[OSList] Re: [OSLIST] What have we learned?

[Thomas Perret via OSList]

t examples of what happens when networks reign. They liberate human spirit because they put what we care about at the center. They are a form that relies on people belonging by bringing their unique selves. Just as OST is an exquisite mix of the masculine (the directionality of purpose) and feminine (the circle of community), networks are an exquisite mix of “we” – belonging and “me” – attending to what I love. I think the many conflicts we face are because of this transition from hierarchies to networks. My bias is that the more of us who support the shift towards networks, the greater our chance of dealing with the overwhelming issues we face. Opening space helps people embody this very different way of working by connecting us to our own humanity, to others who see the world differently, and to our wholeness. Our connectedness is most visible when our hearts open. Open Space helps that happen. It has been my journey with Open Space that has led me to this view.  What I learned from knowing Harrison I’ve saved my final lessons for reflecting on what knowing Harrison has meant to me.Beyond the knowledge that I’ll always be asking myself what is one less thing to do, three essential lessons come to mind: Be myself. Harrison was unapologetically himself. He could be blunt, rude even. And alcohol was an issue. In other words, he was hardly perfect.  Still, I always felt his love and respect. His ability to just show up is something I deeply admire. I hope I continue to shed whatever layers are left in me of worrying about what others think. He and Anne Stadler are my standards for what that looks like. Be generous. Harrison gave away Open Space but did it with the responsibility of giving back what you learned. What a gift! It is a recursive, generative stance, give something away with the responsibility of sharing learning that can reinforce and grow more of it. My favorite story: The first time we did an OST workshop, I wanted to add in a live Open Space and build the training around it. Harrison said he thought it was a bad idea but if I wanted to try it, we would. I thought that was incredibly generous, that even doubting it was a good thing to do, he was willing to support me. We did. And he told me afterwards that he thought it worked well. Generosity again in acknowledging my idea was a good one.  As I find myself more and more working as a mentor, his willingness to support a younger colleague is something I take to heart and have now lived from the elder’s view.   Love is all there is. I was so struck during my last conversations with Harrison, even knowing his days were numbered, he was joyful. There are tears in my eyes as I write this. Perhaps it is the ultimate lesson. When I be love, everything else happens in that context. There’s a poem someone gave me when my mother died that I often share when someone dies. I carry it in my heart and spread it as best I can. It is how I leave you with this last lesson that Harrison so embodied: GIVE WHAT'S LEFT OF ME AWAYWhen I dieRemember me with a smile and laughter.If thoughts of me provoke no love,Only sadness and tears,I ask that I be soon forgotten.Give what's left of me awayTo children and old men who wait to die.And if you must cry, cry for your brotherWho walks in grief beside you.And when you need me,Put your arms around anyone,And give them what you need to give me.I want to leave you something.Something better than words or sounds.Look for me in the people I've known or loved,Or helped in some special way.And if you cannot give me away,Let me live in your eyes for awhile,As well as in your mind.You can love me mostBy letting love liveWithin the circle of your armsEmbracing the frightened ones.Love doesn't die, people do.So when all that's left of me is love,Give me away.    -- Merrit Malloy On Apr 24, 2024, at 10:51 AM, Thomas Perret via OSList  wrote:Hi Chris,Reading this I got curious:”Harrison framing that [system innovation] needs taking everyone who is conflict with each other through a conflict barrier at the same time”Will you help me see the concept of ”conflict barrier”?Kindly wondering,Thomas Perrer___All is possible togetherOn 24. Apr 2024, at 20.14, christopher macrae via OSList  wrote:
Dear Anna & AllThanks for including "I am not a fan of the dominant storyline that Harrison promoted quite loudly that OST is all about  “self-organization” I believe the most loyal way to celebrate a hero is to clarify what each of us learnt from hero that our own being knows no other way of action learning. My own view is that while self-organisation matters to be trustworthy/ have presence etc, there may be many different ways to self organisation. Actually I had a chat with Harrison and he told me in my case that I needed to attend a masterclass of Meg Wheatley Margaret J. Wheatley – Margaret J. Wheatley I did and I did. Among other Wheatley truths - many pioneers will never be fully thanked or rewarded - For me -any useful wor

[OSList] Re: Fwd: [OSLIST] What have we learned?

[Thomas Perret via OSList]

Hi Chris,Reading this I got curious:”Harrison framing that [system innovation] needs taking everyone who is conflict with each other through a conflict barrier at the same time”Will you help me see the concept of ”conflict barrier”?Kindly wondering,Thomas Perrer___All is possible togetherOn 24. Apr 2024, at 20.14, christopher macrae via OSList  wrote:
Dear Anna & AllThanks for including "I am not a fan of the dominant storyline that Harrison promoted quite loudly that OST is all about  “self-organization” I believe the most loyal way to celebrate a hero is to clarify what each of us learnt from hero that our own being knows no other way of action learning. My own view is that while self-organisation matters to be trustworthy/ have presence etc, there may be many different ways to self organisation. Actually I had a chat with Harrison and he told me in my case that I needed to attend a masterclass of Meg Wheatley Margaret J. Wheatley – Margaret J. Wheatley I did and I did. Among other Wheatley truths - many pioneers will never be fully thanked or rewarded - For me -any useful work I ever do is on system innovation - the hardest type of innovation (for me as its the only one i judge myself on; please note yes i have done projects where self-organisation was needed  by most or all of the client too (so i hope I know people who can facilitate that if its part of overall delivery) SYSTEM INNOVATION. Harrison framing that this needs taking everyone who is conflict with each other through a conflict barrier at the same time is the principle and method that I would never have seen without HarrisonAnyhow just my cents worth. And as mathematics is my thing I realise I am an odd ball so to speak Chris AI20s.com Wash DC  chris.mac...@yahoo.co.ukMargaret J. Wheatley – Margaret J. Wheatley





On Wednesday, 24 April 2024 at 11:46:40 GMT-4, Anna Caroline Türk via OSList  wrote:





Dear all,Thank you Peggy for your and Harrison’s invitation to keep adding our personal learning - including with Harrison. I heard the invitation and it spoke to me. Finally, I made time to write. I had the privilege to meet OST at age 18 through Michael M Pannwitz in 2000. He facilitated several OST meetings at my school in Berlin. He later helped me facilitate my first OST and today I am a fulfilled consultant and facilitator working the genuine contact way - having facilitated many many OSTs in person and online.I met Harrison several times in Europe: in Berlin for his birthday and a wave rider workshop, in Sardinia for the European OS Learning Exchange, where the fifth principle of OST emerged,  in London for a WOSonOS with Phelim and his team, and in Sevilla where he facilitated an Open Space for 100 imams and 100 rabbis and I was a member of the team. And last time in Washington for the WOSonOS. Unfortunately, he could not attend the WosonOS in 2010 in Berlin, where we had self-published a book celebrating OST, with many of you on the OS List contributing. It was there that I realized that there is more than one origin story to the emergence of OST. The two martinis and the man with the hat is only one version. I was glad to learn many women were involved in creating OST, while Harrison wrote the book about it. Today I am facilitating and teaching OST based on his teachings and enriched by the “Berlin” approach and the Genuine Contact approach. Why some people, including Harrison, love wearing hats always - I don’t know. To me, it turns a bit into a costume (the man with the hat) and it feels less genuine. At the Open Space with the imams and rabbis, all the men had their unique outfits - it was a bit hilarious. When Harrison tried to make a last announcement at the marketplace after the agenda creation - standing in the middle of the room on a chair with his hat on - trying to get everyone’s attention I had another demystification moment. Of course, I like him and I love even more the OST grassroots movement in the world. I was truly truly impressed by the tender, calm, and very welcoming facilitation of Barry Owen at the WOSonOS in Washington - which I partly attribute to the son and father’s deep learning journey together. I am not a fan of the dominant storyline that Harrison promoted quite loudly that OST is all about  “self-organization” - it feels too narrow and cold to me. But I should probably go back to his writings to remember he also said more about the essence of OST. One story, from the online gathering two weeks ago, felt also a bit harsh to me: When Harrison had recommended to the facilitator to walk the circle, look everyone in the eyes and internally say something like “fuck you all” or something along this line. I get the teaching point. And  I trust he has shared other recommendations to OST facilitators that are 

[OSList] Re: Loving you...

[Thomas Perret via OSList]

For Harrison Owen and his almost invisible and simultaneously splendid life’s 
work and gifts that will continue to expand for a long time.

Your deeds impossible not to respect, you walked this earth your own man and a 
man of spirit.

Few things have impacted the way I see possibilities in the way Open Space 
Technology has. You had a hunch and you tried, to see what happens. 

Why do it any other way?

Thank you.


> On 18. Mar 2024, at 9.12, Toke Møller via OSList  wrote:
> 
> To Harrison
> 
> Hearing of your passing
> Graitude arises
> 
> For your life lived
> In discovery of the Open Space
> and its technology to practise
> 
> For the understanding
> That when time and space
> Is awoken in circle
> The spiral of actions
> Flow in the harmony of Life
> 
> For us humans
> Alone and together
> To do what is needed
> Now
> 
> For your generosity in
> Exploring
> Teaching
> Writing
> Being
> Supporting
> 
> So many
> So humbly
> So clearly
> So lightly
> 
> Asking a so important question
> 
> What if living open space today
> Is a practise of here and now
> That offers us to live
> In freedom, peace and love
> For ourselves, each other
> And 
> All on the planet Earth?
> 
> To which you are now returning
> As your spirit fly into the reality of
>  open space and beyond. 
> 
> Journey well……
> 
> With respect, gratitude and love. 
> 
> 
> Toke
>  
> Toke Paludan Moeller
> t...@interchange.dk
> +45 26166919
> 
> NOW is practise
> 
> www.interchange-tomo.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
>> Den 17. mar. 2024 kl. 19.20 skrev Suzanne Daigle via OSList 
>> :
>> 
>> Dear precious friends and colleagues, 
>> 
>> Last night Barry Owen reached out to me to say that his dad had passed 
>> away... peacefully a few hours earlier in Camden Maine.  
>> 
>> He briefly described that Harrison had prepared his family, friends and 
>> colleagues well for this moment. Staying in touch and connecting, opening 
>> and holding the space. 
>> 
>> And that space will always be open, said Barry.  "He's still holding the 
>> space now...
>> 
>> Earlier in the day, Barry had also shared a love note with me that he wrote 
>> to his dad. I asked if he/we could post it here feeling that the message 
>> speaks to all of us — his Global Open Space family. He heartily agreed. 
>> 
>> Barry was back on the job this morning, in a way, honoring his father's 
>> wishes that none of us work too hard or make too much of a big deal of him 
>> leaving us.  Of course we know that's impossible for a billion reasons. 
>> 
>> But for now as we sit together in this big global circle, grieving and 
>> missing him,  with hige blank white sheets in the middle of the virtual 
>> floor, each of us expressing our thoughts, feelings and memories, captured 
>> in a very special future Book of Proceedings, HERE..the love note that Barry 
>> send to his to his dad. I am but the humble messenger.  Suzanne
>> 
>> The Title:  Loving You
>> Good morning Dad!
>> I hope  you are feeling the love and comfort from the many millions 
>> (BILLIONS) people whose lives have been enriched  by your presence 
>> throughout your 88 years while here on Earth.
>> 
>> I wish for you a passing of comfort, Love, Peace, Joy HAPPINESS to have 
>> lived your life to your FULLEST.
>> 
>> You Taught us not to work so damned HARD
>> 
>> Right People
>> Right Place
>> RightTime
>> All the right things have happened
>> the Lord knows you will pass when "it" is over!
>> 
>> --THANK YOU for "The Law of 2 feet"
>> BumbleBees
>> Butterflies
>> Space invaders
>> Noses out of joint
>> 
>> I Love you Dad!
>>  
>> Barry
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> OSList mailing list -- everyone@oslist.org
>> To unsubscribe send an email to everyone-le...@oslist.org
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> 
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[OSList] Re: WONSonOS 2023

[Thomas Perret via OSList]

Hi WOSonOS lucky ones,

Here: https://openspaceworld.org/wp2/oslist/#Join





> On 21. Oct 2023, at 11.06, Bhavesh Patel via OSList  
> wrote:
> 
> Hello from the WOSonOS 2023 in Berlin... and how do new people join this 
> email list please?
> 
> 
> Smiles Bhav...
> 
> OSList mailing list -- everyone@oslist.org
> To unsubscribe send an email to everyone-le...@oslist.org
> See the archives here: https://oslist.org/empathy/list/everyone.oslist.org

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[OSList] Re: 24 hour virtual Open Space?

[Thomas Perret via OSList]

Hi Patrice,

Thinking about the Code of conduct.

When I attended an Akimbo thing (Seth Godin’s community), I got "Community 
Practices " in the pre-event info. This 
way at the event we could "jump right in”.

Kindly,
Thomas Perret


> On 12. Oct 2023, at 11.18, Patrice Pederson via OSList  
> wrote:
> 
> Apologies for the radio silence! I did send quite a long response, but 
> apparently it was rejected because my attachments (the "invitation") were too 
> large. But that rejection email hid in an overflowing email. 
> 
> But I do want to tell you all how deeply grateful for all of the thought and 
> consideration that you are putting into this event. I really felt oh-so-far 
> out on a limb just a few days ago, and now I feel wonderfully supported! 
> 
> As for the Code of Conduct, I absolutely love everything you wrote Birgitt, 
> and love what you wrote Peggy. The phrase "safe spaces" is actually a bit 
> triggering to me, because I actually think that safety and growth are 
> juxtaposed. And at the same time, while this event is my baby, I have a large 
> planning committee for whom this event feels extremely radical. One of our 
> partners is an inter-governmental body 
>  
> comprised of 43 nations. Moreover, we have just pivoted from a one-to-three 
> invitation method, to promoting the event publicly on social media. So an 
> application to participate and the code of conduct are the only guardrails we 
> have for my partners to not feel completely out of control. 
> 
> But we haven't yet nailed down the exact content of the code, so I am *very* 
> open to suggestions. Our seed document (which is used by the International 
> Religious Freedom Roundtable) was six single-spaced pages long with 
> addendums! But in our last meeting we agreed that ours should be no more than 
> five memorable bullet points. Basically, I want the participants to realize, 
> in advance, that literally every single person there is going to disagree 
> with them about something, and most of them are going to disagree with their 
> most deeply held personal beliefs, and that's the whole point. Even in the 
> previously mentioned Roundtable with all of the rules, fights break out 
> semi-regularly--and this is among adults who work in this field 
> professionally! The law of two feet is a great way to frame it. At the 
> Roundtable we say that "we work on an opt-in basis" (ie, if you don't agree 
> with someone, just don't support their initiative), and yet still with the 
> fights. 
> 
> Bottom line, we need to have something, but I want to frame it with a lens of 
> personal responsibility--both about giving and receiving offense. Very open 
> to suggestions on wording here. 
> 
> [It's funny, re-reading my own words two days later I do feel different. 
> Peggy's words were quite powerful. I also realized that these young people 
> are quite different from the old guard in the religious freedom space. 80% of 
> them are peacemakers. They're not in it to defend their own religion against 
> others' threats. So I am feeling pretty good about that. We do need to have 
> something which we call a Code of Conduct, but maybe that is just an 
> explanation of the law of two feet/clicks. IDK, or maybe seven days will just 
> fly by with me buried in email and I won't get around to it!]
> 
> As for your other comments about thinking past the Summit, this is exactly 
> what we are trying to do. I am always saying "we are building a movement, not 
> just a meeting." We already launched a secure chat platform for participants 
> to communicate before, during, and after the event. We have and are massively 
> upgrading a resources directory for jobs, internships, other events, and 
> trainings that people can participate in after. And we have various avenues 
> for ongoing support of initiatives that either spring from or develop through 
> the event. This is the part that I have given 1,000x more thought to than the 
> actual event (which is perhaps why I may be making mistakes like having 
> everyone in one room). 
> 
> But I'm not sure that I understand what you mean by all one room actually. 
> We'd all be in the same room for the opening "circle," but then after that in 
> 50 breakout rooms. What am I missing? 
> 
> Line suggested gathering together every six hours or so . I am liking that 
> idea but haven't yet given it sufficient thought. 
> 
> As for tech support, we are recruiting volunteers to help with that--more at 
> the beginning while we get things nailed down, and then we'll have small 
> backup teams in Manilla/Bangkok, Erbil/Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, and 
> London/Lagos. My husband is a tech genius, and he and I will both be online 
> for the first 15 hours, and then when he sleeps we have one other technical 
> member of the planning committee who will be on duty, and then while I sleep 
> the lovely