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<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>You've seen Tom Atlee's description of
the recent "Evolutionary Salon". Here are my reflections,
mostly on the partnership between TWC and OS.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>We began our first evening in a circle
with a check in, people speaking to what attracted them to the Evolutionary
Salon. We described the process that we'd be using for the conference as a
living experiment in being an evolutionary social system. This let us use
our real time experience as a mirror for our learning.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>The next morning, Juanita Brown took us
into a World Cafe. I got to participate. We focused on a question
about our burning questions. I think I had the honor of experiencing TWC
at its very best. Juanita is a master of her craft. When reflections
were harvested at the end of the session, people said they were touched by the
experience, discovering the feeling of connection to each other, the synergy
among their burning questions. They expressed excitement at the sense of
intimacy and kinship they felt. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>I have to admit that as a participant, I
felt as I did the last time I experienced TWC: constrained by the expectation of
staying at the table. It was quite a contrast for me to hear the
excitement of others in the room! </FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>We began the Open Space in the
afternoon. Of course, people jumped in with their sessions. They
seemed to be doing just fine. Come the closing circle, several people
expressed distress at their experience. One went so far as to ask if we
could go back to the comfort and intimacy of a cafe-like format.
I thought to myself, "freedom shock" is alive and well. The mix of people
at the conference included scientists and people of spirit. It seems there
was something of a clash of cultures going on in many of the sessions. I
just listened -- no defending, no fixing.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>As is my practice in multiple day events
(learned from Spirited Work), the convening group met to reflect on how
things were going after the evening circle. The meeting was open to any
who wished to join us. A few people did. One wondered if we needed
to do something to "push the group" in the direction we wished them to go
(as if we knew what direction that was!). We discussed the fact that
the discomfort people experienced wasn't necessarily a bad thing, that it
provided an opportunity for something new to emerge. I encouraged my
nervous sponsors to trust that things were going just fine.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2> </DIV>
<DIV></FONT><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>That evening I found myself in a
butterfly conversation with a couple of people distressed by the "yang" energy
they ran into, feeling unsafe to express their "yin" selves. We talked at
length about what it means to take responsibility for what you love. They
left the conversation thinking about how to come fully present tomorrow in all
their "yin" glory. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>The next morning, someone announced
3 new "yin" meeting spaces. There was much laughter as people
bantered about yin-ness and yang-ness and its intersection. Turns out
there had been LOTS of butterfly conversations and those who had felt
distressed, found their way, dissipating the angst before it became a
real issue. In fact, from that point forward, the OS just
flowed.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>A reflection on how TWC affected the
dynamic. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>It was clear that people had a felt sense
of community very quickly through TWC. I think that the move into OS
created that condition that Harrison calls "freedom shock". It's possible
that the contrast heightened the shock. That said, I believe the sense of
connection created during TWC enabled those who were distressed to seek out the
friends they had made rather than completely check out (of course, being in a
remote location would have made it difficult to leave!). I wonder if
that is a benefit of a cafe prior to OS -- to create relationships that
might support people to stay engaged if they have a tendency towards
freedom shock?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>THE TWC MEETS OS EXPERIMENT</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>The OS continued as usual over the next
couple days. During our preparation for the conference, the planning team
(Tom Atlee, Michael Dowd and myself) discussed the possibility of
convening evening sessions on "what are we learning?" On
the third evening, Tom and I decided that it would be useful to
do so and that we'd do it using "TWC meets the law of two feet".</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>Our session question: what patterns do
you see emerging? About 12 people came. We started in groups of 4
with an agreement that we'd come together as a whole to see what we'd uncovered
in about an hour. In the meantime, people were invited to stay or move as
they wished. As context, I said that we knew from the cafe
experience that patterns become visible quickly when people move around
periodically, so moving is useful. At Juanita's suggestion,
we had blank cards in the clusters so that groups could send an idea to
another group if they wanted. They could also send an emissary.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>That was it. Basically, it was OS
with groups of four discussing the session topic. What happened was a
kick. Two groups were quite intent in their conversations, clearly not
moving, just going deeper and deeper. The third group eventually
dissipated, a couple people going to sleep, the others joining the two hot
groups. And then others started arriving. They just opted for one or
the other of the groups. The conversations were animated and
intense. At one point, the group I was in sent a card with an idea to the
other group. In all, I think about 20 people were there by the end of the
evening.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>After about an hour, we came together as
one. First one group described what they'd learned, then the other group
did the same. The second group mentioned that they used the idea they'd
received on the card. The remains of the original third group added their
thoughts into the mix. Llyn Peabody, new to graphic recording, but clearly
in her element, took notes, drawing an incredible visual map of the weave of our
stories. The result was electrifying and became the basis for
some breakthrough ideas the last day!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>One side note -- someone said during the
session that they often looked for what was missing to understand a
situation. I pointed out that the yin/yang laughter in the morning
signaled something rather remarkable that was missing from our living experiment
of an evolving social system: angst. Rather than fragmenting into
conflict, people had transcended it. That drew a raised eyebrow or two as
people digested how the space had made room for conflict to be embraced
with grace.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>A reflection on the TWC meets OS
experiment</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>Next time I'm a participant in an OS and
have a large group, I'd likely split up again in this way. It was a great
way to reflect on our question when the group was large.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>THOUGHTS FOR THE FUTURE</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>Juanita and I talked the next morning
about our impressions of the intersection of TWC and OS. We discussed
several strengths of TWC -- creating a sense of community and uncovering
patterns quickly. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>Given my own biases, I wouldn't use TWC
as an opener unless the client had some specific situation that moved things
that way. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>I can imagine experimenting with doing an
evening reflection with people beginning in small groups. I can
see this as a natural flow of the energy as people wander in, talking
together before coming into a single circle. I think this could
be a low key transition that actually makes it easier to convene the
evening circle. By following the energy of people arriving for the close,
inviting them into reflection as they arrive rather than waiting for everyone
before beginning, I think something simple and useful could
occur. </FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>Juanita
suggested explicitly encouraging people post their sessions in the
form of questions. It made me smile when Harrison recently posted:
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I think of every Open Space gathering as a
(potentially) question rich environment. That is why I always suggest to people
that they phrase the theme as a question, as opposed to a
statement.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>Questions are certainly a place of coming
together.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>So, that's about all of my musings on
this subject.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>yours, on a warm evening in
Seattle,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>Peggy</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>________________________________<BR>Peggy
Holman<BR>The Open Circle Company<BR>15347 SE 49th Place<BR>Bellevue, WA
98006<BR>(425) 746-6274 </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2><A
href="http://www.opencirclecompany.com">www.opencirclecompany.com</A></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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