This wonderful discussion evokes a practical example for me. It comes from the years of Spirited Work, a community of practice that met 4 times a year in Open Space, using one of Angeles Arrien's archetypes as the theme each quarter. (Winter - season of the warrior, Spring - the healer, Summer -- the visionary, Fall -- the teacher).
Two examples seem relevant to this conversation. The first is the remarkable maturing that happened to people who came season after season, year after year. My favorite example was a 30-something geeky guy who showed up one season. His focus was on getting a girl friend and his lousy track record with intimate relationships. While he is still single, I watched his interests and his way of relating to others dramatically change over the years. He grew up. So did the rest of us, with increasing non-attachment, equanimity, compassion, faith in mystery, and so many other qualities I associate with a buddha nature. Secondly, during the last couple years of Spirited Work, Mark Jones introduced the notion of Spirited Work as bodhi-sanga -- enlightened community. I would say Open Space was pivotal to our growing in that direction. best of the new year to everyone, Peggy _________________________________ Peggy Holman [email protected] 15347 SE 49th Place Bellevue, WA 98006 425-746-6274 www.peggyholman.com www.journalismthatmatters.org Enjoy the award winning Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity "An angel told me that the only way to step into the fire and not get burnt, is to become the fire". -- Drew Dellinger On Dec 18, 2011, at 8:19 PM, Arno Baltin wrote: > Hi Every One, > > I like this discussion on connections and would comment on the co-incidence > topic in particular > > It seems to me that the connection between Buddhist Practice and Open Space > is probably co-incidental. > > As following the discussion on OSLIST on connections of OST with other > (spiritual) practices I am reading a book on a thinker and a poet of ours - > Uku Masing. It is a collection of memories from his students, friends and > admirers. There is a poem of his, quoted, in which he says he would rather be > the "friend of the whole space" than exploiter of its resources. > The friend of the space sounds very OS-like for me. And it reminds me of > another co-incident of my getting closer to OST. It happened during my visit > to US in 1992. My guide to the country was a Friend, Kersey Bradley. At the > time he was an engineer on a cargo ship (Liberty) which took me over the > ocean. He invited me to his home, introduced to his lovely family and helped > to get further north from Pennsylvania. When in Worcester (MA) I met the > local Friends and attended their meetings regularly. As looking back to these > meetings from my experience of OST, this was and introduction into OS - the > circle, space for expressing, listening, no particular leader of the meeting, > the Spirit. > Ten years later I was sitting in opening circle of OST led by Harrison in > Tartu. > I am grateful to these people and those co-incideces. > Be well, > Arno > > > Arno Baltin > > > > > > > > 2011/12/17 Harrison Owen <[email protected]> > Bernhard – having said that “I was in”(for more discussion) – I guess I just > sort of disappeared without further word. However, being at a loss for words > is not a common state for me J -- and the topic you raise is, and has been, > of intense interest to me. > > > > The similarity of the Open Space experience and the Buddhist practice and > experience caught my attention some time ago. And, as I said in my prior > post, it is not just Buddhism but many, perhaps most, of the other great > traditions. But Buddhism is certainly a great place to start. > > > > I am not at all sure what the initiating moment was, but I rather think it > was when I noticed a common phrase that folks used in the closing circle. It > didn’t happen every time, but more often than not, somebody would remark, “I > feel like I have come home.” Nobody ever defined precisely what they meant by > “home,” and maybe they couldn’t – so I always took it at face value. > Something about feeling natural and comfortable, just the way I am. The > implication was that in other situations the feeling was being un-natural, > ill at ease and to some extent inauthentic or “put on.” What popped into my > head was a phrase I had often encountered in the Buddhist literature about > seeing/meeting my “original face.” > > > > When combined with observed and/or reported feelings and behaviors in Open > Space, such as: -- focus and presence, the capacity to treat others with > respect, the ability to listen and engage the other with depth and > sensitivity, an expanded sense of vision and possibility, renewed hope, > fundamental life change, an acute sense of spaciousness such that the present > moment (Now) just grew and grew… it seemed like something was going on. The > fact that most or all of these things are also the reported results of > Buddhist Practice (certainly my practice which is pretty much Buddhist) was > more than sufficient to alert my curiosity bump. Something was definitely > going on. But what and why? > > > > That Buddhist Practice could produce such results was understandable to me > given the original insights of Gautama, centuries of intense study, communal > practice, and no small amount of discipline. But what about Open Space? We > just sat in a circle, created a bulletin board, opened a market > place…originally inspired by two martinis. And our history in this enterprise > is hardly extensive, at least in comparison to the Buddhist community. I > confess that it made absolutely no sense at all. > > > > The questions, however, are fairly clear even if the answers are a tad > wispy. What are the connections? What is the means/mechanism? You mentioned a > “collective Master function” – about which I would love to hear more. But my > thoughts have been going in a slightly different direction. No certainty for > sure – but just to share. > > > > First for the connection. It seems to me that the connection between Buddhist > Practice and Open Space is probably co-incidental. But that does not make it > a weak connection, for co-incidental, as I am using the word here means that > the two are connected through a prior (coincident) connection… with the power > of self organization. Yes I know – the whole notion of self organization > nowhere shows up in the Buddhist literature, so far as I know. But if the > present general scientific contention is correct that self-organization has > been operative for at least 13.7 billion years it would be rather odd if we > (present day humans) were the first to notice the effect upon human life, be > that individual or collective. So my thought (suggestion) would be that the > Buddhist community, being the keen observers of the human condition that they > are, discovered a (the) fundamental power of life (by whatever name) and > created a practice enabling human beings to fully align themselves with that > power. Once in alignment, the experience is of full authenticity, being fully > what we really are, seeing our original face. Or coming home. Is this really > true? I don’t know, but given another lifetime, I would surely like to find > out. I guess I should have been a Hindu? > > > > My story about Open Space is that, quite serendipitously (dumb blind luck), > we arrived at a similar place by a very different route. Every time we open > space, the process of self organization is initiated, re-initiated – or maybe > just brought to our consciousness. And the net result is that we (the > participants) find ourselves in a environment which allows/invites us to be > as we really are. Almost without knowing it, we find ourselves in alignment > with a fundamental process of the cosmos. Once there, we experience a > strangely comfortable world, which looks just like the “everyday” world, but > feels rather different. We have come home. Obviously, not everybody in every > Open Space shares this experience. For some people it just doesn’t “take,” or > if it does “ take” the level of resistance is such that the new experience is > perceived as strange, weird, or worse. But for many people in multiple times > and places over our 25 year adventure – it definitely feels like we have come > home. At least that is a possible story. > > > > Would I suggest that Open Space somehow supplants the Buddhist experience? A > straight simple shot to Nirvana? Absolutely not! But I do think the two > experiences can be very complementary. At least that has certainly how it has > been for me. Even though a first encounter with Open Space can feel like > “coming home,” that homecoming is often taken with baby steps. What is > missing is a deep appreciation of the full power and possibilities at hand. > It is sort of like coming back to the old homestead with lots of warm > feelings, but little knowledge of all the rooms and spaces, nooks and > crannies that await our exploration and appropriation. In my own case, it > was my practice (largely Buddhist, as I said) that became my guide, both as > facilitator and participant. I don’t have a clue as to whether others might > share – they will have to speak for themselves. > > > > So if it were true that the operative power of self organization were the > connecting link between the Buddhist experience and Open Space would that > somehow consign both to a realm dominated by a purely physical force, thereby > reducing each to the level of a side show in the great drama of Physics? Do > we suddenly and necessarily find ourselves in the company of all those who > choose to understand life and our part in it simply as the product of quarks > and neutrinos, hormones and peptides? What about those other realities that > some of us call Spirit or Consciousness? The choice is clearly there to be > made, but from where I sit, the two poles (Spirit and matter) and not > mutually exclusive. > > > > One of the oldest discussions of humankind is the precedence of > Spirit/Consciousness and matter. Is matter the product of > Spirit/Consciousness? Or did it somehow occur that matter evolved to become > conscious? For the vast majority of human history it was understood that > matter emerges from Consciousness, indeed I suspect that is the majority > opinion even today. Recently, however, the relationship has been reversed, at > least in parts of the Scientific West. I suspect there will never come a day > when the issue is resolved at the level of proof. It will remain a matter of > discussion, choice, and experience, which I rather think to be a good thing. > > > > Speaking personally, however, I am clear about my experience and my choice. > In the beginning, indeed before any possibility of beginning – there is > Consciousness/Spirit. Given this experience and choice, self organization > assumes the position of a manifestation of consciousness. Self Organization > is what Consciousness does in time and space, along with many other things. > Is this true? I don’t think we will ever know, and indeed the wondrous gift > of this Great Cloud of Unknowing is a less than gentle reminder of our > limitations. In the meantime, and all that said – It works for me. Those of > you who know me will hardly be surprised. After all I am the guy who opened > his first book on Organizations with the line, “Spirit is the most important > thing.” I haven’t changed. > > > > Enough of this esoterica! And if you have read this far you may well be > asking yourself, “Where’s the Beef?” What possible practical benefit? What > makes you think that filling the space of OSLIST with this sort of stuff > could have any useful application. Fair question. > > > > I think there are at least two reasons. The first I might summarize under the > heading of “Beer in the Fridge.” > > > > If you are thirsty for a beer in my house, all you really have to know is how > to open the refrigerator door and open a can. The fact that major scientific > advances, over multiple years, possessing mind bending complexity – lie > behind the coldness of the beer just waiting your parched throat doesn’t > really affect a thing. If you want the beer, get it. On the other hand if you > are a real aficionado for whom all the little things count, you really do > need to know something about Refrigeration Mechanics, the flow of gasses, the > way pressure can raise and lower temperatures. Same thing with Open Space. If > all you want to do is have a good meeting, no problem. Sit in a circle, > create a bulletin board, open a market place, and go to work. Ain’t Rocket > Science. However, should you want to enhance the quality of the space, raise > the level of impact, extend the positive effects for yourself and the > participants, looking under the hood, thinking about the details, asking > impossible questions… is probably a good place to start. > > > > My second reason may be a little more abstract. And it is all about the 5th > Principle: Wherever it happens is the right place.” For me the cutting edge > in what we do is not so much about doing an event but rather coming to an > understanding that Open Space is a 24X7 reality and that we may learn how to > enhance the power of the experience wherever that might be taking place… > Tahrir Square, OWS, or the kitchen table. Learning to do that well involves, > at the least, looking for linkages and connections – potential allies in a > common undertaking. > > > > So I am done for the moment. As I said at the start, being at a loss for > words in not my common state. Maybe I should work on that? > > > > Harrison > > > > > > > > > > > Harrison Owen > > 7808 River Falls Dr. > > Potomac, MD 20854 > > USA > > > > 189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer) > > Camden, Maine 20854 > > > > Phone 301-365-2093 > > (summer) 207-763-3261 > > > > 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 Bernhard Weber > Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2011 12:13 AM > To: World wide Open Space Technology email list > Subject: [OSList] Individual and collective master (was: OST - Open Systems > Thinking) > > > > Harrison and all > > > > I like the recently upcoming discussion about the history of Systems > Thinking, but I would also like to make a big jump from this. > > > > I am not shure, but to me it seems to not be by pure "accident". > > 1. Recently Stanley park wrote "Now is the territory of Peace- Nirvana" > > 2. And some days later you Harrison wrote "Open the space of your life and > the lives of those around you, and you will discover your own natural state". > > > > "Your own natural state", that is exactly how Buddhist masters (like e.g. > Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche, the contemporary Tibetan Dzogchen-teacher) > refer to what is often called enlightenment, liberation, Rigpa, ... > > > > Although it is not really possible to "feel" something behind the words of a > written posting, I always felt some kind of reluctance by side of you, when > somebody in the group related the effects of OST or the OS spirit to central > Buddhist concepts. Would you prefer to not discuss it (treat it as a tabu) or > am I completely wrong here? (And my feeling demasked as pseudo-feeling;-) > > > > I am here in Sri Lanka at the beginning of the 7th year of residence, the > place/space where Gautamas words have been put into Pali language and written > down some hundreds of years after his passing away/paranirvana. So all this > is resonating in me as a kind of effect of the Spirit of the space/genius > loci. > > > > Anyhow I would like to invite you and all to explore, if the following idea > makes sense: > > > > What the two citations above seem to hint at in my eyes , is a quite specific > function/effect of Open Space: being a trigger for processes during which not > only things get done, as it has been pointed out again and again, but a > trigger for processes that may also lead to enlightenment. If there is some > value in that idea, then OS might be a collective equivalent of a master > > > > A master also can only be a trigger, because as already the historical > Gautama (called the Buddha) stated, that he can, on basis of his own > experience only show the way, point to the right direction, but the > practitioner has to do the work. There is no way that the master can do it > (the full liberation, the reaching of the natural state) for the student. > > > > So I am wondering if the efficiency and effectiveness of OST in getting > things done, is not intrinsicly knitted together with (alias dialectically > connected to) this "collective master function". Two sides of one medal? > > > > Of course I am not interested to tie OS to Buddhism as a belief system. > > But of course my understanding of the ways to enlightenment is also not tied > to a specific belief system. I have luckily been exposed to "passion, > responsability and love " in- and outside of OST in various cultures like my > own Christian culture in Austria, Candomblé in Brazil, animistic cults (as > the christians call them) in Africa, Buddhism of the Theravada, Mahayana, and > Tibetan tradition (Buddhism fused with Bön), Yoga in India... And it always > works and in all kinds of places. > > > > So once again: might it be legitimate, make sense and be useful to look at > OST as a kind of set up for a collective master without a present individual > guru? > > Or not? > > > > Bernd/Colombo > > > > > > > > > > > > . > > > Bernd Weber > > Change Facilitation s.r.o., A Global Partner Who Makes Change Happen in > Complex Environments; www.change-facilitation.com, > www.change-management-toolbook.com [email protected]; > Regional Phone numbers: > > -Austria: +43 664 135 4828, landline + 431 5968657) > > -Sri Lanka: landline +94 11 2785859, iPhone +94 777740757 > > > > > > NEW: Intensive Learning Workshop > > "Playing with the Waves of Change" > > www.change-facilitation.com/ > > > > You want to have the design for a "Playing with the Waves (of Change) WS 2 > completely taylor-made according to your individual learning interests & > needs & limitations? Then have a look to the questionnaire at > > www.surveymonkey.com/s/5ZDS6JQ > > > > > > > > If you get Email from my account <[email protected]> please > do not use the reply button but answer to <[email protected]>, because my > change-facilitation.org INBOX is not working for the time being. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Am 13.12.2011 um 22:11 schrieb Harrison Owen: > > > > > discover your own natural state > > > > > _______________________________________________ > OSList mailing list > To post send emails to [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org > > > _______________________________________________ > OSList mailing list > To post send emails to [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
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