G'day Peggy, Juanita, Harrison and All In the face of such charm :-) ...
I too had a lovely connection with Juanita right from the outset. This happened in 1997, shortly after a colleague sent me a paper on The World Cafe (TWC) written by Juanita and Nancy Margulies. Since then we have had wondrous online and f2f communicating, in my opinion, including great gatherings at both of their homes whenever I was passing through San Francisco. Which has led to my having a depth of experience in using OST and TWC singly and also in combination. A (now well known) report on the latter can be seen at: http://www.theworldcafe.com/storyconversing.html I will respond to your invitation on just two issues for the moment. (This is mainly due to 'time pressure' as my wife Carmen and I are moving to live in Hong Kong in a couple of weeks time; we are knee deep in cardboard boxes!). And do so in the spirit of questioning by posing: . Is the success of the OS listserv related it being a forum in which people can explore what is means to be treated with respect and the contexts in which this happens? Has there ever been such a forum in the whole of human history? Has respect ever been accorded naturally, outside the confines of 'inner circles' such as family units and particular 'faith based' communities, to whoever comes? Tom Atlee, who you may be aware of http://www.co-intelligence.org , articulates very nicely the 'reason' why processes such as OST and TWC are so critical to bringing out a spirit of 'We are in this together.' "Co-intelligence, dialogue and democracy all flourish best among peers. It isn't a matter of everybody being equal in every way. It is a matter of everyone having comparable power to influence the outcome of their interactions and, most importantly, everyone giving each other respect. This is, unfortunately, seldom the case. Most of us have deeply ingrained ways of not respecting each other -- sometimes without even knowing it. This is one of the main reasons that we need "processes" and "facilitators" to help us get good results from our meetings and conversations." As those of us on the OSList would know, the according of respect occurs spontaneously and naturally when conditions for self organising are in place. And that this happens (at least for now) in the hands of skilled and experienced process facilitators working with sponsors who intuit the [potential] value in letting go. . Has my practice been influenced by personal connectings made through the list? Most definitely. I have experienced amazing (but not surprising <grin>) extending of friendship by people who have contributed to the list. This has happened online and also in the course of my remarkably privileged travels over the past few years. The warmth of hospitality by 'spacers' in diverse places has been astonishing. All of this has greatly influenced my feelings of being included in a wonderful community and also of responsibility to pass on learnings and stories. Looking forward ... to seeing others' responses to Interesting questions! (And most delightful questioners) Alan Adelaide . ----- Original Message ----- From: Peggy Holman To: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, January 09, 2005 10:14 AM Subject: A question about OS listserv Friends, I was on the phone with Juanita Brown this morning (our first meeting). No doubt many of you know of her; she is the creator of the World Cafe (http://www.theworldcafe.com/). It was love at first conversation for me as I heard so much compatibility with why I love Open Space expressed in her stories about the World Cafe. Apparently, she has heard about the OS list from several colleagues (including the irresistible Alan Stewart). She asked me what I thought makes it work (actually, she asked this much more beautifully but I'm saving her wording for you below). I believe her interest derives from wishing to create a similar resource for the World Cafe community. I suggested she pose her question to the list itself. As I ponder my own response, her questions seemed perfect for the new year -- a moment to reflect on what makes this list such a gift, what it has meant to you as an individual and to us as a community. Here are Juanita's questions, with a couple I've added inspired by her inquiry: What has enabled the Open Space listserv to flourish? In what ways has the listserv helped the Open Space community of practice to evolve? And I would add: In what ways has it affected you and your own practice to evolve? What wishes do you have for the list's future? I'll forward responses to Juanita every few days. I've encouraged her to sign up and see for herself, so we may all soon have the pleasure of her company. In any case, I look forward to learning, once again, from all who are attracted to this inquiry. From snowy Seattle, Peggy ________________________________ Peggy Holman The Open Circle Company 15347 SE 49th Place Bellevue, WA 98006 (425) 746-6274 www.opencirclecompany.com _______________________________________ The World Café Living Knowledge Through Conversations That Matter http://www.theworldcafe.com To subscribe to the World Café listserv send an email to: [email protected] Type the word Subscribe in the subject line of your message * * ========================================================== [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
