for Ralph Copleman I haven't found it any different in the southern hemisphere, though I always use the talking stick anti-clockwise in the southern hemisphere and clockwise in the northern hemisphere - and I work in both parts of the world. I occasionally get mixed up which hemisphere I am in, and I can tell you it still works wonderfully - aCcording to participants. So...
For Birgitt Bolton et al : I always re-read the green book before every Open Space event - preferably as part of my spirit focus on that morning. I'm not preaching that to anyone, but I find it always grounds me in the basics and helps me develop the meaning of those basics for the people I am working with. I am, therefore, an uncompromising non-modifier, I suppose!!! I have just completed 2 Open Space Events in three days, two days for 25 execs from the Melbourne City Council here in Victoria, then on a plane to Darwin for one day with some 300 Meetings Industry Association members from all across Australia and southern Asia. Exhaustion is where I'm at right now. In both cases, the impact would have been diluted if I had not held firmly to the process, esepcially as the "promoters" in each situation wanted desperately to have things happen to their satisfaction and manipulation. I was quite happy for them to do that, but they would not find me on site - I said. So the impasse was established. And afterwards, in both cases, a kind of "Thank God you made us hold to the rules" - because the outcomes could not have happened so well if "modified OST" had been in place. They said, indeed. And I smiled. As always, participants were much more glowing about the process than the promoters - though still with some sceptics, which means one is not just hearing the icing on the cake. And, in both events, the emergence of enormous energy and potential growth and development, provided that the "promoters" don't get on their horse and stamp things out - which they wont, in either case. With Larry Peterson, I very much appreciate Michael Herman's "Bubble" analogy. And perhaps it is only when we see that extra dimension that we are able to really enable spirit to emerge and be recognized and encouraged and embraced. When you find someone standing up at evening news and getting everyone to wave with one hand (self) and then the other hand (reaching out to others) and getting everyone to wave with BOTH hands since that's the only way we can change the world, then spirit is in full manifestation, I reckon. And that was with the staid City Council group, not the brash advertising people - which adds special quality to the manifestions, obviously !!!! Seems to me one of the tasks of the OSI's - in whatver incarnation they emerge - is to continue to help us understand - and perhaps interpret and grow in insight about - the basics of OST. Rather like scripture scholars getting to work on and deepen the understanding of a biblical text. We can work at - and probably should be more aggressive about - learning more about how it works, especially from the stories and build-up of experience and insights that are happening, rather than setting out to modify, as some will attempt to do. Whatever "they" may do, there is need for deeper study and recogniiton and understanding of what is happening, whatever of modifications which will inevitably emerge. And I don't see that as an "either/or" model. As the classical scholars say - "Ad multos annos". Cheers and blessings, BRIAN.
