I have this strong sense that fear is like a whirlpool - we are drawn into its centre because of the forces of gravity, the viscosity of the water and the hole in the bottom of the bathtub. With nowhere else to go, the water goes down, and if we are water in this scenario, we are sucked somewhat inexorably towards that centre.
<br><br>What happens when we Open Space around a theme of hope or a topic that stands against this fear is that we drill another hole in the bathtub. Now the water entering the stream has a choice, and it can go down the hole of fear or be drawn towards the new centre. It doesn't require a massive shift, in fact it only requires a small one, for once the water chooses to drain down the other hole, it commits fully to that pattern instead.
<br><br>Opening space for peace invites consciousness that there is another way. Being in open space free from fear creates the undeniable experience of possibility which leads us towards a more and more peaceful centre around which we may continue to gather. Once we know it's possible, how can we return to our former state of fear?
<br><br>Chris<br><br><div><span class="gmail_quote">On 3/30/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">Harrison Owen</b> <<a href="mailto:hhowen@verizon.net">hhowen@verizon.net</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;">
Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Advisor to Jimmy Carter, is usually<br>over shadowed by Henry Kissinger, which is a shame, because the clarity and<br>insight of Zbigniew is remarkable, I think. Case in point is his recent
<br>article, "Terrorized by the War on Terror." I bring all this up here because<br>I think it has a lot to do with a conversation we have been having about<br>fear, and the reaction to fear. For the whole article go
<br><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/23/AR2007032301">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/23/AR2007032301</a><br>613.html?referrer=emailarticle)<br><br><br> Z says many things but the following cuts to the core -
<br><br> "The culture of fear is like a genie that has been let out of its<br>bottle. It acquires a life of its own -- and can become demoralizing.<br>America today is not the self-confident and determined nation that responded
<br>to Pearl Harbor; nor is it the America that heard from its leader, at<br>another moment of crisis, the powerful words "the only thing we have to fear<br>is fear itself"; nor is it the calm America that waged the Cold War with
<br>quiet persistence despite the knowledge that a real war could be initiated<br>abruptly within minutes and prompt the death of 100 million Americans within<br>just a few hours. We are now divided, uncertain and potentially very
<br>susceptible to panic in the event of another terrorist act in the United<br>States itself.<br><br> That is the result of five years of almost continuous national<br>brainwashing on the subject of terror, quite unlike the more muted reactions
<br>of several other nations (Britain, Spain, Italy, Germany, Japan, to mention<br>just a few) that also have suffered painful terrorist acts. In his latest<br>justification for his war in Iraq, President Bush even claims absurdly that
<br>he has to continue waging it lest al-Qaeda cross the Atlantic to launch a<br>war of terror here in the United States.<br><br>Such fear-mongering, reinforced by security entrepreneurs, the mass media<br>and the entertainment industry, generates its own momentum. The terror
<br>entrepreneurs, usually described as experts on terrorism, are necessarily<br>engaged in competition to justify their existence. Hence their task is to<br>convince the public that it faces new threats. That puts a premium on the
<br>presentation of credible scenarios of ever-more-horrifying acts of violence,<br>sometimes even with blueprints for their implementation.<br><br> That America has become insecure and more paranoid is hardly<br>debatable. A recent study reported that in 2003, Congress identified 160
<br>sites as potentially important national targets for would-be terrorists.<br>With lobbyists weighing in, by the end of that year the list had grown to<br>1,849; by the end of 2004, to 28,360; by 2005, to 77,769. The national
<br>database of possible targets now has some 300,000 items in it, including the<br>Sears Tower in Chicago and an Illinois Apple and Pork Festival."<br><br><br><br>Another way of talking about all of this is that when the Genie of fear is
<br>let out of the bottle, space closes. People burrow in and seek the lowest<br>common denominator of our humanity. This is not to suggest that no dangers<br>exist, but the words of Franklin Roosevelt ring very clear here, "We have
<br>nothing to fear but fear itself." And fear does a fantastic job of shutting<br>down our life space. The reactions that follow are fairly predictable.<br>Simple tasks become monumental chores, and small irritations send people off
<br>the deep end. And our life space becomes smaller and smaller - until there<br>is scarcely room to breath.<br><br>I am not suggesting that we have reached the end of the line on this one,<br>but I feel quite strongly that we (in the US and elsewhere) have moved well
<br>down the road. And going the way we are going will not bring us to any<br>destination I care to visit.<br><br>Doubtless lots of things can and must be done - but in this community I<br>think we have a special role, opportunity, and I would guess, responsibility
<br>to do what we know how to do - Open Space. It is tempting to think of<br>massive open spaces for the "powers" of this world. But I don't think that<br>is likely to happen, and even if it did I am not sure that the effect would
<br>be all that positive. The reason is simple, fear hangs out in the small dark<br>corners of our lives, and while the massive stroke for freedom (THE BIG OPEN<br>SPACE) might be gratifying, to say nothing of looking good in the morning
<br>news paper, I think the effect would be minimal. But we don't have to go<br>there. Everytime we open space, and especially when we do that around some<br>common, mundane, everyday issue for even a few people - those people have an
<br>opportunity to take a deep breath, to push back the crowding walls of fear,<br>to open up their life space. I am reminded of a very small Open Space I did<br>in The Middle East. At the end a young Palestinian woman came up to me with
<br>tears in her eyes, and said, "You have reborned my hope." The English may<br>have been a little fractured, but the moment was profound.<br><br>Maybe we could talk about all this?<br><br>Harrison<br><br><br><br>
<br>Harrison Owen<br>7808 River Falls Drive<br>Potomac, Maryland 20854<br>Phone 301-365-2093<br>Skype hhowen<br>Open Space Training <a href="http://www.openspaceworld.com">www.openspaceworld.com</a> <<a href="http://www.openspaceworld.com/">
http://www.openspaceworld.com/</a>><br><br>Open Space Institute <a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org">www.openspaceworld.org</a><br>Personal website <a href="http://www.ho-image.com">www.ho-image.com</a><br>OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives
<br>Visit: <a href="http://www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html">www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html</a><br><<a href="http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html">http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
</a>><br><br><br><br>*<br>*<br>==========================================================<br><a href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a><br>------------------------------<br>To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
<br>view the archives of <a href="mailto:oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu">oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu</a>:<br><a href="http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html">http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
</a><br><br>To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:<br><a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist">http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist</a><br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>CHRIS CORRIGAN
<br>Facilitation - Training<br>Open Space Technology<br><br>Weblog: <a href="http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot">http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot</a><br>Site: <a href="http://www.chriscorrigan.com">http://www.chriscorrigan.com
</a><br><br>Principal, Harvest Moon Consultants, Ltd.<br><a href="http://www.harvestmoonconsultants.com">http://www.harvestmoonconsultants.com</a>
*
*
==========================================================
OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
------------------------------
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu:
http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist