Confessions of an experience design addict
Want to know a secret about my origins as an experience designer?
I originally set out on my path as an event producer and creator of social experiments simply because i wanted more people to play with and better events that I, personally, could attend.
It was ultimately a selfish desire, my passion for serving community… a ‘selfish gift’ that served both mine and others needs.
Perhaps this rings a bell? Perhaps you recognize how your participation in serving community has served both yours and others needs?
You know what? THATS OK!
Because by taking an active role in raising the quality of experience for others and not just yourself, you contribute to a win-win real world scenario where-

‘…more for you is not less for me, but  more for you is more for me too!’
Charles Eisenstein- Sacred Economics

I’ve often wondered if perhaps this selfish desire to engage our world on a more first hand basis for the sake of increasing OUR OWN quality of personal experience is actually a component of evolution working through us without us even realizing it.

Palenque 2012: a social experiment in radical collaboration
We invite everyone participating in this upcoming Mythic Adventure to put on their experience design hats and join us in crafting the ultimate experience together!
More players on the playing field, more fun!
The root meaning of the word ‘community’, derived from the root ‘com munus’  means literally- ‘to share gifts freely amongst one another’,
People coming to together to share their gifts and in support of the conditions necessary for these gifts to be exchanged.
We’ve seen  THOUSANDS of people transform and move into a deeper level of awareness as a result of their participation in community and the willingness to share their gifts.
By ‘gifts’ i mean  creativity, enthusiasm, ideas, goodwill, resources, wisdom…things both tangible AND intangible.

So why all the fuss about Spring Equinox?
If you’ve studied anything the Maya Elders are actually saying right now, its all basically the same thing-
‘Prepare for the Dawn.’
Call me a pathological optimist, but i’m all about tuning into DAWN SPRING ENERGY right now.
I want to go into this new year tuned into the sparking energy of RENEWAL, INSPIRATION, RADIANCE, LUMINOSITY and TRUE WARMTH.
On March 20, we will observe the constellation of Orion rising on Spring Equinox in Palenque, Mexico and celebrate a DAWN of unique significance to the Maya people.
To tell you the truth, i don’t fully know WHY its significant, but luckily we’ll have all sorts of amazing educated experts tuning us into the whole dealio.
(Something about the resurrection of their spiritual leader buried in the Tomb of Inscriptions, a Corn God, lots of stuff about the stars being in alignment and such! )
To be clear, the Maya people hold no END TIMES prophecies nor predict the end of ANYTHING except one of their ‘long count’ calendars..and if they have ANY message about a  ‘return’ , its to that of a simpler way of life lived  in harmony with Nature and each other.
As much as i love watching epic disaster movies about the end of the world, i have to admit, i’m pretty tired of all this END OF THE WORLD nonsense.

Creator Culture on the RISE!
What happens when you get a movement of experience designers all collaborating?
You catalyze a Creator Culture- a culture which is currently  emerging all around us.
As it rises, so too does the invitation for everyone to become experience designing, culture building, tool sharing and creatively engaged players!
Creator Culture does not reject Consumer Culture, no;  it has the ability to digest and integrate old FINITE games (defined by winners and losers) into a NEW INFINITE GAME.
Creator Culture welcomes everyone into the play, encourages all of its players to become thouroughly engaged.
CREATOR CULTURE recognizes the latent seeds of renewal and goodness everywhere, in everything and in everyone!
When we are creatively engaged we are filled with a life affirming desire to connect to ,  purify and share those expressions and perceptions that fill us with delight, fill us with life.
We learn through direct playful experience, that which truly serves us and gratefully release that which no longer does.
I’ve witnessed  many people’s lives transform as a result of their direct experiences on the playing field of ‘The Infinite Game’, coming ever deeper into their authentic expression as beings.

And in closing…
Palenque 2012 is an artistic expression of our passion as experience designers for bringing people together in the presence of this ‘sparking fire’  to create, celebrate and evolve.
We invite you to join us, even if you cannot make it down to Palenque, in this dialogue.
We invite you to consider that YOU have more of a impact in the world around you and especially to those immediately close to you, than you realize.
We especially invite you to consider yourself the architect of your OWN incredible experiences and join us we move together as journey mates into the promise of a new year together.
As experience designers, let’s get dirty in the rich soil of direct experience…where practice tempers theory and we can share openly and freely  wisdom/ ideas/ visions/ dreams/ creativity and solutions.

Yes, there’s an apathy and fear that grips the world these days.
So let’s be brave and dare to witness the light that burns within us.
By engaging this fire that burns within or even by being willing to seek it out- we begin to glow,  alight and inspire others to do the same!
Every little gift, act, gesture, compliment, idea, smile and moment of support we share is an expression of that sparking fire, illuminating, inspiring, catalyzing- untold mythic adventure!
When we court our innate creativity, share our luminous gifts in whatever form they may take…we become conscious experience designers in this new CREATOR CULTURE.
We begin to see community as a lamp of luminous gifts, a vessel designed to hold CREATION FIRE.
We’ve all tasted it, this mighty ‘yes,and’  social phenomenon of sparking fire joining and illuminating .
Lets fan this good fire!
Lets step into this dawn, the one in which we simultaneously witness our selves, our communities and a CREATOR CULTURE… rising as the spring sun.

It is my informed perception  that it is through the engagement of creative community dedicated to the sharing of EACH of our unique gifts, that our culture may find ever deeper access to the well springs of renewal necessary to navigate these complex and challenging times.
…..

In this ongoing series of posts i will sharing my love for experience design, relate behind-the-scenes observations on PALENQUE 2012 and share very practical tips, tricks and stories on what makes for awesome, inspiring, life-changing, wildly creative, participatory, surprising and TRANSFORMATIONAL experiences!
Why settle for less, right?
‘Let the beauty we love be what we do’
- Rumi