Harrison said: Chris -- I tried to get away with "There's the paper and the wall. . . Go to it! at an early OSONOS. Everybody sat there and looked at me like I had taken their money for a movie and only showed the last part of the final reel. I guess i learned from that experience that the opening is much more than giving instructions on how to proceed. After all, everybody knows what to do (certainly in an OSONOS) , but they have to be in the mood to do it. And the opening ritual (and yes it is a ritual, I think) deals with that. Like all rituals, it can be well or poorly done -- heavy handed or light as a feather. Knowing the difference, and how to make that difference is where practice comes in.
Something we've done at the last few gatherings of Spirited Work (like OSonOS, it is a community that knows the drill): the circle of people opens the space itself. That all important ritual of opening space is done by the collective. And it is a hoot! We've had people act out bumble beeing and butterflying. We cover the basics and have a good laugh. I was struck by the similarity to Birgitt's no facilitator description. People just step in and speak what needs to be said. I think it builds on a premise that I've come to believe: our work is to grow people's capacity to care for themselves and the whole. By the way, I have also concluded that the essence of open space is people taking responsiblity for what they care about -- passion and responsibility. This IS the law. The four principles flow directly from this premise. Peggy * * ========================================================== 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
