"What Does Burning Man Mean to you ?"
To better estimate the impact and potential of the Festival without having been, it's essential to know a few facts about the Burning Man itself. Each year over 50,000 people travel to Black Rock City in the Nevada desert to participate in an experience that is holly unlike any found in modern society.
For one week in late August they become part of an experimental community, which challenges its members to express themselves and rely on themselves to a degree that is not normally encountered in day-to-day life. They are to provide their own food, water and shelter, enduring sweltering temperatures often above 110 degrees and overwhelming sandstorms.
In the face of such a formidable environment the society flourishes. There is no commerce,The Burning Man Festival is built upon a gift economy mentality. No commercialism, no vending, no money. Gifting is part of the experience. And an experience it is. All around the playa large art installations challenge the elements, rising above the horizon. Theme camps are abundant, each offering their creativity to passers-by in the form of body painting to grilled cheese sandwiches.
On Saturday night the man is burned. All the members of this unusual city convene in the center, watching as the 40 foot structure is ignited. As the flames burn higher and the Man falls, each takes away his own memories and experiences. What does burning the Man represent? You'll find as many different answers as you'll find people at the event.
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" For those who know, no explanation is necessary.
For those who don't, no explanation is possible."
AquaBurn
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" Burning Man 2002 was my first Burning Man. While I was there, I felt that I had found a world that, prior to arriving, I thought only existed in my imagination. How amazed and ecstatic I was to find out that that world was indeed REAL and existed in the middle of the DESERT!"
John
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" This is the world John Lennon imagined when he wrote the song. It is where for one wonderful week a year the laws of nature are suspended. Need and greed don't exist. Here it is as close as one can get to leaving the planet earth without a rocket. It is the inspiration for what humanity could be if people listened to their hearts."
Zorba
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" This place is like a huge birthday party, it's a lot of work for you, but work that is fun, and when the guests arrive, you are the guest of honor. "
Kiki
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" It's all about relaxation, meditation, cosmic friends and wisdom, that never ends..."
Dawn
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" I never cease to be amazed at the generosity of spirit, the depth of creativity and technology combined, the beautiful art, the coming together of spirits from around's the country and even the world. I feel more myself there than anywhere else I've even been. The ideology of gift culture, "leave no trace" and freedom of self expression have made a positive impact on the rest of my life. I spend all year looking forward to going, and usually have a bit of difficulty with decompression afterwards. "
Susan
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" It's all about community. Sharing ideas, art, expression, passion, truth, beauty, and love. It's appreciating one another for their contribution to the canvas of spectacles on the playa. It's a holiday from the sometimes screwy everyday existence we can find ourselves trapped in. It's a replenishing of the inner spirit. "
Rob
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" It is a successful experiment in alternative Community. A Celebration of what is Temporary and Not Tangible in life. Expression of individual and group Spirituality and Creativity. Also a rare display of Human Embrace and Kindness bordering on altruism. "
Don
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" This is a place where we are able to tear down the walls of fear & Judgment that we have been conditioned to limit ourselves by. "
Tamara
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" Burning Man is a place where we are free to "mean it." There is no judgment of what we say. We don't have to worry about expressing our inner-most desires, our expressions of love and affection, or our jumping-up-and-down excited ness for just being alive. Where else can we share the blissful joy of seeing, feeling, hearing, smelling, and tasting playa dust. It's a place where the love that you give back comes back at you a thousand fold because everyone is giving and participating, as opposed to life off the playa where it seems that participating gives way to apathy, where people lack the courage to be free, the courage to create. Burning Man is a commitment to one self, to one's self-exploration, to finding freedoms within ourselves that we had either buried or not yet discovered. It's an adventure of mind, body and spirit. Creating my dolphins was an act of rediscovery for myself, my inner-artist that huddled dormant inside a lukewarm shell of a person wondering who the hell turned off the heat. Burning Man rekindled my flame for creativity, passion, lust, love, kindness, and giving. When I am at Burning Man, I am all of me, yet I am a part of a community. The unrelenting love and kindness that washed over me the first night I took the El-wire dolphins on the playa to share with my fellow denizens was overwhelming. So much connectedness, so much appreciation we all had for each other, it was delicious. We were blissfully swaddled in the Stylie fabric of the universe that we all helped to create. It's a place where I can be my art, I can be the dolphin. "
Jeff
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