Five Principles Of Burning Man That Could Make Our World The Better Place To Live
Burning Man is a week-long cultural event attended by 60,000 people each year in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada. The festival is basically a community experiment and a place for self-reflection and self-transformation.
Burning Man Founder Larry Harvey wrote the Ten Principles as guidelines for the newcomers. They were crafted as a reflection on the community’s culture.
Four of them impressed me the most and I think they could make the real world a lot better.
- Sharing and giving
At the Black Rock City, people share their food, shades and smiles. They prepare food and drinks for strangers, they give little souvenirs made special for Burning Man, and they do not expect anything in return.
It is simple and amazing.
It is not that difficult to share in the real world, but outside the playa, we become more hostile, close, and lazy. I would say that our world is more about giving and receiving. Most likely, you will feel uncomfortable, if a stranger gives you a gift just because he feels good and want to share this feeling with you :).
“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”.
2. Self-expression and self-discovering
There are many ways to express yourself at the playa — creative costumes, exciting performances, super-crazy art cars, wild dances and much, much more… You can do whatever you want, whenever you want to do it.
A friend once told me the following story. At her tango classes in San Francisco, she met the man with whom she was dancing tango at Burning Man. She noticed that the way he was dancing was different. At Burning Man, his dancing was passionate and vivid, but at the classes it was plain, unleavened, and boring. She asked why he is so different, and he said something like, “Because this is Burning Man; here everything is different.”
Sometimes, we are just afraid to express ourselves because of our complexes, fears or expectations of others. We create emotional borders and live within them while losing the opportunity to enjoy life at its fullest.
“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.”
3. No judgments
If you are a fan of polygamous relationships , always dreamed of walking naked or taking part in the gay-beauty competition — you are welcome to do that! You will be loved as you are now. This is your home, and the people around you are your family.
Again. We are used to judging people around us because they are different, and that is why we avoid behaving differently — we are afraid of being judged and misunderstood.
“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.”
4. Learning outside your limits
Every day, around 100-200 small and big workshops and classes take part at Black Rock City. You will definitely find something new and amazing for you — just be open to new experiences and remember , “no judgments”.
This rule is more common for the world outside the playa as most of us understand the importance of constant learning. But learning outside your limits is different. It means we should be open to completely new experiences and experiments and be ready to try something completely out of our character. Who knows — maybe it will help us to open our inner selves.
“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.”
Here is a small list of things you could learn from others at Burning Man. Are you ready for something from this list right now?
- Acro Yoga — Learn to fly!
- Intro to Sacred Sensuality of Intimate Partners
- Traditional Thai Massage
- Mixed Relationship Style Partnerships. Learn how to have successful mono/poly relationships
- Wine Tasting Training
- Cockfight: Men’s Only Ecstatic Dance
- Freeing Your Voice Lessons (led by opera/yoga teachers)
5. Leave no trace
No trace really does mean no trace.
Practicing a Leave No Trace Ethic is very simple: leave the place you visit the same or better than you found it; leave no trace of your having been there, so that others – both human and animal – can enjoy the land the rest of the year.
