{"id":1450,"date":"2014-10-02T09:04:45","date_gmt":"2014-10-02T09:04:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marbellarocksmag.com\/london\/?p=1450"},"modified":"2014-10-02T09:04:45","modified_gmt":"2014-10-02T09:04:45","slug":"burning-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rocksmag.com\/london\/burning-man\/","title":{"rendered":"BURNING MAN"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A first hand account of the possibly the craziest event on the Planet.<\/p>\n

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The day I learnt about Burning Man; I felt inspired for a new type of life. The day I first experienced Burning Man; my life changed. So, what is Burning Man, and how has it affected my life, and many others like me so positively?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Burning Man is an annual event, held in arid desert type environment, which transforms its name into Black Rock City, north of a small Nevada town in the US called Gerlach. The sacred land in which this festival takes place is often referred to as \u201cthe Playa\u201d. Indeed, it has beach like properties, but rather than sand, the powdery dust is in fact the remnants of an old river bed.<\/p>\n

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Based on 10 principals such as; leave no trace, radical self-reliance and gifting, of which attendees are urged to follow, the festival puts its emphasis on art and music and is often attended by free minded\/spirited, new age souls and hippies, (often referred to as burners). Burning Man has grown to be an internationally recognised event. This year it attracted almost 70,000 people. It has certainly come a long way in its 25+ years of existence, and now becomes a functional city for 1 whole week of the year, which includes a pop up airport, amenities such as public lavatories, medical centres, and policing by volunteers and federal agents of the law.<\/p>\n

I was 16 when I first stumbled upon Burning Man through a documentary I had recorded in error as my VHS video recorder (back in the day) continued to record pass another show\u2026 I remember watching in awe as I witnessed the closest reality to a Mad Max film. Its post-apocalyptic feel appealed to me. I liked that everything was vast, distant, raw, and extreme.\u00a0 In the first images I witnessed of Burning Man; there were men shooting semi-automatic guns in the distance on a pop up fire range, and others dancing naked and free in the \u2018desert\u2019. Coming from a traditional family, there was no way at that age that I could ask my parents to allow me to go to such a space\u2026 but the thought to visit, never left me.<\/p>\n

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Some 10 years on \u2013 having entered into my working life after schooling hard through University and college, I decided to take a break; my first holiday. Burning Man was the space I wanted to experience.<\/p>\n

Now, it is not a small or easy affair to plan to spend a week in the desert. There is a lot of planning, and each year, as the event has become increasingly global, attracting regular crowds of people from each part of the world, businesses such as airliners, recreational vehicle hire companies, and even multinational supermarkets such as Walmart, have all opened their eyes for the potential gains of attracting Burners attending Burning Man. It has fast become a multi-million $ (if not billion $) affair.<\/p>\n

2014 was my 4th<\/sup> Burn, so nowadays, I feel like a bit of a veteran at planning towards it. Questions such as, how much water do I need to survive off? Choice of clothing, and ideas for gifts to exchange, have been tackled through past experiences, but also through the great chatter and noise from Burning Man forums, that exist regionally to help, share, create, and express ideas to do with the culture of going to Burning Man, and thereof.<\/p>\n

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I remember on my first expedition to Burning Man, there was a period in which my brain could not process in sync what my eyes were seeing. It\u2019s the most bizarre yet warm experience I have ever had. The Black Rock City gets transformed each night into a magical and mystical space of lights, fire, play, sounds, art, and unique offerings of goodness from individuals, to organised theme camps, often specialising in one theme.<\/p>\n

There are few places in the world, where you can see people roller-skating on a roller disco stage, having the time of their lives as they weave in and out of people with a glitter ball on one\u2019s head, whilst wearing a figure hugging spandex onesie. I think it\u2019s the one of the few spaced on the planet where anything goes, and everything is accepted.<\/p>\n

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The art installations are often a great attraction to Burning Man, as are the mutant art cars.\u00a0 Each year, previous year\u2019s art cars are added upon, or improved with better sound systems, interesting LED lighting, and likewise \u2013 the creativity of art and interactive artwork become an integral option to pass time looking and playing on throughout the day.<\/p>\n

Other than the actual burning of a wooden structured man (the man that burns on the Saturday) as one of the focal points of the weeklong event, there is also a great spiritual aspect to Burning Man. Shamanic experiences and rituals occur in theme camps, but each year, there are thousands of hours of time, devoted to the creation of a temple, which burns on the Sunday. Burner\u2019s visit this space which transforms into a solemn, grounding, thought provoking and sometimes emotional space \u2013 whereby loved ones, broken relationships, missing souls, and closure to bad experiences, can all be shared through pictures, poetry, and sharing within the temple. I recall the imagery in my head of watching the temple burn, as the chantings as well as the deep silence of thousands of people watching an intrinsic structure burn to ashes. It is a very moving and heart feeling experience.<\/p>\n

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But, how has Burning Man really changed my life? I guess seeing the love and unity, albeit the unity of people for just one week is simply inspiring in this day and age. I\u2019m yet to experience where colour, class or creed matters at Burning Man. It makes no difference if you\u2019re a co-founder of Google, or a top 10 DJ playing a set \u2013 there is just an overwhelming sense of love, appreciation for the universe and humanity at such an event.<\/p>\n

Of course, there will always be those twerps that ruin others experiences through being selfish, but this is just a tiny norm to the greater good of such a festival. In our \u2018default\u2019 world, we have been ridiculed with religious wars and acts of terrorism, however the Burning Man experience of caring, sharing, and bearing seems to shun all of one\u2019s typical fears, and apprehensions to of life and allows us to create, manifest and experience norms, modes, and or cultures that we usually would not be so open to experiencing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The event attracts people from all walks of life, but often, I have been moved by speaking and interacting with people who have such little in terms of worldly belongings, but offer so much more in terms of depth of experiences, uniquely made gifts that become priceless through its interaction of gifting exchange, the sharing of stories and cultures, or just the overwhelming appreciation of life.<\/p>\n

This often makes me wonder; what am I doing with my life? Is my happiness level real, and in check? And so, my life has changed, by becoming that example of a selfless giver, rather than a taker in life \u2013 but also knowing that the simple things in life can make people happy too. I try and gift whatever excess I have available to me, to see a smile, or bring happiness to someone else, as often as I can.<\/p>\n

Burning Man takes place every year at the end of August\/beginning of September. If you fancy visiting – with our contributor who wishes to remain anonymous other than The Cookie Monster (!) \u2013 visit www.burningman.com<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  A first hand account of the possibly the craziest event on the Planet.   The day I learnt about Burning Man; I felt inspired for a new type of life. The day I first experienced Burning Man; my life changed. 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