Rainbow basics (read, comment, vote please)

Gr8ful, I don't know, I think there are people here who would be better for the job, and also, my schedule now is so crazy with work and school that I'm afraid I wouldn't be around enough to be what you all need . The power thing just doesn't sit right with me, ya know?

peace band chick, thanks, isn't that such a great song?!

lovin' you all!!!

 

Just a word about belly buttons- some say that this leaves some folks out-it was 'semi-consensed' as a heart, other than that, beautiful. Rainbow 'Ho!'

 

luvnlight, bump!!!

 

Is there no one on this whole entire planet with the authority to make this thread a sticky? Every time a "what is rainbow" thread drops off the first page, someone posts another one. Come on, please, who do I call about this?

 

I think if one of us PMs Skip about it, then it would get done, I'll do it if you don't want to raven, cause if I see another "what is rainbow?" thread I may pull all my hair out, lol.

 

We'll both PM him, no everyone PM him. All these What is Rainbow threads must take up disk space. We'd be saving money and energy by making this a sticky. Everyone reading this PM Skip today!!!

 

Still needs editing...

 

Are you volunteering to edit?

 

thank you for that Raven

I know I started this guys, but I did that cause it needed to be done in general. I've got school and work and just no time to sit at the computer for a few hours and edit. If someone else wants to edit, fantastic, if not, then I may have time in the week I get off between semesters teaching, but quite frankly, I'll be damned if I sit at the computer for one of the two weeks I get off this summer.

So yeah, whovever wants to edit can, just copy and paste the whole big thing into a new post and do what you will, it would be really great to get a fresh perspective on the whole thing anyway.


ps
I'm sorry if this post has a bitchy tone, I just re-read it and thought it might, that's not what I was going for, I love you all :0)

 

Love to, but I'm on the road w/o computer.

 

Here is the edited post as follows, run through the spell-ckecker and the suggested links added. Should we start a new topic and call it sticky, or wait until skip oks the sticky and email him this text?:

Please do not reply to this post. If you have any questions or comments, please start a new thread.
Hello and welcome home! This should answer some of your basic questions and help you figure out basically what the Rainbow Family of Living Light is all about.

A pretty accurate description is "the largest non-organization with the most non-members"

First of all, there is no such thing as "members" here, if you have a bellybutton you are a Rainbow. (And even if you don't have a belly-button, you're still family)

There is a post here that explains everything so beautifully and eloquently, I suggest reading it before going any further, it can be found here: http://www.hipforums.com/forums/sho...761&postcount=9

If you have a short attention span and are already tired of reading this post, there is a short and sweet description over here: http://www.digihitch.com/ftopict-1999.html

Your best basic resources are www.welcomehome.org (for historical info, stories, and lightlines, but the site is no longer updated) and www.welcomehere.org (for calendars and things like that, always being updated)

Before you do anything, I suggest going to welcomehome.org and going to the "general info" section. There are quite a few articles on why we gather, the permit issue, and some great links.

Then go to "historical stuff" where you can find Native American prophesies about the warriors of the rainbow, tons of photos, past gathering sites, and lots more good info.

Once you've digested some of that, or even before, head over to the section called "rainbow clans" and you can find some family in your neck of the woods, it's divided into "North American rainbow" (the US and Canada) and "International rainbow" (Europe and all other places not in North America) On that same page you'll find links to the sites of lots of kitchens and camps to explore.

To find Rainbows near you, you can also call a lightline, here is the list from welcomehome. It has not been updated in some time, so if the number is out of order, post and ask here.

Florida Lightline (352) 463-0450
California Rainbow (916) 747-6269
Colorado Lightline (303) 595-1077
Dutch RB Info-line 020 468 3344
Rhode Island LightLine (401) 785-3175
Philadelphia LightLine (215) 701-7233
North East Rainbow Family NERF (845) 774-4100
North West Tribes Hotline (503) 727-2498 (Portland OR)
Mid Atlantic Hotline 202 797-3625 (Washington DC)
HO! Lightline (770) 662-6112 (Atlanta)
OM Valley Rainbow (513) 956-1675
Great Lakes Rainbow (Ann Arbor MI) 734-761-4243
New York City lightline 212 560-7111
Dallas Drum Hotline 214.823.DRUM
Arizona Moonlit Gatherings (602) 306-DRUM or go to the MoonLit Gatherings web site.
Last updated Jan, 13, 2002

There is a Rainbow glossary located here: http://www.welcomehome.org/rainbow/info/glossary.html
and a thread from these forums based on just that here: http://hipforums.com/forums/showthr...=38382#poststop

Now, if you feel up to it, you can check out welcomehere.org. I should say here that there is some controversy and politics surrounding welcomehere. Now, personally, I don't know what it's about, and I've got no opinion one way or the other on it, I'm simply including this as a possible source of information for all you out there to do with as you will, since it would pop up in any google search you would do on your own. So just to be clear, I'm not taking a stance one way or another on the argument, because I know nothing about it, I'm neutral. At the very top of their page is some lovely introduction to rainbow, I suggest giving it a read. From there, clicking on different parts of the picture on the main page will basically get you to different places, kynd ride share, calendar of events (click on the woman), or a page to find rainbows by state, by clicking on the bowl at the back of the table. From that page, there is a list of links to the left that will guide you all around the site. If you have real player, click on "rainbow spirit" at the very bottom of the page, it's got tons of music from a movie of the same name. I've never seen the movie, but the music is good if you need a rainbow campfire song fix. To that end, you can also go here---> http://www.geocities.com/RainForest...inbowsongs.html

There's a forum there as well, and a couple links to other rainbow forums (including this one), that are worth checking out, for variety and curiosity’s sake.

Now, before we get into anymore links, I'm going to answer as many basic questions as I can.

As I said before, there are no members, come with an open mind, an open heart and be ready to pitch in, that's all. There is no money exchanged at gatherings, you don't need a ticket to get in, but if you have money that you can spend, it's appreciated if you donate to the magic hat, which goes to buying food and essentials at the gathering.

There are no rules about possessions or where to live, there is family that lives in homes, in busses, or out of a backpack.

There are as many different sides to rainbow as there are people, and you're pretty much guaranteed to get a different answer about what it is from everyone you ask. So what rainbow is exactly, well, a good post on it can be found here: http://hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32356
There's a great little definition of it at the beginning of welcomehome.org

with that said, I'll give you some links to look at.

a great ride share can be found here: http://kindrideshare.net/rideshare.html honestly, I'd go there before the one at welcomehere, it's been around longer and is just all around a better one (in my opinion)

another fantastic 101 sort of site, that's real simple is http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Museum/6864/manual.htm
that's got your basic breakdown of everything you may need to know, from main gate, to council. I highly suggest reading through that one.

for a groovy "virtual rainbow" tour, you can go to this site ---> http://members.aol.com/gypsyvideo/

http://groups.msn.com/LostFoundRain...urwebpage3.msnw this is a great site, with a forum, pictures and an insane amount of links, and just a lot of really good info.

For some great videos, songs, and stories, check out SpunOne productions, located here: http://www.spunoneproductions.com/
I suggest listening to the stories first, they're wonderful and all from a brother called Little Hawk.

Alt.Gathering.Rainbow is a newsgroup that has been in existence for many years, and is often subject to ‘flame-wars’ and other discouraging content. If you post there, be careful about telling them about this forum. We don’t want it to get as crazy as it is over there.

A sociologist named Micheal Niman wrote a book called "People of the Rainbow; A Nomadic Utopia" that studies the family as if it were a small tribe. http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~niman/rainbow.html

So, that's the extent of it really. You can get a lot of info from the links I've put here, but your best bet for understanding rainbow is to find family near you and experience it yourself. Nothing beats firsthand experience, in fact, I knew near nothing about rainbow at my first gathering, and while I wish I had know a couple things, I learned more in 5 days of experience than a year of reading online information could have ever taught me.

The most important things to remember are, be kind, we are all family no matter how we dress or even if we consider ourselves rainbow or not, treat others as you would like them to treat you. Be ready to work, things don't get done by themselves, if something needs to be done, do it, if someone is doing something, ask to help. Find a job you like and can be good and useful at and do it. Be respectful of the site, and the earth in general, pick up after yourself, and if you see trash around, pick it up and throw it away or recycle it. We want the land to look better than when we got there. Stay for clean-up! If you want to be treated as family, act like it.
And most importantly, WE LOVE YOU

 

Took me 15 minutes, you lazy hippies Love you all!!

 

Skip has been PMed re: our request for a sticky at 11:33 Pacific standard time.

 

MY HERO!!!!!!!

if this were a silent film I would faint dead away, you rock brother :0)

I think we should stick it in a new topic called something like "rainbow basics, read before you post" or something like that, and let that be the sticky.

You want to repost the edited version, or shall I?

and once again, you rock brother :0)

 

I think you should repost, then it will always and forever have your beautiful name on it.

 

ooooh, that was good, and you made me smile

I'll do it right now, by the way, have I told you that you're officially my hero?

 

yes, the first time was here: http://www.hipforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=756781&postcount=34

And the second was here:http://www.hipforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=756781&postcount=74

 

just making sure

 

cool, so here's my idea. if it takes a while to get this made sticky, you're gonna wanna bump it, but you dont want a million posts. so edit it every day. i dont mean make changes, just go in and change a period then change it back or something. i think the edit will bump it up....

 

I think you're right, I'll do that.

I'll PM skip with a request as well right now