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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3>Hi Filiz and
All</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3>Lovely to hear of
your 'history in the making.' </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3>This is what I had
had in mind to contribute to Harrison's posting on ‘A Quiet Time’ and
musing on ‘whatever happens …’ Maybe now is the right time to bring
this in. <smile> </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3>Your poignant plea
for practical help has been nicely responded to by others, including Birgitt
and Joelle, reflecting on her recent experience in a church service.
</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3>You may also find
this perpective of 'whatever happens ...' of value ...</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3>My ‘take’
on this principle, outlined below, is invariably what I indicate at
the beginning of any gathering in which I invoke the principles of OST. Often
this is in contexts in which the format of OST is not being used.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3>“This gathering will
only take place once in human history and we have the remarkable opportunity to
be ‘in this together.’ For whoever is present are the right people to contribute
to the learning which will happen. </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3>And here is a nice
reminder: </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3>The only thing that
could happen whenever people treat each other well is that good things emerge.
</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3>There is no knowing
what these may be. If we keep an open mind, with no expectations and delicious
anticipations, all will be revealed – perhaps in most surprising
ways!"</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3>People seem to
respond in kind when the invitation to participate is expressed in this
manner.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3>Just how they do
participate, at different stages of a meeting, is of course not under the
control or wishes of the facilitator or sponsor! <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3>I wonder how this
sounds to you? </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3>With love</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3>Alan </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT
face="Comic Sans MS"><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on"><FONT
face=Arial>Hong Kong</FONT></st1:place> </FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS"
size=3></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>From: "Filiz Telek"
<<A href="mailto:filiz@bugday.org">filiz@bugday.org</A>><BR>To: <<A
href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</A>><BR>Subject:
whatever one says,people do whatever they want to do anyway<BR>Date: Monday,
March 06, 2006 3:52 PM</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2>This is the newest
principle for OS that Funda and I are proposing.after our<BR>experience in OS
yesterday :-)<BR> <BR>Ok, just around the days when we have been
contemplating on "whatever<BR>happens is the only thing that could have", I will
share with you a brief<BR>reflection on this open space we experienced, a first
for me, Funda and for<BR>all who attended.and perhaps dwell a little bit on what
could we have done<BR>different or what can we do different in the
future.<BR> <BR>Funda Oral, whom you know from this list, facilitated this
meeting and I<BR>tried to support her to my capability. This was the first time
we opened<BR>space together in Turkey, so it was quite a historical day for all
of us,<BR>considering the work Funda has done in the last years to invite people
to<BR>open space in Turkey.<BR> <BR>Today we co-hosted a group of people
who are passionate about improving the<BR>public transport in Istanbul. Their
immediate focus was saving the<BR>traditional ferryboats of Istanbul which are
one of the important symbols of<BR>Istanbul that reflects the spirit of this
city. Saving because the<BR>municipality wanted to get rid of them to bring in
new and fast sea buses.<BR>So by taking a stand on the maintenance of these
ferries, this group<BR>actually is one of the real citizens' movements in Turkey
that has some<BR>effect on local decision making.the theme of today's meeting
was to come up<BR>with activities for 2006 to improve sea transport and saving
the ferries.<BR> <BR>All in all it went well with a little more chaos than
usual.groups were<BR>formed, exciting conversations were held, actions were
proposed.and Funda<BR>did a great job in opening the space.<BR>However
convergence was a little disaster in my view, and good news is that<BR>I was
hosting it :-) there could be many reasons for this but I tend to<BR>blame
myself or the group for the outcome. When it was convergence time,
we<BR>re-opened space where I invited people to announce the actions they want
to<BR>take. By the time I could finish my sentence, some people had left the
room,<BR>some wondering around, some chatting to the person next to them, two
people<BR>shouting at each other.I invited the group about 3 times and
nothing<BR>changed. At the end, someone read some proposed actions from the
previous<BR>session, put them on the floor and people who were interested signed
up. By<BR>that time half of the group had left already. Unfortunately we didn't
even<BR>have a closing, because we couldn't maintain the energy of the
group<BR>anymore. The meeting finished an hour earlier than the proposed
time.<BR> <BR>Now, whatever happens is the only thing that could have. But
for my own<BR>sanity, I need some practical help here. Because this seems to be
the<BR>general group dynamics over here and I am having a hard time as
a<BR>facilitator to deal with it. Not only it makes me feel incompetent, it
makes<BR>me also lose hope at certain points about being able to do any useful
work<BR>over here.<BR>My main challenges are that people don't listen well, they
don't concentrate<BR>during a meeting, so they miss and don't follow the
instructions and the<BR>groups are not able to converge. In all of the meetings
I attended so far, I<BR>found myself watching in awe how people disappear before
we are able to say,<BR>so this meeting is finished. And naturally there is no
conclusion. I then<BR>feel all the energy that was built up during a meeting
gets wasted before we<BR>could channel it into something
constructive.<BR> <BR>I have been told that being young and female does not
help in Turkish<BR>culture. I do not accept this as an explanation. <BR>I would
like to know whether any of you worked in a similar cultural setting<BR>where it
was difficult to shift the group energy beyond the individual to<BR>the
collective, where listening and focusing was a challenge.and people<BR>proceeded
the way they wanted to. To which degree do you or do you not<BR>interfere? What
do you do, when you propose a step and one (or more)<BR>participant suggests
something else before your next step? (this happens so<BR>often here, drives me
crazy, even if you say no, we cant really do that,<BR>people go ahead anyway)
What are the conditions for being able to converge a<BR>group whose energy is
all over the place?<BR> <BR>I am really interested in improving the flow
under the conditions I<BR>described above and I am asking for practical
suggestions.<BR>Thank you! <BR> <BR> <BR>f i l i z <BR>approach love
and cooking with reckless abundance!<BR> <<A
href="http://www.barakam.blogspot.com/">http://www.barakam.blogspot.com/</A>>
<A
href="http://www.barakam.blogspot.com">www.barakam.blogspot.com</A><BR> <<A
href="http://www.bugday.org/">http://www.bugday.org/</A>> <A
href="http://www.bugday.org">www.bugday.org</A> <BR> </FONT></P>
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