Usually
when someone gets on my email list, this is the first information I
send them. So to you out here in blogsphere, here's that same
information.
From the invite to the very first Rainbow Gathering in 1972:
We,
who are brothers & sisters, children of God, families of life
on earth, friends of nature & of all people, children of
humankind calling ourselves Rainbow Family Tribe, humbly invite:
- All races, peoples, tribes, communes, men, women, children, individuals -- out of love.
- All nations & national leaders -- out of respect
- All religions & religious leaders -- out of faith
- All politicians -- out of charity
to join with us in gathering together for the
purpose of expressing our sincere desire that there shall be peace on
earth, harmony among all people. This gathering to take place beginning
July 1, 1972, near Aspen, Colorado - or between Aspen &; the Hopi
&p; Navajo lands - on 3000 acres of land that we hope to purchase
or acquire for this gathering -- & to hold open worship,
prayer, chanting or whatever is the want or desire of the people, for
three days, but upon the fourth day of July at noon to ask that there be
a meditative, contemplative silence wherein we, the invited people of
the world may consider & give honor & respect to anyone
or anything that has aided in the positive evolution of humankind
& nature upon this, our most beloved & beautiful world
-- asking blessing upon we people of this world & hope that we
people can effectively proceed to evolve, expand, & live in
harmony & peace.
In
July 2012, Vision Council on the land in Tennessee called for the 2013 gathering to take place in Montana. ""We all celebrate that we feel the unity of the spirit and we recognize
the oneness of heart as we have the desire to follow spirit calling us
to beautiful Montana for the Annual Gathering of the Rainbow Family of
Living Light in the Summer of 2013."
Thanksgiving Council
The
next step in the process of landing on a site is Thanksgiving Council
(T-Council) which takes place over the four day Thanksgiving Holiday in
or near the area for the following gathering. This is a time of people to
council and share their hopes and dreams for the 2013 gathering. If
you have potential sites you think are worthy of scouting in the
spring, bring topo maps and forest service maps. Directions to T-Council usually come out in the first half of November. Check back then.
Scout Council(s) or Scout Rendezvous
T-Council
usually picks dates for one or two Scout Councils. Scout Councils/Rendezvous is a time for people out scouting to
connect up, share information, talk about scouting efforts. As with all
things Rainbow, no experience is necessary, just a desire to walk,
learn, teach and share. If you come, please be self sufficient - have
green energy for gas, food, etc. You don't need your own vehicle if you
can be a positive traveling companion, but $$$ are always in short
supply for scouting, so please bring enough for yourself and some to
share with the person whose vehicle breaks down.
Spring Council
Spring
Council is when all potential sites for the gathering are brought to
any people who want to be involved in selecting a site. The council
usually takes one to seven days and normally ends with either a
consensus by silence among people at the council or an exodus of the
majority of people heading to the preferred site. T-Council picks a date for
Spring Council but the exact location for this council generally isn't
determined until one to two weeks before Spring Council starts. Directions to Spring Council are available
here.
For
those of you who think the site is picked in advance and want to get
the 411 now so you can book plane tickets. I'm sorry, but there is no
site picked at this time. That's being said, there aren't many commercial airports in Montana.
Keep in mind that weather
conditions (which are unpredictable) play a part in all of this. So
let's say someone found a great site in August 2012 (and I have no
knowledge that anyone did), for all we know come the first week of June
that site is still under snow, then what? Keep in mind that 4 feet of
snow at a gathering is rough and 2011 in Washington had far heavier
snow than normal and much later in the season than normal. Snow levels played a part in where we landed.
Drought and
high fire danger can have the same effect. A great site that was nice
and wet in August 2012 can be dry as a tinder box in June 2013. If the Forest Service has a no open fire ban on that site that looked so great last year,
guess it's not looking that great this year. Available water can change
year to year as well depending on snow melt. Conditions change all the time. The family needs to find the best possible site for the health and safety of gathering participants and the land on which we gather.
Seed Camp
Once
Spring Council reaches a decision, people move onto the site and start
Seed Camp. Seed Camp is about creating trails, building kitchens,
digging shitters, taping springs and dealing with the United States
Forest Service. Historically, law enforcement harassment is highest
during Seed Camp so if you are planning on being there, take the
necessary precautions to keep your self out of the system if you so
choose.
The Gathering
The
main day of the gathering is July 4 when we observe silence from dawn
until high noon and put our energy into manifesting world peace, the
positive evolution of the planet and other good things. Many people
observe this with a prayer or mediation for world peace. Others do Yoga
for world peace, blow bubbles for world peace, etc. Basically, if it's a
silent, gentle energy then it fits in very well. As to when the
gathering starts, that's dynamic. It's usually one day during the last
week of June when some friends and I look at each other and say "today
it's a gathering." (of course you may pick a different date than I do
when it feels like a
gathering and not like
seed camp)
The earlier you come the more self sufficient you need to be and the
rougher things with the Forest Service are. If you show up later, say
after June 27, then most (but not all) of the drama has subsided.
Traditionally the dates are listed as July 1 to 7, but most years people
start leaving in droves on July 5th.
Directions to the 2013 gathering are available here.
Ignore all rumors of cancellation or organization!
Live lightly with the Land and People!
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