the rainbow family of living light have had a gathering every year in europe for twenty years now. i'm sure there is a wikipedia site about it so you can read up all the details about what they are all about. for me, it's a gathering where all the travellers and musicians and nomads and alternative new-age types get together to enjoy being in a beautiful place in the nature. originally deriving from a prophecy of the hopi indians of north america, the rainbow family spread its wings and came to europe, and soon metamorphosed by incorporating other exotic philosophies and ideas. so came the om chanting and the bhajan singing, it sometimes feels like a mobile european ashram. of course there are the ubiquitous tipis, and the focal points of the day revolve around the two food circles when the meals are distributed and money collected in the magic hat for future supplies. and then there are the many workshops where brothers and sisters give their knowledge and skills to others for free. shiatsu massage, yoga, qi-gong, drumming, dancing, meditation... just a few.
this year, we came to ukriane as agreed at last year's gathering in serbia. there was already a moldovan presence and camp, but we decided to have a separate camp from the young ones. we made camp in the forest around a small clearing, set up a plastic tarp, made a tripod for cooking around the fire, and set up our tents.
this year, there was a large russian presence too. which was understandable seeing as they don't need an expensive visa to come to ukraine like they would if they came to the west. and a lot of them were new to the rainbow ways and so upset some of our western brothers and sisters by not respecting some basic rainbow rules. like drinking alcohol. and not using the shit-pits. and taking photos and using mobile phones, etc etc etc. i was hanging out with my moldovan brothers and sisters for most of time, improving my russian, picking mushrooms, and doing what i usually do at all rainbows, a lot of drumming and massage.
helena came for a week and we hung out together, it was her birthday too on the full moon night when the big fire was lit and the dancing and the drumming went on for hours. but we chose instead to pass a shanti night at shambala. the scandanavian ting family held camp high on the hill with their boat shaped fire-place and their 20kg rock they had reputedly carried from finland.
vision council was again preoccupied with where to go next year, and sasha was very eager to promote moldova as the place for the next gathering. seeing as i was now an honorary moldovan brother, i had to give my full support to this plan, and gave a good speech for them/us at the talking circle, when in fact i did not mind if we instead went to finland next year. it became clear over the days that although the popular support in the gathering was for moldova, the 'western' bias in the vision council meant that the finland case was the one that was being heard, and it came as no surprise when the consensus was in favour of finland. i even left the vision circle to join the food circle at this time just minutes before they passed the stick around. once sasha realized that he was fighting a losing battle, he knew it was better not to prolong the agony.
the moldovan family made one final meal for the whole family, with mamaliga and soup. i had already caught the flu bug going around the gathering like a wildfire, so the last week i was suffering a bit and definitely low on energy. last day but one, we climbed the mountain for some beautiful panoramic views over the area, and last day, sveta and i took a path off the main drag along a beautiful brook with some nice glades and meadows and woods. a last nature fix before the descent from the mountain-side.
this year, we came to ukriane as agreed at last year's gathering in serbia. there was already a moldovan presence and camp, but we decided to have a separate camp from the young ones. we made camp in the forest around a small clearing, set up a plastic tarp, made a tripod for cooking around the fire, and set up our tents.
this year, there was a large russian presence too. which was understandable seeing as they don't need an expensive visa to come to ukraine like they would if they came to the west. and a lot of them were new to the rainbow ways and so upset some of our western brothers and sisters by not respecting some basic rainbow rules. like drinking alcohol. and not using the shit-pits. and taking photos and using mobile phones, etc etc etc. i was hanging out with my moldovan brothers and sisters for most of time, improving my russian, picking mushrooms, and doing what i usually do at all rainbows, a lot of drumming and massage.
helena came for a week and we hung out together, it was her birthday too on the full moon night when the big fire was lit and the dancing and the drumming went on for hours. but we chose instead to pass a shanti night at shambala. the scandanavian ting family held camp high on the hill with their boat shaped fire-place and their 20kg rock they had reputedly carried from finland.
vision council was again preoccupied with where to go next year, and sasha was very eager to promote moldova as the place for the next gathering. seeing as i was now an honorary moldovan brother, i had to give my full support to this plan, and gave a good speech for them/us at the talking circle, when in fact i did not mind if we instead went to finland next year. it became clear over the days that although the popular support in the gathering was for moldova, the 'western' bias in the vision council meant that the finland case was the one that was being heard, and it came as no surprise when the consensus was in favour of finland. i even left the vision circle to join the food circle at this time just minutes before they passed the stick around. once sasha realized that he was fighting a losing battle, he knew it was better not to prolong the agony.
the moldovan family made one final meal for the whole family, with mamaliga and soup. i had already caught the flu bug going around the gathering like a wildfire, so the last week i was suffering a bit and definitely low on energy. last day but one, we climbed the mountain for some beautiful panoramic views over the area, and last day, sveta and i took a path off the main drag along a beautiful brook with some nice glades and meadows and woods. a last nature fix before the descent from the mountain-side.
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