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<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=680441522-09022001>Thank
you for this Chris!</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=680441522-09022001></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=680441522-09022001>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.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=680441522-09022001></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=680441522-09022001>Birgitt Williams</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=680441522-09022001></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=680441522-09022001><FONT
face=Arial>
<P>OPEN SPACE TECHNOLOGY</P>
<P>Dead Moose Society</P>
<P>You are invited to join The Dead Moose Society</P>
<P>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?</P>
<P>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."</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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:</P>
<P>Harrison Owen’s four principles for Open Space:</P>
<P>1. Whoever comes is the right people</P>
<P>2. Whenever it starts is the right time</P>
<P>3. Whatever happens is the only thing that could have</P>
<P>4. When it’s over, it’s over</P>
<P>As well as Angeles Arrien’s four laws of Spirit:</P>
<P>1. Show up and be present</P>
<P>2. Tell the truth</P>
<P>3. Follow what has heart and meaning</P>
<P>4. Let it go</P>
<P>The Invitation</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>Location</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>Fees</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>Agenda</P>
<P>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:</P>
<P> Where did the dead moose come from anyway?</P>
<P> The loudest burp</P>
<P> When moose(s) extend their mating call, do we try to mate with them? </P>
<P> What is the plural of moose?</P>
<P> How do you spell carcass?</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>Stay in touch</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>Contact Birgitt Williams at birgitt@mindspring.com</P>
<P> </P>
<P> </P></FONT></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV align=left class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr><FONT face=Tahoma
size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> OSLIST
[mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]<B>On Behalf Of </B>Chris
Corrigan<BR><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, February 08, 2001 7:34 PM<BR><B>To:</B>
OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: talking circle/racial
issues<BR><BR></DIV></FONT>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.
<P>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.
<P>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.
<P>Chris <BR> <BR>
<P>kerry napuk wrote:
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<FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#004080><FONT size=-1>Barbera
Sliter</FONT></FONT></FONT> <FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#004080><FONT
size=-1>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.</FONT></FONT></FONT> <FONT face=Arial><FONT
color=#004080><FONT size=-1>Good luck.</FONT></FONT></FONT> <FONT
face=Arial><FONT color=#004080><FONT size=-1>Kerry
Napuk</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#004080><FONT
size=-1>Open Futures Ltd</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT face=Arial><FONT
color=#004080><FONT size=-1>Edinburgh</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT
face=Arial><FONT color=#004080><FONT
size=-1>Scotland</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT face=Arial><FONT
color=#004080><FONT
size=-1>www.openfutures.com</FONT></FONT></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>kerry napuk wrote:
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<FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#004080><FONT size=-1>Barbera
Sliter</FONT></FONT></FONT> <FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#004080><FONT
size=-1>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.</FONT></FONT></FONT> <FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#004080><FONT
size=-1>Good luck.</FONT></FONT></FONT> <FONT face=Arial><FONT
color=#004080><FONT size=-1>Kerry NapukOpen Futures
LtdEdinburghScotlandwww.openfutures.com</FONT></FONT></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE>--
<BR>CHRIS CORRIGAN <BR>Consultation - Facilitation <BR>Open Space Technology
<P><A href="http://www.chriscorrigan.com">http://www.chriscorrigan.com</A>
<P>108-1035 Pacific Street <BR>Vancouver BC <BR>V6E 4G7
<P>Phone: 604.683.3080 <BR>Fax: 604.683.3036 <BR>corcom@interchange.ubc.ca
<BR> </P></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>