Re: After dinner conversations

[R. Duff Doel]

Dear Masud and All, For several years we (my partner and I) hosted a Wisdom Circle every month. This was open to anyone to attend and we had a core group of regulars along with dabblers. We used a talking stick which was passed once or twice in a circle (depending on the number of people) and then placed in the middle for anyone to take as they were moved. We use a set of "constants" rather than rules, which define the space of respect for each other and those outside the circle who might be impacted by our discussions. Other than that, anything goes. We never had a set agenda. This grew organically from the sharing of the members of each circle. Interestingly, every time we gathered, there was a significant theme that would arise very quickly. Every time we gathered, it was profound. People shared truly from the heart and all grew just from being there. People developed an incredible respect for the power of the "stick" to open their hearts. (of course it's not the stick at all...) Interestingly, it was 9/11 that stopped them. We had been meeting for years once a month with a substantial number of attendees (for a home meeting). Then 9/11 happened and it just ended. People stopped coming. We still hold these Wisdom Circles for special groups and at all of the retreats we run. They are always powerful catalysts for the members of each circle. I never thought of these as "open space" but now that i look at it, i suppose they are. duff Masud Sheikh wrote: Dear all, There is something I wish to share with you: A couple of weeks ago, I invited some friends for dinner. At the end of the dinner, I suggested a topic for conversation, and to channel the conversation, used a modified process to what I had seen used for Scott Peck’s “Community Building Workshop”. I read the story of the Rabbi’s Gift (which basically conveys the message that answers have to come from within the group, and for that to happen, there needs to be respect for all) asked for a few minutes of silence, and got a talking stick that people picked up when they wished to speak. The topic I chose was “Integrating visible minorities in society” (Like me, many invitees fell in this category). People appreciated the process used. Of course, we barely got into the nitty-gritty of the matter.   Have any of you done, or considered doing something similar, using Open Space?   My interest is getting conversations going on issues that are important these days. And perhaps have follow-on sessions for a societal topic like the one mentioned above.   Take care, all of you Masud     There is something called learning at a rather small level of organisation. At a much higher gestalt level, learning is called evolution – Gregory Bateson   * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist