Great story, Brian! I have done a number of 4 day Open Spaces, and finally came to the conclusion that time frame was just too long. The fatigue factor began to show. I rather wonder now -- were 4 day too short? I had noticed that by the end of the 4th day, there seemed to be a deepening re-engagement of conversation. Had we had a 5th day -- might it not have gone as you describe??? I rather think so. Which of course does not suggest that everybody should now be doing 5 days in Open Space (Wheeeu -- big sweat!) But no reason not to if the situation warrants.
As for your back and penance . . . I suggest you find a new confessor. Harrison ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brian S Bainbridge" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, July 24, 2004 11:31 PM Subject: Re: conscious of evolution as it evolves. ??? > Dear Harrison > Thanks for the insighting in this message. And I am very much where you > are on these developmental matters, though not about to go into print in > any way. > My thinking is reinforced from the five and a half day Open Space event > we have just concluded in wet and rainy and sticky Langkawi with some 43 > people from the East Asia Division of The World Bank. > Don't know if there are many OST openers who have "done" an event of > that time span. > It was utterly marvellous, IMHO. And also in the opinion of all present > of whom about 20 were in the 2003 Open Space in Bali. > Someone asked me on the Sunday evening if this year would be better than > last year. I said I didn't know that, but I was sure it would be > different - a bundle of new people, a bundle of people who know and > have learnt to trust OST, all of whom are a year wiser than they were > last year, and many of whom have been involved in implementing the bulk > of the resolutions emerging from the 2003 event. > And so it turned out, as you would expect. The 65 page document which > reached them Thursday morning reporting on 36 sessions, the inviting > them to spend time reading all of that to find what thread or topic or > common theme needed their next attention as a challenge, the allowing > plenty of extra time for reading because most of those present had > English as a Second Language. > And then inviting everyone to name the thread/topic they thought stood > out, and inviting those who so cared to name a topic they would be > prepared to champion, focusing particularly on the work in each of the > country offices represented here : Cambodia, China, East Timor, > Indonesia, Japan, Nepal, Papua-New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, > Thailand and Vietnam. > They did just that - and brilliantly. > On Friday morning, everyone in the circle "audited" each of the six > ACTION OUTCOME reports one by one, such that additional ideas and wisdom > and suggestions and contact options were added to each document, > bringing it about that everyone present now knows what is being > attempted, and that the document is actually richer by being added to by > all present. > As you can imagine, the Talking Stick (my Shillelagh) evoked wonderful > and emotional and deep responses from everyone - and took two hours to > complete. > It was my huge and emotional privilege to declare this Open Space is > over. And they are already looking forward to next year. > Thought you might enjoy a little of the wonder of yet another very > brilliant Open Space. > I'm back in sunny and warm Bali for another 11 nights - very tired after > all that work with a very sore back which may be a cracked or broken > rib. Mercifully, I have these days just to read and write and rest. It > was pelting down rain in Langkawi, Malaysia where the five and a half > day Open Space event took place. Yet another huge monsoonal downpour. I > was carrying gear from the building we had been inhabiting for those > days for the last time. I slipped on the stairs which were covered in > water, and the rest is history. It will get better over time, but > coughing or sneezing right now is an agony. And breathing deeply not > much better. We have to do some penance, I guess. > Cheers and blessings, BRIAN > > Harrison Owen wrote: > As usual OSLIST and it's denizens seems to be going where angels fear to > tread. Some may feel that we are wandering off into the realm of idle > philosophical speculation, and I guess that is true to a point. I also think > that this present discussion lies at the heart of what we do/don't do in > Open Space. > > Funda said, "is evolution possible without consciousness??" And I might > ask -- are we talking about the evolution of consciousness? Or the > consciousness of evolution? Or both? And not too far down the road we come > to one of the great divides in World Thinking. There are those, largely in > the "Scientific" West who prefer to think that matter is primary, and that > over time it manifests consciousness (becomes conscious). Roughly put, we > all start out as bodies (matter), then develop mental capacities, and > finally (for most of us) evolve the capacity to be conscious of our selves > as thinking bodies -- and then maybe even become conscious of our > consciousness. Much of the rest of the world looks at the same data > (progression) and comes to a radically different conclusion. Their story is > that Consciousness is primary and that over time It appears (manifests) in > progressively more complex and elegant expressions. From where I sit, this > is truly a case of "pay your money and take your choice." I can't imagine > how you would "prove" either one, and we actually have a case of a priori > assumptions. And the real issue is which story makes the most sense and is > most functional in terms of what you (whoever you are) want to do. The > Western Story is and has been a powerful one, forming the basis of the > Western Scientific enterprise. And obviously that enterprise has been > rewarding, albeit with certain limitations (We have created an industrial > society which is about ready to pollute us to death). With this story we > find ourselves confronting such wonderful questions as the "Biological > (molecular) basis of Consciousness." The alternate story -- that > Consciousness is primary -- takes one to rather different places. > Consciousness > IS -- and over time becomes manifest in quarks, atoms, molecules, > quasars -- and you and me. According to this story, when we perceive > ourselves > as conscious (or Consciousness) we are not doing/creating anything new -- we > are simply recognizing our selves as we have always been and truly are. The > Buddhists would say -- We see our original face. And the journey of life and > evolution is the journey to (the recognition of) our authentic selves. Some > of us move more quickly down this road and we call them mystics or saints. > Most of the rest of us take our own sweet time. Anyhow . . . > > What on earth does this have to do with Open Space, the application of Open > Space, our role in Open Space, the place and relationship of Open Space to > current organizations????? > > The answer(s), I think, begins with yet another question. What happens when > space opens? Is it the case that we are doing something novel and strange -- > or rather that we have created some appropriate conditions such that what > was already present becomes visible. In short we are not "learning something > new" but rather remembering what we already knew -- but forgot? Personally, > I find the "remembering" story to be the most compelling, or how else to > explain the common experience of working with a group of folks who have had > no training in esoteric skills, conflict resolution, group process -- and > yet in basically 15 minutes flat most are behaving as if being in Open Space > was the most natural thing in the world? Maybe it is? They just remember > what they had forgotten. Rather like riding a bicycle -- once you have done > it you can never really forget. > > Our role in this situation becomes rather clear, and our anxiety level > should go down. There is little to teach and less to worry about. The folks > are already there, they only have to be reminded. Gently. > > And do you have to be a Buddhist? Probably not, but it could help. > > Harrison > > * > * > ========================================================== > [email protected] > ------------------------------ > To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, > view the archives of [email protected]: > http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html > > To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: > http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
