I preaume from your comments about mosquitos that you are in Alaska. If so, where? I'm visiting in Ketchikan and have been and done work in other parts of Alaska.
What is the size of the file you have created of Listserv posts? I am part of a circle of friends who see group experience as a spiritual practice and as a potent context for spiritual experience. I recalled recently when talking to a group I was working with that my first persona experiences of opening to my own personal sense of the spirit were in group. I have seen groups of people routinely go places together that it seemed impossible for them to go as individuals. It was through group experience that I began to discover an individual spiritual connection. In retrospect, this seems natural. My personal experience of the spiritual is largely an awareness of my deep connection to everything and seems to be supported by my ability to own and accept myself fully. Likewise, I have noticed that when people in a group speak and participate from their very immediate and personal experience, it is much easier for others in the group to identify with them and move into a space and sense of larger unity. I am fascinated by the ways that coming together as a group can support this. It is interesting that there are also ways of coming together as a group that don't, or even do the opposite. I think a careful observation of the qualities that evoke the former may have great implication. The tools and concepts that support this seem very straight forward, like Open Space. Some seem to relate to processes, some to qualities of participation and relationship to the larger "group" or context. A quick list: Process: open conversation speaking from immediate experience awareness and consciousness of the whole noticing and speaking feelings voluntary and unregulated participation full ownership self management self organization control by participants responsibility for outcome telling stories reflection on shared experience, history, immediate experience and hopes for the future small and larger group experience broad and changing interactions among participants balance between structured and "accidental" process (order and chaos) focus on possibility, wisdom of system, knowledge in the room, immediate revelation appreciation focus on future Relation to larger system: full inclusion diversity whole system participation larger system driven by outcomes of collective reflection rather than hierarchical management structure shared power and responsibility ability to function with creative tension (paradox) Thanks for initiating this dialog. Kenoli -- Kenoli Oleari, Horizons of Change, http://www.horizonsofchange.com 1801 Fairview Street, Berkeley, CA 94703 Voice Phone: 510-601-8217, Fax: 510-595-8369, Email: ken...@igc.org (or click on: mailto://ken...@igc.org) * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu, Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html