In 2023, I went to the Burning Man for the first time. We was trapped in the mud. It is special, and fun.

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I spent several days immersively in Naked Heart, a camp dedicated to provide workshops on the playa.

The topics are about spirituality. I attended quite a few: Meditation, medicine and sleep, Porn addition resolution, marry yourself, manifesting.

I am inspired. It is so cool to lead a workshop in Burning Man. I start to draw the vivid picture where Bo, an asian male, is leading a workshop full of western participants.

So I camped with Naked Heart this year, led 3 workshops.

The registration is smooth. David, the camp host, accepted my application on the second day. I thought the appreciation and passion demonstrated in my application accelerates the process, until I hear David says afterwards “we literally have unlimited spots…”

So, what workshops I shall lead?

The first one comes to my mind is the movement and healing workshop I attended, led by Ni Zhang. I feel fulfilled and connected. And I know this is the one I want to bring to the burning man!

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I planned to bring T-Group workshop to burning man as well. T-Group is the workshop I regularly facilitate in my daily life. And it will be no difficult for me, or even unchallenged, to bring it to the burning man.

In a call with David, he calls for the courage, “Leading a workshop in burning man is much easier than in the default world. I encourage you to design a workshop that you do not dare to do in the default world.”

Gosh. I want to be an executive coach. And I do not dare to lead a executive coach session before!

So we brainstormed, framed out the workshop. I gave it a quite intriguing name “Meet your higher self” I feel passionate about it, but I did not know this intriguing name brings me setbacks when leading it, which I’ll share in the next section.

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I originally registered 4 workshops. 2 for movement and healing. 2 for meet your higher self.

I can sense my growing anxiety when the dates approach, even though I think I have already well prepared for them. Playlist is designed and downloaded (in two phones in case I lose one). Agenda is printed (with another copy in case I lose one). I asked Ni Zhang and my coaching friends for ideas and dry run.

When I’m on the playa, I constantly check my playlist to make sure the downloaded music being used in the workshops are still working. Keep my phone secure in my zip locked pocket not to lose it.

Due to my jet lag, and also the growing fear, I dropped one “Meet your higher self” workshop on Monday, and let another folk to lead it.

This is the amazing thing on the playa. Nothing can be scheduled but it finally works in some way. It is not uncommon that folks who proposed and designed the workshop can not lead it on that day. They did not made to the playa. We can not find him on the morning. They forgot it (it did happen!). Therefore, the facilitators that show up in the workshop, probably just got the notification to lead the workshop the day before, or even a few hours before.

I heard it several times in the kitchen area in my camp, when the workshop coordinators, using the mic, in a calm way, announcing, “hey we need a facilitator to facilitate a workshop this afternoon, the title is XXXX”.

And someone will show up.

A fun story is about Maxwell, another Asian guy in the camp. He cover for a workshop titled “Meditation” something the day after. He was lost on the deep playa the night before, and didn’t sleep. The workshop is scheduled for 9AM, for one hour. He made it to the camp at 8:50, and went right into the doom to lead the workshop.

“Oh gosh, how did you lead it?”

“well I just let them mediate for 1 hour. And keep the time. Encourage them at every 5 or 10 minutes. And they appreciate that”

My first movement and healing is scheduled on Wednesday, 3 hours.

20+ people showed up. I led us to warm up, move our bodies, to meet and greet, and support each other.

There is a particular session, where one person give a gesture, say their name. And everyone else mimic that gesture, say “Hi, <their name>”.

I saw a lady cries, with hand covering her nose, when she hear her name bouncing back.

I am touched.

I saw people dance, move, smiles, laughs.

The laughs attracts more people to squezzee into the doom, even after I zipped the door.

The burning man media team came. They filmed a video for us. The video will be edited in a broader video called “sound of the playa”. Damn it. After more than 2 months, I still cannot find this video.

In the last, everyone builds a sculpture together. Everyone is connected.

I was in a quite weird state at that time. I am physically exhausted, but spiritually high. I believe DMT is generated in my brain. A chemical that gives us a sense of happiness and fulfillment, which is also sth generated after intake psychedelics.

The meet your higher self workshop is a much bigger blast.

I can’t accurately count how many people show up. 60 ? 70 ? The whole doom was fully packed.

Some folks dresses in a quite spiritual way. rags. death mental style. with markers, paintings on their faces.

I sense my fear comes up again. Can I do it? What values can I bring to these folks?

I was nervous, anxious, unconfident.

I tried to hide my nervous. Hide myself. I even curl up when I was speaking. I keeps following my printed agenda.

I was not present.

A few people left the doom, then another few.

When I doubt myself, i only focus on the facts that confirm my assumption/doubt.

Then, in the middle of the workshop. A lady shows up.

“Do you need any help? She asked.”

She shows up as a gift for me.

We redesigned the next part of the workshop, on the fly.

I passed my mic to her , let her leads the next section as a group meditation, which she improvised.

I played a background music, a meditation music on my phone, which I just happen to downloaded somehow beforehand.

It went so well.

People keeps come to express their gratitude to me.

I was flooded by awe.

Her name is Gift, from Shanghai.

She said she would like to lead workshop next year, to introduce Tao De Jing on the burning man.