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<FONT FACE="Verdana"><H1>The co-creative Practice of Peace.<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4">Sept. 28th, 2005<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4">Anne Stadler<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4">annestad@comcast.net<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4">November, 2003: <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4"> Imagine a large windowed room, open to the outdoors, with 150 people sitting in a circle. They are gathered here to practice peace. They have come from as far as Israel, Palestine, India, Haiti, Northern Ireland, Colombia, Mexico, Denmark, Canada, Bosnia, Nigeria, Burundi, Nepal, Taiwan, Washington, DC, and many other places in the United States, as well nearby in the Northwest. They’ve come to the Whidbey Institute on Whidbey Island, Washington, for three days of Self-organized activity: taking responsibility for their passions in the Practice of Peace. They are all ages, all skin colors, from many walks of life. <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4"> They open their daily circle in silence. The ringing of a clear bell signals the beginning and end of their entry into silence. They organize themselves by using the simple tools of paper and felt pens to convene topics they care about. A long wall is titled Agenda Wall. When the marketplace for the day’s offerings is opened, people who want to convene sessions, write the topic and their name on a piece of paper, stand up and announce what they are offering then tape the offering on that wall: declaring topic, name, time and place for meeting. <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4"> Many of the invitations are provocative: “Healing a Wounded Country”, “What are you willing to Die for?” “Watch a movie about the Wall going up in Israel and talk about the implications.” “Compassionate listening to personal stories of war and violence.” Others invite people to “Explore Playback Theater as a practice of peace”, “Walk in the woods to contemplate the lessons of nature.” “The inner practice of peace.” <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4"> By the end of three days, people have engaged deeply with each other, have listened to the call of spirit, have connected with the natural world. They have formed new bonds of friendship and collaboration. They have planted the seeds of new peacemaking initiatives: Global Citizens Journey travels to Nigeria to build a library in a riverine community in the Niger delta; young people are joining other young people in building homes in Burundi; opening space in Bogota Colombia with street children; opening space in Israel for the vision of Jerusalem 2020; a media project to spread stories of success and peaceful evolution… and more!<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4"> This Practice of Peace was a practical experience of Open Space Technology married with Spirited Work. Spirited Work, a learning community of practice, was host and convenor. Spirited Workers had been coming together for six years, exploring on-going open space organization. For many, the practice of opening space had become a daily spiritual practice, as well as a way of conducting co-creative collective life.<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4">Open Space Technology: <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4">Life is a self-organizing system. Open Space Technology is a distillation of the essential features of human self-organizing. Using OST, people can self-organize their activities with ease, emergent leadership and appropriate form. The all-knowing, intelligent field (the whole) organizes itself via the actions of people who are opening space. This organizing process happens at a subconscious level for each individual, allowing people to participant in any way appropriate for them, welcoming all who are attracted. <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4">The necessary features are these:<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4"> 1. Identify an intention or question for gathering.<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4">2. Invite all people who have a stake in the situation or question <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4">3. Seat everyone in a circle (or circles) to communicate that everyone present is essential to the whole.<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4">4. Open a marketplace of individual offerings.<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4">5. Participate according to one law and four principles, releasing the full potential of the group.<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4">The Law of Two Feet: Take responsibility for your passion. Show up for that. Let your two feet carry you to wherever you can act on that. <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4">Principles:<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4">(1) Whoever comes are the right people.<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4">(2) Whatever happens is the only thing that could’ve<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4">(3) Whenever it starts is the right time.<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4">(4) When it’s over, it’s over.<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4">6. Use simple tools (paper, felt pens, and masking tape) to offer<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4"> conversations or activities that have heart and meaning for the <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4"> invitor.<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4">7. Establish transparent communications.: Each small group<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4"> appoints a reporter who take notes and enters them into a computer,<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4"> creating a daily log available to everyone, including those<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4"> participating via the Internet. <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4">8. Share learning and insights: At the end of the day, the whole circle re-<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4">forms for a Quaker meeting-style exchange or passing the Talking Stick to reflect on and share learning.. <BR>
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These are the essential elements of OST and the fundamentals of human self-organizing.<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4">Self-organizing:<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4">The Whidbey Island Practice of Peace was an exercise in Self-organizing--a co-creative Practice of Peace.<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4"> A co-creative Practice of Peace is both a spiritual practice of opening inner space, and also a medium for opening space in groups to listen to inner guidance, discover and express healthy relationships. <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4"> The use of “S” (in Self-organizing) signals the deliberate opening of inner space through silence to allow action to be guided by gnosis (or “divine essence”). In a group gathering, participants open each circle in silence, and speak from listening. The flow of self-organized creation happens in the context of Self-organized <B>co</B>-creation. <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4"> Consciousness evolves as people are guided to participate in creation of practical activities and conversations. Through the medium of Open Space Technology, spirit manifests in practical action. <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4"> The gifts of each person present, as each takes responsibility for what he/she truly loves, become a gift exchange, creating true community, however transitory. (The word “community” is from the Latin: “cum” meaning “with” or “together,” “munus” meaning “gift.”). <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4"> As a group process, the spirited Practice of Peace <BR>
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<FONT SIZE="4">integrates the evolution of planetary consciousness (Self-organizing) with the evolution of universal creation (self-organizing)—giving rise to practical activities and loving attention supporting the health and well being of all. <BR>
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