[OSList] No silence in opening

Sun Jun 21 03:14:42 PDT 2015

I have experienced that there is a very thin line between a facilitator 
and a space invador. Best take on this for me is to control the only 
thing that I can control (somewhat) and that is my behavior. Of course, 
as facilitator, I can lavish all my control before the event on having 
great food, usable markers, an elegant way to quickly produce the 
documentation... and other such sturctural matters.

The rest, it seems, is taken care of by the force of selforganisation, 
much better, is my experience, than anything I could have dreamt up. 
Including limiting or expanding silence.

cheers, see you in Krakow
mmp

On 21.06.2015 04:41, Harold Shinsato via OSList wrote:
> 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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