Hi Doug,
I think lawyers love OS because they are free thinkers, ie, like artists, they like to create things, be free to do their own search and thinking. At least that's what I took from my experience when facilitating an OS meeting on organizational change with 150 lawyers of a national organization a few years ago. They just loved Open Space. I got the same reaction from scientists. They are all loners in a way, who value their independence and challenging conversations which they can have all they want in an OS event. Thanks for sharing your experience, Diane From: OSLIST [mailto:osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu] On Behalf Of Tree Fitzpatrick Sent: 21 mai 2008 18:33 To: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu Subject: Re: Head on a Stick THANKS, Doug, for this report. My goodness, lawyers in open space. What will they think of next? I used to practice law myself. I have heard it said countless times that the legal profession might be the field most highly resistance to meaningful dialogue, most highly resistant to any kind of org. development work or process design. I am relieved to know there are groups of holistically-aspiring lawyers out there. On Wed, May 21, 2008 at 12:58 PM, douglas germann <76066....@compuserve.com> wrote: Hi friends-- Head on a Stick The International Alliance of Holistic Lawyers held their annual convention near Detroit, Michigan, for 3 days in mid-May, 2008. Gathered were about 2 dozen lawyers with interests in collaborative law, a coach approach to law practice, healthy practices, and so forth. The convention started with a six directions circle ceremony and then a viewing of the film, "One," on Thursday evening. Friday through Saturday morning were a half-dozen presentations to the circle of lawyers. Saturday afternoon was given over to Open Space. The time allotted was from 1:00 to 5:30 pm. Two break out sessions of 90 minutes were invited. In the first half hour, 12 topics were posted by the 18 or so people who were in attendance. Three of these sessions were combined to one. The topics were: 1. Holistic Lawyers doing their own inner work. 2. Balance teaching. 3. What's next-back rubs. 4. I secretly wanted to be L-- and K-- in law school. How do they and others get to joy? 5. Planning 2009 conference. 6. Teaching other lawyers how to do what we do. 7. Evolution of consciousness new physics and the coming legal profession. 8. Languaging the movement. 9. Grounding technique. 10. Who sees clients' auras? 11. How to market holistic law so the customer buys! 12. Getting paid for doing good. About 30 minutes into the second session time, one of the organizers observed to me that the conversations seemed to be falling apart, that several people had left, and asked me what should we do? Indeed, her observation seemed accurate-people were milling about, speaking in groups of twos and threes, some were working on their computers, a couple were sleeping on large pillows in the middle of the floor. What seemed to generate this state of affairs was that near the end of the first session time, many of the hosts for the second time slot gathered around another conversation not yet complete and were ardently engaged in that conversation for another 20 minutes or more. I suggested we just trust the people to work it out for themselves. At the appointed time for the closing circle, 16 people showed up! One said that he had gone to his room for a nap and felt quite refreshed. The comments in the closing circle on "What has this afternoon meant to you?" were rich and deep, more than many open spaces I have observed. There were tears and laughter, a sense of coming together. The listening stick was from a presenter the day before, an object she called "a head on a stick." This captured the sense of the group that they wanted to move beyond being a head on a stick to full human beings. Their conversations seemed to have done that work. Photos of the event are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8850949@N06/sets/72157605178783304/ Of course, this is now my classic getting down to work in OS picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8850949@N06/2512207700/in/set-72157605178783304 / :- Doug. * * ========================================================== 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 -- Love rays, Tree Fitzpatrick http://thecultureoflove.blogspot.com/ . . . the great and incalculable grace of love, which says, with Augustine, "I want you to be," without being able to give any particular reason for such supreme and unsurpassable affirmation. -- Hannah Arendt 1335 Montecito Ave Apt. 35 Mountain View, California 94043 (650) 967-9260 * * ========================================================== 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