[OSList] Fwd: My addition

[Romy Shovelton]

Thank you Harrison 😊

Romy Shovelton
Executive Director
Wikima and 
The 5* Tyddyn Retreat -
Mid Wales Venue & Holiday Cottages
www.walescottageandvenue.com
romy at walescottageandvenue.com
+44 7767 370739


Sent from my iPhone

> On 25 Feb 2022, at 06:10, Michael M Pannwitz via OSList <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
> 
> Dear OSLIST,
> 
> am happy to pass on what HO tried to post to our listserve... see below and also here:
>> https://openspaceworldscape.org/events/244-imams-and-rabbis-for-peace
> 
> 
> It all happened in Sevilla (not Barcelona) a symbol of the peaceful and deep co-existence of Muslims, Jews and Christians several hundred years ago...
> 
> Love and Peace
> mmp
> 
> -------- Weitergeleitete Nachricht --------
> Betreff:    My addition
> Datum:    Thu, 24 Feb 2022 16:46:52 -0500
> Von:    Harrison Owen SR <hhowensr at gmail.com>
> An:    Michael M Pannwitz <mmpannwitz at gmail.com>
> 
> 
> 
> I loved what you wrote and tried to post my feelings on OSLIST -- but somehow it all hit "tilt." So if you like what I wrote and can post it -- that would be great. ho
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------
> 
> 
>      Harrison Owen SR <hhowensr at gmail.com <mailto:hhowensr at gmail.com>>
> 
>    
> 4:37 PM (6 minutes ago)
>        
> to oslist-openspacetech.org-confirm+964cd63f311f0710b777780819769d2068ff01e6
> 
> 
> Michael Panwitz's response was superb and brought back many memories. Michael and I teamed to produce some open space for 250 Rabbis and Imams -- as he said. But they weren't just "any" Imams and Rabbis. They were the lead guys in such places as Jerusalem, Paris, New York, Istanbul -- and all around the world. How we got into all this, I truly don't know, but there it was in Barcelona, Spain. The theme: "Peace."   Talk about Conflict and High Dama.
> 
> The sponsors had decided that since the attendees were a rather formal sort, we should not jump right into Open Space, but rather ease in. So the meeting began with the usual dais, speakers, and everybody sitting rows. Personally, I can't stand meetings like that, so I did not attend, but somewhere around noon, I was walking through the massive atrium of the hotel  when I heard the conference organizer (the guy who does all the work) yelling "Harrison, Harrison..". He caught up to me,  and asked -- "How quickly can you do Open Space? It is Chaos in there (the main auditorium)." "The Imam from Paris is standing on the dais screaming at the Chief Rabbi from Jerusalem..."
> 
> I replied -- that depended totally on the hotel staff and how quickly they could make a circle out of rows of chairs. To give them plenty of time, I suggested a three hour lunch break. That might sound extreme, but not unheard of in Barcelona and other parts of the world. It would also provide a good cooling off period.
> 
> At 3:00 pm the 250 Rabbis and Imams walked into a transformed environment -- one big circle. There was a quiet buzz,  radically different from the cacophony of the morning. What a difference a circle can make. I stood at the edge to welcome the people and said simply that we are here to find our way in peace. Then walking slowly around the circle I invited each person to notice all the others, locating those they knew, would like to know -- and all the strangers. When I reached the point of my beginning I stopped to enjoy the silence which was deep and pregnant. You could hear a pin drop.
> 
> You know what happened next. I moved to the center of the circle to quickly explain about posting issues, The Five Principles, One Law, Bumble Bees and Butterflies  --  with a final admonition to */Be prepared to be surprised... /* And then an invitation to any one who cared to post their issue. Total silence.
> 
> One by one, and soon small groups... participants moved to the center to take a piece of paper and write their issue. I stood quietly, and as each person became ready I gave them the microphone along with the suggestion that they keep their remarks as brief as possible. But clearly the group had different ideas -- and they made the space their own. Each announcement became a 5-10 minute "sermonet" offered with feeling but real respect. For more than two hours we proceeded in that fashion and the group as a whole listened to every word. Perhaps some people left, but I didn't notice. But what I did notice was that I was personally exhausted. It is amazing what happens when you are in the vortex of all that swirling energy even if you are apparently doing nothing. I just had to go. When I had the opportunity, I handed the microphone to Michael, said thank you, and walked out.
> 
> I had no question that everything would work out perfectly. And as Michael has described, the people quickly  came to a conclusion and adjourned for the evening. The next morning we met briefly in the circle, but since all the issues were posted there was really nothing to do but -- Go to work. Which we did. The issue groups met in the huge atrium of the hotel. Everyone contributed to the common buzz in the multiple languages of the participants. Great intensity, but also quiet respect. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world.
> 
> On this first night of the invasion of Ukraine, the peace, respect and passion of Barcelona might seem a distant dream. But it is also a hopeful one. It can happen again. However, we have a lot of space to open -- not just in the Ukraine. There are 8 billion of us affected by what is taking place and there are not nearly enough atrium hotels to accommodate the crowd.  New ways of opening space are obviously required and finding them will be both challenging and sometimes very scary. But we do have a lot of experience and it is time to get to work. Good luck !
> 
> Harrison
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Michael M Pannwitz
> Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin
> +49 30 7728000     mmpannwitz at gmail.com
> 
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