Dear friends and colleagues on the OS list, First, I thank those of you who are through prayer and energy work "holding space" for us here in Raleigh as we participate in a very intense, deep and yet gentle learning experience together. I am writing to let you know, from my perspective, how it is going. The story of how it is going begins with letting you know that tomorrow, Hurricane Isabel is expected to be arriving here in Raleigh, North Carolina about suppertime. She presents Ward, I and our guests with an experience that was not planned as part of the month long program. Fortunately I had learned long ago that things don't tend to go according to plan.
The way I look at it, we are proving our guests with a unique experience and when they return to India, Israel, Austria, Germany, Sweden, and other parts of the USA they are going to have quite a story to tell. It will be a story of how we stirred up so much energy that we drew in a hurricane. It will be a story of the days ahead of knowing that Isabel will come, anticipation and some fear of the unknown, and truly knowing that we are not in control. We have talked in our workshops that 'change management is an oxymoron', in other words that change cannot be managed. However, our response to change can be managed so that it is a mindful response and not a reaction. Isabel is giving us good lessons as we wait, and will probably give us more lessons tomorrow as we participate with her, and yet more lessons in her aftermath. And I think we will have many stories to weave into our teaching in organizations. Interestingly, the workshop that begins tomorrow is about conflict resolution. (and unfortunately, the man who had registered to attend from the US coastguard has had to cancel --we had kind of felt relieved that we might have his assistance :-)) but he is clearly on-duty at the coast tomorrow. Avner from Israel asked if we thought the hurricane would for sure hit Raleigh. I started to give him reassurances that it would probably not be so strong by the time it reaches us. He immediately said 'but I want it to be strong. Imagine that I can actually have this experience!' And so, he expressed what we are all feeling. A little anxious and yet we look forward to the experience, to bringing the learnings from the experience fully into our other learning. This is the third year of hosting the Genuine Contact workshop series here in our home with back to back workshops throughout the month of September. And this year is no less magical and full of miracles than the others have been. The workshops are intended for those who want to go deeply into their learning and discovery about working with organizations to become healthy and balanced, working with the Conscious Open Space Organization. Most of the workshops can be taken on their own without participating for the whole month. Some people come who stay for the whole time to take it all in. Many come for one or two workshops with the intention of returning again at another time to take the remainder. Whenever Spirit moves them to do so. For us all, it is fascinating as those who stay for the whole month go so so so deeply and yet always recognize the new persons on the first day of a new workshop, and as a group, ensuring that all are holding the space for the maximum learning by all. It is a visible breathing in and breathing out as people come in, join for a few days, go out, others come, others go out, and some hold the circle for all of it. Another part of the experience that participants talk about is what it is like to be here in our home. It provides an opportunity for real genuine contact, person to person, and also with Ward and I as their hosts. And this becomes an important part of our learning. Ward and I walk our talk to the best that we know how to do so, being our genuine selves with all of our human qualities. And the participants note that this also enables them to be in better genuine contact with their own selves, knowing that in our time together, being real is so very welcome----and a real relief to most (maybe all). For Ward and I, this workshop series in September is the time when we have the privilege of being of service to others in their learning in a way that we can only do at this level here, allowing the window into our personal lives to be open as we teach the importance of inviting the whole person in to the meetings that all of us faciliate. And so, in my reporting to you about how it is going from my perspective, I can tell you about my joy, my sense of great privilege, my gratitude that the right people always appear, that exactly the right things happen for each of us, my personal learning and consciousness and mindfulness heightened as a gift that I receive from the participants, and my excitement that there will be additional teachers of the Genuine Contact program out in the world AND additional facilitators not only of Open Space Technology but also of the Conscious Open Space Organization. Blessings to you and to all with whom you make Genuine Contact, Birgitt Birgitt Williams of Dalar International Consultancy www.dalarinternational.com We provide inspirational and practical how to guidance for leaders who want to achieve healthy and balanced organizations to produce exciting, tangible results for the organization and for its people. View the calendar for upcoming training in the Organizational Health and Balance series of workshops featuring the Genuine ContactÔ program at http://www.openspacetechnology.com/training.html We invite you to join the Genuine Contact list serve at http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/genuinecontact Contact information for Dalar International Consultancy: Po Box 19373, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA 27619 Raleigh, North Carolina USA Phone: 919-522-7750 Fax: 919-870-6599 Founders of the Wellness Revolution for Organizations Founders of the International Alliance for Mentoring Creators of the Organizational Health and Balance series of workshops featuring the Genuine ContactÔ program --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). 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