The Big Day, as it is so often referred to, is not merely a symbol of two people sharing their devotion in the company of loved ones; all too often it also represents the internalized values of consumer culture. This means that stress, pressure, and anxiety make as much of an entrance as wedding cakes do.

In this newsletter’s Behind the Scenes, you can read about two of our community’s beloveds and their big day. Keep reading for the full article.

“Mentally, we had already taken our vows,” said Deborah about that day and her marriage to Lyndon at Earthaven on Saturday, November 9. As we started to create the ceremony, searching within ourselves for how it would reflect our values, the usual trappings of more traditional weddings just fell away. We opted for no rings, no bouquet. We borrowed a LOT from people, and decided that anything we bought had to be re-usable by the community.”

For them, the wedding was about bringing together the families of their origin with the cultivated family of this village.

Over 100 people, from as far west as Portland, Oregon, and as far north as New York, gathered in our Council Hall to bear witness. Yet it wasn’t the physical distance traveled that made this ceremony special, it was the emotional distance that got traversed.

The wedding wasn’t just a tribute to the love that Deborah and Lyndon share. It was a tribute to the love of a village for this couple and a tribute from two families that span the cultural divides of their respective lives in Texas and in Maryland. It was even a tribute to Deborah’s late partner, Chris, as many of his kin also gathered in support.

One could say the day commenced with the persimmon tree planting—a symbol of something that starts out small, grows over time, gets more stable, and bears fruit—intentions that Deb and Lyndon have for their relationship. Or maybe the big day got its metaphorical start a week earlier when a team of villagers held a tortilla-making work party, where corn that was grown on this land got soaked, ground, and rolled out into one of Lyndon’s favorite foods.

The contributions by community and family members were numerous. We became the wedding planners, the decorators, caterers, musicians, and space holders. Deb’s dad, the photographer. Kaitlin, the priestess.

Ancestors were named, the directions were called in, and people were invited to share as they felt called to. Folks shared their hearts in the form of blessings, prayers, songs, life anecdotes, family memories….

This day, this big day, seeded something more than the commitment that Deborah and Lyndon share—it allowed for the seeds of a life we are creating here at Earthaven to carry onward with the tailwinds of other’s lives.

The post Behind the Scenes – the Big Day appeared first on Earthaven Ecovillage.

Earthaven members Rudy Ballantine and Norm Self, and resident Banyan Fierer renamed their neighborhood Dancing Shiva to align with their intention to participate in the ongoing creation of pleasure, joy and fulfillment. They named the neighborhood after Shiva, the dancing deity who brings forth manifest creation in Tantric mythology.

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Tours of our growing community of 60 people were given. Opening ceremony was held in Hidden Valley, to which we hiked, chanting “Earth my body, water my blood, air my breath and fire my spirit.” Around the ceremonial circle, spirits of the directions, future generations, and great living souls were called to be with us. Everything was translated into Spanish.

Two hundred people spoke their names and bioregions, offered a silent prayer, and tossed a symbolic stick into the fire. Then came drumming, flute playing, dancing and celebration late into the night. Sunday morning we gathered on the Village Green, where the outline of North America had been traced in grain, each of us standing in our respective bioregion.

Later, inside Council Hall, where a huge patchwork turtle created by a previous Congress had been hung on one wall, our team of facilitators helped focus on the week’s activities. Besides scheduled speakers and workshops and a Council of All Beings led by John Seed, time was left for “Open Space” meetings. Children’s plant walks, puppet making, painting, and singing activities were planned. A schedule of healing and creative arts took shape, including yoga, massage, music jams, tai chi, plant walks, and natural fermentation.

On Monday, Angelica Flores, a traditional healer from Mexico, smudged us with copal smoke, intending for all: “That every day, we care for ourselves and others; let go of egotism we bring from outside; join hearts and will as one being with the permission of the guardians of the sacred, all the elemental beings and the force of the Spirit who lived here long ago.”

The Bioregional agenda of building strong local economies permeated many of the week’s workshops and conversations. One evening, men and women met separately. The men went to Hidden Valley and walked back holding hands, eyes closed except for the leader, practicing trust. They returned to Council Hall just as the women’s spiral dance was ending, the women singing “Mother, sister, daughter, friend,” embracing each other with moist eyes. High point!

On Thursday evening, our Central and South American participants put on a cultural presentation including songs about the dangers of genetically modified crops and cheap corn for export. There was rap poetry, power point presentations and tales of shamans among the Kogi of Colombia. Then special sweets and drinks were offered, followed by drumming and salsa dancing. Plenaries full group sessions to work on the mission, positions, and future plans of the Congress rounded out the week in a whirlwind of consensus-based decision-making processes.

Weather-wise, we had rain, rain, and more rain while hurricanes pounded the East Coast. Campers kept spirits high and handled conditions amazingly well. Many new friends were made, old friendships rekindled, and hopes and blessings for our precious world were reinvigorated.

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