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<DIV>Okay, the title isn't mine...it is from someone who attended the recent
Story Field Conference (<A
href="http://www.storyfieldconference.net">www.storyfieldconference.net</A>).
Mind you, it is also a very minority view. For almost all of the 83+
people who attended, it was a mind-blowing, life-altering experience. It
set a new bar for me of what is possible when a diverse group of passionate
people come together for 5 days in Open Space.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I'll say more about the whole conference soon. In the meantime, there
was one particularly provocative post-conference reflection expressing a great
deal of frustration about what took place. This person really struggled
with the open nature of the process, and asked some great questions.
(Unfortunately, his piece is in a secured area and I am not ready to ask his
permission to share it.) Still, I think you'll get the gist through my
response.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>As I said to him, there is so much to be learned about the dynamic tension
between “structured process where everyone knows what’s going on, and everyone
agrees to the ground rules” and a space open to the mystery of what is wanting
to emerge in the moment....</DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">ABOUT MYSTERY</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">One of the main themes I found in
your message was why go through all the discomfort?<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>What’s the point?</P>
<P>You said: <SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">The
group seems divided into two camps - those who prefer messy, emotional, and
random processing, and those who came here for a specific purpose, with the hope
of creating something new and extraordinary, and who are equally frustrated by
the chaos.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P>I’d offer that for many of us, it is going through the messy, emotional, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">seemingly</I> random processing that we have
the best chance of creating something new and extraordinary.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I have a deep and abiding
commitment to bringing mystery back into most everything we do.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I believe that without the unknown,
there is no learning, no creativity, no life.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For me, if there is only certainty, I
suffocate.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I also believe that when
there is no room for the unknown, it makes itself felt through disease,
disorder, violence, depression and other unpleasant and unintended
consequences.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Culturally, we celebrate
perfection – perfect athletic performance, musical performance, total quality in
production.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I’m glad we do; I have
felt the inspiration of experiencing a virtuoso performance.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And I sure don’t want airplanes,
bridges, cars built any other way.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Still, there is a companion to
this perfection that I believe is equally essential that is not only not
celebrated, but struggles to find its legitimacy -- and grows increasingly
important the more dysfunctional and destructive the status quo becomes.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It is what happens at the margins, where
something doesn’t yet have a form or a name, where it is seeking to come into
being.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>My friend, David Gershon,
calls it the learning edge.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If we
aren’t playing at the border between the known and unknown, we are standing in
the way of our own evolution.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>To be
very pragmatic, there is no learning or transformational change without mystery;
if you already know the outcome, then no transformation is involved!<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I appreciate learning from
other’s knowledge, and believe that has its place.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>When exploring a topic as nascent as a
“story field”, I would much rather be present with passionate, committed,
talented people exploring their inquiries rather than committed to their
certainties.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I suspect this is true
for many, if not most of us.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Could we have made better use of
those who brought knowledge about the new story to the gathering?<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Surely. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>SHOULD we have, in some particular
way?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I don’t know.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I think this choice is a useful
exploration and would be pleased to engage more fully in it.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In retrospect, I suspect we both gained
and lost by the choices we made.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>For example, we did not come away with anywhere near the shared sense of
how to answer the calling questions as I would have liked.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And yet I wonder, had we done so, would
the voices that are often left out found their place in the story?<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I have no idea.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I know that I gained a deeper
understanding of how vital it is for those voices to be part of the story that
emerges.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And I do know that the
work continues to unfold among many who were present.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I have come to believe that
strategic conversations, such as we had at the Story Field Conference, are part
of a larger trend, a floating conversation, with different threads of a
collective exploration slowly converging, bringing together different cohorts
who are exploring similar questions.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Through these seemingly unconnected iterations, we are growing a new and
vital coherence among us.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>At least,
that’s my story.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And it begins,
indirectly, to touch on this question of what it takes to get things done.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">WHAT IS THE PRICE OF A LINEAR
FOCUS ON GETTING THINGS DONE?</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I, too, have a passion for
getting things done. That's why I invested the unbelievable amount of time it
took to put together this story field gathering.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But for me, the important question is
this:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>given an intention, what form
of getting things done best serves that intention? </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">For example, I co-edited a 700+
page book with over 100 contributors.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>This required focused, linear skills of getting from A to B on a tight
timeline, juggling a vast amount of details as I went.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It was possible because there was a high
degree of agreement about the underlying assumptions – the “story field” if you
will – of what we were doing. </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">However, for something like
envisioning a new story, much less a new story field, I believe what it takes to
bring about wise action is quite different from A to B thinking. In particular,
it takes a special openness to engage as much diversity as possible to achieve
as lasting an effect as possible from individuals, small groups, and perhaps
even a major subset of the whole group. This is not a linear proposition.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>When the assumptions themselves are part
of the territory in question, I believe that opening as much space as possible
for being receptive to what is wanting to emerge creates the greatest
opportunity for deep understanding and lasting results.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">That is part of the reason why,
when I look at the how much wise action takes place in our larger culture and
the huge amount of fragmentation that impedes wise action, it is clear to me
that something different is called for. I believe wise, unimpeded action is an
outcome that naturally flows out of strong, healthy relationships. By opening
the space as we did, a great deal of relational work was done. What I saw in
reading the reflections is a remarkable number of people who said, “I now have
the courage to act on my convictions”; “I know that I am not alone; I have
allies”. </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Are you aware of the remarkable
number of meetings, conference calls, one-on-one connections that are all in
process as a result of our conference? The action on the wiki, alone, is a
testament to the aliveness of our work together. Remarkably, a third of the
conference participants (27) have posted 143 edits during the conference and for
more than 2 weeks afterwards, and counting.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Those people who have the good
fortune to be quite at home in the dominant culture -- which has an ethic of
focusing on action, getting things done in a linear way --<B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> may not have thought about what gets lost
when that is always the primary focus.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>They may not have wondered what voices don’t get heard because they find
no place in that drive for action.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>These are major parts of my life -- and the lives of millions of other
people.<o:p></o:p></B></P>
<P>I think our culture has paid a huge price by squeezing uncertainty and chaos
out of every place we can!<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I
believe it has created a wide range of unintended consequences, most of which
are virtually invisible.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For
example, one such consequence is an unspoken norm that to be in community means
conforming to the dominant story.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>If I say something different, something that is not comfortable or is
unfamiliar, particularly if it is emotionally unpleasant, it is judged to be
inappropriate. To speak out is to risk being ostracized.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>No wonder many women, people of color,
and young people opt out!<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I think the current fragmentation
of our society grew out of feelings that there were no avenues for voices that
don’t fit accepted norms.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>How can I
feel connected to a larger whole when there is no space for my point of
view?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>At the extreme, violence is a
consequence of this fragmentation; if there isn’t a space for voices with
different stories, then it plays out in other forms.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">With all that is happening across
our world today, I believe the story has become far too complex for any one
culture to have all the answers.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Because there was space for grief, anger, fear, and radical diversity,
this gathering made creating space for the voices and feelings not usually
expressed more visible, more urgent, and more poignant to me than even I have
ever experienced.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I felt my own
anger as a woman when challenged by yet another straight, white man who saw all
of the overflowing emotion as nonessential and nonproductive.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I heard, for the first time, the pain of
indigenous people who have always been completely invisible to me.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I heard the anguish of people of mixed
race and non-white races expressed as a visceral experience of being choked off
from speaking their truth.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And I
heard the pain of the white man – and others – confused and repelled by what was
happening.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And the cacophony of
those voices -- because they were heard -- welded us into a powerful community
that was viscerally felt by the vast majority of participants, and out of which
has come the ecosystem of activities that we are seeing online, in phone calls,
and in upcoming local gatherings -- as well as stimulating conversations like
this about what future conferences will be like…</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">AN INTERLUDE: ABOUT WEDNESDAY
MORNING</P>
<P>I think part of the reason there was so much “stuff” surfacing on Wednesday
morning is that we culturally provide so little space for collective meaning
making of what is disturbing.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I
sense that we have 1) a great deal of unhandled angers, hurts, fears that are
wanting to be expressed and 2) very little experience expressing them and
dealing with them together creatively.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>I was talking to someone who said the invitation to discern whether what
was surfacing was personal or coming from a deeper source was interesting but
with no practice, she wasn’t sure how to know.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And, as Van Jones spoke on the Pachamama
video, we also know very little about how to truly and usefully hear such
expressions of anger, fear and grief.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">When I look back on Wednesday
morning, the range of issues expressed was extraordinary -- tensions between
male/female, western culture/indigenous culture, moving to action/handling our
emotional backlog -- and there was room for all of it.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I personally believe that our collective
capacity to stay present to it all was pivotal for the quality of connections,
and commitments to actions that seems to be emerging from the gathering.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">As Mark Jones made us aware of,
we saw, heard and loved each other.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>And it isn't about a woo-woo comfy Green meme feeling.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>There is power here, a latent power of
the whole.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We are only
beginning to understand the practical power of seeing, hearing, and loving each
other fully, together.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>To grow into
that understanding, we'll need a lot more such gatherings -- including a lot
more continuity as a community.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But
that's getting ahead of myself here….</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">BACK TO GETTING THINGS DONE…</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Right after the conference, my
brother told me that Robert Putnam (Bowling Alone; Better Together) has just
released some new research that says the more diverse a neighborhood, the more
disengaged it is from the political process.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This is no surprise to me:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>as long as the pain, anger, frustration
remains suppressed, of course we can’t connect to get something done!<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>When Grace spoke her pain, she made
visible something that was already present.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>She opened the way for others to express
their hurt, anger, frustration of what usually remains invisible.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>While messy, we made room for voices
that are usually silent, to be heard.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>It is that sort of healing that is vital for us to become the kinds of
diverse communities -- diverse, loving, and <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">effective</I> communities -- that I heard so
many of us long for!</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">And it took great courage. I see
this as another reason for being willing to open the space for what is wanting
to emerge.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>As we practice being in
the unknown together and learn to trust each other, we discover that we are not
alone.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In the last couple years of
doing this work, it is one of the strongest lessons I’ve received: when people
know they are held, they have substantially more courage to act.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">What a profound combination:
connection to people who we might have previously seen as different from
ourselves - which means we have much great access to each other to use our
difference creatively - coupled with that increased courage.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>When we do this well, I think the
capacity for wise action actually skyrockets!<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This is not to say that we don't have a
lot more to learn about HOW to use our differences creatively and HOW to be more
effective together.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">is</I> to say that our path to higher-order,
more elegant handling of our differences and collaboration is through hearing
and welcoming our differences – including our emotional differences - <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>into our collective spaces.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>That that process will often be messy
goes without saying.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But it is out
of that messiness that our increased collective capacity and communion
arise.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I once heard a story of week-long
Native American powwows in which they drum and dance and worship and socialize
for almost the entire time -- and then get all their business done in the last
afternoon.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The communion built
during most of the week makes their work together a breeze, once they get to
it.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I think there's something like
that at work in the kind of community I'd like to see grow around the story
field project.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>That, combined with
the power of emergence and the flowering of diverse passions, is my own take on
"getting things done."<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>That said,
I'm also intrigued with how we can arrive at collective coherences and
whole-group accomplishments without endangering those other powers.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I leave that to our future work
together.</P>
<P>ON FACILITATION</P>
<P>We came together in a meaningful way towards accomplishing something that
called to each of us at the Story Field Conference more than any other
conference I've been part of.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>What
made this possible?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I don’t think
it was random, nor a lack of facilitation.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">I think it was shifting the locus
of attention from what you would call facilitation to hosting what is wanting to
emerge in a space bounded by a common intention to understand the role of story
as a field phenomenon and to use story for profound social change.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></B><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I believe we are still learning how to do
this well – and that there is much to learn.</P>
<P>I tend to think of this as a shift of what is in the foreground and what is
in the background.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Rather than a
primary focus on the flow of a process and keeping people “on task” or at least
on the subject, the locus of attention is on the flow of energy - in which there
is confidence that any voice that surfaces has something to contribute that can
be heard and integrated.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I get that from your point of
view there was essentially no facilitation.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In a way, I’d agree with you as the term
facilitation doesn’t really describe the nature of being a host to what is
emerging.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>There is work involved in
this role; it is just very different than facilitating a process.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Because it is less familiar, it tends to
be more invisible.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Gabriel Shirley
used a term a few years back that comes closest to describing it for me: running
the energy.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Much of what we are
doing is paying attention to the energy of the group, tending to its flow – what
is the collective mood? what can we sense happening at the edges? what serves
the whole in reaching its potential?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>I don’t pretend to know all the answers; I think we are in the early
stages of learning how to work with group energy.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I know I am.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">For me, a core intention is to be
sure that energy doesn’t get stuck, that the space stays open for what is
wanting to emerge.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>While I see how
you can interpret it as “egos reigning supreme” or that “a big no-no is making
someone feel bad, controlled or cut off”, there are other ways to understand
what is happening.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>During a
reflection among the hosts, Gabriel Shirley named it this way: there were two
primary perspectives present: 1) each person speaking was acting out of their
own ego, doing personal work; 2) each voice is there on behalf of the whole and
is in some way a gift to the whole.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>I’d say that this isn’t an either/or, both are real.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>These perspectives offer alternative
ways of making sense of what is occurring.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I think many of us have minimal
patience with this because, particularly in the realm of affect, our culture has
taught us very little about where and how to express our emotional anger, pain,
grief.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The dominant culture
provides very few venues for this, so, of course, if a space is made safe
enough, it will surface.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I applaud
the quality of witnessing we were all part of -- including you -- at the Story
Field Conference, the discipline of being present to raw feelings that eighty
people held this space on behalf of what was expressed.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Paradoxically, the dominant
culture sees these once-suppressed feelings dominating the conversation without
noticing that (and how) <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">it</I> usually
dominates conversations.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The
dominant culture is transparent to itself, just as our individual blind spots
are invisible to us, just as the water is invisible to the fish.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Those most at home in the dominant
culture have much less practice at the discipline of witnessing because by
definition, the dominant culture supports their way of processing.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Privileged people don't <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">have to</I> listen.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Less privileged people get much more
practice sitting and listening to another’s bullshit. In fact, the dominant
culture even institutionalizes this practice in the form of sanctioned talking
head presentations.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">As Emily pointed out, in our
western culture, focusing on getting things done is our norm -- often, I would
add, to the detriment of expressing any other aspect of ourselves individually
or collectively.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I can imagine on
Wednesday morning that those expecting a space for getting things done were
extremely frustrated when the space shifted to a different purpose!<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But I find myself wondering:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Is this frustration more or less
legitimate than the frustration of those whose voices are suppressed?<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Perhaps we should focus, instead, on
whether our choice of plenary activity served our collective intention.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">WHAT BEST SERVES OUR
INTENTION?</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">There are no doubt gentler
pathways than to invite people to jump into Open Space with little context of
what to expect and with no training wheels.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Yet, I know of no other means that makes
it so clear so quickly that the ultimate authority for one’s experience rests
with oneself.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And, I wonder, given
the scale and scope of living a new story into being, what best serves?<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I don’t pretend to have the answer; I
suspect there are many parallel paths.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>I do believe that the capacity to be present to that which makes us
uncomfortable is a vital skill for this work.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I believe that the space at <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Shambhala</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Mountain</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> held some trigger for
everyone!<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>To the extent that such
triggers feed our learning, growing and connecting, I celebrate them.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>To the extent they cause people to check
out, go silent, and disappear, they cause me concern.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>There are surely things to learn about
how to navigate all that more successfully -- but trying to keep people from
frustration and triggers is certainly not the key.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Something you expressed that I
found particularly ironic: that there was a norm in Open Space that everyone be
comfortable.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In fact, I think we
were quite willing to have people be uncomfortable.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><STRONG>It was just that those who are
most used to being comfortable were the most frustrated and uncomfortable as we
made room for voices that are seldom seen, heard or welcomed to show up.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">And the gift I personally found
in that was huge!<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I learned a great
deal about both the new story and the nature of story telling from what took
place during the week:</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .75in"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol"><SPAN
style="mso-list: Ignore">·<SPAN
style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN>The new story is most effectively told in ways that are
consistent with the new story</P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .75in"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol"><SPAN
style="mso-list: Ignore">·<SPAN
style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN>Blame, judgment, victimization, domination are all part of
the old story and when they show up in telling the new story, it causes those
who are made invisible by the old story to either disappear further or, where
there is room for them to show up, to show up fiercely</P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .75in"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol"><SPAN
style="mso-list: Ignore">·<SPAN
style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN>The new story integrates the duality implicit in
male/female, western/indigenous, white/non-white into a larger pattern of
“differentiated wholeness”.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>By
differentiated wholeness, I mean that our differences become a creative part of
the whole – so that to belong in a community is to show up in all one’s unique
gifts and quirks</P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .75in"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol"><SPAN
style="mso-list: Ignore">·<SPAN
style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN>Wholeness has holes in it, which has huge implications for
how stories are told:</P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo1; tab-stops: list 1.0in"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Courier New'"><SPAN
style="mso-list: Ignore">o<SPAN
style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN>If the story teller speaks as if they have all the answers,
it leaves no room for voices and perspectives that have something to add</P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo1; tab-stops: list 1.0in"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Courier New'"><SPAN
style="mso-list: Ignore">o<SPAN
style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN>Taking a stance of humility and conscious evolution,
recognizing that the story is never complete allows space for new aspects to
show up and be integrated</P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo1; tab-stops: list 1.0in"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Courier New'"><SPAN
style="mso-list: Ignore">o<SPAN
style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN>Being curious when missing voices show up is of service to
the whole, inviting a more whole version of our stories to emerge</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">BACK TO MYSTERY</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I don’t pretend to have all of
the answers to how best to bring mystery back into its rightful place.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It is clear the form we used is not
comfortable for some.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Perhaps it
will never be -- and perhaps it is important that it never be, at least to some
degree.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I do believe that within
the collective us, the capacity to be receptive, compassionately unattached, is
essential for the new story to blossom.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Open Space makes a huge amount of space for
the receptive.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It also makes an
extraordinary amount of space for action.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Where a group goes emerges out of its own needs.</B><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>To say that again, a little
differently:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>it is the energy of
the group that most shapes the nature of the space.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">By not “facilitating” the group in a
specific direction, we trust that what best serves the collective intention of
understanding the story field and the new story is served.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></B>When the intention is complex, as in
defining a novel idea like “story field”, I have a bias towards a process that
boldly invites the emergent present, trusting the wisdom of the group to take it
where it most needs to go.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Could we
have provided more context?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Of
course.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Would that have been our
best service?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I don’t know.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It would have created a different
gathering.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Would the voices and
feelings that are normally invisible found space to show up in productive
ways?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I don’t know.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Would we have had a clearer, more
articulated sense of the story field and the new story?<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If we did, I fear it might have been
more intellectual and less embodied.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Trusting the group energy in open space, I trust that the conversations
stimulated by your, David's and others' critiques will produce innovations that
will allow us to explore these questions more deeply and consciously in
practice, together as a community.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I do understand that, in
particular, the grief, anger, and fear expressed was way overboard for people
who have little or no experience with it; or for those who feel that such
expression belongs in its own special container specifically for that
purpose.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Would I and others have
had the lived experience of the new story that we did without all that
surfacing?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I honestly don’t
know.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>There are ways in which both
answers are true, and I know that we'll be learning more about this.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I believe that in the new story,
we have a right to be whole people – head, heart, body, and spirit.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And I believe we owe it to each other to
learn to be present to the whole of us in collective settings.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In fact, I think because we did that, it
contributed immensely to why so many people said this experience was life
changing for them.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">While we haven’t yet landed in
the intellectual coherence of the new story that many of us desired (myself
included), I believe we LIVED a nascent form of the new story.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>There was space for all of us and not in
the form of “let’s make everyone comfortable” or in the form of “you need to
behave in expected ways”.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Quite the
opposite!<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We made space for people
to be real together, where our differences were welcome disturbances from which
learning and growth could and did happen.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Can we get better at creating
such experiences?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I sure hope
so!<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I am sure there are better ways
of inviting in male/female, indigenous/western, straight/gay, white/color than
we know right now.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We’re just
getting started. </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I know now that if we can’t hear
new voices, we stay stuck – as most of our current systems are.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>No wonder people are checking out of
them!<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I got a much deeper
understanding of what it is like to always need to keep what is most dear
invisible or suffer the wrath of indifference, judgment, dismissal.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I also felt a new compassion for what it
is like to be seen as the oppressor, the one holding the current form in place,
even when we see ourselves as in the vanguard of change.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Still, you may well ask, why
bring in so much mystery at once?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Why not just small doses?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It
may well be that for many, that’s what makes the most sense.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For me, I believe we’re entering into a
time of increasing dissolution; more and more of our assumptions and our systems
will be falling apart faster and faster.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>The more of us who become more capable of being present to the anger,
grief, fear, and confusion that will surface, the better.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>What better way to practice than in
learning more about subjects we care about with people we discover are kindred
spirits?</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I am excited and fascinated at
how engaged so many people who gathered still are!<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Many people made deep connections with
others.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The intellectual and
practical work are underway big time.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>I wonder if it is because we didn’t fully complete our work
together?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Our wholeness has
evocative holes in it!<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We’re still
collectively processing the questions around which we gathered.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Perhaps this too -- rather than being a
disappointment -- is a lesson in keeping the mystery alive and following its
enticing energy to wherever it leads us.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">HOW TO MAKE IT BETTER</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">That said, as you pointed out,
chaos can be quite challenging, so how do we welcome it in a way that is of
service to a group? <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>That is an art that we are still
learning.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It is part of the
dialogue that your message taps for me.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN></B>We do know some things about it:</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<UL style="MARGIN-TOP: 0in" type=disc>
<LI class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in">We
know that creating a sense of sacred space can make a tremendous difference
(our time at the Stupa that first morning in the presence of Spirit and our
ancestors contributed to bringing to consciousness what would make the space
fertile and productive)
<LI class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in">We
know that expressing dreams, desires, possibilities makes a difference (e.g.,
our wishes spoken as if we are making them happen, and speaking to what would
blow our minds)
<LI class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in">We
know inviting adult behavior that asks us to draw from the best of ourselves
matters (as Mark did by offering HSL – hear, see, and love -- and as we did in
naming the Law of Two Feet – taking responsibility for what we each love --
and asking people to check within themselves for what was coming through them
for guidance rather than looking to an outside authority)
<LI class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in">And
we believe that working with the energy present in the moment matters.</LI></UL>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Beyond that, I expect this
conversation and others like it to continue, helping us discern how best to
welcome chaos, to make room for the emergent while tending to whatever form of
getting things done best serves.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">ON RANDOMNESS AND ORDER</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Have you ever seen a strange
attractor coming into being?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>(Strange attractors are beautiful mathematical images. (see <A
href="http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ccrma-www.stanford.edu/~stilti/images/chaotic_attractors/chaos26.jpg&imgrefurl=http://ccrma-www.stanford.edu/~stilti/images/chaotic_attractors/poly.html&h=640&w=640&sz=45&hl=en&start=3&um=1&tbnid=ieBIZJB9pAv28M:&tbnh=137&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dstrange%2Battractors%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3DGGGL,GGGL:2006-42,GGGL:en%26sa%3DN">http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ccrma-www.stanford.edu/~stilti/images/chaotic_attractors/chaos26.jpg&imgrefurl=http://ccrma-www.stanford.edu/~stilti/images/chaotic_attractors/poly.html&h=640&w=640&sz=45&hl=en&start=3&um=1&tbnid=ieBIZJB9pAv28M:&tbnh=137&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dstrange%2Battractors%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3DGGGL,GGGL:2006-42,GGGL:en%26sa%3DN</A>).<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>They take a mathematical formula, push
some numbers through, plot the output on a map, feed the output back through the
formula, and plot again.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In other
words, they iterate through the same formula over and over.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Initially the dots seem completely
random.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Over time, a pattern
becomes visible.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I see conversations in a similar
light.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I find most of us live,
either consciously or unconsciously, in a complex question or two.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For example: What is the nature of
story?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>What is the new story that
wants to be born? How do we bring this story more fully to life? <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>As we answer these questions, we feed the
responses back through and new answers emerge.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>They begin to paint a picture.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>When we join with others in a shared
inquiry, the picture takes on more shape.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>What starts as seemingly random, begins to come into coherent form.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It begins to entice us in, as we
collectively call it into being and witness its new resonance surfacing.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This isn’t a simple story that one
person can create alone.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And its
shaping demands more than just our intellects.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It draws from the whole of us, head,
heart, body, spirit.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It is a
complex response, made of music, art, dance, idea.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It is a coherent, many-storied response
to questions that we all hold dear.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>And it is still unfolding.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">So I end with an idea that
surfaced through Tom Atlee and me:</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">We are calling into being our
collective soul so that our many-storied world can find its way…and each and
everyone one of us has our roles to play in it.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Love,</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Peggy</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P></DIV>
<DIV>________________________________<BR>Peggy Holman<BR>The Open Circle
Company<BR>15347 SE 49th Place<BR>Bellevue, WA 98006<BR>(425) 746-6274
</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.opencirclecompany.com">www.opencirclecompany.com</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><BR>For the new edition of The Change Handbook, go to: <BR><A
href="http://www.bkconnection.com/ChangeHandbook">www.bkconnection.com/ChangeHandbook</A>
</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"An angel told me that the only way to step into the fire and not get
burnt, is to become <BR>the fire".<BR> -- Drew
Dellinger</DIV></BODY></HTML>
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