I arrived at the site of NeoTribal The Gathering by 8am. Later that morning, two women arrived and set up right the fuck next to me. The weird part is that they didn’t talk to me, didn’t say hello, much less we realize we are way closer to you than is normal or polite, but we are trying to utilize the shade, or whatever their reasoning was. They just set up their sleeping tent right next to my tent and went on with their lives.

The second thing they did to piss me off was tie a bag of trash to the leg of my pop up tent, again with no communication. At some point I moved my canvas bags I had stored in that corner and found a grocery store bag of trash tied there. I didn’t tie the bag of trash there, and I doubt someone walked over from some other area to tie on that bag of trash.  Who thinks it’s ok to tie trash to the tent of someone they’ve never even spoken to? Who does that?

I heard through the grapevine that the older (in her mid to late 60s) of the two women was a Native American Shaman and a Reiki Master. People were saying her name as if she were someone really special. I don’t think she was special enough to be allowed to tie her trash wherever she wanted. But maybe the other woman was the trash bag lady.

The second woman was younger, probably in her 40s, and was selling orgonite pieces that she and a relative had made.

If you don’t know what orgonite pieces are, don’t feel bad. I’d never heard of them until Sweet L gave me one during our Autumn 2012 Tour. According to http://www.soul-guidance.com/orgonite/#What%20is%20orgonite,

Orgonite is a mixture of catalyzed fiberglass resin with metal shavings, particles or powders, poured into molds. It is said to attract aetheric energy similarly to Reich’s accumulators. Some people also add a couple of crystals to the mixture for their ability to make the energy more coherent or to enhance the working the the orgonite. Thus orgonite basically is a substance which functions as a self-driven, continuously-operating, highly efficient energy transmutation device, drawing in negative life energy and transmuting it into positive energy. The resin in orgonite shrinks during the curing process, permanently squeezing the quartz crystal inside which creates a well-known piezoelectric effect inside the crystal, meaning its end-points become polarized electrically, this apparently causes it to function more effectively as a positive energy generator. Although crystals improve the function of orgonite, they are not necessary for the orgonite to work.

     Anyone can build these devices with easy to find materials. Orgonite is simply a mix (approx. 50/50 ratio) of metal and resin (polyester, urethane or epoxy). It can be poured into all kinds of shapes: pyramids, cones, disks, cylinders and pendants, to name a few. Some people use it to combat pollution and cell tower radiation. Others use it for clearing or purifying energies in their houses, or to enhance the growth of plants in their garden. It seems to work also really well in various kinds of  spiritual healing work. Energy sensitive people have given me various comments on how orgonite affected them. They have shown me that it really does work. You can also interact with it and use it for specific purposes.

I overheard the orgonite woman telling a potential customer that she was “a money magnet.” How nice for you, I said in my head in a snarky tone of thought. Who says that? Ok, a Wall Street tycoon, maybe. Who says that at a spiritual and healing gathering?

The third thing they did to piss me off was to hang out in the tiny area between my tent and theirs late into the night (and I don’t mean at 8:30) on Saturday. Couldn’t they have hung out on the other side of their tent? Couldn’t they have hung out at someone else’s tent? They weren’t being rowdy, but there was talking, and it did disturb me.

The older woman considered herself an intuitive healer, I guess, because she was doing tarot card readings throughout the weekend. She didn’t seem to realize (or maybe she just didn’t care) that she had her table parked so close to my tent that not only was there no space to walk between the two, but I could hear every word she and her client were saying. So much for privacy.

The first thing I overheard that I thought was worth writing down was a client saying that when she dances, “I’m trying to tap into the life force of the universe.” I’m going to keep my comments about that one to myself, because when the woman uttered those words, she probably did not realize that there was a snarky blogger in the tent next door hearing (and possibly noting) every word she said. (Although as close as her intuitive healer had her sitting to that tent, she probably should have thought to whisper.)

The second thing I overheard (and then pulled out my notebook and wrote down verbatim) was something the “healer” said to a different client. The client was very upset, crying, seemed to feel as if she had no real path in life, was just kind of stumbling around from one adventure to another. (I can relate, honey, I really can.) The woman also seemed to be feeling and taking on a lot of pain from other spirits and wanting to help those others heal. (I can relate to that too.) In addition to whatever else the “healer” said (I swear, I was not sitting there trying to listen), what I heard her clearly tell the client was “Release all concepts that you should be anything but what you are.”

Really? All concepts? I get accepting oneself as one is. I get forgiving oneself for what one has done in the past. But releasing ALL concepts that one should be ANYTHING but what one is? That seems like a little much.

I mean, should murders, rapists, and Dick Chaney release all concepts that they should be anything but what they are? Should I just accept that sometimes I am a snarky asshole and never try to do better? (Perhaps my father long ago released all concepts that he should be anything but what his is…which is a guy who thinks he’s funny when he makes jokes at other people’s expense. He is, in fact, an asshole.)

Shouldn’t we want to be better than who we are at the moment? Shouldn’t we want to be kinder, more loving, more compassionate? Maybe the Dalai Lam gets to release the concept that he should be anything but what he is, but the rest of us? I don’t know. I’m skeptical that it’s a good idea for the rest of us.

The way I know I should be something other than what I am? When I left the gathering, I untied that bag of trash from my tent tent leg and left it in front of the neighbor’s tent. It was childish, I know. A mature person would have just walked it over to a trash can. A better person would not have held a grudge. Next time I’m faced with a similar situation, I’ll work on being something different from what I actually am.