Rainbow Gathering

Yuck.. I haven't been very diligent with my writing lately and I think I'm feeling the effects of that as well. I always feel much more on top of my life and my mind when I take a few hours a week to put pen to page. I'm gearing up to leave Melbourne once again to get my hands dirty in the Tasmanian forest. I'll be living in a temporary cooperative community at an event called Rainbow Gathering. Rather than expend a great amount of effort to describe it, exhausting my fragile finger muscles, here is some information about RG that I copied from wikipedia:

Rainbow Gatherings are an expression of a Utopian impulse, combined with bohemianism and hippie culture, with roots clearly traceable to the 1960s counterculture.The original Rainbow Gathering was in 1972, and has been held annually in the United States from July 1 - 7 every year on National Forest land. Other regional and national gatherings are held throughout the year, in the United States and throughout the rest of the world. The largest Rainbow Gatherings pose significant logistical challenges, providing up to 30,000 people with food, water, sanitation, medical care, and order in remote settings. Nevertheless, the Gatherings have proven durable phenomena for 37 years.

Rainbow Gatherings, as a matter of principle, are free and non-commercial. Using money to buy or sell anything at Rainbow Gatherings is taboo. There are no paid organizers, although there are volunteers who are crucial to setting up the gathering site. Participants are expected to contribute money, labor, and/or material. All labor is voluntary and never formally compensated. The primary principle is that necessities should be freely shared, while luxuries can be traded. A designated "trading circle" is a feature at most (if not all) Gatherings.

Allegations of widespread drug abuse are common in media coverage and Government portrayals of the Gathering. Gathering organizers point to the fact that actual seizures and arrests are proportionate to any city of similar size. Although few arrests are made (largely due to the peaceful conduct and remote placement of gatherings) the use of certain "soft" or spiritual drugs is accepted. Examples of such drugs would be Cannabis, Peyote, LSD, and Mushrooms. Hard drug use is widely discouraged.

I know that I will learn a lot from a place like this. I'm always down for an experiment in utopianism but after nearly 40 years, perhaps this idea has already surpassed the 'experimental phase' and is now a proven alternative lifestyle option. The annual US Rainbow Gathering is in New Mexico July 2009 and I expect to attend that one as well. Festivals are typically one week long but this one in Tasmania will go on at least one month. Having had experiences at Burning Man and Rainbow Serpent, each for less than one week, I'm very VERY interested and excited to see what can happen when a few thousand conscious creators with good intentions assemble over a longer period of time. The number of synchronicities will be much higher and the rate of manifestation will be quickened. If you know what I'm talking about then you can probably feel my excitement and if you have no idea, I'll attempt to explain it afterwards.