Hi Raffi (et al).
Regarding Form & Ritual . . . My practice is to meet people individually and collectively wherever they are. So whatever the level of consciousness of the people, organization, or culture my job is to make the connection so that they feel heard, seen, and loved by me. This means that in preparation for an event or meeting, I try to study the ³language², symbols, and artifacts of the people, organization, or culture so that I can experience sympathy, empathy, and compassion for them. Thus, I increase my capacity to communicate with, understand, and connect with them. My basic philosophy is simple instruction and simple form. My only and ³basic instruction² to the DoD participants was to fully take responsibility for what had heart and meaning to them; and know that they were each responsible for the quality of their participation, and the quality of their individual and collective experience. If the physical space was set-up as a ³circle² then I walked the circle. If it was not set-up as a circle, then I just stood in ³Presence² as if I was walking the circle. In either case, I would make sustained eye contact with each participant. For ringing the Silence in and out if I had a bell handy, I would use it. If not, I might use a crystal glass, or even clap my hands or snap my fingers. Regarding Presence . . . I always request explicit permission from the participants to begin their engagement in the actual process, and for me to participate with them on the learning journey. At one level, this means that I invite the naming of concerns with the process, and individual and collective expectations. Thus the people begin to feel ³heard², and usually name and establish the individual and collective ³success criteria² for the event or meeting. On another level, I ³hold time and space² and track the meta-level dynamics and energy flows of the gathering intervening through inquiry when the basic instruction is being forgotten. And when asked or required, I directly participate in the explorations and deliberations of the gathering with the caveat that my primary duty is to hold time and space for the ³Whole². So if I am invited to participate as an ³embedded² participant in the gathering, then I stay in the room(s). If I am ³facilitating² the gathering, then I leave the room(s) and scan for meta-level dynamics and energy flows. That is how things worked with the DoD. Regarding Check-In and Commitments . . . The simplest ³look² was the inquiry around what people concisely needed to ³be aware of² both individually and collectively during the gathering. For ³Check-In², people typically would start-in by perceived order of urgency, and would speak in pop-corn order until finished. Sometimes, the impulse of the group was to explicitly go around the ³circle² order. Whatever people seemed called to is how I did it. No preference. No talking stick (authority object). The insights that were shared were documented in the minutes or report of the gathering. ³Commitments² would be spoken of as individual and/or collective ³I wills², and were recorded as ³Action Items² of the meeting or gathering. At the DoD, there was a cultural agreement that these commitments were ³binding². I hope this helps ! Mark R. Jones Chief Executive Officer The Sunyata Group The Integral Wellness Group ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PO Box 58788 Renton, Washington USA 98058-1788 Phone: 425-413-6000 e-Mail: mark.r.jo...@sunyata.ws ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Raffi Aftandelian <ra...@bk.ru> Reply-To: OSLIST <osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu> Date: Sun, 19 Nov 2006 03:40:52 -0700 To: <osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu> Subject: structural adjustments to bridge cognitive gaps(was "My first time") Hi Mark, (and hi all!) Your Department of Defense example was very helpful in demonstrating how an OST invitation can be made culturally and cognitively accessible. In the case, Mark, I am curious about a number of things in your experience with DoD: 1. Form and ritual- Did you use temple bells at the opening? Could you explain your choice to use or not use the bells? Did you walk the circle, talk about butterflies and bumblebees in the opening? More directly, I am asking about whether in an ostensibly "stiff" corporate culture, do you still ensure that the walk of the healer and the hero are part of the opening even though that may bring on cognitive dissonance? 2. Presence- In the DoD example did you leave the room after the opening or at some other point for an extended period? (more potential for cognitive dissonance). I guess all of these questions could be reframed as: Does you adapting the structure of an OST invitation extend into making changes to its form to make the meeting more cognitively accessible? 3. The OST check-in and commitments. What does that look like? Is that circle work using a talking stick? Thanks much! raffi _______________________________________ Date: Tue, 14 Nov 2006 13:39:09 -0800 Reply-To: OSLIST <[log in to unmask]> Sender: OSLIST <[log in to unmask]> From: "Mark R. Jones" <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: My first time In-Reply-To: <004601c70794$396bf880$0100a8c0@WINSTON> Content-type: multipart/alternative; Hi Winston. Over the years, a some of us that were conducting the ³living in Open Space² experiments began to invite OS participants to a state of ³Presence² through ³Check-In² processes. The ³Check-In² process is any intentional act of individual and collective "attunement" that brings the participants into clarity and harmony with what they perceive as the higher aspirations, expectations, and needs of Self, Others, and The Whole + in the context of the OS gathering. I typically start the ³Check-In² process with 2 4 minutes of ³Silence² + punctuated beginning and end by a bell. The participants contemplate the ³Calling Question² and how what they are currently experiencing in their lives informs their understanding of the ³Calling Question² and their participation in the OS. The insights of the process are then publicly shared + either in the Whole, or in small groups (typically diads). In a formal meeting setting, this means also reporting any information that one has that has material and/or insightful relevance to the Whole. The functional objective of the ³Check-In² process is to provoke the participants to be aware of, and responsive to, their own current states, intentions, and impacts, and the current states, intentions, and impacts of the others participants. This is an action of entraining ones own responses and receptivity to the responses and receptivity of other people. In this context, it is a conscious decision to regulate and possibly alter ones behaviors and communications in order to achieve a greater sense of interconnection with others and a ³Shared Purpose². Does this explanation provide sufficient clarification? Mark R. Jones Chief Executive Officer The Sunyata Group The Integral Wellness Group * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist