What Rituals Do and Mean

The filmmakers of Ritual Nation explore ritual in our lives not just related to rainbow gatherings, but I think shows the importance of rituals in our lives and specifically at the gathering. Shot in the 1990s, it's a beautiful introduction and statement about why people gather in many different ways. Especially relevant to the big rituals, which happen at the gathering, like the prayer for world peace.

First Time Gatherer?

Everyone with a belly button is welcome to attend. However, if you have no belly button due to some medical procedure, you fall into the special group of people who have lost their belly buttons and are welcome to attend under the belly button challenged clause of the Rainbow Family guidelines.  (Just a bit of rainbow humor.)

That being said, showing up at a gathering and not knowing anyone can be very overwhelming. 

My best advise is to plan your arrival for early in the morning (say before 10 AM). This may mean you stay at a campground or a motel a short drive away from the gathering. Get up at 7 a.m. and do the last 75 miles.  These are always the slowest hardest miles into a gathering site, some times it is easy to get lost, roads can be rough, folks are exhausted and tempers can flare. You don't want your first gathering experience to be a bad one do you?

If you already have plans to meet up with friends at a specific camp, gather your gear and ask people to point you to that camp. Otherwise, ask for INFO.  The journey from your car to INFO may take hours. Bring one gallon of water per person for the hike in, more if you can carry it.  Sometimes it's a long hike in, sometimes there a lot of traffic on the trail, sometimes you need to explore the sights along the way. Sometimes you get sidetracked by a drum circle or hug pile. Filtered water will be available at the gathering but you don't want to have to fill up for at least 8-10 hours after you arrive and one gallon of water goes fast at the gathering.

Once you reach INFO, there will be a map showing the gathering layout and some of the many camps. Some camps are location based such as NERF (New England Rainbow Family), others are activity based such as Yoga Camp. If you're not sure what's right for you, ask the folks at INFO questions about the vibe of the different camps.  Again this may take hours and you want to set up your tent before dark.  AGAIN I REPEAT. You will be happier if you get your space set up before dark unless wandering around all night long without a flashlight and a jacket is what makes you happy, then go for it. I also recommend walking around the gathering and feeling out what feels like a good place for YOU. Once you feel that, introduce yourself to who ever is around and say you'd love to plug into this camp.  Then take it from there.  Always keep your day pack with you. Keep your flashlight, bowl and eating utensils, a water bottle with drinking water, as well as a sweater or such in your backpack on your back every time you leave your tent. You may think you'll be back in 5 minutes, but you may not make it back until after dark.

Keep in mind that your first day at your first gathering is going to be a long one. No matter what, do not get separated from your gear unless the person who has it is someone personally known to you. If someone offers to help carry it, stay with them. If you don't,  you and your gear may take a few days to reconnect. If you shuttle in, DO NOT put your gear on a different shuttle than you are going on.  Hiking in is confusing and that kind sibling who offered to carry your tent may have thought you were going to Yoga Camp when you said Yoga Space - and yes sometimes there are multiple camps with very similar names.  Again it make take a few days for you and your gear to connect up again.  If you brought it, keep it with you and take it home when you leave (trash included).  The less you bring the less you have to haul out.

Remember, dinner circle is in main meadow - Listen for the conch shell being blown later afternoon. Bring your bowl and a spoon so you have something to eat with.

If you need help with anything, go to INFO and we'll help you out as best we can.

Info Crew (Montana 2013) Providing Free Rainbow Shrugs
(you'll get the joke after you been home for a few days)

Remember to Breathe

From Soaring Eagle, Thank you for making such a beautiful video.

Tips for a safe journey home & a Positive Gathering

If you plan on driving, make sure your car and driver is 100% legal-all lights work, valid insurance and registration, seatbelts, car seats for children. Our government assumes that we are criminals. Please try to arrive during daylight hours as the roads into gathering sites can be tricky and we want you to arrive home safely. If you can make space in your vehicle for a rider or you need a ride, ride share is happening at your local craistlist.org or on FaceBook.

If you will be sharing a ride, please meet the folks you'll be riding with at a local coffee shop, make sure you feel comfortable traveling a long distance with them, and establish the ground rules. If you are coming via bus, plane or train, try to connect up with a ride from your destination before you get there. If you are planning on hitchhiking, please travel with a buddy, only bum rides during the day and if you get a bad feeling from a ride, PLEASE don't take it. There will always be another one.


I strongly recommend you plan on arriving home in the morning - the earlier the better. If you are coming home and it's late, my best recommendation is you kick it at a campground, roadside rest area, or motel as you sit fit. Then get up at dawn and come on home.  The roads into the gathering can be challenging, the signage can disappear, and you will be tired. Keep in mind that your journey really begins once you park your car. From there you'll have to hike into the gathering with your gear and try to find a place that meets your needs -- very hard to do after dark.  It can easily take 6 hours from the time you park your car until you have your tent set up. Doing it in the daytime is fun, doing it at night when you are exhausted is not my idea of a good time.

*Always* say no to requests for search, no matter what they tell you. It is not illegal for cops to lie to you, and they often will do so to get your consent to search. "You might as well give us permission, because if you do not, we will go get a warrant and you will be here for hours." This is a bluff. Don't fall for it. Their time is much more valuable than yours.

If they insist on searching over your objections, don't prevent them physically in anyway - but continue to repeat "I do not consent." Ask for names and badge numbers, write down time, place, and what happened in detail. Every little thing matters in a court of law, even the things that don't mean much to you or me. If you can, take pictures, videos, and/or tape recordings.

Also, if they ask you if you have contraband, and tell you that if you have just a little bit and give it to them that they will not search you, tell them no. Never, never, never incriminate yourself. That means don't consent to anything, don't give them anything but your license, registration, and proof of insurance, don't admit to anything. When approaching the Gathering site, remember that you're coming as friends in somebody else's back yard. Treat the local folks with the courtesy, respect and concern that they deserve as members of the Family of Humankind. Be Loving and Kind. Don't be rude, steal, trash the town, disturb the Peace, or try to "shock" people. Be mindful of others' sensitivities. Remember the original Golden Rule when dealing with BOTH Babylon AND Rainbow: Treat Others the Way you want to be treated! Please, make your journey a safe one. Don't be under the influence while driving.

Let's all get home safely.

DRIVE SAFELY!
Ignore all rumors of cancellation or organization!
Live Lightly with the Land and People!

On the Unsigned Operating Plan

The United States Forest Service has regulations requiring a permit for 75 or more people to gather, camp, hangout etc, on at National Forest.  For many years the gathering refused to sign the permit and there was lot's of drama and conflict. For a history of those years, read Plunker's Permit Herstory or my own short history.

From these conflicts we have evolved into a model of using an unsigned operating plan worked out with the United States Forest Service (USFS) Resource personnel and gathering participants on the land.  While I understand some people oppose this, I personally feel that it has been working very well for our family since 2010.  But in order for this model to keep working, we need you to participate in the process.

For people who are at spring council/counsel/circle and/or at seed camp, you will be the people meeting first with the USFS resource people who have knowledge about the land on which we are going to gather -- the plants, the wildlife, the topography -- and working with them, we can collectively put together an unsigned (key point) operating plan.

Once we land at HOME, please try to set up a daily or alternating day council/circle/counsel with the USFS resource personnel in the model of previous unsigned operating plans. Click here for a incomplete archive.  Encourage as many people as you can to become involved in the process. When the council/circle/counsel happens, listen to each voice and the concerns they bring to the table -- USFS and non-USFS alike.  Be creative on proposing solutions to issues that arise. Be patient. Some years we spend a week sitting in council/circle/counsel with the USFS trying to work on a document. Think about concerns that others you know may have and raise those as well with

gathering participants and the USFS folks. Bring copies of old operating plans that we worked on.

Keep in mind, that it is the process of writing the unsigned operating plan that matters: the discussions, the dialogue, the deep listening, and the proposed solutions are the real win here. The USFS just wants a piece of paper for their file.

We all know that when we sit down in a circle and peacefully and respectfully discuss the issues, we all win.  Please be part of the circle/council/counsel. Please be the change you wish to see in the world.

Musings on getting fed at the gathering

If you've never been to a gathering (or even if you have), getting fed may seem like a mysterious process that sporadically leaves you hungry or amazed at the wonderful food you just ate.  Well it's not really as mysterious as it seems.  So here are the basics.

First off, no one should ever ask you for money or trade for food (excepting small things like candy bars at trade circle).  Everyone eats for free.  We share food with each other in many different ways.

During seed camp, you better come prepared with food to share. Some of the early kitchens may be serving "off the rails" (@ the kitchen counter) but you never know who will be there and how much food they have to share.

Bring whatever you can and share as best as you can with others.  Some of the kitchens may come with food supplies they have purchased, but you never know.

Once the gathering gets going (usually a few days after the Summer Solstice), dinner will be served in the main meadow.  Commonly called "Main Circle" or "Dinner Circle," kitchens bring food to the meadow, we circle up, om, and then are served food from a bucket or cooler.  THANK YOU KITCHENS!  After we eat, many folks hang out to play music, visit with friends or participate in activities like the "Angel Walk."   This is my favorite time of the gathering.  It's when those who wish take the time to hang out with old and new friends.

Many kitchens will continue to serve off the rails but normally do so earlier in the day or later in the evening.  Each kitchen decides for itself when and what to serve so finding a kitchen that is serving "off the rails" is catch as catch can unless you get plugged into a kitchen.  One easy way to get plugged in is to approach a kitchen and offer to dig a shitter, chop wood, haul water, or chop veggies for some meal or another. 

As I mentioned earlier, many kitchens come with their own food supply purchased by the core crew.  Other kitchens come with gear but not much else.  No matter how things start out, more food needs to be purchased as the gathering progresses and more wonderful people come home.

Generally a group of people come together to facilitate supplies.  After all, purchasing large quantities in bulk is usually less expensive.  Some kitchens do their own supply runs with either their own funds or funds from a collection can stationed in their kitchen, others participate in large scale supply runs usually involving a lot of food and funds from the "Magic Hat."

The Magic Hat can be found at Dinner Circle and Information when Dinner Circle is not happening.  Sometimes the Magic Hat goes on a Magic Hat parade around the gathering soliciting funds.  Magic Hat funds are managed by the Banking Council some or most of whom are usually at Dinner Circle.  Folks who become part of this council track income and expenses, count them money and insure the integrity of the process.  Most of the magic hat funds go to buy food that is distributed to the kitchens serving Dinner Circle. If a kitchen is not serving Dinner Circle, usually they will not get funds.  There is a Kitchen Council that meets daily or every other day (usually by Information) that plans supply runs, meals and works out all these issues.

Basically the process goes like this, you put cash money (no checks, credit cards, food stamps, etc) in the Magic Hat.  Money is collected and counted.  After a few days of this, a supply run is organized.  Once that has happened the supply run goes out, purchases the agreed upon supplies (or as close as possible) and then comes back with the food.  A supply run can take two days or even three.  Once the food comes back, it is distributed to the kitchens - a process that can take another day or two.

After the food is distributed to the kitchens, it gets cooked and served - a process that can take another day or two depending on when the supplies arrive at the kitchen and what else the kitchen is involved in at present. 

Now we come to the most important part, if you have $50 to donate to the Magic Hat, do it the day you arrive at the gathering.  Don't put $5 a day in for ten days.  Every year we have a food shortage for a few days somewhere between June 23 and July 2 because people start arriving in mass after the Summer Solstice and we have a lag between donations coming in and food being served.

Look at it this way, if one hundred people arrive on June 23 and donate $50 dollars each, we will have $5,000 to feed not only these one hundred people but the additional two thousand people who have subsequently arrived on June 28 when the purchased food is served.  If on June 25, two hundred and fifty people arrive and donate $50 dollars each, we will have over ten thousand dollars to feed the fifteen thousand people on site by June 30.  However, if people donate one or five dollars a day, then by the time we have enough money to feed fifteen thousand people, it's July 5 and most people are leaving.

If you do not have or do not wish to donate cash money, food supplies are always welcomed.  The good news is that the food you bring with you will make it into your belly tomorrow.  While brown rice, beans and quinoa are always welcomed, hardy fruits and veggies are very important as well.  Bring apples and oranges by the caseload. Cabbage, carrots and zucchini transport well and as much as you can bring will be eaten. Onions and garlic are always needed. Leave the fancy lettuce and peaches behind unless you know how to transport them so they don't get ruined.

 If you bring pasta, try to bring vegan pasta so everyone can partake.  Save the egg noodles for another occasion.  Peanut butter and bread (vegan if you can find it) go a long way to providing healthy fuel and whole wheat flour is always needed for kitchens that bake bread and pizza!  If you decide to go shopping after you've been at the gathering, check in with Kitchen Council to get plugged into any special deals folks may have worked out with local suppliers.  After all, if you can get it for 30% off, then you can buy more food to feed more bellies for the same amount of money.

Scouting Conference Call on June 5

There is a conference call on Sunday night and the goal of the call is to connect anyone who has been scouting or has scouting information regarding potential sites for the annual gathering. This is the last call before spring council. If you have been scouting this is the call that can connect you with other who have their boots on the ground! Oh, and thank you very much for your scouting effort! Dial: (218) 339-7800
Access Code: 271 2390
7 PM Eastern time zone.

The Trip of It All

I've often thought that going to a gathering is a bit like taking a trip. Advanced preparation helps -- after all you don't want to be out in the Rocky Mountains with no jacket at 2:00 a.m., but is preparation the key to a successful gathering?

Yes and no.

For those of you who recognize the phases of a good trip, many people have an idea of what they want to happen. Perhaps stocking the fridge or cooler with fruit juice and pizza is your idea of preparation. Maybe it's the music. You want to be listening to your favorite band. Location can be key. Do you want to be at home with close friends, in the woods, or on the dance floor at a concert?  All these things matter, up to a point.

You start out with all your preparations. Excitement builds, you start feeling the effects of what you are doing.  You try to stick to the plan.  And that my friends is the crux of the problem.

The trip like the gathering often has a different plan for you. Perhaps the trip comes from the center of the universe speaking to you in hushed tones. Other times, its waves crashing on the beach. Getting bigger and bigger until you are caught in an under tow and getting your head bounced off the bottom of the ocean like a basket ball (not so subtle).  The more you resist, the worse things get.

When you first realize you're struggling, panic can set in and you can resist what is happening. This moment is when your friends can help you relax, surrender to the universe and where it is trying to guide you, open yourself fully to the magic.  Don't just go with the crashing waves, BECOME the crashing waves and you will land on shore safely.

The gathering is no different. Many of us arrive with an intention, a focus, a plan.  Great ideas like an art camp, a huge bank of shitters near the main meadow, a kitchen that will kick out dank zuzus in the wee hours of the morning.  Planning for these things is great and I do it all the time.

Having the sleeping bag and tent, a warm jacket and thick socks can make the chaos enjoyable. However, just like when trippin, at some point you need to latch onto your Zen Mind, Beginners Mind.

But what does that mean?  

It means being present to what is happening around you and plugging in to the best of your abilities.

It means listening to what the universe is trying to teach you and I guarantee that every gathering is trying to teach you something. It's your choice how you want to learn the lesson. If you are actively listening to what the gathering and hence the universe wants you to learn, then the lessons may be challenging but not painful. If you close your mind to the words of the universe, then the universe will probably speak about a bit more loudly and with more force. 

Make your preparations and once you are home, be prepared to altar the plan significantly. Take time to walk through the gathering in silence and listen to the wind in the trees, the sounds of children laughing, and the pain and suffering in many hearts. Open your heart to those who need love, share your food with those who are hungry, lend and arm or shoulder to those who need help, and the messages from the universe will ring as strongly as the bird songs in the early morning.

All Ways Free

All Ways Free is a rainbow gathering newspaper that comes out many years at the gathering. It often includes a map of the site and other cool info.  Folks are in the process of raising funds to print this popular publication.  Copies of past editions of All Ways Free are available on-line.

Howdy family,

Finch here! I am helping Roach, the All Ways Free focalizer this year, to raise funds for this year's issue. All Ways Free is a rainbow newspaper that is totally free and noncommercial. We need to raise just under a thousand dollars this year, to bring 3,000 issues to this year's rainbow gathering to hand out for free! If you could toss $20 or $100 into the hat, it would really help keep u
the paper above water.

You can donate via Go Fund Me.

Your support would mean a lot to me. Thank you so much! We love you!

- Adam Finch Buxbaum
 

Spring Council/Counsel/Circle -> Seed Camp

*** Updated June 14 @ 11:30 AM Cali time ***

Spring council is over. Folks have moved onto the site. Click here for details.

*** Original post ***

Spring council/counsel/circle  (spring ccc) starts June 10. Spring ccc will be held in the southern portion (Manchester district) of the Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont.

People who have been scouting have said that they are still considering several options which will be presented to the council for consensus. The location of spring council will not be at any of the sites under consideration for the gathering.
Spring ccc is where the site for the 2016 gathering will be determined and gathering layout begins. There may be travel to see sites the scouts propose, lots of walking, discussion and consensus. All are welcome to participate in the process.

However, if you come, please be self sufficient. Bring clothes for warm, wet and cold weather, good boots/shoes. Water and Food to share, shelter (tent, sleeping bag, etc) your own cup bowl spoon, all the stuff you'd need for gathering & a sense of humor. 

As a refresher, the purpose of spring ccc is to determine where home is. The individuals who have been out scouting will have information to share about the site(s) they found and the family on the land at spring ccc will have to reach consensus by silence or by foot on where we will be.  Directions to spring CCDs will be available on wed June 8th.  If you are heading there now go towards the southern section of the green mountain national forest of Vermont.  (The Manchester district of the forest)

Please be advised that from spring ccc, the gathering moves into Seed Camp.  Folks at seed camp find and develop water sources,set up the first kitchen and dig the first latrines, locate and mark out the parking lot, lay out trails and remove obstructions, locate Main Circle and dig the fire pit, and set up a welcoming entrance to the gathering.

This is a time when you can work intensely with a few other people and form some deep friendships. 

From this seed grows the flower of our Gathering.

Just an FYI, early in the gathering is when law enforcement presence can be the most intense as ratio of cops to gatherers may be high. 


This is a great time to form relationships with the USFS resource personnel, work out an unsigned operating plan with the rangers, and set up a process by which the USFS personnel can meet with gatherers on-the-land.  A specific location and time is a really good strategy as then everyone in camp knows where/when to be if they want to meet or not meet with the forest service. It takes many voices to do this work.  If you are not sure what an operating plan is, check out the collection of past operating plans on-line.

Directions to spring council/circle/counsel

Directions to spring council-
From Manchester take highway 11 east.
Turn left on Main St toward Peru.
At general store, Left onto Hapgood pond Rd (also a sign saying wild wing xc).
Drive  roughly a mile till fs22.
Slight left onto fs22, then 3/4 mile to fs21, then left onto fs21.
At fork in Rd with the small stop sign, stay left on fs 21, site is 2 miles on your left at the rock stack.
Mostly road parking, save spots in the small lot for those that can't get around as well.

For a handy map, click here.

If you're looking for a major town, try Albany. There is a bus that heads up to the Green Mountains. https://www.vttranslines.com/bus-schedules/ 
 

Yeast Man's Altar Ego

Wes Houston Presents #164 from Four Village Studio on Vimeo.

Music as Magical Peacekeeping Tool

The Earth Is Our Mother

For family who are more musically included, we have a long tradition of chants and songs not for performance, but for participation. Many of these songs are call and response or chant type songs. We use these songs to create community, help people be more peaceful and create the energy we wish to see in this world.

If you do not already know some of the rainbow songs, there are on-line websites that have the information.  If you play an instrument or even if you do not, try to learn these songs.  Then when you are at a gathering, I'm sure you will find a moment that is calling out for family singing and you will be prepared.

Thanks to family who have taken the time to make this information freely available.
 
Bliss Fire Website
Welcome Home Website

Singing is one of the best tactics to improve the vibration of the gathering. I've even seen people sing to break up hostile situations, calm the anxious, and create community among random strangers. Be the magic!

Creating a Healthy Gathering Through Hand Washing

One thing that goes a long way to keeping folks at a gathering healthy and safe is washing hands - a lot. And I don't mean just rubbing your hands with sanitizer, but actual biodegradable soap (Dr. Bronner's is great) and filtered or boiled water. Some awesome Rainbow engineers have designed a hand wash station that's transportable and light weight. One goal of a Rainbow hand wash station is to make it hands free, so no one picks up germs in the process of washing their hands. (A smaller setup of this same type can be used for soap dispensing). If you're not up to speed on drinking water issues, Hawker has a great website showing what he's done in the past and discussing issues in greater depth.

Here's a great drawing of what I'll explain in words below. Thanks TimBear.



"From our experience, the primer bulb check valve can fail if the water gets trash in it. The solution we found was a small piece of filter material (like the filter from a wet vac) or fine mesh screening (a couple of layers of panty hose) around the end of the water intake. The pvc pipe allows you to direct the water where you want it, even if there is no tree where you want the water." - TimBear's words, not mine. What ever you do, make sure the grey water is at least 300 feet from creeks, rivers, and ponds and preferable somewhere where no one is walking. Dogs and people can get into the grey water and spread the germs all over the place and that's not healthy.

The key is a one-way syphon valve. It's made of rubber and can be squeezed by hand. Each end has a place to clamp hose onto. I usually get them at my local Marine supply store. Hook it up to some clear plastic tubing - one end to go into a bucket of filtered water. It looks like this:


The other end should be fastened somewhere (if not using TimBear's Pipe method) and hopefully have a drain system so people aren't standing around in gray water. To conserve water, get spare sun shower nozzles and put it on the end. These are $5-10 each from a camping supply store. They work great for the "faucet" end. Here is a photo of one.



Then to wash hands, all people need to do is pump the black syphon ball with their feet, and water comes out the shower nozzle. Portable hands free hand washing and kids love it!

Filtered water is best for hand washing. Providing an alcohol based hand sanitizer and/or a bleach wash as a final step is a great idea, but please label the ingredients so people can make informed decisions.

I also like to make a sink to minimize the amount of mucky grey water around the faucet. I've used a plastic bowl in a round tomato cage. Then drill a hole in the bottom and put in a connector so you can clamp a discharge pipe and run the waste water into a gray water pit. WARNING! HIPPIES CAN BE DUMB. Every time I use my sink setup, someone thinks we should recycle the gray water by putting it back into the fresh water container. THIS IS UNSANITARY AND IS WORSE THAN NOT WASHING YOUR HANDS AT ALL. So if you use a sink, please make a sign telling people that the drain DOES NOT go into the water source.

I'll be bringing a few extra setups to give out - but we needs lots of them. If someone(s) are looking for a great public service project for this year's gathering, here's a great one. Let's make sure we have enough hand washing stations scattered around the gathering so that people can't help but wash their hands at least twice a day. Every year I promise to make them at home and bring everything but the sink, but it doesn't seem to happen. Sure is easier at home with my tools.

Clean hands creates a healthy gathering.

Just a quick reminder, no soap in any surface water. Biodegradable soap only biodegrades in the soil.  All soapy water should be kept 300 feet from surface water like creeks, rivers, ponds and springs.  Don't be the dufuss who tries to wash your hands, clothes, hair, body in the creek. All you're doing is creating dirty water for the animals (2 and 4 legged) who drink the water.

How to gather (AKA gathering basics)

Just an FYI, no one speaks for the gathering and there are as many different opinions as there are gatherers. For a hipstorical perspective, click here. For a more recent perspective, here's a great video for those new to the gathering that was done by some folks in Oregon in 2012.

So you want to focalize a kitchen?

In my humble opinion, the gathering needs more kitchens like it needs more dogs, but for some  reason, everyone wants to focalize a kitchen. Seems to me that being part of the kitchen provides an amazing growing, learning experience on working collectively and provide safe and healthy food in the woods.

However.....

The reality of focalizing a kitchen goes something like this:

Unless you're of a certain size, providing a certain number of meals, and maintaining a clean kitchen, Main Supply won't provide food for cooking. This means you provide the free food in the woods. While some kitchens have a donation can on the counter for after people have been fed if they want to donate, in reality most of the cost of food is born by those running the kitchen unless you have a big network of support. You'll need to provide pots and pans for cooking, at least a half a dozen 5-gallon water buckets for dish washing, filtered drinking water for you and your crew and hopefully for all gatherers. You'll need to chop wood, haul water and wash dishes in addition to cooking. You'll need to make sure you provide sanitary cooking and serving facilities, keep sick people out of your kitchen, deal with late night movies and work your ass off.

If you've never plugged in with a kitchen at a gathering before, you might think about joining your energy with a well established kitchen to get a sense of how hard cooking in the woods can be before you strike off on your own.

If you're ambitious enough to serve main circle, make sure to be at kitchen council so your kitchen gets some of the supplies (often around 11 AM near Info but check with Info once you're on the land to find out when the council happens). But keep in mind that even those kitchens serving main circle only get a portion of the food they serve from main supply.

Sure late night zuzu cooking is fun, but it also is hard to work around all the tripping hippies -- especially those who need baby sitting at 2 AM.

You'll also need to have some serious shitter movies going down. Not only for your crew but for anyone who is attracted to your camp. This can mean digging a new shitter every day from June 28 to July 3 when the gathering population swells.

When the gathering is over, you get to disappear your kitchen so no one knows it was ever there. You get to haul your trash out, bury your compost and fill in your shitters.

What do you get for focalizing a kitchen?

More personal growth than you ever imagined possible in a couple of weeks. More stress than you can imagine and more people smoking you out that you could ever wish for if you're kitchen is dank. You get to move your kitchen three times because the US Forest Service keeps changing the rule on how close to surface water the kitchen can be - play it safe and go 500 feet if you want to avoid the move your kitchen game. Shitters should be even further.

You get people bugging you at all hours of the day and night because they're hungry or thirsty. You get random dogs digging through your supply tent and eating the food you just hiked three miles on your back. If you leave your kitchen unsupervised by trusted kitchen crew, you come back to a kitchen missing pots or oranges or a tarp.

The wonderful tarps you strung over your kitchen collapse from rain in the middle of the evening meal. And above all, you get to have a complete temper tantrum when your nerves snap because no one wants to help wash dishes or dig the next shitter.  Of course, you can plug into an existing kitchen and learn from experienced family how a great kitchen works. (Try the Ovens, Kiddie Village, Instant Soup, and Tea Time,  to name but a few of the great kitchens). Ask at Info or better yet at kitchen council when you get to the gathering where else energy may be needed.  Most kitchens welcome new people who are willing to work.

It's a wonderful magical crazy ride and worth every second if you last. But please, please, please read the Kitchen Mini Manual so you don't get your family sick due to lack of proper hygiene.

If you've every plugged into a kitchen, please share your words of wisdom.

The Children's Perspective

This is a great video I found on You Tube that tries to provide a children's perspective of the rainbow gathering.  Enjoy!

Racism and the Rainbow Gathering

As many long time gatherers know, the gathering has always had a small percentage of participants who are people of color.  I've sat in many a circle where this has been discussed and you may have as well.  The basic premise of the rainbow is to be inclusive of all peaceful people. Yet we are falling short of what I believe most gatherers would like to see (Just an aside, I don't speak for anyone but myself).

For the last 2 months I've been participating in a series of conversations on race and racism at San Diego's Peace Resource Center on some Saturday mornings. We've watched films such as Women Talk About Race in America, Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible, and Cracking the Codes: the System of Racial Inequality. We've had small and larger group discussions on the film, various talking points, and even how how the format of these get together have fostered or subverted racial inequality. If you haven't seen these films, I encourage you to watch them, get the study guides and work towards building a just society for all humans and this beautiful planet we call home.

As I have been participating in these sessions where we tackle hard issues, I've been trying to examine the gathering for racism and racist behavior by gathering participants. We all know the gathering is comprised of individuals with diverse backgrounds and differing beliefs and we sometimes see less conscious behavior than many people would like to have present at a gathering. That being said, there are some situations built into the intrinsic nature of the gathering that can be very challenging for people of color and I am hoping we can all gain consciousness on how to mitigate these issues.

One of the big challenges I see is the need to run the gauntlet on the way in. As a middle aged, currently middle-class, woman of European ancestry, I'm one of the least likely people to get hassled by the cops on the way into the gathering or once on site. I try to us my position of privilege to protect those more likely to get hassled, like my younger family and my family of color by keeping my body between the cops and my family. But I am only one body.  Given that cops are more likely to shoot and/or arrest people of color trying to come home, how to we create a safe space for people to get from the outside world into the gathering?

I've also been thinking that my ability to live outside of mainstream culture and to exit and enter as I wish is a privilege of the color of my skin. Even when I have been living far outside of mainstream culture, I have the ability to take a shower, put on appropriate clothes, and enter places of power like court rooms, city council chambers, and banks and be treated with respect. This is the privilege of being able to openly defy mainstream culture.

Living in a major city in Southern California where winters are quite mild compared to the rest of the United States of America, we have a very large homeless population  -- and a very large percentage of people living outside are of European ancestry. I often think about how few people of color live on the streets and how people of European ancestry can survive on the streets, while those of color are jailed or much worse.  So even among the homeless, I can see white privilege in action.

How do we address our relative impunity at sharing herb and the very differing rules the powers that be apply to those of color?

How do we create a space that feels safe to people of color without treating people differently. How do we address the way the outside culture responds to the gathering in an often negative fashion/ This negativity is impacts individuals differently depending on age, gender, race, and abilities. In other words, when we gather, we create a situation of open rebellion to the society around us. Rebellion has consequences, but individually, we do not experience those consequences equally. During the time of intense conflict between the Forest Service and the gathering, we had to navigate who was willing to go to what lengths to stand up to the Forest Services -- there were no easy answers then and there still aren't any easy ways to address a system in which the gathering is embedded.

Since I don't have any answers, I'll leave you with the voices of some powerful women who can speak to the issue far better than I can..

Peace and the Planet (Part 5 of 5 of "Creating Peace")

In order to live in a peaceful world, we need to treat our planet, Gaia, with the respect, love, and attention to her sustenance with which we treat our children. Climate change is the result of mistreating our amazing planet. Climate change is about changing weather patterns that make it hard for people to find drinking water for their children, that create flooding of homes and agriculture land, and that wither our crops under relentless sun.

When people are hungry or thirsty, violence can easily erupt over food and water. Not just in Dafur but everywhere including the gathering.  How then do we show with our actions that we are actively working to protect Gaia from climatic changes that threaten world (and local) peace?

Reduce the number of campfires. Burning carbon increases global warming. Plus if you see the cloud of wood smoke in main meadow at a gathering, you'll realize that reducing the number of campfires will improve the health of every gathering participant. Click here to learn more about the negative impacts of campfires on human and planetary health.

Reduce/reuse/recycle - adopt a zero waste lifestyle. Only buy products that you will consume or that will last you for a long time. For example, buy rice in bulk with reusable containers instead of throw away plastic packaging. Buy reusable forks and knives for a gathering not single use plastics. Packaging and throw away junk contributes to climate change. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that by cutting the amount of waste we generate back to 1990 levels, we could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 11.6 million metric tons of carbon equivalent (MTCE), the basic unit of measure for greenhouse gases. To learn more about how what you buy creates climate change, click here.

Plus the less stuff you bring to a gathering, the less stuff YOU need to haul out when you leave. You would be amazed at the amount of camping gear that gets left behind at a gathering.  Re-use that tent or find a loving home for it if you do not want it anymore. Don't leave it behind for the cleanup crew.  YOU are the clean up crew. The less we buy and bring to the gathering, the less clean up we have to do. Buy food in bulk, bring gear to keep you warm and dry and forgot about the rest. Recycling of aluminum cans takes energy which contributes to climate change.  Use reusable stainless steel containers for your beverages and stop giving your money to the multi-national conglomerates like Pepsi and Coca Cola who don't care about the seventh generation and are wrecking your health and the health of the planet.

Put your money where your mouth is. Walk your talk.  We can change this world by spending our money in ways that create the change we want to see in this world. Shop at your local co-ops. Buy locally grown produce. We can make a difference, one person, one family, one clan at a time. Let us follow the wisdom of our Lakota siblings and heal this beautiful planet that gives us so much.

We are the people we have been waiting for to create a future for the next generation. How are you going to step up and create the change for which Gaia is praying?

Together we can change our future

What is Peace? (Part 4 of 5 of "Creating Peace")

A common point of discussion when working towards peace is defining what peace is and isn't, what it looks like, which activities are considered "peaceful" and which are not.

I think at the extreme ends of the spectrum, most people can agree on what peace is and isn't. For example, most people would consider dropping bombs on other people to be the opposite of peace. Most people would consider the silent prayer/meditation for world peace and the om to be examples of peace.

That's the easy stuff. In fact trying to define peace can cause even the most peaceful among us to be less than peaceful.  So what do we do if we say we want peace, but we can't even agree on what peace looks like, feels like, acts like or talks like?

I'll throw out a couple of high level ideas, but even these are subject to much discussion. I hope you continue these discussions in the circles in which you find yourself. If all goes as planned, I will be doing a few workshops at the gathering on "What is Peace and How do We Create Peace?" -- hopefully I won't be the only one.

In Creating Peace, Parts 1 to 3, we looked at some of the foundational aspects of peace (click on the topic "Creating Peace" under Gathering Topics on the right hand side of this blog).
  

What is Peace?

 
First graders have a very good concept of peace (image from Miss Krug's Our Grade One blog):

 
Some people view peace as the absence of war or violence. Perhaps this view comes to us from  Ancient Greece in the goddess Eirene the goddess of peace, who also celebrates decisive battles that end wars. If we subscribe to this paradigm, we probably are following the axiom "the ends justify the means."

Another high level view of peace is one that focuses on harmony and tranquility that can take the form of an inner state or a state between people. We can say she is always tranquil and peaceful or they have a harmonious marriage.

Peace can be considered as cooperation between people in a social group or culture to maintain a certain level of social order. Keep in mind that slavery existed in the USA during times of peace and for me, slavery does not equal peace.

Liberian Women for Peace

The Global Peace Index (GPI) attempts to identify countries by their level of peacefulness focusing on various formal military measures, prisoners per capita, refugees, wars, etc. 


In the last hundred years, peace has been tightly coupled with the idea of non-violence. So now we have to define what non-violence is and how non-violent  methods contribute towards creating peace. Now I'm sure most of you are familiar with the teaching of the Dalai Lama, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. -- all of which emphasis non-violence --another problematic concepts. Defining non-violence is just as hard as defining peace (but I think by now you know how to approach this issue.)

The Dalai Lama offers these words, "Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free." Of course now we have to figure out what "free" really means. For example, do we include the freedom to harm others in free? Or are your freedoms curtailed when they impact my freedoms? How does your pollution impact my freedom?

Peace is often negotiated between groups of people. For example, a family, school, city or state negotiate what they see as peace.

International Alerts writes, "Peace is when people are able to resolve their conflicts without violence."  

If the absence of violence is our definition of peace, we end up with enforced peace. Sometimes peace is enforced by governments and when the force disappears so does the peace. I would argue that this is not a true peace. Perhaps it is a moment when true peace can take hold or perhaps it is just a halt to the fighting for a short period of time.

Working towards peace is nothing new. In 1915, the Women's Peace Party traveled to Europe on the Peace Ship to try to negotiate peace during World War I. We all know how that turned out.

Even clowns get into the mix with World Peace Clowns. Check out the link to Patch Adams - an early gatherer.

Am I always a peaceful person?  That's a good question. I try to be, but then again, what seems peaceful to me, may not be peaceful to another person. How then to resolve all these paradigms of peace?

One method we use at the Rainbow Gathering during a conflict is to sit in a circle and give everyone an opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings, recommend solutions, discuss options and try to find a win-win solution. 

Another method that works well both within the gathering and outside the gathering is the idea of zoning.  Some camps like to be up late at night making lots of noise. Other camps prefer the early to bed, early to rise model. When these two camps are next to each other conflict arises which then removes peace. Neither camp is right or wrong. The issue is that they just are not compatible in close proximity. Zoning is what this is called in the big city.

 The Answer to the Question: What is Peace?

The short answer is I do not have one answer.

The long answer is that I hope I've gotten you thinking about your own actions and peace as well as the community around you and peace.

I believe in peace as something we "practice" much like meditation rather than something we "get" such as a new pair of shoes. The more people practice peace, the strong the peace becomes. The more experience we have with the practice of peace, the better we get at it.

The muse of peace invites you to come to the gathering and practice your peace with this crazy family I so dearly love. This family will test your patience, change the way you look at the world and yourself, teach you new things, and provide a wonderful opportunity to "practice peace" with others. I hope to see you at the 4th of July Silent Prayer/Meditation for World Peace in Main Meadow practicing your peace.

"The most valuable possession you can own is an open heart. The most powerful weapon you can be is an instrument of peace." ~~~~ Carlos Santana
 

Sustenance and Safety (Part 3 of 5 of "Creating Peace")

One of the foundations of creating peace is making sure people are prepared, in the right mindset, and able to do the hard work that creating peace entails. Sustenance and Safety are the building blocks of peace.


Sustenance takes care of our bodily needs. We can't think well when our blood sugar is crashing or when we are dehydrated. Adequate food and water is a must for all in order to be able to even discuss peace (stay tuned for part 4 of Creating Peace).

One of the most important actions a person can take at a gathering is making sure everyone is eating and drinking plenty of water. This year we will be in the east and that generally means moister gatherings and lot's of sweating. One gallon a day of water that has been boiled for 20 minutes or filtered with a 0.2 micron or smaller filter is a must.

When people haven't eaten or are dehydrated they act out. When they are in these conditions for too long, they get sick.  When you combine these issues with over-indulgences, we have a recipe for problems that can impact the entire gathering.

Prevent the problems by making sure you and the people in your vicinity are eating and staying hydrated. Be on the look out for people who look like they aren't getting food and/or water and help them before they start breaking the peace. 

Now for the tough topic: safety.

Safety is a bit harder to come by because what constitutes a feeling of safety is a very subjective and emotional feeling.  To explain what I mean, we'll talk about the estuary by my house.  The salt marsh and estuary have been channelized to prevent flooding and on either bank is a trail. The east side is a paved path that hooks up with bike paths to the north and south. The west side is a dirt road with trees providing shade on a warm day as shown in the image.

The Estuary

People in my neighborhood have very different perspectives on the estuary. Some people view it as a haven for criminals and are afraid to go down there especially after dark. Other people loving taking their kids down to watch the Great Blue Herons and Osprey trying to rustle up a meal.

Now you would think there is some logic as to who feels safe at our estuary and who is scared, but so far I haven't observed any patterns.  I see people with small kids down there watching the sunset and in the early morning many seniors walk their dogs. Then I meet other people in their thirties and forties who are scared to go down without a large group of people because once upon a time someone had a bike stolen (maybe 10 or 15 years ago).

In addition to the herons and hawks at the estuary, one finds the differentially housed: people who live in tents or throw down a sleeping bag under a bush for the night.  Some people are scared of people with different lifestyles then their own, others exchange pleasantries with everyone. Some people who live in non-portable houses are scared of the differentially housed. Others make friends.

Every time I speak at a community meeting, some people go off the deep end on how dangerous the estuary is and others talk about how it's an asset to the community.  I know that I can't change people's opinions about which is which. Plus trying to address how people feel is tough. Your feelings are neither right nor wrong, they just are.

Low crime rates do not make people feel safe. Community makes us feel safe.

So having said all this, how do we help everyone feel safe at the gathering?

One way we can do this is to treat others the way they would like to be treated -- not the way you would like to be treated.  Try finding gentler voices. Look out for each other in peaceful ways and make sure the people in your vicinity seem comfortable. We all have different levels of tolerance, sensitivity, and fear. Honor that.

If someone looks uncomfortable, they probably are. Introduce yourself. Smile at someone you do not know.  We all feel more comfortable when we are around friends. Share your gathering wisdom. Pay more attention to body language. Learn to pick up vibes from the people around you. If you sense that someone is afraid of a situation, help them to feel comfortable by either staying with them, removing both yourselves from the situation, or trying talking to the other person about their fears in a supportive way.  Just because the situation is comfortable for you, doesn't mean it's comfortable for everyone.

Honor our differences and our need to be treated accordingly. Help each other on this journey.

Please pay special attention to law enforcement officers. A scared cop is a dangerous cop (remember Wyoming 2008?). Turn down the volume on negative energy by oming instead of cussing when you do not like a situation.

Think about how you would like others to act around your three year-old child and your ninety year-old grandmother and act accordingly.