[OSList] No silence in opening

[Harold Shinsato via OSList]

Thanks Adriana!

It could be a wonderful cultural protocol if everyone agrees to it. If 
everyone has been invited and accepts such a protocol. Asking for a 
moment of silence can often calm things down when they're getting too 
heated, and I've been in a number of circles where such a protocol has 
been adopted and really helps. I can imagine having some bells and 
singing bowls available for session conveners to bring to their circles 
as an optional facilitation tool to invite silence when someone in the 
circle senses the need. It sounds like it could be a wonderful helpful 
tool in some communities - and I can imagine in the Peace Center - it 
might be very welcome. I plan to offer it as something to think about to 
our team.

At the post Open Space meeting yesterday where we debriefed the event, 
there was a participant who noticed that there was not enough listening 
in the circles he had attended. I had witnessed one of the circles, and 
I noticed the same thing. Not enough listening. My sense was that if I 
had really meditated enough before the event - as Harrison so strongly 
recommends - I could have helped bring more spaciousness. That's my best 
sense of what could have helped. And I also sense that this participant 
had a *lot* to offer in helping to bring an awareness of the need for 
silence. He doesn't need it to come from the facilitation team. He can 
help teach it. In any case, I'm very grateful he has been invited to 
participate in the organizing team for the event when we hold it again 
next year.

And I can also see where this need for silence can be abused.

At the World Open Space on Open Space in London in 2012 - I was in a 
circle and waiting patiently in a somewhat heated circle for some space 
to speak. I had been quiet for some time, until finally there was the 
slightest pause. The moment I opened my mouth, someone came from another 
session that I believe was entirely silent the whole time. I think they 
had only written their thoughts on paper. One of the participants came 
out of that session, burst into ours, and flashed a "QUIET" sign a foot 
in front of my face! It was so intense, I felt the need to leave the 
building just so I could calm down. I hope I never see such behavior 
again - and I certainly don't want to do anything to encourage such 
behavior of silencing people.

     Harold



On 6/15/15 2:10 PM, Lourdes Adriana Diaz-Berrio Doring wrote:
> Harold: In some groups where I participated, but it was not Open Space 
> it was a workshop with some ritual  we had a talking stick and also a 
> bowl. When some one needed silence they took the bowl and the meaning 
> of this is that they where asking everybody to wait in silence...until 
> they let the bowl in the middle of the circle again.
> I don;t Know if this is appropriated in an OS circle, in any moment. 
> Some people like and appreciate silence and other people have a very 
> hard time with it.
> When I was teaching at university the feedback of the students was 
> like this
> "Teacher I just loved yous dinamics, yous should do more of them!"
> In the same group I received another feed back
> Teacher I hate the dynamics, why did you do so much of it!"
> Thanks for the links that Herman sheared with us!
> Adriana
>

-- 
Harold Shinsato
harold at shinsato.com <mailto:harold at shinsato.com>
http://shinsato.com
twitter: @hajush <http://twitter.com/hajush>
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