What to do next... (WaveRider)

Tue Dec 22 10:23:50 PST 2009

something more than ten years ago, i did a lot of work to translate ken
wilber's four-quadrant view of everything into terms that i had lived and
could understand.  i know you're well acquainted with wilber, harrison.

[[ for those unfamiliar with his story, wilber's view is organized into many
3 or 5 or 10 or 23 levels that ripple out in four directions, drawn as
concentric circles cut into four quadrants.  vertically, everything is
initially divided into individual and collective, individual on top,
collective on the bottom.  horizontally, he divides everything between what
can be observed from the outside, objectively measured (on the right of his
picture) and what must be sensed, interpreted, subjectively, from the
inside. ]]

this sets up a sort of cyclical, season flow through four dimensions.  it's
a continuous process, but i usually start from individual/inside (wilber
says 'consciousness' and i tend to translate that as 'purpose', the
sensation of being me).  next comes collective/inside, (wilber says
'culture' and i translate that as 'story', the rules that are the govern our
being together).  then, collective/outside, (wilber says 'social structure'
and i tend to think of 'supporting structures', the things that we can see
that either support or limit)... the last dimension, individual/outside,
(what wilber calls 'behavior' and i translate as 'action').

your question about me/we, harrison, takes me back to all of this wilber
thinking, written up here...
http://www.michaelherman.com/cgi/wiki.cgi?InvitingOrganizationEmerges (about
15 pages of translating and mapping together wilber, fast company magazine,
angeles arrien's work with medicine wheels, and some other things).  more
recently i wrote it up in a poem, following the path i first learned from
wilber, something about my experience navigating as individual within
collective, inner and outer being.  it seems that it all arises from 'heart'
...but then if i think about it for another minute, it seems that each and
every heart arises from some vast heart fabric of space.  so my purpose
might be some sort of wrinkle in that vastness.

 *inviting leadership*

  *relax.*  right now.
 (rest into heart)
 pause long enough.  to.  sink.  in.
 passion and purpose open space.
 take the time to notice.  and breathe.
 settle.  straighten.  sort and sigh.
 yawn.  laugh.  love.  rest.
 re...awaken wonder.

  invite others into that.
 (welcome everyone)
 ring the bells, bring *the question.*
 host the meeting, pour the tea.
 open the conversation.
 imagine, invoke and invite
 the common good.
 wish it out loud.

  let everything move.
 (support relationship)
 through knowing and not, forests and trees,
 learning and contribution, mine and yours – to us.
 inviting *is* action, and support without effort.
 leadership yields without loss, or collapse.
 doing nothing touches everything, gently
 ease into flow.

  make inviting ordinary.
 (refine into practice)
 execute the obvious; embrace all the rest.
 ground visions.  craft agreements.  take next steps.
 grow more of what works.  harvest gratitude and joy.
 as the fruits of practice ripen, share *the juice.*
 today's news seeds tomorrow's invitations,
 inviting more leaders *(to open heart...)*

--

Michael Herman
Michael Herman Associates

http://www.michaelherman.com
http://www.ronanparktrail.com
http://www.chicagoconservationcorps.org
http://www.openspaceworld.org

312-280-7838 (mobile)

On Tue, Dec 22, 2009 at 7:56 AM, Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net> wrote:

> Ralph puts things in a slightly different way. Which is usual with Ralph
> who
> always seems to be walking with a different drummer. Under the heading of,
> "What do you do in this self organizing work on a fresh Monday morning?",
> Ralph identifies tasks for himself and his community. At first take this
> made a lot of sense -- there is me and we. And there are appropriate tasks
> for each. But then my drummer spoke up and I began to wonder whether things
> were as clear and simple as they first appeared. First off, you are never
> going to get a we without a lot of me's -- which might suggest that we is
> simply the collective me? And how about the other way around? No me without
> a We. Certainly works out at the reproductive level. It would seem that
> everything is connected in this self organizing world, being both simpler
> and more complicated than we might assume. It might also suggest that the
> distinction we make between we and me may be a little over done. And just
> to
> really confuse things ... if it is true that action starts with invitation
> -- where is my invitation for my (self initiated) action?
>
> Harrison
>
> Odd thoughts from a Very snowy Washington DC
>
>
> Harrison Owen
> 7808 River Falls Dr.
> Potomac, MD 20854
> USA
> Phone 301-365-2093
> www.openspaceworld.com
> www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Ralph
> Copleman
> Sent: Monday, December 21, 2009 7:39 AM
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: What to do next...
>
> Harrison, you asked...
>
> > And I was wondering how would apply what you
> > have said to an everyday situation? Supposing it is Monday morning at
> your
> > place of work saving the environment in New Jersey. Your inbox and todo
> list
> > are filled to over flowing -- and that cup of coffee (if you had one) is
> > getting cold. What do you do next?
>
> Hmm.  Cool question.
>
> My life as director of our small nonprofit has been reinforcing two
> lessons.
> One is Yin, the other is Yang (though I cannot tell which is which).
>
> One lesson: there are steps I can take to help move my community toward
> sustainability.  I can and must take action on my own.
>
> On the other hand (lesson two), I know it's not up to me alone.  I hold
> space for many others who participate in this work with me, and I must
> accept that each of them moves in their own way and their own pace.  Often
> I
> find I am watching others hold space, too.  Our collective activity adds up
> to a self-organizing system, as you'd expect.
>
> If your question is, how do I decide what to do, well, I get my answer from
> the 50 Swedish scientists who created the definition of sustainability
> known
> as The Natural Step.  They set out four system conditions that we have to
> meet to achieve sustainability.  These four are, in effect, the criteria
> established by Earth during 4.55 billion years of self-organizing
> evolution,
> and that had been working fine - until modern humans came along and sold
> ourselves a large set of lies about ownership of the planet.
>
> When I get up in the morning, I ask myself, quite simply, what can I do
> today to more effectively live within one or more of the self-evolved
> system
> conditions.  You could say I'm holding space for Earth and the sentient
> species known as homo sapiens to re-consider their relationship.
>
> But I have a feeling I have not completely understood your question.  Is my
> answer missing something?
>
> Ralph
>
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