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<DIV><EM><FONT face=Garamond color=#800080 size=4>And wishing to throw my two
cents in: And when we realize that it may not be about understanding how
it all works as much as allowing it to be what works and to be what we are/are
doing, we may find that the Void supports All That Is and, also, all that is -
that is what we find in Open Space - an opening to the time/space continuum that
allows for all.</FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT face=Garamond color=#800080 size=4></FONT></EM> </DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT face=Garamond color=#800080 size=4>Toni
Petrinovich</FONT></EM></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #800080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=owenhh@mindspring.com href="mailto:owenhh@mindspring.com">Harrison
Owen</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, December 12, 2001 8:51
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Self-Organization???? OS
just one of 18?</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>At 11:56 PM 12/11/2001 +0100, Michael Molenaar - Tilburg
Holland wrote:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite">I would like to make a point
about my opinion of the essence of Open Space:<BR>Some might think it's self
organization that invokes some human processes<BR>like motivation and
community. I think that's not really true, it's the<BR>experience of
Spirit.</BLOCKQUOTE><BR><X-TAB> </X-TAB>Why
does this have to be an <B>either/or</B> -- why not <B>both/and</B>? The whole
point about Open Space as Self-Organization for me is that we (humanoids) like
(apparently) all the rest of the cosmos are rooted in fundamental processes
which (to some extent) determine our behaviors and range of responses. That is
not all there is -- but is a start. Our growing understanding of the
phenomenon of self-organization allows for a rational explanation of what
otherwise might be inexplicable -- Why does open Space work??? Is this true --
in some absolute and abstract fashion? Who knows, but it seems to work
(logically) and more importantly for those who use Open Space, it provides a
deeper awareness of the realm we are operating in, and simultaneously explains
some seemingly anomalous happenings -- such as -- the more we seek to
control what goes on, the less successful we are.
<BR><X-TAB> </X-TAB>But not to
stop here. For a deeper understanding of Open Space and our experience in Open
Space, I find it useful to consider the realm of Spirit. The phenomenon of
self-organization is only a partial explanation. Before all that is
Spirit, or what classically would be called Consciousness. To deeply
understand Open Space and our experience therein -- we in fact have to go
deeper. Actually (to let the cat out of the bag) I started with Spirit and
only later, and quite by accident, ran into Open Space. My first book, which
was written in 1982-3, and published in 1987 -- was all about Spirit. The
words "Open Space" do appear, but have nothing to do with what we now call
Open Space Technology. The reference is to what the Buddhists might call The
Abyss, or The Void. How I got from Open Space as "void" to an approach to
meetings, may seem a little strained, but my reason was that much of what I
experienced in The Void I also found whenever space was opened.
<BR><X-TAB> </X-TAB>All of
which poses an interesting question -- Does everybody have to go into The Void
in order to experience/understand Open Space? I guess the answer is Yes and No
-- it is all about levels. It is quite possible to just "do" Open Space. No
explanation needed or wanted. Or you could dig a little deeper into the
question -- Why the Hell does the damn stuff work -- when everything (well
almost) in our training and experience says that it couldn't and shouldn't?
And I think some sort of an answer starts to emerge when we open up the
discussion to include Self-Organizing systems. But is that all there is?
to which I must answer, No we are just getting started -- and it is off to The
Void. Is there anything else? Probably. It might just be pure nothingness...
Now try that for a sales pitch in the The Corporate Board Room!<BR><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite">There are two sides of Open
Space, as I see it:<BR>The first side is the easy understandable and funny
part, which makes it so<BR>attractive and, YES!, invites almost everyone to
go for it. In this it is<BR>not really special and Open Space has to compete
with the other 17 methods<BR>of the Change Handbook. But if you started to
talk about the Shamanistic<BR>principles on which Open Space is based there
would be a problem. So of<BR>course you usually don't start with this part
of the story (at least I don't<BR>when I talk to someone who might be
interested).<BR>On the second side is the essence (like Birgitt calls this)
in which Open<BR>Space can have a very deep effect on how people work
together: they make<BR>their Action Planning to a success, because they have
discovered that they<BR>are connected on a deeper level in the organization
and that the essence is<BR>not about hierarchy, but about Spirit and that it
is really easy to open<BR>this special communication canal to do so.<BR>Is
it that easy?? Yes and no.<BR>No if you do the first side Open Space, but
the excitement of the experience<BR>will fade
out...</BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Absolutely! Which is why it has always seemed to me
that anybody with a good head and a good heart can"do" Open Space, but it
probably takes a life time to get to the bottom of things. <BR><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite">Now I'm stopping, because this is
getting to far for the moment, I'm writing<BR>an article on comparing Open
Space and Organization Constellation but it's<BR>not ready
yet.</BLOCKQUOTE><BR>I will look forward to seeing
it.<BR><BR><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><FONT
color=#0000ff><U>OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU<BR></U></FONT>To subscribe,
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