How was Burning Man?
Ok so I was going to write a blog about Burning Man but then faced some hesitation because a) how can I really capture its essence in words and do it justice? b) no one really cares about what a great a time you had at Burning Man, they are just being polite and making conversation and c) I don’t want to be that cliché of someone who went to Burning Man and said it was ‘life changing’ and goes on about it all the time, ugh.
Then I thought sod it, I am going to write a little old blog about Burning Man anyway. You don’t need to read it if you don’t want to!
In answer to your question, ‘How was Burning Man?’ OH MY GOD. Where to begin?! AHHHHH. How long have you got? Short answer or long answer? Are you going to wish you never asked me? Well if you want to know what it is all about, you can find that out from googling it and finding various answers. It is a week-long experiment in community living and self-reliance, it is a festival for artists, it is a temporary alternative city built in the desert, it is a co-created experience where people radically express themselves freely, it is a showcase for anti-consumerism/ the gifting economy, it is a global cultural movement based on 10 principles, it is one giant phat-ass party for ravers and hedonists etc.
Well here I go sharing some thoughts I have on it.
Let’s start with… it is just unbelievably phenomenal. Hands down. Thank you hippies for making sure this exists and I get to go it (I am so lucky!)
It is the best place on Earth.
It is a spiritual pilgrimage of the modern day.
It is ritualistic and ceremonial, away from religion —a primordial human need.
It is NOT a cult. Or is it…?
It is leading the way for how I want humanity to evolve.
It is a place for rapid and intense personal transformation.
It is consciousness externalised.
It allows for super connection between strangers, it unites us all and dissolves the concept of ‘the other’. You meet each person with curiosity and love, everyone is wonderful and unique. You feel a deep sense of belonging, whoever you are.
It enables us to try out new roles, new personas, new ways of being, away from the constraints of normal society and expectations we place on ourselves to be a certain way. We can explore ourselves more fully.
It is showing us that a world outside of our oppressive systems is possible.
It is a place you go to feel free.
It is teaching us who we are, how we respond to situations and people, where we need healing, where we need to let go, where we need to grow.
It is guiding us to who we really are.
It is our muse to express our truth, to showcase what is inside of us.
It is a place to share ideas, our visions, our hopes and dreams.
It is outrageously inspiring and blows my mind.
You learn about letting go and not getting attached — this is all temporary! It will all be gone without a trace next week.
So many incredible people are there, it is gathering of a tribe of beautiful humans — awakened, optimistic, open, courageous, charismatic, loving, kind, creative, interesting and alive.
The gifting economy, I love it! The generosity of people is incredible. We LOVE to give, we are encouraged to give more and more, it is such a lovely way to do transactions. Instead of money making the world go round, wouldn’t it be amazing if our default world was based on giving freely?
It is a place to help you connect to your dreams. As you are so far removed from your typical life, you are able to allow what is true for you to emerge: to connect to your soul’s calling.
It shows what is possible, we feel empowered to wish what we want in the world into existence.
It is the core of what humans are here for, and that is to CREATE. Everything around you has been created by participants, in terms of the venues, camps, sculptures, art cars, music, experiences, workshops, talks, gifts. Everywhere you go, it has been created. And not for profit! Money is taken out of the equation for once, hallelujah. Each theme camp has its own vibe, its own funky name, its own purpose for what it is about, its own culture, its own offerings to give to others. In default world, we are funnelled into situations created by others, decided upon by others, in buildings other people have built, working at companies who have specific ‘company values’ we follow, and then there is religion and brands put upon us. At Burning Man we get to decide what we resonate with, what we stand for, what we want to surround ourselves with. No brands! No commerce! No one telling us what we need to believe in, we create our own belief system, our own vision. We can make whatever we want up, whether it be profound, silly or controversial.
It is ecstatic, vibrant, exciting, exhilarating! Once you tap into the creative energy of the place, you feel the full power of the life force energy that we are collectively contributing to. The energy feels… sexy. I haven’t dived into tantra enough to explain what this energy is, all I can say is, I felt it, and it feels GOOOOOOOD. Your whole body is alive with electric energy, you are turned on by life.
It forces you to surrender to the moment. Immediacy is one of the principles, but I get so caught up in schedules (workshops I have planned to go to, people I want to meet up with, the timing of dinner etc), which is how I operate in the normal world, that I find it difficult to be spontaneous and be comfortable without plans. But soon enough you get tuned into the here & now. I have read Echkart Tolle’s books which pretty much repeat the same thing over and over again from different angles, about BEING IN THE NOW. And yet we still miss his point. We keep on reminiscing / regretting the past, or planning / worrying about the future. But at Burning Man I finally (ok, it took 3 days…) completely connected with the present moment, and discovered the preciousness of what was emerging in my current existence. And WOWZA, when you finally do engage with this very NOW moment, then you get into the magical space of supreme flow. Flow is so wonderful, I wish I could attain it more often. Effortlessly flowing from one magical encounter with a human to another moment of wonder, swimming from a beautiful realisation that has just landed, to having your breath taken away by a beautiful art piece, then switching to hilarity and absurdity. Just oscillating up and down the scale of human emotions, and feeling all the wonderful ways it is to be given the opportunity to be a human being.
It is the best art gallery I have ever been to. To be honest, I’m not too excited to visit art galleries in cities typically, them seem a bit fuddy duddy or bland. But on the playa, I really immerse myself in the art, I climb on the structures, I interact with the light and sound installations, I walk through doors and tunnels, I spin arrows, I press buttons which release fire explosions. Communicating a message to people isn’t always effective with words, sometimes it needs to come across through a visual representation, or a metaphor or symbol, or an embodied interaction. I had some really powerful moments with some art pieces, engaging with the messages from the artist, in a way that landed more deeply in me.
The intensity of the place is an important part of this experience. It isn’t comfortable. This year was really very hot, I couldn’t get enough water down me. My throat was scratchy, my eyes sore and my skin dry from the dust. You need a lot of energy to be cycling everywhere and surviving. I was doing it on a budget so I had few comforts, I was in a tiny tent I borrowed, so no air con or personal space to retreat to. The struggle is real! But then life is hard and you have to get out of your comfort zone. Don’t you find that whenever you put yourself under pressure in certain situations, it makes things feel so much more real and exciting, and it is so much more rewarding when you find the joy in the experience?
It is preparing us for Armageddon! Burning Man doesn’t have much lush nature around. How to survive when we have desertified the Earth? (Side note: I just checked the spelling of desertified and google told me this “Over 75% of the Earth’s land area is already degraded, and over 90% could become degraded by 2050”). Bleak but that is what google says. Arrrgghhhh :( How to be conscious of resources, how to create shade structures, can we live together harmoniously in communities, surviving in a potentially dystopian future? How to entertain ourselves when there are no TVs, phones, contact with the wider world may get cut off — and all we have left is ourselves and our imaginations? It is a sobering thought that due to the effects of climate change, loss of biodiversity and possible civil unrest we may end up living in these sorts of makeshift facilities, possibly trying to survive off futuristic food production techniques — lab made food, hydroponics and whatever else that we invent in order to survive. Makes me conscious of the need to move towards a life of radical self-reliance and living in a decentralised community, as I am losing my confidence in big powers to take care of all of our needs in this fragile world.
I could go on and on but think I’ll end it there. However, I will finish on one thing.
There is so much of a thing there, that is really the best essence of human life. You can feel it in the air, it pulsates through your body when you are dancing, you can see it on people’s faces, you see it being whipped up in crowds, you exchange it all day long with people, there is a definite delicious vibe present at this event. This thing is the greatest energy in the world.
And that thing is LOVE ❤️
Burning Man has got to be the biggest vortex of Love on the planet!
