Whatever happens is the only thing that could have

Last night I finally got around to listening to Viv’s podcast ‘Whatever happens…explained!’. It’s a conversation amongst Open Space practitioners discussing one of the four principles of Open Space Technology: ‘whatever happens is the only thing that could have’, and what it means to them.

I really like the simplicity, and implications of Alan Stewart’s view that “whenever we treat each other well, something good emerges.” I certainly agree with the sentiment.

For me, the principle is about being present and in the moment, not having any pre-determined expectations and also about the illusion of being able to control what happens.

I’m reading ‘The Power of Now’ at the moment and came across a couple of passages that really resonated with me around this topic.

Whilst this first quote talks about transformational relationships, I think it equally applies to the transformational potential of group work:

“As far as inner transformation is concerned, there is nothing you can do about it. You cannot transform yourself, and you certainly cannot transform your partner or anybody else. All you can do is create a space for transformation to happen, for grace and love to enter.” — p158.

And what is Open Space, if it is not exactly that — creating a space for transformation to happen?

I like this one too, which also speaks to the transformational nature of groups and the ‘magic’ that can emerge:

“Do what you have to do. In the meantime accept what is … acceptance immediately frees you from your mind dominance and this reconnects you with Being. As a result, the usal ego motivations for ‘doing’ — fear, greed, control, defending or feeding the false sense of self — will cease to operate. An intelligence much greater than the mind is now in charge, and so a different quality of consciousness will flow into your doing.” — p179

It’s not something that I considered or perceived when I first entered into the world of faciliation, but there’s quite a spiritual dimension to group work, which is something I now find quite fascinating. At first I thought that perhaps this was an unintented consquence of my own search for work that was more meaningful or at best coincidental. Or perhaps it’s the only thing that could have happened?

Update: This podcast was actually recorded by Chris Corrigan at OSonOS. It is also available from Viv’s Winkipod site.

[ 6 comments ] [ facilitation - philosophy ]