Michael – Page 14 – Michael Herman's Blog (2003-2016)

February 4, 2006February 4, 2006

Peace Under Fire

Friends and colleagues in Nepal, people I’ve worked with for the last several years in my travels there, opening space for peaceful development, send this report this morning, following Maoist attack(s) last week:

…Ram Bdr. Raut (national chairman of the NAINN peaceful development community) and his family was hardly survived due to heavy bombardment of Night vision helicopter and two way gun firing. One of the bumps was dropped very close just 8-10 meter away caused a serious damage in the house and all the glasses of windows and cupboards, kitchen utensils and the doors are smashed. Some parts of walls are cracked and hundreds of holes due to gun bullets. He and his family were hiding in the toilets of ground floor and they are hardly survived. Still his wife and children are mentally depressed and remain silence. Same thing was happen to other people of Palpa. Right now, there is no email and Internet for communication and telephone is partly working in the city. For your kind information, I am giving brief status of present Palpa according to sources of news media, Ram Bdr. Raut and other NAINN members.
1. According to civilian witness, 5000 Maoist attacked the Palpa District Headquarter.
2. Almost government buildings are completely collapsed including 23 civilian houses and gun bullets damage many other houses. For instance, District Administration (150 years old palace), District Development, District Auditing and Fund Control, Land Control, National Intelligence, District Scout, District Telecommunication, District Officers’ Club, District Jail, District Police and other police post and security guard offices and Paschimanchal FM Radio Station has destroyed.
3. Loss of civilian houses and government buildings and properties is still unknown.
4. Government claimed 34-security force and government officials have kicknapped including Chief District Officer but Maoist declared only 29 are in their controlled.
5. In the attacked, 11-security force, 6 Maoist and two civilians were killed and 25-security force is injured.
6. 136 people are freed from the District jail including five Maoist by Maoist.
The Tansen town (Palpa District Headquarter) has remained as a relic of war. People of town is still couldn’t sleep from seeing the battle. In this regard, please help us (NAINN) from CWRU to work hard to create positive pressure for government of Nepal and Maoist insurgents for peace dialogue and seize fire. I also request you to help to create positive pressure from international communities for government of Nepal and Maoist insurgents for the seize fire through peace dialogue. We realized, this is the high time to save the life and property of Nepal.

News like this gives new perspective to issues like “Upgrade Our Democracy” and “Create the New Philanthropy” being raised here at RecentChangesCamp. What should we be learning from Nepal this morning?

January 24, 2006January 23, 2006

A Shift Toward Small Change?

Not one hour ago I was reflecting on how I view my own work and practice, noticing that I tend to see myself primarily as an individual operator, citizen, practitioner. What I do as an individual links me to groups, but those groups do not define me. I expect my contributions and actions to define them.

This seems in line with a shift reported recently in City Journal:

And compared with the liberal philanthropies of a generation ago, social entrepreneurs focus less (if at all) on political advocacy or litigation aimed at policy change and far more on helping the poor to get ahead as individuals through job training, mentoring, and tutoring. “Changing the system,” in other words, has taken a backseat to incremental, verifiable improvement in the lives of those assisted. Without quite being aware of the change themselves, at least some in the nonprofit world have moved back toward the provision of what Andrew Carnegie, known for the free libraries he created across America after making his fortune in steel, called “ladders on which the aspiring can rise.”

As changing the system takes a backseat to helping people advance, would not institutionalized programs also be overcome by direct personal responsibility, contribution and action? This sounds an awful lot like SmallChange to me. Thanks to Lenore Ealy and her Philanthropic Enterprise email list for the reference.

January 19, 2006January 19, 2006

Small Change Immigration Documentary

Zoe Sullivan made a documentary film about immigrants and immigration. Now she needs funding to make copies and get this work out in the world. Here is her story:

I live in Astoria, Queens, which is part of New York City. A few months ago, I completed production of a short documentary video about the issues that immigrants with no papers face. That is what the dropcash campaign is for: to raise money to pay for making copies of the video.
The video project is something that I started as an experiment. For 13 years I had been doing community organizing work with the Humanist Movement, an international grassroots social justice organization that I got involved with in Italy. In early 2003, I felt my organizing work was the only thing that was going on in my life, and it was no longer satisfying to me, so I took a step back to find a more meaningful balance for myself again.
Doing the video I have discovered that I will not be dedicating myself to documentary filmmaking, but I am glad that I did it. Also, I really hope that many people can see the video and learn something about the kinds of hardships that immigrants face. It would be great if this could make people more aware of and sensitive to the kinds of obstacles that people have to overcome in order to live in the US.

As of today, she’s raised $100 of the $550 she needs. This is SmallChange. It makes a difference. And this is where to donate via DropCash. Contact Zoe directly at zoe_sullivan(AT)hotmail(DOT)com.

January 18, 2006May 5, 2006

Inviting Goal-Free Community

In January 2006, John Wiley & Sons published Stephen Shapiro’s counter-cultural book, Goal-Free Living: How to Have the Life You Want NOW! Response to this controversial work has been phenomenal, including a cover story in the November 2005 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine and a feature on TomPeters.com.

Maybe you’re already living a goal-free life — in larger or smaller ways. That doesn’t mean you don’t have any goals or dreams or desires… it means you aren’t held captive by them!

We are bringing people together to explore the issues and opportunities for living a goal-free life — personally, professionally, and culturally. I’ll be facilitating this in Open Space, March 18-19, 2006, in Oak Park (Chicago).

Are you looking to collaborate with and learn from others who share a goal-free mindset? Maybe you still feel a bit trapped by your goals, but are finally ready to break free of that pushing? Would you like to meet, support, and be supported by other people who are succeeding in goal-free ways? Please join us in creating a goal-free community of new friends and colleagues!

January 17, 2006January 17, 2006

Reading Iran

Iran Press Service is the oldest post-revolution English language Iranian publication outside Iran. Created in 1980 it is also one of the first Iranian Internet publications.

I don’t know if it’s more accurate or reliable than what comes through the mainstream media. I’m just glad to have an alternative source of information on Iranian nuclear diplomacy. Feels like I learn more reading Iranians on Iran, even when they report from Paris, than when I read Americans and Europeans, reporting from anywhere.

UPDATE: See also GlobalVoices for individual voices on Iran, thanks to Christy.

January 13, 2006January 13, 2006

The Undividing Life

Wendy Morris called this week, out of the blue. I love calls like this. We talked for 2 hours and made more connections than I can count. Friends, colleagues, teachers, clients, work, practice… overlaps everywhere.

We covered a lot of ground talking about the potential for connecting foundations and their grantees — neighborhood, youth and arts organizations — in ongoing Community open space, supported by training so that folks could keep it going without us. Who might want to make to this connecting and capacity-building in Chicago?

Today I checked out her website and found that it’s quite the work of art: the undivided life. Hoping we’ll yet find a way to work together, undividing community.

Hmmm… I might just make “undividing community” my working theme this year. Thanks, Wendy!

January 12, 2006January 12, 2006

Power and The People

I’ve been wrestling with issues of control vs. stewardship, especially in the management of the weblog, at OpenSpaceWorld.ORG, seeking to balance the power and need to technically control the site and a strong desire to share and open the site as much as I can. I’m fascinated by Harvey Mansfield in the Weekly Standard, a little bit of Constitutional history, and the mutuality of executive power (discretion) and community interest (law)…

In combining law and discretion, the Framers of the Constitution made a deliberate departure from the sorry history of previous republics that alternated between anarchy and tyranny. The Federalist Papers, the most authoritative source for understanding the thinking of the Framers, make it clear that republicans had gone astray because they had overconfidently ignored the necessities that all governments face and had tried to wish away the advantages of size, power, flexibility, foresight, and prudence that monarchies may offer. In rejecting monarchy because it was unsafe, republicans had forgotten that it might also be effective. The Framers made a strong executive in order to have both power and security, and they took note of emergency occasions when more power gives more security.

via a comment at Dave Pollard on Leadership and Americans

January 10, 2006January 10, 2006

Flashmob The Opera

How fun is this, emailed recently from Stephen Powell in London? See the Opera photos, too.

January 10, 2006August 1, 2016

Four into One

wendy farmer-oneil mentioned InvitingOrganization and the Four Practices, yesterday on the phone, and wondered if we shouldn’t name a fifth practice and dimension, a center space that is some sort of stillness.

my answer… yes. and, but, not like that.

i’ve suggested four seasons, quadrants, practices. and yes, there is stillness, reflection, settling in the first one, opening heart. that requires that heart rest in something, like pelvis and legs, the support and ground achieved in the third and fourth practices. but this stillness is not the thing she was really asking about, i think. it’s not a peer to the other four, not a separate center.

it is bigger. i think it is their union. their all all-at-once-ness without loss of distinction. in terms of strategic questions, it recalls the highest level question is “how light is your organization?” at that level everything runs together, and light is love, clear, fast and power.

so yes there is a center, and a perimeter, and it is also the ground that the whole map is drawn on, the page or the screen. and finally, remember that each of the quadrants can be cut into those same four quadrants, a fractal slide into a space that refuses to be theorized, where we can only just do it. in this fractal view, four quadrants inside of each of the quadrants, we see the all-at-onceness is fully present in each of the four.

there is no fifth season, no new peer to the four, and there is always a center, an edge, a ground and a space that is always present, in each of them in time, and all of them taken together, which is impossible to name. it’s not a fifth or separate practice, but the gift of all practice, then thing that emerges in experience when we do the other four.

and this is the easy, all-at-onceness, all-together, everything works out quality, sometimes called ‘community’ or ‘high learning’ or ‘flow’ or ‘fun’ or ‘spirit’ that emerges when we practice these things in the form of open space technology.

January 5, 2006January 6, 2006

Building Communities Worth Having

You are invited to Building Communities Worth Having, and Open Space Conference, February 3-5 in Portland Oregon. Friends and colleagues Ted Ernst and Brandon Saunders are co-convening this event, and have asked me to facilitate. I’m glad to be along for the ride with them. If you’re anywhere involved in “The Movement” (place-based, cyber-space and/or face-to-face) for building a better world, we’d be glad to have you join us!

It’s being co-sponsored by IBESI, OSDL, ICANNWiki, SocialText

UPDATE: new sponsor… ATLASSIAN

January 5, 2006

Horns Horns Horns!

Opened a small space today for a bunch of CFPs (certified financial planners) here in Austin, Texas. Tonight the Longhorns won the national college football championship. Suddenly the cars were bumper to bumper downtown here and the horns have been blasting now for a couple hours. Might be a long night.

January 4, 2006August 22, 2006

Open Space Practices Refined

I woke up New Year’s Day with new language for what I’ve posted previously as “Open Space Practices”. That is, what is it that I think I’m really doing when I’m facilitating Open Space — or working or just living in it?

opening heart – might be a physical embrace or simply a time of quiet reflection, eventually some theme or purpose might arise. in open space, it is the themes and purposes that arise in the hearts of leaders that we turn into invitations. by opening heart, we discover or rediscover the thing(s) we love. to open heart we almost always need to rest.
inviting attention – might mean getting up on a soap box to speak our truth, or sitting down and really listening to somebody. in open space, the invitation comes from listening and then goes out to invite more conversation. by inviting attention we open new views and sharpen focus. to invite attention we almost always need to ask questions and tell stories, about what was, what is now, and what is next.
supporting connection – could be as simple as a business card, a handshake or walking hand in hand, but might be as complex as social and analytical software tools. in open space we use circle, bulletin board, the law of two feet in a marketplace of ideas and conversations. by supporting connection we make conversation, decision-making, and commitment possible. to support connection, we almost always need to open and hold spaces for people, work, and information to move.
grounding the energy – might be as simple as a souvenir, a journal entry, a summary document or action plan. in open space it’s usually a proceedings document and the actions that it guides, but it could be anything that marks or documents what’s new and different and helps to make it more real and lasting. to grounding the energy we almost always have to take responsibility, for recognizing, creating and/or securing value.

What I like about this version is that the four of them finally seem to match each other, each one now languaged as part of the same whole. They seem simple enough to think about actually doing and complex enough to truly practice. I think they work on many levels, from working professionally with organizations to living intimately with a partner or family. Finally, and most importantly, they seem an accurate account of what I’m attempting in my own life, not just things I’m explaining and suggesting that others should try.

UPDATE: I was facilitating Open Space today (140 CFPs in Austin, TX) and as I’m setting up, I’m restless as usual before the start. What should I be doing? “..oh, yes, just open my heart…” I think, and relax into that. In a few moments, it’s time to start, what to do now? “…oh, yes, ring the bells, invite attention…” and then as soon as everyone gathers, I support connection, with eyes, and briefing marketplace and bulletin board and proceedings typing. This was a short one, so I ring bells at the end of sessions, as reminders, grounding. And invite comment at the end of the day, evening news, evening grounding. We try it again tomorrow. Practice.

January 3, 2006January 3, 2006

Where’s Your Edge?

Chris Macrae said this in an email today…

Using media to minimise how much time a person spends experiencing the edge of “their own make a difference capabilities” intstead of maximising this is a crime against all young people

In the height of Katrina news, I was cooking what started as a weekend course and soon threatened to become an entire school curriculum. My working title was “Ready for Anything.” I think I like the idea of sharpening our “edge of our make-a-difference capabilities” even better.

December 30, 2005December 30, 2005

Happy New Year

New Year’s Eve is largely overrated. Or maybe I just peaked too early. My favorite Eve memories are from grade school, when we still lived near Detroit, watching the Orange Bowl, staying up late, and waiting for the Ball to drop in Times Square.

Mom and Dad used to drop us with my grandparents. Grandpa always went to bed early. My younger brother and sister faded on the floor in front of the tele somewhere between 11:15 and 11:30. Grandma’s head was bobbing by 11:45. Then I’d wake them all, except Grandpa, just in time for the Ball — and guns.

After the ball dropped, we’d always hear guns going off. We’d go open the front door and listen to the neighborhood people celebrating — with guns? I never could quite figure that impulse to shoot guns in the air at midnight, nor what happened to all those bullets when they came back down.

It went pretty much the same every year, for what could only have been a handful of years, but I always enjoyed the whole of it. New Year’s Eve has never been quite the same in Chicago (the ball drops at 11pm? how weird is that?), without Grandma and Grandpa, and the guns.

December 29, 2005December 29, 2005

30,000 Marriages?

as some email conversations and weblog reading progesses, i’m still rolling around a bit with this question: what is grassroots?

i’m willing to accept the value of searching out and connecting 30000 “grassroots” projects for humanity. i understand the whole range of comment on globalization and grassroots. i understand, too, that so many dualities, so called patterns of opposition, need mending and marrying. so the title of the overall project caused some confusion for me.

thinking about 30000 “good” projects leaves open the possiblity of defining good. 30000 marriages is more interesting yet. thrilling to think of 30000 projects that marry one something with another something else that shouldn’t be able to fit with the first something. i *think* this might be the thing that resolves some of the things in this recent 30000 post: the marriage of former-president and citizen-activist, the marriage of world-futures and seven-year-olds, the marriage of global-brand-coke and renewable-energy.

it seems to me that the important practice to be established is one of finding pieces that common knowledge says can’t go together and then finding the uncommon wisdom that most definitely, practically and obviously does unite the two. a practice of shocking ourselves with bits of a new world coming together, rather than with the foundations of an old world breaking down and apart.

take this New Yorker invitation via mark dilley: “…If you find the media’s Iraq coverage unsatisfactory, pick up the phone. Don’t call the Times, or CNN, or Rupert Murdoch; call Baghdad. There are a couple of Iraqi phone books available on the Internet, and plenty of interesting people willing to share their stories directly…” would these conversations be grassroots action or globalization? i think yes!

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