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At 06:05 PM 11/23/2001 -0900, you wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite><font face="arial" size=2 color="#800080">Harrison,
I find your statement "for a long time it has been obvious that for
the facilitator of Open Space, it is much more about "being"
than "doing,"" to be very refreshing. I think the
mediation profession, as a whole, is less comfortable with that
idea. Your statement may be somewhat less true for mediation
because I assume (without really knowing) that mediation engages with
people at a level of deeper interpersonal conflict than is engaged in
most OST events. In many mediations, there are moments when
"doing" something seems to be critical to keeping the
conversation moving in a constructive way. Still, I think the mediation
profession generally would benefit from taking a closer look at the
quality of "being" that is inevitably linked to the quality of
"doing." I also agree wholeheartedly that a meditation
practice is a very useful way to attain a helpful state of being. (I love
the lingual closeness of mediation and meditation..... though it can be
tricky. I've found sometimes that people confuse mediation, meditation
and medication!)</font></blockquote><br>
At least in my practice, mediation in Open Space is just like anything
else in Open Space -- It seems to happen all by itself. The people do it
-- with no help required from me. I recognize that this observation may
run somewhat counter to the prevailing theory and practice of some
Mediators, but there it is. I would guess that there are situations where
a more active role might be required, but I have never run into one. Even
when the level of conflict is very high and the issues are old and deep.
For example, in South Africa in the days shortly after Mendela's release
from prison we did Open Spaces with such folks as Zulus, Hausa,
Afrikaners -- all together, and no problem. I have often wondered why
this is true, and my best guess is that The Law of Two Feet provides the
needed "safety-valve" Folks come together because they
want to solve some issues. At the same time I think it to be true that
nobody (save for a few pathological types) really like to blow their
cool, so to speak. The desire to solve the issue brings them together,
and the Law enables each individual to judge when they need a walk around
the block to "cool off." I have seen this lots of time, and
never seen it to fail.<br><br>
Harrison <br><br>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<div align="center">Harrison Owen<br>
7808 River Falls Drive<br>
Potomac, MD 20854 USA<br>
phone 301-469-9269<br>
Open Space Training
<a href="http://www.openspaceworld.com/" eudora="autourl">www.openspaceworld.com</a>
<br>
Open Space Institute <a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org/" eudora="autourl">www.openspaceworld.org</a><br>
Personal website <a href="http://www.mindspring.com/~owenhh" eudora="autourl">www.mindspring.com/~owenhh</a><br><br>
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