talking circle/racial issues

[Birgitt Williams]

Thank you for this Chris!

It occurs to me that many currently on the list were not on the list during
the advent of the Dead Moose Society and may not be familiar with the term
"Dead Moose" in relation to Open Space Technology. Below my signature, I
include notes about the Dead Moose Society that were developed in 1997, I
believe.

Birgitt Williams

OPEN SPACE TECHNOLOGY

Dead Moose Society

You are invited to join The Dead Moose Society

Beware all of you in the world of Open Space. Another entity has formed and
we are extending an invitation to all of you to participate. At an Opening
the Space event in February 1997 in Ontario, Canada, we discussed the
importance of living our truth, with good heads, good hearts, and extending
care and compassion out into the world. We then talked about the hazards
associated with living this way. What happens when collusion (co-illusion)
is named? What happens when a truth that everyone knows about but no one
ever talks about (except for parking lot gossip) is named? What happens when
Space is Opened and truth surfaces?

At first glance, the answer would seem that the air gets cleared and life
goes on better that before. Our collective experience has told us that this
is not so. It is more common that the truth teller comes to harm, is
targeted for harm somehow. Or Open Space itself is called into question,
with people being so angry about the truth having come out, that they end up
being angry at the Open Space process that they say "it didn’t work, look at
what resulted."

So . . . we identified that all of this was like having a dead moose under
the table. Everyone knows it’s there, it smells, maybe has gathered flies,
is sickening, but no one wants to say the obvious. And we decided that Open
Space is to be honored for putting "the dead moose on the table" so that it
can be identified and appropriately dealt with.

And thus we formed the Dead Moose Society as an adjunct to the Open Space
Institutes and all good Open Space work everywhere. The purpose of the Dead
Moose Society is to get the Dead Moose on the table wherever we can, and to
support each other in efforts to do so. The principles that will govern our
Society are:

Harrison Owen’s four principles for Open Space:

1. Whoever comes is the right people

2. Whenever it starts is the right time

3. Whatever happens is the only thing that could have

4. When it’s over, it’s over

As well as Angeles Arrien’s four laws of Spirit:

1. Show up and be present

2. Tell the truth

3. Follow what has heart and meaning

4. Let it go

The Invitation

Please form your own Dead Moose Society when needed (NOW isn’t such a bad
time) with whomever you can interest in this very important work. They must
be people who are willing to take risks, have courage, have vision, and
enjoy community. And be committed to living by the principles as above that
encourage us to be about our own truth also.

Location

The first meeting of this first group took place in a pub in Unionville,
Ontario on April 16th, 1997. That sets a possible tone for where other
Society meetings should be located - a good pub.

Fees

We would like to say there are none, but for those of you who try to live
your truth, and who have tried to name truth in an organization, you know
the price can be very high - nothing less than your soul sometimes.

Agenda

Whatever happens, playfulness is certainly essential. We all need to come
forward with the abundance mentality of giving and sharing. For us, some of
the agenda items of our first meeting included:

 Where did the dead moose come from anyway?

 The loudest burp

 When moose(s) extend their mating call, do we try to mate with
them?

 What is the plural of moose?

 How do you spell carcass?

We brought fun items along - a moose caller, a moose puppet, a moose
statue - the list goes on and on. We formally signed a register and
pretended like "Robert’s Rules of Order." To sign the register, we each took
on a moose name. So much hilarity happened that poor Robert’s Rules fell to
the wayside, and we actually got a lot done.

As you might guess, with the help of humor, the real Dead Moose stories came
out - very painful, very serious. We support one another to carry on with
bringing truth into the workplace. And because we are able to laugh, amidst
the tears, we are able to hold on to the space that Open Space and truth
need, to bring healing into the organization.

Stay in touch

If you have a Dead Moose story to share or if you start your own "chapter"
of the Dead Moose Society, please let us know. Just for the record.

Contact Birgitt Williams at birgitt at mindspring.com





  -----Original Message-----
  From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]On Behalf Of Chris
Corrigan
  Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2001 7:34 PM
  To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
  Subject: Re: talking circle/racial issues


  Similar to Kerry's experience, I did an Open Space Technology event for
local government leaders and local First Nations leadership here in
Vancouver last fall.  It was thought by many that the hot topics would be
things like working on jurisdicational issues and service delivery, but in
fact the participants ended up talking about fundamentally foundational
issues regarding personal relationships.  Several people in the closing
remarked on how they were now seeing others in a different light (re-spect,
to steal some etymology from Birgitt).  What in fact seemed to be happening
was that people began seeing beyond trappings of power and race to the
essential human core of every other participant.
  This isn't to say that there wasn't conflict; there was and some of it was
uncomfortably race based.  But I think that the way in which it was handled
by the group spoke a lot about people's capacity to solve these problems on
a person to person scale.  The conflict also had the beneficial side effect
of giving voice to undercurrents so that these dynamics could be recognized,
discussed and wrestled with.  And I think that people began to appreciate
that racial tension (and other forms of overt and covert conflict) are not
black and white issues (so to speak) but rather rooted in, and layered with,
complexity.

  When the Dead Moose gets put on the table, people at once recognize both
the source of the smell and the fact that there is a winter's worth of food
staring them in the face.

  Chris



  kerry napuk wrote:

    Barbera Sliter We used open space for an event on racism and the police
in Glasgow.  When people in minorities and police from different ranks meet,
they do begin to listen to each other and learn.  So, we had a closing
ceremony with police saying things like "I thought we had cracked this
problem, now I realise we have a long way to go,"  "I learned a lot today"
and someone from the minorities saying "I want to thank the police for being
so honest."  The biggrest breakthrough was with young people who had a
willing audience to hear their views.  Get the sides together, let them
start talking and close with the talking stick passed to everyone. Good
luck. Kerry NapukOpen Futures LtdEdinburghScotlandwww.openfutures.com
  kerry napuk wrote:

    Barbera Sliter We used open space for an event on racism and the police
in Glasgow.  When people in minorities and police from different ranks meet,
they do begin to listen to each other and learn.  So, we had a closing
ceremony with police saying things like "I thought we had cracked this
problem, now I realise we have a long way to go,"  "I learned a lot today"
and someone from the minorities saying "I want to thank the police for being
so honest."  The biggrest breakthrough was with young people who had a
willing audience to hear their views.  Get the sides together, let them
start talking and close with the talking stick passed to everyone. Good
luck. Kerry NapukOpen Futures LtdEdinburghScotlandwww.openfutures.com
  --
  CHRIS CORRIGAN
  Consultation - Facilitation
  Open Space Technology
  http://www.chriscorrigan.com

  108-1035 Pacific Street
  Vancouver BC
  V6E 4G7

  Phone: 604.683.3080
  Fax: 604.683.3036
  corcom at interchange.ubc.ca


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