Campfire Convention is floating an idea..
We are inviting our members to light Beacons for peace and harmony simultaneously across the UK and around the world to come together and join hands. And what better time to do this than on solstices and equinoxes.
We are launching the Beacon lighting on November 24th
The Beacon concept is all about bringing communities together face-to-face, to bring about connection, to shine a light for a collective manifestation around world harmony and peace. This might be around specific conflict zones, a need for a ceasefire or termination of other hostilities - or wider change. The Beacon might be a one off gathering around a fire or it might be a gesture around a lighting of a candle. It might be a community forming to establish common ground, identify areas where change is needed and frameworks to carry out those actions, or to trailblaze new directions, values and principles. Or just be an opportunity to get together and make friends with neighbours.
Like a murmuration of starlings or a shoal of fish, often our movements are intensified by the presence of a predator which unites us into a single movement, held in a “knowing field”.
The beacon is a light through the darkness, leading us to safe havens that exist all over the globe. When we light our beacons around the world we offer a guiding light to one another to unite us in our desire for peace and harmony throughout the planet.
It’s time to reclaim the idea of Beacons. Instead of using them merely for the celebration of royal pageantry, anniversaries or such other star-spangled ceremonials, let’s re-ignite them as signals for significant connection and celebration. The Beacons will bring light to this sense of connection and universal commonality between us all, whatever the beliefs, borders or prejudices.
More than ever, we need love, unity, harmony and balance both individually and throughout the whole of our society. There is a yearning to be liberated from the age-old shackles and chains that have bound us for centuries and from the patterns and limiting beliefs of fear, scarcity and divisiveness.
There are many beneficial practices we can follow on a daily basis to become more balanced within ourselves. As our ancestors did long ago, gathering with others in circle and around the turns of the year was and is an important part of being human. We are all unique fractals of a greater whole and everything we do ripples out into the collective experience. At Campfire, we want to encourage everyone to reimagine the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible and take inspired action through co-creation.
We see music as an essential ingredient of the antidote, the medicine to free the soul. Music is the universal language that gives us an opportunity to embrace the re-enchantment of everyday life and to take a leap of faith into a rediscovery of a child-like sense of wonder and joy that we may have lost along the way. The messages and resonance from sound and imagery can affect our experiences for the entire day, if not longer.
Understanding this need to gather and for more unity and harmony, Campfire held two exploratory events for the Summer and Winter Solstices under the name of ‘World Harmony’. The original idea was formulated to include the lighting of Beacons across planet Earth, whether on sacred sites, a back garden or yard or, equally, with the enduring simplicity of the lighting of a candle.
We want to offer more inspired initiatives like the ‘World Harmony’ events (Campfire's online festivals during lockdown, 2020-2021) to facilitate greater alignment with each other and the rest of life and to encourage people to share their unique spark of genius.
Setting up and gathering around a physical Beacon is easy. We just need the tech to enable to pull it all together, so we can see the connections pictorially in map form.
Campfire Convention emerged in response to people wanting to talk about our rapidly evolving world and the changes we face - from local to global - as well as wanting real action, the opportunity to carry ideas forward and to facilitate change.
Like a traditional campfire gathering, the web community encourages members to tell their story, celebrate song, discuss issues of the day, explore new possibilities, start a movement, showcase work and ideas, formulate a campaign and to start an ongoing dialogue.
The solstice and equinox Beacons are a timely reminder that we need to put the planet first and look at correcting imbalances in terms of how we co-exist productively and harmoniously. We can learn from the ancients’ belief that the sun was a reflection of the light within everyone. Spring and autumn equinoxes are moments of total equality for all mankind and the solstice celebrations bring us peak light and maximum darkness.
The call is for future generations and that we find a way to support them and become the shoulders for them to stand on.
The Campfire is a great leveller. The symbolism of the fire also offers a useful framework for creating outcomes from our Beacon meetings. The logs and coals are our resources, our talents and passions which create the energy, the flames are our ideas and calls to action and the smoke signals the impact our ideas could have in the wider world. People have celebrated the changing seasons for thousands of years but not combined these occasions with practical solutions for social change. We believe that four focused meet ups a year is the optimum for each of our Beacons to maximise its potential to make a difference, but Beacons should also be free to make their own agendas and stage meetings when they want.
Spring = Hope
Summer = Light
Autumn = Gratitude
Winter = Reflection
The idea to bring communities together by way of regular meetings or celebrations is not a new one and most of our current traditions have their roots in ancient civilisations. The celebrations of the passing of the seasons is widely practised in our harvest festivals, Easter and even Christmas which were pagan festivals long before they were adopted by the church. Easter celebrated new life with eggs and chicks being symbols of rebirth and spring, harvest festivals were about giving thanks for what has been reaped. Ancient civilisations across the world understood the significance of the equinoxes and the solstices and built incredible temples and monuments to celebrate and capture the moment the sun passed from one side of the equator to another or to mark the longest and shortest of days. It seems only fitting that Campfire Convention should align itself with these events and the significance of them which widely reflect the values and ambitions of Campfire itself.
It is therefore the plan to encourage Campfire Beacons, here and across the world, to create gatherings in their communities at any time but with particular focus on the summer and winter solstices and the spring and autumn equinoxes with the purpose of setting goals and intentions to create harmony and collaboration with a like-minded but diverse group of people across their areas. We need to rise above our polarities and align around conscious choices for the sake of future generations.
Each Beacon should be autonomous but the cumulative effect of putting events on the same day could have potential to create a significant impact.
These events can take any form and some already have included music, food, entertainment and discussion. Beacon members may like to invite a speaker or focus the event around a particular theme but it would be hoped there would be a fire of some kind and call to action - a pledge to tackle an issue that by collaborating, the group can empower themselves to help solve problems in their locality. If a group is large and the will is there, then more than one call to action could be agreed. It should be the decision of those present.
Here are a few guidelines and suggested programs that may help Beacon administrators put together seasonal events:
Spring equinox occurs when the days and nights become equal in length and we begin moving towards lengthening days. It is a time for spring cleaning, rebirth and renewal, of hope and of planting seeds for food but also for life. A spring gathering could incorporate this theme and members could discuss ideas they would like to give birth to in their community. It could be anything from pledging to raise awareness of plastic pollution, helping at a soup kitchen, starting a community allotment, creating a listening project for the lonely, campaigning for something needed in the community - the possibilities are endless. If the community already has a great deal of excellent projects the group could simply pledge to support an existing cause.
The Summer solstice represents long days of activity and nurturing the seeds that were planted in the spring. It is about light and lightness, growing and expanding. The summer Beacon event would reflect this with updates on the projects adopted in the spring and with the choice of music, food and talks.
The Autumn equinox is about celebrating abundance, giving gratitude and preparing for the darkness that looms. There are many ways a Beacon could incorporate this theme into a call to action.
The Winter Solstice is a time for reflection and hibernation, of facing the darkness physically and metaphorically. It is of things dying and the knowledge that the world will burst into life again come spring. It is about acceptance, nurturing and planning what seeds need to be sown when the darkness passes.
Similarly, new moons represent an opportunity to set intentions. Ashley Neese says "New moons represent the beginning of a cycle and the full moon represents a clearing or release.
In farming traditions the new moon in the time when the soil is most fertile and wet. Many farmers and gardeners plants seeds on the new moon as the moon’s lunar gravity pulls water up. The new moon is considered a growth phase and is an ideal time to plant seeds in our gardens as well as our hearts for the future. The new moon is an invitation to start fresh, call in intentions, and set the tone for the next cycle.
Asking the universe for what you want is a very powerful practice. Combine asking for what you want with the clean slate of the new moon and you have a potent recipe for creating the vision you most desire. The new moon offers an energizing and exciting time to recalibrate your energy for the upcoming cycle and bring a upgraded level of consciousness to the dreams you long to make a reality."
Each event could be framed around these principles.
Let’s see what we can create together; let’s reimagine the world we’d like to live in and get active to make it happen together. Let's light a path forwards and connect the dots we can see on the horizon. Let's build resources to connect those doing the good work.
Campfire's World Harmony weekend launched with a beautiful visual representation of Beacons, both traditional and futuristic, using drone programming and XF. We may not all be able to light a Beacon but we can appreciate the symbolism. This is technology for good.
The track features a remix of 'Love Is The Anwer' by the Campfire Circle Singers including Mozez, Neil Cowley, Matt Coldrick and three choirs plus a reading from 'Desiderata' by Pip The Poet.
The track was produced by Pete Lawrence for Campfire Convention The video was produced by John Hopkins @ Celestial
Click image below for video