<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=windows-1252">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16544" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY
style="WORD-WRAP: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space"
bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV>Though this is old, thought I'd still send it....</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Hi Kaliya,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I value your perspective immensely! See comments below.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=kaliya@mac.com href="mailto:kaliya@mac.com">Kaliya Hamlin</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</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> Wednesday, September 19, 2007 10:33
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [OSLIST] The Disaster of
Un-Facilitated Open Space (very long)</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><I>Dear Peggy,</I></DIV>
<DIV><I><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></I></DIV>
<DIV><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Arial> Your response brought up
some things I thought I would share. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Arial>I hope they will be received as
constructive and providing a different view point rather then
critical. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><I><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></I></DIV>
<DIV><I>Could we have made better use of those who brought knowledge about
the</I></DIV>
<DIV><I>new story to the gathering? Surely. SHOULD we have, in
some particular</I></DIV>
<DIV><I>way? </I></DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV>This is the SAME question from the Evolutionary SALON and it didn't
happen there either. </DIV>
<DIV>If you are calling an event and have an point of view a thesis a "STORY"
and then you don't share it well with the people coming when the get there-
'because everyone is equal' and has 'their story' and you 'don't want to
impose your story' well that is crazy green logic (in the spiral dynamic
sense of the word). You called the gathering - SHARE YOUR THING so that
they know why you called them there. Then they can go off with it or not in
the open space but to have this secret unknown 'thing' that called some
people but others don't really have any knowledge of it seems out of
balance. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff>YUP. Setting context is really vital. And
we did far more of that than with the Evolutionary Salons. Tom provided
a huge amount of pre-conference material on "story fields". There were
three talks, by David Korten, Michael Dowd, and Anodae Judith woven through
the first few days. So, we did learn from the ES
experience. It is possible that was enough. And it is
possible that for some, more would have been of service. I
think because I grew up with that responsibility belonging to a sponsor,
not me, it is not a natural act. As host, I have a responsibility for
content that I am still sorting through.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV><I>I have come to believe that strategic conversations, such as we had
at</I></DIV>
<DIV><I>the Story Field Conference, are part of a larger trend, a
floating</I></DIV>
<DIV><I>conversation, with different threads of a collective exploration
slowly</I></DIV>
<DIV><I>converging, bringing together different cohorts who are
exploring</I></DIV>
<DIV><I>similar questions. Through these seemingly unconnected
iterations, we</I></DIV>
<DIV><I>are growing a new and vital coherence among us. At least, that’s
my</I></DIV>
<DIV><I>story. And it begins, indirectly, to touch on this question of
what it</I></DIV>
<DIV><I>takes to get things done.</I></DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV>The reason we need to build new intellectual architechure is so that we
can GET THINGS DONE. Chattiness to feel all 'groovy' and 'high' that we
connected to some other people who share some of our world view is not
'enough' to address the collective challenge. I think it is very fair to
ask questions about getting things done and effectiveness. The nonprofit
change the world sector is largely infected with a mindset that ignores
effectiveness because they are 'trying'. I would encourage those of you
who want to understand more about this to look in to rockwood institute's work
work. One of the reasons they were founded was to get nonprofit leaders
to be more strategic and effective through better
leadership. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff>Yes, I completely agree that getting things done is
pretty darn central. I just think we need new maps of what that looks
like.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV><B>Getting things done.</B></DIV>
<DIV> A friend of mine that I reconnected with at Burning Man is involved
with several transformational 'networks' of leaders thinking about the shift
in culture we are/will be going through. He asked the question
early on when they gathered how much time do you want to spend doing stuff vs
falling in love and the answer he got back was 20/80 this was frustrating to
hear - if the reason you invested time and energy to participating was to
really transform the world - everyone just wanting to stare into each others
eyes to get their 'love high' well that wasn't the point (it speaks to the
need for those of us doing this work to have our needs for love and affection,
caring and community met but not try to bring those needs into action oriented
fora). He like me 'fall in love' with the people I work
with. In time he got the group/network to shift the ratio to
80/20. With this ratio we feel activated and able to get things done
with people AND fall in love with them because we are actually interacting and
doing things with them. This may seem radical for the 'sit in the
circle' 'emergence' people but it is a reason that your 'way' doesn't work for
'everyone'. I use the circle all the time and my community is used
to it and finds it valuable for getting things done. I know in time they
will fall in love with each other but that is not why they are there and I
don't think it is 'why' we should hold gatherings around transformative change
the world topics. (this is about my community being in love with each other -
just look at the photos <A
href="http://virtualsoul.org/blog/2007/06/19/expressions-of-a-milestone-at-iiw-2007a/">http://virtualsoul.org/blog/2007/06/19/expressions-of-a-milestone-at-iiw-2007a/</A>)</DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff>I see this one differently. It wasn't about
having people fall in love with each other. There was a wide range of
diversity present - and being expressed in important and powerful ways.
To create a new story, learning how to weave many different threads together
is part of the work of getting things done. We're not that skilled at it
yet. My priority isn't people falling in love with each other, though
that's a great by-product; it is hearing and seeing each other sufficiently to
create a story that actually has room for the many stories.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>there is also the other problem in these one-off communities of promising
to much and things not really coming out of them. I think it is important to
think about how we cultivate containers for communities to really grow and
emerge. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff>YUP. Iteration makes a huge difference.
It's an interesting challenge, because my experience is that when people do
meet deeply, they continue to connect. So I know going in that there is
a high likelihood that something will continue beyond the event. Still, for
most, it isn't an expectation that makes any sense prior to the
experience.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff>I'd love to learn more about how you've
cultivated this aspect.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder> </DIV>
<DIV><I>I think the current fragmentation of our society grew out of
feelings</I></DIV>
<DIV><I>that there were no avenues for voices that don’t fit accepted
norms.</I></DIV>
<DIV><I>How can I feel connected to a larger whole when there is no space for
my</I></DIV>
<DIV><I>point of view? At the extreme, violence is a consequence of
this</I></DIV>
<DIV><I>fragmentation; if there isn’t a space for voices with different
stories,</I></DIV>
<DIV><I>then it plays out in other forms.</I></DIV>
<DIV><I><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></I></DIV>
<DIV>Yes AND it doesn't mean that circles are the answer to 'everything'. I
was at the EarthDance festival this weekend and there was so much 'othering'
language around the people out their in the "dominant" culture. I felt sooooo
sensitive to the way the 'hippies' talked - it was very judgemental. It
was like you are talking about my friends and the people I work with and
cultures I am a part of and respect deeply. </DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV>At the same time when I ran a 'datasharing summit' for techies and opened
the morning circle with please share your name and one word about how you are
feeling this morning. One of the guys who works for a large internet
company on the east coast shared with me at the end of the day that that was
slightly unconfortable for him (he was not saying we should not have done it
just that it had nudged on his edge a bit). I think you underestimate where
people's edges are for this kind of stuff. </DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV>With the level of extreme emotionality and 'processing' that can happen
at these gatherings (there are various reasons for this) I think we have to
become clearer about how "the collective manifestation of individual
suffering" can 'take over' our events and side track them. I don't know enough
about what happened at the StoryField event but I do know it happened at the
Evolutionary Salon and has happened at a few other leadership gatherings I
have attended in the related but different field of spritual activism.
We should not 'suppress' or push out the needs that people have to process
their own emotional stuff that comes up. On the other hand it does not need to
be fully in the container of the whole that was called for a different
purpose. We must develop greater emotional literacy around
individual and group dynamics and not just 'welcome it all in' because that
may not be appropriate. </DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV>Maybe there is a need for these things to create containers
to receive peoples emotional stuff early in the gathering?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff>YUP. I am mulling this one a lot. I've
been in conversation about alternatives to bringing the emotional stuff to the
large circle. I've sent a separate message on this one because I'd love
to hear how others have handled the situation.</FONT><BR
class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV><I><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></I></DIV>
<DIV><I> The new story is most effectively told in ways that</I></DIV>
<DIV><I>are consistent with the new story ·
Blame, judgment,</I></DIV>
<DIV><I>victimization, domination are all part of the old story and when
they</I></DIV>
<DIV><I>show up in telling the new story, it causes those who are made
invisible</I></DIV>
<DIV><I>by the old story to either disappear further or, where there is room
for</I></DIV>
<DIV><I>them to show up, to show up fiercely ·
The new story</I></DIV>
<DIV><I>integrates the duality implicit in male/female,
western/indigenous,</I></DIV>
<DIV><I>white/non-white into a larger pattern of “differentiated
wholeness”.</I></DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV>I don't know about all this. </DIV>
<DIV>I have heard people talk about the new story and 'blame and judge' the
old story and those who have it. Some how the new story must include the
old story. It must be accessible to those in it and not make them
feel 'bad.' </DIV>
<DIV>A good friend of mine deeply committed to transforming the world for good
who is a white guy and getting older read an advanced copy of Paul Hawken's
Blessed Unrest. He said it was basically a message of 'suicide' for white guys
- there was not role for them at all in the 'new' story of the book. The
future was all indigenous people and women. This is NOT inclusive.
</DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV>Another good friend deeply committed to transforming the world for good
who is a white guy getting older (I have a lot of friends like this).
Was with me at Burning Man at our camp sustainabilaville's opening. He
talked to me at length about how he felt so judged by the environmental
movement and communities when he was really doing his best and they just kept
telling him it was all his fault for his wrong choices. </DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV>This 'new story' must be inclusive of the core elements that are 'true'
or 'essential' and can't just erase them. White guys aren't going away
and there needs to be a story that doesn't make them the bad guys.
This is one of the reasons I am sooooo excited about the Green
Man archetype as a positive male beacon to allow transformation of
the culture. If you want to transform these guys telling them they
are not 'emotional enough' and that there is something wrong with them for
being who they are then you are not going to get very far. It might be a
better approach to understand where they are and going from there. </DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff>I 100% agree with you. If you read blame into
what I'm saying above, then I've said it badly. One of the powerful
messages throughout the conference was of the pain of white men searching for
a place in the new story in which they weren't cast as the bad guys.
That serves no one! It is also true that the story of the dominant
culture (which tends to be most comfortable for white men) no longer gets
to be THE story.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff>It is clear that there's lots of need for compassion
all around. And lots of space for the anger, grief, fear that lives
in many of us - white men, white women, people of color, indigenous
people, and all of the isms that need to be expressed so that we do
get on with getting things done.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff>Many, many thanks for your clear, strong, and
insightful voice, my friend.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><BR> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>On Sep 18, 2007, at 11:23 PM, Peggy Holman wrote:</DIV><BR
class=Apple-interchange-newline>
<BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="WORD-SPACING: 0px; FONT: 12px Helvetica; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); TEXT-INDENT: 0px; WHITE-SPACE: normal; LETTER-SPACING: normal; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; orphans: 2; widows: 2">
<DIV>
<DIV>Okay, the title isn't mine...it is from someone who attended the recent
Story Field Conference (<A href="http://www.storyfieldconference.net"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span
style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,238); -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline">www.storyfieldconference.net</SPAN></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><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT> </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><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT> </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>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">ABOUT MYSTERY</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>What’s the point?</DIV>
<P>You said:<SPAN class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 18px; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-SIZE: 18px">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.</SPAN><O:P style="FONT-SIZE: 18px"></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P>I’d offer that for many of us, it is going through the messy,
emotional,<SPAN class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><I
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">seemingly</SPAN></I><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN>random processing that we have the
best chance of creating something new and extraordinary.</P>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>I believe that without the
unknown, there is no learning, no creativity, no life.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>For me, if there is only
certainty, I suffocate.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Culturally, we celebrate perfection –
perfect athletic performance, musical performance, total quality in
production.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>I’m glad we do; I have felt
the inspiration of experiencing a virtuoso performance.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>And I sure don’t want
airplanes, bridges, cars built any other way.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>My friend, David Gershon,
calls it the learning edge.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I appreciate learning from other’s
knowledge, and believe that has its place.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>I suspect this is true for
many, if not most of us.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>Surely.<SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>SHOULD we have, in some particular
way?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>I don’t know.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>In retrospect, I suspect we
both gained and lost by the choices we made.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>I have no idea.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>And I do know that the work
continues to unfold among many who were present.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>Through these seemingly
unconnected iterations, we are growing a new and vital coherence among
us.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>At least, that’s my
story.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>And it begins, indirectly,
to touch on this question of what it takes to get things done.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">WHAT IS THE PRICE OF A LINEAR FOCUS ON
GETTING THINGS DONE?</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>But for me, the important
question is this:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>given an intention, what
form of getting things done best serves that intention?</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">For example, I co-edited a 700+ page book
with over 100 contributors.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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”.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"> may not have thought about
what gets lost when that is always the primary focus.</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-spacerun: yes"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">They may not have wondered what voices don’t get
heard because they find no place in that drive for action.</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-spacerun: yes"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">These are major parts of my life -- and the lives
of millions of other people.</SPAN><O:P
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"></O:P></B></DIV>
<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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>I believe it has created a
wide range of unintended consequences, most of which are virtually
invisible.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>No wonder many women, people
of color, and young people opt out!<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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…</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">AN INTERLUDE: ABOUT WEDNESDAY MORNING</DIV>
<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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>And it isn't about a woo-woo
comfy Green meme feeling.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>There is power here, a
latent power of the whole.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>But that's getting ahead of
myself here….</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">BACK TO GETTING THINGS DONE…</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>This is no surprise to
me:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>When Grace spoke her pain,
she made visible something that was already present.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>She opened the way for
others to express their hurt, anger, frustration of what usually remains
invisible.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>While messy, we made room
for voices that are usually silent, to be heard.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>It is that sort of healing
that is vital for us to become the kinds of diverse communities -- diverse,
loving, and<SPAN class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><I
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">effective</SPAN></I><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN>communities -- that I heard so many
of us long for!</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>When we do this well, I
think the capacity for wise action actually skyrockets!<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>It<SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><I
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">is</SPAN></I><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN>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 class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>into our collective spaces.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>That that process will often
be messy goes without saying.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>But it is out of that
messiness that our increased collective capacity and communion arise.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>I leave that to our future
work together.</DIV>
<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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>What made this
possible?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>I don’t think it was random,
nor a lack of facilitation.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN><B
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">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><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-spacerun: yes"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">
</SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I get that from your point of view there
was essentially no facilitation.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>I know I am.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>I’d say that this isn’t an
either/or, both are real.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>These perspectives offer
alternative ways of making sense of what is occurring.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Paradoxically, the dominant culture sees
these once-suppressed feelings dominating the conversation without noticing
that (and how)<SPAN class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><I
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">it</SPAN></I><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN>usually dominates
conversations.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>Privileged people don't<SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><I
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">have to</SPAN></I><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN>listen.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>But I find myself
wondering:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>Is this frustration more or
less legitimate than the frustration of those whose voices are
suppressed?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>Perhaps we should focus,
instead, on whether our choice of plenary activity served our collective
intention.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">WHAT BEST SERVES OUR INTENTION?</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>I don’t pretend to have the
answer; I suspect there are many parallel paths.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>I believe that the space
at<SPAN class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><ST1:PLACE
w:st="on"><ST1:PLACENAME w:st="on">Shambhala</ST1:PLACENAME><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><ST1:PLACETYPE
w:st="on">Mountain</ST1:PLACETYPE><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><ST1:PLACETYPE
w:st="on">Center</ST1:PLACETYPE></ST1:PLACE><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN>held some trigger for
everyone!<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>To the extent that such
triggers feed our learning, growing and connecting, I celebrate them.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>In fact, I think we were
quite willing to have people be uncomfortable.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN><STRONG
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">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><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-spacerun: yes"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"> </SPAN></SPAN></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">And the gift I personally found in that was
huge!<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>I learned a great deal about
both the new story and the nature of story telling from what took place
during the week:</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -48px"><SPAN
style="TEXT-INDENT: -48px; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol"><SPAN
style="TEXT-INDENT: -48px; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; mso-list: Ignore"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span
style="TEXT-INDENT: -48px; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol">·</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT: 9px Times New Roman; TEXT-INDENT: -48px"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-SIZE: 9px; TEXT-INDENT: -48px; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="TEXT-INDENT: -48px">The new story is most effectively told in ways
that are consistent with the new story</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -48px"><SPAN
style="TEXT-INDENT: -48px; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol"><SPAN
style="TEXT-INDENT: -48px; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; mso-list: Ignore"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span
style="TEXT-INDENT: -48px; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol">·</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT: 9px Times New Roman; TEXT-INDENT: -48px"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-SIZE: 9px; TEXT-INDENT: -48px; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="TEXT-INDENT: -48px">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</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -48px"><SPAN
style="TEXT-INDENT: -48px; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol"><SPAN
style="TEXT-INDENT: -48px; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; mso-list: Ignore"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span
style="TEXT-INDENT: -48px; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol">·</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT: 9px Times New Roman; TEXT-INDENT: -48px"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-SIZE: 9px; TEXT-INDENT: -48px; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="TEXT-INDENT: -48px">The new story integrates the duality implicit in
male/female, western/indigenous, white/non-white into a larger pattern of
“differentiated wholeness”.</SPAN><SPAN
style="TEXT-INDENT: -48px; mso-spacerun: yes"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="TEXT-INDENT: -48px"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="TEXT-INDENT: -48px">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</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -48px"><SPAN
style="TEXT-INDENT: -48px; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol"><SPAN
style="TEXT-INDENT: -48px; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; mso-list: Ignore"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span
style="TEXT-INDENT: -48px; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol">·</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT: 9px Times New Roman; TEXT-INDENT: -48px"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-SIZE: 9px; TEXT-INDENT: -48px; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="TEXT-INDENT: -48px">Wholeness has holes in it, which has huge
implications for how stories are told:</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in; TEXT-INDENT: -24px"><SPAN
style="TEXT-INDENT: -24px; FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Courier New'"><SPAN
style="TEXT-INDENT: -24px; FONT-FAMILY: Courier New; mso-list: Ignore"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span
style="TEXT-INDENT: -24px; FONT-FAMILY: Courier New">o</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT: 9px Times New Roman; TEXT-INDENT: -24px"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-SIZE: 9px; TEXT-INDENT: -24px; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="TEXT-INDENT: -24px">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</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in; TEXT-INDENT: -24px"><SPAN
style="TEXT-INDENT: -24px; FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Courier New'"><SPAN
style="TEXT-INDENT: -24px; FONT-FAMILY: Courier New; mso-list: Ignore"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span
style="TEXT-INDENT: -24px; FONT-FAMILY: Courier New">o</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT: 9px Times New Roman; TEXT-INDENT: -24px"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-SIZE: 9px; TEXT-INDENT: -24px; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="TEXT-INDENT: -24px">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</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 1in; TEXT-INDENT: -24px"><SPAN
style="TEXT-INDENT: -24px; FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Courier New'"><SPAN
style="TEXT-INDENT: -24px; FONT-FAMILY: Courier New; mso-list: Ignore"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span
style="TEXT-INDENT: -24px; FONT-FAMILY: Courier New">o</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT: 9px Times New Roman; TEXT-INDENT: -24px"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-SIZE: 9px; TEXT-INDENT: -24px; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="TEXT-INDENT: -24px">Being curious when missing voices show up is of
service to the whole, inviting a more whole version of our stories to
emerge</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">BACK TO MYSTERY</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>It is clear the form we used
is not comfortable for some.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>I do believe that within the
collective us, the capacity to be receptive, compassionately unattached, is
essential for the new story to blossom.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Open Space makes a huge
amount of space for the receptive.</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-spacerun: yes"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">It also makes an extraordinary amount of space for
action.</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-spacerun: yes"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Where a group goes emerges
out of its own needs.</SPAN></B><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>To say that again, a little
differently:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>it is the energy of the
group that most shapes the nature of the space.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN><B
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">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><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-spacerun: yes"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">
</SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>Could we have provided more
context?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>Of course.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>Would that have been our
best service?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>I don’t know.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>I don’t know.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>Would we have had a clearer,
more articulated sense of the story field and the new story?<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>I honestly don’t know.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>There are ways in which both
answers are true, and I know that we'll be learning more about this.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>Quite the opposite!<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Can we get better at creating such
experiences?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>I sure hope so!<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>We’re just getting
started.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>No wonder people are
checking out of them!<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Still, you may well ask, why bring in so
much mystery at once?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>Why not just small
doses?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>It may well be that for
many, that’s what makes the most sense.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>What better way to practice
than in learning more about subjects we care about with people we discover
are kindred spirits?</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>Many people made deep
connections with others.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>The intellectual and
practical work are underway big time.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>I wonder if it is because we
didn’t fully complete our work together?<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>Our wholeness has evocative
holes in it!<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>We’re still collectively
processing the questions around which we gathered.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">HOW TO MAKE IT BETTER</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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?<SPAN class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><B
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-spacerun: yes"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">That is an art that we are still
learning.</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-spacerun: yes"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">It is part of the dialogue
that your message taps for me.</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; mso-spacerun: yes"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"> </SPAN></SPAN></B>We do know some things
about it:</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<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>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">ON RANDOMNESS AND ORDER</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Have you ever seen a strange attractor
coming into being?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>(Strange attractors are
beautiful mathematical images. (see<SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><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"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span
style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,238); -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline">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</SPAN></A>).<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>In other words, they iterate
through the same formula over and over.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>Initially the dots seem
completely random.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>Over time, a pattern becomes
visible.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I see conversations in a similar
light.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>I find most of us live,
either consciously or unconsciously, in a complex question or two.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>For example: What is the
nature of story?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>What is the new story that
wants to be born? How do we bring this story more fully to life?<SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>They begin to paint a
picture.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>When we join with others in
a shared inquiry, the picture takes on more shape.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>What starts as seemingly
random, begins to come into coherent form.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></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
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>This isn’t a simple story
that one person can create alone.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>And its shaping demands more
than just our intellects.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>It draws from the whole of
us, head, heart, body, spirit.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>It is a complex response,
made of music, art, dance, idea.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>It is a coherent,
many-storied response to questions that we all hold dear.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></SPAN>And it is still
unfolding.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">So I end with an idea that surfaced through
Tom Atlee and me:</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV 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.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Love,</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Peggy</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><O:P></O:P></DIV></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"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,238); -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline">www.opencirclecompany.com</SPAN></A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><BR>For the new edition of The Change Handbook, go to:<SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><BR><A
href="http://www.bkconnection.com/ChangeHandbook"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span
style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,238); -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline">www.bkconnection.com/ChangeHandbook</SPAN></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<SPAN class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><BR>the
fire".<BR> -- Drew Dellinger</DIV>* *
==========================================================
OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU ------------------------------ To subscribe,
unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of
oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu: <A
href="http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html">http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html</A>
To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: <A
href="http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist">http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist</A></SPAN></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR>
<DIV><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="WORD-SPACING: 0px; FONT: 12px Helvetica; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); TEXT-INDENT: 0px; WHITE-SPACE: normal; LETTER-SPACING: normal; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; orphans: 2; widows: 2"><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span
style="WORD-SPACING: 0px; FONT: 12px Helvetica; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); TEXT-INDENT: 0px; WHITE-SPACE: normal; LETTER-SPACING: normal; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; orphans: 2; widows: 2">
<DIV>Kaliya - Identity Woman</DIV>
<DIV><A href="mailto:kaliya@mac.com">kaliya@mac.com</A></DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.unconference.net">http://www.unconference.net</A></DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.identitywoman.net">http://www.identitywoman.net</A></DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV><A href="skype:identitywoman">skype:identitywoman</A></DIV>
<DIV>Y!:earthwaters</DIV>
<DIV><A href="AIM:kaliya@mac.com">AIM:kaliya@mac.com</A></DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV>510 472-9069 (bay area)</DIV>
<DIV>415 425 1136 (on the road)</DIV><BR
class=Apple-interchange-newline></SPAN></SPAN></DIV><BR>* *
==========================================================
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
</BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>
*
*
==========================================================
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