Thanks so much, Harrison.  That is what they say in Arkansas as well!

Mala Daggett, Principal & CEO
Nexus Learning, Inc.
P.O. Box 7395
Little Rock, AR  72217
[email protected]
501-626-2720
NexusLearning.biz




On May 23, 2011, at 7:46 AM, Harrison Owen wrote:

> Definitely an oxymoron. I guess I could be more direct – but will restrain 
> myself. The temptation to guild lilies is always with us and will prove 
> irresistible, I suspect, so long as we think of Open Space as a process we 
> “do”, a product of our own imagining, design and control. And like all human 
> products, it is open to improvement (Extreme Open Space??). As one who had 
> something to do with “the Beginning” I can definitely state that such a view 
> vastly overrates the human (my) contribution. True, I did pour the martinis, 
> and it was my arm raising the magical substance to my lips. But after that…
>  
> Fact of the matter is that the process does us – as it has been “doing” for 
> that last 13 billion years. Mostly without the aid of human wisdom. As they 
> say in the Great State of Maine, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
>  
> Harrison   
>  
> Harrison Owen
> 7808 River Falls Dr.
> Potomac, MD 20854
> USA
> Phone 301-365-2093
> www.openspaceworld.com
> www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of OSLIST 
> Go to:http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
>  
> From: [email protected] 
> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Viv McWaters
> Sent: Thursday, May 19, 2011 7:06 AM
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: [OSList] Fwd: [Mindful] Prepare for an open space session?
>  
> Hi all
>  
> This landed in my in box and i thought it might be of interest. I can't go so 
> I won't be able to experience how open space is 'taken to the edge'. I'm 
> trying to keep an open mind (trying being the key word) and am reminded that 
> we humans seem to have an endless capacity to try and organise that which is 
> self-organising :)
>  
> Cheers
>  
> Viv
>  
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Mindful <[email protected]>
> Date: 18 May 2011 21:55
> Subject: [Mindful] Prepare for an open space session?
> To: [email protected]
> 
> 
>  
> We look forward to seeing participants ready to start at 9am Saturday morning 
> at Hub Melbourne (we'll send a reminder of all the details Friday) tweeting 
> with #mindful!
> 
> We are always in a space, at a time, and so there will be a portion of the 
> time we spend together at Mindful to experiment with this concept. We are 
> really excited that Steve Hopkins (founder of Trampoline and Awesome 
> Foundation Sydney) is going to lead us in an experimental version of the 
> popular open space technique during the day. This video and email describes 
> where Steve will lead us. 
> Taking open space to the edge
> 
> Open Space Technology is a fantastic tool for organizing groups of people 
> together to solve complex problems. I've used and experimented with Open 
> Space at events like Trampoline, CPX and the Lantern Mental Health 
> Unconference over the last few years and have always been impressed by it's 
> ability to create interesting conversations. At Mindful on the weekend, we're 
> going to extend that experimentation once more, and push the concept further 
> along.
> 
> Some of the things we'll play with are:
> 
> 1) A human grid 
> 
> Open Space is great because it allows everyone the chance to set the topics, 
> time, and place that sessions will occur. This is good except for when the 
> crowd takes over and you get lesser quality sessions, which reduces the 
> energy in the group.
> 
> So we're going to have a person act as the grid. That's me. 
> 
> With a human grid, people will still pitch their talk to the group, but the 
> human grid will only place the session into the agenda if it resonates with 
> the collective assembled. Real interest can't be faked, and our intuitions as 
> a group are excellent at detecting low enthusiasm. So we'll use that to 
> select our sessions.
> 
> 2) Rule of two feet
> 
> We've all been there before. You arrive for a session but within the first 5 
> minutes you realise its not for you. But you stay. The rule of two feet is 
> one of the most crucial aspects of an open space meet, so why don't people 
> exercise it? 
> 
> People get addicted to the people. They stay not because they're contributing 
> or participating in the talk, but because they've become attached to the idea 
> of being a part of the group.
> 
> This is a shame, because the very best Trampoline sessions we've seen over 
> the 5 events so far has been where all of the attendees of a session were 
> participating, through active listening, discussion and enquiry - which can't 
> happen if some people in the audience would rather be somewhere else.
> 
> So, at Mindful, we're going to remind you during sessions to move on once it 
> stops resonating for you. Perhaps we'll change the rule to the 'law of 
> resonating feet' to really make that clear.
> 
> I'll stop sessions and nudge you to move on to what resonates.
> 
> 3. Space and Time
> 
> In an open space setting, all you can really control is the space you're in, 
> and the time you're in it. As we've discussed above, creating sessions which 
> resonate strongly with people is the aim, but resonance is more than just a 
> good topic. It's everything else, too. It's the ambient nature of the space 
> you're in and a the suitable time to be in it. 
> 
> So how do you create spaces which resonate? You make them appeal to different 
> frequencies of thought. At Mindful we'll create very different spaces, with 
> different lines of enquiry to be drawn throughout the sessions. This way, it 
> will hopefully become easier for people to discern what mood their resonating 
> in at any given time and move to an appropriate conversation.
> 
> If you're keen to talk or lead a line of enquiry, then come prepared to do 
> so! 
> --
> 
> We look forward to meeting you, ready to start at 9am Saturday morning. 
> 
> Buy Mindful* tickets at Eventbrite.
> 
> Thanks to our sponsor Integral Development (@integral_org_au) for enabling 
> Mindful! 
> 
> 
> 
> You can follow the participant list and the speaker list on Twitter. Have a 
> great week!
> Ross Hill and Jan Stewart
> _
> thisismindful.com
> 
> Follow @thisismindful on Twitter | Visit thisismindful.com
> Sent to [email protected]: unsubscribe | update profile | forward to a 
> friend
> 
>  
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Viv McWaters
> Beyond the Edge Pty Ltd
> PO Box 665 Torquay 3228
> Australia
> +61 417 135 406
> Email me: [email protected]
> Connect on Twitter: vivmcw
> Chat to me on Skype: vivmcwaters
> Read my blog: www.vivmcwaters.com.au
> 
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