Pam - Good show! And just for the record, my experience, and I think that of most others has been that the greater the passion/conflict the better and deeper the experience. Of course it can get a little nervous making, and there is a natural tendency to try and control the situation. BUT Don't do it. It (control) doesn't work, and more to the point the people will be able to handle it all just fine. So just remember to take a lot of deep breaths. As for past experiences, everybody has their favorites - mine was 50 Palestinians and Israelis. These were not "peace-niks." On the contrary most were operational military types. Very intense. Massive passion and conflict with lots of loud voices, and waving arms. AND - when we got to the closing circle, people were literally hugging and kissing each other. Blew my mind. And all we did was just what we always do. Sit in a circle, create a bulletin board, open a market place, and go to work. Works every time. Enjoy!
Harrison Harrison Owen 7808 River Falls Dr. Potomac, MD 20854 USA 189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer) Camden, Maine 04843 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 Pamela Marvin Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2014 9:21 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [OSList] Creative NJ Hi Everyone, I am a member of the steering committee for Creative NJ. We worked with Suzanne and Chuni to Open Space here in NJ 3 years ago. Since then we have done Open Space Convenings in 6 communities in New Jersey ( with more planned). As you may know NJ were hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. Many of our communities are still struggling to get back on their feet. We received a grant to use Open Space to help communities focus their recovery efforts. Our first Open Space convening is May 2, in my home community of Highlands. The planning is going well, but it has become clear that many of the stakeholders at this event may be quite angry/emotional and there entrenched factions. The concerns and issues likely to be raised, are closer to the bone than at our other meetings. We would particularly like to hear about similar experiences with Open Space in highly charged, emotional situations. We would appreciate any direction or advice you can give us, but we know if all else fails we can follow Harrison's advice and take a nap. Thanks for your help, Pam Marvin
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