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At 07:52 AM 8/17/00 -0400, Birgitt wrote:<br>
Jeff,<br>
going back to Harrison's training manual as one source, pg 29<br>
"In the Beginning was Nothing...An Open Space for the Dance of Chaos
and<br>
Order<br>
Dance of Shiva<br>
The flow of the Tao<br>
The affirmation and negation of the Buddha"<br>
<br>
and then he goes on with "A Modern Version...Complex Adaptive System
with a<br>
picture of Chaos and Order and the quote of "Order for
Free"<br>
****************************************<br>
Birgitt had me here for a moment -- "Training Manual??? -- a book I
was going to write???? Then I got it figured. She had to be talking
about the overheads I used in the training program -- which were printed
up for all participants. Anyhow, the points she raises are very valid --
in my view. Open Space Technology is very simply a window through which
we and others can see/experience what is already there. Nothing is added.
Nothing is created -- it already is. On this point, I have always been
uncomfortable when folks say that I "created" OST. Stumbled
upon is more accurate, if contemplating some way out of yet another
meeting in the bottom of several martinis -- qualifies as stumbling. But
the core of my work, and I guess I would think, the core of all of our
work -- is the journey of transformation which takes place in the Open
Space of our universe. OST was just a funny/wonderful thing that happened
along the way. Starting in the early '60s with a dissertation carrying
the sub-title "Chaos, Order and the Creative Process, "
through the "invention" of Organization Transformation and the
convening of the The First International Symposium on Organization
Transformation (1983), and the publication of my first book,
"Spirit: Transformation and Development in Organizations" (1985
-- but written in 1981) -- I have been pretty thoroughly hooked. Not that
my addiction need become everybodys' , but there has never been any
question in my mind as to which was the horse and which was the cart. And
to bring it all to the present moment, my new effort, "The Power of
Spirit: How Organizations Transform," makes explicit whatever may
have been implicit to this point. OST is vehicle and a natural laboratory
in which we can experience and experiment with our on-going journey
of Transformation. But the main event is Transformation, and my
words for the venue have been <i>Open Space -- </i>a designation which
showed up well before OST appeared in the Beefeaters.<br>
<br>
So that is where I sit, which certainly doesn't make it right...<br>
<br>
Harrison<br>
<br>
<br>
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Harrison Owen<br>
7808 River Falls Drive<br>
Potomac, MD 20854 USA<br>
phone 301-469-9269<br>
fax 301-983-9314<br>
Summer Phone 207-763-3261<br>
Summer Address<br>
189 Beaucaire Ave.<br>
Camden, ME 04843<br>
website
<a href="http://www.mindspring.com/~owenhh" eudora="autourl">www.mindspring.com/~owenhh</a><br>
Open Space Institute website
<a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org/" eudora="autourl">www.openspaceworld.org</a><br>
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