Jim, I believe in the "love your neighbor as yourself" and that one of the reasons that we are collectively in such a mess is that we are doing just that. Cross culturallly we don't love ourselves and indeed the wars that we see externally are mirrors of the internal. "As above, so below".
I agree with you that the way to bring about any change is simply to love, to be love and to act love. But it must be from a genuine self love to really work. Blessings to you and to all with whom you make Genuine Contact, Birgitt Birgitt Williams of Dalar International Consultancy www.dalarinternational.com <http://www.dalarinternational.com> View the calendar for upcoming training in the Organizational Health and Balance series of workshops featuring the Genuine ContactÔ program at http://www.openspacetechnology.com/training.html <http://www.openspacetechnology.com/training.html> We invite you to join the Genuine Contact list serve at http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/genuinecontact Contact information for Dalar International Consultancy: Po Box 19373, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA 27619 Raleigh, North Carolina USA Phone: 919-522-7750 Fax: 919-870-6599 As mentors to leaders and organizations we assist you in going beyond what has been before. We provide inspirational and practical how to guidance for leaders who want to achieve healthy and balanced organizations to produce exciting, tangible results for the organization and for its people. Our approach is holistic, creating a better future by tapping into ancient wisdom. We believe that Spirit matters and people are precious. We know that organizations incorporating these values have exciting, tangible results including wealth, prosperity, and abundance. These organizations tend to their health and balance on a daily basis. -----Original Message----- From: OSLIST [mailto:osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu]On Behalf Of Jim Metcalf Sent: Sunday, August 24, 2003 6:10 PM To: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu Subject: Re: Do we open space or... Dear Julie and Birgitt, Please excuse me for jumping in on your conversation regarding free will, accepting and not accepting. Such things are hot topics to me. The first thought that came to my mind is from Suzuki, the great teacher of music. He asked his students to memorize certain aphorisms, one of which is "When love is deep, much can be accomplished." That's been especially dear to me recently. My second thought is that extending a loving acceptance of others, full of promises, caring, and invitations, tends to create the reciprocal desire in others to accept and love in their turn. Of course, they can also choose to remain hard-hearted, stuck in their own old ways of dong things. I hope, though, that eventually our love will win out, and even such people will become open to loving, caring, communicating, i.e. to a genuine open space. Love with best wishes, Jim -----Original Message----- From: OSLIST [mailto:osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu] On Behalf Of Birgitt Williams Sent: Sunday, August 24, 2003 5:51 PM To: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu Subject: Re: Do we open space or... Dear Julie, Your words are wise about free will and the gift that we can either accept or not accept. It seems to be about accepting or turning away from who we truly are. I add one point though to what you say about "OST offering wide open accepting space" I add to that my thoughts that it is certainly wide open space and that the facilitator provides the best possible "wide open accepting energy". However, most OST meetings are within an existing context of an organization of some sort that likely does not have a "wide open accepting space". This larger "container" within which the OST meeting is done has an effect and indeed may create the conditions in which people do not feel that it is accepting or safe. Blessings to you and to all with whom you make Genuine Contact, Birgitt Birgitt Williams of Dalar International Consultancy www.dalarinternational.com <http://www.dalarinternational.com> View the calendar for upcoming training in the Organizational Health and Balance series of workshops featuring the Genuine ContactÔ program at http://www.openspacetechnology.com/training.html <http://www.openspacetechnology.com/training.html> We invite you to join the Genuine Contact list serve at http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/genuinecontact Contact information for Dalar International Consultancy: Po Box 19373, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA 27619 Raleigh, North Carolina USA Phone: 919-522-7750 Fax: 919-870-6599 As mentors to leaders and organizations we assist you in going beyond what has been before. We provide inspirational and practical how to guidance for leaders who want to achieve healthy and balanced organizations to produce exciting, tangible results for the organization and for its people. Our approach is holistic, creating a better future by tapping into ancient wisdom. We believe that Spirit matters and people are precious. We know that organizations incorporating these values have exciting, tangible results including wealth, prosperity, and abundance. These organizations tend to their health and balance on a daily basis. -----Original Message----- From: OSLIST [mailto:osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu]On Behalf Of Julie Smith Sent: Saturday, August 23, 2003 7:12 PM To: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu Subject: Re: Do we open space or... Doug, Birgitt and all ~ Synchronicity strikes again. Two minutes ago I read your exchange over Doug's question: >>> 2. You said: "mankind has so long turned away and not realized the great gift that we can all make use of." Yet I wonder about that and I cannot very well put words to my wondering. Is this gift purely potential? Or does it actualize someplace? In other words, it is probably an assumed truth in OST circles that in each group are all the answers and questions that group needs--there is no need for an outside expert to come in and solve their problems for them. From this perhaps our "Whatever happens..." derives. If we then say that the Divine gift has been given to all humans, how can we say that some people have accepted the gift and others have turned away? Even if they turn away, is not the gift there? Somewhere in the Old Testament, maybe Isaiah, there is something to the effect that "my words do not return to me empty." If the gift is given, it comes back in some form. The logical answer is your words, "when we work with it intentionally." Still, I can't help but think that no matter how loudly the 5 year old rejects the parent, the parent still loves the child, still makes the gift. Agree? <<< Not quite an hour ago I was inspired to open the Dhammapada and came across what turns out to be a nice response to Doug's question. This comes from the introduction to my version of the Dhammapada, written by Ram Dass: "Here are the sayings of the Buddha, the Enlightened One. Had you but ears to hear, these very words could awaken you and through them you could realize your Buddha nature. These words come to you in purity; for them to touch you they must be received in purity. These words come out of divine simplicity; to liberate you they must be heard in simplicity. These words come from the soul; to feed that in you which thirsts, these words, which are words of wisdom, not knowledge, must be heard by the soul, not the intellect. For that which feeds only the intellect entraps, while that which feeds the soul liberates. And it is the soul that thirsts for truth. The intellect thirsts only to satiate its fascination. A transmission of truth is poured from one vessel into another. If you as a vessel are impure in body, heart, or mind, the truth cannot be contained... what is pure becomes impure... the power of the truth is too much... the cup is smashed... the transmission lost, and man continues to walk in darkness. In your lifetime you have read thousands of words such as those contained in this volume: the words of the Christ, of Lao Tsu, of the Patriarchs of Zen, of Rumi or Kabir or Saint Teresa or John, of Solomon and Abraham, of Mohammed, of Krishna or the Vedic Rishis... words that bespeak the secrets of the Universe. But how few you have received, how many transmissions you have lost again and again because you were not ready to hear." Returning to the heart of your question, Doug: "If we then say that the Divine gift has been given to all humans, how can we say that some people have accepted the gift and others have turned away? Even if they turn away, is not the gift there?" I think the answer is yes, the gift is still there, and eternally offered by God/Creator/Universe/SwiftlySwirlingSlowlySprialingSource. As Children of God, we have free will. We can choose to accept the gift, and we can also choose to turn away, to not accept the gift that is offered to us.... AND, the fact that we don't accept it in this moment doesn't mean it isn't still there, still being offered in each unfolding moment. Free will doesn't mean we get to choose what the gift is or the means by which it is offered, but free will does mean we get to choose when to accept it. For me, OST simply offers wide open accepting space for people to fill with their current understanding of their world. Because the space is explicitly wide open and accepting, people have an opportunity to explore and work and play in resonance with their true selves, to whatever extent they are willing and able, meaning they will get as far and go as deep as they are ready for. Since they're deciding, they'll go just the right distance for them in the moment they're in. OST raises no internal or external barriers to our true selves and therefore does no harm and wastes no time. That's why it's so good. Julie * * ========================================================== 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 --- Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.510 / Virus Database: 307 - Release Date: 8/14/2003 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). 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