Last year, as the dust swirled around us, the winds knocked me off my feet and my bicycle was mired in foot-deep powder, my eyes filled with mud, eyeliner and mascara streaming down my cheeks like Alice Cooper, I said: "I hate Burning Man. I HATE BURNING MAN! I am never, never, ever, ever going back to that dustbowl again!
This is insane! This is not fit for human habitation. I NEED TO GET A LIFE!"
Well, I admit somewhat sheepishly, that not only am I returning to that madness, but I am one of the people co-leading a HUGE Burning Man camp, right on the Esplanade.
(For those of you who have never been there, Esplanade is the main street USA of Burning Man-- actually more like the Champs de Elisses. Not only do we have prime real estate -- we have a massive 150 x 350 parcel of it. It's like being given a free plot of land at One Fifth Avenue in New York and told: Hey, do whatever you want! Just don't leave a trace of glitter, feathers or even a single cigarette butt or we'll banish you to Outer Suburbia and you'll never set foot on Esplanade ever again! (More than 150 camps this year weren't even granted "Theme Camp" status -- and thousands of them were rejected for this prime space. Some because they failed to "MOOP" their site and leave it spotless. (Burning Man lingo for removing Matter Out Of Place.)
Oh, so much pressure to be cool!
So, now we have to create something magnificent and Esplanade-Worthy in this empty chunk of dust. It's a blank canvas for free expression, and we're hauling out the "paints" -- artists, musicians, dome structures, fabric, lights, power systems, sound systems and every scrap of everything we'll need to create a temple out in the middle of Bumchuck Nowhere, Nevada.
Our "camp" is Sacred Spaces Village, a quiet retreat from the chaos, and our art project is the Evolutionary Temple -- where we'll have spaces filled with visionary art, elaborate altars and installations, live art creation, workshops, healing and massage. We'll also have a comfortable, carpeted and cushioned all-white temple space called "Cosmos" with absolutely NOTHING going on so people can retreat from the chaos and be silent, meditate and find that place there they are at One with the universe and each other.
(Well as silent as you can be with 16 megawatt sound systems thumping and booming around you in all directions, and the sound bleeding into a thump soup that can literally drive you mad because there is no space, ever, between your thoughts and the noise, between your eyes and the profusion of lights and colors, where every molecule of your spirit is oversaturated with love and beauty, and there's no privacy, no down time, no division between your personal space and the constant social contact.)
It's so interesting that you're afraid to sleep -- because you might miss something.
We have a saying at Burning Man: "You can sleep when you're dead."
There's another saying a friend of my quipped once: "Sleep is just a chemical deficiency. That's what caffeine is for."
My younger brother is also leading a Burning Man camp this year, in another prime location. (Yes, it's genetic!) His creation, Camp Photon, is for pro photographers -- they'll offer camera seminars, camera cleaning, and slideshows of eye popping photography on a big projection screen. Check it out at http://www.campphoton.com.
And if you're looking for a tea totaling (we don't have a bar and we're not drinkers), spiritual place to land, with free yoga classes every morning and a vegan and raw meal plan, check out http://www.evolutionarytemple.com or visit us out there: Esplanade and 5:00.
But I swear this is the LAST time. Next year I'm spending labor day at the Maui Writer's Conference and getting that book published!
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