Terrorized by terror -- Space closes

Sat Mar 31 14:07:21 PDT 2007

Harisson, the Rabbi you mentioned had moved a long way since then and he is trying to initiate these days a spiritual alliance between the Judaism and the Islam.

Not letting fear control our lives is a constant challenge in our lives in Israel, especially when new opportunities are starting to emerge. The question usually is about risks that one is willing to take for his values 

For example, we are planning an initiative to convince the Israeli authorities to let Muslims of all ages to pray on the Temple Mount - Haram a Shariff, on tension Fridays (when only adults above 45 years old are alowed to enter). On return we can only hope that the Muslims will to take full responsibility of preventing riots and harming Jews who are praying in front of the Wailing Wall. From our experiences, many riots of Muslims started there on Fidays, including the last disasterous Intifada. 

Just out of curiosity about the period the Americans felt very safe: During World War 2,  did you have any attempts to prevent the locking of the American Japanese in detention camps?

What kind of challenge are the Iranians to all of us? What kind of actions can we make that are fearless?

In 2 days we are celebrating Passover, celebrate the becoming free from all slaveries - Fear is definitely one of them 

Avner Haramati
Jerusalem

----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Harrison Owen 
  To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU 
  Sent: Saturday, March 31, 2007 12:29 AM
  Subject: Re: Terrorized by terror -- Space closes

  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

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  Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com 

  Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org

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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

  Principal, Harvest Moon Consultants, Ltd.
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