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On Nov 25, 2012, at 3:06 PM, oslist-requ...@lists.openspacetech.org wrote: > Send OSList mailing list submissions to > oslist@lists.openspacetech.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > oslist-requ...@lists.openspacetech.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > oslist-ow...@lists.openspacetech.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of OSList digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. structure/Spirit (Charles Fuller) > 2. Re: Beginnings, Middles and Ends... Where are we? (Arno Baltin) > 3. Re: structure/Spirit (amerie rose) > 4. Advice please (Robin Bowles) > 5. OS info please (Robin Bowles) > 6. Re: Beginnings, Middles and Ends... Where are we? (Chris Corrigan) > 7. Re: structure/Spirit (Michael Herman) > 8. Re: A 3hr OST slot at Conference (Luc Bizeul) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2012 21:45:25 -0500 (EST) > From: Charles Fuller <chrls...@aol.com> > To: oslist@lists.openspacetech.org > Subject: [OSList] structure/Spirit > Message-ID: <8cf98ce0e23923c-aa4-12...@webmail-m127.sysops.aol.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed > > Structure = bones/skeleton > > Spirit = life force > > > (add to the metaphor if you wish/if it seems to fit). How many bones do > U need? > "Just enuff!" > > So my addition is: the sinew, muscle, organs and tissue is us & our > efforts together. > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2012 10:57:51 +0200 > From: Arno Baltin <a...@tlu.ee> > To: World wide Open Space Technology email list > <oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> > Subject: Re: [OSList] Beginnings, Middles and Ends... Where are we? > Message-ID: > <CADT+i9cDxuzJ=8D__TKGBCmMEipSMrvgXc8bLGpFHvN=6us...@mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252" > > Dear OS listeners and sepeakers, > > I am glad for so many responses and elaborations to my question on > differences of Opening Space and creating a structure. Mikk's poem was most > easy to grasp. I feel at home with his last statement: > > Opening Space is giving birth. It offers for Spirit a new body/structure to > go on with dance. > > > What I probably underestimate and where my question is rooted is, that I > still consider OS more of a technique than life itself. > > Or how Harrisson has put it: > > What starts out looking like just another approach to better meetings or > group technique subtly morphs into the story of the cosmos (self > organization). And we really don?t DO anything at all. We simply offer an > invitation, and then get out of the way. > > Or to put it another way using Juan Luis words: > > "...structures of management are always part of the map and the structure > of the principles and the law of OS is always part of the territory. > > And Michael's way of saying it that the "principles" are not "rules", > rather "Facts of Life" > > In a way I still have understanding of opening space as scaffolding, not as > releasing the Spirit. > > So thank you everyone for responding. I can see the long way to go. > > Wish you good Spirit and Body, > > > * Arno * > > > Narva mnt 25, 10120 Tallinn > Eesti Vabariik > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > <http://lists.openspacetech.org/pipermail/oslist-openspacetech.org/attachments/20121125/21c3e36e/attachment.html> > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2012 11:02:46 +0000 > From: amerie rose <amerier...@phonecoop.coop> > To: World wide Open Space Technology email list > <oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> > Subject: Re: [OSList] structure/Spirit > Message-ID: <4e65c09c-24f7-42ee-99dc-914a6d064...@phonecoop.coop> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes > > I am really enjoying touching in with this conversation. > I would like to add that structure can also be found in the beauty of > a repeated sequence of movements, such as a dance. In this example, a > 'Holy Communion' can be sought through exploring the purity of the > structure through a body which has the freedom to chose how it will > move within that structure. Spirit would be experienced in the breath > which moves the dancer who is giving and receiving the dance. > Amerie > > On 25 Nov 2012, at 02:45, Charles Fuller wrote: > >> Structure = bones/skeleton >> >> Spirit = life force >> >> >> (add to the metaphor if you wish/if it seems to fit). How many bones >> do U need? >> "Just enuff!" >> >> So my addition is: the sinew, muscle, organs and tissue is us & our >> efforts together. >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org >> To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2012 15:10:47 +0000 > From: Robin Bowles <c...@cooptel.net> > To: oslist@lists.openspacetech.org > Subject: [OSList] Advice please > Message-ID: <592f834c-d7ab-4f62-a7f1-50bd09b5d...@cooptel.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > unsubscribe info pls > > In friendship, > Robin > > > > > On 24 Nov 2012, at 21:04, oslist-requ...@lists.openspacetech.org wrote: > >> Send OSList mailing list submissions to >> oslist@lists.openspacetech.org >> >> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to >> oslist-requ...@lists.openspacetech.org >> >> You can reach the person managing the list at >> oslist-ow...@lists.openspacetech.org >> >> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific >> than "Re: Contents of OSList digest..." >> >> >> Today's Topics: >> >> 1. Re: Beginnings, Middles and Ends... Where are we? (JL Walker) >> 2. The Joys of Grief -- With Thanks to Harold (Harrison Owen) >> >> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> Message: 1 >> Date: Fri, 23 Nov 2012 22:39:47 -0300 >> From: "JL Walker" <jlwal...@terra.cl> >> To: "'World wide Open Space Technology email list'" >> <oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> >> Subject: Re: [OSList] Beginnings, Middles and Ends... Where are we? >> Message-ID: <009901cdc9e4$99573c50$cc05b4f0$@cl> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" >> >> I also think is a beautiful poem Mikk that as you have said has emerged >> naturally, and from my part I have received the original just in time. All >> of that is a real gift! >> >> Thanks, >> >> Juan Luis >> >> >> >> De: oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org >> [mailto:oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org] En nombre de Mikk Sarv >> Enviado el: viernes, 23 de noviembre de 2012 17:59 >> Para: Artur Silva; World wide Open Space Technology email list >> Asunto: Re: [OSList] Beginnings, Middles and Ends... Where are we? >> >> >> >> Dear Artur, >> >> >> >> I haven't seen it on OS list either, I don't know why. Sometimes it just >> happens with my e-mails to list. :-( >> >> I am lucky that at least some people can receive and spread them. >> >> With this message I actually did not intended to make a poem, I wrote what I >> thought. But reading it over now - it is really like a poem! >> >> Thank you and Koos and Doug for nice words! I am happy that you liked it. >> >> >> >> With greetings, >> >> >> >> Mikk >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> On Nov 23, 2012, at 5:34 PM, Artur Silva wrote: >> >> >> >> >> >> I have not seen your initial message, Mikk, until Koos answered it. It did >> not came to me L >> >> >> >> >> >> But it is excellent! Thank you! >> >> >> >> >> >> Artur >> >> >> >> _____ >> >> From: Koos de Heer <k...@auryn.nl> >> To: World wide Open Space Technology email list >> <oslist@lists.openspacetech.org>; World wide Open Space Technology email >> list <oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> >> Sent: Friday, November 23, 2012 8:26 AM >> Subject: Re: [OSList] Beginnings, Middles and Ends... Where are we? >> >> >> >> Beautiful Mikk, Thank you! >> >> Made my day. >> >> Koos >> >> At 17:57 22-11-2012, Mikk Sarv wrote: >> >> >> >> I think opening space is also creation of structure. >> The structure is like a body, where Spirit can live. >> When the body gets old, it dies and Spirit leaves the body. >> But Spirit needs the body or structure. >> >> Long moments of silence at the beginning are like pain of birth. >> After OS event everybody often feels like newborn. >> People, who like Structure, might feel Spirit as something evil, what >> destroys everything. >> People who like Spirit may feel the Structure as evil. >> But they both are just sides of the same dance. >> Opening Space is giving birth. It offers for Spirit a new body/structure to >> go on with dance. >> >> With greetings, >> >> Mikk Sarv >> >> >> On Nov 22, 2012, at 4:45 PM, JL Walker wrote: >> >> >> >> >> Dear Arno, >> Anticipating the response of HO, I can take the risk to say that the >> structures of management are always part of the map and the structure of the >> principles and the law of OS is always part of the territory. >> Make sense for you this? >> Hugs, >> Juan Luis >> >> De: oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org >> [mailto:oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org] En nombre deArno Baltin >> Enviado el: jueves, 22 de noviembre de 2012 4:51 >> Para: World wide Open Space Technology email list >> Asunto: Re: [OSList] Beginnings, Middles and Ends... Where are we? >> >> Dear Harrisson! >> >> Could you please elaborate on the difference between creating a structure >> and opening space. When facilitating OS meeting I also create a structure by >> setting the space and introducing the rules and law (isn't it?). And at the >> end of OS I leave the space opened as inviting to take the structure (of >> mind - some attitudes based on the OS experience, ther rules and law) with. >> >> Be well, >> >> Arno >> >> Narva mnt 25, 10120 Tallinn >> Eesti Vabariik >> >> >> >> 2012/11/21 Harrison Owen <hho...@verizon.net> >> Juan Luis ? Always nice to hear from you! And my answer to your question is >> something like this: Only create structure when you have to, and then create >> as little as you possibly can. Structure is useful in organizations, but it >> certainly can get in the way. So don?t overdo it. Ask yourself, ?What is the >> minimal amount of structure necessary to get the job done.? It is always >> easy to add if you need it, but once some structure is created (committee, >> procedure, etc) it seems to stay around forever, even when nobody can >> remember what it was for? >> >> Harrison >> >> Harrison Owen >> 7808 River Falls Dr. >> Potomac, MD 20854 >> USA >> >> 189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer) >> Camden, Maine 20854 >> >> Phone 301-365-2093 <x-msg://1335/> >> (summer) 207-763-3261 <x-msg://1335/> >> >> www.openspaceworld.com <http://www.openspaceworld.com%20/> >> www.ho-image.com (Personal <http://www.ho-image.com%20%28personal/> >> Website) >> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of OSLIST >> Go to: http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> <http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org> >> >> From: oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org [mailto: >> oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org >> <mailto:oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org> ] On Behalf OfJL Walker >> Sent: Wednesday, November 21, 2012 1:53 PM >> To: 'World wide Open Space Technology email list' >> Subject: Re: [OSList] Beginnings, Middles and Ends... Where are we? >> >> Many thanks Harrison. Just now I could give me time to read everything about >> your email slowly. >> Makes me much sense for the moment that we are living here in Chile with our >> CDIC project (Centro de Desarrollo de la Inteligencia Colectiva), when we >> started to give us account that would be necessary some structure. >> The question is how we can move forward without that decays the Spirit and >> what could be the structure that would allow that purpose? >> Hugs, >> Juan Luis >> >> De: oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org [ >> mailto:oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org >> <mailto:oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org> ] En nombre deHarrison Owen >> Enviado el: lunes, 19 de noviembre de 2012 21:27 >> Para: 'World wide Open Space Technology email list' >> Asunto: [OSList] Beginnings, Middles and Ends... Where are we? >> >> I?ve been thinking about us, or should I say OS?. >> >> It seems to be a truth of life that everything (us included) has a >> beginning, middle and an end. The separation between beginning and end can >> be quite various (longer or shorter), but one thing is for certain. For >> every beginning, there is an end. Along the way it is inevitable that people >> ask, how are they doing, and what next? >> >> What is true for life in general seems to be true for organizations of all >> sorts, including ours, by which I mean the Good Old OS Community. Perhaps >> you never thought of the OS Community as an organization, and certainly if >> you understand organization to be what might be called The Standard Model >> (The Leader, Board of Directors, and all the Rest) the OS Community doesn?t >> qualify. On the other hand, were you to look at what OS Inc. has done, that >> assessment changes, I think. As a matter of fact there are loads of Standard >> Model organizations that don?t even come close to our accomplishments. First >> of all we have been around for 27 years with thousands of ?members? all over >> the world. Each year ?we? produce global gatherings in multiple places, >> along with training programs and consultations. And when it comes to the end >> product, Opening Space, the numbers get a little mind boggling. Not bad at >> all ? just don?t look too closely at how it all gets done. J So how are we >> doing? Well past the Beginning for sure, but what now, and where next? >> >> Quite a while ago, I found myself thinking and writing a lot about the >> natural life cycle of organizations (?Spirit: Transformation and Development >> in Organizations? and ?The Power of Spirit?). Beginnings, middles and ends >> were pretty central to this ? but there was more. All about what seemed to >> be happening along the way, and what, if anything, we might do about that. >> >> To represent my understanding of the natural history of organizations, I >> came up with a simple graph which, for lack of a better term, became known >> as The Spirit Chart. Unfortunately we cannot do graphics here on OSLIST, but >> the graph is simplicity itself, and so I am sure that you can quickly draw >> it, or imagine it in your mind?s eye. The vertical axis is titled ?level? >> and the horizontal axis is ?time.? On the chart, there are two lines, one >> called ?Spirit? and the other ?Structure.? At Time 1 (the beginning) Spirit >> is high and Structure is low. Over time (moving from left to right) the >> lines cross in the middle, and at the end -- Spirit is low, and Structure is >> high. And there you have it: Beginning, Middle, and End. >> >> As you might suspect, I did not gather masses of data in order to construct >> my chart. Indeed I really can?t imagine precisely what that data might be or >> how to gather it. All that said, common sense and experience supports the >> story that the graph seeks to tell? All organizations start out with High >> Spirit(s) ? and virtually no Structure. At the moment of creation it is all >> potential, a wonderful idea, a gigantic WOW! The good news is that something >> is moving and shaking. Excitement and optimism rule the day. But there is a >> price. Orderly procedures simply do not exist, massive amounts of energy is >> burned for minimal results, the Wheel is constantly re-invented. >> >> But then things change. Rules and Structures are created to focus and direct >> all that wonderful Spirit. Initially there is resistance from some Free >> Spirited Folks, but the net result is positive and beneficial. Work gets >> done, schedules are kept, product goes out the door. And best of all there >> is plenty of Free Spirit around to creatively explore new opportunities, new >> ways of doing business. >> >> But over time, the lines cross. The Spirit Line and the Structure Line >> intersect and then separate, with Structure rising and Spirit falling, being >> constrained in smaller and smaller spaces by the overburden of Structure. >> For a while nobody notices, for the organization is doing the business in >> productive and orderly ways, and who could complain about that? But there >> comes a time when the organization is defined and imprisoned by its >> structure and rules. Spirit is in evidence mostly by its absence ? except in >> the stories and memories of how it ?used to be.? When you are out of Spirit, >> you are out of business. At least that is the story. >> >> But there could be a different ending. Were it somehow possible to release >> the Spirit from its prison, renewal might happen. But for that to occur, >> the prison walls must break. Or to put it in slightly different terms, the >> confining structure must shatter so that the Spirit may reform in new ways. >> This, I think, is an accurate, albeit metaphorical picture of >> Transformation: Spirit breaking loose to take on new form (trans-form). >> >> So where are we? Clearly we have had our initial WOW! And although it is >> certainly true that each time some new person joins our happy Tribe, having >> just experienced the opening of space for some group of people ? that WOW is >> heard once more. It is also true that for a large (and increasing) number of >> our band the experience is no longer a strange one. We?ve been there before, >> and while it is always a delight, it really becomes quite predictable. I >> would never say boring, but predictable for sure. Sit in a circle, create a >> bulletin board, open a market place, and the folks will go to work. Every >> time. >> >> The curious thing is that 27 years into our adventure, our organization is >> still as lively and spirit filled as it is ? a status that just about >> everybody recognizes in all of our common gatherings, as for example the >> recent WOSONOS in London. In my own experience of organizational life, this >> record is pretty remarkable. In every other organization I have known, or >> been a part of, by the time it reached its 27thyear, an awful lot of the >> original Spirit, enthusiasm, to say nothing of agility and flexibility had >> disappeared. People talk about ?mature organizations? -- when they finally >> got beyond the ?wild days in the garage? (computer start-ups, for example) >> and settled down into a more orderly mode of being. Think of Amazon, Apple, >> Microsoft, et al. Somehow we seem to have escaped some of that, and how >> could that be? >> >> I think part of the answer comes from the nature of our ?product? and what >> we do. The truth of the matter is that every time we think we have it all >> figured out, and have ?finally? arrived at the ?right? way of doing things ? >> we are in for some surprises. It turns out that we really didn?t know what >> we were talking about. Somehow, Open Space was/is so much more than we ever >> thought, and what we do/did, so much less. What starts out looking like just >> another approach to better meetings or group technique subtly morphs into >> the story of the cosmos (self organization). And we really don?t DO anything >> at all. We simply offer an invitation, and then get out of the way. >> >> To be sure, there has been a developmental process in our approach as we >> have gone along, but it apparently moves in the diametrically opposite >> direction from similar processes found with other approaches. Put it all >> under the heading of ?Thinking of one more thing NOT to do? and pretty soon >> (well maybe someday) ? we?ll end up with nothing. No approach at all! >> >> Of course, there have been a few signs of approaching Middle Age. You might >> call it hardening of the organizational arteries ? conversations about the >> ?right? way to conduct an Open Space, usually accompanied by an expanding >> list of critical details with attendant Do?s and Don?ts. Fortunately we then >> receive a marvelous report (Sandy Gee, being the latest) how just about >> everything was ?wrong? ? but surprisingly ? it all worked just perfectly. >> >> To be sure I have heard some chatter about ?guidelines? (Thomas H. J) ? but >> no proposal that we ?get ourselves organized? ? and certainly nothing as >> forbidding as a governmental structure with appropriate Boards and Bylaws! >> So we seem to be dodging the bullet, at least for the moment. And it may be >> that we have some distance to go before the end. I doubt, however, that our >> longevity will ever have anything to do with what might be called The >> Standard Organizational Approach, usually characterized as >> ?institutionalization.? Indeed I more than suspect that once again we will >> find success by going in the opposite direction. Rather than building >> durable structures that might last for the ages (none do ? so far) ? it will >> be a story of the constant shattering of structures and procedures to >> release the Spirit in new and vital directions. Transformation, I believe it >> is called. >> >> But there will come an end, of that I have no doubt. But I hope that the end >> of OS Inc might occur with hardly a ripple or note. Not unlike old soldiers >> who never seem to die ? they just fade away. OS Inc will become quite >> invisible when it is clear to all that everything is Open Space. Blending >> into the woodwork, as it were. Nothing new, Nothing special. Just what is. >> >> >> Harrison >> >> >> Harrison Owen >> 7808 River Falls Dr. >> Potomac, MD 20854 >> USA >> >> 189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer) >> Camden, Maine 20854 >> >> Phone 301-365-2093 <x-msg://1335/> >> (summer) 207-763-3261 <x-msg://1335/> >> >> www.openspaceworld.com <http://www.openspaceworld.com%20/> >> www.ho-image.com (Personal <http://www.ho-image.com%20%28personal/> >> Website) >> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of OSLIST >> Go to: http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> <http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org> >> >> >> >> >> Se certific? que el correo no contiene virus. >> Comprobada por AVG - www.avg.es <http://www.avg.es/> >> Versi?n: 2013.0.2793 / Base de datos de virus: 2629/5905 - Fecha de la >> versi?n: 19/11/2012 >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org >> To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> >> >> >> >> Se certific? que el correo no contiene virus. >> Comprobada por AVG - www.avg.es <http://www.avg.es/> >> Versi?n: 2013.0.2793 / Base de datos de virus: 2629/5909 - Fecha de la >> versi?n: 21/11/2012 >> _______________________________________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org >> To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org >> To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org >> To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org >> To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> >> >> >> _____ >> >> Se certific? que el correo no contiene virus. >> Comprobada por AVG - www.avg.es >> Versi?n: 2013.0.2793 / Base de datos de virus: 2629/5912 - Fecha de la >> versi?n: 22/11/2012 >> >> -------------- next part -------------- >> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... >> URL: >> <http://lists.openspacetech.org/pipermail/oslist-openspacetech.org/attachments/20121123/f4f53900/attachment.html> >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> Message: 2 >> Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2012 11:44:18 -0500 >> From: "Harrison Owen" <hho...@verizon.net> >> To: "'World wide Open Space Technology email list'" >> <oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> >> Subject: [OSList] The Joys of Grief -- With Thanks to Harold >> Message-ID: <000601cdca62$f32b7650$d98262f0$@net> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" >> >> Harold ? the best part of your message came at the end, and for me it was >> the most important therefore deserving its own special note? Something about >> the ?Joys of Grief.? >> >> >> >> Harold said: ?As you said in Wave Rider, OST has a deep connection to the >> grieving process that Elisabeth K?bler-Ross described as a part of facing >> death. Which for me is fascinating given how much joy I always experience - >> but it is almost always accompanied other deep emotions as well.? >> >> >> >> You have put your finger on an important point, which may seem paradoxical >> or even contradictory, but really is neither. The truth is, grieving (or >> more properly The Grief Work Process) is fundamentally joyful, even >> triumphant, at least that is the intent which is realized only when the >> process comes to completion. Simply put, it is the way we as human beings >> move from loss to renewal, from ending to new beginning, from the encounter >> with death to the experience of new life. Of course, if the process is >> aborted along the way, the final results are inevitably dismal and painful. >> >> >> >> Obviously what I have said above can be viewed a total nonsense, or worse, >> but stick with me, and I think I can get you there? But first something >> about the connection to Open Space. It will come as no surprise that I find >> Open Space to be nothing more than self organization at work. In a word, >> Open Space works because self organization works. And, self organization is >> itself a process. >> >> >> >> The process of self organization can be described in infinite, complex >> detail, but reduced to essentials, the steps are as follows: Order, Chaos, >> New and more complex order. It goes like this. Once upon a time there was >> this organization, a fine human system that lived a comfortable productive >> life. All seemed right with the world, but one day that world changed, and >> what was once a comfortable fit became increasingly challenging. The poor >> organization did all that it could, going this way and that -- seeking a >> path. But to no avail ? and comfortable order dissolved into PAINFUL chaos. >> But there is, or at least there can be a next chapter. Through the alchemy >> of self organization new and more complex order appears, and life goes on. >> But the question abides. How do we get from here to there? How do we deal >> with the pain? The answer, I think, is the Grief Work Process. >> >> >> >> Elisabeth K?bler-Ross made history when she identified and described the >> essential steps we all go through in the face of Death, our own or that of >> another. In my work it became clear that groups of people (organizations) go >> through exactly the same process when faced with ending. And that ending can >> come in all sorts of flavors: the end of a project, the end of a way of >> life, the ending of a company ? but the response is identical in all >> situations. At the moment of ending, which I have characterized as an ?Oh >> Shit Moment,? there is Shock and Anger. This is followed by Denial, then >> Memories (Stories of how it used to be), Despair ? the bitter/sweet instant >> of letting it all go. Then we come to Open Space, intense silence with >> nothing there and everything potential. The process comes to an end when two >> magic words are spoken, ?I wonder if?? I wonder if I/we can build a new >> company, find a new career, meet a new life partner. When wonder and >> imagination come together, there you have Vision, and the cycle is complete. >> >> >> >> Obviously I have covered a lot of territory with very few details. If you >> want more check out my book ?Wave Rider.? But hopefully I have said enough >> so that at the least you get the function and flavor of Grief Work. To be >> sure, it begins at a very painful moment, but the end of the story is all >> about joy. Functionally, Griefwork is the means by which we as human beings >> navigate the painful parts of self-organization. Things end, and that is >> always painful. But when they re-organize (self-organize) life goes on, and >> Griefwork gets us there. I find it to be hardwired into our humanity. We >> don?t have to think about it at all ? works all by itself. Each step is >> necessary, and none can be skipped, no matter how much we might like to move >> directly from ending to new beginning. >> >> >> >> Another way of looking at Grief Work ? It is what human self-organizing >> systems do as a major part of the adaptive process. And here is the >> connection to Open Space Technology: To the extent that OST is >> self-organization at work, it is equally and also Grief Work at work. >> Knowing this, and being acutely sensitive to what is going on, can be >> extraordinarily helpful to our understanding of what is happening with our >> clients, and what they may be doing/saying/manifesting during the time in >> Open Space. >> >> >> >> A related factor is that Griefwork, like all other aspects of self >> organization, function best when there is sufficient time/space (open space) >> to move around in. Things shut down when arbitrary control is imposed ? and >> that is sadly what happens often in the everyday world of organizations. >> Most obviously, nobody wants to talk about dying/ending. And those who do >> are often viewed as strange, weird, pessimists, or macabre. Definitely a >> no-no! And when there is such conversation it can only be entered into under >> controlled circumstance ? quietly and in moderation. Is it any wonder then >> that when space is suddenly opened, the unspeakable is spoken? That Open >> Space is so often experienced as an amazing passage from controlled silence >> to serious Joy? >> >> >> >> Thank you Harold for surfacing a critical element in our ?practice.? As we >> move along from beginnings, to middles ? and ask ourselves about What Nexts? >> ? I would believe that we have the details of the process (OST) down pretty >> well, AND I know there are vast areas to explore and understand. >> >> >> >> Harrison >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> Harrison Owen >> >> 7808 River Falls Dr. >> >> Potomac, MD 20854 >> >> USA >> >> >> >> 189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer) >> >> Camden, Maine 20854 >> >> >> >> Phone 301-365-2093 >> >> (summer) 207-763-3261 >> >> >> >> www.openspaceworld.com >> >> www.ho-image.com (Personal Website) >> >> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of OSLIST >> Go to: >> <http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org> >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> >> >> >> -------------- next part -------------- >> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... >> URL: >> <http://lists.openspacetech.org/pipermail/oslist-openspacetech.org/attachments/20121124/c170b7e2/attachment-0001.htm> >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org >> To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> >> >> End of OSList Digest, Vol 21, Issue 19 >> ************************************** > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > <http://lists.openspacetech.org/pipermail/oslist-openspacetech.org/attachments/20121125/73e2dd41/attachment-0001.htm> > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 5 > Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2012 15:12:36 +0000 > From: Robin Bowles <c...@cooptel.net> > To: oslist@lists.openspacetech.org > Subject: [OSList] OS info please > Message-ID: <5d79a298-b3c9-44be-b0c1-e17cf426e...@cooptel.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii > > Does anyone know how to stop os list emails please? > > Robin > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 6 > Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2012 08:38:11 -0800 > From: Chris Corrigan <chris.corri...@gmail.com> > To: World wide Open Space Technology email list > <oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> > Cc: World wide Open Space Technology email list > <oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> > Subject: Re: [OSList] Beginnings, Middles and Ends... Where are we? > Message-ID: <3ae6a8ae-c2b7-4df3-a9dc-eb1f74a28...@gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Arno. > > One of my favourite "open space" happenings was the singing revolution in > Estonia. Of course not a single Open Space Technology meeting was held but > the while thing had the flavour of Open Space: high levels of passion, > complexity, diversity and urgency and principles like whoever comes and > whatever happens and when it starts and ends. And mostly it was powerful > because people joined passion and responsibility and net the situation with > good timing. In those years thy discovered another truth about themselves > perhaps, that despite 1000 years of colonization, Estonians weren't slaves > after all! > > That is what it means to see the patterns of Open Space out in the world. > Wherever it happens is the right place. > > Chris > > -- > CHRIS CORRIGAN > Harvest Moon Consultants > www.chriscorrigan.com > > > > > Art of Hosting in Faith Based Communities, Salt Lake City, Utah > November 28th - December 1, 2012 > > Art of Hosting - Participatory Leadership and Social Collaboration, Bowen > Island, BC November 11-14,2013 > > On 2012-11-25, at 12:57 AM, Arno Baltin <a...@tlu.ee> wrote: > >> Dear OS listeners and sepeakers, >> >> I am glad for so many responses and elaborations to my question on >> differences of Opening Space and creating a structure. Mikk's poem was most >> easy to grasp. I feel at home with his last statement: >> Opening Space is giving birth. It offers for Spirit a new body/structure to >> go on with dance. >> >> What I probably underestimate and where my question is rooted is, that I >> still consider OS more of a technique than life itself. >> >> Or how Harrisson has put it: >> What starts out looking like just another approach to better meetings or >> group technique subtly morphs into the story of the cosmos (self >> organization). And we really don?t DO anything at all. We simply offer an >> invitation, and then get out of the way. >> Or to put it another way using Juan Luis words: >> "...structures of management are always part of the map and the structure of >> the principles and the law of OS is always part of the territory. >> And Michael's way of saying it that the "principles" are not "rules", >> rather "Facts of Life" >> >> In a way I still have understanding of opening space as scaffolding, not as >> releasing the Spirit. >> >> So thank you everyone for responding. I can see the long way to go. >> >> Wish you good Spirit and Body, >> >> >> Arno >> >> >> Narva mnt 25, 10120 Tallinn >> Eesti Vabariik >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org >> To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > <http://lists.openspacetech.org/pipermail/oslist-openspacetech.org/attachments/20121125/5c0878d3/attachment-0001.htm> > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 7 > Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2012 10:48:54 -0600 > From: Michael Herman <mich...@michaelherman.com> > To: World wide Open Space Technology email list > <oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> > Subject: Re: [OSList] structure/Spirit > Message-ID: > <CAD8j=QGeSWp4rNzQ7-H6FQS_GXwMLLqRDFTrH78mO0v=j9a...@mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > how many bones do you need? i was told once that even if we had no bones, > we'd still sit upright -- because of fluid pressure. heart. juice. same > person pointed out that one of the reasons some traditions do prostrations > before meditation is that it moves the largest muscles of back and legs, > and gets the heart pumping, so that meditation posture is supported by > fluids, not muscle-effort. so we might say structure and spirit, bones and > heart. > > > > > -- > > Michael Herman > Michael Herman Associates > 312-280-7838 (mobile) > > http://MichaelHerman.com > http://OpenSpaceWorld.org > > > > > On Sun, Nov 25, 2012 at 5:02 AM, amerie rose <amerier...@phonecoop.coop>wrote: > >> I am really enjoying touching in with this conversation. >> I would like to add that structure can also be found in the beauty of a >> repeated sequence of movements, such as a dance. In this example, a 'Holy >> Communion' can be sought through exploring the purity of the structure >> through a body which has the freedom to chose how it will move within that >> structure. Spirit would be experienced in the breath which moves the dancer >> who is giving and receiving the dance. >> Amerie >> >> >> On 25 Nov 2012, at 02:45, Charles Fuller wrote: >> >> Structure = bones/skeleton >>> >>> Spirit = life force >>> >>> >>> (add to the metaphor if you wish/if it seems to fit). How many bones do U >>> need? >>> "Just enuff!" >>> >>> So my addition is: the sinew, muscle, organs and tissue is us & our >>> efforts together. >>> >>> >>> ______________________________**_________________ >>> OSList mailing list >>> To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org >>> To unsubscribe send an email to >>> OSList-leave@lists.**openspacetech.org<oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org> >>> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >>> http://lists.openspacetech.**org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-**openspacetech.org<http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org> >> >> ______________________________**_________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org >> To unsubscribe send an email to >> OSList-leave@lists.**openspacetech.org<oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org> >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.**org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-**openspacetech.org<http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org> > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > <http://lists.openspacetech.org/pipermail/oslist-openspacetech.org/attachments/20121125/7feb137a/attachment-0001.htm> > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 8 > Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2012 19:41:38 +0100 > From: Luc Bizeul <lbiz...@gmail.com> > To: World wide Open Space Technology email list > <oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> > Subject: Re: [OSList] A 3hr OST slot at Conference > Message-ID: <adb8575d-bb62-4d89-b25f-c6e64a1a6...@gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Hello, > > you can find here a movie of how I open the space in a conference meeting, I > create a new facilitation tool for that you can see it in action during this > movie. > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUEcan5V2u0&feature=plcp > > I hope it can help you > > This movies is the firt use of this tool during a on hour session during a > conference, I plan to finalise the capitalization for the end of december (I > planed to be speacker for 4 intervention with this tool before make a > publication). > > If you feel like using it, I can take time to brief on that facilitation > style. > > cheers > > Luc Bizeul > > Le 18 nov. 2012 ? 19:41, Sandy Gee a ?crit : > >> Hello again lovely OS community, >> I posted a question asking for advice on here a few months ago. It was about >> organising a 3 hour OS slot in the afternoon of an Existential Psychotherapy >> Conference in a non-ideal setting - A very formal and smart space with an >> auditorium in fixed tiered rows. >> >> I benefitted hugely from all the input I got here as well as at Lisa's >> workshop in London and at WOSONOS. >> >> It happened on Saturday and I'd like to report that it was a great success! >> >> Though the organisers had been very nervous about it and the setting was >> pretty challenging I was well prepared and had found ways to address all the >> difficulties... >> >> For the OS introduction and marketplace I followed Harrison's idea of making >> an approximate circle by putting 2 rows of chairs in an arc across the front >> of the auditorium facing the tiered rows (the chairs just going right across >> where there was a raised platform). It took a number of devices to get them >> to co-operate with sitting there - a 'welcome to Open Space' PP slide >> projected onto the screen, with the request to 'please sit in the chairs >> across the front and the first 3 rows of the auditorium'. I reinforced it >> with 'DO NOT SIT IN THIS ROW' signs on all the upper rows (and string >> blocking off the rows on the other side). And then when I saw that they were >> nervous and reluctant - strong personal appeals to "please come forward and >> sit across the front - nothing special or spotlighting will be asked of you, >> we're just trying to create a sort-of circle". The reluctance was very >> understandable as they had been in that space earlier with 3 big name >> speakers just presenti n > g and them all as passive audience. And indeed this is the style previous > conferences have all been. >> >> I used humour about the awkward and uneven circle - telling them that the >> varied height circle was intending to communicate our equality! And I was >> able to easily link it all to the conference theme which was 'Challenging >> Contexts and Uncertain Landscapes'! Indeed this seemed to help break the >> initial ice. >> >> I followed your idea Lisa of 'implying the circle' by placing the principles >> around the perimeter of the circle (having to invent some creative ways of >> doing that using string and pegs in places to avoid anything attached to the >> walls) and by circling around the space as I gave my introduction and >> explanation of the process. Thank you too Lisa for your advice in your >> 'thoughts and Ideas' PDF, in which you suggested setting up my living room >> with the themes on the wall and practicing circling the space and speaking >> aloud whilst imagining being there. That helped me to get more clear and >> concise. It helped me to notice where I had a tendency to get repetitive or >> long-winded/unclear and discipline myself to keep it simple and brief enough >> for the short time I had. I also typed out pretty much what I would say with >> coloured sub-headings to orientate me if I should get a bit lost in the >> nerves of it all. I only looked at it once, but the process of writing that >> and then just ha v > ing it there helped. This was a much more formal, bigger and more time > constrained situation than I've done OS in before and all this helped me cope > with that. >> >> Actually the awkwardness and obvious inconvenience of using the auditorium >> in that way in some ways helped make the transition to the informality and >> 'mucking in' quality OS needs. Following their initial reluctance to sit in >> the awkward circle - I was pleased and surprised that they got stuck in >> quite easily with the paper and pens for writing up their topics - some >> handing paper back for people to write in their rows before coming forward >> and others even speaking first with a just blank paper in their hand and >> then writing up what they'd said more concisely afterwards. >> >> We started a bit late but easily got through the marketplace in the 45mins >> and off they went to their 1st sessions (11 topics in each of the 2 >> sessions). (I managed to wangle an extra 15 minutes on initially proposed 30 >> minutes by encouraging the organisers to let me take more of the time for >> the OS closure out of the whole conference closure - thanks for that idea >> Lisa). >> >> For session topic zones I used laminated orange A4 sheets with letters on >> bamboo poles cable-tied to the chair legs (like at WOSONOS 2012). I attached >> velcro re-usable cable ties to the top of the poles which i could then >> thread through slots in the laminated A4 sheets to create 'zone flags' >> (easier to dismantle and transport) for each of the circles of chairs. These >> were set up in other rooms than the auditorium (according to a layout plan >> I'd drawn up) and this worked well. >> >> We had a challenge with the agenda wall being created in the auditorium but >> the topic zone areas being in a separate part of the venue. That made it >> impractical for people to refer to the auditorium agenda board when >> bumblebeeing between sessions. So we simply got moveable boards and, after >> the marketplace, we moved them to the hall outside where the OS topic >> sessions were taking place. We used light A2 foam boards, used 'dual tack >> double-sided tape' to 'post-it' them to the auditorium wall, then were able >> to remove and reposition them, after the marketplace, onto doors in the hall. >> >> The closing session was back in the auditorium in the awkward circle at the >> front and by then people had got comfortable with participating, so freely >> offered snippets of their experience of both the process and the content. >> Many were energised, enjoyed it, felt excited and had started conversations >> they'd wanted to have but didn't know how. One said that this now felt like >> a community in a way that it never had before. A few expressed discomfort >> with aspects of the process - feeling conflicted in having to decide whether >> to stay or move, being much more aware of the encounter with the people >> rather than just the material for discussion, feeling grumpy and rebellious >> about notetaking and how they felt it interrupted the process. But even >> those who had found it uncomfortable also expressed that they'd got >> something from it. And the content that they fed back about was expressed >> with interest, excitement and edginess. A couple expressed surprise that it >> worked when they had f > elt sure it couldn't! >> >> Interestingly one of them expressed a sense of slight stiltedness and >> flattening of the energy to be back in the formality of the auditorium for >> the closure after the freedom of the Open Space sessions and suggested that >> if we'd just got people to re-position the chairs in the larger room where >> the sessions had taken place it would have retained more of the energy of >> OS. I hadn't imagined that this could be possible due to the numbers, but by >> that point we were down to about half the participants so it actually could >> have worked. (About a third left at lunchtime and another third before the >> OS closure - apparently very usual at this conference and partly a result of >> an overly long and packed agenda). Interestingly - another case of that >> 'once they've had a taste, they resist any going back into a more >> constricted space' phenomena! >> >> I personally received a lot of great feedback both directly and in how >> people interacted with me - many people seemed to find me easily >> approachable and came and talked to me or just dropped in a comment in >> passing. A lot were very appreciative, two gave me very specific feedback on >> how I had been a great facilitator (unflustered when things went wrong, >> informal, warm, clear). A couple expressed dilemmas - what they wanted to >> do, but felt too shy (I encouraged them to dare to do it anyway and they >> did), another felt a bit bad about not having taken notes (I encouraged him >> to consider - was there anything now they were finished that they'd like to >> share with the rest of the conference? and just write that - which he did). >> >> All in all there was a real energetic buzz, people were excited and >> appreciative, several things had been started that there were plans to carry >> forward further and it looks very likely that Open Space will be part of >> next years conference. >> >> Thank you everyone who helped me with your great ideas and generous >> encouragement. I'm thrilled and look forward to more... >> >> Sandy Gee >> wildbala...@gmail.com >> _______________________________________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org >> To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > <http://lists.openspacetech.org/pipermail/oslist-openspacetech.org/attachments/20121125/1425341e/attachment-0001.htm> > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > OSList mailing list > To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org > To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org > To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org > > > End of OSList Digest, Vol 21, Issue 20 > ************************************** _______________________________________________ OSList mailing list To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
