You’re invited to join the metaphysical preparation team as they pray to see the spiritual impetus and meaning behind both the 10 commandments and the 10 principles of Burning Man.
The first commandment is: Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (link)
The first principle of Burning Man is Radical Inclusion: Anyone may be part of Burning Man. We welcome and respect the stranger. No prerequisites exist for participation in our community. (link)
I’ve begun doing some preliminary reading about washing feet, per last night’s teleconference. I see a Wednesday night topic in the making!
Also, I really love this quote in relation to Burning Man:
“Cleanse every stain from this wanderer’s soiled garments, wipe the dust from his feet and the tears from his eyes, that you may behold the real man, the fellow-saint of a holy household,” ‘Retrospection and Introspection,’ by Mary Baker Eddy (Pg. 86).
The playa is our ‘holy household’ for the week, filled with fellow-saints! And again, when you read the passage in context, it is clear that this cleansing starts with one’s self.
This poem made me think about what it might be like to walk into our Burning Man camp, then to participate and experience our camp’s expression of church and Reading Room. I especially like the idea of washing “feet and thoughts,” and knowing that we start with our own! Do you see anything else in this poem that you can relate to our camp? -Nancy
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Walking into a church
By BARBARA COOK
From the March 1983 issue of The Christian Science Journal
should be like walking into a manger,
not a hall of judgment—
a place so shorn of self-righteousness,
so free of all reproach,
that the hungering heart will feel no
shame, no awkward fear,
no insecurity.
Sitting in a church
should be like sitting in a field of sunlight—
comfortable and warm—
while Love’s sweet air is bearing
fragrances of Christ’s simplicity.
Experiencing church should be like walking through* a stream,
where Christly ministrations
wash your feet and thoughts
and make you clean.
Oh, yes—I know how I expect my
church to feel ….
Dear Father-Mother, teach me
now the way to make it real.
BARBARA COOK
* A correction was made in the February 1985 German Herold and the March 1986 French Heraut, in which this poem was reprinted and translated: “wading in” was changed to “walking through”.
http://journal.christianscience.com/issues/1983/3/101-3/walking-into-a-church
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