OS and mediation and Laur

Sat Nov 13 05:57:11 PST 2010

Franklin - My feelings precisely! And I would probably go a little further.
In my experience in extreme environments, where the conflict has become
overly destructive, Open Space IS the mediating modality. This is not to say
that alternative approaches have no impact, but in every case that I have
witnessed they were infinitely less effective, especially when you take into
account the amount of time and effort required. And when these approaches
were most effective it turned out that the mediator operated with light or
invisible hands. In a word, he/she simply held space and the engaged parties
essentially did it all. All of which would seem to take us back to Open
Space. The reasons, I am sure, are various and complex, but I think it is
the case that no external party can ever possibly understand the complexity
of the issues involved, their massive and ill defined connections, all
combined with the (rapidly) changing nature of the total scene. These are
not bad people and their hearts and minds are certainly in the right place -
but the task they have taken on is simply overwhelming. More to the point
the assembled group, united only by their common caring for some resolution
carries all the history, all the complexity, combined with a nanosecond to
nanosecond awareness of the present evolving situation-which their
collective wisdom (Wisdom of Crowds) is usually able to weave together in a
useful fashion. No help needed save for a single individual to open and hold
the time/space in which all of that can take place. 

Way back when I asked whether we were talking about mediation or meditation,
I really wasn't being obtuse. Given what I have said above, you will not be
surprised that I see little point in combining Open Space with Mediation.
However, when it comes to Meditation, that is a horse of a totally different
color. In fact if my own experience is any indicator, failure to combine
Open Space and Meditation in a high conflict situation is the perfect
prescription for frying your soul. Holding space under extreme circumstances
will require extreme degrees of focused presence. Meditation helps.

Harrison

Harrison Owen

7808 River Falls Dr.

Potomac, MD 20854

USA

Phone 301-365-2093

www.openspaceworld.com

www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)

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From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Franklin
Quijano
Sent: Friday, November 12, 2010 10:05 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: OS and mediation and Laur

Dear All,

I have been enjoying a lot by following all the OS threads, but let me share
this thoughts from the experiential point.

I was exposed to some peace processes in the Philippines and I see that OS
may help a lot in arriving equilibrium in many parts of the globe. Mediation
is purposive, such that peace comes after series of requests on all sides
are met.. OS, on the other hand, is consensus building from the first moment
it is initiated; and, and at the point of convergence and sharing. Conflict
is handled well by the process, that in the end, everyone is satisfied and
satiated.

Mediation could be a small subtext in the OS process which would possibly
happen somewhere during the discussions or perhaps during the agenda
setting..

My humble submission.

Cheers from the Mindanao, Philippines.

Franklin M. Quijano
Iligan City

  _____  

From: Michael M Pannwitz <mmpanne at boscop.org>
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Sent: Saturday, November 13, 2010 2:40:45 AM
Subject: Re: [OSLIST] OS and mediation and Laur

Dear Larry,
stories like that make my day!
Have a great weekend.
And the rest of you all around the globe, too.
Greetings from Berlin
mmp

Larry Peterson wrote:
> As a wise man once said, opening space is partly about expanding "our"
now.
> As a process enables a group to experience together increased
> consciousness/awareness. Meditative practice can do the same for
> individuals.  Can corporate practice of Open Space do the same for
> collectives?  
> Last night I opened a space for a group of 20 somthings, friends of Laur,
> who are exploring how to develop a "Civic Series" of conversations to
better
> understand world issues. Only a couple had experienced and "unconference"
> and they realized that this was different.  Others in the diverse group
> (what Toronto is) blossomed within the surprise of open space.  Most now
see
> the potential "Civic Series" differently so the next steps should be fun
and
> interesting.  Certainly, many expanded their sense of what is possible
now.
> 
> Larry
> 
> 
> Larry Peterson & Associates in Transformation
> Toronto, Ontario, Canada
> larry at spiritedorg.com  416.653.4829 http://www.spiritedorg.com
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Bui
> Petersen
> Sent: November-12-10 11:42 AM
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: Re: [OSLIST] OS and mediation
> 
> Hi Arno,
> 
> I have a background in mediation myself and my experience with OS is more
recent. As anyone on this list would tell you, OS would be a great way to
hold your conference. I'm just not sure why you would do mediation during
the conference. Even a mediators' conference. Do you really have that big
disputes to resolve?  :)
> 
> While OS can be useful for resolving some disputes, it is an entirely
different process from mediation, at least as I know it. Mediation involves
significant intervention in the discourse, while OS is almost trying to
intervene as little as possible. In my practice, I consider these to be the
opposite extremes of what I do.
> 
> Apart from OS there are several other processes that you can use as
components of an otherwise conventional conference, such as World Cafe,
Conversation Cafe just to name a couple. But as with anything, it all
depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Decide on the purpose first
and then pick the tool.
> 
> Hope that is helpful.
> 
> Bui Petersen
> 
> On 12/11/2010 5:15 AM, Arno Baltin wrote:
>> Hi everybody!
>> 
>> I have seen on the list comments from listers with connections to
mediation. I am intersted in possible overlappings of these two methods.
>> After expressing once my skepsis on traditional conference arrangement
(on a mediatiors annual conference) I was encouraged to suggest
alternatives. I suggested OS. This idea developed into search for a mix of
mediation and OS. The min. program is still dividing annual meeting between
time for presentations and OS. The max. program could be some arrangement
including OS and mediation practice.
>> So, what you think?
>> 
>> Arno
>> 
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-- Michael M Pannwitz, boscop eg
Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany
++49-30-772 8000
mmpanne at boscop.org
www.boscop.org

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