Silence at Rainbow - July 4 2011
Silence at Rainbow,
well, mostly silence,
on the 4th.
This may be as
a kind of vigil to protest
an American empire,
an U.S. history of harming
(Rainbow began at the height
of the American War in Vietnam in '72),
or to protest American
production of Babylon,
but this silence is just nice,
in and of itself.
I like Rainbow in the mornings,
in general.
This India-like festival
in the state of Washington,
of peace, love and Rainbow,
straight out of the '60s,
wakes gradually.
Camps and tents -
this could also be 800 years ago
in forested north lands of Scandanavia,
in the summer -
dot the forests' edge, and the meadows.
Fires are stoked.
People find the sun and sit in it.
On this 4th of July,
there's more silence and sitting,
than other days here.
Last evening, Anta & Alna,
from Montana,
were walking around,
and saw Mt. St. Helen's
volcano, which blew on May 18, 1980,
when I was hiking the
Pacific Crest Trail
far south in California,
for the first time,
It blew again in 2003-2004,
and is, remarkably,
creating a glacier,
at a rapid rate,
these days.
Anta was blissing visibly, naturally,
when we first met.
She and a friend were eating
a sweet they got near
a dishwashing station.
Smiling away, we talked,
and walked on, together,
with another friend of hers,
Alna.
We visit the G-Funk Theatre,
sitting on its stage,
and begin to perform as audience,
all the while talking about a lot,
including eliciting bliss,
naturally and fulsomely -
like drawing a bow
across a cello,
whenever one wants -
all the time.
We, on the stage, give a
standing ovation,
to those on the grass,
where the Rainbow audiences sit,
as performers.
Those grass sitters are superb.
There's much poetry at Rainbow,
and colorful picturesqueness, too.
70 years' old hippies, with hair
and dreads, and a lot of young
folks, here come to camp & play,
and live this vision.
There are many white folks here,
and, perhaps like in the '60s,
there are also some African Americans, some Hispanics,
a fair number of good, nonharming white folks,
some folks with backgrounds from India,
and so many other folks
with all kinds of
different backgrounds -
a band,
all living, for this week,
a little like native Americans, even, ...
who came from across the Bering Strait
16,000 - 20,000 years ago, ...
and all grooving on the Rainbow vibe.
All hippies of yore, ...
are we humans like deer, or dogs,
or common chimpanzees -
seeing things differently at Rainbow?
So many Rainbows every year bring their dogs
with them into the forest, -
not much earth consciousness,
in this kind of human-canine pairbondness,
and beneficial connection, - and
'tis
tres Rainbow.
Rainbow is diverse,
in its own, unique way,
and radical,
from progressive '60s,
in 2011, ~
and ... All Ways Free.
Loving you, Rainbow brothers & sisters.
There's abundance here, -
free food, a free gathering,
free camping and connecting in the woods,
a cool, sociocultural connectedness, -
an earth-ecology of consciousness,
finding its own way through time,
here re-grounding, in the forest;
it's a different National Forest
every year.
So many folks are sitting
around their fires,
and blankets, on the ground,
talking. Rainbow is so social,
and musical, -
it's dreamy to live like this,
in the woods,
for a spell.
I sit by a bend in the river -
I often go solo these days -
on this independence day.
There's much water, but cold!, this year
here at the Gathering,
from the significant
big creek flowing through it,
in early July, with snow melt run off.
I haven't swum yet,
and have seen almost no other Rainbows
in the water yet, -
this water is very cold.
The weather has been great thus far,
gray yesterday morning,
then sun in the afternoon.
It's sunny this morn ...
with lots of folks -
are we 10,000?
(it's very difficult to count) -
I've heard estimates of
7-8,000 in the past,
and 30,000 this year.
Harbin Hot Springs is a year round Rainbow Gathering,
but different, place-based, in California, -
as a sustainable community, -
but not intentional.
Sitting at the bend in the river,
in the sun,
I hear talk of psychedelic drugs -
DMT, Salvia.
'I like being high but not out of control, but not like that
on Salvia, - that's too much,'
a frizzy-hair blond guy says.
'Today's the day you tricked yourself,
the English don't control you,'
he continues,
in a fake Russian accent.
Sitting here, sitting there,
I hear talk of drugs, -
often from men, ...
and of relationships,- from
women's voices.
Hippy, women's consciousness
is sometimes, often traditional.
At the Rainbow Gathering,
since 1972,
men have been warriors,
... the signs about this
abound this year, too, ...
and the women the gatherers,
but warrior stuff is less in the air,
and mostly women are serving
the free food at the kitchen camps
spread out in this meadow-forest.
People are partying,
and making much music, in these woods.
Hippies are more in touch
with our love-appetites,
than some folks in modernities.
Peace, love & happiness.
Time is now-different at Harbin.
This India, spiritual festival
communitas is all around,
in beauty, for, of & by the people,
in a national forest, -
where we're probably
all breaking the law to celebrate in.
This is very India in America.
Last night in the meadow,
near the other, huge, main,
very-wet-and-swampy-in-the-middle meadow,
Rainbows gathered in circles,
from chalk drawn on the earth,
sitting on the ground,
stood up, held hands,
om-ed together.
In big almost-cauldrons,
carried by two,
and served by one other,
everyone was served,
blessed with abundant,
free stews and soups, -
fresh rolls, too.
Is this Woodstock,
without the music?
And is all of this due to 'larynx'? ...
which evolved,
years-millions' ago,
so that speech occurred,
for now 7 billion of us.
We now can focus and symbolize,
in such amazing ways,
and generate 'flow' experiences, -
and unfolding, creative,
bliss biology,
with music song and dance, especially.
This happens here at Rainbow.
Gutenberg's press,
with movable type,
the Industrial revolutions,
the Enlightenment,
consumerism,
the idea of freedom,
yes, politically -
(The French Revolution)
all so influence socialty,
now across the globe,
especially with the internet, -
we are living the modern world unfolding, -
as Rainbows here party in woods
on American independence day!
This river flowing through the Rainbow meadows,
with browns, greens, and sandy bottom, in the sun,
just keeps moving,
skookum plants on bank,
(it's everywhere in these meadows),
and lodgepole pines,
creating endless beauty,
when we tune in & watch it.
Rainbow -
a special musical score for blissing -
fractal-generates
while refracting light here now,
in ever new-old ways.
Watch & be the river
of Rainbows.
I walk to the main, not-swamp meadow.
Folks have moved the totem pole
to the center of the circle,
from where it was standing earlier,
nearby at a campfire circle.
Moving totem poles is native work.
Somebody, whom I just passed,
smoking a bong with 4 others,
yells toward the meadow
on this silent--in-the-morning
4th of July, almost barking
'Communication brings PEACE, not silence.'
Everybody in the meadow,
which is filling with folks around midday,
remains silent.
I cross the river, on a big log, to the shade.
A few others cross barefoot.
People are returning to our naturalness,
to our indian-ness, to peace, here at Rainbow.
People are living in an one-ness with nature,
in modernity,
the romance of 1st Turtle Islanders,
the first Native Americans,
notwithstanding.
People gather in the meadow
in silence, in the woods,
in togetherness, in peace.
The children - from Kidz camp - will break the silence, soon.
There's much meditation here,
this morning.
I sit across the river from most folks,
writing, writing, writing.
Someone does a sun salutation,
another someone plays with a hula hoop, and
someone else does Tai Chi.
The silence in the woods sings.
These lodgepole pines don't often
see so many people.
A roar from the other meadow -
no kids in this one -
people gather, hold hands
OM & om
and a cheer rises,
then drumming,
a native American chant ...
and a party erupts in the meadow
while people lay in the sun.
The silence is over
and this forest party resumes,
connecting, connecting, connecting.
*
...
(http://scott-macleod.blogspot.com/2011/07/mount-saint-helens-silence-at-rainbow.html - July 4, 2011)
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