The world of dreams Lucidity is shaping, is dancing like an activated beehive of devotion and gratitude as we move into our fourth year, Kindred Quest.

As we weave the golden thread of our six year story, during this cycle, we pose this question to all …

This ever unfolding question is illuminated by a deep awareness that the mistakes of human history, being revealed, are often mirrored by our greatest gifts and a true opportunity to step into leadership like never before.

Hello fellow Lucid Dreamer!

Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is James Barnard (most call me Jaymo); This will be my 3rd year on the production staff of Lucidity Festival, this time as the Head of the Marketing Department. You’ll be hearing more from me during the next several months 🙂 This message is intended to be both a dose of inspiration, as well as a call to action, to come and share your gifts to help strengthen our community with more love, creativity and right relations with each other and with our home that we call Earth.

I hope that you will accept the invitation.

 

What Are We Truly Capable Of?

As we continue to awaken to the reality that we are One Human Family, we are faced with very real challenges and a growing restlessness in our societies that something must strongly shift, and soon.

From my vantage point, and that of my closest friends and family, many things have already started to shift. I often hear people say “the shift is well underway”. Yes! … AND… What’s also true, is this is one perspective amongst a sea of varying life experiences that must all be taken into account if we are to truly create a world that works for everyone.

Within that acknowledgement, I recognize that the fortunate life I have come to realize in my upbringing is rare on the scale of possible human experiences, and I do my very best to never take that for granted. Sure there were times when I was a kid that when my family didn’t have enough money, or I had holes in my shoes going to school, experienced the drama/trauma that every teenager goes through. But for the most part, my challenges have been a mild irritation in stark contrast to the significant injustices that the majority of people on the planet experience daily.

“Sharing the Wealth” by Mark Henson

Food, Clean Water, Shelter, Safety, Sanitary Living Conditions… these are things that the great majority of us in our comfy homes don’t have to think twice about on a daily basis. We are SO fortunate. Let us continue to remember that.

From this perspective, I will humbly attempt to highlight some areas where I see beacons of light in our community, which I believe can offer more possibilities for us to create a real sense of union in our collective journey of the human experience.

 

Inspiring Kindred Connection

A few of Lucidity Festival’s core values are Participation and Immersion in the Artistic Process, Personal Growth and Global Healing, Family Fun and Creative Play. These values are embodied and enacted not only during the festival but also in the months leading up to it - and ultimately they touch the lives of thousands of people in deep and meaningful ways.

We have such a rich ecosystem of open-hearted, multi-disciplinary, cultural creatives that cross our path, that one of our biggest challenges every year is sorting through all of the incredible offerings that come our way. Curating the right harmony of experiences for all involved is a blessing of a challenge.

We can’t wait to see who shows up next! Is it you?

In just 3 short years we have witnessed countless examples of people coming into this container and experiencing incredible transformation simply by showing up and participating.

 

Creating such a container in itself is no small task. We definitely make mistakes - but one thing is for sure, the people in our collective communities are committed to dreaming, evolving, learning and growing… and more keep showing up every day.

We See You, We Thank You, We Honor You, We Love You!

 

Honoring Elders and Cultural Wisdom Keepers

Another inspiration we are cultivating is the Council for Peace, and the Ancestral Arts track of programming of Lucidity Festival 2015. A strong intention for us is to give voice to the collective cultural wisdom keepers who share lineage with the land we hold our festival on, as well as the surrounding communities of first nation peoples.

This track offers perspectives which many people in our community do not get to hear every day. The historical and geopolitical context is such that many of our elected leaders have chosen not to address this in ways that offer balance and harmony and a true honoring of the perspective that we are a melting pot of the worlds’ nations.

 

If we are to live in a world that works for everyone, it is vital that the voice of many perspectives are properly represented - and we are committed to doing our part.

We can make genuinely positive alliances when we are committed to truly listening and honoring the real wisdom that is right here in our community and sharing our gratitude and respect for one another. In essence, this is what the holidays are all about, are they not? How about everyday?

Communal Reciprocity

A continuing theme throughout the year, beyond the festival is local engagement, through arts programs, supporting charitable causes and curating live experiences that foster community connections, well-being and healing.

One of our current projects under development during Kindred Quest is the creation of a Relations council with an emphasis and training on the guardianship of core values and individual responsibility in community. This is important for our production staff to work together more effectively and it is also meant to inspire the collective wisdom within our community to step forward and show us the way.

We don’t have all the answers, but we are good listeners and fun people to hang out with 🙂

Environmental and Social Responsibility is another Lucidity Core Value, and we are continually committed to finding ways of embodying what that really means. Right relations extends to our relationship with the land. From the development of bambooware and our reusable dishwashing program, to printing our festival map on a reusable “mapdana”, to selling beverages in reusable cups, powering our Alive Stage with solar energy, to our Save the Mermaids alliance, our partnership with the Isla Vista Food Co-op and SOL Food (Sustainable, Organic, Local), our pack-it-in-pack-it-out, leave it better policy, composting and recycling programs — all contribute to our overall commitment to earth stewardship. Thank you for sharing this responsibility with us.

This year we are interested in exploring the possibility of having compostable toilets among a few other hopeful developments. We welcome your suggestions and ideas.

There is a lot of learning and listening to do, and it’s at the heart of our community to do it right.

The Gift of Gratitude

It was with a Lakota shaman whom I first experienced the deep and sincere expression of gratitude and commitment to living in right relations that is the way of his people, and it left a powerful imprint in my heart. I honor the experiences where we can come together and learn from one another in a way that shares in the beautiful diversity and similarity that we are one and the same.

The nature of life is to expand and multiply. It’s true of plant life, it’s true of people. Every single, living, breathing human being on Planet Earth has inherent gifts that carry a unique signature wanting to express itself to the utmost potential of possibility. This customized divine blueprint is just for you.

Why then do we see a clear imbalance in the sharing of earthly resources seemingly without compassion… cultivated, cataloged and commoditized without even coming close to justly supporting a small fraction of human life?

The answer to that question is not within my realm of expertise to fully answer.

Instead I hope to inspire a conversation for which there are many answers, and many different pathways. A few of which we have begun to explore and co-create at Lucidity, and we fully recognize that there is much more to learn.

 

We Invite You to Join Us in the Joy of This Journey!

During this Kindred Quest we look to our ancestors, the cultural wisdom keepers, our families, our community and most importantly, we look within ourselves to find the light that nurtures growth, expansion, peaceful communication, creative expression and right relations.

For my health, my family, my beloved, my friends, my ancestors, my community, my future children, their children’s children and the expression of the gifts that I am here to offer, I AM grateful to the deepest core of my being, far beyond any words that I can offer. I will continue to do my best with every breath.

I wish the same for everyone to feel this level of gratitude and support in your lives, or something even better.

What is Your Kindred Quest?