I have to make a confession. The word "synchronicity" has always bugged me. Comes from the Greek "syn" "chronos" (literally - with time, or same time). It is time and the clocks that get me. As if clocks/time makes that much difference. And in contemporary usage, synchronicity gets an over plus of being something weird, magical, or psychic. Now -- who am I to question things "magical, weird, and psychic?" I have had some people suggest that all three of those things could be my middle name. But still they make me very uncomfortable.
The reason is that most of the things that people talk about under the heading of synchronicity (and then go WOOWOO!) seem to me to be very natural, rather what you would expect - especially if you are in the real flow of things, and acutely aware of that flow. So when Chris talks about Seagulls sitting on the window sill, laughing at the Closing Circle, my reaction is - What would you expect, Chris? And Tree, the fact that you felt irresistibly called to let dinner in the door sounds pretty reasonable to me. And Phelim, if you really insist in seeing Butterflies and Bumble Bees spread across the Press, that's OK - but I wouldn't say it too loudly. :-) There is another word which for me is much more comfortable - and takes me to the same, or better, places than Synchronicity. It is "Symbiosis," "Symbiotic" - or I suppose "Symbiosity". Still Greek, but with a twist. "Sym" (with) "Bios" (life) - with life - or better yet, "Living Together." The thought is that when life flows together, all the pieces fit - even the ones that seem a little strange. For me, this is an everyday story, especially when our awareness is turned up to HIGH (as in OS). And the story suffers when we try to re-write it according to our notion of what we think SHOULD be happening. It gets even worse when we try to operationalize our understanding of what SHOULD be happening in order to bring it under control and make sure that it happens the way we expect it to. That's when we really get in trouble! So Chris - Of course Gulls will laugh at the Closing Circle. First of all they are Gulls. Secondly, the Closing Circle can get pretty funny. And Tree - What is so strange about letting Dinner in the door? And when it comes to the "struggling author" - how could he NOT find support and assistance in The Evolutionary Salon? I suspect that the only way he could avoid all such help would be if it were not truly The Evolutionary Salon - or that he had his blinders on and could only accept help in some pre-defined package. So what else is new? Just another day in the Open Space of life here on Planet Earth, just flowing together- Symbiotically. Harrison Harrison Owen 7808 River Falls Drive Potomac, Maryland 20854 Phone 301-365-2093 Skype hhowen Open Space Training <http://www.openspaceworld.com/> www.openspaceworld.com Open Space Institute <http://www.openspaceworld.org/> www.openspaceworld.org Personal website <http://www.ho-image.com/> www.ho-image.com OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives Visit: <http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html> www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html -----Original Message----- From: OSLIST [mailto:osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu] On Behalf Of Chris Corrigan Sent: Sunday, May 28, 2006 5:42 PM To: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu Subject: Re: open space and synchronicity Well...yes to all...and on the subject of synchronicity, the thing that often seems to happen for me is that birds turn up. Eagles in the middle of the city, sparrows finding their way into locked meeting rooms. Gulls sitting on the window sill and laughing at every comment in a closing circle. I don't talk about them much, but I come to rely on my avian familiars in my work.... :-) Chris * * ========================================================== 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
