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Harrison,<br>
<br>
Thoughtful words - thank you. <br>
<br>
I've talked too many times to count with my wife, OS partner, business partner,
amazing human being, Maureen McCarthy about: after two days/rounds of OST
(primarily conversation about passions and responsibilities, then more focus
and action around what to do now with those p's and r's once we leave here;
tipping our hat to non-convergence as it has become to be known - thank you
Michael and Chris for starting that journey) to holding a third day/round
asking the question:<br>
<br>
Now that we've talked about what we are passionate about, and how we plan
to/are taking responsibility for our passions - what do we need to stop doing
or do less of in order to make space for the ideas and passions we've just
spent two days identifying and expressing?<br>
<br>
In the old adage, "what's one more thing not to do" - thanks again Harrison
- lies a way to open more space outside of the "formally" opened space. Maureen
and I have struggled for years, often in corporate land, about holding an
Open Space, or facilitating meetings, or teaching skills which result in
more work for the participants not less. So often when we come into a situation
the organization is looking to improve something, be more productive, and
the organization ends up layering the new foundations/ways of doing business/living
we've opened/held space for them to create on top of all the old things they've
been doing (things that have worked for them) for years. They're working
harder than before. We don't leave time for the organization to decide an
overall plan weaving the past - what we've always done because in some way
shape or form it works, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."; present - incredible
passion and ideas and actions developed in 1, 2, or 3 short days of being
in the moment; and future - now that we have multiple ideas, some old, some
new on the table, what is our shared vision? how can we create it together?<br>
<br>
I understand that the invitation to do what works and stop doing what doesn't
is implicit in the process of opening space, but we think it's time to start
making that invitation, "What's one more thing not to do?" explicit not only
in "formally" opened space but also in the open space that we are all actually
living in, every moment. <br>
<br>
Having written all this, maybe the third day/round is started with the invitation,
"what is our shared vision? what do we need to stop doing to make space for
what we want to start doing? how do we honor what we will stop doing, because
it has served us? and, how do we walk forward and create our future together?<br>
<br>
I think this invitation begs the question asked earlier, "is OST simply a
half-way technology?" maybe this third invitation will help us to break the
self-created barrier that is the "formally" opened space that exists in contrast
to the idea that we are always in open space until we impose our own boundaries
and barriers on our lives.<br>
<br>
What does everyone think about this?<br>
<br>
With Grace and Love, <br>
<br>
Zelle <br>
<br>
************ <br>
Zelle Nelson <br>
Engaging the Soul at Work/Know Place Like Home/State of Grace Document <br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="http://www.stateofgracedocument.com">www.stateofgracedocument.com</a>
<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="mailto:zelle@maureenandzelle.com">zelle@maureenandzelle.com</a> <br>
office - 828.693.0802 <br>
mobile - 847.951.7030 <br>
<br>
Ravenswood - Isle of Skye <br>
2021 Greenville Hwy <br>
Flat Rock, NC 28731 <br>
Harrison Owen wrote:<br>
<blockquote type="cite"
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<div><font face="Arial" size="2">Zelle -- I think you have hit the nail
precisely on the head. We need all the help we can get when it come to being
fully and productively in the moment -- a clear witness to the ongoing power
of self organization. I think it also becomes clear that the task is also
a very simple one -- Just be in the moment. No learning, no technique will
get us there, and while all (AI, Dialogue etc) can be helpful in terms of
pointing us in the right direction, helping with first steps, reminding
us of what is important . . . At the end of the day you just have to Do
it. In my own experience, there comes a point when the details and complexities
of the techniques (approaches) stand in the way of the experience. Case(s)
in point were the several instances when a colleague suggested doing a Dialogue
in the midst of an Open Space. Although I deeply respect the process and
the thought/research that lies behind it -- I also found the experience
annoyingly restrictive. Doubtless my annoyance arose from my innately prickly
personality -- but I found myself wondering why we were engaged in this
elaborate process when dialogue (small "d") was happening all around us,
all by itself. Don't talk about it, don't think about it, don't "process
it" -- just do it. I have had the same experience with AI. There is absolutely
no question that the insights and approach embodied in AI can and does bring
a group of people to some good places they may never have visited before. But
again -- when difference is appreciated as a matter of course -- as often
seems to be the case in Open Space (self-organizing system) why not just
appreciate the appreciation?</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">My real hope in raising some the issues
that I have was/is to open some space beyond Open Space Technology, Appreciative
Inquiry, D</font><font face="Arial" size="2">ialogue, Community building
and the like. If it is true that difference is appreciated, deep conversation
achieved, community enlivened, etc -- all as the natural concomitant of
a well functioning self-organizing system -- how do we build on that? This
is not so much a matter of "doing a better Open Space" -- but rather doing
better in the open space of our lives. In "The Practice of Peace" I attempted
to use what I perceive to be the learnings from Open Space (start with invitation,
convene a circle, welcome passion and responsibility) as a first approximation.
But I think it is only that, a first approximation. Where do we go from
here?</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">Harrison</font></div>
<blockquote
style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(0,0,0); padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 5px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px;">
<div
style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size-adjust: none;">-----
Original Message ----- </div>
<div
style="background: rgb(228,228,228) none repeat scroll 0%; font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size-adjust: none;"><b>From:</b>
<a title="zelle@knowplacelikehome.com"
href="mailto:zelle@knowplacelikehome.com">Zelle Nelson</a> </div>
<div
style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size-adjust: none;"><b>To:</b>
<a title="OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU"
href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a>
</div>
<div
style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size-adjust: none;"><b>Sent:</b>
Monday, July 12, 2004 6:25 PM</div>
<div
style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size-adjust: none;"><b>Subject:</b>
Re: the dark side of circle practices -- and related themes</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<br>
some thoughts on our role as facilitator...<br>
<br>
Harrison Owen wrote:<br>
<blockquote cite="mid001401c4667b$af6f3d10$dc7dfea9@holaptop"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">...And what about all those other great experiments -- Dialogue, Appreciative
Inquiry, Community Building, and I suppose "Circle practices" (although I am
not quite sure what they are)? Speaking just for my self -- I must say that
each of these have been profound teachers. From the practitioners of
Dialogue I have learned what intense and productive communication can be
like. From Appreciative Inquiry I have learned the incredible power of a
positive, appreciate approach to my fellow human beings. And from Scott Peck
and Co. I have learned much about the nature and function of effective human
community. Each of these has opened my eyes, sharpened my attention, and
raised my expectations in terms of what and how we can function at optimal
levels both individually and collectively. But my deepest learning occurs
when with open sharpened, eyes I see exactly the same things happening in
Open Space -- all by themselves, and all without the overt intervention of
some prescribed, facilitated process. I find my emerging conclusion to be
basically mind-blowing -- although some may take it to mean that I have
blown (lost) my mind. It seems to me that genuine dialogue, deep
appreciation of difference, and the manifestation of real community are all
the natural concomitants of any fully functional self-organizing system. If
this is true, the real focus should be on enabling/allowing the
self-organizing system (which we all are) to do what it alone can do --
rather than trying to "fix" apparent and real problems encountered along the
way with special interventions and added processes, as fascinating as those
processes and interventions might be. As I said, Don't fix it if it ain't
broke -- just make sure that "it" (good old self organizing system) has
plenty of time and space in which to breath.
Harrison
</pre>
</blockquote>
Zelle writes:<br>
<br>
I'm oscillating between two prime pillars: 1) Learning and adopting tools
(Appreciative Inquiry, Dialog, etc.) to help us interact ultimately in
a state of grace*** 2) Living, being, experiencing as our path to learning
and as a way of life.<br>
<br>
***sidebar*** Living in a State of Grace means coming from a place where
peace is our ultimate goal in any relationship rather than striving to
keep the status quo of a relationship at any cost. When we hold onto our
idea of a relationship at any cost we are coming from a place of fear
- fear of loss, fear of pain - Living in a State of Grace does not mean we
hold the relationship as a sacred cow, but rather we hold the people involved
as sacred. I never want to see you walking down the street and feel I
need to cross over to the other side to avoid talking to you, whether
we agree on certain issues or not. To learn more about how to more fully
live in a State of Grace visit <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="http://www.stateofgracedocument.com***">www.stateofgracedocument.com***</a><br>
<br>
The way of being I hold is a paradox. In Open Space I can use the tools
I've learned towards better relationships with others and myself. And
I can practice being in Open Space, living as the waves and tides of my
internal and external world compel me to move, act, speak, listen, and
be. I seek to live by the principles of Open Space, since I see the act
of formally opening space as an acknowledgment of what is already out
there to be lived. I need neither skills nor advanced training to take
responsibility for myself and my passions, yet in my experience, I more
richly engage in bountiful relationships when I utilize skills and tools
which I have been taught or have created to facilitate living the reality
of responsibility and passion.<br>
<br>
To address what Harrison wrote:
<pre wrap="">"It seems to me that genuine dialogue, deep
appreciation of difference, and the manifestation of real community are all
the natural concomitants of any fully functional self-organizing system. If
this is true, the real focus should be on enabling/allowing the
self-organizing system (which we all are) to do what it alone can do --
rather than trying to "fix" apparent and real problems encountered along the
way with special interventions and added processes, as fascinating as those
processes and interventions might be."</pre>
Having learned many skills and tools which enable me to better know how
I wish to be in relationship with others has greatly enhanced my ability
to act and move within a "formally" - being in circle, stating the law
and principles, creating a marketplace of ideas - opened space. I am more
"fully functional" within a "self-organizing system" because of the tools
I have learned. Leaving space open for others to learn techniques within
the bounds of a "formally" opened space, in my experience, can be beneficial.
Our challenge as facilitators of Open Space is to know when to hold um
and know when to fold um - know when to offer aid in facilitating dynamically
changing relationships and when to simply hold space for each individual
to find their own way and their own learning. As I've seen from posts
here and heard from discussions with colleagues the ultimate path to knowing
when to do what comes full circle back to following our passion and our
responsibility on an individual basis as spirit arises. <br>
<br>
When "formally" holding space I like to provide opportunities for topics
to be posted relevant to facilitating the resolution of the questions
addressed in the invitation, including opportunities for learning tools
and processes that foster fruitful relationships. These opportunities
must, in my opinion be as voluntary as the other topics which arise. Often
these opportunities are offered outside of the "formally" opened space
and are not a prerequisite of being involved in an Open Space event.<br>
<br>
In my experience once I "formally" open space I rarely do anything but
hold space and try to bounce back any attempts to bring me in to facilitate
a discussion, by saying something like, "This part of the meeting is yours.
You have the ability and the responsibility to follow your own two feet
and solve problems and challenges on your own." Outside of "formally"
opened space I tend to still stay out of trying to "teach" something that
I "know" unless I am invited to do so.<br>
<br>
In my experience tools and skills which help us to be more fully present
in dynamic relationships (Appreciative Inquiry, Dialogue, State of Grace
Documents, Byron Katie's Loving What Is) focus on
<pre wrap="">"enabling/allowing the self-organizing system (which we all are) to do what it alone can do"</pre>
Do we need these tools to be and self-organize into active, responsible,
passionate bodies? - No. Do these tools enable and allow self organizing
systems to be more fulfilling, fruitful, and rewarding? - In my experience,
Yes. As long as these tools and skills are not "required" as a ticket
for admission into a seemingly open space.<br>
<br>
With Grace and Love, <br>
<br>
Zelle <br>
<br>
************ <br>
Zelle Nelson <br>
Engaging the Soul at Work/Know Place Like Home/State of Grace Document
<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="http://www.stateofgracedocument.com">www.stateofgracedocument.com</a>
<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="mailto:zelle@maureenandzelle.com">zelle@maureenandzelle.com</a>
<br>
office - 828.693.0802 <br>
mobile - 847.951.7030 <br>
<br>
Ravenswood - Isle of Skye <br>
2021 Greenville Hwy <br>
Flat Rock, NC 28731 <br>
<blockquote cite="mid001401c4667b$af6f3d10$dc7dfea9@holaptop"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">----- Original Message -----
From: "Artur Silva" <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="mailto:arturfsilva@yahoo.com"><arturfsilva@yahoo.com></a>
To: <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU"><OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU></a>
Sent: Friday, July 09, 2004 1:00 PM
Subject: Re: the dark side of circle practices
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">--- chris macrae <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="mailto:wcbn007@easynet.co.uk"><wcbn007@easynet.co.uk></a> wrote:
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">The process starts erring to absolute democracy of
everyone must have
equal time contributions to speak at each phase
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap="">(...) In other
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">word's the circle's communal harmony ... can
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap="">co-create such
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">deep love of nice
behaviours to each other that it misses the biggest
spiral out above our
communal thinking's common denominator
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap="">That's interesting, Chris.
I have been, at times, in situations like that one -
circles (or squares) where everyone must "be in
place", must "speak in his turn" and must have a "nice
behavior".
They call this democratic, but in fact it is a
dictatorship. In a democracy I can stay silent if I
want. When everyone is obliged to speak that is not
democratic. This can be a "rules' dictatorship"
(created by the rules previously defined,) a "leader's
dictatorship" (the leader(s) imposes that everyone
must speak), or even a more interesting type - a
"majority's dictatorship" (where the rule is created
at the moment by the majority).
Apart from claiming to be democratic, this type of
groups/sessions also claim that they are following
"good principles". The two I have heard more often are
"appreciation" (like in "appreciative inquiry") and
"dialog".
Democracy (and Open Space) are made of dialogs AND of
discussions. If one suppresses discussion and impose
dialog (as in "everyone must be nice to each other and
hear the other with appreciation") then there is no
democracy and no open space, I think.
Apart from the fact that there are some people that I
don't want to hear with appreciation (say, Bush, to
give only one example) the point is even more strange.
"Playing the appreciative game" (an expression I have
created just know) is only one form of "playing games"
- and that is the essence of Argyris and Schon's Model
1.
If, in a meeting or organization, one imposes dialog
and appreciation, then a close session or organization
will come to place.
Artur
PS: I never heard to call this "circle" and even less
Open Space. But I would not be too surprised if some
would call that. I have already referred to a
respectable group of practitioners of "Communities of
Practice", USA based, that not long ago claimed that
they had used "Open Space" (OST) in a meeting because:
- they assembled in a circle
- they gave participants the opportunity to ADD issues
to a large group of issues pre-prepared by the
organizers
- they divided the large group in small groups to
discuss those issues (by choice of the organizers, if
I recall well - but I recall well that there was no
reference to "the law" - people were not expected to
leave their group! That would not be considered
"appreciative" to the other group members, I
suspect...)
But don't worry about what some people do "in your
name", Harrison. You can always remember what some
have done (and are doing) in His name. And at least
about you I know that you exists - something I am not
prepared to say about the Other...
</pre>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="$mailwrapcol">--
ÐÏ à¡± á</pre>
<br>
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