We will gather peacefully for silent meditation the morning of July 4th, 2018 from dawn until noon; and a peaceful assembly of free speech and expression from July 1st through the end of Vision Counsel; in the southern Appalachian Mountains. DIRECTIONS TO THE GATHERING ARE HERE (and contain road closure info, and other critical information. This post is updated frequently so check back for the latest.To learn how to get into the gathering without getting a mandatory court appearance ticket, click here.

Saturday, November 11, 2017

Shanti Sena Basics

Some would say the phrase “Shanti Sena” means “peace army” from Sanskrit and has its roots in Gandhi’s concept of non-violent volunteer based peace keepers. While in gathering lore, some would translate the phrase as peace scene.  No matter the logical translation you wish to put on it, I translate it as being part of a family and looking out for my family in peaceful ways.

In the years of the strife between gatherers and the United States Forest Service Law Enforcement Officers (USFS LEOs), the phrase came to spell trouble for the LEOs and by 2008/2009 many gatherers actually thought the cops were the Shanti Sena (so not true). Because of the many misconceptions floating around, I thought I would take the time to rap about my perspective on keeping the peace at a gathering.

As many of my friends point out, “Shanti Sena” is a verb not a noun. In other words, no one “is” Shanti Sena, but many people “do” Shanti Sena. Most functions at the gathering are verb rather than noun based.

In a culture where individual liberty and communal needs often clash, countless opportunities arise to “do” Shanti Sena and keep the peace.



Before we worry about keeping the peace, we need to define “peace.”  For different people, “peace” takes on different connotations. For some, acting peacefully precludes any acts of physical violence, but yelling is considered peaceful. For others, cussing is not peaceful. For every one hundred gatherers, there are probably ninety different perspectives on what “peace” means. When we gather, I believe that 99.999% of gatherers have every intention of creating peace. We’ll get back to the 0.001% later.  So how then do we create and increase the peace at the gathering and take those skills into the world at large?

In my perspective, the single most important aspect to “doing” Shanti Sena is to be observant. Sure there are big movies that happen and lots of gray haired folks get involved with radios, but most of the time when a big movie happens, the root cause was a failure of each and every one of us to pay attention to the hurt, suffering, pain and/or stress building up around us.  (As an aside, not everyone with a radio has a clue.)

Reality check!  Going to a gathering, especially for the first time, can be very stressful. It’s a crash course in a brand new culture. Access to food and filtered drinking water can be hazardous. Being unprepared for the conditions can leave people cold and wet or sitting up by a fire all night to stay warm instead of sleeping. Many people who take medications for chronic conditions often seem to space out on taking their meds, leaving their health further compromised. Dehydration, low blood sugar, and lack of sleep are just a few of the stressors gatherers experience -- add to that doing activities or substances that are new to you. When one small thing goes wrong, people who are stressed out can explode.

Being observant means noticing that some belly is having a hard time or a bad day. Allowing each of us to be our own unique self means not telling other people what to do. Telling people to eat or drink can backfire. So what’s a kind loving brother or sister to do?

Pay attention to the people around you. Notice if they seem to be struggling, are confused or look disoriented. Offer to share your water or an energy bar you might have on you (always good to bring lots of these). Introduce yourself and make a friend. Usually people are more willing to share their troubles with a friend, than someone just trying to fix a problem. Share a song or a joke if the vibe feels right. Sometimes people are in their own head space and don’t want to interact. That’s OK.  You can still stay near them (but not too near) just in case they need help. If it’s two am, please don’t walk away from someone. If someone wants to wander the woods all night, grab a couple of friends and trail after them just in case they need your assistance.

If someone doesn’t have a safe place to sleep, try to hook them up with a camp that can help. If they have small children, Kid Village is a great place. But there are lots of other kind loving camps at the gathering that have the space to squeeze another body into a crowded tent or provide emotional support. If you yourself are new to the gathering (blessings to you for helping others), you can stop by INFO and ask for some advise.

If you find a lost kid, you and a couple of friends should escort the child to Kid Village. Make sure to take the child up to the kitchen and announce very loudly that you have a lost child. DO NOT JUST DROP THE CHILD OFF AT KID VILLAGE. 

If someone is having a health crisis and is willing, take her/him to CALM. Most of the larger kitchens/camps like Fat Kids, Montana Mud, Loven Ovens, and Kid Village (to name just a few) have medical people as well. If the person isn’t willing to move, find someone with a radio and medical people will come to your location. If that doesn’t work, send a runner to INFO or CALM with as much information as you have about the situation. By taking care of people’s critical needs before people reach the point of explosion, we create the peace we want to see in the world.

Other times we have conflicts that arise from differing lifestyles. For example in 2002, the gathering site was small and we ended up with Tea Time and Yoga Space next to each other. Talk about a mismatch in energies. Tea Time likes to stay up all night, serve tea and make raucous noise at 3 AM. The Yoga folks are more into silent mediation and mellow energy. Two distinct energies colliding is a classic gathering issue. If we want each camp to be free to express their own vision of peace and love, what to do?  When space permits, it’s always best to camp in an area that meets your vision of what comprises peace and love. So don’t be expecting to sleep in silence until noon every day if you’re camped in Kid Village as kids wake up early.  But ….

As to the 0.001%, when the situation gets a bit crazy, yell “Shanti Sena” and other people will come and assist. With a circle of people, we can try to get a council going where the parties’ involved and random calm and centered gatherers can sit down and listen to each other.  Keep in mind that sometimes people’s emotions are volatile and getting a council going is difficult at best. Then what?



SITTING down on the sidelines and oming tends to help ground energies. If nothing else, it makes misbehaving people feel a bit silly and often times that breaks up the situation. This doesn’t mean the root cause of the problem is solved, but at least it buys some time and space to work on the issues. I’ve experienced a beautiful voice singing an appropriate song calm everyone down as well. Peaceful, mellow music helps everyone feel better.

Sometimes problems don’t seem resolved at the time. That’s OK. Rainbow magic takes time to work. I’ve sat in circles with people who were full of anger. At some point the primary people stomped out of the circle and didn’t return.  Then a day or two or three later, I ran into those same people again, very happy and peaceful. Rainbow magic doesn’t always have a logical cause and effect.  Sometimes, just hanging out with someone for six hours prevents someone from getting lost in the woods (yes it really happens and if it’s cold out can be a cause of death), drowning in a lake (yes this has happened multiple times at gatherings) or wandering up to the road and getting arrested (you know this happens). Plus you’ve just made a new friend. The more we get to know each other, the more we create community. The more we actively work on creating community, the more we increase the peace.

If you are not able to help when the universe calls you, please, please, please, make sure someone else helps. Ask others for assistance, guide the person to one of the larger kitchens, go to INFO or CALM and let them know what’s going on. Be the change you want to see in the world.

Many years, we have Shanti Sena councils or workshops at the gathering where people who have “done” more Shanti Sena share the lessons they’ve learned with those who have “done” less or no Shanti Sena. As with everything gathering related, we are all of us teachers and all of us students. In the spirit of sharing other ideas on what Shanti Sena is and does, here are some other voices on the subject.


From Welcome Home with links to multiple Shanti Sena Raps by well respected family (must read).
From Niman - a scholarly look
From Medicine Socks
Rap 121
My Rap from 2008


Ask not what the gathering can do for you; ask what you can do for the gathering.

We are our brothers and sisters keepers.

19 comments:

  1. can we have unity without symbols /signs /sounds that was the fall of eygpt hopi means people //not we the people

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  2. the creator had one rule /be not against fear and evil ??in ones thinking //illusions are only the opposite of his and hers kingdom of no start or end ///so being against say for instance //fear that is the opposite of love //do not react to that alluring and alarming image in ones thought ///so knowing maya the illusionist that is not even real kepts one holy //and one will not go off the path of eternity ///and mistakes /will not happen and sickness will not happen and death will not happen //and all of nature looks up to us for there loves image of us as we are the image of love and truth //and intellengence of the white fire in the golden light

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  3. you are already a immortal //understanding is demonstration //the creator gives you a vision of infinite possibilitys and all of creations are doing the same infinitely all nature are your family in heaven//ware all was made //now to let earth be a reflection of heaven all of us are making a new room in gods kingdom //geronomo called it a tee pee pee //means living room in apache//woman love this //for woman can see there children before they are born on earth so earth is a reflection of a great lake so still nothing moves in love truth and intel//

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  4. when woman know they are all immortals //bring about certain people hear will give great strength ware there is no fear or evil in illusions to cloudy up gods kingdom //ware there is no time and space to move in //she will pick you /to do great things dudes //and you have victory already //we must correct venus uranus and pluto //they are cock eyed like the governments religions and social order and economics we are gradittude the extra mile //in eternity that is not distance //a time year is not time //it is refreshment of infinite possibilitys //it has always been //nothing is lost in gods kingdom and only renewed //and not created //from what it was before //there is not before or after //being still is intellengence that does not move //it is bliss be still appliatia folks

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  5. the only way for the brain to be receptive to truth is love //when any brain is loved ??it is not the same //actually it is looking in the mirrow of knowledge //divided against itself//

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  6. many parts of the body is one /and many parts of the brain is one //but without love //it is going backwards to end itself //but when love senesizes the brain //the brain cells are mutaed to act on truth //while before it was in a reactive inatentive stage and stages of /maintaining dieing and being reproduced //now with the brain with the white throne of christ //that intellengence /is withing the golden light of one god that is greater then the christ

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  7. when the brain is senistised it will only respond to truth //and material thinking will not react no longer

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  8. when the brain is senistised it will only respond to truth //and material thinking will not react no longer

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  9. the brain must be loved /in order to rise above the mist of wrong when the brain is washed clean of its residue of conflicts //it will be time to have dominion over earth and greater

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  10. many parts of the body is one /and many parts of the brain is one //but without love //it is going backwards to end itself //but when love senesizes the brain //the brain cells are mutaed to act on truth //while before it was in a reactive inatentive stage and stages of /maintaining dieing and being reproduced //now with the brain with the white throne of christ //that intellengence /is withing the golden light of one god that is greater then the christ

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  11. lets face it everyone knows what to do //doing it is nessesary /and thats the story of humanitychildren know this very clearly ///end killing babys //end stupid /end ending /is this simple //gather together and end //false leader ship by stupid people //gather to gether and see what is real at any age //

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  12. end laws of people all law is a illusion of the brain cells acting on itself //that goes back ward then forward then stopping in a state of fear //then evil threwout humanity //a copycat design of poison //yes poison //that will be not the truth

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  13. why this body gets born and die //is because illusion is a design that is a copycat of truth that it is blind deaf and deaf too

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  14. the poison of not truth is all there is in material consciouseness //but get this //underneath the illusion of the body of nature //is a being that holds all eternal life that is deathless and never born to die //life is deathless //thats it //thats simple when do you wake up //never //you are already awake and watchful //anything that starts ends

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  15. row row your boat gently down the stream //life is about a dream //how nice to see you are dupted/be still be still be still untill you exsplode in bliss like never before //break threw the vail //of illusions //be still be still

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  16. row row your boat gently down the stream //life is about a dream //how nice to see you are dupted/be still be still be still untill you exsplode in bliss like never before //break threw the vail //of illusions //be still be still

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  17. no procreate and no recreate //what is left is meditation in action all things are stillin going

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  18. no procreate and no recreate //what is left is meditation in action all things are stillin going

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  19. the poison of not truth is all there is in material consciouseness //but get this //underneath the illusion of the body of nature //is a being that holds all eternal life that is deathless and never born to die //life is deathless //thats it //thats simple when do you wake up //never //you are already awake and watchful //anything that starts ends

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