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 didnt work, look at what resulted." So . . . we identified that all of this was like having a dead moose under the table. Everyone knows its 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 Owens 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 its over, its over As well as Angeles Arriens 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 isnt 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 "Roberts Rules of Order." To sign the register, we each took on a moose name. So much hilarity happened that poor Roberts 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 birg...@mindspring.com -----Original Message----- From: OSLIST [mailto:osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu]On Behalf Of Chris Corrigan Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2001 7:34 PM To: osl...@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 cor...@interchange.ubc.ca