day land use planning event-we did it by donation and
covered our costs-and created a tremendous legacy for our community by
establishing a community commons that actually passed all the zoning and
land use amendments the first time through!!

So just a couple of examples of little ways that I'm trying to drill a few
holes in my local bathtub.  What other ways are you all engaged in this?  It
would be so inspiring to hear more about the ways we are all opening little
spaces for something new to emerge.

Lots of love,

Wendy

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-- 
CHRIS CORRIGAN
Facilitation - Training
Open Space Technology

Weblog: http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot 
Site: http://www.chriscorrigan.com

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