[OSList] Response from Harrison Owen

[Harold Shinsato]

[This is from Harrison Owen because he is having trouble posting and 
asked me to send this on his behalf. - Harold]

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




-- 
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, MD 20854 USA
301-365-2093
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