The only nap I ever took in Open Space was while hosting OSoOS IX in Vancouver. After I opened space, I was overcome with a splitting headache. I handed off the space holding duties to Laurel and lay down in a quiet but public space and slept for an hour. When I awoke I was the subject of some good natured teasing, but I pointed out that, as Harrison had not joined us in Vancouver that year, someone had to take a nap.
Totally present, absolutely visible, completely asleep. Advice to future OSonOS hosts.: The headaches you get are never the ones you expected to get. Chris ---- Chris Corrigan ch...@chriscorrigan.com http://www.chriscorrigan.com On 2010-06-03, at 2:37 PM, Harrison Owen wrote: > Phelim – My answer is Yes! But you have to let your “intuition” (by whatever > name) do the work for you. I have had numberless experiences of enjoying my > nap (wherever…) and being suddenly “summoned.” My normal inclination was to > have rolled over and say (quietly) “Later!” – but with a little effort, that > “later” converted to “NOW.” And I got up and went wherever I was led. Which > was always the right place/time, even if I didn’t recognize it at the moment. > Weird, I guess, but it always seems to work if you listen carefully. (And > don’t roll over J) > > Harrison > > Harrison Owen > 7808 River Falls Dr. > Potomac, MD 20854 > USA > Phone 301-365-2093 > www.openspaceworld.com > www.ho-image.com (Personal Website) > To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of > osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: > http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html > > From: OSLIST [mailto:osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu] On Behalf Of Phelim > McDermott > Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2010 4:49 PM > To: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu > Subject: Totally present absolutely invisible > > I'm Interested in this wonderful skill: > Being totally present and absolutely invisible > > > It is what I aspire to every time I faciltate orvdirect a show and relates > very closely to stage presence as It is what I have worked with puppeteers in > training to do over the years. (it is especially useful dramatically when you > want to disappear and appear as if from nowhere onstage at just the right > time. A skill some of the best facilitators have or so I have heard! > > There is another aspect about this I am interested in which for me relates to > what some cultures would call the dreaming aspects of reality. > > So here's the question: Is it possible to be in this state of > presence/invisibilty whilst on another space in the room? Or outside the > room? Or whilst asleep? > > So can one be totally present, absolutely invisible and take a nap? > > Phelim > Sent from my iPhone > > On 3 Jun 2010, at 21:23, Harrison Owen <hho...@verizon.net> wrote: > > Michael – it would be really interesting to hear some actual situations where > what you are describing is true. I’ve never seen it, but I did hear of one. > It happened in South Africa where a local consultant took Open Space as a > license for absence. He literally left for most of the day. As it turned out > (as I heard from one of the participants) the group really didn’t miss him, > and was basically sorry to see him return. And that same participant was sure > that there had to be something more than he had seen. As a consequence he > came to a “training program” (back in the days when I used to do something > like that J) and subsequently opened space all over the place. So I guess > there was a happy ending after a rocky start. Or something. > > But you really put your finger on something – “active listening” – which is > not so much about doing anything but rather Being intensely. Definitely hard > to describe but my best shot is the enigmatic phrase – Being totally present > and absolutely invisible. In my experience this is a matter of intention and > practice. And the best part is that it is all definitely rewarding, not only > in terms of facilitating Open Space, but equally in terms of self > understanding and personal presence. It feels good. > > Harrison > > Harrison Owen > 7808 River Falls Dr. > Potomac, MD 20854 > USA > Phone 301-365-2093 > www.openspaceworld.com > www.ho-image.com (Personal Website) > To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of > osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: > http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html > > From: OSLIST [mailto:osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu] On Behalf Of Michael > Herman > Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2010 2:41 PM > To: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu > Subject: Re: On "Failure" > > i have a teacher who likes to put little reminders on pencils and pass them > around. one of my favorite pencils says: "really easy is often quite > difficult." > > i think this is true of open space. i've seen a number of situations where > the facilitator or the process itself was assumed to be a bit of magic, so > nobody needed to do much else to make it happen. this makes all kinds of > large and small "failures" possible -- all owing to some lapses in the > quality of attention, awareness, relationship. > > somebody once told me that carl rogers (some sort of psychologist, i think) > used to listen so intently that he would often break out in a sweat -- just > listening to someone. sometimes i think open space takes this sort of > quality or intensity of attention... or maybe of awareness. that the heart > is this active, even if the body is apparently doing nothing. like when so > many muscles are engaged in walking a balance beam, or timing a jump. > actively pulsing, checking, on and off, holding and releasing, inviting and > reporting. > > i'd guess a fair number of "failures" have their roots in forgetting that os > is this sort of active practice, even if a lot of the action is not outwardly > visible or dramatic or difficult. weirdenss seems to flow from gaps in > clarity, in attention, in awareness, in relationship. not so much, i think, > from gaps in actual outer logistics. > > m > > > > > > -- > > Michael Herman > Michael Herman Associates > > http://www.michaelherman.com > http://www.ronanparktrail.com > http://www.chicagoconservationcorps.org > http://www.openspaceworld.org > > 312-280-7838 (mobile) > > > > On Thu, Jun 3, 2010 at 12:07 PM, VISUELLE PROTOKOLLE > <m...@visuelle-protokolle.de> wrote: > Harrison and all, > > Another example of an OS that went terribly wrong: > > It was a factory producing printing machines, both in Eastern and western > Germany, and the participants were mixed from both areas. We had the o.k. > from the four directors, to whom we had illustrated what to expect, and a > final conference after the OS was already determined. One of the directors, > the one who seemed to be the most employee-oriented, was choosen to say some > words at the end of the OS. Our partner in the company was a young man from > HR, very active, with good contacts to the directors. So he insisted that he > should brief the director what to say at the end of OS. > > Everything went fine. The groups worked with joy and enthusiasm. We > accompanied the whole OS with 3 people visualizing everything, and that was a > big success, because everybody could see what had happened everywhere. After > we had shown the pictures in a final slideshow, the director stood up and > destroyed everything within 5 minutes. He said that he was disappointed, had > expected other outcomes, and that the managers wood have a hard time to use > some of the results. > > That was the end of the project for us, but much worse all the participants > were angry and a big chance was lost for the company. > > Of course the mistake was to let the young HR-man brief the director. > > Reinhard > > Reinhard Kuchenmüller > Dr. Marianne Stifel > VISUELLE PROTOKOLLE > Kuchenmüller & Stifel > > +39-0566-88 929 > www.visuelle-protokolle.de > > > > > Am 03/06/10 18:12 schrieb "Ralph Copleman" unter <rcople...@comcast.net>: > > Harrison and all, > > I've had a few that sort of fell flat. > > One involved a group concerned about availability of services for senior > citizens across an entire US state. Two-thirds of the room consisted of > seniors themselves and, frankly, a lot of them ran out of energy about an > hour after lunch. So they sat around, a number slumping in chairs with eyes > closed. > > Another involved an exploration of customer service issues for an airline. > Lots of corporate leaders from the airline present, along with their booking > agents (this pre-dates internet booking sites), frequent flyer customers, and > corporate travel execs who make travel policy for their companies. A great > mix, actually. We were set to go from 8:00 a.m to 4:00. About 2:00, a group > of participants more or less seized control of the meeting somehow (I wasn't > in the room when it occurred) and got everyone to agree to shorten the > meeting by a full hour. When I returned at 3:00, someone simply informed me, > and asked that I begin the closing circle. So that's what I did. I never > found out what actually happened. > > Not sure how to think about that last one, since I never found out how it all > developed, but the following one is more like a true failure. > > I was asked to convene a two-day open space gathering for about 200 folks > from around the US. It would be the annual meeting of an association of a > certain type of public health officer (cannot recall the details). The whole > thing was pretty dead from the outset –– I mean 200 people posting a total of > only 15 sessions for two whole days!? I found out the theme was all wrong. > The planning committee chose an idea that turned out to have no juice for the > association's members. I had spent hours in conference calls with the > leadership group and the planning committee, and they'd assured me that the > idea they chose was at the heart of the challenges facing them and their > organizations. Turns out that was dead wrong. Nobody else cared. I don't > know how I might have seen through this situation ahead of time. > > I essentially agree with you, H. If the conditions are appropriate, it will > work. But, if the three experiences above teach me anything, it's clear that > stuff can always happens. > > Ralph Copleman > > * > * > ========================================================== > 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 > > * * > ==========================================================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 > * * ========================================================== > 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 * * ========================================================== 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
