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This is a "breakout session" to talk about the "spirit of OST" and its relations with the "online spirit" of this wiki site. If you came here and are intrestd in this dialogue, please sign bellow the next line, so that we know that you are interested in the session and will come back later. This session has not been opened for some time as we were waiting for at least 5 participants to arrive as that has been defined (somehow arbitraririly) as the "right time" to begin this dialogue.

In the meanwhile, two of us began dealing with some other questions about "What Is This Session All About?" and some others later joined that side-conversation. So please, if you want to have a dialogue on the "spirit of OST" please join and co-create THIS session.If, complementary or alterantivelly, you want to join the other conversation and/or discuss the "experiment" we are doing here, please join WhatIsThisSessionAllAbout and leave your comments there. I have also made ThanksToWikiGnomes on the good things that the "spirit of wiki" can give to someone thas has not English as his native language...

And now the good news. With five participants that have signed, this dialogue is now open, since Saturday, 2/ August /2003. Please read below my introdution to this dialogue

My first idea when I have convened this session on the "spirit of OST" was to try to have a dialogue to see if we can agree on a certain number of elements that constitute the "spirit of OST". I will clarify below what I understand by that expression, but I want to signal from the very beginning that I am not in search of a "Spirit of OST" (Spirit with capital) but more modestly about the "spirit of OST" (no capital).

More precisely, my quest is for understanding if there are some "elements" (and what are those "elements") so that we can say that "when those elements are present we have an OST session", and if some of them are missing, we can say that we have, eventually a very interesting meeting, but IT IS NOT OST.

Also, I would like to understand if there are some different elements or techniques or methods, that don't normally belong to the OST practitioners' toolbox, but when added to an OST event, the "spirit of OST" is still present - they "add to OST". And, on the contrary, it there are still other elements, methods of techniques that, when added to an OST event, will make it something different, as they are "incompatible" with the "spirit of OST" - they will act contrarily to the spirit of OST. [This can have some theoretical and practical consequences.]

I would suggest that we begin this quest, organizing our dialogue around three different sub-topics:

Please add your comments bellow the next line or in the linked pages above.

Each of us has experiences in the world and while others can judge us for our actions or even for their interpretations of our motivations, the only one that can really know what the experiences was like for me is me. Perhaps this discussion of the SpiritofOST is useful to help frame my own internal discussion about how I want to act in the world, but ultimately, it's up to me. Continuing this line, having extended discussions about the SpiritofOST leads to wondering if what I'm doing is really OST or if what that other person is doing is really OST. What's more interesting to me isn't whether or not I'm doing OST, but whether or not my actions are helping humanity in it's growing adaptation. It's really true that there's no cookbook, but when we're participants in something that works, we're left with a register, a feeling in the body, that something wonderful has happened here. The something wonderful was not what HarrisonOwen? said in the opening, but what the opening and holding of the space allowed to emerge, which is perhaps the power of human beings to self-organize? Dictatorship to Democracy seems to be a move consistent with growing adaptation, while the Pope's edicts that seek to stop progressive change seem to be contrary to growing adaptation. I definitely see OST as in the direction of growing adaptation, but many other threads of humanity are also working in this direction and they may be practicing OST or not. Does this matter? --TedErnst

If you are thinking as a particular man of good will that seeks progress for humanity, than what you do is really more important that the name we call it (OST or any other - and there are many progressive attitudes out of OST and that never heard about OST). But if we are thinking, as I am, "inside the Community of OST practitioners" trying to formulate what are the foundations and spirit of OST is something that may help, and something that is always in the center of concern of any group of practitioners or professional body of practice. What are the practices that are INSIDE our professional boby of practice? What are other practices that are outside, but we can use complementary? What are still other practices that are not OURS but are good for the same or other purpuses? And, finally, how to distinguish the good practicies (ours and others) from practicies that are misleading customers and practitioners all togheter. Suppose that I am a fan of astrology, and decided to create a discipline called "organizational astrology" with-a-difference - I will say that I also use OST and my practice is a combination of OST and "organizational astrology", that I will call "OPEN SPACE ORGANIZATIONAL ASTROLOGY tm"? Would you do something about that, or you will say, "oh, its only in Portugal - it must be a cultural practice accepted there...". So, there are many reasons that may move a community of practitionners or professional body of practice to formalize what is "good practice" and what is not, what are the "foundations" of that "discipline". Please note this does' not imply necessarily any "certification", but only "accepted practice among a certain community". Is this useful? Useless? For you to decide as I am preparing to leave for some days... ;-) --ArturSilva, Aug 3rd