Intention started in 1999 as the world was on hype about Y2K. Jeet Kei got the ball rolling on the idea of gathering the many circles of friends all together to hold space together out of the city somewhere. It ended up being Lake Sasamat in the Belcarra area where a campground exists. Invitations were made up and passed around through friends and to their friends. We did not have this website then--tho' we had the Navigator online, the precursor to this site--but word of mouth was really where it was at then.

The first Intention meetings were where many of the "tribe" met each other. The vibe at these meetings was unmistakeably high and because meals were to be made an extra level of cooperation was needed by all. With Y2K on the horizon it was a highly anticipated New Years for 2000 and it seemed more important than ever for many to be around people you would want to be around, people who understood the power of the tribal vibe, being a community, not to mention rocking it with positivity.

The success of the first year made it an instant tradition. It went another year at Lake Sasamat before it was decided that we wanted it to be on the Sunshine Coast to unite our coastal tribe.

It was at the 2nd Intention that it was announced that this community was going to be again represented at the Gathering of the Tribes in LA. That was the year the Tribal Harmonix Collective was given its name and its first members attended GoTT, hosting fundraisers to go while giving people more sense of what we aimed to accomplish.

Intention at Camp Elphinstone had a different feel and all the meals were prepared for us. Some people miss making the meals together, and working together in that way. (We did our dishes too before). Here we saw a rise in the number of workshops offered, in addition to the number of attendees. We focused even further on community building.

Intention has been the most "family friendly" of our tribal events, and children have had a strong presence. More than any other event of the year, Intention has shown what our community has to offer, and gone deepest into exploring our own community development--independently, though very much open to newcomers and outer tribes. In year III even the whale tribes were represented :)

In year VI, Organix was to be invited to share space in Intention--they do an annual New Year's event and there is much cross-over between the 2 communities. This was also the year that other cabin parties spontaneously began to happen and another influx of newcomers came into the fold. It was also the first ambient temple event we had as a community--held the last night in the Main hall, with our largest cuddle puddle.

As we have grown from circles of friends towards a united tribal family, we have used circles to communicate more effectively and lend more intention to our community development. In these circles we have been able to see ourselves as one, set the tone of our events collectively, encourage a high level of participation and standards of safety. Throughout all of this, individuals are free to choose what they participate in, or not. One's experience is based on what one brings in and is willing to open up to.

For a visual look at Intention there is a documentary piece made in year III which gives some flavor and insight (made by Oz and Chael). Also give an ear to last year's Intention CD, with tribal original tracks produced by Guardian available at Elphintome in Roberts Creek.