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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Thanks for sharing this Peggy. No question that Tom
clearly articulated something that many of us have noted over the years -- Open
Space, like good stews and soups are vastly improved with more time. And
maybe for the same reasons -- things have to cook a bit in order to reveal their
true essence and flavor.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>But what struck me in this posting and occasions my
response is the combination of approaches, in this case Open Space with World
Cafe (and also it seems some sort of hybrid). At some level there seems to be
almost as much excitement in the deftness of the facilitators with several
processes as in the over all result. Tom says as much: </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>"</FONT> Our innovation<BR>> worked, thus
demonstrating not only that we could use evolutionary group<BR>> processes,
but that we could -- if we opened ourselves up enough to the<BR>> call of
evolution among us -- help the processes themselves evolve."<BR></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I have no problem at all with experimentation -- having
done no small amount myself. Nor do I begrudge Tom and the rest a sense of real
accomplishment in their work. But I also think that in doing such experiments
with combinations we may miss something, or more to the point, come to
some erroneous conclusions. My comments will come very close to, if not step
over, the line marking the beginning of "obsessive defense of Open Space," And
for sure, I am not an unbiased witness, but hopefully my intent will come
through.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>As I have experienced such things as World Cafe, Future
Search, and Appreciative Inquiry -- I have always found the occasion for
new learning and valuable new experience. However, I inevitably perceive such
experience and learning through what I would call my Open Space Eyes, and others
might call personal bias -- and doubtless, both are true. Through my eyes it has
always appeared to me that there is precious little that occurs at a deep level
in WC, AI, and FS -- that does not also occur in OS. Further, that the deepest
moments of the preceding three happen when the space (for whatever reason) is
most fully open. Sometimes, this was a matter of an experienced facilitator
having the confidence to simply get out of the way. And at other times it
happened when a not-so-sensitive facilitator attempted to take control and was
pushed out of the way. But whatever the cause, depth and impact maximized when
the space was open. I can certainly understand that for reasons of client
sensitivities or facilitator sensitivities WC, AI, or FS may be the preferred
way to go. But I am left with the conclusion -- which frankly I have always
found to be an uncomfortable one -- that if the common point of power is open
space -- why not just Open Space? Not much else needed. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>My discomfort with this conclusion derives from the fact
that it inevitably places me in the position of apparently (and probably
defensively) protecting Open Space Technology. Doubtless, something like is
present -- but I would like to believe there is a lot more. My way out of this
dilemma (and discomfort) has been through a realization that the real
power of Open Space Technology has little (nothing) to do with the Process or
the sophistication of its design. The former (Process) is skimpy to the
point of embarrassment (You do what ???) -- and the design was the product of
two martinis. The true power for me (as I suspect you all know ad nausea) -- is
Self-organization. So to complete the logic circle -- if the real power of Open
Space is self-organization, and the other approaches all reach their maximum
depth and impact when the space is open -- QED: Groups do best when their innate
powers of self-organization are allowed (encouraged) to operate freely and
effectively. In a word -- it is not The Designed Process (AI, FS, WC, or OS) but
rather the natural gift possessed by all of us that deserves the credit.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Now back to Tom and the gathering of Evolution-niks. I
have no question that the event described was extraordinarily powerful and
productive. But I seriously doubt that the genesis of all that good stuff
happened because of brilliant design and application. It happened because a
total natural and pre-existing phenomenon was allowed to do its work. Most
importantly, this phenomenon was NOT the creation of the conference designers
and facilitators. It was in fact the natural "possession" of the group as a
whole, and each individual present. And here is my real point <at last :-)
> To highlight to Process(s) is in some real way to denigrate the power of
the people. Even worse, it may appear that such results can only be achieved by
"doing" WC, OS, FS, AI -- Wrong! Such results can only be achieved when The
People "do" themselves. In the immortal words of The '60's -- ALL POWER TO (AND
FROM) THE PEOPLE!!!!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Harrison</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>Harrison Owen<BR>7808 River Falls Dr.<BR>Potomac, MD
20854<BR>USA<BR>301-365-2093<BR>207-763-3261 (summer)<BR>website <A
href="http://www.openspaceworld.com">www.openspaceworld.com</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 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=peggy@opencirclecompany.com
href="mailto:peggy@opencirclecompany.com">Peggy Holman</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> Friday, May 27, 2005 1:23 AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Fw: Growing Together at the
Emerging Edge of Evolution (long)</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Friends,<BR><BR>Below is a description by Tom Atlee of a 3.5
day gathering for which I had<BR>the great pleasure of opening space.
I'll be sending some of my own<BR>reflections (mostly about where OS and World
Cafe meet) when I have a moment<BR>but wanted to get Tom's story to
you.<BR><BR>What excited me most about Tom's message are his reflections on
what happens<BR>when people spend more than one day in OS. He is
eloquent in describing<BR>what he calls the "almost spooky power of a
multi-day Open Space".<BR><BR>I was quite startled by the number of people at
the gathering who told me<BR>that they had never been in OS longer than a day
and were curious about a<BR>multi-day experience. As an echo of Tom's
reflections, many told me me that<BR>their one day OSs didn't begin to give
them an appreciation for what can<BR>happen over many days. Their
comments strengthened my conviction when<BR>working with clients of being
clear about the importance of giving "big<BR>questions" the time they
need.<BR><BR>still sunny in
Seattle,<BR>Peggy<BR><BR>________________________________<BR>Peggy
Holman<BR>The Open Circle Company<BR>15347 SE 49th Place<BR>Bellevue, WA
98006<BR>(425) 746-6274<BR><BR><A
href="http://www.opencirclecompany.com">www.opencirclecompany.com</A><BR><BR>-----
Original Message -----<BR>From: "Tom Atlee" <<A
href="mailto:cii@igc.org">cii@igc.org</A>><BR>To: "undisclosed list" <<A
href="mailto:cii@igc.org">cii@igc.org</A>><BR>Sent: Saturday, May 21, 2005
8:16 PM<BR>Subject: Growing Together at the Emerging Edge of
Evolution<BR><BR><BR>> Dear friends,<BR>><BR>> What follows is my
report on a five-day Evolutionary Salon of scientists,<BR>> social
thinkers, activists and artists seeking to better understand how to<BR>>
creatively engage with the evolutionary challenges of our times.
I<BR>> describe the event itself -- with a focus on the evolutionary
group<BR>> processes used -- and some of my remarkable experiences and
learnings<BR>> during it. I also describe the action-vision that
emerged, and my own<BR>> sense of the direction of
evolution.<BR>><BR>> The online version, available at the URL below, has
richer formatting and<BR>> links. But the full text is below.
If you'd like to comment and make<BR>> your thoughts visible to others,
post a comment at the bottom of the page<BR>> linked to the long URL
below.<BR>><BR>> Coheartedly,<BR>> Tom<BR>><BR>> _ _ _ _ _ _
_<BR>><BR>> <<A
href="http://www.communicationagents.com/tom_atlee/2005/05/22/growing_together_at_the_emerging_edge_of_evolution.htm">http://www.communicationagents.com/tom_atlee/2005/05/22/growing_together_at_the_emerging_edge_of_evolution.htm</A>><BR>><BR>><BR>>
GROWING TOGETHER AT THE EMERGING EDGE OF EVOLUTION<BR>><BR>> by Tom
Atlee<BR>><BR>><BR>> I've just returned from a five-day Evolutionary
Salon<BR>> <<A
href="http://www.thegreatstory.org/ev-salon.html">http://www.thegreatstory.org/ev-salon.html</A>>
that I helped organize. It<BR>> was a remarkable gathering of
scientists, social thinkers, activists and<BR>> artists seeking to better
understand how to creatively engage with the<BR>> evolutionary challenges
of our times.<BR>> Evolution tends to accelerate in times of great change
and challenge. We<BR>> wanted to know how to consciously participate
-- and help society<BR>> consciously participate -- in that accelerating
emergence of new forms of<BR>> life and culture.<BR>><BR>> Here are
some of the things we did, experienced and learned during these<BR>> days
of intense engagement and connection.<BR>><BR>><BR>> EVOLUTIONARY
GROUP PROCESS<BR>><BR>> We chose for our group process three approaches
that embody the<BR>> evolutionary dynamics we were exploring -- World Café,
Open Space and<BR>> Graphic
Recording.<BR>> * In World Café,
participants gather around a question that matters,<BR>> talking together
in small groups -- and then, after a time, moving to<BR>> different tables,
cross-pollinating ideas across conversations and seeking<BR>> deeper
patterns. At the end of a World Café, the group harvests its<BR>>
individual insights and collective
intelligence.<BR>> * In Open Space,
participants gather around a topic about which they<BR>> are all
passionate, and then create breakout sessions about whatever<BR>> aspects
of that topic they personally most love, or about which they feel<BR>> most
urgent. The group creates its own conference agenda and then
lives<BR>> it out, coming together in the morning and evening (in a
multi-day Open<BR>> Space) to share thoughts and announce new sessions they
want to convene.<BR>> People are encouraged to move wherever they can best
learn or contribute<BR>> ("the law of two feet"), and those who flit among
sessions ("bumblebees")<BR>> and who skip sessions ("butterflies") are
validated for helping invoke the<BR>> unexpected through
cross-fertilization and novel side-conversations. *<BR>> Graphic Recording
captures the emerging meaning of the dialogue in words<BR>> and pictures
--<BR>> arrows and people and suns and trees and clouds and word balloons
-- in<BR>> real time -- so that by the end, the group can see the shape of
what it<BR>> was exploring, woven into a coherent whole.<BR>><BR>>
After an introductory circle Thursday night, we spent Friday morning
in<BR>> World Café. We were asked, "What question is most alive for
you that this<BR>> gathering might illuminate?" and "What in your own story
leads you to care<BR>> about this question?" You can imagine how rich
that was, both in terms of<BR>> idea exploration and also learning about
each other, deeply and quickly.<BR>> After lunch we moved into Open Space
and were soon attending each other's<BR>> sessions.<BR>> When it became
obvious by Saturday afternoon that significant insights<BR>> were beginning
to emerge --<BR>> albeit still vaguely -- we convened an evening session
that creatively<BR>> combined the all three methods to speed that
emergence. Our innovation<BR>> worked, thus demonstrating not only
that we could use evolutionary group<BR>> processes, but that we could --
if we opened ourselves up enough to the<BR>> call of evolution among us --
help the processes themselves evolve.<BR>><BR>> Although I studied a
number of books in preparation for this event, they<BR>> became mere
backdrops. We seldom talked explicitly about evolutionary<BR>>
dynamics I'd read about. But every session reflected a deeply
shared<BR>> assumption that we were active agents in our accelerating
cultural<BR>> evolution (which is only the latest chapter in the Universe's
evolutionary<BR>> story) and that what we said and did here had
evolutionary significance.<BR>><BR>> When it was all over, I was struck
by the fact that THE CONTENT of our<BR>> discussions -- as juicy as it was
-- did not impact me as strongly as my<BR>> experience of THE PROCESS,
particularly the almost spooky power of a<BR>> multi-day Open Space to
impact the participants, individually and<BR>> collectively, and to call
forth nascent insights and innovations into<BR>> clarity and power --
without ever telling anyone what to do.<BR>><BR>> Among the phenomena I
noticed:<BR>> * Normally domineering people
became curious, engaged partners,<BR>> listening
well.<BR>> * Normally quiet people spoke out
more strongly.<BR>> * Normally heady people
spoke more from their hearts, their stories,<BR>> and their present-time
noticing.<BR>> * Basic differences (e.g., the
difference between the materialists<BR>> and the spirit-based participants)
informed the dialogue but never<BR>> precluded us hearing each other and
continuing our explorations together.<BR>> Judgments and conflicts
dissolved into productive, spicy interactions.<BR>>
* Hundreds of insightful comments --<BR>> including comments on what
was happening right now -- burst forth with a<BR>> rare spontaneity and
naturalness.<BR>> * Experiences on one day
created tensions or possibilities that<BR>> generated sessions on
subsequent days, creating a sense of evolutionary<BR>> unfolding not
possible in one-day events. A one-day Open Space is nothing<BR>> like
a 3-5 day Open Space. I've come to see that non-linear processes<BR>>
like Open Space, while they can be productive in the short term, only<BR>>
produce transformational magic when they have enough time for the
feedback<BR>> dynamics of thought, feeling and conversation to bring the
gestating<BR>> breakthroughs out into
realization.<BR>> * The physical and social
conditions necessary for certain things to<BR>> emerge seemed to
miraculously self-organize, until by the end I felt like<BR>> I was not
living in Open Space, but Open Space was living through
me.<BR>><BR>><BR>> MY STORY<BR>><BR>> These last two items
played out so remarkably during the Evolutionary<BR>> Salon that I feel
drawn to share the most vivid example from my own<BR>> experience of those
days.<BR>> On the third day, as I mentioned, a number of us felt certain
coherent<BR>> possibilities were emerging. We did our Saturday
evening session with<BR>> about half the group, which resulted in
incredible excitement about what<BR>> we found together. The next
day, none of the sessions seemed to relate to<BR>> that, and I got
concerned. Peggy Holman, our lead facilitator, suggested<BR>> that perhaps
this was fallow time and I shouldn't worry. But she had told<BR>> us
to "take responsibility for what you love" and so I decided not to go<BR>>
to any of the afternoon sessions, but instead to become a "butterfly"
and<BR>> sit by myself working over the ideas from the previous night, to
push<BR>> their evolution ahead.<BR>><BR>> On my way through the
kitchen to do this (our meeting facility was a<BR>> fabulous adobe
structure with maze-like passageways and full kitchens and<BR>> dining
rooms we used together) I bumped into another participant who asked<BR>> me
what I was up to. Soon we were deep in an (unscheduled,
unconvened)<BR>> conversation that drew out more and more elements of the
vision I'd been<BR>> sensing. We moved to the living room. Other
participants drifted by,<BR>> joining the conversation. Some left,
for food or other conversations.<BR>> But by the time the whole Salon came
together at 5pm for our afternoon<BR>> circle, a core of a half dozen of us
had been gnawing on the topic for<BR>> several hours. I announced our
efforts to the group and invited people to<BR>> join us shortly in the
living room for an evening session exploring what<BR>> was emerging among
us and further developing these ideas.<BR>><BR>> The Sunday evening
session went well, focusing on things I was<BR>> particularly interested in
for an hour or two. Then a participant who had<BR>> just come to the
Evolutionary Salon a few hours before, and had not grown<BR>> into our
participatory culture over the preceding days, interrupted the<BR>> flow of
conversation to talk about his personal agenda. After a while I<BR>>
became frustrated and left ("the law of two feet") to participate in a<BR>>
light-hearted "talent show" session upstairs, where I read my poem
about<BR>> living together in uncertainty at the leading edge<BR>>
<<A
href="http://co-intelligence.org/leadingedgepoem.html">http://co-intelligence.org/leadingedgepoem.html</A>>.
When I returned from<BR>> that to the "what is emerging among us?"
conversation in the living room,<BR>> people had abandoned the things I was
most passionate about and moved on<BR>> to another vision entirely. I
guessed I must be ahead of my time (Open<BR>> Space facilitators often say
that to give heart to those whose sessions<BR>> are very poorly attended)
and with mild, tired sadness accepted that this<BR>> new thing was where
the group energy was. And with that I went to bed.<BR>><BR>>
Monday morning I decided to do something completely out of character:
I<BR>> would go to a "chanting" session that had been called for 8 am in a
round<BR>> tower room that rose high above the rest of the building.
I had a quick<BR>> breakfast and climbed the stairs to the tower. No
one was there. I<BR>> looked out the windows, fiddled with some aroma
therapy bottles, and then<BR>> sat and half daydreamed/meditated for five
or ten minutes, waiting. As I<BR>> sat there, I realized how the two
visions that had emerged the previous<BR>> night fit together. What
I'd wanted and what these other people wanted<BR>> actually formed a
coherent whole that was more powerful than either vision<BR>> alone. I
tried to draw a picture of it, but it was not coming easily. So<BR>>
I want down to our main meeting room (where all of us were to meet at
9<BR>> am) and started sketching out possible diagrams on a big sheet of
chart<BR>> pad paper.<BR>><BR>> At 8:30 some people came through the
meeting room gathering pillows for<BR>> the belated chanting session, but
by then I was deep in my chart. When 9<BR>> am came and we did our final
whole-group check-in circle, I presented the<BR>> new model, the new vision
of the whole, that had come to me in the tower.<BR>> The group was thrilled
to see it all layed out, a new coherence for what<BR>> they'd been
thinking, feeling and dreaming.<BR>> Then, as they began to compliment me
on "my" map, I was struck by the<BR>> realization that this integrated
vision was not "mine." If Open Space had<BR>> not encouraged me to
"take responsibility for what I love" and made space<BR>> for me to develop
my emerging ideas (with other "butterflies") during<BR>> Sunday afternoon
and then convene a session Sunday night, the potentials<BR>> of Saturday's
session would have been lost. If Open Space had not allowed<BR>> a
newcomer to "interrupt" that Sunday night conversation and had not<BR>>
encouraged me to use my two feet to leave that conversation, then my<BR>>
initial ideas might have dominated and the other ideas trying to
emerge<BR>> might not have shown up. If Open Space had not allowed
(mysteriously<BR>> engineered?) a change in schedule for the chanting, then
I would not have<BR>> been sitting alone in the tower, in an open
mind-space, where the<BR>> integration of the two major emerging visions
came together. If Open<BR>> Space had not invited new insights in the
final circle of the Evolutionary<BR>> Salon, I would not have had an
opportunity to share what came to me. The<BR>> more I looked at it,
the more it seemed like I was a vehicle for the<BR>> emergent wisdom of
Open Space, rather than an independently intelligent<BR>> actor within
it.<BR>><BR>><BR>> THE VISION THAT AROSE AMONG US<BR>><BR>> We
decided that we were part of an emerging movement for the conscious<BR>>
evolution of (increasingly conscious) social systems. The success of
that<BR>> movement would not involve taking over society or even creating a
new<BR>> society, but rather having the society's conscious capacities
expand until<BR>> it became able to consciously and wisely participate in
its own evolution.<BR>><BR>> To engage people in this activity would
involve introducing them to the<BR>> evolutionary story and their role in
it. This was well described by John<BR>> Stewart, author of
EVOLUTION'S ARROW, in a paper he submitted after the<BR>> Salon. He
suggested we need to be able to "transmit evolutionary<BR>> epiphanies"
that help us shift "from societies of disconnected, atomistic,<BR>>
self-concerned individuals to a society in which individuals see<BR>>
themselves primarily as part of a larger whole, and act
accordingly."<BR>><BR>>
----------------------------------------------------<BR>> (the following is
a quote from John Stewart)<BR>>
----------------------------------------------------<BR>><BR>> Key
ingredients for experiences that are capable of assisting this<BR>>
transition include:<BR>><BR>> * The experience
needs to produce a shift in consciousness in which<BR>> individuals
suddenly step outside of themselves and see themselves and<BR>> their
actions as a necessary part of a larger whole;
and<BR>> * The context provided by the larger whole
needs to be capable of<BR>> making at least some individual actions
meaningful, and therefore capable<BR>> of answering the central existential
question facing all individuals:<BR>> what should I do with my
life?<BR>><BR>> The great evolutionary story has as a unique capacity to
provide<BR>> evolutionary epiphanies founded on these ingredients. It
has an intrinsic<BR>> ability to spark a shift in consciousness in which
individuals come to see<BR>> themselves self-reflexively as part of a
larger meaningful process.<BR>><BR>> This is because it is not just a
story about events external to the<BR>> individual. Instead it is
about the processes and history that have<BR>> produced everything on the
planet and that will continue to produce<BR>> whatever exists in the
future. The shift in consciousness can be sparked<BR>> when the
individual suddenly comes to the realisation
that:<BR>><BR>> * she is a product
of this larger evolutionary whole:<BR>>
* she exists only because of the larger
whole:<BR>> * her life and actions are
an essential part of the larger<BR>> evolutionary process;<BR>><BR>>
And, critically,<BR>><BR>> * her
actions can have meaning and purpose insofar as they are<BR>> relevant to
the wider evolutionary process. To the extent that her<BR>> actions
can contribute positively to the evolutionary process, they are<BR>>
meaningful to a larger process outside herself that has been unfolding<BR>>
long before she was born and that will continue long after she
dies<BR>><BR>> This works because it produces a shift in consciousness
that changes the<BR>> object of self-reflection. The object of
self-reflection is no longer<BR>> just the isolated self and its particular
concerns, it is the<BR>>
self-as-part-of-the-planetary-evolutionary-process... The individual
now<BR>> identifies with the wider whole rather than the narrow
self.<BR>><BR>>
----------------------------------------------------<BR>> (end of quote
from John Stewart)<BR>>
----------------------------------------------------<BR>><BR>> This
shift can be facilitated through a wide variety of methods and media.<BR>>
Certain participants of the Evolutionary Salon agreed to explore how
to<BR>> further this. Right now one of the most powerful forms
through which the<BR>> "Great Story of Evolution" is spreading is the
presentations given by<BR>> Evolutionary Salon convenor Michael Dowd and
his wife Connie Barlow<BR>> <<A
href="http://www.thegreatstory.org">http://www.thegreatstory.org</A>>.
For three years they have been living on<BR>> the road, preaching
evolutionary sermons in hundreds of diverse churches,<BR>> temples and
other spiritual communities and doing presentations in schools<BR>> and
other forums. I've seen Michael preach the story of evolution
from<BR>> the Big Bang to Conscious Humanity, where we are
(factually,<BR>> scientifically) stardust -- we are the universe looking at
itself through<BR>> telescopes -- and I assure you it is
awesome.<BR>><BR>> Once people awaken to their evolutionary role, they
need to find their<BR>> calling or contribution in the context of that
evolutionary project. There<BR>> are a number of methods -- from
psychospiritual practices to publicizing<BR>> options, visions and stories
of successful projects -- to help people find<BR>> their best place in all
this. Certain participants of the Evolutionary<BR>> Salon agreed to explore
how to further this.<BR>><BR>> The movement for conscious evolution of
social systems is already well<BR>> underway. Much of it is made up
of parts of other movements -- movements<BR>> for sustainability, for
dialogue and deliberation, for human potential,<BR>> for a democratic
internet, for human rights and justice, etc. -- that<BR>> consider the
welfare of the whole, or provide tools for human connectivity<BR>> and
collective wisdom. So another contribution we could make would be
to<BR>> map these various elements of the world we want and the ways we
want to<BR>> get there, to show their interconnections, and to clarify
successful<BR>> practices -- and to do all this in an ongoing and
participatory way. (A<BR>> model that inspired us in this is the
"pattern language for<BR>> sustainability" at <<A
href="http://www.conservationeconomy.net">http://www.conservationeconomy.net</A>>.)
In effect, we<BR>> could provide a nexus for the collective intelligence of
the movement,<BR>> itself. We have visions for how this might be done, but
no commitments for<BR>> action on it yet.<BR>><BR>> However, related
to that is the idea of convening strategic<BR>> onversations -- or
perhaps we should call them, in this context, further<BR>> evolutionary
salons. The idea behind these is to provide means for<BR>> noticing
where there are stuck points in the evolutionary process, or<BR>> where
there are potential synergies or evolutionary opportunities.
When<BR>> these are seen, breakthroughs can be evoked by convening
conversations<BR>> between key people. These can range from a phone
call to a full-fledged<BR>> conference. The inquiries that shape such
conversation and the processes<BR>> used can make all the difference in the
world. Thankfully, considerable<BR>> wisdom exists about how to craft
powerful questions and how to host and<BR>> facilitate powerful
processes. The potential is there to use conversation<BR>> as an
elegant, mindful tool for evolutionary interventions, freeing up<BR>>
energy and innovation at precise points where shift is ready to
happen.<BR>> Certain participants of the Evolutionary Salon agreed to
explore how to<BR>> further this.<BR>><BR>> The combination of all
these can serve to further the kind of conscious<BR>> social creativity
that can transform the society in all sectors and at all<BR>> levels at
once -- not according to plan, but according to an emergent<BR>>
evolutionary wisdom rooted deep in our past and in the ways life has
found<BR>> to move into a better future. This wisdom is imprinted in
our cells and<BR>> in our capacity to interact with each other and our
world. To release its<BR>> potential, we just need safe space to
experiment and opportunities to see<BR>> our lives in a big-picture
perspective, as part of a story of remarkable<BR>> transformation, over and
over and over, from the big bang and supernovas<BR>> to poetry, trees and
the internet. What will we do next?<BR>><BR>><BR>> THE
DIRECTION OF EVOLUTION<BR>><BR>> Some evolutionary theorists claim that
there is no directionality in<BR>> evolution. We may have human
brains and civilizations, but we also have<BR>> simple bacteria.
Others claim that the appearance of more complex life<BR>> forms over time
is evidence of an evolution towards complexity. Still<BR>> others, while
acknowledging the growing complexity, claim that the<BR>> evolution is most
importantly moving towards more complex and inclusive<BR>> forms of
cooperation.<BR>><BR>> It seems to me obvious that many old life forms
continue, while newer<BR>> forms evolve. It isn't that new forms are
always crowding old forms out<BR>> of life-niches (although that often
happens) but that new forms discover<BR>> or create new niches to occupy,
adding to the range of ways life can<BR>> survive and flourish. So
what I see evolving is the RANGE and VARIETY of<BR>> complexity. More
complex life forms emerge, and the simple life forms<BR>> remain, and new
varieties of elegant simplicity get created, as well.<BR>> Some versions of
old life forms -- both simple and complex -- die off.<BR>> But what doesn't
stop is the ever widening range and variety of<BR>>
complexity.<BR>><BR>> And much of that complexity is only there because
three other things are<BR>> present and
co-evolving:<BR>> * cooperation - from simple
synergies and exchanges to massively<BR>> self-organized global
economies;<BR>> * competition - from simple
fights over a piece of food to modern war<BR>> games and chess strategies;
and<BR>> * intelligence, by which I mean the
ability to take in, process, and<BR>> act on information from the
environment -- from a one-celled organism<BR>> turning towards or away from
light or salt, to an international team of<BR>> scientists and
supercomputers working together on a problem over the<BR>>
internet.<BR>><BR>> It also seems to me clear that complexity,
cooperation, competition and<BR>> intelligence are deeply
intertwined. Each evolutionary step in one is<BR>> evoked by, and
evokes, evolutionary steps in one or more of the others.<BR>> And they
often contain each other in fascinating ways that remind me of<BR>> the
Taoist yin-yang symbol, a circle bisected by an S-curve, creating two<BR>>
fish-like figures -- one black and one white -- chasing each other's<BR>>
tails. In a further touch of insight, the black fish contains a
white<BR>> eye, and the white fish contains a black eye, suggesting that at
the heart<BR>> of each side of a dichotomy is some form of its
opposite.<BR>><BR>> One of the most fascinating aspects of all these is
that they have<BR>> internal and external dimensions, and real and virtual
versions. For<BR>> example: * Competition BETWEEN life-forms
stimulates cooperation WITHIN<BR>> them. Think of sports teams, or
the evolution of multi-cellular<BR>> organisms. As one form proves
more competitive through division of labor<BR>> or elegant internal
communication and response systems, its competitors<BR>> often develop
their own more sophisticated internal cooperative systems to<BR>> survive
(or beat the competition). * A cooperative life system can allow<BR>>
competition to safely flourish within the system. Think of the
Olympics,<BR>> sportsmanship, and "the rules of the game" (of sports,
business, politics,<BR>> war). Or think of the vast synergies and
interdependencies in an<BR>> ecosystem (including the exchange of materials
like oxygen and carbon<BR>> dioxide) and how they create a life-space in
which the infamous<BR>> evolutionary competitions of "tooth and claw" can
unfold without the whole<BR>> system self-destructing. * Competitive
games and posturings both prepare<BR>> for and replace life-and-death
battles --<BR>> not only among humans, but among many other species.
(This is a vital<BR>> understanding in a world where war can destroy so
much.)<BR>> * Nature learns and evolves
through trial and error (or<BR>> innovate-and-test) in the real world,
leaving dead organisms and extinct<BR>> species in the wake of her powerful
creative intelligence. The human mind<BR>> can test ideas and
scenarios "in its head" or "in the laboratory" or "in a<BR>> work of art",
replacing real death and suffering with discarded ideas,<BR>> failed
experiments, morality tales and virtual versions of life and
death.<BR>> * The intelligence of an ant
colony is largely contained in the<BR>> chemical patterns the ants deposit
-- and then perceive and respond to --<BR>> in their environment. We
might learn from this how much of our vaunted<BR>> human intelligence lies
not in our heads but in our libraries,<BR>> universities, internets,
pathways and signage. Much of intelligence is<BR>> external, environmental,
cultural.<BR>><BR>> All this is discussed in the books I read for the
Evolutionary Salon. But<BR>> another factor has not been
discussed: the evolution of simplicity. I<BR>> suspect that
simplicity has also evolved, perhaps in the form of elegance,<BR>> economy,
efficiency, capacity for self-organization, and so on. If some<BR>>
function will help organisms survive, a simple form that can do it
(using<BR>> less parts and energy) will tend to out-compete a complicated
form (which<BR>> uses more parts and more energy), assuming both forms are
equally good at<BR>> performing that function. Furthermore, as a
function evolves, it often<BR>> goes through waves of increasing
complication followed by simplification.<BR>> Computing power developed by
building giant machines filled with thousands<BR>> of vacuum tubes -- which
were quickly replaced by transistors which were<BR>> then replaced by
integrated circuits (computer chips). The increasingly<BR>> complex
mathematics required to describe the observed motions of the<BR>> planets
using Ptolemy's earth-centered astronomy was overthrown in one<BR>> strike
by Copernicus, who simplified everything by putting the sun in the<BR>>
center of the solar system. (If you know any biological and<BR>>
paleontological examples of this, please let me know.)<BR>> The point here
is that simplicity, too, evolves, often hand-in-hand with<BR>>
complexity. In modern complexity theory, the vast complexity of
certain<BR>> systems is built on very simple foundations. Studies show that
many<BR>> entities following a few simple rules can generate complex
self-organized<BR>> behaviors like the flocking of birds, the branching of
trees and the flow<BR>> of goods in a market. And the theory of
holons (wholes that are parts of<BR>> larger wholes) points out that
incredible complexity (like my<BR>> physiological systems) can be subsumed
into a simple coherent entity (my<BR>> body), which then becomes a building
block for larger systems (my<BR>> community, my networks). So
simplicity and complexity contain each other,<BR>> dance together, and
co-evolve.<BR>><BR>> To many of us, humanity's current patterns of
complexity, simplicity,<BR>> cooperation, competition and intelligence seem
to be leading us inexorably<BR>> towards global destruction. We feel
an urge to do something about that,<BR>> but feel so small in the face of
it. We might take heart in the fact that<BR>> our urge to do
something is evolution, itself, at work within us at this<BR>>
moment: Life rising up in life -- within us and among us -- in the
face<BR>> of new dangers and opportunities -- to transform itself, to
learn, to<BR>> innovate new patterns of complexity, simplicity,
cooperation, competition<BR>> and intelligence that will serve our survival
--<BR>> and thrival -- once again.<BR>><BR>> As we hit the limits of
this one earth, the elegance of our solutions will<BR>> necessarily expand
us and deepen us into realms we barely imagined. We ARE<BR>> evolution,
unfolding consciously for the first time. There is no adventure<BR>>
remotely like this one, and we are all on it.<BR>><BR>> My own piece of
this adventure is to help explore the relationship between<BR>> various
forms of individual, collective and universal intelligence, and<BR>> how we
can expand and deepen those -- and into those -- to bring forth<BR>> wiser
forms of cooperation -- and competition -- to co-create cultures<BR>>
that serve equally well the life within us and the life around us, and
the<BR>> healthy evolution of it all.<BR>><BR>> We are All. In
This. Together.<BR>><BR>> Blessings on the
Journey.<BR>><BR>> --<BR>><BR>>
________________________________<BR>><BR>> Tom Atlee * The
Co-Intelligence Institute * PO Box 493 * Eugene, OR 97440<BR>> <A
href="http://www.co-intelligence.org">http://www.co-intelligence.org</A>
* <A
href="http://www.democracyinnovations.org">http://www.democracyinnovations.org</A><BR>>
Read THE TAO OF DEMOCRACY * <A
href="http://www.taoofdemocracy.com">http://www.taoofdemocracy.com</A><BR>>
Tom Atlee's blog <A
href="http://www.evolvingcollectiveintelligence.org">http://www.evolvingcollectiveintelligence.org</A><BR>>
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