Whatever happens....

Sat Jul 26 14:52:09 PDT 2008

Wow, wow, wow. Very exciting. Thank you so much. I look forward to
listening.

Grateful,
Ashley

On Sat, Jul 26, 2008 at 12:29 PM, Chris Corrigan <chris at chriscorrigan.com>wrote:

> Ash:
>
> Got a half hour of audio of folks giving their thoughts to your
> inquiry...Larry Peterson, Peggy Holman, Viv McWaters, Brian Bainbridge, Alan
> Stewart, Michael Cook, Aine Corrigan-Frost, Elwin Guild, Phelim McDermott,
> Lisa Heft, Jeff Aitken, John Engle and possibly others I have forgotten for
> the moment, all weighed in.
>
> All are welcome to listen at:
>
> http://chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot/?p=1431
>
> It's a 22Mb mp3 file there just so you know.
>
> Chris
>
> On Thu, Jul 24, 2008 at 6:39 PM, ashley cooper <
> mail.easilyamazed at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Thank you, Harrison, Chris and Michael, for pondering my question.
>>
>> I appreciate that you've reinforced for me the purpose of grounding in the
>> present moment... really being centered in the invitation to go deeper into
>> the present moment... what IS happening, what is here before us now... to
>> satiate in the experience that has emerged and become enlivened by what has
>> unfolded. It's sacred, it's happened, it's here with us as a part of our
>> being now because we've experienced it. We *get* to experience what is
>> happening now. We don't have to worry about all the other what-ifs. Thank
>> you for reminding me and reinforcing for me the importance of constantly
>> inviting into that essential starting place of the present moment... and for
>> focusing my attention on how slippery the slope of spending energy and
>> attention on the alternative possibilities can be. I look forward to holding
>> that more attentively within my own awareness.
>>
>> ... and I'll keep pondering if there are words that I can say that echo
>> that "whatever..." intention for me with more clarity. ;)
>>
>> For me, I do experience the principles as an invitation. We are invited to
>> be with one another in this way for this shared experience. Fortunately
>> there is the Law, granting everyone the freedom to make their own conscious
>> choices about their involvement, to accept or reject the principle's
>> invitations. The principles help me shape the space. I've taken the time to
>> set up tea and coffee because I think "you" might enjoy them. I like for the
>> room to feel inviting and easily engagable because I want you to feel
>> welcomed and feel free to engage. I also am taking the time to shape the
>> space a little by sharing with you these principles and interesting little
>> critters because I'd like for you to trust your inner knowing and be present
>> with the life that is emerging here.  My interest in pondering the language
>> is simply an effort to make my invitations as clear as possible...
>>
>> Again, thanks so much for helping me reflect into this with you!
>>
>> And I'd love to know of other "facts of life" sayings that exist in other
>> languages... including english.
>>
>> Warmly,
>> Ashley
>> in sunny Seattle
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Jul 24, 2008 at 1:10 PM, Michael M Pannwitz <mmpanne at boscop.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Dear Ashley,
>>> to me the principles are perhaps principles and certainly not rules or as
>>> Harrison says, prescriptions. Thus, as far as I am concerned there is no
>>> "set of rules". Of course, the Law is different, it really is a Law and I
>>> wish I had a surefire way of enforcing it!! So, maybe its not a Law even but
>>> just an invitation.
>>> But what often are called "the principles" are not really principles and
>>> perhaps also not invitations. So what on earth are they. I have taken to
>>> call them "facts of life". The way I ran into that "category" is by
>>> discovering (or being told about) folk sayings for them, espcially for
>>> "Whatever..". Having been cast into "sayings" by our ancestors suggests that
>>> they are in fact "facts of life".
>>> In German there are probably dozens of "sayings" for "Whatever...",
>>> different ones for different regions and dialects. The best known by all
>>> Germans is
>>> "Wenn das Wörtchen Wenn nicht wär, wär mein Vater Millionär"
>>> these sayings are often in Rhyme form.
>>> In English it would be something like
>>> "If it were not for the little word if, my father would be a millionär"
>>> A more direct and juicy variety is
>>> "Wenn der Hund nicht geschissen hätte, hätte er den Has gefangen"
>>> In English something like
>>> "If the dog had not stopped to take a shit he would have caught the
>>> rabbit" (Actually, I am not sure its German because Jo Töpfer taught me that
>>> one and he is heavily infected with Russian).
>>> A more philosophical version, maybe one of the Germans in SF can try a
>>> translation is
>>> "Der Wenn und der Hät, hän no nie etwas gehäbt".
>>>
>>> As far as learning from this or that I myself find myself learning from
>>> what actually happened. Reflecting on what did not happen or should have
>>> happened or could have happened invariably leads me into speculations. That
>>> does not enrich me so I imagine its not conducive to my learning and I think
>>> I have pretty much given up on it...but I do remember what fun we had as
>>> kids imagining winning in the lottery and what we would do with all that
>>> money...
>>>
>>> Greetings from Berlin
>>> mmp
>>>
>>> Harrison Owen wrote:
>>>
>>>> Ashley - Unfortunately I am not at OSONOS (wish I were) and I like what
>>>> you
>>>> wrote. Your thoughts and musings are all to the point, but I am not sure
>>>> that rephrasing the principle will get you where you want to go. I grant
>>>> you
>>>> that the words could have been more eloquent, to say nothing of
>>>> grammatical,
>>>> but that is just sort of how they happened. You know - "Whatever
>>>> happened. .
>>>> ." But the real point, so far as I am concerned, is that this principle
>>>> (as
>>>> indeed all of them) is descriptive, not prescriptive.  There is no
>>>> "should"
>>>> present or implied - just an observation of present reality. At least
>>>> that
>>>> is the way it seemed at the time. Where one goes from there is an open
>>>> question, and a rich one. Hopes and expectations are great, and
>>>> searching
>>>> for alternative possibilities is obviously a key element of our adaptive
>>>> behavior which lies at the root of our continuing evolution as a person
>>>> and
>>>> as a people. But unless all that starts from a clear point of grounding
>>>> in
>>>> the present moment, it seems to me that we can quickly lose our way. It
>>>> is
>>>> also true that were we to become so infatuated with what "might" take
>>>> place;
>>>> we may well miss the opportune richness of the moment. So for me it is
>>>> all
>>>> about a starting place, an invitation to be present. It is also an
>>>> invitation to go deeper into this present moment. For me that has always
>>>> been the jump off place for truly amazing journeys.
>>>>
>>>> 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
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>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of
>>>> ashley
>>>> cooper
>>>> Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2008 12:29 PM
>>>> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
>>>> Subject: Whatever happens....
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Hello friends around the world,
>>>>
>>>> Feeling those gathered in San Francisco, swimming in the hearty open
>>>> space
>>>> soup, I find a myself pondering a topic I would host if I were there...
>>>> a
>>>> topic I'd love to have a conversation around.
>>>> I'm curious about the wording of the principle, "what ever happens is
>>>> the
>>>> only thing that could have". I know John Engle brought this question up
>>>> in
>>>> the past
>>>> http://www.openspaceworld.org/news/2007/05/11/whatever-happens/ and
>>>> I'm still curious about it.
>>>>
>>>> I find that people sometimes use it as a block to reflection, a reason
>>>> to
>>>> not look back and learn from what didn't happen because "whatever
>>>> happens is
>>>> the only thing that could have." Yes, and...
>>>> I love the principle for the acceptance that it invites. And I struggle
>>>> with
>>>> it because there is a sense of finality that it also invites (if you
>>>> want to
>>>> let yourself go there). We did what we did and that's, that. Which is
>>>> true... And...
>>>>
>>>> I appreciate how in Haiti they are playing with What Happens is what
>>>> happens
>>>> - learn and move forward. I like the learn and keep moving part.
>>>>
>>>> Are there other ways that people phrase this principle? How do you
>>>> invite
>>>> the spirit of acceptance and invitations to be with what is alive and
>>>> happening in the moment, while also inviting reflection and learning
>>>> from
>>>> what has and has not emerged?
>>>>
>>>> If anyone at WOSonOS is reading this and you find this conversation
>>>> springing up in your face to face time, please do share your harvest
>>>> with
>>>> us. I'm contemplating posting a skype session tomorrow morning on this
>>>> topic... and I've not yet been able to commit myself to being inside at
>>>> the
>>>> computer tomorrow morning!!
>>>>
>>>> Alive and grateful,
>>>> Ashley
>>>>
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>
>
>
> --
> CHRIS CORRIGAN
> Facilitation - Training - Process Design
> Open Space Technology
>
> Weblog: http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot
> Site: http://www.chriscorrigan.com
>
> Principal, Harvest Moon Consultants, Ltd.
> http://www.harvestmoonconsultants.com
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