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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><EM><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Kathleen
said.......You know that one of the foundational beliefs of the ToP approach is
that the wisdom is in the group and that with good process they can determine
their own answers. With OS, the minimal structure, in essence, is saying that
same thing with maximum empowerment.</FONT><BR></EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thank you. Holding the space with the TOP
approach really nails it for me. I operate out of that belief but hadn't
consciously made the connection to the OS concept. I was authentically holding
the space. In the ICA TOP processes and others, I'm so used to being
<EM>busy</EM> facilitating. Now I can let go of the sense of feeling guilty for
not being <EM>busy </EM>(insert <EM>not earning my keep</EM>) for the client.
I'm growing in my understanding and experience of OST as a
commitment to being consciously quiet and centered as group wisdom emerges and
self-organizes around passion, meaning and responsibility. That's what I love
about our work. There is always room to learn, stretch, grow and evolve while
helping communities and people fulfil their vision of making a
difference. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'm looking forward to hearing the results and your
experience of your OS in the Dakotas </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Fellow TOPer and now OSTer, Maria Ort</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=kathleen@vitalclarity.com
href="mailto:kathleen@vitalclarity.com">Kathleen Osta</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=ptnrsmrt@mindspring.com
href="mailto:ptnrsmrt@mindspring.com">ORT MARIA</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</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> Saturday, March 11, 2006 6:45
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Arizona Refugee Resettlement
OST-Ethnically diverse group</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Congratulations, Maria, for stepping into the unknown of Open
Space. <BR><BR>I understand what you mean about <I>only</I> "holding the
space" but that really is a major contribution for any group. You know that
one of the foundational beliefs of the ToP approach is that the wisdom is in
the group and that with good process they can determine their own answers.
With OS, the minimal structure, in essence, is saying that same thing with
maximum empowerment.<BR><BR>I'm looking forward to my June event with 300
people and only 4 hours - a first for me to have such a large group. Am
planning on having about 20 lap tops in the News Room and a co-facilitator
(and hopefully a volunteer). I, too, am grateful for this listserv and for
Maureen McCarthy and Zelle Nelson for their unending support and efforts to
help move from being a newbie to OS to being someone who uses it for just
about everything.<BR><BR>Kathleen<BR><BR><BR>On Mar 11, 2006, at 4:09 PM, ORT
MARIA wrote:<BR><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE>Dear Funda, Tree, Kerry, Phil, Harrison and
Christine,<BR> <BR>Just wanted to update you on the results of the OS
with the Arizona Refugee Resettlement group. The State Coordinator was
hoping that the outcome of this day and half retreat would be that the
individual providers would get to know one another better, be willing
to collaborate more effectively, and take responsibility for innovation and
action rather than expecting the State to tell them what to
do. <BR> <BR>You eased my fears. I took your advice to heart
and simply kept the space truly open throughout, never assuming anything
about the group or their cultural practices. Once the participants realized
that they were completely in charge of their own experience (and that
didn't take long), they took it on wholeheartedly. Day 1 didn't start until
after 10am and started with a general discussion around the report
of results with 8 focus groups (refugee groups and provider groups). I
invited participants to consider the results as potential context (along
with their own experiences) for the OP topic: <I>In light of the
diversity of refugees coming to Arizona, what are the issues and
opportunities for providing responsible and appropriate refugee
resettlement?</I><BR> <BR>The results: 30 attendees conducted and
recorded 15 1.5 hour sessions in the afternoon. The next morning we
worked on identifying the overarching themes emerging. They decided that the
themes pointed to the creation of a state-wide association where they could
pool their resources to offer the kind of training, education, advocacy and
resource coordination they couldn't do as effectively on their own. This
surprised me because I hadn't expected such a huge priority to emerge. I'd
imagined and prepared for 2-4 priority action groups to form. So after a
deep breath, I invited those who had the passion and the willingness to
champion its creation to sign up (9 people immediately signed
up). After a bit of conversation, it became evident that the whole
group wanted to talk about some start-up actions on this priority, so we
did. I invited some of the champions to come up and "facilitate" the
conversation, which worked well. Our time was running out so I volunteered
to host a 3 hour action-planning session with anyone in the group
who wanted to attend (along with the champions) so we could get a broad
cross-section of action ideas, then form task groups. We meet on March 29th
and will do the TOP project action-planning method that works so
well.<BR> <BR>This was my first OST "convergence" experience. I don't
feel entirely comfortable with it yet but the participants were delighted
with OST results. They followed through within days to set the
action-planning meeting date. The "holding the space" part is still a
challenge for me but improving. I still feel a bit guilty about not doing
anything but holding them in my thoughts for the best outcome possible while
picking up coffee cups and moving chairs!<BR> <BR>Happy days...it is
finally raining in Phoenix, Arizona. Thanks again for your
coaching.<BR>Maria Carpenter
Ort<BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>*
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