In June of 2015, I was given 2 passes to Burning Man. My friend Michael (Jolly) Galardi told me his new job would be taking him to places that made it impossible for us to go together, but that I should go anyway. I did. It changed literally everything.
You know all of those post that you see about, “Could you go a week without a phone or internet or television?” The answer is yes you can. Throw in a lack of places to spend money (other than ice and coffee), extreme temperatures and no running water and you are part of the way there. What about food? Water? You should bring those. What about all the trappings of life? Leave them in the desert before you arrive. You will have questions and they have answers.
What happens at Burning Man? Everything. Last year, I rode on a pirate ship that shot flames from its mast. I did a Mad Max workout and was spray painted silver after. I was spun upside down in silk and spanked while a large crowd chanted. I watched a naked roller derby. I climbed on top of a real Thunder Dome. I danced for so many hours that the walk back to camp felt like an eternity, until the sun began to rise. It’s the most beautiful sunrise on the planet. There is so much to do and so much that never gets done. You find yourself. You lose your self. Magic is everywhere. (And I did all of this completely sober, so no, it is not all about drugs).
My camp was called “The Virgin Letter Project.” When I say, “my camp” I mean, the camp that with no prior knowledge of me, other than an email or two, who with open arms pulled me in and made me a member of their family. This is the group of people you hope to meet. Caring? Check. Sharing? Check? A little bit weird, but in the best way? Check. Why the name? When you first attend Burning Man, you are loving refer to as a virgin.
(From their facebook.) “What are Virgin letters?
Virgin letters are letters written by veteran burners to the virgin burner they were.
These letters are gathered online and at Regional Burn events and delivered on playa via BRSD and their deliverators.”
“CS (Clock Ship) Tere – 2013 Artist: Andy Tibbetts. A handcrafted pirate ship vehicle, driven by an ingenious front wheel with no axle, at the Burning Man art festival.” (i-d.vice.com photo credit)
Tickets for the 2016 event are SOLD OUT. But, if you apply yourself, it will work out. It might sound silly, but putting it out there and believing, will bring things to you. It works.
The 10 Principles of Burning Man
Burning Man co-founder Larry Harvey wrote the Ten Principles in 2004 as guidelines for the newly-formed Regional Network. They were crafted not as a dictate of how people should be and act, but as a reflection of the community’s ethos and culture as it had organically developed since the event’s inception.
Radical Inclusion
Anyone may be a part of Burning Man. We welcome and respect the stranger. No prerequisites exist for participation in our community.
Gifting
Burning Man is devoted to acts of gift giving. The value of a gift is unconditional. Gifting does not contemplate a return or an exchange for something of equal value.
Decommodification
In order to preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising. We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation. We resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience.
Radical Self-reliance
Burning Man encourages the individual to discover, exercise and rely on his or her inner resources.
Join the conversation in the 10 Principles blog series.
Join the conversation in the 10 Principles blog series.
Radical Self-expression
Radical self-expression arises from the unique gifts of the individual. No one other than the individual or a collaborating group can determine its content. It is offered as a gift to others. In this spirit, the giver should respect the rights and liberties of the recipient.
Communal Effort
Our community values creative cooperation and collaboration. We strive to produce, promote and protect social networks, public spaces, works of art, and methods of communication that support such interaction.
Civic Responsibility
We value civil society. Community members who organize events should assume responsibility for public welfare and endeavor to communicate civic responsibilities to participants. They must also assume responsibility for conducting events in accordance with local, state and federal laws.
Leaving No Trace
Our community respects the environment. We are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities wherever we gather. We clean up after ourselves and endeavor, whenever possible, to leave such places in a better state than when we found them.
Participation
Our community is committed to a radically participatory ethic. We believe that transformative change, whether in the individual or in society, can occur only through the medium of deeply personal participation. We achieve being through doing. Everyone is invited to work. Everyone is invited to play. We make the world real through actions that open the heart.
Immediacy
Immediate experience is, in many ways, the most important touchstone of value in our culture. We seek to overcome barriers that stand between us and a recognition of our inner selves, the reality of those around us, participation in society, and contact with a natural world exceeding human powers. No idea can substitute for this experience.
