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28th of August 2008 - Return to Burning Man, Day 4

If you want to learn more about the philosophy and background to Burning Man, a good start is the Burning Man Myths page, written by the event's founder Larry Harvey to help journalists write informed stories. It debunks a number of popular myths about Burning Man and then presents some alternative metaphors and ideas on how to define the event. And it features the BM Phrase Generator, which is slightly less serious but very entertaining.

I get back to Center Camp to find Santi back at his barber's chair and in fine mood, accompanied by several other members of the Camp of Doom. I soon feel at home in this group of slightly crazy, outspoken and theatrical individuals. I tell Santi and Bex that I've been thinking of folding my camp in the walk-in and moving my gear closer to Center Camp, just being mobile and sleeping in the chillout areas. They tell me I can just sling my stuff under the trailer at Camp of Doom.

As the night wears on and the cold sets in again, I fetch my sleeping bag and several of us bed down on the floor between the benches. A cute, chubby girl called Cassandra with a dreamy poetic manner and intricate fairy facepaint asks if she can join me under my sleeping bag duvet, and we snuggle up together in companionable warmth and sleep a few hours before dawn.

Awake and sipping my first cup of chai of the day I peruse the events guide, feeling suddenly like I want to fill this day up with activity. The city is reaching its peak of activity now and there are almost three hundred one-off events today alone, as well as maybe a hundred which have been running all week.

In the end I start the day with my first professional full massage treatment, which is wonderfully relaxing and invigorating. Then I head for Poly Paradise, a camp which runs a number of workshops themed around polyamory but also more general classes on human relations, emotional connection and communication. Today they have a class called Heart of Now, which from the guide appears to be about being in the moment, something I really feel I need to learn more about.

In fact the workshop is focussed on intimacy, and turns out to be revelatory and very rewarding, and perfectly in line with where I am this morning. It's led by Keith and Lily, a very sweet and gentle couple who immediately create an atmosphere of safety and openness. After the usual introductions we (a sizeable group, by the time we get started) are paired off at random, male and female intermixed freely, and given a series of exercises, mostly in the form of question and answer or expression of feelings.

Initially it seems hokey, very quickly I'm struck by how powerful the right questions, asked with feeling and eye contact, can be in forming a very intimate connection. Sometimes we are asked to hold hands, sometimes we just sit face to face. We switch partners for each exercise. The most powerful exercise, in which for ten minutes the questioner merely asks "What brings you joy?", waits for an answer then says "Thankyou" and asks again, stuns me with the depth of feeling it brings out.

Without changing the question, it causes you to keep following down trains of thought, digging deeper into your own feelings and bringing out all kinds of honesty I would never have expected just out of the need to have another answer. I come away from each interaction, whether I was questioner or answerer, feeling like I've made a deep and lasting personal connection to the person I've been working with. We separate after each exercise with shy smiles and shining eyes, and when everybody hugs each other goodbye at the end of the workshop it's like old friends or even lovers parting.

I walk back to Center Camp with a woman called Laura, small and slim with huge eyes and dark hair, with whom I've found a particularly strong connection. We're still in that strange intimate zone and enjoying exploring it, describing our feelings as we move in and out of different levels of communication, breaking off at random points to experiment "Okay, now it feels like we've gotten onto everyday conversation again...what changed?". She introduces me to her friends and we talk for an hour or so, and separate with no particular intention to meet up again but a real feeling that we've discovered something new and grown together.

In the afternoon I explore some of the backstreets of the city, but find myself flagging badly midafternoon in the heat however much water I drink. Fortunately I happen upon a camp with a broad shade structure filled with artificial plants and trees, three misting arches and a ready supply of fruit juices (I'm still sticking with my goal of not drinking alcohol this week, apart from a couple of shots on the Santa Rampage, and I've been much happier for it), and a crowd of interesting people to chat with for a couple of relaxing hours.

Finally, with the last of my strength in the blazing heat, I pack up my camp in the walk-in and move it all under the Camp of Doom's trailer. This is the perfect setup, putting my water, clothes and wash kit within easy reach of everything I want to see. I spend a couple of hours recovering and rehydrating in the Camp of Doom's shade structure - any kind of exertion in this heat risks serious dehydration and drains all of one's energy.

In the evening, shortly after the sun finally goes down, I walk out along the Esplanade to the Red Nose District big top for Cirque Berzerk, one of Burning Man's most popular and returning performances.

BM Note: The Esplanade is the road which runs along the front of the city, ringing the open playa. On one side is open desert dotted with art, on the other are the camps of the city's inner circle. Many of the most interesting camps are set up along the Esplanade, including Deathguild's working replica Thunderdome, the demented performance engineers at Gigsville (who, a couple of years ago, built a catapult which threw burning pianos a substantial distance), Save the Man (who every year protest the burn with signs like "Fire is Hot!" and "Heat is Murder!"), Tribal Thunder's drum camp and the huge dance venue at 2:00, Opulent Temple.

The crowd under the big top is already large and swells to epic proportions by the time the performance begins. Cirque Berzerk combine performance art, dance, fire play and acrobatics with a grungy gothic style. This particular show is supposed to tell the story of Orpheus in the underworld, but the hoarse-voiced and dreadlocked ringmaster explains that their female lead performer wussed out on coming to the desert and they weren't allowed to bring the donkey which was, for some reason, essential to the plot, so certain important scenes are missing. He narrates these scenes instead in a fairly half-hearted way; "And then they kiss, blah blah blah yada yada yada, now some more fire".

Regardless of the plot the acts are exceptional, featuring rope dancers, a massive five-person trapeze, a dance number by Italian-suited drones juggling briefcases, and a climactic fire-dancing display with one performer spinning fire poi while swinging from a trapeze by his heels.

A few highlights for Thursday from the Black Rock City Events Guide:

12:00pm: Cat Show & Tell, Comfort & Joy camp. "Playa blues got you down? Missing your feline friend? Come share what makes your cat the most special cat in the whole entire universe."

1:00pm: DP for Lovers, ...and then there's only LOVE camp. "Open discussion and Q&A exploring double penetration in your sex life."

6:00pm: Graffiti Nite, Lazy-Ass Fuckers camp. "Wear white or nothing at all. Come be covered in personal graffiti from head to toe by burners! While drunk and glowing in the dark!"

7:30pm: Ask the Monkey, Tissue and a Plan camp. "Don't every underestimate the knowledge and experience of a monkey. Or someone in a monkey suit."

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