Birgitt, I am surprised to read an OS practioner declare that the 'invitation is not what matters'.<br>
<br>
If the invitation does not matter, than what does? Isn't the
invitation of way of setting intention? Isn't holding intention
for the space, um, what an open space practitioner does? <br>
<br>
For me, clarity of intention is very central to any OS event and, for
me, the intention is set in the invitation. The invitation, of
course, is cocreated by the event's sponsors and the collaboration of
sponsors used to come up with the invitation is, in my mind, essential
to what it means to open space.<br>
<br>
<br><br><div><span class="gmail_quote">On 3/20/06, <b class="gmail_sendername">Birgitt Williams</b> <<a href="mailto:birgitt@dalarinternational.com">birgitt@dalarinternational.com</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
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<p><font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;">Hi Chris,</span></font></p>
<p><font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;">Having an OST would work well. No matter
what the invitation says, on Day One, they will end up airing what they need to
air. Then Day Two and beyond is where they will start to find their way. It is
not the invitation that matters <span>so</span> much as the amount
of time. People, given time and space, and a common purpose, will find their
way in an OST meeting, with the facilitator aware of holding a resonant energy
field of a frequency that is at harmony.</span></font></p>
<p><font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;"> </span></font></p>
<p><font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;">On the flip side, curtailing the amount of
time compresses the conflict energy.</span></font></p>
<p><font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;"> </span></font></p>
<p><font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;">Birgitt</span></font></p>
<p><font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;"> </span></font></p>
<p style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><font face="Tahoma" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma;"></span></font></p></div><font face="Tahoma" size="2"></font><div style="direction: ltr;"><span class="q"><font face="Tahoma" size="2">
-----Original Message-----<br>
<b><span style="font-weight: bold;">From:</span></b> OSLIST
[mailto:<a href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a>] <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">On
Behalf Of </span></b>Chris Corrigan<br></font></span></div><div style="direction: ltr;"><span class="q">
<font face="Tahoma" size="2"><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></b> Monday, March 20, 2006 11:17
AM<br>
<b><span style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b> <a href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a><br></font></span>
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<font face="Tahoma" size="2"><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></b> Conflict in community</font><p></p></div><div style="direction: ltr;"><span class="e" id="q_10a1ae2f503e1373_4">
<p style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></font></p>
<p style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Hi Folks:<br>
<br>
An inquiry for you.<br>
<br>
I've had a couple of conversations this week with people involved with local
school boards in the United States. The common themes in these
conversations include high degrees of local conflict, positional politics, an
extreme lack of resources over which no one locally has any control and labour
relations that are best described as toxic. <br>
<br>
IN a conversation today, one man said that he wanted to try Open Space simply
as a way to have all the parts of the system understand each other. I
suggested that this might not bring the peace he was looking for, as people who
would come to that kind of meeting hoping to convince others of their
righteousness would feel at the end of the day that they were either winners or
losers. I thought that result wouldn't necessarily be
transformational. When I asked him if instead we couldn't issue an
invitation to invite people essentially to answer the question "how can we
BE together differently in this system" he balked a little at the notion
of a smaller group of "like minded" individuals. Of course I
don;t see this as starkly black and white, but nevertheless, he thought an
"airing of the issues and a shared understanding" were most
important. <br>
<br>
So my question goes to people who have worked in this situation, with groups
that are highly wedded to positions. What are the kinds of invitations
that allow for "airing," generated shared understanding, and perhaps
lead to transformative relationships? <br>
<br>
By the way, I told him I would do this for less than 1.5 days.<br>
<br>
Thoughts and reflections welcome.<br>
<br>
Chris<br clear="all">
<br>
-- <br>
CHRIS CORRIGAN<br>
Consultation - Facilitation<br>
Open Space Technology <br>
<br>
Weblog: <a href="http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot</a><br>
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http://tinyurl.com/r94tj</a> * *
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