“Re-balancing” by N&J
BRC, Nevada (aug 29/13) – N&J spent most of the past 3 days exploring the ‘Burn’. Thankfully they have bikes, it is huge & widespread. Aura (N) says it’s like ‘Disneyland on steroids’… except it is all for real. Everything you could possibly imagine, is here (Oh yeah… everything!!!). In the last few days have attended numerous ‘house’ parties and ‘nightclub’ venues. Kind of like back home except don’t know who the people who are hosting the party at their camp… but within minutes of being welcomed to their place as you ride past, they offer drink or food, everyone greets each other with warm hugs like they known each other for eons. We walk into any entertainment camp (like a nightclub), saunter up to the bar and order whatever you want… FREE!!! No money or bartering accepted in BM. Two nights ago after visiting the ‘Ashram’ for drinks, there was an incredible (professional) theatrical performance; ended up at ‘Midnight Poutine’, Yep you guessed it… poutine (really, really good poutine from a camp hosted by a Quebecois crew)… at midnight… free! 🙂
Started mornings with a ‘breathing meditation’ followed by yoga with live music, a great way to shake out the cobwebs from the night before and start the day off right. Attended a number of lectures on numerous subjects at different venues. The “Fractal Dome” offered up a re-balancing seminar and participation of aligning self, body, thoughts, and breathing, meditating with head to the north and then to the south. This led into the next event called ‘shamanic healing’ with death and rebirth the focus through forgiveness of others and self. A blessing in a temple lined with crystals and singing bowls we feel alive and so fortunate! Making our way to the Ibogaine, Ayhuasca, and psychedelics workshop we stop in at the ‘Slut Garden’ (that’s what they named it!!!) to grab a few drinks and take in some of their music. Certainly maintaining a balance!!!
While waiting for a scheduled performance to start, rode around checking out a neighbourhood and found a camp called “PB&J”. Out front they had a food cart loaded with breads, lots of peanut butter, jams, jellies, preserves, nutella, etc… stopped and simply made a couple of sandwiches to hold the hunger over until lunch back at camp. The food in our camp is phenomenal! Wholesome, delicious, and in abundance. The kitchen staff deserving a little bit of liquid thankfulness, N made homemade vodka lemonade for them which they were very appreciative of.
click on pic to enlarge – right/left arrow to scroll thru the gallery
Most evenings are not complete without a bike ride onto the playa (the huge expansive ‘dusty’ circle – 4.5 kms across – in the middle of Burning Man)… where there is the nightly ritual of viewing & participating in the art installations & art vehicles. An amazing display of colour & sound. You can ride to the darkest place, furthest out from the masses (along the perimeter fence which catches any ‘matter out of place’ (MOOP) caught up in the dust storms) and find yourself lost & disoriented. Landmarks cannot always be trusted because sometimes they are very large ‘art cars’ (some 10-15 metres tall)… they are always on the move. Having a compass to plot your course is prudent, especially if a dust storm emerges…
…you can’t see 10 feet beyond (always carry dust goggles & face mask just in case). There is no way that you will see all of the art installations or vehicles on the playa, there are just too many.
The dust storms are like nothing you could imagine. High in alkalinity and like fine talcum powder, the dust gets into every nook and cranny! Once in contact with your skin it burns and dehydrates instantly. The cleaning process impossible without boxes and boxes of baby wipes. The hair is another story, dreadlocks anyone. It is never clean and is like straw. The only thing that helps is to neutralize the dust by adding vinegar to water.
Despite being dusty and living in very harsh conditions… can’t imagine not being a part of Burning Man.
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