Joel,
If I understand correctly what you have written, it is similar to my
experience back in the 1990's with OST. In a meditation/reflection period
in 1999 about the essence of OST, I was provided with the words 'genuine
contact'. I understand that genuine contact comes about with self, with one
other in one with one relating, with the collective of the whole circle,
and with creation/Creator.

OST was a foundation of what became the Genuine Contact program, way of
working, and the learning playground for its community (genuinecontact.net)


in genuine contact,
Birgitt



*Birgitt Williams*
*Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and consultants  *
*Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation, leadership
development, and the benefits of nourishing  a culture of leadership.*
www.dalarinternational.com







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On Mon, Apr 29, 2024 at 2:14 PM Joel Foner via OSList <[email protected]>
wrote:

> I have a short, and perhaps odd in some ways, reaction to what OS has
> taught me (purposefully reversing the learning and teaching in the
> question...)
>
> OS has taught me that the most important part of progress is the
> enhancement, opening and refinement of relationships with each other, and
> the concepts we struggle to communicate and work with, and that OS is a
> phenomenal way to advance these causes - one that as a side effect tends to
> generate new, intriguing and useful outputs. What I think it has taught me
> about this balance is that focusing on outputs will destroy the ability to
> obtain them, and that placing the focus on opening and refining
> relationships opens the door to surprising new possibilitiies.
>
> OS provides an environment that advances this shift in balance in an
> innocuous enough way that people are open to moving their center point in
> this direction without the typical opposition to changes in thinking.
>
> I guess that ended up being 25c vs 2c, but there ya go :)
>
> Thanks for posing the question!
>
> On Mon, Mar 18, 2024 at 12:26 PM Peggy Holman via OSList <
> [email protected]> wrote:
>
>> As I’ve been reflecting on Harrison’s passing and what it means to me, I
>> stumbled into the message below that Harrison wrote to the OSlist
>> *exactly* 19 years ago - March 18, 2005. He asks:
>>
>> *What have we learned?*
>>
>> Seems like a fitting way to celebrate him...inviting us to answer his
>> question. An excerpt from below:
>>
>> My hope would be to inspire/goad/embarrass/encourage each one of you to
>> reflect of the past 20 years [now 39 years] (or at least that part of
>> the 20 years in which
>> you participated in the OS community) - and offer up your understanding of
>> what you, personally, have learned - about Open Space, yourself in Open
>> Space, about organizations in Open Space. And of course anything else you
>> choose to share.
>>
>> I would hope that we would hear from more than the usual suspects. This
>> is a
>> call to all you Lurkers! ...Not everybody has been heard from! Now would
>> be a good time to break
>> the silence!!!
>>
>> …
>>
>>  Pretend this is a closing circle, and we are passing the
>> Talking Stick. Take a moment, maybe even a LONG moment (days/weeks) to
>> reflect on what you have learned, and then talk as long as you want. And
>> not
>> just the "good stuff" - the pain and disillusionment as well, if that is
>> your story. You have the stick! And please NO COMMENTARY! I suggest that
>> we
>> just let this roll without response - just like a Closing Circle.
>>
>>
>>
>> So I leave you with the question while I reflect on my own response to it.
>>
>> Love,
>> Peggy
>>
>>
>>
>> _________________________________
>> Peggy Holman
>> [email protected]
>>
>> Bellevue, WA  98006
>> 206-948-0432
>> www.peggyholman.com
>>
>> Enjoy the award winning Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval
>> into Opportunity <https://peggyholman.com/papers/engaging-emergence/>
>>
>>
>> "An angel told me that the only way to step into the fire and not get
>> burnt, is to become
>> the fire".
>>   -- Drew Dellinger
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Begin forwarded message:
>>
>> *From: *Harrison Owen <[email protected]>
>> *Subject: **[OSLIST] What have we learned?*
>> *Date: *March 18, 2005 at 3:39:53 PM PST
>> *To: *[email protected]
>> *Reply-To: *OSLIST <[email protected]>
>>
>> In 1985 the first Open Space happened in Monterey California. This year
>> (in
>> case you haven't noticed) is 2005. In short OS has been around for 20
>> years
>> (not counting the 14,000,000,000 years previously). So what have we
>> learned?
>>
>>
>> This is not an idle question. A recent publication of the American
>> journal,
>> JABS - otherwise known as the "Journal of Applied Behavioral Science"
>> offered a "special issue" dealing with Large Group Interventions. All the
>> usual suspects appeared, but somehow Open Space was among the missing. One
>> of the editors, Barbara Bunker, who is definitely an acquaintance, and I
>> would consider a friend - told me that they had advertised for "papers" -
>> including the "OS Network" - and nothing showed up. Frankly, I don't
>> recall
>> seeing anything, but my eyesight is getting pretty cloudy. Anyhow, I feel
>> inspired to ask a question - What have we learned?
>>
>> This is not about making a special edition of JABS. And for sure it is not
>> about "sour grapes" because we were not really present in JABS. It is all
>> about a genuine question - What have we learned????
>>
>> My hope would be to inspire/goad/embarrass/encourage each one of you to
>> reflect of the past 20 years (or at least that part of the 20 years in
>> which
>> you participated in the OS community) - and offer up your understanding of
>> what you, personally, have learned - about Open Space, yourself in Open
>> Space, about organizations in Open Space. And of course anything else you
>> choose to share.
>>
>> I would hope that we would hear from more than the usual suspects. This
>> is a
>> call to all you Lurkers! Last time I checked there were some 440 folks on
>> OSLIST. Not everybody has been heard from! Now would be a good time to
>> break
>> the silence!!!
>>
>> And although it is doubtless Politically Incorrect - I suggest a rule for
>> our discussion. Pretend this is a closing circle, and we are passing the
>> Talking Stick. Take a moment, maybe even a LONG moment (days/weeks) to
>> reflect on what you have learned, and then talk as long as you want. And
>> not
>> just the "good stuff" - the pain and disillusionment as well, if that is
>> your story. You have the stick! And please NO COMENTARY! I suggest that we
>> just let this roll without response - just like a Closing Circle.
>>
>> In August we will gather for OSONOS in Halifax. That gathering will be a
>> lot
>> of things - but one of the things it WILL be is a celebration of 20 years
>> in
>> Open Space. I can think of no greater birthday present from everybody to
>> everybody than a reasoned, articulate description of what we have learned
>> in
>> the 20 years on the journey.
>>
>> Harrison
>>
>> Ps Assuming we have really learned something and manage to give that
>> learning expression, there is no doubt in my mind that a copy of our
>> Collected Works would be fun to read. ho
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Harrison Owen
>> 7808 River Falls Drive
>> Potomac, Maryland   20845
>> Phone 301-365-2093
>>
>> Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com <
>> http://www.openspaceworld.com/>
>>
>> Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
>> Personal website http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm
>> [email protected]
>> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives Visit:
>> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *
>> *
>> ==========================================================
>> [email protected]
>> ------------------------------
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>> http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
>>
>>
>>
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