Dear OS Colleagues: It is a great honor to invite you to the May Evolutionary Salon, which will be a wonderful open space gathering. We only have a few spaces left . . . and they will be filled . . . but I would love to welcome some additional open space colleagues.
Recently we convened two extraordinary multi-day "Evolutionary Salons". These gatherings engaged over 100 visionaries and leaders from around the world, people who are re-shaping their fields of expertise and/or advancing their work by means of an emerging evolutionary perspective and inquiry. We are inviting you to Evolutionary Salon 3, the theme of which is "LISTENING INTO THE FUTURE: WHAT IS CALLING? A DEEP EXPLORATION INTO EVOLUTION, WHERE WE ARE GOING AND WHERE WE MIGHT GO AS A PLANET." Salon 3 is scheduled for May 20-24, 2006 at the Chinook Center, a remarkable retreat setting located on Whidbey Island, an hour north of Seattle, Washington. If you already feel the call to this event, you can register at this link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=234701845896 Our shared inquiry has been framed by a set of questions that have continued to unfold and deepen with each subsequent salon. In addition to sensing into the highest potential future that wants to emerge, we will be exploring the dynamic tensions inherent in such a collective endeavor. When we think of the kind of future we wish to bequeath to future generations, we imagine one in which we finally have found ways to live in harmony with each other and the other inhabitants of this planet and are consciously and ethically engaged in the most fascinating explorations of our human potential. We have a lot to learn to bring about a sustainable and evolutionary future. But unless we learn to learn in new ways, we will not be able to transcend the interrelated set of global problems facing us today. By recognizing that we cannot create a new society with the same ways of thinking that got us here, the Salon Planning Team has focused their work on envisioning a new form of education dedicated to the development of the competencies and sensitivities for individuals and groups to purposefully design experiences of community that are learning oriented, self-empowering, environmentally sustainable, and evolutionary. In contrast to other social change approaches that project the present into the future, we seek to transcend current realities by asking big questions and in engaging in the creation of new systems and ways of thinking. We very much want to invite youth leaders and a wide range of ethnic and racial diversities to join in this conversation. The theme of the first salon, held in central California in May 2005, was "Evolutionary Directionality, Emergent Complexity and the Future of Humanity". The theme of the second salon, held at the Whidbey Institute in January 2006, just north of Seattle, was, "Catalyzing Collective Intelligence and Social Creativity". You can find the webpages for the first two salons, as well as the May Salon at: http://www.thegreatstory.org/ev-salon.html. These events were profoundly moving and inspiring. Salon 1 has ignited deep conversation and passionate desire for more. The response to the Salon 2 invitation was such that many leaders who wanted to attend had to be placed on a waiting list. Participants arrived from across 6 continents, and catalyzed the creation of an interactive website where ongoing dialogue continues. Take a look at http://evolutionarynexus.org/ and join the conversation. Or take a look at http://evolutionaryhosting.blogspot.com/ and see if you wish to join that conversation. A shared sense has emerged that this moment in history and evolution is calling for additional gatherings of this nature, and that perhaps some kind of "movement" or wave is being seeded. As an exploratory dialogue with potentially historic impact, this will not be a traditional conference. We will begin by grounding the salon in the most widely accepted and inspiring evolutionary understandings to date. Most of the ensuing conversation will be facilitated using methods developed to foster group opportunities for self-organization, co-creativity and emergence. There will be opportunities for those who wish to participate in extended, focused working sessions over multiple days, and also ample free time for relaxation and random conversations -- we all know that important breakthroughs can easily happen during such times! One of the dynamic tensions we will be exploring is the energy and evolution of money. Our intention is to establish a fee arrangement that motivates the success of current and future salons, acknowledges the value of the effort needed to produce them, and supports the presence of you and other leaders in this work. Many of you will experience some dissonance when you read that you will be asked at this salon to pay a self-determined fee for the salon. You are warmly invited to trust that this experience will be a positive one for you individually and that it will serve the needs of this emergent field. Costs have been kept to a minimum while providing for sustainability and quality. Because the Salons are self-funding, your deposit of $280 is calculated to cover the minimum hosting cost. Your $280 will pay for your food costs, a small portion of the rental cost to use the facility and a portion of the administrative out-of-pocket expenses. Space for this Salon will be limited and they will be made available first-come, first-served. Your enrollment will not be complete until we have received your share of the prepayment costs for the Salon. Your lodging costs, if you choose onsite accommodations, will be additional and range in price from $240 (total) to camping free of charge. The conference registration fee will be self-determined at the event in a way that is harmonious to everyone. We have some limited financial assistance available. In order to guarantee your spot, we must receive your registration information AND your deposit of $280. The onsite lodging is very limited and will be guaranteed only when full payment is received. With the evolutionary paradigm emerging as a significant force in virtually every facet of human endeavor, we believe it is time to start weaving these strands together to serve a better future. We know that evolutionary innovation and emergence is not just something that happened in the past, but is happening right now in profound ways -- developments in which we are intimately involved. We feel an imperative for ourselves -- and for society as a whole -- to become more conscious, co-creative participants in this evolution. We believe that generative cross-disciplinary conversation among well-networked, knowledgeable people is catalyzing an important shift in that direction. So, once again, please imagine a group of visionary thinkers, activists, and leaders coming together to engage in generative dialogue about evolutionary emergence, its various interpretations and implications, and how to act on this understanding to expand its influence into the mainstream. If you feel called to be part of this conversation, please register ASAP. We hope you can say 'yes' and join us for this remarkable event. It takes a while to complete the registration form. Please know that you can get started and return to the form later on but you have to be sure and use this exact link. To register, please follow the link below: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=234701845896 Sincerely, The ES3 Planning Team: For any questions: evolutionary.salon#gmail.com<evolutionary.sa...@gmail.com> You can also call Tree Fitzpatrick at 206-440-3204. Michael Dowd Peggy Holman Tom Atlee Tree Fitzpatrick, Hearthkeeper Bill Aal, Margo Adair, Susan Cannon, Ashley Cooper, Halim Dunsky, Sheri Herndono, and Marc Tognotti -- Warmly, Tree Fitzpatrick Hearthkeeper * * ========================================================== 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
