Naomi’s 30th Rebirthday
The Story of We
If the universe is a symphony, we are each of us a melody within it.
Come harmonize with us.
At the heart of our celebration is The Story of We — a ritual of shared narratives where each voice, your voice, adds depth and harmony to our collective song.
Join us in answering the profound questions:
Who am I? Who are We?
What experiences have shaped me? What values do I hold? What do I dream? What hopes or intentions motivated me to join this gathering? What do I seek to contribute to this collective experience?
June 1st
Prelude
2:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Arrive, mingle, connect.
Doors close
3:30 p.m.
Ensure you're inside as we begin our immersive ritual.
The Story of We
3:30 - 6:50 p.m.
Immerse in our collaborative storytelling ritual, segmented by three 15-minute intermissions.
Cool Down
6:50 - 7:20 p.m.
Share your experience and reflections as we decrescendo.
After Party
7:20 - ??? p.m.
Dinner, cake, and companionship under the night sky.
Tell your tale
We will each have 20 minutes to share our story.
We can share our stories through any medium: video, music, poetry, narrative, dance, photography…
We ask that your story include some amount of words, so we can gain a tangible sense of who you are.
We can design our stories ahead of time, or share what’s spontaneous – we’re big fans of structured improv.
We will have a TV with HDMI hookup, several bluetooth speakers, and a Bose S1 Pro+ PA system with two mics.
If you’d like to collaborate on your AV setup, be sure to contact us by May 23rd.
Wear
We invite you to wear comfortable, self-expressive clothes that put you in the mindset of a ritual.
Eat
We will have libations and snacks on hand during the day, and dinner during the after-party.
Immerse
When we step through the doors of immersion, we leave behind our preconceived notions about ourselves, and about one another. We become ensconced in an otherworldly space where we fully perceive ourselves as empowered co-creators. We surrender to the group experience, transcending our individual identities to become part of a greater whole.
Thus, we find that group experiences are much more powerful if they’re treated as immersive.
We ask that while we’re in the doors-closed ritual, your phones are away, and you make no other plans. If you need to take space, the introversion room will be open.
Recharge
We will have a quiet room devoted to introversion, where we will ask consent before engaging in conversation
Gift
Your undivided presence for this ritual is the only present we desire.
The Story of We is a powerful practice of collaborative storytelling that invites us to explore, illuminate, and celebrate the intricate web of connections that link our lives together.
The Story of We creates a sacred space for sharing our personal narratives and discovering the universal melodies that weave us into a shared symphony of human experience.
At the heart of The Story of We is the recognition that our individual stories are not separate or isolated, but rather deeply interconnected and mutually influencing. Each of our lives is a unique and precious composition, imbued with our particular experiences, challenges, and triumphs.
When we come together to share these stories, we begin to see how our melodies are woven together in surprising and meaningful ways, forming a rich and complex pattern that is greater than the sum of its parts.
The practice begins with each of us taking a turn, as we feel the call, to share our own story, starting from whatever point in our autobiographical journey feels most relevant or resonant. As the stories unfold, we listen deeply and with open hearts, attuning to the emotions, themes, and insights that emerge.
We are witnesses. We are creation, spontaneous and unfolding.
As the storytelling progresses, we will collaboratively identify the common themes, patterns, and synchronicities that emerge across the individual narratives. These might include shared experiences of love, loss, growth, resilience, or transformation. They might reveal how our seemingly separate paths have intersected in unexpected ways, or how we have been shaped by similar cultural, historical, or ecological forces.
Through this process of collective meaning-making, the individual stories gradually interweave into a larger narrative - The Story of We. This shared story honors the uniqueness of each individual journey while illuminating the profound interconnectedness that binds us all.
It reveals how our lives are not just parallel, but truly interwoven, with each of our choices, actions, and experiences rippling out to touch and shape the larger whole.