Sex, crystals and compost toilets
AMID wafts of incense and marijuana smoke, hordes of smiling folk in fairylike garb or, for a few, just body paint, dance in a patchwork of majestic forest glades near the town of Tidewater, Oregon. Others meditate in yoga postures. Some caress crystals or each other in gently writhing “snuggle puddles”. Colourfully painted signs read “Redesign the Paradigm”, “Make Love to the Mystery”, and, on paths to compost toilets, “Conscious Pooping This Way”. A speaker who replaces a DJ on the main stage proclaims that humans were “born to serve the Earth” and leads the flock, many with raised hands, in prayers to the four cardinal directions.
Thus began the Beloved Festival, at which some 2,500 people pitched tents or splurged for a luxury “glamping” yurt for four days of “sacred” activities that ended on August 13th. These included kundalini and “galactivated” yoga, Sufi soul singing, crystal-bowl sound healing, medicinal poetry, Thai massage, Latino...