[OSList] (was) Open Space in schools - now: OST boundaries? constraints?

[Marks Mcavity]

I lurk mostly but I love this OPen Space List and read it regularly. However, the e-dress associated with me with you is now about to be disconnected as it is loaded with spam and I need not have two e-dresses. Could Michael or whoever is responsible please change my e-dress to marksmcavity at gmail.com .

With great thanks;

Marks 

Marks & Margaret McAvity
marksmcavity at gmail.com
margaretmcavity at gmail.com
604-328-4406 (Marks)
604-616-7260 (Marg)
S50, C16, Galiano, BC, V0N 1P0
www.rivendellretreat.org   

"Someday after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness the energies of love; and then for the second time in the history of the world, we will have discovered fire."

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

On 2013-10-06, at 8:59 AM, Michael M Pannwitz <mmpannwitz at gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear Harold,
> inviting folks is per se a grand idea.
> What they are being invited to is a vast spectrum.
> Who does the inviting, too.
> As a facilitator I dont invite folks to an open space event, as a sponsor, sure.
> Often I talk about the nature of the invitation and the nature of open space with the sponsor or the Planning Group as I see it in my limited ways.
> When talking with the sponsor I also talk about Life and Spirit as stuff that are essential to groups, organisations and systems, with an emphasis that they are definitely present (otherwise the group, organisation or system would be dead) and could do perhaps better with some loving tender care.
> And I talk about selforganisation, reminding myself that selforganisation is something I see all over, of which, however, I know nothing (a little bit about preconditions) and probably never will.
> 
> Looking at it that way, my question is
> How could seeing Open Space as a game help me in my work as facilitator (working with a sponsor) to expand time and space for selforganisation to unfold in the gathering planned? (keeping in mind what people are gathering for in open space and that it is a good idea to be prepared to be surprised).
> 
> Have a sunny Sunday evening
> mmp
> 
> On 06.10.2013 16:39, Harold Shinsato wrote:
>> Dan,
>> 
>> There's a kind of 'vibe' around Open Space which might make it difficult
>> for people working with the format to necessarily see some of it's
>> nature, and I think this community is missing some gifts from your
>> perspective because the elusive nature of the spirit of Open Space
>> doesn't much care for boundaries, constraints, and prescriptions. My
>> hope is we won't lose those gifts because of the wrapping.
>> 
>> I'd like to respect the poetry of Open Space, and I'm not in any way
>> opposing the perspective being put forward by Harrison, Lisa and others.
>> The word constrain according to dictionary.com includes in its
>> definition words like "force", "compel", and "oblige". This is not in
>> alignment with the word invitation, nor with the spirit of what we're
>> trying to accomplish with Open Space.
>> 
>> But I'm drawn to your perspective of looking at Open Space as a game
>> with simple 'rules' and I look forward to grasping this better. It seems
>> part of a redefinition or clarification of power, authority, and respect
>> that is happening in both commerce, government, and families. This is
>> something I passionately care about, but it remains an open question and
>> probably will remain one until I die. But I sense from conversations we
>> had in Nashville at Agile 2013 that you have something for me and for
>> this Open Space community in this area. I hope this email will help that
>> happen.
>> 
>> Although Thomas Jefferson wrote "we hold these truths to be
>> self-evident", that certainly did not imply that British rule at the
>> time included awareness or acceptance of the "self-evident" truths
>> espoused in that document. Self-evident does *not* mean obvious. The
>> truths Thomas Jefferson wrote about could only be held within the
>> imperfect container of his words after millennia of study and reflection.
>> 
>> And notice the word "hold" in "hold these truths". Thomas Jefferson and
>> the other founders did attempt to hold and establish these truths into
>> society with rules, laws, constraints and containers. One of the biggest
>> things they were trying to constrain was the power and potential evil
>> inherent in governance itself.
>> 
>> Yes, whether we like it or not, the universe is self-organizing. This
>> might be a self-evident truth, but it certainly isn't obvious -
>> especially to those who think they're running this planet with systems
>> that seem on a bee line to multiple environmental and humanitarian
>> disasters.
>> 
>> I'll leave with a question. How could seeing Open Space as a game help
>> us better invite people to play with us in redefining our current
>> organization structures to let in more Life and Spirit?
>> 
>>     Thanks,
>>     Harold
> 
> 
> Michael M Pannwitz
> Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany
> ++49 – 30-772 8000
> 
> Come join us for the Third European Open Space Learning Exchange from
> November 20 through 22, 2013 in
> Utrecht, Netherlands
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