In addition, Harvey articulated ten core principles at the heart of Burning Man: radical inclusion, gifting, decommodification, radical self-reliance, radical self-expression, communal effort, civic responsibility, participation, immediacy, and leaving no trace. Harvey described his mission as “creating a place that would give people permission to act on their dreams.” These two overarching themes-freedom and creativity-are still central to the festival, and you are ostensibly free to do and create as you like as long as you aren’t hurting anyone else in the process. The credit for the original Burning Man bonfire is given to Larry Harvey, Jerry James, and their friends, who burned an eight-foot-tall wooden sculpture said to represent past romantic involvements. I recognize the value of many varieties of psychedelics, provided that they are used mindfully, as a sacrament, with the specific intent of having a spiritual experience-but I was not at all sure that this was what the annual legions of scantily clad Burners had in mind.īurning Man dates back to 1986, when solstice bonfire gatherings were hosted on Baker Beach in San Francisco. Another problem was what I imagined to be the widespread, indiscriminate use of hallucinogens, empathogens, and alcohol at the festival. Not partial to indulgent costumed affairs and immodest displays, after two hours of this cacophonous chaos I longed to see any evidence of normality. Black Rock evangelists once dragged me to a San Francisco “Decompression,” a post–Burning Man party. Low tolerance for desert heat, strong aversion to unruly crowds, and an abject hatred for dust are just a few reasons why I never planned to go to Burning Man, where thousands gather each year in 110-degree heat smack in the middle of a petrified Nevada lake bed (called the “playa”) for a week of psychedelic-fueled festivities. I was struck by how similar this almost-perfect circle of a city was to a Tibetan sand mandala, and how its fiery fate resonated so strongly with the ancient and artful message of impermanence. With a population of nearly 70,000, the temporary settlement for the annual art and music festival springs into being from the dust for a week before every vestige of it vanishes in flames. As I approached Burning Man’s Black Rock City from the air, the clouds cleared in a flash to reveal a large, intricate crescent in the sand.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |