Hi all. I'm plugging back in on this thread after more than a month away...
It caught my eye because I am in the midst of witnessing remarkable post-OS
follow up work from multiple gatherings.
It started with the International Practice of Peace conference in
2003...what came out of that?
* Global Citizen Journey, which is in the midst of building a library in
the Niger Delta with a delegation of 20 US folks and 20 Nigerians.
* Youth for a New World - a Burundi/US partnership that has launched
multiple projects and raised a remarkable about of money in a short period
of time
* Practice of Peace in New Mexico
* indirectly, the OS with 2,100 Colombian street kids
and I could go on...a group of us interviewed about 25 of the 130
participants. Many had projects that were either inspired or strengthened
by being at PoP. 100% of those interviewed said they were changed by the
experience.
Recently, I've been part of three long (3+ days) OS's -- the Evolutionary
Salon, the Kaleidoscope Cafe (this was an intriguing hybrid, with an
emergent OS core), and the biggest test -- an OS with 30 no-nonsense
journalists. Each left passionately engaged people and projects in their
wake.
(An aside on the journalism OS...we convened a conference call 3 weeks after
the gathering. Of the original 30, three-quarters of them were either on
the call or let us know they definitely want to be on future calls. About
1/3 are actively engaged in preparing for two projects that grew out of the
gathering. Mind you, these are BUSY people, with full time jobs in a
SERIOUS industry! And still, they're staying involved.)
What's going on? What is sparking all of this energy for action?
I think there are several things feeding this. One is the times -- as with
the journalists, the more things fall apart, the more urgency. In other
words, the context is changing. I think that's why the journalists are so
hungry for the connection to others. More than any other group I've worked
with, I get the feeling that these folks have no where to turn for a ray of
hope. Now they have each other and they're committed to maintaining the
connections.
I also think there is a quality of how more and more of us are using OS that
makes a difference. Three aspects I think are making a difference for me:
1. Defining the Law of Two Feet as "taking responsibility for what you
love". I no longer talk about the Law of Two Feet as passion and
responsibility. While basically equivalent, there's something very powerful
about this framing -- it is highly actionable for both individuals and
groups. I have seen it literally change lives as people make it their
mantra and follow it well beyond the event. I had one participant tell me a
story of how it turned her from feeling like a helpless victim nursing her
wounded ego in a corner to stepping in with full voice into the place she
felt called to be.
2. Using silence in the plenary. Morning announcements, evening news, I
always begin with silence. This is really subtle and yet I know it matters.
It seems to connect people with themselves, each other, and the whole.
Seeing 2,100 street kids, who were perceived as having virtually no
discipline, be silent together was deeply profound. From this small
collective act, they seemed to gather strength. I could sense them savoring
it. I know it blew their teachers' minds!
3. Time and diversity. These old friends really matter. Two and a half
days or more. Time to cook is so vital when dealing with complexity. PLUS
bringing together unlikely mixes of people -- the whole system -- prepares
the soil for the unexpected. The more creative the definition of the system
the better! At the journalism OS, there were the usual suspects -- print,
broadcast, new media, editors, writers, bloggers, publishers, media
activists, educators. -- and others. Perhaps the most important
participants were the wild cards -- a college senior majoring in
journalism, a wall street analyst. They brought perspectives and ideas that
aren't normally part of the conversation.
I think these three aspects bring qualities to the work of creating a
fertile field that up the likelihood for good things to happen. I'd say the
first two create a quality of consciousness that matters. A lot.
In my reading 300+ messages tonight, a favorite was this line from Raffi:
...OS is one of the greatest ways of
tricking somebody into developing a spiritual practice. To do this work
well there is no other way. And sometimes that's scary.
Grounding. grounding. grounding.
I know that's true for me. OS as a spiritual practice. Harrison....did you
know right from the start?
As I've been working to understand the underlying patterns at play, my
colleague, Tom Atlee, and I have put something together that I find useful.
Good process awakens consciousness -- individually and collectively. It
also activates systems -- affecting both individual and collective behaviour
and structures. How? What Tom pointed out to me -- there are lots of people
working to awaken consciousness, with some effect. And there are lots of
people working to change systems, also with some impact. Mostly, these
folks don't interact; in fact they often don't get along! What good process
(think OS) does is address both consciousness and systems -- the inner and
outer for individuals and the collective. By doing this, dramatically
better outcomes in both consciousness and systems occur. OS does it so
elegantly that it happens without most of us even knowing that's what is
happening.
I think the more we as practitioners work with this underlying dynamic --
through continually inviting people to take responsibility for what they
love, using silence, inviting diversity and making time for the work, we
increase the likelihood for radically improved results. We literally
liberate the human spirit! And the connections people make with each other
and their ideas create a field that sparks amazing energy and action.
So, Chris, while 100% won't be changed, with a little mindful practice, we
are in the midst of a fomenting revolution.
from somewhat overcast (but too dark for it to matter at the moment)
Seattle,
Peggy
________________________________
Peggy Holman
The Open Circle Company
15347 SE 49th Place
Bellevue, WA 98006
(425) 746-6274
www.opencirclecompany.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Harrison Owen" <hho...@verizon.net>
To: <osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 1:30 PM
Subject: [OSLIST] The Sales Person's Holy Grail
Chris wrote: "Nothing de-energises my 16 hour days as an open networker
more
than to spend my time connecting someone who appeared to come out of an
open
space saying the number 1 humanitarian change that matters to them is X
....only to find later that the open space person is no longer that
interested in the cause."
Chris my friend -- if you ever manage to find, or better yet invent, the
answer to your prayers -- you will instantaneously become a
multi-billionaire. For you will have unearthed the Holy Grail of every
Salesperson on the planet: identifying and holding dedicated, committed
customers at close to the 100% level. Sure you can raise your chances and
narrow the odds, but as all sales people know, lots of shoe leather on the
pavement comes with the territory. Sorry for the 16 hour days!
Actually, I think OS does quite a bit to advance your interest and narrow
the odds. At the very least you can be reasonably well assured that
anybody
who cares enough to come presumably cares something about the issue at
hand
(whatever that might be). And of that total group, some smaller subset
will
care enough to raise some aspect of the issue at hand -- and if they raise
it with passion, focus, logic, and commitment, you may well have your
man/woman. And you haven't done a thing but watch. I'd call that pretty
energy efficient! -- But of course, that person may turn out to be a
fraud.
You just can't tell, but the odds are tilting more in your favor. :-)
Sorry to go on so -- but the focusing/narrowing that occurs naturally in
any
OS is something I find that many people miss. Amidst all the effusion of
ideas, energy -- to say nothing of chaos -- a rather precise process of
self-selection and identification is going on. For a client interested in
identifying potential leadership, taking note of who steps forward to
claim
their passion with responsibility will produce a short list of likely
candidates. It may not be perfect, but it is surely a good place to start.
Harrison
NEW EMAIL ADDRESS!!!!
hho...@verizon.net
Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, Maryland 20845
Phone 301-365-2093
Skype hhowen
Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com
Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
Personal website www.ho-image.com
OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the
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-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu] On Behalf Of Chris
Macrae
Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 2:00 PM
To: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu
Subject: Re: deep democracy
Harrison -regarding missed points love all
REphrasing my question : what more could be done at the space or while
people
are in its vicinty to work out how deep each person's deepest cause is? On
globalsiation causes such as here
http://www.valuetrue.com/home/community.cfm?
startrow=4&intClassID=-1
I don't ask because I am capable of following up each cause but because I
have
over 12 years logged up many people across world networks who are. Nothing
de-
energises my 16 hour days as an open networker more than to spend my time
connecting someone who appeared to come out of an open space saying the
number
1 humanitarian chnage that matters to them is X with the person amongst
the
2000 I know from conversastions over a decade to be most committed to that
cause only to find later that the open space person is no longer that
interested in the cause. I agree people may good naturedly over-commit to
all
sorts of good stuff when with kindred spirits without fully reckoning how
much
time it will take. But I would like some way whilst we are all there in
real
time and real space of working out who is most deeply committed. Suppose
there
are 100 activists there, I would rather have left the open space finding
10
that really had mentioned their number 1 cause for life than 50 great
causes
but not knowing who will be a cause holder for what. It's like some
gigantic
game of snap, where OS seems to me to miss a trick!
------------
Chris, I think you still are missing the point, at least my point. The
core
issue, as I see it, is not OS as a method, but rather the passion of the
people involved which might lead them to follow through on their
commitments,
or at least apparent commitments. People make choices with their time and
their lives. What may seem critical at the moment will often become a
minor
concern when seen in the larger scheme of things. And maybe more to the
point,
what you may deem to be critical, may not appear in the same light to
others.
And by the same token, your schedule for follow through may not be theirs.
Of
course we could, can and do extend the possibility for action
electronically
and with follow on gatherings. In effect we can and must make every effort
to
keep the space open. But at the end of the day, and indeed on every day --
it
is the peoples' choice.
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