A place, around three-days travel from Katmandu, five hours in a cramped jeep up the mountains along something that can barely be called a road, crossing rivers so deep the water gets into the loading deck of the jeep, all topped up with an hour and a half hike over wonky rocks to get to a little piece of heaven on this earth. We arrive with the last bit of daylight and can vaguely make out some tents here and there, fires are burning in some of the camps and music sounds from somewhere. All throughout the meadow little rivers and streams meander, creating a labyrinth of swamped areas and dry patches. A spot to put the tent for the first night on the main area is quickly found, drained from the travel, and overwhelmed by happiness of arriving in this longed-for community we find the nearest fire to get some tea. Mom camp takes us in and lets us settle in with hot tea, pipes, and the deep sounds of a Didgeridoo, then we can not stay awake for the second food circle and get some sleep. Only the next morning we can comprehend the beauty of this place and get into the full vibe of the rainbow love. Still in the tent appreciating the early morning sun a dear brother we had get to know in Morocco sleepily walks past and I already feel home before settling by the main fire for my arrival meditation. This place, the scouts chose for the gathering, is truly incredible and of rare beauty, Nepal is surely known for its beautiful nature but close to no tourists will have visited this place and it just feels protected and pristine- perfect to accommodate an alternative living gathering. To the north and east jungle crawls down the high mountains alongside the main camps, we came up from the south passing thick forest and two large lakes, and to the west the swamp and river intertwining maximises leaving only one fairly dry path to get through to the lower levels and another stunning, gleaming meadow surrounded by forest and mountains on three sides. There is warming sunshine in the mornings and my daily baths in the stream near to our camp side, there are countless cups of tea going around, there are countless levels of shared conversation, there are six wild horses blazing through the camps or grazing in the far meadow, there are millions of stars in the clear night skies, there is a little market by the locals for pirating some breakfast and luxury snacks, there is baba-camp, French-camp and the most homy princess camp family, there is food circle calls traveling through the meadow, there are workshops and shillum circles, there is always something to do, there are always hugs to share, there is abundance. While everyone on this sacred ground is family and never shy to express that, we found the closest connections in our very own princess camp that will travel with us far beyond country borders and the original group, spreading love all around.
We made camp in between the trees sheltering us from the sun in the mornings and the humidity at night, the comfortable double hammock provides a private hang out place for some space to be in my own energy which is sometimes needed, to take in and process all the energies provided by the family. This rainbow is big, numerus camps spread out through the meadows and so many people are keen to share their lessons and love organising everything from woman-circles over mantra singing, Kambo information sharing, to a temascal being build and celebrated, on top of that there is always help needed to get fire wood and cook the food so that it is hard to do all the things you want, especially when you keep getting overtaken by conversations and music making. To step back into this alternate reality fills me with faith in the possibility of communal living. Of course, people are not free of their demons in a place like this but when a brothers backpack got mistakenly put into the give-away area and hungry hippies take what is there, the family comes together quickly returning his belongings and generating funds to level out the greediness shown by a few struggling members, than that’s what family is and here we care for each other. If there is a sister by the market running out of change to buy an apple a brother jumps in and gets the biggest smile and appreciation back for it. New arrivals are lovingly embraced with a “welcome home” and many hugs when they walk into the space and people putting on their pack and wondering back out into the world are sent off with countless we love you shouts and see you in five promises. The magic is hard to describe to anyone who has never encountered it and unforgettable for those who did. I could go on and on about the sharing and caring that is happening here and you can not see the shining eyes I share those thoughts with. For me working currently on a book about the human nature and future it is a rich source for thoughts about our ability to create a society that is in fact able to look past the ego of our opposing human beings, that celebrates love and connection rather than acting out of fear for loosing their own comfort and security. When I just opened up my heart and soul to a stranger and got compassion and trueful conversations, leaving the connection with the feeling of being loved and appreciated for my struggles, it makes the hate and fight going around in the world seem so ridiculous and overcomeable.
