Burning Man Early Friday Morning: The Dream Circle Revelation

Hours later, we still weren’t officially in Burning Man. We were in the so-called staging area of timelessness --- mainly because no one had any idea when we would get in.  

We found out that the people in the vehicles two rows over had already been there for hours and hadn’t moved an inch. It was now midnight but time at Burning Man really didn’t matter.

Burning Man is a quest and the destination isn’t that important as the experience and attitude doesn’t really begin (or stop) at the gates. It is part of those who are attending.  And the cool thing is that everyone there is ready to accept things with an open mind.

It’s almost as if you can see the hole in the their normal barriers and their curious, searching tentacles reaching out to you.

WHY ARE YOU HERE?

At Burning Man, we are all children asking “Why?” And the question most often asked to newbies is “Why did you decide to come?”

This is the question Michael and Pimm asked us.  First time Burners like me, they were parked behind us in the “staging” area and had traveled from Amsterdam.  They had rented this Camper Van from Juicy Lucy in Vegas (Cool name. Plus, it's lime green and purple…how could you resist?) and were pretty much winging it. No bikes. No real plans or clue what to expect - except what they saw on YouTube. But they did have a whole lot of alcohol.

However, just like me, they had spent a lot of time on the costumes.  They were going to be gladiators and had custom skirts made and some sort of fancy helmet thing with lights that I didn’t get to see – but it sounded much fancier than my gold and purple disco shorts and Madonna-envy bra.

But let’s get back to the question of “why.”

Why were we newbies at Burning Man?  After a couple of shots of  Oliphant Jenever, a Dutch gin that was deliciously smooth, the words started to flow.

 Why was I there?  Hmmm…Well, my job is stressful and high paced so I was going to escape the boundaries of reality and take the time to see things in slow-motion, a difficult feat on its own. But I had some deeper goals.

In my quest to break down my barriers and inhibitions, I was looking to see if the Burning Man vibe would match my own and make me feel safe enough to release the constraints I put on myself in my day-to-day life.

Besides, I love art and the beauty of the playa had been calling me for years. As you know, I have a weakness for the desert and the dust is more than a little magical.

Michael was coming for a different reason.  He too had walls and fears to face. A little shy and an introvert, his quest was to work up the courage to talk to strangers.  Sure, he was talking to us, but it was his friend Pimm who first approached people, did the introductions and did all the talking to break the ice. Michael wanted to break out of his box by being the first to speak to strangers.  And what better place to take this chance than Burning Man?

Anna and I spoke to Michael for about 5 hours and we have no idea what he does for a living - which is one of the brilliant things about Burning Man. It’s not about what you do, but who you are. It’s an interesting switch as you aren’t defined by how you make money, but what you say, how you think and who you are as a person.

But at the same time, it’s scary – because so much of our lives is based on what we do for a living and what if the real us (without the job to back us up) is boring or lost?

THE RETURN OF THE GOLDEN CLITORIS

As the hours progressed, our conversations got deeper. Anna was a free spirit so when Michael decided to demonstrate how this creative technique he learned called "The  Dream Circle" worked, we were on board.

Carving out a circle in the sand, Michael tells us this is phase one. The dream phase.  It’s here you can dream of anything and not worry about the reality.

Anna immediately steps into the circle.

Image from burningman.org

“I dream of the Golden Clitoris,” she announces.

Michael and I don’t falter.  He draws another circle in the sand and tells me to get into it.  He says this is the area where the details happen. I have to decide things like is the Golden Clitoris big? Is it hard?

“It’s big enough to ride,” Anna says from her circle.

“It’s soft,” I say. 

They both look at me. Soft?

“Yes, it should be soft and comfortable – cozy-like.”

Apparently, they haven’t ridden a road bike for hours without a padded seat or bike shorts.  Believe me…soft is good.

They take this in and then accept it. Okay. Circle three: Implementation. 

“This is where they decide if the dream with the details can happen,” said Michael. “If they can’t, we go back to the dream circle and dream again.”

Interesting. Who would have thought I would learn something like this at Burning Man?