Thanks for this great story. As I read it I can relate to some beautiful hosting moments - and a few 'soul frying' moments also, where I was not moving in a slow and deliberate way. Like everything I find in hosting and living Open Space - it is simple, and sometimes not so simple - especially when I forget the simplicity.
Caitlin. On Sun, Feb 2, 2014 at 1:52 PM, Derek W. Wade <dw...@kumido.com> wrote: > You all rock. If "learning is remembering something you already knew," > then I'm delighted with the gift of learning I've received from this > conversation. > > Back when I used to fly airplanes upside-down as a competitive sport, I > received a simple, profound lesson that I now realize I can apply to Open > Space. > > I was having breakfast with my coach, world aerobatic champion Nikolay > Timofeev. He was going to compete later that day in the "Unlimited" > category -- something he had been doing for many years -- and I was going > to fly my first competitive routine in the much less complicated > "Sportsman" category. A pilot's first Sportsman flight is a milestone: its > the one and only time in your aerobatic career to win a "best first time" > award. I was nervous and concerned about time; gulping my coffee, > obsessively looking over the plan of figures to be flown and judging > criteria for each, checking and re-checking the timetable of the day. > > I was nervous both because it was my first time flying at a more advanced > level, and also because we had had a few bobbles the previous few days, > including the canopy of the aircraft coming off in flight and falling to > earth who-knew-where. So I would be flying open-cockpit, the wind in my > face for the first time. A lot of unexpected firsts that were out of my > control. > > Something compelled me to ask, "Nik, what's one piece of advice you can > give me for this flight?" I was hoping for something about altitudes or > airspeeds or specifics of the maneuvers to be flown. > > Nikolay finished chewing his bite of toast, took a measured, deliberate > sip of coffee, set his cup down carefully, laid both his hands palm-down on > either side of his breakfast, and said, "before flight, you must do > everything slow. Everything. You drink coffee, you do slow." He > demonstrated with a careful lift of his cup. "You walk out to airplane, > slow. Steady. Starter will be run around, get everyone in airplanes, go go > go, now now now. You breathe. You put on parachute slow. Get in airplane > now -- but get in slow." He accentuated with smooth, meditative movements > of his hands, as if doing tai chi at the breakfast table. "Touch airplane, > feel it. Breathe. Slow. That is best thing for this flight. All flights." > > It was a bit of a slap in the face -- what, I can't just have some > pointers? Doesn't he realize how many things I'm dealing with here? But I > did as he said. I left myself enough time that I could be deliberate and > unhurried with all my preparation. The starter did indeed try to hustle me > along when it was my turn to line up, but I smiled and yelled "thank you, > got it" before I began buckling the chute on. > > It was SO hard. At every step I felt the need to check on something, to > adjust some tiny little detail. But I did it. Slow and deliberate, just > breathing with each motion. Paying total attention to one thing at a time. > > It was the best flight I ever flew. It felt like the airplane had turned > transparent and I could see everything with 360-degree vision. At one point > I was in the middle of a maneuver called a hammerhead turn -- a vertical up > line until you run out of airspeed and then the engine's torque pivots the > plane to point downward -- and saw that my path would take me into a cloud. > Entering a cloud is illegal, and you're required to break off and restart > your flight with no official penalty, but it can break up the judges' flow > and result in lower marks. Without thinking I pulled the propeller pitch > back to act as a speedbrake -- nothing I had ever been trained to do -- > and completed that figure just under the cloud. > > Hours later I was still working out why it had worked, and why pulling the > throttle would not have worked. I didn't feel like I had made the decision, > I felt like the plane and I both did it. It mattered: I received best > first-time and best overall in category for that flight. > > Earlier in this thread, Harrison said: > "...coming to the circle scattered, confused and anxious is a good way to > fry your soul and create an environment that matches your state." > > And, David Osborne wrote: > "Trust = the safety condition for self-organization." > > So my lesson from you all is that whether the circle is drawn in the sky > with an airplane, or drawn on the ground and made of people, its critical > to treat that circle as a magic circle; to enter it with all awareness, > calm, trust, and respect due a place of power. > > I thank you all for the insight. I'll remember that flight -- and Nik's > lesson -- any time I attempt to Open Space. > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > > -- The moment that you don't fear to share your heart, you are a free person. - Paulo Coelho *UPCOMING Events* - Being Peace - The Work in North Vancouver <http://caitlinfrost.ca/workshops/being-peace-north-vancouver/>- Mondays Jan 20th - Feb 17th - The WORK@work - What is holding you back?<http://caitlinfrost.ca/workshops/work-at-work/>(telecourse) Jan 29th - March 5th - Getting UN-Stuck *in life and work*, Retreat<http://caitlinfrost.ca/workshops/get-unstuck/>. Bowen Island, March 7-9 *in Leadership and facilitation:* *Art of Hosting - BEYOND the BASICS* <http://www.aohbtb.com/> Ohio - April 4-6th, 2014 Nova Scotia - May 15-17th, 2014 British Columbia Sept 21-24th, 2014 Mexico: January 29-31st, 2015 CAITLIN FROST Coaching and Facilitation Certified Facilitator - The Work of Byron Katie Principal - Harvest Moon Consultants Ltd. www.caitlinfrost.ca
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