My parents won't let me go.

I dunno man I see everyones point for wanting to protect this "INOCENT LITTLE GIRL" But at what point do we protect them too much? We keep'em locked in a closet till 18, then they are released into the world clueless. I mean for god sakes No more merry go rounds they could get hurt, no more Big metal slides on playgrounds becse they get hot in the summer???? Shit man were turning our chirdren into a bunch of Pansy Nancys lol......


Mike...

 

Woodstock Child, you're so awsome!

You fearlessly yearn for life within a culture of death.

Running away from home and parents is the ultimate liberating Rainbow experience.

Once experienced, they can never take it away from you, and that experience will feed your soul forever.

I wish I was a teenager again, because no breath is ever so sweet as that first breath when you step out that front door into the fresh air of freedom for the first time.

Better to live a single hour in that freedom than a thousand years as a slave to your fears.

Your biggest problem is getting from El Paso to the Nationals in Colorado.

Once there, you can plug-in and camp with almost any kitchen scene.

There are dozens of scenes there, and each one is its own unique scene with its own unique vibe, so experience as many as you can.

As a teenage girl you have a distinct advantage, because your female energy is highly valued, and adds significantly to the wholistic balance of every scene.

Moreover, your youthful idealism adds beauty to the experience of everyone around you.

In addition, as a teenage girl, the tendency of most is to want to look-out for you.

That's the real double-edged sword, because just like the concerns voiced here, in their concerns they will try to get you to conform to their own fears, rather than support you following your own unique spirit-path.

The indigenous peoples of this land did not see children as nuclear extentions of property ownership or extentions of their own Ego, rather they saw each child as being here to experience their own individual destiny and to fulfill their own unique spirit path wherever that path leads.

The Rainbow Gathering has always been highly inspired by the native indigenous peoples, and the untamed wild idea of the natural spontaneous perfection of life.

When you get to the gathering, don't fear the parking-lot and its wild alcohol spirit.

The parking-lot is a gauntlet to test your courage.

You must become fearlessly ONE with that gauntlet before you will ever be able to pass through and enter and experience the deepest heart of the gathering.

Not everyone can leave the cozy comfy bourgeois coffin of america's sterile suburban graveyards and still possess the ability to walk their Zen in the wild-ness.

Like many others, you may fail as well, but you'll never know untill you try.

 

m6m... yes yes digging your words

"Once experienced, they can never take it away from you, and that experience will feed your soul forever."

I was 16 and hitchhiked from Idaho to Wyoming in 94 for my first gathering, ran away? maybe I dunno I returned, but that expierence has changed my life forever and is why I'm sitting here right now typing this, it is why I still go to gatherings... It is why I am....



Mike...

 

This isn't the 60s anymore. There are laws against this being highly reinforced in todays society. I really wouldn't advise a teenager to run away, if anything happens to her they could hold you partially responsible.

This has nothing to do with fear, it has to do with the evident and undeniable reality of things.

 

Thank you, Wax. I am all about personal enlightenment and journeys in one's life. HOWEVER, I also know what it's like to be a young woman going to a gathering...

It's not necessarily SAFE to be alone! There are lots of gutterpunks and those CLAIMING to be Rainbows who are just itching to get into some young girl's pants. They claim to want to be NICE and to HELP you...only to betray you and do things you don't want done to you. This happens in kitchens more than anyone really wants to admit...people that you supposedly KNOW and TRUST.

Like the above poster said: This isn't the 60's. Times have changed. I don't think any woman coming in this forum would SUGGEST you run away and go to the gathering ALONE. That's just asking for trouble.

 

This is Cinnamon and there are a couple of points I'd like to go over.

First, harboring a runaway can mean serious trouble for a kitchen; luckily runaways & throw aways (kids whose parents just don't care) usually claim to be older.

Second, running away is dangerous; especially for a girl; even more knowing that Woodstock Child would be coming out of Texas. I was raped in TX as a teenage runaway & that was way back in the late 70's.

WoodstockChild, you would have a better experience at Rainbow if you went with people who were already familiar with Rainbow. It is a far different world than the one you are used to & while there are many good things about Rainbow, a positive light will always draw those who seek to feed from the light rather than grown and add to the light.

 

"This has nothing to do with fear, it has to do with the evident and undeniable reality of things." which is your fear????

lets say that one more time, "the evident and undeniable reality of things." the undeniable reality of.......... rainbows and puppy dogs????? nope, I think were talking about ***dangers***FEAR

It IS about your fear and everyones fear, the media has pumped our society so full of this "be afraid crap" that we now treat everything as a razor toothed monster thats going to kill us.. Its stupid.. be a free thinker/do'er and not the scardy cat the gov. and media want you to be.....

Watch Out, Be afraid, Everythings trying to kill and rape the children........... Ohh no

Soon wiping your own ass will be dangerours and we'll have to hire a goverment agency to keep that danger in check as well....


Mike....

 

If you were a woman, you'd understand.

 

Cinnamon, I was writing my post as you were writing and did not see your ordeal in Texas, I was not using that to jump off of.... I'm sorry for your exp... but at what point is being SOOOOO safe that it restricts peoples rights as a human being???


Mike...

 

She's a minor...unfortunately, she has no rights.

Not that I agree with that...it's just a fact.

 

Your a good girl, listen to the government, do what they say, they will give you rights when they say your allowed... dont worry we'll do the thinking for you......Your number is XXX-XX-XXXX Have a nice day,

USA....

 

Amen! That's exactly the case.Finally someone understands. I'm not a small child; I'm 15 years old. If someone jumped off a bridge I wouldn't jump after them. I am not helpless, I am not ignorant, and I'm most certainly not gullible. My family allows me no freedom so there wold be no guilt in running away. I've been considering the possibility of hopping a bus for a few months now. I want to be a part of this years Rainbow Gathering so badly. My heart leapt for joy when I first heard about it, when reading the article about hippies on Wikipedia. I clicked the link. I felt a resurgance of hope, that there were people like me with the same concerns and ideals; the spirit of Woodstock had not died. The only problem was getting there, and I'm getting more and more anxious as the Gathering draws nearer. How am I going to get there? I'll do what it takes. I have to be there. Any consequences such as grounding will have no effect on me once I have had that experience, because I will have enough the memory and power of that experience to get me through anything. Soul food.

 

LOL

Another 15 year old who thinks they know everything!

Good luck...you're gonna need it.

 

I never said I knew everything, I just said that I have common sense enough not to be lured by a kidnapper.

 

Enjoy the ride I have..... And I'm still alive to tell the tale with all my fingers and toes lol..... Think I'll go running with scissors tonight.... Oh, I'm living on the edge....


Mike...

 

It's not "kidnappers" we're worried about for you. It's rapists and molestors.

There are plenty of those in the Rainbow world. Most will be bigger and stronger than you...and threaten you if you tell anyone. And if you plan on taking drugs, it makes it even more dangerous for you...

Believe what you want...but what some of us have told you in here is the truth.

 

Rock on.

 

I think anything we say is most likely to be ignored. And this 30 year old guy recommending she go? It's hopeless. Things like this have the potential to really hurt us. I wish we could make her understand that....

People are always telling me the rainbow is a bunch of runaways and addicts... and I remember very clearly someone on this site saying it was nothing but 15 year olds having babies.

I know that's not true, but runaways don't help.

If you run away, you will feel incredibly stupid (I did, like you would not believe). And when you're a parent who knows what karma that could bring you. You were well warned. If you were older, or had children, you'd understand.

The fact you're so sheltered does make it worse. I am going to try to find some links for you about things going on within Texas for you to go. I am sure I can find them, if I can find them in rural Virginia. It would be best for you to start local, and go from there as years come.

Of course, you'll probably do as you wish, and fate will work as IT wishes.

It's funny to me to imagine 15 year olds walking around rainbow and saying flower power....

One thing about a gathering, it will definately shatter your image of a hippie.

 

LOL Ain't that the truth!

 

Here ya go Woodstock. I spent about 10 minutes finding all this, so there is lots out there if you look. Often we never see the small things, right in front of us.


First off.. straight off Welcomehome.org:

Austin, Texas
Austin Area Regional Rainbow Family (AARRF) has been having Potluck/Drum Jams on the 1st (and occasionally 3rd) Sunday of each month in Zilker park, at the Sunken Gardens, on Robert E. Lee (street), down the hill between the baseball diamonds.They usually go from LATE rainbow noon-thirty till after dark. Although dogs are supposed to be on leashes (warning tickets have been given!), food is preferred to be veggie, Drums/Percussion is the supposed norm, AND there are "NO WADING OR SWIMMING" signs posted below the "designated" swimming area..........ALL BETS ARE OFF!... as well as a lot of shirts (at least this IS legal in Austin!)

Dallas, Texas
1st Sunday Rainbow Potluck. It's still being held under the live oak trees at the Bath House, White Rock Lake on East Lawther Drive. Hours: Central Time, 3 PM to sunset; Daylight Savings Time, 5 PM to sunset. Call 214.824.2038 for info or call the Drum Hotline at (214) 823-DRUM for more details, or to leave a message. Email question to happy@drums.org, or check out the Texas Drum web site.

East Texas
Every Sunday at 4pm. East Texas Rainbow, c/o Songbird, POBox 115, Martinsville, TX 75958-0015. (409) 560-3925.
Nacogdoches, Texas
Potluck every Sunday 3:00pm til ? Hippie Church; 3-day flop; love, music & Spirit. Contact: The Little White Shack of America (East Texas Family Focalizer) 3029 Woden Road, Nacogdoches, TX 75961.

Dallas Drum Hotline 214.823.DRUM

A local health food store.. useful for local fliers on events/politics/get togethers/meeting friends and cool people who work there/etc

Wild Oats Market (Sun Harvest Farms)
6100 N Mesa St (at Balboa) (79912)
915-833-3380
Deli, organic produce, vitamins, and more. Open daily.​

Some more links:
Vegetarian Society of El Paso-
http://utminers.utep.edu/vsep/

This most likely sucks and could be geared towards tourists but I'll throw it in:
http://www.epscene.com/

This looks useful ...
Texas: Circles, Festivals, Events & Workshops...
http://www.witchvox.com/vn/ev/ustx_ev.html

This one seems awesome, and I see a link to a festival here:
http://www.drums.org/TexasDrums/