tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399877936514540109.post8235942232203149365..comments2023-07-18T02:10:03.815-07:00Comments on Oregon Gathering 2017: What is it like when the Forest Service tries to shut us down?Karinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07831465491190114255noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399877936514540109.post-25580412192087740322017-06-24T15:59:22.897-07:002017-06-24T15:59:22.897-07:00Educate yourself on the meaning of the word "...Educate yourself on the meaning of the word "meek"Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11499139835172519054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399877936514540109.post-5825939037457133842017-06-24T15:59:12.073-07:002017-06-24T15:59:12.073-07:00Educate yourself on the meaning of the word "...Educate yourself on the meaning of the word "meek"Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11499139835172519054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399877936514540109.post-14467133601221026152017-05-30T12:17:28.213-07:002017-05-30T12:17:28.213-07:00I assert that the process of circle at rainbow gat...I assert that the process of circle at rainbow gatherings is more like therapeutic counsel geared toward learning how each person can better choose to cooperate than making enforceable decisions of what people must do whether they agree or not in order to stay out of trouble. I further assert that just as this egalitarian way of learning to cooperate was such a central part of the spiritual ways of early Christians, that it is also a central factor of why so many people experience some sense of spiritual enlightenment associated with participation in rainbow gatherings because we are thrust into a situation where we have to find more compassionate less coercive ways of communicating if we are to achieve cooperation.<br /><br />Karin's description of the spring counsel circle process accurately describes this autonomous nature of the process when she notes that a site is not always concensed to by silence or any formal process, but rather sometimes by the exodus of people "voting with their feet" to the most likely site. I will add that there are also assemblies of autonomous individuals who choose not to gather at the site where most people go and instead observe rainbow customs at this time in a different place because they don't agree with the region, the specific site, don't like large assemblies, or just don't have the gas money or time to travel--and this might be only a few or several thousand people. These individuals might consider the wisdom of the counseling process either by being there in person and listening or by reading reports of the spring counsel (or other counsel) but they exercise their freedom to choose without fear they will be excommunicated from the congregation or suffer some penalty for noncompliance with a perceived "decision" of some "council". <br /><br />As an attorney who has paid careful attention to a lot of the judicial drama as well as drama in the field, I think that this fact of "counsel" is the most important fact to establish in our hearts and in the courts to realize the extraordinary protection of religious exercise that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act might provide for rainbow gatherings--but that is a rap for another blog. Suffice it to say that it takes a lot of love to cooperate without coercion, and in my opinion that is the evolutionary message of salvation to the world that rainbow gatherings demonstrate.<br /><br />Tony Nenninger aka Goodwater Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18171004620251653222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399877936514540109.post-20054918694637692362017-05-30T12:12:57.820-07:002017-05-30T12:12:57.820-07:00Karin's description here of what it is like wh...Karin's description here of what it is like when USFS tries to shut down rainbow gatherings and her description in the separate link about how we choose where to gather can be really helpful information to understanding the difference between counseling and counciling. These are two divergent concepts that make all the difference in the world to understanding the basis for the legal disputes and harassment regarding the USFS requirement that someone sign a "group" use permit application whenever over 75 people assemble on USFS land. <br /><br />I agree there is a legitimate argument that if there is such a process as "council" in rainbow gatherings that it indicates there is in fact some recognized process of making a collective decision on behalf of the "group", and by logical extension if that collective authority is capable of making any decision on behalf of the "group" such as designating where a gathering site is then that same collective authority is capable of designating an agent to sign a permit application on behalf of the "group". <br /><br />The reality though is that there are not "councils" with any collective authority for any "group" in rainbow gatherings because even when agreement to any idea is recognized by a period of silence in an open forum of people counseling on the land, there is no enforcement mechanism--it is just a "circle" of people communicating with each other and others who respect the wisdom that often comes out of this process--not a "group". It might seem like meaningless word games, and it is if we don't take the distinct definitions of "council" and "counsel" to heart in the ways that we feel and behave. In my opinion, understanding the meaning of the difference between these two words, even if a person never uses either of those words in this context, is essential to understanding one of the most important aspects of nonviolence that makes rainbow gatherings distinct from any other gatherings. There is a huge dictionary of the English language that is something like 28 books the size of a normal collegiate dictionary in fine print. Studying the roots of the two words in this dictionary (I think it's called the unabridged Oxford Dictionary) can illuminate why it is important for our liberty to stop talking and acting like people at rainbow gatherings are "counciling" and realize we are "counseling". The two words have the same root of counsel describing the means by which early Christians learned to cooperate by sharing perspectives as equals. However, as part of the Roman Empire's efforts to subvert the egalitarian Christians who were resistant to the violent coercion to assimilate into the authoritarian confines of the police state, the state began to find "treaty chiefs" (a comparison to Native Americans willing to sell out their traditions to make peace)who were willing to organize "councils" that would make authoritative decisions on behalf of their congregation in exchange for the police state agreeing to stop violence against those congregations that agreed to organize an authoritarian body (that should sound like a familiar theme to those who have danced through the rough rainbow years Karin describes). Thus, over a period of a few hundred years, the two terms took on different spellings and meanings to reflect what we still today think of as the authoritarian power of a church "council" to excommunicate or a city "council" to make enforceable ordinances as compared with the voluntary cooperation we associate with therapeutic "counsel" or the friendly advice of a trusted friend. <br /><br /><br />to be continued ... <br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18171004620251653222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399877936514540109.post-60249531516866951512017-05-27T21:25:09.921-07:002017-05-27T21:25:09.921-07:00tho I have heard many reports about how the dirty ...tho I have heard many reports about how the dirty kids are troublemakers and dangerous hoodlums the fact is that I have always had good relations with them... I show Respect and expect Respect and I get Respect back from everybody. The ONLY exception to that is the disRespect that is directed towards all of we Gatherers from SOME of the gun toting badge-guys. Here is my take on that. I have done and will always cooperate to the best of my ability with the foresters. I do my best to have no discourse whatsoever with anybody who is wearing a gun or who rides a horse through the waters where we swim and where children especially congregate or use the water... If officers or tourists RIDE horses through kid village and through our encampments without protecting We the People from the horseshit they are threatening the health of the people and thus they are committing a crime. I love critters of all sorts but my first and foremost responsibility will always be the health and safety of the children and the mothers... if a guntoter comes at anybody ferociously the ONLY response has to be to sit down and remain totally silent except to give your legal name until u are ticketed or booked in. do not think you can change their minds or talk them into or out of anything. again, if they treat us with Respect we give it back to them by the bushel-load and if they show disRespect we be as neutral and UNrespectful (not DISrespectful) as possible right back. compromise with fascism is collusion. discussion that is not a two way avenue of Respect is a waste of time. they get paid to waste their time and ours, we do not so why get caught up in it?Gypsie Cowboyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13092682951476778946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399877936514540109.post-90215829138762037862017-05-25T20:08:48.533-07:002017-05-25T20:08:48.533-07:00Peace is mere myth, especially with these kidsPeace is mere myth, especially with these kidskhaposenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06104169650182686227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399877936514540109.post-81189863890687684312017-05-18T22:02:19.522-07:002017-05-18T22:02:19.522-07:00Thank you!Thank you!Fontyart@yahoo.comnoreply@blogger.com