1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,120 Hello everyone and welcome to a new episode of the Awaken Together podcast. 2 00:00:09,120 --> 00:00:10,120 I'm Kat. 3 00:00:10,120 --> 00:00:11,120 I'm Jen. 4 00:00:11,120 --> 00:00:15,920 And today we're really excited to chat with you about one of our favorite things. 5 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:16,920 And this is festivals. 6 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:25,600 But more importantly, the sense of community and connectedness that festivals bring us. 7 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:29,080 So we have some fun sharing fun stories to share with you. 8 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:33,840 Jen, if you could start us off with your most recent experience, that'd be awesome. 9 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:34,840 Yes. 10 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:41,000 So I am coming fresh off of a yoga festival known as Ploid Yoga Jam. 11 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:43,200 And Kat is fresh off of Burning Man. 12 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:47,720 So it's so cool to get to come together and share this all with you. 13 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:53,360 And yeah, it kind of all ends up zooming out to me and Kat's big dream of living on a 14 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:54,360 commune. 15 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:59,120 And I literally get like a little nugget and a little taste of what that can look like 16 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:03,560 at these kind of festival style, like community events. 17 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:06,580 And Ploid is so special. 18 00:01:06,580 --> 00:01:08,200 It's so nice to be able to share. 19 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:12,840 So it's a very intimate and small festival, like a thousand people. 20 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:16,880 And it's in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the woods in Virginia. 21 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:19,560 And this is my fifth year going. 22 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:21,600 And I'm not new to yoga festivals. 23 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:27,240 I have gone to Wunderlust and several other different types of these things. 24 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:33,000 And what I love about it is the yoga component is obviously really cool, but it's been really 25 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:37,840 inspiring not only to see the different teaching styles kind of come together, but it's also 26 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:43,320 this like really big drop in on depth and connection. 27 00:01:43,320 --> 00:01:48,060 So I've shared on this podcast before, like I've done like hundreds of different eye 28 00:01:48,060 --> 00:01:50,280 gazing with strangers. 29 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:56,040 I do all these things at these festivals, like really intimate, like aesthetic dancing 30 00:01:56,040 --> 00:02:00,400 and partner dancing with strangers that I don't even know. 31 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:07,360 And you know, it's crazy to think back to how many layers of healing like has happened. 32 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:12,000 And I can see my growth at these festivals more than anything, because I remember just 33 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:14,560 being at these festivals earlier. 34 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:20,520 Like my first Floyd, I was so scared of some of the stuff they were asking us to do. 35 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:22,280 Like, it was awful. 36 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:27,800 I was like, I walked away from some things just completely uncomfortable in my own skin 37 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:31,440 and like not wanting to be seen in that intimate of a way. 38 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:33,040 And now I'm like, give it to me. 39 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:34,040 Like, let's go. 40 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:38,480 But I'm still, you know, it's still nerve wracking, but it's just so cool to also see 41 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:45,120 how much more comfortable I've gotten in leaning into discomfort. 42 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:46,800 And yeah, we just we camped out. 43 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:48,160 We had a really cool tent site. 44 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:54,280 I had so many beautiful moments with different individuals at classes, lots of open sharing 45 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:56,400 circles. 46 00:02:56,400 --> 00:03:02,360 We did like a goddess dance class, and it was really fun to just like play energetic 47 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:07,720 play with different people and look face to face with someone and just communicate without 48 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:09,120 words. 49 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:12,360 And it's raw and wild and kind of visceral. 50 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:17,120 And yeah, I had all these beautiful little connection moments and just to be under the 51 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:20,360 stars at night and feel plugged into nature in that way. 52 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:24,000 Like it's just really beautiful and healing. 53 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:30,040 And yeah, in all the different times I've gone to yoga festivals, I feel like layers 54 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:34,860 of myself have just been ripped that have blocked me from that ability to lean fully 55 00:03:34,860 --> 00:03:36,800 into connection. 56 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:41,120 Dani proposed to me at a yoga festival back in the day. 57 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:44,920 Like they just are like so precious to me. 58 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:51,000 And Kat, I love that you kind of enter this like other other kind of worlds, but along 59 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:53,120 some similar principles. 60 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:57,280 But I know you have so much experience in music festivals, but we want to hear about 61 00:03:57,280 --> 00:03:58,280 Burning Man. 62 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:01,280 Like we have an inside person to give us the stories. 63 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:07,840 And I told Kat, like while I was at my yoga festival, one of the musicians made an announcement 64 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:10,280 that Burning Man was like getting flooded. 65 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:14,720 So I had no cell phone service and I had had, you know, just this calm day. 66 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:17,640 Then I'm like, Kat, my cat, is she OK? 67 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:20,600 I wanted to reach out like right away. 68 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:23,280 And yeah, Kat can give the full story. 69 00:04:23,280 --> 00:04:24,280 So let's go. 70 00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:25,280 Oh, yeah, thanks. 71 00:04:25,280 --> 00:04:32,440 I mean, festivals are such a beautiful coming together of so many things, like you said, 72 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:33,440 right? 73 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:34,440 I've been to one yoga festival. 74 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:36,240 It was like a day fest. 75 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:37,480 So on a smaller scale. 76 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:42,960 But yeah, just to have like all the personal development workshops happening in unison 77 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:48,760 with people who just share this this love of yoga and not just the physical practice, 78 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:49,960 but all elements of it. 79 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:50,960 Yeah, the unity. 80 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:51,960 So beautiful. 81 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:52,960 Yeah, the unity. 82 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:53,960 Yes. 83 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:59,880 So we were talking before this about like how Floyd on that one thousand person guest 84 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:03,840 count like that is a small scale, like super sweet spot to be. 85 00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:08,680 And then the one festival that like you, Jen, that I've been to the most is Electric Forest. 86 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:12,160 I know I've talked about that here in the pod a bunch, too. 87 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:15,880 And they have a couple different spaces for workshops. 88 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:20,120 They have sound healings and just all those ways to plug in for people who are looking 89 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:22,120 to go that little bit deeper into themselves. 90 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:27,440 And I think that's a really important part of it all in combination with the music and 91 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:28,440 being in nature. 92 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:33,280 It's also healing together with with community all around at all times. 93 00:05:33,280 --> 00:05:38,400 One of my favorite things about Electric Forest, too, is that everybody just wants to connect. 94 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:45,840 You know, you just go in there eager to compliment people and like authentically like we a greeting 95 00:05:45,840 --> 00:05:48,440 that we say for Electric Forest is happy forest. 96 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:52,280 And this is something that it's like it's like a la oja. 97 00:05:52,280 --> 00:05:53,480 It's like a hello. 98 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:54,480 It's a goodbye. 99 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:55,960 It's like a signing off. 100 00:05:55,960 --> 00:06:01,240 Even if you see someone who was at the festival in a gas station like on your way home or 101 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:03,520 something, it's happy forest. 102 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:07,480 And you have that little you see their eyes light up like, oh, you're one of me. 103 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:09,720 I'm one of you. 104 00:06:09,720 --> 00:06:11,080 Just that beautiful connection. 105 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:16,120 You drop your you drop your layers of who you are and then you go into this. 106 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:18,480 Yeah, this other kind of reality. 107 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:20,080 I love it. 108 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:21,080 That's right. 109 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:24,360 It's like there the ego dissolves like we are all here together. 110 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:26,920 We are all one that just true unity. 111 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:28,600 It's so magical. 112 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:32,480 And then Burning Man was new for me this year was my first year going. 113 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:38,360 Kyle and I went together with two of our best friends, Kirsten and Brandon. 114 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:41,120 And we had heard Kirsten had been before. 115 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:44,760 And so she told me about all the magic of it many times. 116 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:46,360 And she hadn't been since twenty nineteen. 117 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:48,800 So it's been a couple of years for her. 118 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:54,480 But earlier this year, I texted her because I saw someone else on Instagram get tickets 119 00:06:54,480 --> 00:07:00,080 and I was just like, could you possibly be up for Burning Man this year? 120 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:04,160 Her response was I could always possibly be. 121 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:09,120 So then we convinced our guys, which kind of was an easy sell. 122 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:12,280 He actually wanted to go more than me for most of our relationship. 123 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:17,360 I was the harder sell because I was nervous about all the elements of it. 124 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:21,680 Just needing to bring everything that you have, your food, your water. 125 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:22,960 There's no showers there. 126 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:25,120 Like you're really roughing it. 127 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:29,360 Watching Kat get prepared for this festival, guys, was next level. 128 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:32,360 I just want to say. 129 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:35,920 Months and so much money. 130 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:38,560 So now it's like we have all the things. 131 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:41,440 So we're totally looking to go again next year. 132 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:44,520 But getting tickets is such a hard part, too. 133 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:49,160 Kirsten was really lucky to get theirs in the general on sale, but it's like a lottery. 134 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:50,160 We tried. 135 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:53,680 We were waiting in line for two hours and didn't get them before it sold out. 136 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:58,720 So we were really lucky that we were accepted into an incredible camp that one of my yoga 137 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:01,080 teacher friends here in Denver leads. 138 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:05,920 It's called Consensual Abduction and it's like kind of alien themed. 139 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:08,240 We have abductions. 140 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:13,440 It's like our main gift and offering as a camp where it's a whole sensory experience. 141 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:17,320 So you know that Jen and I love it. 142 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:20,800 It's like so present and it's just consent. 143 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:21,800 It's consensual. 144 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:24,560 So you fill out a form, you share what you're comfortable with, what you're not. 145 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:25,560 And then we honor that. 146 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:26,560 We respect it. 147 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:29,280 And then we role play and get really weird and blindfold you and tip you upside down 148 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:31,880 and then just kind of like harvest your limbs. 149 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:34,880 You know, no big deal. 150 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:36,600 Festival wife. 151 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:37,600 Seriously. 152 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:39,360 It's like so silly. 153 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:42,680 And Burning Man is an older crowd, kind of like Floyd is, right Jen? 154 00:08:42,680 --> 00:08:45,120 Yeah, it's such a big age range. 155 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:49,760 It's crazy to see that and get the wisdom from the older wiser hippies. 156 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:50,760 I love that. 157 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:51,760 Yes. 158 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:57,800 I love, like at Electric Forest, there are older people but vast majority are like 18 159 00:08:57,800 --> 00:08:58,800 to 25 I'd say. 160 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:02,200 And so we're kind of on the older side there. 161 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:05,520 But here the median age of Burning Man is 37. 162 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:06,520 I love that. 163 00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:08,200 So I love that. 164 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:12,720 Like coming in at 32, like yeah, I'm in my prime here. 165 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:17,160 And then just seeing everybody else in their prime, you know, no matter what age they are. 166 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:18,160 It's very humbling. 167 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:22,280 And seeing people that have lived a life that honors like kind of the elements that come 168 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:23,640 out from festivals. 169 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:24,640 It's like very special. 170 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:30,000 They get to see people that have, you know, you get, I feel like it gets categorized so 171 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:34,480 much as being this like young kind of careless party thing. 172 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:39,040 It can get labeled as that so easily and then seeing these like intentional people that 173 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:43,000 have lived their life kind of embodying the things that you take away from these festivals 174 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:46,920 is a special little tap of it too. 175 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:49,360 Oh yeah, it's huge. 176 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:56,880 These have the potential to be extreme catalyst for just changing your life. 177 00:09:56,880 --> 00:10:00,480 It really forces you to face the things that aren't working for you. 178 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:03,360 It just becomes all so clear. 179 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:07,880 And so my experience, as I'm sure you all heard Burning Man being on the news this year, 180 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:10,000 like crazy. 181 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:15,240 It's really funny to me having been there to see these news articles now because it 182 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:19,560 is just so far from what my experience was. 183 00:10:19,560 --> 00:10:27,480 Like, yeah, people did try to drive off when there was a driving ban and leave when it 184 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:29,520 was raining. 185 00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:31,160 But there was a driving ban. 186 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:33,220 Like didn't you know that was going to happen? 187 00:10:33,220 --> 00:10:38,120 So we were all kind of like, oh yeah, these idiots got stuck because they tried to leave 188 00:10:38,120 --> 00:10:40,140 when you weren't supposed to leave. 189 00:10:40,140 --> 00:10:41,560 It's like just follow the rules. 190 00:10:41,560 --> 00:10:44,020 And like if you don't have enough stuff, ask your neighbor. 191 00:10:44,020 --> 00:10:46,520 We have so much more to go around. 192 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:49,300 And so that's a big part of the festival. 193 00:10:49,300 --> 00:10:55,740 There's kind of like in yoga how we have the eight pathfold to enlightenment that we've 194 00:10:55,740 --> 00:10:57,600 shared in past episodes. 195 00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:05,520 We also have at Burning Man the 10 principles, which for this whole social experience, social 196 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:08,760 experiment Burning Man is not a festival. 197 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:09,760 Very clear on that. 198 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:12,280 I learned that this year. 199 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:14,520 It is way bigger, way more than that. 200 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:16,440 It's really hard to even explain. 201 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:22,080 It's a city that's put up and taken down with 80,000 people. 202 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:27,160 And it only exists for a week every single year in the middle of the Black Rock Desert 203 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:29,600 in Nevada where nothing else lives. 204 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:30,880 There's barely any bugs. 205 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:32,000 There's no animals. 206 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:33,480 It's so dry. 207 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:36,480 And so it's just kind of crazy, this whole crazy thing. 208 00:11:36,480 --> 00:11:38,840 So yeah, we had more than enough food and water. 209 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:42,600 We had enough for three more days if we had gotten stranded. 210 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:48,280 But yeah, basically the whole sense is like our camp came together in a way that was so 211 00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:49,280 freaking beautiful. 212 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:54,920 And we had a lot of veterans who'd been there for like five, six plus years and they shared 213 00:11:54,920 --> 00:12:00,000 the sentiment that like this year brought everyone together like no other year had. 214 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:05,560 I think sharing something that was really hard when the rain came, it got muddy. 215 00:12:05,560 --> 00:12:07,560 Our tent flooded. 216 00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:10,160 We were lucky to have our bed on a platform. 217 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:14,960 So our bed was dry, but our best friends, they didn't have that and they had an air 218 00:12:14,960 --> 00:12:16,280 mattress on the ground. 219 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:17,760 And so their sheets got wet. 220 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:21,480 And so they had to sleep in their car for like the rest of the time, which was, I think 221 00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:24,600 three or four days after that too. 222 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:30,660 And so everybody just kind of came together that next day, asked like, do you need anything? 223 00:12:30,660 --> 00:12:31,660 What can I give you? 224 00:12:31,660 --> 00:12:33,400 What can I help with? 225 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:38,080 And we had the best party of the week as a camp that day. 226 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:40,600 We called it our end of the world party. 227 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:45,560 I know these two people in our camp, they were amazing. 228 00:12:45,560 --> 00:12:48,760 They surprised everybody with brunch. 229 00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:54,880 So we were, mind you, while the news was sharing about how crazy everything was at Burning 230 00:12:54,880 --> 00:13:01,320 Man and how there was cannibals and Ebola and eels, like just nonsense, like none of 231 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:03,040 that was there. 232 00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:09,040 We were having the best time eating eggs benedict with freaking caviar. 233 00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:15,200 I kid you not, served a hundred people that day, had a six hour party with music bumping 234 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:22,160 from all of our camp DJs and it was just the best, like so special. 235 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:26,560 We strapped trash bags to our feet, secured them with duct tape. 236 00:13:26,560 --> 00:13:29,440 It was the hottest fashion trend on the Playa. 237 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:35,000 And we were all just like, what's your method? 238 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:36,280 Is it sock bag sock? 239 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:38,920 Is it shoe sock bag? 240 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:40,960 And it was just so funny, you know? 241 00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:46,280 And it just reminds you that everything is perspective and mindsets. 242 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:51,840 And sure, I mean, we could have just stayed in our tent the rest of the time and moped 243 00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:56,920 and been sad, but you kind of realize what your options are when you only have a few 244 00:13:56,920 --> 00:13:58,240 of them. 245 00:13:58,240 --> 00:13:59,740 And we had no cell service. 246 00:13:59,740 --> 00:14:04,160 We were with a bunch of other people who were also in the same boat. 247 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:08,960 So we made a conscious decision to practice joy and take care of each other and take care 248 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:11,040 of ourselves and make the best of it. 249 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:14,680 And I had the freaking time of my life. 250 00:14:14,680 --> 00:14:15,680 Yeah. 251 00:14:15,680 --> 00:14:23,480 So in thinking about the 10 principles, there were two that really stuck out to me the most 252 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:26,400 and really relate to our podcast here too. 253 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:29,880 So the first one is radical self-reliance. 254 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:33,600 And this is that whole notion that you better prepare. 255 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:36,220 You can't be over prepared, really. 256 00:14:36,220 --> 00:14:37,600 Bring enough for you. 257 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:39,880 Bring enough for extra days. 258 00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:46,600 You basically don't want to be caught burdening other people by your lack of preparedness 259 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:49,160 because they're going through the same stuff themselves. 260 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:54,120 And so you adding to that list, it's not the kindest thing that you can do. 261 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:55,300 So there's that one. 262 00:14:55,300 --> 00:15:02,420 And then everything at Burning Man seems to be like a polarizing thing in some way. 263 00:15:02,420 --> 00:15:08,300 So the other one, the polarizing principle for me with radical self-reliance is this 264 00:15:08,300 --> 00:15:11,200 notion of being community minded. 265 00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:13,720 And neither is more important than the other. 266 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:15,540 They're equal. 267 00:15:15,540 --> 00:15:21,060 And that sense of being community minded, it's we care about each other so much. 268 00:15:21,060 --> 00:15:22,800 We are in the middle of the desert. 269 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:23,800 People can die. 270 00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:25,280 People do die every year. 271 00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:28,120 It's not for people who are inexperienced. 272 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:34,320 Definitely go to festivals before you go to Burning Man and prepare and research. 273 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:36,000 I was on Reddit every single day. 274 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:40,520 But yeah, there's a real gifting culture. 275 00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:42,360 There's no money when you're there. 276 00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:43,980 There's no real laws. 277 00:15:43,980 --> 00:15:45,040 There are some. 278 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:48,760 But it's like don't hurt people. 279 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:51,120 You can't do drugs in public. 280 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:54,600 There's rangers all around. 281 00:15:54,600 --> 00:16:01,360 But yeah, that sense of just like we're here, I'm going to gift you this for no other reason 282 00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:02,940 than to gift it to you. 283 00:16:02,940 --> 00:16:03,940 It's not a trade. 284 00:16:03,940 --> 00:16:04,940 It's not a barter. 285 00:16:04,940 --> 00:16:06,880 I'm not expecting anything in return. 286 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:12,240 But we are here sharing this beautiful life changing experience together. 287 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:16,980 And through those things comes a resiliency, right? 288 00:16:16,980 --> 00:16:22,600 And just that notion of being a part of a community and how we all fit into it as well. 289 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:27,320 Yeah, and when you leave these festivals and thank you, Kat, for telling us about Burning 290 00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:28,320 Man. 291 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:30,920 I'm so glad it was this beautiful experience. 292 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:34,000 I freaking love to hear all the stories. 293 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:40,360 And yeah, but I think with these big events that are bringing a bunch of people together 294 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:48,600 where you kind of drop your own personal identity and lean into this kind of collective energy, 295 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:51,960 but then you also have to keep checking in on your own needs. 296 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:56,200 This balance of these festivals is like you can get so into the energy of all the events 297 00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:59,200 happening, but then you have to remember, like, have I eaten? 298 00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:00,200 Did I drink my water? 299 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:02,120 Did I take care of myself? 300 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:08,120 And it really teaches you these this balance between self and kind of connection and community. 301 00:17:08,120 --> 00:17:12,720 And we wanted to talk about that a little bit because I feel like we've ranted about 302 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:17,040 this in so many podcast episode because it's a huge passion for us. 303 00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:22,200 But like, you know, we're not meant to be living so individualistic. 304 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:23,800 And it really does kill me. 305 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:29,720 I think of this all the time that we are all sitting here having to own all the stuff to 306 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:31,640 take care of ourselves. 307 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:38,120 Every person has to have a pair of scissors and a blender and this and all these tools. 308 00:17:38,120 --> 00:17:44,160 And it's just we don't have like I don't feel I feel like we've gotten into a place 309 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:48,760 of so much imbalance where there's so much you now need for yourself and there's so much 310 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:55,880 like lack of sharing resources that we've gotten like really far away from what our 311 00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:57,600 true nature is. 312 00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:01,680 And there is so much that can be found in connection. 313 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:06,920 But I do think like you said, Kat, with the principles, like there's a lot of layers you 314 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:10,120 have to go through in your own healing journey. 315 00:18:10,120 --> 00:18:14,080 Why we promote so many of the stuff that we do on this podcast is because you got to know 316 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:19,960 the layers of yourself enough to kind of identify some of those emotional needs. 317 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:24,200 And I do think you learn a lot of your emotional needs through different relationships and 318 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:26,040 through different connections. 319 00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:28,360 But there has to be this balance. 320 00:18:28,360 --> 00:18:35,240 And so I learned this through I read the book Polysecure, which had this like really good 321 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:38,880 chunk of the book talking about attachment styles. 322 00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:45,880 And they talked about on one end of the scale that anxious attachment, where you just lean 323 00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:52,000 into connection so much, it kind of ends up turning into that enmeshment or codependency. 324 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:56,540 And it can feel so hard to know who you are in that connection. 325 00:18:56,540 --> 00:18:58,280 That's one end of the extreme. 326 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:00,280 And that's that anxious avoidant attachment. 327 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:02,400 And the other are anxious attachment. 328 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:07,540 And then on the other ends, we have avoidant attachment, which can be so much reliance on 329 00:19:07,540 --> 00:19:13,600 self autonomy, that like leaning into trusting someone else when you're experiencing something 330 00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:15,920 feels nearly impossible. 331 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:21,600 And at both ends of the attachment disorders, we're trying to find this middle ground between 332 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:27,000 our own self autonomy and also that ability to lean into co-regulation and connection 333 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:28,960 with other people. 334 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:33,580 And I think just dependent on kind of your circumstances growing up, you might fall into 335 00:19:33,580 --> 00:19:35,760 one of the two extremes. 336 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:41,040 And I think it's really easy to have all these attachment problems in the society we live 337 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:45,600 in as well, even not just looking at childhood experience. 338 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:51,400 We don't have a society that really reflects a good balance of that because it is so much 339 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:57,040 of every man for themselves, which ends up we have so many people dealing with mental 340 00:19:57,040 --> 00:20:03,060 health struggles, homelessness, all these extremes of like outskirts of society because 341 00:20:03,060 --> 00:20:08,160 there's just not good ways to plug in when you're needing help in the ways that there 342 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:09,160 should be. 343 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:14,600 And it's so much pressure sometimes all falling onto your own shoulders that it's a lot. 344 00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:18,980 But within that, you also can drown the people around you when you don't do the work to figure 345 00:20:18,980 --> 00:20:20,560 out your own stuff. 346 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:25,080 And then you're constantly looking to other people to tell you where to go, what to do, 347 00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:27,900 what direction to take. 348 00:20:27,900 --> 00:20:33,840 And yeah, I think there's constant lessons to help you find the blend in those two. 349 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:35,960 Totally, totally. 350 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:40,800 And as you were speaking, and also maybe think about how politics ties into this too. 351 00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:48,760 And I truly believe that it's this hyper sense of individualization that has really shaped 352 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:54,400 the Republican Party and even more like the extreme right wing. 353 00:20:54,400 --> 00:21:02,120 It's those people who are in very remote areas that don't have either a really strong community 354 00:21:02,120 --> 00:21:09,280 or they only know their community and they haven't seen cities or people who are different 355 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:10,280 than them. 356 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:12,720 And so there's a real fear of people. 357 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:16,320 And so it just makes me think of that too. 358 00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:21,160 And in that avoidance side, it's like there's the lone wolf stereotype that we've all heard. 359 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:26,280 And I feel like people kind of just accept that as a personality trait, but really it's 360 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:28,840 avoidant attachment. 361 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:36,060 And people who've been hurt along the way and are really afraid to be vulnerable and 362 00:21:36,060 --> 00:21:37,480 connect with others. 363 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:43,100 And like you said, the other side of that co-dependence is like other people relying 364 00:21:43,100 --> 00:21:50,440 on them so much for your joy, where true joy, true joy really comes from within. 365 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:54,720 And it's amplified by community, not the other way around. 366 00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:55,720 Absolutely. 367 00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:56,720 Yeah. 368 00:21:56,720 --> 00:22:03,520 And so in finding this blend of these two things, I really think it is important that 369 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:06,120 we plug into community spaces. 370 00:22:06,120 --> 00:22:12,700 We've shared this on this podcast a lot, but going to these big events is incredible. 371 00:22:12,700 --> 00:22:17,440 But finding even things in your local community, if you know that you fall into more of the 372 00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:23,880 self isolating mode, how can you find some form of engagement to start practicing leaning 373 00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:25,480 out of that? 374 00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:26,840 And it all takes practice. 375 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:31,400 I think it's very easy if you fall into the extremes to then want to hop to the other 376 00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:32,520 extreme too. 377 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:36,720 Like it's very easy to fall into these two. 378 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:42,680 And I think keeping the blend is tricky, but it gets better with practice on both sides. 379 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:47,880 But I do think it's beautiful to be able to find people to share resources with. 380 00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:53,560 I think the internet's helping so much with us being able to find our people easier. 381 00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:58,520 And then yeah, Kat was sharing a little bit before, if you want to talk about Boston growing 382 00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:05,560 up there, you're looking at the people around you and seeing is that plugging me into that 383 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:08,500 highest good between the balance of stuff? 384 00:23:08,500 --> 00:23:13,240 Because I think for some, we're not always born into the spot that's going to give us 385 00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:15,160 that healthy dynamic. 386 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:20,880 And while you were sharing about the far right side, I feel like in a lot of these regions 387 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:27,800 that are more isolated, and I know with my southern side of my family, more upbringing, 388 00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:32,840 it's such an attachment to the family unit that there's no venturing out, no breaking 389 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:34,760 into any sense of individuality. 390 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:35,760 They fear it. 391 00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:42,560 They smother into that family dynamic so much because it's so scary to think of changing 392 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:44,960 beyond that imbalance. 393 00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:47,720 A hundred percent. 394 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:48,720 Totally. 395 00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:49,720 Yeah. 396 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:54,560 And it's like, yeah, if you are born into a place and you don't resonate with it, you 397 00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:56,640 feel like the black sheep. 398 00:23:56,640 --> 00:23:59,600 And I mean, that was surely me growing up in Boston. 399 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:02,520 I never really felt like I fit in. 400 00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:07,080 And even if it looked like that on the outside, on the inside, I just felt like something's 401 00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:12,120 not right or I always felt like I had to change myself to be like others. 402 00:24:12,120 --> 00:24:18,360 When I visited Denver on vacation with Kyle in 2015, 2016, we were like, whoa, we were 403 00:24:18,360 --> 00:24:19,920 just overcome by the culture. 404 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:22,440 And we were only here for a long weekend, but it was palpable. 405 00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:24,160 We could feel it. 406 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:26,720 And it helped that bass music. 407 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:30,440 It's the bass music capital of America and we love that kind of music. 408 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:33,080 And there's climbing and there's a lot of yoga and nature. 409 00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:38,000 So there are these key elements that we really loved and we're kind of not getting fulfilled 410 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:39,440 in Boston. 411 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:42,000 So we ultimately decided to move out here. 412 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:48,740 And that's kind of the thing is like, if you've tried to find all of those things, that sense 413 00:24:48,740 --> 00:24:56,320 of belonging, like-minded beings, where you are and you can't, look somewhere else, right? 414 00:24:56,320 --> 00:25:01,800 Look somewhere else rather than running away from something, try to run to something so 415 00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:04,360 that you can feel really excited about it. 416 00:25:04,360 --> 00:25:08,240 Although sometimes, you know, that running away does have to happen just to exit like 417 00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:10,640 an unsafe kind of space. 418 00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:14,660 But really, like we are not meant to go through life alone. 419 00:25:14,660 --> 00:25:19,000 Like you said before, Jen, you know, like we all began in tribes and villages and that's 420 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:21,640 way more natural for us. 421 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:24,160 We can't get all of our needs met by one person. 422 00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:26,520 We need trusted people. 423 00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:29,880 And truly, I believe that nothing grows without love. 424 00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:30,880 Absolutely. 425 00:25:30,880 --> 00:25:35,960 And yeah, if you're around ourselves, yeah, surround yourself with love and do the work 426 00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:40,840 to kind of sit and reflect on what your emotional needs are and like what that can look like 427 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:41,840 plugging in. 428 00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:47,600 I know the periods where I was more by myself, like I deeply needed community for a long 429 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:49,200 time and couldn't find it. 430 00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:54,640 But I also in retrospect look back to those times as me figuring out at least a couple 431 00:25:54,640 --> 00:26:00,820 of the things of what I was wishing and hoping for in those moments when I didn't have people 432 00:26:00,820 --> 00:26:01,880 to lean into. 433 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:07,640 So also knowing that there can be gold found in those periods, but you are not meant to 434 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:11,920 do it alone and that love is so important and it's that combination of self-love and 435 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:16,560 then also knowing how to balance the giving and receiving of love outside of yourself 436 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:17,560 too. 437 00:26:17,560 --> 00:26:18,800 That's right. 438 00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:24,560 That inner winter leads to an inner spring so that you can come out and feel good and 439 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:26,640 be ready to take it all on. 440 00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:31,680 And hopefully that means a commune for us because we are so ready. 441 00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:33,760 Awaken together a commune? 442 00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:35,760 You guys ready for that? 443 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:38,200 Yes, please sign me up. 444 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:43,020 It's like everyone I talk to these days is like, yes, our generation, this is the new 445 00:26:43,020 --> 00:26:44,460 American dream. 446 00:26:44,460 --> 00:26:46,160 It's communal living. 447 00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:50,960 So I just have this vision of like, you know, we all have our own like bed spaces, bedrooms 448 00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:55,360 with our partners or whatever, offices, living space, maybe a small one, but everything else 449 00:26:55,360 --> 00:26:56,400 is shared, right? 450 00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:59,200 Shared kitchen, shared living space, shared garden. 451 00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:03,840 I don't want to have a kid, but I will co-parent. 452 00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:07,600 Shared childcare would revolutionize our lives. 453 00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:11,520 Like I want a kid and I right now I'm like, oh, how? 454 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:12,520 I need help. 455 00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:14,640 But that would solve a lot of things. 456 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:18,440 Like, we'll share it all, make a central space. 457 00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:23,800 I think this is also like where we're gearing up to be able to save the planet in so many 458 00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:29,000 ways too, because we get so wasteful when we look at things individualistically too 459 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:30,000 far. 460 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:34,240 And I think that's a huge movement that this generation is going to take is knowing how 461 00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:40,240 to optimize our resources in a different way. 462 00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:45,040 We've come a long way as a society in a lot of ways, but we've also fallen behind on some 463 00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:51,800 of the things that have been mastered way before this current society's look. 464 00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:57,440 And I think we need to kind of blend both the old ancient wisdom and then the new that 465 00:27:57,440 --> 00:28:04,520 we've also been able to cultivate with inventiveness and yeah, combined it all for a much healthier 466 00:28:04,520 --> 00:28:08,480 protection of this earth and the human species. 467 00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:11,080 Yes, heck yes. 468 00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:14,640 Only way is up and mark our words. 469 00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:15,640 It's going to happen. 470 00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:17,160 I can feel it. 471 00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:18,920 I so agree. 472 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:22,360 And we so appreciate this community of listeners. 473 00:28:22,360 --> 00:28:25,560 Our podcast this season is already doing so good. 474 00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:27,720 You guys continue to grow us out. 475 00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:34,480 We so appreciate you sharing the podcast, liking and reviewing on Spotify means a lot. 476 00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:38,440 And we now have our podcast up on YouTube, which is amazing. 477 00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:41,240 So we want to keep growing and sharing it all with you. 478 00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:43,240 So thank you. 479 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:44,320 Thank you all so much. 480 00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:46,320 We love you and we'll see you next week. 481 00:28:46,320 --> 00:29:09,320 Bye.