Getting Involved with Naked Heart
Having a Successful Burn
Things are heating up in Naked Heart. 300 people have applied to camp with us this year. Many of you are making plans, crafting your art and preparing your transformation. Fully half of you have never been to Burning Man before—Welcome!! You are in just the right place. Naked Heart is designed to be very welcoming and supporting for first time Burners.
I have been burning for 15 years and my most sage advice for how to have an amazing Burn is:
- Get involved before the Burn
- Get to playa as early as you can
- Gift profoundly
- Have no expectations
This newsletter will cover each of these in detail
Get involved before the Burn
The main reason to join a theme camp is for the people. Naked Heart brings together an amazing group of humans just like you. We are curious and loving and we are actively creating a different world. You can hit the ground running by meeting your tribe before you ever see the dust. The main ways this happens are:
- Get involved with the Vibe Team (details at the end of this newsletter)
- Participate in the Rose Temple (details below)
- Join a POD (details below)
- Attend Curious Hearts calls (details below)
- Take on a Leadership position (attend a Vibe Team call for details)
Each of these recommendations will put you in direct contact with other campers. You will have opportunities to work and share together. When you get to the playa you will already have a few firm fast friends.
Get to the Playa as Early as Possible
This is a big one. We are a very organized camp and we will have all our most important infrastructure set up by Thursday Aug 27. The Burner Express Bus begins running Friday Aug 28. When you take the bus, you can come in early without an early pass. Plane tickets are cheaper on Thursday and Friday. Now is the time many people are making air travel arrangements. Plan to come early. Note that the Friday bus ONLY leaves from Reno (not SF). Bus tickets go on sale May 13. There are only 2 Friday Busses: 2pm and 4 pm. You will want to get your tickets as soon as the sale opens.
If you are driving in you can come even earlier. We have plenty of early passes available. We accept early pass requests in June.
The reason coming early is so important is that you get to Arrive. You get settled, you get more assistance from veteran campers, you will learn the systems. By Sunday YOU will be a veteran camper and you will be on-boarding new arrivals!!
Gift Profoundly
This one gets a little spiritual. I do not mean that you should bring a bunch of Tchotchkes. Gifting is a frame of mind. It is an inversion of "What can I get, how can I get my needs met?" It is recognizing what is delightful in yourself and wanting others to have that experience. It is the consummate manifestation of gratitude for existence itself.
This may be hard to grok and that is OK. Just hang with the inquiry and it will come to you by the end of the Burn. If you want to strong-arm the process, I highly recommend that you give a workshop. I know that may sound daunting but Naked Heart is really good at helping you be successful here. There is a whole section of this newsletter that guides you in giving a workshop at Naked Heart
Have No Expectations
This is even more esoteric than "Gift Profoundly". We humans are bundles of unexamined expectations. The playa seems uniquely tailored to bitch slap us out of our unconscious slumber and make us aware of all our projections and entitled thoughts.
In Naked Heart, we frequently say "Expectations are nothing but pre-meditated resentments". Let that sink in. It may take a few months (years?) for the full force of it to blossom, but know that it has the power to re-make you.
Curious Hearts Calls (previously "Virtual Chill Dome")
Virtual Camp Community Calls… Curious Hearts: Ask, Meet, & Connect
We're excited to share that we are rebranding our Virtual Chilledome calls to something that better reflects the heart of these virtual gatherings: "Curious Hearts: Ask, Meet & Connect." This is a space for the entire Naked Heart community—whether you're brand new or a seasoned veteran.
In these video calls, we'll come together to ask questions, connect in community, and share wisdom. Whether you're seeking answers or offering insights from your own experience, this is where we foster community and support!
This year, we're adding something new: in each call, a veteran guest speaker will share their invaluable wisdom and insight around a specific topic that will make your time with NH even better!
The first Curious Hearts meeting (Sat April 18th) our veteran guest speaker will be going over tents and tent placement!
And note, regardless of whatever topic is being presented by a guest speaker, there will always be time and space for any other general questions or topics of discussion!
Here is the full schedule:
- Sat April 18th
- Sat May 16th
- Sat June 13th
- Sat June 27th
- Sat July 11th
- Sat July 25th
- Sat Aug 8th
- Sat Aug 22nd
You will log into the call using these credentials:
Tickets
You can't attend without a ticket. Most of us bought our tickets in the Stewards Sale. If you just joined us there is another sale coming up:
Main Sale: April 29 12 noon PST
To participate in this sale, you MUST pre-register. Registration opens April 20 noon PST at https://burningman.org/black-rock-city/ticketing-information/
Once you register, you will be sent all the information necessary to participate on the day of the sale. I highly recommend that you log into this sale at precisely noon on sale day. There is fierce competition for the cheapest tickets. If you spend more than $775 on a ticket they are almost impossible to sell in the resale market.
Membership—The Numbers
Last year was the biggest Naked Heart has ever been. We were at absolute capacity. This year interest is even larger. As of today 300 people have applied to camp with us. Not everyone has paid their Ante, but likely most will pay by May 15 when the rate goes up. What that means for you is that if you are sitting on the fence, don't wait until May 15 to pay. Pay today and lock in your slot.
There are also a fair number of you who listed friends who you expect will be camping with us. Those friends have not applied yet. If there is any chance for them to get a space at Naked Heart, they need to apply ASAP. Contact your friends by phone to let them know this is really important.
One very important reason to pay Ante soon is that you cannot reserve add-ons such as hexayurts, Shiftpods or bikes until you have paid Ante. Some of these things sell out VERY quickly and you will want to be ready to go when subscriptions open.
PODS
Pods are like a mini camp within Naked Heart. They are self-organizd groups of campers who have similar interests. In 2025 we had pods that spoke mandarin, built the camp, hosted the temple, delved into magic, etc. Some of those pods are back, some have not yet been proposed.
The Deep End Pod
We're here to create a space where connection, kink, and sexuality can be explored in real time, with presence, awareness, and a level of care that lets things be felt deeper. The Deep End invites experienced players, facilitators, and curious ones who care about doing this well. (This POD hosted the Dungeon last year).
On the playa at night, there's a layer of the city that doesn't always get explored. People are open, expressive, and lit up, but it can often stay on the surface. The moment deeper desire, tension, or curiosity comes online, it can get laughed off, bypassed, or flattened into something performative.
We're creating a space where it doesn't. A mix of facilitated moments and open space, where we can try something new and gain experience of our own hidden realms.
We'll offer this gift on Tuesday and Thursday nights, using two domes to build the experience together as a pod. Two desire domes, two different pulses. One more open and connective, where softness builds and spreads. The other darker, more intense, where layers shed and shadows comes to light. The courtyard stays as a place to land, reset, and tend to each other in between.
This is for people who want to go deeper than what's available in the default world. To explore desire, boundaries, and connection with presence. To experiment, to learn, and to be in your body in a way that's alive and active underneath the surface.
It's not for everyone. But if you've felt a gap between where you are and what you know is possible, you already know why you're here.
Let's play. E-mail Jessi to get involved: jessisheartheals@gmail.com
The Temple of the Rose Goddess Temple
For the last several years, there has been a sacred feminine offering at Naked Heart known as the Goddess Temple. This year it will be present in a new form!
The Goddess is the energy of life itself, immanent and within all beings. Whether you think of her as Mother Earth, Pachamama, Shakti, or the Divine Feminine, she is accessible and always here.
The Temple of the Rose is an offering where women can bring their own unique gifts and blessings, to be witnessed, expressed, and shared with others. It is for anyone that feels a calling to be a Priestess, anyone who has an urge to bring the divine feminine more into their own life and the lives of others. It is an experiment, a woven web, a co-creation.
The Temple is being brought forth to honor the sacred feminine, to embody it, to grow it within ourselves, to transmit it to others. It is to build community with other women who have this energy in their life already, and those that want to awaken it in themselves.
We will open the Temple 2-3 nights on the playa, and have many other opportunities to grow and learn with each other before hand.
If you feel moved to radical participation in the Temple this year or are curious to learn more, fill out this form:
Temple of the Rose Interest Form
Build Team Pod
Yes, The Build team is a POD. There is something profoundly bonding about working shoulder to shoulder for 8 days. There is a communion that can't be replicated in any other way. Additionally we are choosing to hold the flame of intention-setting for the entire camp.
The Build team is going to function very differently this year. A number of us will be gathering beginning August 13 in Eugene, OR. We will be learning the various infrastructure systems that our camp relies upon. We will have daily intention galvanizing sessions in our camp Tipi. We may even journey together. The last thing that we will do before we get on the road is to seal those intentions into the Tipi before we get on the road to Reno.
When we arrive on playa the very first thing that we will do is to erect the Tipi. The intentions and space that we reconnect with there will inform our work as we build the camp. Each morning and evening we will return to reconnect with the sacredness of the work that we will do that day.
In this our 13th year, Naked Heart will finally have a spiritual home. If you feel called to be a part of this effort, please register your interest on this form:
Dragon Pod
Mandarin speakers are welcome to join this Pod! This year we will be lucky enough to have a group from China joining us! But anyone who speaks mandarin will be welcome to join this thriving Pod. We will likely have some pre-playa meetups to prepare for the journey, and some on-playa sessions as well!
If you would like to join this Pod please fill out this form:
How to Create your Workshop— Teleclasses
Tutorial: http://nakedheartcamp.com/How_To_Create_a_Workshop.html
Upcoming teleclasses:
- April 25 5pm PST
- May 1 9 am PST
- May 10 1 pm PST
- May 13 5pm PST
Workshops
The most easily visible gift that Naked Heart provides on the Playa is our workshops. These are offerings crafted by our campmates. If you have camped with us before you have probably spoken with members who have led workshops and returned to camp glowing. Maybe that is what is inspiring you to lead a workshop this year.
Fully half of our camp roster this year has never camped with us. That means that half of you have no idea what I am talking about here. It occurred to me that I should create a new camp expectation. Here it is: If you haven't attended a "How to craft a Workshop Teleconference", please listen to this recording:
http://nakedheartcamp.com/images/NH%20Workshop%20teleconference.mp3
This is an important listen even if you never have any intention to lead a workshop. Our camp culture is our workshops. The way they are created is unique to Naked Heart and it is important to know the internal process that our workshop leaders have gone through to stand up and share this piece of themselves.
Each year about 25% of our workshops are led by people who have never led a workshop and have never been to Burning Man!! You can do this!
For Seasoned Workshop Leaders
If you are already leading workshops, especially if you do this as a livelihood, I need you to read this paragraph. The workshops that are created and led at Naked Heart are FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT from other workshop examples. It is tempting to take stock of some of your greatest offerings and pull one out of your bag to gift at Burning Man. That would be the easy thing to do but it completely sidesteps your own growth as a leader. There is an opportunity available here to completely re-think how workshops are developed. There is an opportunity to step beyond your comfort level and reach to the next plateau on your path. That is my challenge to you. Listen to the recording, attend the teleclass and re-imagine your process. My coaching to you is: "Lead the workshop that you do not dare lead in the default world".
If you already have your workshop constructed, you can submit it here:
https://forms.gle/qidUX3sYX1Mc4RMd6
The deadline for submissions is May 15th.
Inspiration
You may have missed it on our web site, but we have an inspirations page:
http://nakedheartcamp.com/Inspiration.html
The first 2 are my favorites, but everything there is a real gem. Someday I will make a Youtube playlist of all of them and you can just binge watch them in bed :) There is even a form at the end where you can add your own favorite links.
This is actually more important than it may initially seem. We are a camp with no geographical center. We don't all get together for dinner on weekends or have big work parties. The only two places we meet is here in cyberspace and on the playa. This collection of inspirations is our creation story, it is part of the narrative of what we are creating. It is a little like the directions to some IKEA flat-pack furniture; if you are skillful and diligent, you can figure it out, but it is a lot easier when you have the directions. This page is a resource for you to use and to co-create. The link you add this year may yield fruit 10 years from now. Give a gift to your future self.
These links are an incredible download and attunement for discovering the workshop that lurks inside waiting to be born.
Timeline (all times are Pacific Time)
- April 16 12pm Vibe Team meeting
- April 18 12 noon Curious Hearts: Ask, Meet, & Connect
- April 20 12pm to April 28, 12pm Main Sale registration period
- April 25 5pm PST Workshop Teleclass
- April 29 12pm Main Sale starts
- May 1 9 am PST Workshop Teleclass
- May 1 Yurt program reservations begin
- May 1 Bike reservations begin
- May 10 1 pm PST Workshop Teleclass
- May 13 5pm PST Workshop Teleclass
- May 13 12 noon Burner Express Bus Tickets open
- May 15 Deadline to submit workshops
- May 16 Noon Curious Hearts: Ask, Meet, & Connect
- May 16 Ante Increases to $1250-1550 Sliding
- June 15 last Day to request shipping of physical tickets
- June 19 Noon Curious Hearts: Ask, Meet, & Connect
- Late June Ticket delivery begins
- June 27 Noon Curious Hearts: Ask, Meet, & Connect
- July 16 Ante Increases to $1700-2000 Sliding
- July 11 Noon Curious Hearts: Ask, Meet, & Connect
- July 22 Ticket Assist must pay for Tickets (projected)
- July 25 Noon Curious Hearts: Ask, Meet, & Connect
- TBD STEP pauses / OMG Sale registration period / OMG Sale starts
- Aug 1 Ante Increases to $1900-2200 Sliding
- Aug 8 Noon Curious Hearts: Ask, Meet, & Connect
- Aug 13 Build Team Rendezvous in Oregon
- Aug 22 Noon Curious Hearts: Ask, Meet, & Connect
- Aug 23 Arrive in Reno; dinner at 4 pm
- Aug 30 gates open!!
VIBE Team
The next Vibe Team meeting is Thursday May 16, Noon-1:30pm PST.
Dream of building Naked Heart from the inside out? One of the best ways to do that is to join the Vibe Team! We're in charge of building the camp's soft structures (not the physical ones). And we need your help!
The general Vibe Team oversees all the Sub Teams, but the Sub Teams are where the real magic happens! Each team is led by one person, who gets all their gift shifts (work shifts) covered for taking this role.
We are currently calling in all Leads to start managing the work! Each team Lead is in charge of a specific list of tasks, and can add more if they choose. If you're ready to join the integrated work of bringing the Naked Heart gift to Playa, email Lona now at:
We most need a Gift Shift Coordinator, Kitchen Coordinator, and Workshop Coordinator, but other roles are available too. Check out all the roles here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1weeMJJbK2zlJgPLiX2YDu4vCyukXzdtQVE8l7dq_MmY/edit?usp=sharing
And if you want to know more about what the Vibe Team is and some FAQ's then check out our intro page here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GBtyAF8HDhv2m_P-14CwtCYtyAwJnMqUIAhmeHD6_YE/edit?usp=sharing
To join the Vibe Team and get added to our separate email list fill out this form:
—David