dear harrison, as is often the case, i am moved by the movement that you inspire and invite. as for opening space for a closing world, i tend to be drawn to the one-on-one route. i like to dive in as quickly as possible and open my own space in efforts to heal and grow myself and mirror such healing, growth, and openness in others. it's absolutely amazing to me how this process works. if i remembered such things as who said and wrote what, then i would probably give you all a great quote right about now that beautifully articulated this point. instead, i'll give you a perfect illustrating example!
mirja: Any feedback would be valued and would benefit our effort in ensuring a better tomorrow! ho: Made my day. Opened my space! listening --> feedback --> ensuring a better tomorrow --> opened space. listening, being available, and allowing honest feedback to flow within myself and to others is my current favorite way of parting boundaries, of sifting through the clouds and haze that collect together to blur my own vision. my vision stems out from my heart. it yearns to connect with other souls and radiate with the light that we share. a genuine connection is a divine bond and the power and strength that emanates from its core appears able to move mountains... to open unbelievable amounts of space. when my heart reaches out and finds closing space, murky water, and pain-full boundaries, it feels (i feel) this urgent need to make myself available and invite out the inherent truth. right here. right now. (as may be obvious, i'm still a student learning the art of this process) chris corrigan wrote: colonization was not only about the imposition of structure and behaviour on our lives; it was rather about the way our inner lives were stripped away, be it the inherent truths that come from our own personal ways of connecting with Spirit and intention, or the cultural stories and frameworks that supported and continued to invite this knowledge. so to join that with your observation, harrison, i notice that when we acknowledge others and give feedback an incredible force of alchemy occurs. it's as if both people's energies swirl together, the collective power is combined, the space is opened, and the energy potential is immense as connection is made with inherent truths, Spirit, and intention. my way of opening space for a closing world is very similar to the invitation that chris speaks of: Invitation for us to know our own truths, create and honour our own story, organize our own responses to the world around us and take responsibility for making the change we want to see. with that said, i want to dip back into the conflict that we all experienced swirling around this list space the last week or so. it was really pushing my buttons to feel so much being shared between the lines. i wanted to just scream... say what you're really feeling. the potential healing that i felt sitting on the edge was so exciting (is so exciting) and my heart yearned to feel the clouds clear. i wrote a response to the list, but before it was posted, the tone of letters in my inbox shifted...the clouds parted... and so the response stayed in my draft box. here's a piece of it that still wants to come out and play with all of you! Therese Fitzpatrick wrote: "Your generous expression of your difficult emotions has touched me in a way that surprises me...why is Birgitt's pain resonating so deeply within me? What is it about, really, for me to have this reaction?" therese took the opportunity to look at her own emotional response and shared with us what she discovered... through this very cognitive means of sending words, we were all a part of the discovery (and healing?). i'm wondering if the virtual open space, on some level, requires people to be explicitly more open and vulnerable regarding emotional states because the dialogue is occurring at predominantly a cognitive level. if clear communication is desired then one has to step a bit beyond a comfortable level of communication and articulate the "behind the scenes" reality such as being in pain or feeling an emotional response. for me, right now, i am struggling with my own self doubt. i question my ability to articulate this point clearly and then i wonder how it will be received by a group of peers and elders that i respect. but there is a pushing inside of me that says "send it, send it." i think that in a virtual open space we must be aware that even though we have tight control of the words that we type into the computer screen and the timing of releasing them to the group, we are often unaware of that which still seeps through between the lines. if deep understanding of one another is desired, then perhaps deep sharing of both the issues relevant to the topic and relevant to other wounds must be acknowledged. like shay mcinerney stated, "our very thoughts have an energy that adds, for better or worse, to the global mind of humanity and that deletion or limitation of access makes no difference in the great scheme of things." i wonder about the depths of collective healing that occurs when a community as strong and intentional as this one works in such a transparent way to heal as individuals and as an organization. so, back to opening space for a closing world... i notice that life is charged, both towards proactive and destructive means. i seem to be focusing a lot of my attention into helping to keep people's eyes (and hearts) open to the possibilities that exist in the world. how imperative it is to be awake and active in one's life. to live consciously and intentionally rather than sitting back and being swept along in the current. and it's such a joy to know that i'm preaching to the choir as i say this here! much love, ashley www.ashleycoop.blogspot.com * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu, Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
