"rules" and self-organization

Wed May 30 21:30:53 PDT 2007

what i'm hearing now is that the 'self' in the self-organizing
matters.  the self is bigger than the individual.  it needs a purpose,
a reason to gather.  then it has to notice itself.

sometimes groups notice themselves, mostly defined by some shared
purpose, i suppose.  when they articulate the shared purpose, they are
on their way.  but that's not necessarily going to get them into open
space.  might just get them tangled in a lot of committees.  but the
committees will all point up to a chief.

if the chief takes this all in and tells people what to do, things
might work for awhile.  even a long while.  but when the chief starts
asking questions, and sharing answers with everybody, then the self,
starts to notice itself in more detail.  first, in the inviting and
the opening briefing, the apparent leaders are inviting the self to
notice itself.  the in the discussions, the noticing deepens.

a group where the convener doesn't show or doesn't speak seems likely
to miss out on the modelling process of noticing "the other" in the
group and individuals.  this noticing, harrison has called it
'witnessing', i think, does matter.  it's the beginning of the
expanding awareness that can ultimately permeate the group in ways
many of us have seen and relished.

and it leads us back to noticing how it is that we practice noticing,
everything and everyone.  as we said some long time ago in one osonos
session... open space starts when you pick up the phone.

m

On 5/30/07, Kaliya Hamlin <kaliya at mac.com> wrote:
> It is nice you all want to be so 'free form' about things and 'believe' that
> humans just 'self-organize'.
>
> My experience has taught me that leaning to far in this direction actually
> creates a lot of dissonance for people and leads to spaces with negative
> energy.
>
> Having a person or better a group of people taking responsiblity for holding
> the space creating a nest if you will... within which people feel safe to
> 'open up' and explore with each other possibilities.... out of this space
> this nest is born new action and activity.
>
> At this time on our planet we need to be as intentional and catalytic as
> possible in creating space for new possibilities of our civilization to
> emerge....being passive and hoping that people conditioned the way they are
> in our current culture will some how 'magically' 'awake' and 'self-organize'
> is to me hopelessly naive.
>
> Diffusing the simple tools and 'rules'  or principles and practices is one
> of the things that could make the  most difference at this time on our
> planet.
>
> My experience is that professional  communities (that is people coming
> together to use this methodology in peer-to-peer professional network
> (outside 'AN' organization) settings) seeking to take action together learn
> the way OST works and take to it....it becomes the new norm -the shared way
> of doing things together that they work on.  It lets all the passion talent
> and energy come forward and the people who are interested find each other
> because there is enough structure ... just enough that it is functional and
> effective for them to spend their time in the space together.   THIS IS
> important. I somethings think people undervalue peoples time and energy by
> all this 'it just happens' talk....well if you help it happen and you follow
> some simple steps it is like 10x better.  THAT MATTERS for the state of the
> world and to respect peoples time and energy for showing up.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On May 30, 2007, at 4:19 PM, openspacekorea wrote:
>
> great! i agree with your point 100%.
>
> thank u...
>
> Love and Peace,
>
> park
>
>  ________________________________
>  From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On
> Behalf Of Ralph Copleman
> Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 10:12 PM
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: "rules" and self-organization
>
>
> One way to test what is essential (what Artur termed "micro") and what is
> not would be to open some space without mentioning either the four
> principles or the law of two feet.  Or anything else.
>
> If self-organization occurs in os, would not the "space" still "open"
> without things we have come to believe are essential?  I'm betting it would,
> or at least could.  Perhaps all we need is a room and a theme and a wall.
> Maybe some tea and coffee.  How free are we?
>
> Picture it.  You're invited, so you show up because the theme interests you
> or you know the inviter.  You get there, see the theme statement on the
> wall, and nothing but a circle of chairs.  Nothing.  Not even a facilitator.
>  Others arrive.  The only things you share at this point are your presence
> and your presumed interest in the theme.
>
> If self-organization is real, is not the space already open?  It may take
> longer, but might relevant, useful conversations begin?
>
> I think the facilitator meets our need for an authority figure (a perfectly
> natural, good thing, most of the time), and the ideas about feet, insects,
> etc. a minimal unifying structure (think of it perhaps as curbs to a
> boulevard?) that steer us into an opening, a place we have agreed, by
> showing up, we want to be.  OS in action resembles self-organization, but it
> isn't the pure thing.  (Not that it really matters.  I love it simply
> because it's the best way I know to show people what evolution on Earth is
> really like.  And it produces great results for my clients.)
>
> One more rumpled notion occurs this morning...  What about the storytelling
> role, the thing we do as facilitators to connect people entering an open
> space to a greater whole?  I know this is important, but is not the
> facilitator simply reminding people of a story they already know, deep down?
>  If self-organization/evolution is real, it's been working far longer than
> humans have even  been around.  Might we not trust this process?  How far
> can we go?
>
>
> Ralph Copleman
>
>
>
>
>
>
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> Kaliya - Identity Woman
>
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> skype:identitywoman
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-- 

Michael Herman
Michael Herman Associates
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email: michael at michaelherman.com
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