The *Official* Hoop Path Retreat Thread (July 12-15th, 2007)

So, here we go! Here is the official thread for folks to post questions about what's going on or for us to work out things we have talked about in class. Here is the original blurb for the weekend:

Come Jam with the Hoop Path in NC July 12-15

The Hoop Path tribe would like to invite you to join us in flight here in Carrboro, NC on the weekend of July 12th-15th to meet us, commune with us as a tribe, and share stories of your own and your Community's.

The Hoop Path is a class and workshop series intended to build and support connections between Hoop, Hooper, and the world we share with each other. The Hoop Path class has existed for two wonderful years and continues to grow even beyond this little town. Recently I have traveled to reach out to other communities and hoopers to share what we have been learning together in our local tribe.

As these recent tours have afforded me the opportunity to meet many of you, you have shared with me your stories of your own hoop paths. Many of your stories of your life with the Hoop, are also stories of profound, personal transformation. We believe as many of you do, that the hoop offers a path towards things greater than many of us have known before. First and foremost perhaps, the hoop's path leads us to our true, unedited sense of Identity (Ritmo).

It is indeed a troubling time for the world in which we live. War, hate, and cruelty dominate the airwaves and lives of so many throughout the World. Beliefs have become walls and fences to keep us isolated and afraid. In the face of so much despair, hope fades and weariness overcomes many of us. The rhythms of the world of Man scare many of us into a subdued stagnation. We slowly accept things we would have once considered unacceptable. We too often abide by the rules of others without questioning their legitimacy or the authority of our leaders.

We, of the Hoop Path tribe, believe that a life without rhythm equals a death without meaning. We believe that all of life is an infinite number of rhythms which pass into and out of us everyday. We believe that just as negative rhythms can be passed to each other, so too, can positive rhythms. We believe that the hoop can help us find these positive rhythms within ourselves and give us the Strength to pass these rhythms along to others in need. We believe that 'self help' is by extension, 'Community help.' We intend to collect and pass positive rhythms with you over a long Southern Summer weekend.

We as a tribe want to spend some time with you. We offer our homes to you to stay in, transportation between events, and our open and welcoming hearts. We will also offer three workshops (3 hrs/ 1 per day) on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at a special rate of $100 for all three, $70 for two, and $40 for one. These will be Hoop Path workshops intended to teach the methods and theories of the Hoop Path curriculum. We will be announcing registration for the workshops at a later date when we have our Paypal account up and running. Space for the workshops will be limited and pre-registration will be required.

The workshops are optional. All the other events are free of charge and open to all. You can come to all of them or just one of them. It is up to you. We do have hotels and motels here you can stay in if you prefer.

We will have a full schedule of events intended to build both Self and Community. We are still planning this, but here are the events we know will happen:

Thursday evening: We welcome y'all to join us at the weekly hoop jam to live music at our (very crowded!) local co-op from 6-8pm.

Friday:
Workshop from 1:30-4:30 pm.
Hoop Jam
Dinner provided by The Hoop Path Tribe at Hoop Path Madre Beth's home.

Saturday:
Workshop from 1:30-4:30 pm.
Fire Ceremony with Hoop and Drum Circle

Sunday:
Hoop Brunch at local co-op, 11 am to 1pm
Workshop from 1:30-4:30 pm
"Hoopers' Ball" at a huge indoor venue 7 to 10 pm. This is a ball just for us. You don't have to worry about leaving room for non-hoopers, cuz we're the ones that rented the place. ALL are invited to this. It is free and open to the public.

The closest airport is in Raleigh, NC (RDU) which is thirty minutes away. Charlotte is also an option, but it is about 2.5 hours from us. If you are mapquesting us, we are in Carrboro, NC 27510.

Please, please, please join us. We welcome you.

If you wish to pre-register: email thehooppath@gmail.com.