Timeline

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Your Seat of Power

In our application, we have the following question:

Those are some powerful words. They are an invitation to YOU. They are calling out your feral, primal self. They are asking you WHAT DO YOU WANT?!

Let that sink in. There are 3 important words there:

What · You · Want

Are you in touch with each of those words? Do you know what you mean when you utter them? Are you prepared to make a stand for their MEANING?

Are you aware of the power that is available to you in your Words? Your Intentions? Your Desires? When I suggested that you print these out and post them on your fridge, that was not simply me being silly. I would have suggested that you put them on your altar but I didn't want to weird anyone out.

Naked Heart is about agency. So much of the rest of the world seems to want to limit our choices, to deprive us of power. At Naked Heart we seek to empower your choices, your agency. But to fully go there, you must face the question

WHAT DO YOU WANT?!

I cannot answer that question for you, that is your work. But I will say this: Whatever you find as an answer to that question… Give it as your gift.

If you want greater understanding… give greater understanding. If you want more love… give more love. If you want healing… give healing. Above all, announce it. Be loud and proud about what you want for yourself and all of humanity.

I have a story to tell. Last year I had the idea that Naked Heart needed a song. I imagined something that we all knew, that we could sing to each other while we worked. I imagined it being like a mating call on deep playa, a way we could find each other in crowds. I asked a friend to write one for us. She did, and then she taught it to our build crew. We sang it every morning in our Tipi and now we have a song. It was as amazing as I had hoped and you will learn it when we get to the dust.

The reason I tell this story is because that is how it happens. It begins with the statement "I want that". Then comes the action that is empowered by agency. I can already hear your next question "What are the rules? What is allowed?" I am glad you asked. See the section at the end of this letter titled "The Art of Naked Heart". This gives the general guard rails for your creations.

Collective Agency

This is the year that Naked Heart grows up. Previously many of the tasks of building and operating camp were held by a small group of folks. It was nimble and agile in that way. It created our success.

Now we are decentralizing camp culture. What this means is that there is still a small dedicated group that handles logistics and getting the infrastructure of the camp built. After the camp is built and handed over to all of you, it is your camp. You are 100% responsible for how you inhabit it. Your relationship to each other is your creation, your art. Your relationship to the playa and the built Naked Heart environment is your spiritual Journey.

"Expectation is nothing but pre-meditated resentment"

This is rich territory. The Vibe Team has tackled the learning curve, struggled with a severe case of founder's Syndrome (sorry) and is getting a firm footing in the running of the camp. Many of your camp mates have been geeking out on how to dance this dance for several months now. The later part of this letter will consist of their creations and their invitations for you to participate with them through the working groups that the Vibe Team has created.

This is also an abnormal year. I think that it has something to do with some really large camps taking a year off and that has resulted in a significant number of "free agent" campers who are scouting around for camps. This is an incredible opportunity for Naked Heart. There are some real quality people out there who would be a major asset to Naked Heart. The problem comes when members join late. They have a steep learning curve and when they do not acculturate properly, it creates a lot of dislocation and grumbling in camp. This entire letter is a manual for each of you to become experts in how to "Naked Heart". The more seriously we take this task the better each of us are able to pick up some slack for our late joiners.

Workshops

You all rallied in the end. We actually received more submissions than we have space to host!! Thank you. Some of you who requested that your workshop run 3 or more times will probably be dialed down to 1 or 2 bookings. There is plenty of room to lead workshops at 7 am or on either Sunday. Late joiners, let me know if those time slots are of interest. Keep listing your workshops. When we have cancellations, we go back to the submissions list. We are still accepting offerings for "Camp-Only" and Build week events. Enter your offerings here:

Submit a Workshop

Workshop Schedule

We have scheduled all the workshops that were submitted. You can see the schedule here:

View Workshop Schedule

There are 2 tabs at the top: "Schedule" and "Speakers". You can toggle between the 2 to find your offerings. If you find some fatal conflict (such as you are committed to teach in another camp), let me know and I will see if a switch is possible.

Archives

If you just joined, you may have missed some important past newsletters:

How Big Can We Be Newsletter

Workshop Teleclass & Ticket Registration Newsletter

We Have Been Placed!!

You can see a map here:

View Camp Map

Tickets

Some of you have reached out asking about tickets. We have tickets. If you are in need, please fill out this form:

I Need a Ticket

If you have tickets for sale and want me to set you up with a buyer, fill out this form:

I Have a Ticket to Sell

I will attempt to set up ticket exchanges. Ticket exchanges are no longer the camp's responsibility but we will try.

We also have been approved to participate in the Late Season Directed (LSD) sale July 9–16 (projected). Once we have exchanged the tickets we already hold, any extra tickets will come from the LSD. Fortunately this seems to be a year when there are plenty of tickets floating around and there is minimal concern about not finding one.

Ticket Assist awards have been announced for some of our members. If you receive your award letter, please pay Ante ASAP.

Ticket Assist Ante

Many people have received confirmation that they have been awarded a low income ticket. So far no rejections. A few campers are still awaiting news of their status. If you were awarded a Ticket Assist ticket and you have not yet paid your Ante, you are entitled to pay at the lowest tier of $700. If you wish to be considered for a partial scholarship, please send me a note and I will check the available funds. Award decisions will be made in a couple weeks.

Ante

Complete the Registration

Complete Registration Form

Early Arrival

For the first time in 8 years we have been awarded sufficient Setup Access Passes (SAP— formerly known as WAP). These are the passes that can get you in the gates up to a week early. Now is the time that many of you are finalizing your travel plans. If it is at all possible, please consider coming early to help build our camp. The earliest possible arrival is meeting in Reno on Sunday Aug 23. We have an early dinner and then we all caravan to the playa to enter the gates at midnight. There is no need to worry about transportation for Sunday/Monday arrival as we organize carpooling in Reno. Just get yourself there.

Request Early Arrival Pass

It is possible to receive your requests after July 15, but it is a major hassle, so please be prompt.

J Resort Special Pricing

Each year Barbie Death Camp gets special room pricing at J Resort in Reno.

Here are the details (taxes and resort fees are not included and all casinos charge them):

Burner Express Bus

For those of you who cannot come in early and want to take the Burner Express Bus. Make your reservations now. Try to get the Friday bus. It will get you in 2 days early without having a SAP. We are trying to create bonded camp culture early on and Sunday is a big day that you will not want to miss.

Book Burner Express

Bicycles

We have a bike program to help campers access a bike for their burn as well as encourage more people to take the Burner Express Bus. A handful of members have been keeping this project alive to help campers have a better playa experience yet still travel minimally.

Our program is an equity sharing cooperative. The bikes are owned by individual campers. Many campers only come every other year and you have an opportunity to assume their ownership when they do not attend. The program fundraises for scholarships for Ticket Aid participants, as well as paying for the share of storage, transportation, maintenance and handling expenses that the bikes incur.

Bike Program Registration

Refunds

It is the season that reality hits and many people decide that they cannot make it to the Burn. I process refunds in batches so there is often a delay. If you have requested a refund over a month ago and it has not been processed, please let me know and I will check my records. When you are refunded via PayPal, they do not alert you. You need to check the original transaction to see that it has been reversed.

New Camper Orientations

It is only when we have handled our own needs that we are resourced enough to work on communal needs.

This is the season that we begin to turn our attention to our own individual needs like what tent should I buy? What about tent stakes? Is there a shower? Should I bring snacks? etc.

We have found that the best way to answer your questions is with our Wiki and through Q&A teleclasses. You can find the wiki here:

What To Bring Wiki

The dates of the teleclasses are:

The Art of Naked Heart

Ostensibly Burning Man is the world's largest art festival. Part of the art is erecting a temporary city and then putting it all back in the box, leaving nothing but footprints. All that is fine and dandy, but what role does Naked Heart play? We are the playa's first and only University. Sure, other camps lead workshops, but no other camp has 4–5 simultaneous offerings. No other camp has 140 workshops. Clearly, our workshops are our art and our gift. When I look at the submitted workshops, I see that about 20% of our camp stepped up to contribute by leading a workshop. What are the rest of our members doing to contribute and to make art? That is the question I would like to address here.

Naked Heart has 3 distinct arenas. I call these:

Hardware

Hardware is all the infrastructure and logistics to build the physical camp and to provide the services we need to survive and offer our art. For some camps, this is the totality of what they do. Simply surviving and not being a burden is their art. We think that is insufficient and we aim higher. In most camps the entire camp population gets together for workdays and builds their hardware. We have chosen to engineer hardware that is robust and that lasts for many years. Each year we make minor tweaks but largely our hardware work is in the transportation to get the trucks and trailers to the playa.

Firmware

Firmware looks like hardware but instead of being owned by the camp it is owned, deployed and retracted by individual campers. We have an entire Wiki page devoted to expectations around firmware:

Firmware & Software Wiki

Software

Software is what I most want to talk about here. Software is everything else. It is:

• Leadership positions
• Expectations around contribution and self responsibility
• Expectations around consent
• Communal desires to gift into the larger city through workshops
• The Art of our Hearts

Once the camp is entirely built during build week, we turn over the entire camp to all of you to run. It is likely a freshly wound watch. All you need to do is care for it, nurture it and let it nurture you.

That sounds easy until you get to this crazy shit show in the desert. No one is ever in the same place at the same time. There is no way to communicate as a group. Bad "roommate habits" drive everyone crazy and the heat is making us all insane. Add in some drugs, lack of sleep and it is a recipe for disaster not for transcendence.

But that is why we do this crazy shit show. A teacher of mine once said:

"If you think you are enlightened, go visit your parents."

The desert is the great equalizer, your default world privilege gets you nothing here. That doesn't mean that some of us might not try to go full "Karen". It is amusing to watch and it happens every year.

The entire reason that I am writing about software here, is because ALL of us can contribute equally to the culture of Naked Heart. We can do it wherever we are. We do it by reading this letter, by participating in conference calls, by meeting each other on Zoom. We are building family. We are learning to care. We are making the world that we most want to live in.

When Monday comes and the entire camp is turned over to you, will you know what to do? Will you have done your "spiritual housekeeping" so that you can skillfully care for your campmates? Can you avoid being a "problem"?

It has been my experience that new campers can only internalize about 50% of what is contained in these letters. Perfect. If everybody just retains a piece and then helps others out in the ways they know best, we can all come through this with ease.

This is the "Art of our Hearts". It is how we show up together. It is how we show care, create safety, and start to unravel the base-level traumatization of the default world. It is created intentionally through our attention and love. It begins in this moment, here, with you.

Mattermost

Most of you have created a space on Mattermost. Thank you. This is how we communicate and bond as community prior to getting to the playa. It is important to know how to get involved. If you log into Mattermost and look to the left hand side you will see a list of channels that you are subscribed to. At the very bottom of that list is a button that says "Add Channels" click and hold and you will see an option for "Browse Channels". Select that and you will see a list of all the channels that are available to you.

Mattermost Newbies Channel

If the orientation teleclasses didn't answer all your questions or if maybe you have discovered some new ones, The Vibe Team has set up a dedicated channel for you called #newbie-space on Mattermost. Go there to connect when questions come up as you're getting ready for the Burn!

Join #newbie-space

You could also try:

Membership Assistance & Orientation

(but that channel is not getting much traffic)

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!

Here is the full schedule:

Buddies

It can be daunting to process all the information about the event, camp, obligations, equipment, etc. We understand and we have a Buddy system to help with that. We pair Naked Heart veterans with new campers. This takes a huge load off camp leadership when it comes to answering questions. It also gives you a social leg up when you arrive at camp. You will know at least one smiling face upon arrival. Your introduction to your buddy will be made in a separate e-mail.

Survival Guides

Each year the BMORG publishes a document that gives you all the information that you need for a successful burn. You can find a copy here:

BMORG Survival Guide

There is excellent information here about law enforcement, Emergency medical services and other playa amenities. Much of the stuff about personal responsibility around water and such are handled for you as a part of your Naked Heart membership. This guide is sent in a physical form to everyone who is having tickets shipped. This is your only copy if you are picking up tickets at will-call. It is worth a read.

You might also want to read the Emotional Survival Guide. Lots of very good information, especially for our camp experience:

Emotional Survival Guide

If you are in a committed couple, I absolutely recommend that you read this very important article:

Relationship Agreements for Burning Man

Carpooling and Vehicle Passes

Once we know who is arriving early we can start to set up ride shares. We have a form for that:

Carpooling & Vehicle Pass Form

The form is for both setting up ride shares and selling Vehicle Passes. Once you have filled out the form you can check out the spreadsheet linked below that shows everyone's responses. It is well-populated after about 1 week.

View Carpool Spreadsheet

Tent Sizes

Last year our largest infrastructure upgrade was a new Soularium, the structure that shades our tents. We expanded from a 7,000 sq. ft. round structure to a 14,000 sq. ft square structure. You would think that it would have been half empty last year. Nope. It was almost full. The main reason for this was that a bunch of members brought really large tents. On our registration page you will read that part of what your ante provides is "shade for every tent" provided that the tents adhere to our size limitations:

Shiftpods are a real problem for our camp. Although most of them officially have a 105 sq. ft footprint, due to their bulging sides they actually take up 120 sq. ft of space. Due to their hexagonal shape, if they are not tightly grouped like a honeycomb, they take up more than 150 sq. ft. Even when they are grouped, the resulting "half cell" voids left at their edges waste 50 sq. ft for each tent. None of these issues are easily dealt with. What I can say is the following:

1. Shiftpods (with 6 sides) will be assessed a resource fee, just for being a Shiftpod
2. Shiftpods are not guaranteed space under the shade. If we are short room, we will ask Shiftpods to leave first. You will be refunded your resource fee but required to relocate out of the Soularium. Shiftpods with air conditioners will be the first shiftpods asked to relocate.
3. ALL Shiftpods must apply for permission to be located under the Soularium, must receive a permit, and pay the resource fee. Failure to do so means it is unlikely you will be able to be in the Soularium
4. Shiftpods that have a square footprint (4 sides) are not assessed a fee but must still apply and get a permit
5. Even if it is not made by the Shiftpod company, if your tent is hexagonal, pentagonal or anything other than rectilinear, you need to apply.

If you wish to bring a Shiftpod OR an oversize tent, please fill out the following form:

Shiftpod / Oversize Tent Form

Naked Heart is committed to making the Burning Man experience accessible for as many people as possible. We always prioritize the communal, the resource efficient, and the solutions that create communion over those that create isolation. This is the reason that we have a Sex-A-Yurt. It is a communal place for campers to have delicious air conditioned sexy time with their playa honey. We provide that as a camp so that campers do not feel the need to provide that individually in their own tents. It is an elegant solution that provides a richness of experience.

If you really want to create your own Shangri-La palace, do what 20 of our other campers do, bring your own shade structure to build your own world (outside the Soularium).

Camp Tent Policies Wiki

Smaller Tents

Camp Power

Yes, our camp has a power grid and we do sell power in certain circumstances. Previously we did not sell power for RV's or for ducted A/C units. That is changing for this year. It is not cheap, but we will sell you power for your RV. Here is some clarity about power subscriptions:

1. If you use more than 1 amp (150 watts) you need a power subscription. You may use your CPAP without a subscription
2. If you are just recharging things like personal electronics you do NOT need a subscription
3. If you are recharging an electric vehicle, bicycle, or some other large battery, as long you do it from 6pm to 10 am (night time) you do NOT need a subscription
4. If you are powering a home-made bucket swamp cooler for your tent or yurt, you do NOT need a subscription (as long as it is less than 1 amp)
5. If you are powering an A/C you need a subscription
6. You can never plug anything into the camp power grid that makes heat: electric blanket, coffee pot, espresso machine, microwave, hairdryer, space heater, curling iron, etc.
7. You can always plug in your CPAP, Hitachi vibrator and your air mattress inflator without a subscription.

If your usage requires a subscription, apply here:

Power Subscription Form

Personal generators are NOT allowed to operate in camp, including those in RV's.

RVs

Many of you listed on your applications and registrations that you are arriving in an RV. Perfect. We need to know details about your rig so that we can allocate enough space and resources for your rig. Please fill out this form prior to June 25.

This is also the form to request power for your RV:

RV Registration Form

Yurts

Yurt letters were sent out to everyone who stated an interest on their registrations. There are still a couple of yurts left. If you did not receive a letter, e-mail me and I will send you one.

Vibe Team

Ideas are coming together as we all feel the buzz building. Please feel free to join in the fun at our next zoom meeting this coming

Join Vibe Team Zoom

Build Team Intentions

Naked Heart is unique amongst all other Burning Man camps. Our intentionality and our reach beyond the playa is legendary. Our ability to make meaningful changes in the lives of so many is unparalleled. So, what do we do with that? What is our responsibility? How are we being called to show up? If the diatribe at the beginning of this letter about AI, Intentions and meaning called to you, there is a strong likelihood that you are a builder.

These impactful questions are being addressed by the Build Team this year. We are the ones who set the stage, the culture, and the rhythms that the rest of the camp arrives into. There actually is no other group that is better positioned to do this work. That means that our build team needs not only carpenters and mechanics and the logistically minded, it also needs our Shamans, our Mystics and our Mothers. In a changing world of battling perceptions of what is real, we need the heart-connected and those who can be present to the felt reality of other.

Naked Heart is a prototyping sandbox to develop new ways for humans to relate.

This year we are expanding that mission to finding new ways for humans to work together to complete a common task. It is our hope that we will complete build by Thursday night so that we can have 3 days of running workshops for ourselves.

The Build team is going to function very differently this year. A number of us will be gathering beginning August 10 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 12th 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:

Join Build Team

Coda

And so it all begins. Soon the listing, the packing, the prepping will come to an end and we will find ourselves in the arms of each other. Nothing will be as we expected and yet everything will be absolutely perfect.

—David