topic posted Wed, September 20, 2006 - 10:49 PM by Eli Salzman

I've been VERY inspired lately to ABOVE ALL, ask you all and myself this question:
What is the deep intent of Blazin' Raisin? Chime in everybody. Why are we REALLY doing this?
First, I'll say that what I love about Blazin' Raisin this year was that our offering to the Playa, although still jelling, wasn't just a gimmick or a show or a direct service, but A WAY OF BEING that created a warm and magnetic vibe; it's that "Raisin' " thang (raisin' each other, raisin' consciousness, etc..) I know this sounds vague and maybe to some a cop-out in a city where theme camps are so good at being VERY (almost too much?) specific about what they are offering. And maybe we will continue to get more specific at least in the way that individual BR members will develop and grow their own personal offering to the larger community, and at MOST in terms of our evolving GROUP ideas. As to the latter, for now I really liked that our "Theme" was a vibe of softness, peace, refuge from the OONSE-OONSE subwoofer Playa reality, non-violent communication, omni-faith spirituality, and humility, just to name a few.

I really believe that BR can be a spiral dance of consciousness and joy and AUTHENTICITY AND FREEDOM (one thing that means is that even the “darker” thoughts and feelings are normal and welcome), and our combined love, excellence, genius, full-heartedness and health just keeps Raisin’ the energy swirling around the Parachute, such that all are lifted and cradled in that power. For me, THAT'S THE BEST KIND OF "SPECIFIC" SERVICE A GROUP THIS LARGE COULD OFFER: keep Raisin' consciousness, keep asking what our deep intent is, keep loving and accepting, keep being honest, keep spinning magic that heals and transforms, keep caring for the earth, keep spreading joy and hope. I guess as I'm looking at this it still has vagueness, SO PLEASE FILL IT IN, HELP ME. And it also has quite a bit of general new age churchiness, which I'm not sure is the whole picture. Anyway, I ramble.....
posted by:
Eli Salzman







Adam Baer

Re: What Is Our Deep Intent?
Mon, September 25, 2006 - 8:28 PM
I have observed that the intent of Blazin Raisin camp has changed slightly over the last few years in response to getting MUCH larger than we used to be . Just 3 or 4 yrs ago, in response to size increases, some members started meeting to discuss direction and logistics way before the BM event . This allowed for individual & community needs to be recognized and in part , met . What was simply a FEW friends camping together became QUITE A FEW friends camping together . Certain ideas were proposed and experimented with, to differing levels of success . The core ideas have persisted and flowered beautifully .
Some of the intentions I have observed are : To create a supportive, welcoming emotional atmosphere. To have sufficient shade for large gatherings. To offer classes and services to our immediate community and the Playa public . To welcome new members into the village and the community . To support creative expession in many ways. To appreciate each other and the unique contributions each community member brings . To network and build bridges between different groups, on and off the Playa . To share . To boogie down together. To belong to a larger group than our regular circle of friends that we see more often . To share information on many topics . To gain reassurance from the company of like minded community in the face of rapidly accelerating madness in media and culture in the USA and the World. To gather material resources for community building infrastructure. To create bonds of trust and feelings of fellowship that would be of use in times of emergency . To practice living sustainably with little impact on the planet . To create an enviroment that supports individual and community growth . To have fun ,lots of fun .
These are a few of the intentions I have observed Raisins demontrating .





Eli Salzman

Re: What Is Our Deep Intent?
Mon, September 25, 2006 - 10:39 PM
Thanks Adders. Cool to get such a solid list. Anyone else? I would love to get as many different views of our DEEP INTENT as possible. Here are some questions that can stir up the juices:

--For all you multiple-year Raisins, what are YOUR historical observations of our intent? Can someone touch on the Rainbow Gathering vibe that gave birth to the original Raisin Camp?

--Why are you a Raisin?

--How did you come to be a Raisin (hmmm...maybe we can start a family tree...no, a family VINE...grapes, get it? but I digress)?

--What INSPIRES and/or EXCITES you so far about this village?

--What makes this village unique and/or different from other communities?

--What is the most SATISFYING thing you've seen (or COULD see in the future) come out of this village?

--What top 5 needs and/or desires were really fulfilled for you at BR this year?

--What top 5 needs and/or desires were not fulfilled, but would Light Your Fire if they were?

--What SPECIFIC attitudes or actions would really have us Raisin' the power/vibe/earth-healing/mood/consciousness/energy of Burningman in a BLAZIN' way?