<div dir="ltr">Bells are massively powerful. Used sparingly they function as Paul has described. And they always betray the inner state of the person holding them. If you pick them up mindlessly, they clatter and clang and their power is immediately made diffuse and impotent. Once the bells have been used badly, they almost never have the power they once had and you have to revert to other methods to get people back together. <div>
<br></div><div style>Open Space is a crazy methodology. It fluctuates power from single source to diffuse community and back again. When you are walking the circle, you have incredible power to use or misuse. When you vacate the centre, if you have not left your power there through a powerful invitation, the group can stay stuck. It requires of the facilitator a balancing act between being the sole guardian of the process and letting go completely so that the group can do that. It is sensitive to boundary conditions (for without boundaries the space is open like a flood). But if your fears and anxieties permeate that space, the power fluctuates and gets confused. </div>
<div style><br></div><div style>And if you aren't aware with your own personal security and stability as a facilitator, just pick up the bells. They will tell you all you need to know about what's going on inside you. </div>
<div style><br></div><div style>Oh yeah...facilitating Open Space is a piece of cake. Simple. Just make friends with power, and you're all set!</div><div style><br></div><div style>Chris</div></div><div class="gmail_extra">
<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Jul 2, 2013 at 4:06 PM, Harrison Owen <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:hhowen@verizon.net" target="_blank">hhowen@verizon.net</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple"><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Nice Paul! And most interesting. Never thought of the Bells as a Power Instrument... but I suppose anything can be perverted. Still and all, Power is only powerful when it is given away. Even the Bells (most especially the Bells) have power when they go to silence. Nothing...and everything.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Harrison<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Harrison Owen<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">7808 River Falls Dr.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Potomac, MD 20854<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">USA<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer)<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Camden, Maine 04843<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Phone <a href="tel:301-365-2093" value="+13013652093" target="_blank">301-365-2093</a><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">(summer) <a href="tel:207-763-3261" value="+12077633261" target="_blank">207-763-3261</a><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><a href="http://www.openspaceworld.com%20" target="_blank">www.openspaceworld.com</a> <u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><a href="http://www.ho-image.com%20" target="_blank">www.ho-image.com</a> (Personal Website)<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Consolas;color:#1f497d">To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of OSLIST Go to:<a href="http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org" target="_blank">http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org</a><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><div style="border:none;border-top:solid #b5c4df 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in">
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""> <a href="mailto:oslist-bounces@lists.openspacetech.org" target="_blank">oslist-bounces@lists.openspacetech.org</a> [mailto:<a href="mailto:oslist-bounces@lists.openspacetech.org" target="_blank">oslist-bounces@lists.openspacetech.org</a>] <b>On Behalf Of </b>paul levy<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, July 02, 2013 5:45 PM<br><b>To:</b> World wide Open Space Technology email list<br><b>Subject:</b> [OSList] The Bell of the Silence<u></u><u></u></span></p></div><div><div class="h5"><p class="MsoNormal">
<u></u> <u></u></p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline"><em><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">I watched him. He’d been playing with his gong for over ten minutes, building up to the moment of power when he’d give it a little whack.</span></em><u></u><u></u></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px"><em><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">A little whack of almost-forever.</span></em><u></u><u></u></p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px">
<em><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">The bell would sound and keep sounding, resound and sound on, and reach all four corners of his virtuous circle.</span></em><u></u><u></u></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px">
A call back to the circle. A call to stop talking, to stop doing, and to come back.<u></u><u></u></p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px"><em><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">The room would fall into silence and an obedient circle would form and wait expectantly.</span></em><u></u><u></u></p>
<p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px">He watched it work. It always worked. This was powerful magic. And he was more than a facilitator at this moment – he was a wizard or, better, a shaman.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px"><em><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">He knew the effect of this incredible piece of kit. You see…</span></em><u></u><u></u></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px"><em><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">.. he’d gonged it many times before.</span></em><u></u><u></u></p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px">
<em><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">Then the moment came. And he gonged, a twinkle of benevolent godliness in his eyes.</span></em><u></u><u></u></p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px">
<em><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">The circle reformed. So easily!</span></em><u></u><u></u></p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px"><em><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">The room fell to silence, even as the sounding still sounded and sounded and sounded some more, never falling to complete silence, but simply travelling on its way to further corners of the ever-expanding universe.</span></em><u></u><u></u></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px"><em><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">It was beautiful (he thought) – almost as beautiful as his soul in that moment.</span></em><u></u><u></u></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px"><em><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">But it was </span></em><strong><i><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">his</span></i></strong><em><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in"> moment. And in stealing that moment, and combining it with such an age-old bell from Tibet; he stole the power of the group.</span></em><u></u><u></u></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px"><em><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">He felt stronger. They were silent and powerless. They waited, not on potential. They waited for </span></em><strong><i><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">him</span></i></strong><em><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">.</span></em><u></u><u></u></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px"><em><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">They waited for him to speak.</span></em><u></u><u></u></p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px">
<em><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">Self-organisation had expressed itself, not in the community, but in the organisation of his self.</span></em><u></u><u></u></p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px">
<em><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">And I sat there, imagining, following that healing tone on its journey out through the double doors.</span></em><u></u><u></u></p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px">
<em><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">I imagined that bell, just for a moment, resting on a chair, at the side of the room; a gift to us all.</span></em><u></u><u></u></p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px">
<em><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">I imagined that quiet person over there, who hadn’t yet spoken, three hours into the event.</span></em><u></u><u></u></p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px">
<em><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">I imagined her walking across the room, in golden silence, picking up that bell, finding the right moment floating above the circle, and simply giving it a ting.</span></em><u></u><u></u></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px"><em><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">I imagined her letting it sound not to the group, but out of it.</span></em><u></u><u></u></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px"><em><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">And then I imagined the silence of self-organisation, and the expectation of a powerful community.</span></em><u></u><u></u></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px"><em><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">A community ready…</span></em><u></u><u></u></p></div></div></div></div><br>_______________________________________________<br>
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<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr"><div>---</div>CHRIS CORRIGAN<br>Facilitation - Training - Process Design<br>Open Space Technology<br><br>Weblog: <a href="http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot" target="_blank">http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot</a><br>
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