<div dir="ltr"><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>I offer an example of opening space for one day of the Practice of Peace conference on Whidbey in Nov 2003. I was one of the planning team and one of the convenors of the event. We had lots of OS pracitioners on our planning team and we had 'invited guests' from around the world. We decided to pair off, one planning team member with one of our invited guests to open space -- all our invited guests were OS practitioners. It was, after all, an event held because Harrison had just published his book, Practice of Peace.<br><br></div>So my big day came. I asked two Israelis, one a Jew, one a Palestinian Christian, both of them colleagues in Jerusalem, to co-convene with me. I asked two to co-open with me because of work these do had done at the conference the day before, work that had galvanized most participants. We agreed, we THREE people designated to open the space, that I would do logistics, announcements, ask for some silence (I generally use Anne's approach and give as much silence as feels right to me in the moment).<br><br></div>For some reason, perhaps because the day before this particular event had been particularly intense for many participants, including my two, invited co-convenors, I thought there should be a longish silence. I have never timed the silence when I open space. It never occurred to me to measure 'how much time to be silent'. I prepare meditatively, as Anne described she does, and when I step into the role of opening space, I am in open space, trusting trusting trusting every moment.<br><br></div>So, picture a room packed with about 120 people from 26 countries, I make my announcements but left out one detail and then asked for silence. I knew that the fire department was scheduled to come around for a routine inspection of the fire alarms. As the convenor that day, and the local on-the-ground convenor, staff consulted me and told me a fire alarm might go off. They said I could ignore it because it was just a test. So I did ignore it but I neglected to tell the circle that a fire alarm test might be heard.<br><br></div>So the fire alarm went off, of course, in the middle of my silence. I held on, sensing we had not been silent long enough. Until finally, a wonderful woman (Nancy White) softly asked me if I thought we should check into the alarm. Silence over. I explained that I knew.<br><br></div>I had been so careful to prepare for that circle. It was full of prominent os practitioners from around the globe, including, of course, Harrison. I was very proud to have the honor of opening one day.<br><br></div>I felt some chagrin in the moments when my silence was cut short, regretful that I had forgot to mention it. I had calculated that the fire department would be late, for some reason.<br><br></div>Now, in hindsight, that alarm is one of my favorite moments of those four intense days. Intense and wonderful days. Listen to the alarm, people. Be on the alert. now is the time for all good persons to work for peace, emapthy, compassion, love, nature, trust.<br><br></div>More and more, in the romantic glow of my memory, I have come to love that loud, cursed alarm.<br><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><font style face="yw-91e6ce7953f38dddfc5a8fa4d6006f8e405c211a-25ad421136bb5c514781e428bdf135ea--o"></font></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sat, Jun 20, 2015 at 7:24 PM, Harold Shinsato via OSList <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org" target="_blank">oslist@lists.openspacetech.org</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
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Dear Harrison,<br>
<br>
I love your response in many ways. It's very confrontational towards
this need in me to have a formula of a specific amount of clock
time, and laughing it off.<br>
<br>
In many ways, Anne's invocation of the trans-finite seems to invite
this kind of meditation. Thank you Anne for such an invocation of
going beyond the finite. How much time do you need for a deep
silence? It reminds me of the opening stanza to the William Blake
poem, Auguries of Innocence:<br>
<br>
<br>
To see a world in a grain of sand,<br>
And a heaven in a wild flower,<br>
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,<br>
And eternity in an hour.<br>
<br>
<br>
A deep satisfying silence of 10 seconds could be much more impactful
in certain circles than forcing an 8 minute meditation on them. For
myself, I have noticed many times my own butt beginning to wiggle
considerably even just thinking about having to sit still from a
command from the facilitator to sit in silence. During the
retrospective meeting yesterday with most of the organizing team and
some of the participants (everyone was invited), it was quite
interesting to contemplate this question of silence. Some balked at
the idea of an elongated silence. In fact one of the organizers
hypothesized the opening was already too "woo woo" for some of her
University friends, and they walked out after the opening circle.<br>
<br>
And then again - I suspect for many circles - perhaps 8 minutes of
silence would have only whet their palette for what they needed for
a deep comtemplative journey together. Maybe they might need 15
minutes before the session genereation. Or 30 minutes. Imagine an
hour of sitting in a circle together for an hour?!? Speak about
eternity. I wonder if such a circle might be empowered to solve the
most difficult of planetary questions.<br>
<br>
Alas - I suspect there is no need for agreement here - or a final
answer. Just a question and a wondering.<br>
<br>
How long a silence in the opening? How many breaths is a deep
silence? How does one sense when there's been enough?<br>
<br>
Thanks to all who have engaged with this question!<br>
<br>
Harold<span class=""><br>
<br>
<br>
<div>On 6/19/15 3:02 PM, Harrison wrote:<br>
</div>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Harold
said... “Would 8 minutes of grounding silence after the
welcome and logistics opened enough space for participants
so they didn't need silent reflection time with their papers
and markers to gather their thoughts? Do you offer anything
before letting the participants make their offerings to help
invite in the "transfinite"?<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">I
love your intensity. But I do have to ask. “8 Minutes?” ....
On which planet, what galaxy? And who cares? Deep silence
makes its own time. My experience.<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">ho<br>
<br>
<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><br>
</p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
</span><span class=""><div>-- <br>
Harold Shinsato<br>
<a href="mailto:harold@shinsato.com" target="_blank">harold@shinsato.com</a><br>
<a href="http://shinsato.com" target="_blank">http://shinsato.com</a><br>
twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/hajush" target="_blank">@hajush</a></div>
</span></div>
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