Like you, I grew up in the shadow of Woodstock, in the '80s longing for the Summer of Love. But I would never have thought to make a pilgrimage there: what called to me from Woodstock wasn't the place or even the particular event, it was the kind of world it represented. I have recently been delighted to find a world like that at festivals like FractalFest https://www.fractaltribe.org/fractalfest2023 and Firefly Arts https://www.fireflyartscollective.org/ - when I go to those places I see the feeling of peace, love, and community (often boosted by psychedelics) that made Woodstock the subject of dreams. The music is not as good - give me Jefferson Airplane over oonst-oonst EDM any day - but I don't mind when I'm in a place like that.
"It is a thing of imagination, of legend, an abstraction that you know in one sense is a thing, is a place, is material. But its meaning is conceptual. Its value is spiritual. These are non-physical properties, yet we yearn for direct contact with the material for the sake of the relationship." Very well said. I've had this experience many times in specific locations such as Mussel Rock (just west of Daly City CA) where the Pacific plate meets the North American plate and forms the San Andreas fault. There's a connection to something timeless and awesome. Of course Alan Watts would say, "The only Zen you'll find on mountain tops is the Zen you bring up there with you." But the mountain does help, doesn't it? Both things can be true, I think. The physical location allows us to connect with that which was always there. Ultimately all paths lead simultaneously to an inward connection to ourselves and an external connection to everything.
Like you, I grew up in the shadow of Woodstock, in the '80s longing for the Summer of Love. But I would never have thought to make a pilgrimage there: what called to me from Woodstock wasn't the place or even the particular event, it was the kind of world it represented. I have recently been delighted to find a world like that at festivals like FractalFest https://www.fractaltribe.org/fractalfest2023 and Firefly Arts https://www.fireflyartscollective.org/ - when I go to those places I see the feeling of peace, love, and community (often boosted by psychedelics) that made Woodstock the subject of dreams. The music is not as good - give me Jefferson Airplane over oonst-oonst EDM any day - but I don't mind when I'm in a place like that.
"It is a thing of imagination, of legend, an abstraction that you know in one sense is a thing, is a place, is material. But its meaning is conceptual. Its value is spiritual. These are non-physical properties, yet we yearn for direct contact with the material for the sake of the relationship." Very well said. I've had this experience many times in specific locations such as Mussel Rock (just west of Daly City CA) where the Pacific plate meets the North American plate and forms the San Andreas fault. There's a connection to something timeless and awesome. Of course Alan Watts would say, "The only Zen you'll find on mountain tops is the Zen you bring up there with you." But the mountain does help, doesn't it? Both things can be true, I think. The physical location allows us to connect with that which was always there. Ultimately all paths lead simultaneously to an inward connection to ourselves and an external connection to everything.
What a brilliant piece, and great synthesis of topics. Love it
I volunteered at Bethel a few years back. It truly is a magical place and continues to call to me. The power of the pilgrimage!