Christ Wrote:
Interestingly, I think the ritual probably has more meaning at an OSonOS
(and perhaps Spirited Work too and other gatherings where ritual plays
an important role AS work) than it does in other contexts, especially
where we've never done OST before. Recently I did one in which the time
frames were very squeezed due to a very late start. Rather than
sacrifice the discussion time, I simply introduced the process (how it
would work), restated the theme and invited them to get to it. No
principles, no law. No posters, bees or bugs. I think I briefly
touched on "whoever comes" because it is the loveliest principle of all,
but the whole thing took about 5 minutes. I got one question about
conflicting sessions which I addressed with a brief recap of the law
("Well, in OS we have this thing called the law of two feet which says
that because only you know what your needs are, only you can take care
of them. So if you want a session moved, ask the conveners, and if they
can't or won't move it, feel free to buzz back and forth between them.")
At any rate, what I'm learning from this discussion is that the opening
is important for OSonOS, and that it's "a fine balance" (to quote the
name of a Rohinton Mistry book set in India) of providing the ritual
context while not getting in the way of the rich discussion that is
waiting to burst forth.
Ritual is a slippery word, and more often than not it is used in a
pejorative sense -- as in "It's just a ritual." Which translates to mean It
is dull, boring and shallow -- just a shell devoid of meaning. No doubt
there are many rituals that fit the definition -- and all of them, so far
as i am concerned, are bad rituals. And that would suggest that there are
good rituals, and I think there are. Indeed, I would go further to say that
all of human life is circumscribed by our rituals. Bad rituals are
constrictive and close space. Good rituals open space and offer room for
the human spirit to flourish. There is another word for ritual, which comes
from the world of the Christian Religion -- Liturgy. With baggage like that
Liturgy might seem a word to be avoided. However, I love what it means in
translation. It comes from two Greek words -- laos (people) and ergos
(work). Literally it means "what the people do." One way of looking at an
Open Space is that it is ALL ritual, or I would prefer, all Liturgy. At its
best (and most usually) it is what the people do. In short it is a
collaborative effort, with many people playing their parts -- even if they
didn't know what those parts were at the start. The facilitator, I think,
has a special part, indeed it is the only part known in advance. This is
all about opening space, and then getting out of the way so that the Spirit
of the people may do its thing (work). There is no prescribed time
(although it usually takes 10-15 min) or words (although usually the theme,
Principles and Law will show up). The fundamental issue, however is neither
time nor words -- but rather that the people are prepared and encouraged to
do their work. I find that less is usually more (thinking of one more thing
not to do) -- but less is not nothing. How much? -- is always the question,
and I find that varies with group, issue, and environment.
Harrison
Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, MD 20854 USA
phone 301-365-2093
207-763-3261 (Summer)
Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com
Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
Personal website http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm
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