<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><HTML><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2">Phil--<BR>
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If I bring the talking stick for a meeting, I usually choose something from my own land--a fresh cedar branch (like Harrison, I don't put it in the trash, but take it home, return it to the woods or sometimes burn it, with a ritual of thanks), or a piece of driftwood from the beach, to which I may add a couple of shells, or some fresh ivy, or a few flowers tied on with a bit of ribbon, depending on the season. I look for something that feels comfortable in my hand, and if I add something to it, I leave a stretch of branch that is easy to hold. In other contexts, I may stack two or three felt-tip pens into a "stick" and pass that, for groups that are leary of something with "mystical" or other strange connotations.<BR>
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I usually ask the planning group whether they have some object of special significance they would like to use, and some do. One client brought her "magic wand," a clear plastic tube with glitter that floated up and down. Another brought two rocks, one with a hollow on top and a smaller egg-shaped rock that sits in the hollow. A member of the organization, not the one who donated the rocks, spoke briefly but eloquently about their meaning.These rocks have attended a number of meetings now, and have a place of honor in the office.<BR>
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In a couple of instances where a key person was leaving the organization, I have made a talking stick, used it in the closing circle, and then presented it to the person who is leaving, as a tangible farewell from the group.<BR>
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I'm in the "pass-it-around" camp, unless the group is very large, and suggest that those who choose not to speak hold the stick for a moment, receiving the attention of the group, before they pass it along.<BR>
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I'm loving to hear all the variations of this common theme--it reinforces my feeling that there is no one right way to do this closing, but finding some way to do it is powerful.<BR>
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Joelle</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2"></FONT></HTML>
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