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

[Arno Baltin]

Hi Every One,

I like this discussion on connections and would comment on the co-incidence
topic in particular

 It seems to me that the connection between Buddhist Practice and Open
Space is probably co-incidental.

As following the discussion on OSLIST on connections of OST with other
(spiritual) practices I am reading a book on a thinker and a poet of ours -
Uku Masing. It is a collection of memories from his students, friends and
admirers. There is a poem of his, quoted, in which he says he would rather
be the "friend of the whole space" than exploiter of its resources.

The friend of the space sounds very OS-like for me. And it reminds me of
another co-incident of my getting closer to OST. It happened during my
visit to US in 1992. My guide to the country was a Friend, Kersey Bradley.
At the time he was an engineer on a cargo ship (Liberty) which took me over
the ocean. He invited me to his home, introduced to his lovely family and
helped to get further north from Pennsylvania. When in Worcester (MA) I met
the local Friends and attended their meetings regularly. As looking back to
these meetings from my experience of OST, this was and introduction into OS
- the circle, space for expressing, listening, no particular leader of the
meeting, the Spirit.

Ten years later I was sitting in opening circle of OST led by Harrison in
Tartu.

I am grateful to these people and those co-incideces.

Be well,

Arno



      *A*r*n*o *B**a*ltin







2011/12/17 Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net>

> 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 5
> th 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****
>
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> ** **
>
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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 discover your own natural
> state". ****
>
> ** **
>
> "Your own natural state", that is exactly how Buddhist masters (like e.g.
> Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche, the contemporary Tibetan Dzogchen-teacher)
> refer to what is often called enlightenment, liberation, Rigpa, ... ****
>
> ** **
>
> Although it is not really possible to "feel" something behind the words of
> a written posting, I always felt some kind of reluctance by side of you,
> when somebody in the group related the effects of OST or the OS spirit to
> central Buddhist concepts. Would you prefer to not discuss it (treat it as
> a tabu) or am I completely wrong here? (And my feeling demasked as
> pseudo-feeling;-)****
>
> ** **
>
> I am here in Sri Lanka at the beginning of the 7th year of residence, the
> place/space where Gautamas words have been put into Pali language and
> written down some hundreds of years after his passing away/paranirvana. So
> all this is resonating in me as a kind of effect of the Spirit of the
> space/genius loci. ****
>
> ** **
>
> Anyhow I would like to invite you and all to explore, if the following
> idea makes sense: ****
>
> ** **
>
> What the two citations above seem to hint at in my eyes , is a quite
> specific function/effect of Open Space: being a trigger for processes
> during which not only things get done, as it has been pointed out again and
> again, but a trigger for processes that may also lead to enlightenment. If
> there is some value in that idea, then OS might be a collective equivalent
> of a master****
>
> ** **
>
> A master also can only be a trigger, because as already the historical
> Gautama (called the Buddha) stated, that he can, on basis of his own
> experience only show the way, point to the right direction, but the
> practitioner has to do the work. There is no way that the master can do it
> (the full liberation, the reaching of the natural state) for the student.*
> ***
>
> ** **
>
> So I am wondering if the efficiency and effectiveness of OST in getting
> things done, is not intrinsicly knitted together with (alias dialectically
> connected to) this "collective master function". Two sides of one medal?**
> **
>
> ** **
>
> Of course I am not interested to tie OS to Buddhism as a belief system. **
> **
>
> But of course my understanding of the ways to enlightenment is also not
> tied to a specific belief system. I have luckily been exposed to "passion,
> responsability and love " in- and outside of OST in various cultures like
> my own Christian culture in Austria, Candomblé in Brazil, animistic cults
> (as the christians call them) in Africa, Buddhism of the Theravada,
> Mahayana, and Tibetan tradition (Buddhism fused with Bön), Yoga in India...
>  And it always works and in all kinds of places.****
>
> ** **
>
> So once again: might it be legitimate, make sense and be useful to look at
> OST as a kind of set up for a collective master without a present
> individual guru?****
>
> Or not?****
>
> ** **
>
> Bernd/Colombo****
>
> ** **
>
> ** **
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> ** **
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>  ****
>
> ** **
>
> . ****
>
>
> Bernd Weber****
>
> Change Facilitation s.r.o., A Global Partner Who Makes Change Happen in
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> Regional Phone  numbers: ****
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>
> ** **
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> ** **
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> ** **
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> ** **
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> ****
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> Am 13.12.2011 um 22:11 schrieb Harrison Owen:****
>
>
>
> ****
>
> discover your own natural state****
>
> ** **
>
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