Really good points, Chris.
I use the bells only as part of my initial opening of the space and
then to open the closing circle. I often use them before participants
arrive to condition and charge the space as a lot of venues have
cluttered energy or low energy. I've found ringing them in the
corners of the room and in the center of the space (and anywhere else
that intuition says needs a lift) helpful. (Again, I do this before
other participants arrive, as part of general set up.)
Cheers,
Wendy
On 8-Jul-10, at 9:35 AM, Chris Corrigan wrote:
Bells can get overused and can lose their appeal and charm, so use
them infrequently and with the pacing and mindfulness that Lisa and
Wendy both suggest.
Also, be careful how you pick them up. I find that the bells reveal
one's inner state like nothing else. If you pick them up without
consciousness, and you grab the cord in the middle, they clatter and
ring and crash and lose their power, and you will find yourself
embarrassed and apologetic. In all things balance is good, but not
in picking up ting sha. If you pick up the bells by the cord
holding them closer to one end or the other, the bells won't
collide. That way when you finally do ring them the sound will have
been previously unheard and therefore more powerful.
Finally, something I have learned working in Native communities here
in Canada...if there are a lot of Elders in the room, the bells will
often remind them of the time they went to Church-run residential
schools which were resulted in very traumatic experiences for many
many people. As a result I rarely use bells anymore in these
contexts, preferring instead to call people back together with a
drum or some other more appropriate attention-getting sound.
Chris
----
Chris Corrigan
ch...@chriscorrigan.com
http://www.chriscorrigan.com
On 2010-07-07, at 8:57 AM, Lisa Heft wrote:
I bow to you, Ms. Karolina.
I only know what I have noticed.
1) If you ring them 'to let people know things) - for example to
signify the change in time for sessions - you are actually breaking
into peoples' thought process. And there are always enough
timepieces (electronic and otherwise) that people have and even
clocks on the wall, plus session convenors' interest in their next
sessions - to let people know in a participant-centered (rather
than facilitator-driven) way when the time is shifting. So when I
do it, I only ring them at one certain time - to draw peoples'
attention to the fact that Closing Circle is beginning. When I
introduce how the day will go (usually after they post their topics
on the wall), I include the fact that I will not be telling them
about time, that they have these timepieces, but that I will see
them in Closing Circle at ''x o'clock" and that I will be in the
room if they have any questions. And when I use them this once -
they really capture peoples' attention, because they have not over-
heard it. If I am not mistaken, the fabulous Elwin Guild uses one
ring of his bells after the very last comment / all is over at the
end of the event. Elwin, would you like to share how you use your
bells?
2) I 'ding' the bells about 4 to 6 times, letting the full sound of
each ding run out, before I start the next ding. I breathe. And I
find the dings are much like a graceful breathing.
3) If it is a very large venue I hold them up to a microphone.
4) Some people hold them like cymbals (the 'faces' on vertical
planes opposite each other); some people hold them both facing
down, next to each other (lightly holding the straps so as to not
affect the sound), and touch them to each other. This last method
is my method.
5) When buying them - ideal is to go to an actual store (a Tibetan
store for example) to listen to the music and tone of each set of
bells, to feel which is the one set that speaks to you.
6) I went to great lengths to make a connecting piece that was not
the original leather - so that I could put things on it that meant
something to me. It turns out that it can affect the sound and can
stretch and I am wondering if perhaps keeping the original simple
leather piece might be best. Although mine is still the way I
created it and I enjoy how it looks.
What do others do and know about their bells and their use of them?
Cheers from a gray California morning,
Lisa
Lisa Heft
Consultant, Facilitator, Educator
Opening Space
lisah...@openingspace.net
www.openingspace.net
Ask me about the The Power of Pre-Work workshop for facilitators -
August 18-20, 2010 - San Francisco
and the Open Space Learning Workshops - October 15-18, 2010 -
Medellin, Colombia and December 15-17, 2010 - San Francisco
Join me on OSLIST - the World Open Space community in conversation
(English) http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
and at the Open Space World Community space (all languages)
http://openspaceworld.ning.com
On Jul 7, 2010, at 8:31 AM, Karolina Iwa wrote:
from facilitating wikisym2010 in gdansk, poland,
i am writing with a question:
many of us - including me - use temple bells during os events to
attract participants attention.
anybody knows the full code of respectful use of the bells?
i would appreciate your contributions to decreasing my ignorance.
thank you in advance for sharing.
karolina.
____________________________________
karolina iwa.
trainer & facilitator
collective intelligence & self-organisation
D: +49 15774 932139 PL: +48 880 747578
____________________________________
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