[OSList] Individual and collective master (was: OST - Open Systems Thinking)

[Jeff Aitken]

Hi Harrison -

folks interested in a deeper exploration of Buddhism related to this topic
might enjoy a book that dear Joanna Macy wrote years ago, based on her PhD
dissertation at Syracuse.

"Mutual Causality in Buddhism and General Systems Theory: The Dharma of
Natural Systems" is the title. I confess I did not read it, but studied
similar and other material with dear Joanna, who, as many know, is an
extraordinary group facilitator and guide for courageous leadership in
complex planetary times.

http://www.100fires.com/cgi-bin/product_display.cgi?ordernum=302006&prod_type=Books

Jeff
San Francisco

On Saturday, December 17, 2011, Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net> wrote:
> Bernhard – having said that “I was in”(for more discussion) – I guess I
just sort of disappeared without further word. However, being at a loss for
words is not a common state for me J -- and the topic you raise is, and has
been, of intense interest to me.
>
>
>
> The similarity of the Open Space experience and the Buddhist practice and
experience caught my attention some time ago. And, as I said in my prior
post, it is not just Buddhism but many, perhaps most, of the other great
traditions. But Buddhism is certainly a great place to start.
>
>
>
> I am not at all sure what the initiating moment was, but I rather think
it was when I noticed a common phrase that folks used in the closing
circle. It didn’t happen every time, but more often than not, somebody
would remark, “I feel like I have come home.” Nobody ever defined precisely
what they meant by “home,” and maybe they couldn’t – so I always took it at
face value. Something about feeling natural and comfortable, just the way I
am. The implication was that in other situations the feeling was being
un-natural, ill at ease and to some extent inauthentic or “put on.” What
popped into my head was a phrase I had often encountered in the Buddhist
literature about seeing/meeting my “original face.”
>
>
>
> When combined with observed and/or reported feelings and behaviors in
Open Space, such as: --  focus and presence, the capacity to treat others
with respect, the ability to listen and engage the other with depth and
sensitivity, an expanded sense of vision and possibility, renewed hope,
fundamental life change, an acute sense of spaciousness such that the
present moment (Now) just grew and grew… it seemed like something was going
on. The fact that most or all of these things are also the reported results
of Buddhist Practice (certainly my practice which is pretty much Buddhist)
was more than sufficient to alert my curiosity bump. Something was
definitely going on. But what and why?
>
>
>
> That Buddhist Practice could produce such results was understandable to
me given the original insights of Gautama, centuries of intense study,
communal practice, and no small amount of discipline. But what about Open
Space? We just sat in a circle, created a bulletin board, opened a market
place…originally inspired by two martinis. And our history in this
enterprise is hardly extensive, at least in comparison to the Buddhist
community. I confess that it made absolutely no sense at all.
>
>
>
> The questions, however,  are fairly clear even if the answers are a tad
wispy. What are the connections? What is the means/mechanism? You mentioned
a “collective Master function” – about which I would love to hear more. But
my thoughts have been going in a slightly different direction. No certainty
for sure – but just to share.
>
>
>
> First for the connection. It seems to me that the connection between
Buddhist Practice and Open Space is probably co-incidental. But that does
not make it a weak connection, for co-incidental, as I am using the word
here means that the two are connected through a prior (coincident)
connection… with the power of  self organization. Yes I know – the whole
notion of self organization nowhere shows up in the Buddhist literature, so
far as I know. But if the present general scientific contention is correct
that self-organization has been operative for at least 13.7 billion years
it would be rather odd if we (present day humans) were the first to notice
the effect upon human life, be that individual or collective. So my thought
(suggestion) would be that the Buddhist community, being the keen observers
of the human condition that they are, discovered a (the) fundamental power
of life (by whatever name) and created a practice enabling human beings to
fully align themselves with that power. Once in alignment, the experience
is of full authenticity, being fully what we really are, seeing our
original face. Or coming home.  Is this really true? I don’t know, but
given another lifetime, I would surely like to find out. I guess I should
have been a Hindu?
>
>
>
> My story about Open Space is that, quite serendipitously (dumb blind
luck), we arrived at a similar place by a very different route. Every time
we open space, the process of self organization is initiated, re-initiated
– or maybe just brought to our consciousness. And the net result is that we
(the participants) find ourselves in a environment which allows/invites us
to be as we really are. Almost without knowing it, we find ourselves in
alignment with a fundamental process of the cosmos. Once there, we
experience a strangely comfortable world, which looks just like the
“everyday” world, but feels rather different. We have come home.
 Obviously, not everybody in every Open Space shares this experience. For
some people it just doesn’t “take,” or if it does “ take” the level of
resistance is such that the new experience is perceived as strange, weird,
or worse.  But for many people in multiple times and places over our 25
year adventure – it definitely feels like we have come home. At least that
is a possible story.
>
>
>
> Would I suggest that Open Space somehow supplants the  Buddhist
experience? A straight simple shot to Nirvana? Absolutely not! But I do
think the two experiences can be very complementary. At least that has
certainly how it has been for me. Even though a first encounter with Open
Space can feel like “coming home,” that homecoming is often taken with baby
steps. What is missing is a deep appreciation of the full power and
possibilities at hand. It is sort of like coming back to the old homestead
with lots of warm feelings, but little knowledge of all the rooms and
spaces, nooks and crannies that await our exploration and appropriation.
  In my own case, it was my practice (largely Buddhist, as I said) that
became my guide, both as facilitator and participant. I don’t have a clue
as to whether others might share – they will have to speak for themselves.
>
>
>
> So if it were true that the operative power of self organization were the
connecting link between the Buddhist experience and Open Space would that
somehow consign both to a realm dominated by a purely physical force,
thereby reducing each to the level of a side show in the great drama of
Physics? Do we suddenly and necessarily find ourselves in the company of
all those who choose to understand life and our part in it simply as the
product of quarks and neutrinos, hormones and peptides? What about those
other realities that some of us call Spirit or Consciousness? The choice is
clearly there to be made, but from where I sit, the two poles (Spirit and
matter) and not mutually exclusive.
>
>
>
> One of the oldest discussions of humankind is the precedence of
Spirit/Consciousness and matter. Is matter the product of
Spirit/Consciousness? Or did it somehow occur that matter evolved to become
conscious? For the vast majority of human history it was understood that
matter emerges from Consciousness, indeed I suspect  that is the majority
opinion even today. Recently, however, the relationship has been reversed,
at least in parts of the Scientific West. I suspect there will never come a
day when the issue is resolved at the level of proof. It will remain a
matter of discussion, choice, and experience, which I rather think to be a
good thing.
>
>
>
> Speaking personally, however, I am clear about my experience and my
choice. In the beginning, indeed before any possibility of beginning –
there is Consciousness/Spirit. Given this experience and choice, self
organization assumes the position of a manifestation of consciousness. Self
Organization is what Consciousness does in time and space, along with many
other things. Is this true? I don’t think we will ever know, and indeed the
wondrous gift of this Great Cloud of Unknowing is a less than gentle
reminder of our limitations. In the meantime, and all that said – It works
for me. Those of you who know me will hardly be surprised. After all I am
the guy who opened his first book on Organizations with the line, “Spirit
is the most important thing.” I haven’t changed.
>
>
>
> Enough of this esoterica! And if you have read this far you may well be
asking yourself, “Where’s the Beef?” What possible practical benefit? What
makes you think that filling the space of OSLIST with this sort of stuff
could have any useful application. Fair question.
>
>
>
> I think there are at least two reasons. The first I might summarize under
the heading of “Beer in the Fridge.”
>
>
>
> If you are thirsty for a beer in my house, all you really have to know is
how to open the refrigerator door and open a can.  The fact that major
scientific advances, over multiple years,  possessing mind bending
complexity – lie behind the coldness of the beer just waiting your parched
throat doesn’t really affect a thing. If you want the beer, get it. On the
other hand if you are a real aficionado for whom all the little things
count, you really do need to know something about Refrigeration Mechanics,
the flow of gasses, the way pressure can raise and lower temperatures. Same
thing with Open Space. If all you want to do is have a good meeting, no
problem. Sit in a circle, create a bulletin board, open a market place, and
go to work. Ain’t Rocket Science. However, should you want to enhance the
quality of the space, raise the level of impact, extend the positive
effects for yourself and the participants, looking under the hood, thinking
about the details, asking impossible questions… is probably a good place to
start.
>
>
>
> My second reason may be a little more abstract. And it is all about the
5th Principle: Wherever it happens is the right place.”  For me the cutting
edge in what we do is not so much about doing an event but rather coming
 to an understanding that Open Space is a 24X7 reality and that we may
learn how to enhance the power of the experience wherever that might be
taking place… Tahrir Square, OWS, or the kitchen table. Learning to do that
well involves, at the least, looking for linkages and connections –
potential allies in a common undertaking.
>
>
>
> So I am done for the moment. As I said at the start, being at a loss for
words in not my common state. Maybe I should work on that?
>
>
>
> Harrison
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> Harrison Owen
>
> 7808 River Falls Dr.
>
> Potomac, MD 20854
>
> USA
>
>
>
> 189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer)
>
> Camden, Maine 20854
>
>
>
> Phone 301-365-2093
>
> (summer)  207-763-3261
>
>
>
> www.openspaceworld.com
>
> www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)
>
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>
>
> From: oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org [mailto:
oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] On Behalf Of Bernhard Weber
> Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2011 12:13 AM
> To: World wide Open Space Technology email list
> Subject: [OSList] Individual and collective master (was: OST - Open
Systems Thinking
>
> Harrison and all
>
>
>
> I like the recently upcoming discussion about the history of Systems
Thinking, but I would also like to make a big jump from this.
>
>
>
> I am not shure, but to me it seems to not be by pure "accident".
>
> 1. Recently Stanley park wrote "Now is the territory of Peace- Nirvana"
>
> 2. And some days later you Harrison wrote "Open the space of your life
and the lives of those around you, and you will discove
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