Dear Raffi, I noticed that Tibetan bells play magic role in my TOP meetings with all groups. It's really like a soft alarm clock bringing people's presence. The atmosphere immediately changes in the room. Participants attention is concentrated on the bells, then on you and what you have to tell. At the end I send bells to everyone to speak and it is interesting that everyone touches them but not everybody tries to make a sound. In some groups everybody rings. In some groups very few people. If I say that the bell is like a microphone - some people hold bells like a mike and speak into it. Almost always people ask what it is and where it is possible to get them. Even though I work more often with state and municipal servants or business people I didn't meet people who would feel uncomfortable with the bells.
Best regards, Marina -----Original Message----- From: Raffi Aftandelian [mailto:ra...@bk.ru] Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2008 1:40 AM To: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu Subject: Tibetan temple bells Dear friends and colleagues, The recent discussion on choosing not to talk about bumblebees reminds me of my hesitation in using Tibetan temple bells to open the space and to invite everyone to the closing circle. I really like Tibetan temple bells and their place in OST meetings. They seem to mark an entrance into a different time and space, from chronos (sequential time) to kairos (spacious, potential-filled time). They seem to invite presence. And I particularly like the bells given to me because of their story. And, I worry that by using these bells, I am appropriating something that is not from my original culture. And very occasionally, the bells seem to evoke something mystical, bringing on great discomfort to some participants. I am not sure this dissonance is necessarily something harmful for participants, however. How do others see the questions, concerns I raise here? appreciatively, raffi ra...@bk.ru, raffi_1...@yahoo.com * * ========================================================== 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
