I wrote this right after getting back from Big Dub back in August, but was unable to properly post it through my Evolver mirror of this blog while their blogs are in limbo.
Event: Big Dub Festival 2012
Dates: August 9-12
Location: Four Quarters Farm, Artemas, PA
What. An. Event.
Having had a few days to decompress and mull
over my experiences, I wanted to share my perspectives about my
experience as a guest speaker on behalf of Evolver DC, as well as a
participant.
I came to Big Dub 2012 as a first-timer, both to the
festival itself and to festivals like it. While I’m a multi-year member
of the Burning Man community and have been to numerous Burns in the
Mid-Atlantic, I had no experience with music festivals prior to my
arrival at Four Quarters Farm on Friday afternoon.
Having landed
my tent and stuff with some friend’s of my host, Vikas, and having taken
care of some minor logistical issues for Evolver, the first order of
business was to take in a workshop by Asher - a fellow trained shaman -
who delivered a great presentation on energy work, chakras, stone
reading and shamanism in the Farm’s labyrinth. I was impressed by the
turnout that he received, and was struck by both the level of interest
and the metaphysical knowledge of the other attendees. It started my
experience at Big Dub off on a great note, and set the stage for the
many surprises and experiences that awaited.
That first night I
spent dancing at the main stage, loving the dubstep, electro and hard
house that was being spun. I also got a chance to spin fire with
another fire performer and fellow Burner - Andrij. I was in a great
state of mind and energy and really connecting with the experience on
all levels. Then after a brief lull to recharge in the stone circle, I
connected with two other spiritually tapped in women who I spent the
rest of the evening with dancing and flowing with energetically down at
the second stage. I wrapped my evening up that night around the fire at
the sweat lodge, discussing energy, spirituality, shamanism and the
night’s experiences with a group of diverse and amazing people who had
all been drawn to the grounding energy of the fire.
I woke up
the next day amped for my two presentations for Evolver DC - the first
on Spirituality and Dance, and the second on Flow Art and Transcendental
Connectivity. There was a powerful and open discussion that opened up
in the first workshop about dance, spirituality, letting the music move
you and celebrating spirituality with the body on the dance floor. I
was excited to talk about the art of surrender as a dancer and as a
spiritual practitioner - how to let the energy in the music and the
moment move you in the body and the soul, and how to allow that opening
and surrender create powerful opportunities for spiritual exploration
and metaphysical practice. It was great to share the practices of
Shamans, Sufis, Tantrics and others that rely so heavily on dance to
experience a connection with something much more powerful than
ourselves, and to have such a receptive and plugged in audience. That
discussion on movement and connectivity continued into the workshop on
Flow Art, and I was very grateful to be able to join forces with Andrij
in delivering a presentation that combined philosophy, theory and
practice into a powerful learning experience for the attendees (who got
to learn how to spin contact staff while learning about to connect
spiritually while spinning).
I came into this event with as few
expectations as possible, and left moved and humbled at the people and
experiences that I had connected with. Its amazing to see how much
energy we raised together over the past weekend, and it was encouraging
to meet so many other people at Big Dub who are plugging into deeper
possibilities both during event and after they leave. I’m so grateful
to Big Dub’s organizers for having me, Vikas and Evolver DC for inviting
me and organizing my presentations, and the land at people at Four
Quarters Farm for their presence and support in hosting it.
Until next year,
Andrew Killilea
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