Kundalini and the Art of Being ... 10concentric circles of those surrounding the central pole.
What happens after the group Om is always a little different. At
this gathering, someone started singing: “All we are saying, is give
peace a chance...” And everyone quickly joined in—2,000 people
singing in unison, wishing and praying for peace in the world.
Eventually, someone started a drumbeat. From there it progressed
into the largest, wildest drum circle and dance jam imaginable. Those
in the huge outer circle came down into the center of the meadow to
join in the festivities. The drumming and dancing continued all day,
through the night, and even into early the next morning before many
fell asleep in the grass and dust around the glowing coals of the fire.
I left a week or so after the 4th of July, as the gathering was wind-
ing to a close. All considering, I was in very good spirits and was
happy to have been able to contribute by being a part of Om Chapati
kitchen and to spend time with Jeffrey, Bethany, Forest, Dream, and
Marie (who’d arrived there safely a few days after us), and plenty of
other kind and beautiful people that I met at the gathering.
I got a ride back west with three rainbow brothers—Marken, Ma-
teo, and Sketch—in a laundry van owned by Marken, that he had
turned into the ideal traveling rig. We spent five or six days making
our way back towards Oregon, stopping at a few hot springs, and
sleeping outside under clear skies in the mountains and deserts along
the way.
We arrived in Eugene mid-July, completing a circle from a few
months before, when I was just starting my summer adventure. My
friend Matt was gone for the summer, so I didn’t spend long there.
I was excited to be on my way back up to Alaska, after being away
for three years. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was going to do up there
during what remained of the summer. I thought that I might look for
a cannery job, or perhaps work in Denali National Park again. But at
least I knew one thing—that I wasn’t going to have to kill myself to
escape what I was going through. The idea had pretty much faded
from my memory over the past few months. Though I still had many