Intention started in
1999 as the world was hyped 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.
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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.
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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 III 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 :)
Intention IV in 2002-2003 saw the Organix crew contributing to the
New Year's party — there is much cross-over between the 2
communities. This was also the year that cabin parties spontaneously
began to happen and another influx of newcomers came into the fold.
We had our first ambient temple event as a community on the last
night in the Main hall, which featured our largest cuddle puddle
so far.
Intention
V was held again at Camp Elphinstone. By then the word was out
and well over 200 people registered for this 6-day 5-night gathering.
Snow fell for most of the week and Elphinstone became a magical
white crystal garden. The New Year's eve party crowd got close to
500 as the Goa Moose and Castle rocked to the tribal beat, despite
"the behemoth" heater catching fire. A nasty bug laid
many low but they now wear their "I puked at Intention V"
T-shirts as badges of passage.
In 2004/2005, there was a sense
that Elphinstone had been fully explored as a venue, and that a
closer, more intimate vibe was desired by many participants. Thus,
a new venue was sought for Intention VI that might be more compact
and cozy. We found it in Camp
Jubilee on Indian Arm — 280 acres of forested mountainside
on the water — about a 25-minute boat ride from Deep Cove.
With a sleeping capacity of 140,
the venue is smaller and very intimate, and Intention VI is likely
to have a "deeper" flavour — especially since the
camp is isolated and accessible only by boat. Nevertheless, following
the tradition, a big party and celebration is planned for New Year's
night and we hope to have up to 160 more folks coming out to join
us for the occasion.
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. This year, Intention VI focusses more on these circles
to facilitate co-creating the event, and to engage folks in the
Intention community before
the event "officially" begins.
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