We pulled in from Burning Man Tuesday night August 26th —dust still in our pores—and by Friday morning August 29th we were in Layton, Utah at Salt Con, the End of Summer board gaming convention.
Masculine focus that had been used to survive storms was now used to crush enemies across the table. Friends gathered, dice rolled, and the zone took us.
It was pyretic. Flames of rage at bad moves. Laughter at absurd twists. Joy in victory, humility in defeat. And through it all—connection with Tom, Chrystal, and Porter.
Around the table we opened our hearts, even as we tried to beat the hell out of each other in a dozen complex games.
Does it get any better?
From a 60th anniversary dinner… to the desert storms of Burning Man… to dice, laughter, and tribe around a table. Life is full of surprises, twists, and delights.
As Ferris Bueller once said: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while… you could miss it.”
—Jason
#SaltCon2025 #BoardGameLife #SacredRebel #MasculineFocus #SacredMasculine #ModernDayWarrior #TribeAndPlay #JennieAndJason #FromDustToDice
Picture 1 - Tom Mecham overseeing his Rail Empire in Brass Birmingham. Notice how serious he is.
Picture 2 - Jason and Porter at the same game of Brass
Picture 3 - Tom pointing out his ONE POINT VICTORY over Jason!
Picture 4 - Afternoon of gaming with the guys, the ladies arrived. Chrystal Mecham smiles as we play Terraforming Mars!
Picture 5 - The Saturday Mega Game of Mosaic!
Picture 6 - Jennie congratulating Jason on his epic Mosaic Victory! (She was NOT happy!)
Picture 7 - THE game.... Dune Imperium Uprising!
Picture 8 - Chrystal Mecham and Porter realizing there is no way to beat Jennie.... (Jennie won the game at 10 points, with All the rest of us at 9 points! Epic game!)
Picture 9 - The all important reserved table!!!! We play in the private room at our own table! (I'll explain why in some future post).
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JENNIE
This post is being posted September 9th, 2025. Her birthday was last week!
This is Jennie.
This photo was taken Saturday, August 23rd in the middle of an epic dust storm at Burning Man, Black Rock City. 50 MPH winds. Whiteout conditions. Playa dust in every fold and crack.
And there she is—smiling.
This photo captures just a sliver of what we all know about her:
Her strength.
Her resilience.
Her beauty—shining through no matter what.
Look at her eyes. You can see the loyalty in them. The depth of her love. And if you look closely, you’ll catch it—that glint. The mischievous feminine trickster. Wild Swamp Woman is still in there, even in the driest, harshest winds of the desert.
We met on Match.com back in August of 2007. Eighteen years ago.
We dated for four years before getting married on September 10th, 2011.
And somehow… our marriage is still as fresh and exciting as it was back then.
We still sit on the porch with our cats.
She’s still my Bliss Bunny.
We still follow the Wizard on wild adventures across the world.
And each year, my gratitude for her deepens.
She is a magical creature that God sent to me.
I manifested her. She manifested us. We aligned.
And every time life tested us, we found our way back to sacred union—two sovereign souls choosing love again and again.
I’m grateful.
I’m happy.
I love her.
And I genuinely enjoy her.
She’s better—far, far better—than I ever expected.
So here’s to you, Jennie.
On your birthday, and every day…
You are grace. You are power. You are beauty.
And I get to walk beside you.
#HappyBirthday #BurningManQueen #WildSwampWoman #SacredUnion #DesertDustAndMagic #EighteenYearsStrong #StillRising #SacredRebelLove #Jennie
MODERN DAY WARRIOR RETREAT
SEPTEMBER 19-21, 2025, Heber City Utah
Friday 6:00PM - 10:00PM
Saturday 9:00AM - 10:00PM
Sunday 9:00AM - 7:00PM
$400.00
This is not a military boot camp.
And it’s not a “love and light, man-bun, apology tour.”
This is a retreat for practical men who need to sharpen the masculine sword—men who want more focus, direction, and presence.
For over a decade, Modern Day Warrior has been doing just that.
Across three days, I’ll lead practices that get masculine spiritual work out of your head and into your body. You’ll learn what it means to show up fully in your life—
With your Woman
With your Work
With your Family
With your Self
Every year men gather in circle to fulfill the ancient promise: Iron sharpens Iron.
And here’s the truth most won’t tell you: what sharpens iron more than anything is sitting with other men who want the same. Men who seek depth, clarity, and power—not as theory, but as lived reality.
👉 DM me if you wish to attend.
Jason
P.S. You already know if this is yours. If you’re still “thinking about it,” that’s just hesitation talking. Trust the call.
60 Years of Love
Last week we celebrated Jennie’s parents’ 60th wedding anniversary. Sixty years.
No photos. No fanfare. Just presence. A family gathered around a table, honoring two people who chose each other every day for six decades.
In a world that obsesses over quick hits and instant fireworks, I sat in awe of something different: longevity. Devotion. The sacred grind of staying, forgiving, loving again.
Jennie and I wouldn’t be who we are without their example. Our marriage, our family, our work—it all stands on the shoulders of that kind of love.
Sixty years isn’t flashy. It’s sacred.
The Aftermath of Burning Man
We’ve been back for a while now… but we’re still cleaning playa dust out of everything.
It’s good work. The dust is more than just dirt—it’s symbolic. A reminder of storms endured, and the chaos that clings.
Washing it away feels like a reset. Like reconnecting with the world, breathing clean again, starting fresh.
Sometimes the aftermath is the real ceremony.
Jason
#BurningMan2025 #AfterTheBurn #SacredRebel #PlayaDust #StormAndSoul #FreshStart #SacredMasculine #ModernDayWarrior #JennieAndJason
🔥 Burning Man Day 5 Post (Publish Friday, Sept 5 @ 8:00AM)
Tuesday, August 26th, 2025 — Day Five: The Departure
We were frazzled, but it was time. We were aligned in our hearts and minds to go to Burning Man. We were aligned to change the plans and go early. And even though the whole event was just getting started... it was time to go home. There was a clarity there.
We packed the camp under cloudy skies, ate a simple breakfast, hugged a lot of people goodbye... and rolled out.
We hadn’t had the wild “Playa experience.” No drugs, no orgy tents, no manic all-night adventures. What we did have was storms, survival, and each other.
On the long drive home, after 8 hours of deep beautiful conversation, Jennie took DJ duty, blasting a string of hits that carried me through the final stretch, which included a torrential downpour over the Salt Flats as we traveled from Wendover to Salt Lake City.
We pulled into home at 11 PM, exhausted, grateful, contemplative.
Why had we gone?
What had we gained?
What had we given?
I don’t have final answers. Maybe I never will. Burning Man has a saying: Fuck Your Burn. You don’t get the burn you want—you get the burn you need.
Maybe I didn’t need what I wanted. Maybe I didn’t even want what I needed. But I got something: a test of skill, heart, and spirit. A reminder that humans can break, adapt, rebuild, and keep going.
And above all, I got this: Jennie and I came out stronger. We do hard things together. We survive storms together. We go on adventures together, again and again. And that’s worth more than any wild Playa night could have given me.
➡️ And that… was my first Burn.
PS - Will there be another?
Interesting question. I can only answer that intuitively... I think there might be. We would take an RV. We would have Air Conditioning. We would stay longer...
But will it actually happen? Who knows?
For Jan
This is Jan.
She was my mother.
She died 16 years ago today. And I still miss her.
She was a woman of depth, strength, and warmth. She carried me, held me, taught me, and loved me in ways that still echo through my life. When I look back at old photos like this one, I see not just her smile—I feel her presence. She is still with me.
The night before she died, I sat at her bedside. She told me she couldn’t leave—that she needed to stay and take care of my kids. Their birth mother had already passed, and she felt the weight of needing to hold them too.
I told her: It’s okay. They’re safe. I’ll watch over them. I’ll carry them.
And with that, she let go. She left peacefully, knowing she was loved.
There have been dark, painful chapters since then. Things I wish I could have shielded my kids from. Sometimes I feel like I let her down. Like I didn’t keep the promise I made that night.
But then I remember the deeper truth: her love was never conditional. She knew life would test me, test us. She trusted me not because she thought I’d be perfect, but because she knew I would keep getting back up, keep choosing love, keep walking forward with my kids in my arms.
So today, I honor her.
I honor her memory, her laughter, her unconditional love.
And I honor the way she is still woven into me.
I love you, Mom. I miss you. And I carry you with me, always.
🔥 Burning Man Day 4 Post (Publish Thursday, Sept 4 @ 8:00AM)
Monday, August 25th, 2025 — Day Four: Solitude & First Ride
At dawn, I walked alone across the Playa. I had expressed one intention: To explore by myself at some point. This morning, after the storm, I put on my big boots, expecting mud... but the playa had already hardened into a nice dry crust. It was just me, the dust, and the towering wooden Man at the center. No phone. No music. Just silence. It wasn’t fireworks or spectacle—it was solitude. And it was sacred.
This was the moment I had aligned to, the moment I had manifested, and I fully received it. More than the lights, more than the music, more than the art... it was just me and the Man. I AM the man... that was the message I understood.
When I returned, it was Rebuild Number Two—cleaning mud from the camp after last night's rain storm. Then finally, we dragged our bikes out, and Jennie and I and Jim biked out into the hot vastness. Art cars rumbled by, sculptures gleamed, music floated in the distance. The day had begun, and the denizens of Black Rock City had, for the first time, truly begun to stir.
Later, after the sun set, the rain came again... and I was filled with certainty. It would pass. It would not stop our one and only excursion into the Burning Man world.
And it did stop, and magically the muddy playa hardened almost immediately. Bikes, adorned with lights were prepared, and off we went, following Jim and Sarah.
It was muted. But beautiful. We went slowly, we explored. Jennie fell off her bike (be careful of that soft playa sand that can sneak up on you!) and we walked, talked, looked at art, and got... a touch, a taste of the magic offered by the Burn.
That peaceful night ended back at camp, when at 2AM, three giant tour buses pulled up beside us, blasting music so loud it rattled our bones. Sleep was a fantasy. But still—we’d gotten our first taste of the Playa’s beauty.
Tomorrow: Leaving early, questions with no answers, and the strange phrase that defines it all—Fuck Your Burn.
🔥 Burning Man Day 3 Post (Published Wednesday, Sept 3 @ 8:00AM)
Sunday, August 24th, 2025 — Day Three: Rebuild in Dust and Rain
We rebuilt everything. Cleaned thick layers of playa dust off the kitchen and tents, tied down everything tighter, made it stronger. By afternoon, we heard rain was coming.
And it came.
Not quite the Rain Apocalypse from a couple years ago, but enough to shut the city down. No riding, no exploring. But inside Jim and Sarah’s shift pod, it was warm. Cozy. We laughed, swapped stories, listened to radio updates, ate Pho.
The Playa outside was mud and chaos. Inside, it was tribe and intimacy. That night, I realized—maybe Burning Man wasn’t about ecstasy or art cars or Orgy Domes. (The infamous Orgy Dome made headlines, as it blew away Saturday night!) Maybe Burning Man was about surviving the storm together.
In that little shift pod, we finally got to relax. The sound of the rain outside was almost magical.
Though... the carport shelter, now fully windproofed... was filled with MUD.
➡️ Tomorrow: Solitude, the first bike rides, cleaning the carport (again) and the smallest taste of Playa magic.
Picture: The guys gathered in the Shift Pod while it rained outside. (The girls were on the king sized bed).
🔥 Burning Man Day 2 Post (Publish Tuesday, Sept 2 @ 8:00AM)
Saturday, August 23rd, 2025 — Day Two: Broken on Arrival
No sleep. No energy. I was already wrecked.
We managed a barebones camp—carport and two tents—but when I crawled into our shift pod, I couldn’t sleep. Ever been so tired you can’t sleep? That was me. Delirious. Broken. Then the sun rose and the heat hit—100 degrees in a tin can tent. Forget sleep.
Luckily, C (one of our group) had an RV with AC. I laid on his bed for 30 miraculous minutes of true sleep before the unit died. Still, those 30 minutes were salvation.
The rest of the day? Jennie and Sarah worked like soldiers. Jim tied everything down with his genius rigging. I staggered around like a zombie, useless, hating myself for not contributing. I’d heard the saying: “Burning Man will break you, then bless you.” Well, it broke me before it blessed me.
By afternoon I was regaining a little strength—when the wind storm hit.
The wind storm the world would later hear about on the news.
I stood in the carport when the dust came like a wall. Goggles on, mask tight. Then a crash—Chuck’s shade structure ripped free and slammed into our carport, shredding the roof open. I stared up into the maelstrom. I felt like Mark Watney on Mars. Metal bars bent like toys. Jennie and Jim were outside in the chaos; if those bars had hit them, they’d be dead.
The whiteout was total. Jennie vanished into the storm. For a terrifying moment, I thought she was gone—swallowed by the Playa. I lunged blindly, grabbing at her shirt, losing her again. By sheer luck she found her way to the truck. I dove in, followed by Jim and Sarah. The truck rocked violently in the gale, dust hammering us for two hours. Zero visibility.
It was insane. Terrifying. And, in a twisted way… exhilarating. Life-or-death in the middle of nowhere. My blood was awake in a way daily life rarely offers.
When the storm eased, we crawled out to assess. The camp was wrecked. Dust everywhere. Our tent was filled with sand. We ended up sleeping on Sarah and Jim’s floor that night.
➡️ Tomorrow: Mud, rain, Pho, and the strange intimacy of surviving together.
#BurningMan2025 #SacredRebel #FuckYourBurn #DustStormDiaries #SacredMasculine #LifeAndDeathMoments #PlayaStrong #JennieAndJason
🔥 Burning Man 2025 Report - Part 1 - Friday, August 22nd, 2025
Friday, August 22nd, 2025 — Day One: The Pilgrimage Begins
We were well prepared. Honestly, more prepared than I’ve ever been for anything. Jennie and I left early in the morning, hearts high, and met up with our magical friends Jim and Sarah in Park City. At their house we tied down the last straps, loaded the last bins, and set out in a caravan: my old 2005 Ford 350 pulling their trailer packed to the brim, and their SUV rolling behind.
Everything went smooth—until Wendover. That’s where the dreaded wrench light came on and my truck dropped into limp mode. My stomach sank. We pulled over, researched, tried everything. Finally, I called up an old high school buddy, Jim Burman, who’s a wizard with trucks. He immediately asked, “You towing something heavy?” Of course. He explained it was the computer not liking me running the turbo hard up steep grades. Solution? Stop the truck, reset it, and keep the turbo under 20 psi. It worked. But now we were climbing slower than we wanted.
A theme for the week: slower than we wanted.
Still, the ride was beautiful. Jim and I in the truck, the girls in the other car. We talked about politics, life, the universe, and then rolled into a long stretch of gratitude. I went so deep, I talked for over an hour straight. By the end, I was moved to tears at how blessed my life is. That one riff alone lifted me higher than any drug.
We stopped at Winnemucca Walmart in 100-degree heat for last-minute supplies, then pushed to Fernley and turned north toward the Black Rock Desert. The sun set. By the time we rolled into Gerlach, night had fallen. I worried about setting up camp in the dark. Jim reassured me it was better—cooler to work in.
He was half right.
We rolled up to the gates of Burning Man—and saw nothing but a sea of taillights. Hundreds. Thousands. The crawl had begun.
Seven-plus hours of stop-and-go purgatory. The gate was undermanned, the wait eternal. I was in high spirits the first five hours—laughing and talking with Jim, crawling through dust. But exhaustion ate me alive as the night dragged on. By the time we reached the greeters and got our map, it was 5:00 AM. The sun was rising. We hadn’t set up camp in the dark… because it was no longer dark.
➡️ Tomorrow: The Playa breaks me before it even buys me dinner.
#BurningMan2025 #SacredRebel #ModernDayWarrior #StormAndSoul #PlayaLife #LifeInTheDust #GratitudeJourney #SacredMasculine #JennieAndJason
Burning Man Report 2025 - Shorter Version
This is a shorter version of my Burning Man Report. I put a little effort into making it more entertaining. But I wanted both copies here, the long boring report, and the more flashy fun one.
My first… and possibly last, Burning Man.
I’ll probably tell pieces of this story in fragments over the next few weeks, but here’s the full download while it’s still fresh in my bones.
Friday, August 22nd, 2025 — Day One: The Pilgrimage Begins
We were well prepared. Honestly, more prepared than I’ve ever been for anything. Jennie and I left early in the morning, hearts high, and met up with our magical friends Jim and Sarah in Park City. At their house we tied down the last straps, loaded the last bins, and set out in a caravan: my old 2005 Ford 350 pulling their trailer packed to the brim, and their SUV rolling behind.
Everything went smooth—until Wendover. That’s where the dreaded wrench light came on and my truck dropped into limp mode. My stomach sank. We pulled over, researched, tried everything. Finally, I called up an old high school buddy, Jim Burman, who’s a wizard with trucks. He immediately asked, “You towing something heavy?” Of course. He explained it was the computer not liking me running the turbo hard up steep grades. Solution? Stop the truck, reset it, and keep the turbo under 20 psi. It worked. But now we were climbing slower than we wanted.
A theme for the week: slower than we wanted.
Still, the ride was beautiful. Jim and I in the truck, the girls in the other car. We talked about politics, life, the universe, and then rolled into a long stretch of gratitude. I went so deep, I talked for over an hour straight. By the end, I was moved to tears at how blessed my life is. That one riff alone lifted me higher than any drug.
We stopped at Winnemucca Walmart in 100-degree heat for last-minute supplies, then pushed to Fernley and turned north toward the Black Rock Desert. The sun set. By the time we rolled into Gerlach, night had fallen. I worried about setting up camp in the dark. Jim reassured me it was better—cooler to work in.
He was half right.
We rolled up to the gates of Burning Man—and saw nothing but a sea of taillights. Hundreds. Thousands. The crawl had begun.
Seven-plus hours of stop-and-go purgatory. The gate was undermanned, the wait eternal. I was in high spirits the first five hours—laughing and talking with Jim, crawling through dust. But exhaustion ate me alive as the night dragged on. By the time we reached the greeters and got our map, it was 5:00 AM. The sun was rising. We hadn’t set up camp in the dark… because it was no longer dark.
Saturday, August 23rd, 2025 — Day Two: Broken on Arrival
No sleep. No energy. I was already wrecked.
We managed a barebones camp—carport and two tents—but when I crawled into our tent, I couldn’t sleep. Ever been so tired you can’t sleep? That was me. Delirious. Broken. Then the sun rose and the heat hit—100 degrees in a tin can tent. Forget sleep.
Luckily, C (one of our group) had an RV with AC. I laid on his bed for 30 miraculous minutes of true sleep before the unit died. Still, those 30 minutes were salvation.
The rest of the day? Jennie and Sarah worked like soldiers. Jim tied everything down with his genius rigging. I staggered around like a zombie, useless, hating myself for not contributing. I’d heard the saying: “Burning Man will break you, then bless you.” Well, it broke me before it blessed me.
By afternoon I was regaining a little strength—when the storm hit.
The storm the world would later hear about on the news.
I stood in the carport when the dust came like a wall. Goggles on, mask tight. Then a crash—Chuck’s shade structure ripped free and slammed into our carport, shredding the roof open. Metal bars bent like toys. Jennie and Jim were outside in the chaos; if those bars had hit them, they’d be dead.
The whiteout was total. Jennie vanished into the storm. For a terrifying moment, I thought she was gone—swallowed by the Playa. I lunged blindly, grabbing at her shirt, losing her again. By sheer luck she found her way to the truck. We dove in, followed by Jim and Sarah. The truck rocked violently in the gale, dust hammering us for two hours. Zero visibility.
It was insane. Terrifying. And, in a twisted way… exhilarating. Life-or-death in the middle of nowhere. My blood was awake in a way daily life rarely offers.
When the storm eased, we crawled out to assess. The camp was wrecked. Dust everywhere. Our sleeping tent was filled with an inch of dust. We ended up sleeping on Sarah and Jim’s floor that night in their shift pod.
Sunday, August 24th, 2025 — Day Three: Rebuild in Dust and Rain
We rebuilt everything. Cleaned thick layers of playa dust off the kitchen, tied everything down tighter, made it stronger. By afternoon, we heard rain was coming.
And it came.
Not quite the Rain Apocalypse from a couple years ago, but enough to shut the city down. No riding, no exploring. But inside Jim and Sarah’s shift pod, it was warm. Cozy. We laughed, swapped stories, listened to radio updates, ate Pho.
The Playa outside was mud and chaos. Inside, it was tribe and intimacy. That night, I realized—maybe Burning Man wasn’t about ecstasy or art cars or Orgy Domes. Maybe it was about surviving the storm together.
Monday, August 25th, 2025 — Day Four: Solitude & First Ride
At dawn, I walked alone across the Playa. Just me, the dust, and the towering wooden Man at the center. No phone. No music. Just silence. It wasn’t fireworks or spectacle—it was solitude. And it was sacred.
When I returned, it was Rebuild Number Two—cleaning mud from the camp after another storm. Then finally, the skies cleared and the desert hardened enough to ride. We biked out into the vastness. Art cars rumbled by, sculptures gleamed in the dusk, music floated in the distance. It was muted, sensible, not the crazy debauchery people imagine—but it was ours.
That night ended back at camp with three giant tour buses pulling up beside us at 2:00 AM, blasting music so loud it rattled our bones. Sleep was a fantasy. But still—we’d gotten our first taste of the Playa’s beauty.
Tuesday, August 26th, 2025 — Day Five: The Departure
We were frazzled, but it was time. Packed the camp under cloudy skies, ate a simple breakfast, and rolled out.
We hadn’t had the wild “Playa experience.” No drugs, no orgy tents, no manic all-night adventures. What we did have was storms, survival, and each other.
On the long drive home, Jennie took DJ duty, blasting a string of hits that carried me through the final stretch. We pulled into home at 11 PM, exhausted, grateful, contemplative.
Why had we gone?
What had we gained?
What had we given?
I don’t have final answers. Maybe I never will. Burning Man has a saying: Fuck Your Burn. You don’t get the burn you want—you get the burn you need.
Maybe I didn’t need what I wanted. Maybe I didn’t even want what I needed. But I got something: a test of skill, heart, and spirit. A reminder that humans can break, adapt, rebuild, and keep going.
And above all, I got this: Jennie and I came out stronger. We do hard things together. We survive storms together. And that’s worth more than any wild Playa night could have given me.
Burning Man 2025 Report - Long Version
This is a long and detailed version of our Burning Man Trip. It’s a dry read, but I wanted it here for Posterity.
Burning Man Report – 2025 My first… and possibly last, Burning Man.
While I’ll probably continue to report small pieces of my experience in Burning Man over the coming weeks, I’ll give you a big download today.
Friday August 22nd, 2025
We were WELL PREPARED. Probably more prepared for an event than I’m have ever been. Felt good. Jennie and I left early in the morning and headed over to Park City to meet with out magical friends Jim and Sarah. At their house we finished tying things down, and set out together in a caravan of two vehicles, my truck towing their trailer packed with supplies, and their vehicle. Everything went well until around Wendover, when my 2005 Ford 350 went into limp mode and the dreaded wrench gear came on. We did lots of research, and finally I called my friend from High School, Jim Burman, who is a wizard when it comes to mechanical stuff like this. He immediately asked if we were towing something heavy… and yes we were, and so he said it was the computer not liking us using the Turbo up steep slopes. After a bit of worry and consternation… we figured out he was right. Stop the truck, which reset things, and then kept the turbo under 20psi, and… it worked. So… we were a bit slower than we wanted to be. Which… was to be a theme…. The rest of the trip was great, Jim and were in the truck, the girls in the other vehicle. We talked about life, the universe, everything, including politics, and then we went into a long piece about what we were grateful for in our lives. I talked so long about gratitude by the end I was truly moved at how blessed my life has been. We sometimes take time to express our gratitude, but I talked for probably over an hour, and it really piled up in a beautiful way. I was really lifted. We stopped at Winnemucca, Wall Mart, got a few last things, everyone was in great spirits, though it was 100 degrees outside! Then we got to Fernly, and drove north on a 2 lane highway toward the Black Rock Desert. The sun was setting and we arrived at the little town of Gerlach as it got dark. I was worried we would set up in the dark, but Jim assured me this was a good thing, as we would set up in the cool, not the heat. I was wrong about setting up in the dark… as you shall soon see. We drove up the road, entered the gravel of Burning Man, and headed toward the gate and security! And then we saw red lights. Tail lights. Tail lights. Tail lights. Hundreds of them. And so began the 7 plus hour crawl wait to get in. I was in high spirits the first 5 hours, just talking with Jim as we stop and go moved forward at a crawl. Burning Man entrance was sadly incompetently undermanned. I started to fade, getting more and more tired, but we finally got to the gate, were diverted to Will Call, then went through security, which was relatively fast. Then onward to greeters, and finally out onto the playa toward our address of 8:15 and G. It is huge, and you drive 5mph out there for safety and dust reasons. We got to our camp… and had to wake people up because to find our camping spot in our little group of friends… it was like 5:00AM. We set up in a fog… and it wasn’t dark. It was morning.
Saturday, August 23rd, 2025
It was rough. I was really tired and didn’t do well. But we finally got a semi camp set up of a Carport with two tents (one a shift pod) on either end. We crawled into the tent and tried to go to sleep. But have you ever been so tired you can’t sleep? That was me. I was delirious. Couldn’t sleep. And then… a couple hours later… the HEAT hit. And there was NO sleeping. We has to get up and set up camp, but I was useless. Luckily, C, a friend of the group, had an RV with an air conditioner in it, and I got to lay in his bed and sleep, true sleep, for 30 minutes. Then the air conditioner went out, but I still got that 30 sweet minutes. So we set up camp and Jim and Sarah are amazing. The camp was beautiful, and Jim went to extra special lengths to tie everything down. He is a genius at this stuff. And Jennie and Sarah were soldiers and just worked their asses off. I… was a zombie, and could barely function. They said lots of times in the lead up, Burning Man will break you, but that it will then bless you. Well… it broke me right out of the gate! I slowly recovered during the day, battling an inner fog while my brain turmoil at not contributing much had me feeling down. I started to feel better in the afternoon though, and then… Burning Man Broke Us Again. What we didn’t know then was that the whole world would hear of our epic dust storm. To me, it was just a storm. I was standing in the car port, while Jennie and Jim went outside to see what it was like. It was raging, and the carport got FILLED with dust. I was there in my dust mask and eye goggles when I heard a CRASH. Then… the roof of our carport tent ripped off and I was staring up into the maelstrom of death. Jim and Jennie crashed in, and we realized we were all good and fucked. There was nothing for it but to head to the truck! I crawled into the tent to grab my keys, then came out, and Jennie just blasted out of the carport structure and I tried to follow her, grabbing her shirt. She just disappeared into the white. I felt like Mark Watney in the book The Martian. At any moment I figured a flying chunk of metal would pierce my chest and kill me. I ran feeling out in the whiteout and did reached her, grabbing her shirt again, but she ran off again. Luckily she got to the truck, on the right (Passenger Side). BTW, I’m hoping Jim is behind me, and for what it’s worth, I have no idea where Sarah is. (Turns out she was behind Jim). We get to the truck… and Jennie, veers off to the left and disappears into the maelstrom. I am stunned, and figure she’s dead. Some part of her brain malfunctioned, and instead of going into the truck, she decided to face the fate of the storm and let Burning Man kill her. There was nothing I could do, so I just ran up to the passenger door, and jumped into the truck. Jim and Sarah followed and we all mourned the loss of Jennie. Then the driver side door opened and Jennie jumped in. For whatever reason, she thought she should got around to the other side to get in. Luckily… she made it. The truck rocked back and forth for about 2 hours. Visibility was ZERO for much of that, time, though it would slow and we could see shapes out in the dust for a while. Lots of stuff flew by. Slowly… slowly, it calmed. And frankly, this was kind of crazy exciting. I mean, this was life or death. How often does that happen in your mundane life? I was very much AWAKE. It was worrisome, but also an incredible experience. Finally… the winds slowed and we got out and assessed the damage. What had happened was Chuck’s Shade Structure and lifted up and flown into our carport tent. That was the crash, and Jim and Jennie were lucky it hadn’t hit them, because if it had, it would have killed them. The huge metal bars were bent. And so… we started to put things back together. I went for a walk in the gloomy dust storm, to get to the porta poties… which I could see far away dimly (as it was clearing). I got there, but on the way back got totally lost. I have a video of me narrating getting lost. Luckily and wandered and found the camp, more by luck than anything. I think this was the night that Sarah made Pho for us, and because our tent was utterly fucked, they let us sleep in their shift pod on the ground. Jim… that night, got a gleam in his eye, and wanted to go out and explore the Playa. I recognized that gleam. I’ve had it before. He was johnsing to go out, and I encouraged him to, but he too was on 2 or 3 hours of sleep, and so he decided not to, and we all slept very well.
Sunday, August 24th, 2025
We got up, and rebuilt the camp. The carport tent and our tent were filled with thick layers of playa dust. The kitchen, everything was dust. We took it apart, and we cleaned it, and rebuilt it. Took most of the day. I was feeling better, and helped with everything. Jim also decided to structurally tie things down even stronger, and he was more already ahead of 99% of the other people. We watched the weather and then learned… rain was coming. And rain in the afternoon and into the evening did come. Lots of it. A couple years ago they had a Rain Apocalypse which really slowed things down… and this wasn’t as bad as that… but it shut the night down. No going out. And… it turned into a delightful night. We gathered with other friends in Jim and Sarah’s shift pod, and talked into the night, while listening to the radio reports. We did suffer some leakage into our Carport tent, and that turned into a mud bath INSIDE… so that was a thing, but by the time the rain stopped, we were able to leave the shift pod, and enter our own tent, and sleep. Overall Sunday was pleasant: A massive rebuild… and a delightful evening inside with friends while it rained outside.
Monday, August 25th, 2025
I got up early in the morning, and found that the playa had hardened enough for a trip to the Porta Poties. I got there, in the cool morning, and decided to just keep going. I had wanted to wander, to be by myself, and this was my time. I walked down 8:00 street to the center, and then crossed the big empty space to the center of the Playa, where stood THE MAN. The massive wooden structure the build and then burn at the end of the event. I didn’t have my phone, so it was just a long long solitary hike. It was quiet. It was just me. It wasn’t any fireworks, it was just a solitary moment of life. I enjoyed it. When I got back a couple hours later, it was Rebuild Number 2! Had to tear things apart and clean the mud. But… we also for the first time, got on our bikes, as the desert hardened, and Jennie, Jim, and I went for a long bike ride. It was hot by then, but that was okay, we had our waters, and hats and sunscreen. We drove around, I took them to The Man, and then we went back to camp. Later, Jennie and I went out on a solo ride, and this was really great. Just during the day, though clouds WERE coming, perhaps it would rain again? We got back, and yes another rainstorm. BUT… I had faith this time. This time we were really battened down and I just kept telling everyone the storm WOULD pass and we WOULD out on the Playa. And… I was right. The rain passed, the ground hardened, and get costumed up and lit up our bikes and we rode! We saw art cars, art installations, and lots of people. Great music, a cool adventure, though it was muted with sensibility and the fact that we had to get up early in the morning and pack to go home. You see due to work considerations, we always knew we were leaving Tuesday morning. The delightful night ended back at camp… where… a trio of huge busses, like tour busses, pulled up next to our camp and at 2:00AM set up a DJ booth with huge speakers and began the loudest you can’t sleep through this no matter what groovy music….
Tuesday, August 26th, 2025.
Certainly we were frazzled from the last night’s loud music, but, we rallied and got up and packed. Luckily it was cool, high clouds, and so we had a good breakfast of granola and yogurt and then we packed up and… headed out. It was the right time. We felt it, and though we hadn’t had much ‘Burning Man Playa Experience’ we felt aligned. In fact… We are aligned. We were supposed to go. That never felt off. And we were supposed to come home. We are where we are supposed to be. The combination of Masculine and Feminine energies were everywhere, as was the power of human resilience in the face of the power of mother nature. We talked a lot on the ride home, and for the last 3 hours DJ Jennie took over the music and was hitting us with a string of hits that lifted my spirits as I drove. We got home at 11:00PM, exhausted, and contemplative. Why had we gone? What had we gained? What had we given? Jim and Sarah are the two best hosts on the planet. And we were filled with continual gratitude and joy with them. I’ll probably write separate post about them. And I know they were disappointed we didn’t have the experience they wanted us to have. We had faith in them, and we had curiosity. And we got an experience unlike anything we expected. Jim reported we were wise to leave as torrential rain hit them again Tuesday night and they had to shelter in place again. And rains hit again Wednesday. Hopefully… they got out onto the play Wednesday night and are now enjoying the relatively nice weather promised for the rest of the burn. They have saying at Burning Man: Fuck Your Burn. It means a lot of things to a lot of people, but essentially it means: You get the burn you need, not the burn you want. Well… we didn’t get what we wanted, and I’m not sure we needed what we got. But… we are humans, and we are uniquely designed to overcome, improvise, and adapt. We are able to take tough things and grow from them, learn from them, and expand from them. So we are still sorting the why of it all. Tough but good. I learned a lot. I have an intuition I may go back. Better armed and ready, though we were amazingly prepared, for what it was worth. It was a test of skill, heart, and spirit. Something good in there. Still finding it. And one thing is for sure: I’m deeply grateful for my friends, and deeply grateful and even happy I got this adventure with Jennie! We do cool things together, and I feel we are bonded stronger now then even before.
Burning Man (T-1 Day)
Well… we leave tomorrow.
And I pause to ask myself a question: What am I doing? Why am I going?
“Go to Burning Man,” they say.
“They are YOUR people,” they say.
So yes—there’s curiosity. What’s this really all about?
And yes—there’s faith. People I love and trust keep telling me: Jason, this is for YOU.
But like in all things in life… at some point, past the curiosity and faith, there is just YOU.
YOU and YOU.
Why am I going?
Because I’m curious?
Because I trust my friends?
Maybe. But here’s the truth: Burning Man weeds out the ones who are just curious, or just leaning on faith. Why? Because it takes so much effort to prepare, and then—once you’re there—you live in the desert. (Sam Kinison in the 80s nailed that one—anyone catch the reference?)
A week in the desert. A city built by hand. Together. Alone. Both at once.
Why am I going?
I may not know until I get back.
“Ohhh… that’s why I went.”
But I do know this: something is calling me. These principles. This radical self-reliance. This chance to step outside of “The Man”—outside the chokehold of government, religion, culture.
In my life, I’ve always navigated the tension between the vision of Eden—the Garden where things are different—and the world we live in.
Am I the only one? I feel Eden is real. I feel the Garden in my soul. I remember—deep down—that things are supposed to be better. That they can be better.
That knowing is both painful and beautiful. It makes me love what we have here, while also aching with the truth that… there is a better place for all of us.
Will I find a glimpse of that place in the desert? Out on the Playa?
That’s what I seek—in those quiet moments, at sunrise or sunset—where Heaven meets Earth and I remember: HOME.
The sacred fire is lit.
—Jason
P.S. Another thing that keeps making me smile is how much polarity I see here. This is everything I express about Masculine Presence, Direction, and Focus—structure. And out on the Playa, the Feminine fills that structure with Sensation, Energy, and Radiance.
And when they come together? That’s LIFE. That’s when HOME comes home. That’s when magic walks in this world.
Oh… right. That’s what I do for people. I bring HOME… back HOME.
P.P.S. We leave tomorrow morning. Expect spotty posts from me until we return.
#BurningMan #BurningMan2025 #RadicalSelfReliance #RadicalInclusion #LeaveNoTrace #SacredRebel #ModernDayWarrior #MasculineAndFeminine #PlayaLife #SacredFire
BURNING MAN (T-2 Days)
Good morning, friends! Time for the next five principles of Burning Man. (If you missed the first five, I shared them yesterday.)
Communal Effort – This one makes me smile, especially paired with Radical Self-Reliance (yesterday’s post). These two are the backbone of real community. In my four stages of maturity model, we move from Dependence → Independence → Interdependence → Integration. Communal Effort is that third stage—interdependence. But here’s the truth: Communal Effort only works if the individuals are strong and independent first. Otherwise, it collapses.
Civic Responsibility – Before I even read this principle, my first thought was: Put your shopping cart away! They frame it more around respect for laws and regulations. Interesting tension here: Burning Man feels like a giant “F-U” to government control… yet tucked inside is this principle of obeying the rules. Maybe the deeper meaning is responsibility for each other (Rule Five of Modern Day Warrior: Take care of your brother). And maybe it’s the old line: Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. Worth sitting with.
Leave No Trace – Environmental stewardship at its highest. One month after Burning Man, you can stand in the Playa and find… nothing. No trace a human city even existed. That’s powerful. And the deeper principle is not just “do no harm” but “leave it better than you found it.” That one hits me hard.
Participation – Don’t sit on the sidelines. Get in. Embody. Play. Engage. The principle is simple: life is not a spectator sport.
Immediacy – Be here now. Embodied presence. Open yourself to experience.
I’ll be honest, the last two feel a little tacked on, like someone wanted to make the list a clean ten. But the spirit is right: if you come to Burning Man, don’t just watch—participate and immerse. That’s the invitation.
When I get back, I’ll revisit these principles and share how they actually lived through me—because surely, the experience will change how I see them.
For now: it’s Wednesday. Final prep day. Bikes lined up, last-minute packages arriving, gear reorganized. Details, details, details. The little touches that matter.
🔥 The Sacred Fire is burning.
Let’s go!
—Jason
#BurningMan #BurningMan2025 #RadicalSelfReliance #LeaveNoTrace #SacredRebel #ModernDayWarrior #MensWork #RadicalInclusion #Participation #Immediacy
Burning Man T-3
Getting excited. Crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s.
Lots of work.
Lot of fun.
Burning Man runs on 10 principles. At first they felt a bit like “rules,” which I didn’t like. But then I leaned in and caught the spirit of them. Here are a few that stand out to me:
Radical Inclusion – At EDC Vegas there’s a giant billboard I love: ALL ARE WELCOME HERE. That sentiment is powerful. And yes, it’s not always true in reality—but the essence of it is. It’s about dropping judgment, welcoming those who are radically different, and letting them be. Honestly, I think I already live most of my life under this principle.
Gifting – Give freely. Expect nothing back. Such a beautiful idea. Secret gifts might be the best gifts of all.
Decommodification – No commercial crap. Every ad we see in daily life chips at our soul: Buy this! Consume that! For 10 days in the desert, we step outside of that endless noise. But the real challenge is this: can we carry that spirit back into the “real” world?
Radical Self-Reliance – What happens when a community of fiercely self-reliant people come together—free of manipulation, dependence, and consumer chains—to build something? We’ll find out.
Radical Self-Expression – Sing, dance, paint, strip down, or wrap yourself in cellophane. Burning Man (like raves) is one of those rare spaces where people actually drop the masks and just be. The wild thing is… we call that radical.
Just a few reflections tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll share the next five.
Burning Man (T-4 Days)
Wait… shouldn’t this be T–9?
Well, life comes at you fast—and if you want to dance with it, you’ve got to stay on your toes.
Plans have changed.
We’re leaving early.
This Friday morning, Jennie and I hit the road for early entry to Burning Man with our friends. We’ll be helping set up their art installation—and our camp.
And you know what?
This change feels so damn good.
Instead of showing up late next Wednesday—halfway through the experience—we’ll be there for the start. For the build. For the beginning of the fire.
So what did we do this weekend?
We connected.
Dinner with Jennie’s folks. A deep heart-to-heart with her dad.
And then… Sunday hit.
Preparation Mode.
When Jennie and I lock in together like this, we’re a force. We got a ton done. There’s more to go (and I’ll share some of that later), but we crushed so much yesterday, we can actually breathe.
That’s the Sacred Masculine:
Holding presence in the midst of unpredictability.
Adapting quickly without losing center.
Guiding the flow without needing control.
Plans changed—and it was beautiful.
Surprise.
Delight.
Alignment.
That sacred fire is warming up.
Burning Man: 4 Days Away
Let’s fucking go.
— Jason
BURNING MAN (T-12 Days)
What are my intentions?
As we prep for the big event, I’m reminded of a line from one of my favorite lyricists (and yes, from my favorite band — led by my favorite drummer):
From the point of conception to the moment of truth
At the point of surrender to the burden of proof
From the point of ignition to the final drive
The point of a journey is not to arrive
This PREPARATION is part of the journey — just as much as the arrival.
Burning Man will come and go. In a few weeks, it’ll just be a memory.
I love epiphanies, revelations, bolts from the blue, and peak experiences. But here’s the truth: if you ignore the lead-up, you compromise the peak.
That’s a secret worth taking to the bank.
Masculine structure — focus, direction, presence — in the preparation is what makes the big events feel big. That’s the truth of polarity.
So here’s one of my intentions: to enjoy the preparation itself.
Full disclosure? I don’t always do that. My rebellion often shows up as totally unnecessary anxiety, anger, and frustration.
Part of me believes the event wouldn’t be as good without that storm in the lead-up. But… that’s a lie.
My real aim: ease, flow, meditation, joy.
And on the Playa?
I’ve noticed something in all the Burning Man videos I’ve been watching: everyone wants to tell me what to expect, how it’ll change me, what it means.
I don’t want their map.
I’ll take technical help from friends who know the ropes — deeply grateful for that — but the experience? That’s mine to discover.
Jennie says this about our meditations: never tell people what they’re going to experience. Just create safety and let them have their own.
Same with our porch. After a meditation, I often take people out there, sit them down, and let them drink in the view. I don’t add commentary. The view knows its job.
My job? Stay out of the way.
That’s my intention for Burning Man: stay out of the way and let it do what it does.
The sacred flame is getting warmer.
— Jason
BURNING MAN (T-13 Days)
Get ready for overwhelm…
Below (after my signature), I’ll post the most basic Burning Man prep list. And yes… it’s intimidating.
But that’s okay — for a number of reasons.
Have you ever considered why Burning Man is so powerful for people? I’ve never been… but I can guess one reason it changes lives:
It’s difficult.
It’s a challenge.
It’s HARD.
Some beautiful things in life arrive easily. The air you’re breathing right now — easy, free, beautiful.
But other beautiful things? They take effort.
We are manifesting something in an incarnated world.
This is duality. The viscosity of the substrate is thick — and it’s supposed to be that way (even if we wish it weren’t).
We bought in. We chose YES. We hit the Send It button.
So would I expect anything less?
The list is huge. The work is anxiety-inducing. But we know how to deal with that. And even though I sometimes wish it were otherwise, I know we are on target, aligned with the essence of our deepest desires.
Ease, magic, and flow are coming. They might already be here if I just accept it. (And hey — I do have two beautiful friends who’ve been to Burning Man dozens of times and are walking us through step by step. That already sounds like ease.)
Meanwhile, there will be challenges. The goal? Stay as calm as possible with them… even if “calm” is more like grinning through the chaos and getting to work handling my shit.
It always works out.
But I still like to pretend it won’t and run the drama loop.
Maybe one day I’ll sit back, put my feet up, and let all the love and magic in without resistance. That would be nice.
Until then… I have work to do.
Let’s stoke that sacred fire.
— Jason
P.S. For the curious, here’s the infamous prep list. Scroll at your own risk.
🔥 Burning Man Prep List
Shelter & Camp Setup
• Sturdy tent (dust-proof, wind-resistant)
• Canopy / shade structure (EZ-Up, tarp)
• Extra-long stakes, rebar, or lag bolts
• Ground tarp or RV mat
• Duct tape, zip ties, ratchet straps
• Rope or tie-down straps
• Firewood with tarp
• Burn barrel (6 inches off the ground)
• Industrial garbage bags + ties
• Fairy lights / LED camp lighting
• Binder clips (the unsung heroes)
Sleeping Gear
• Sleeping bag (20°F rated) + warm blankets
• Sleeping pad or air mattress
• Extra sleeping pad (optional)
• Pillow
Water & Hydration
• 1.5–2 gallons per person/day
• 2 jugs filtered water
• Extra cleaning water (2–3 carboys)
• Reusable bottles + coffee mugs
• CamelBak or hydration pack
• Frozen water bottles for cooler/drinking
• Vinegar foot soak bin
Food & Cooking
• Non-perishable food (canned, bars, dried fruit, rice, beans)
• Pre-cooked / frozen meals
• Cooler with dry ice
• Camp stove + fuel
• Cooking utensils, pot, pan
• Reusable cups, plates, cutlery
• Biodegradable soap
• Green smoothie supplies
Clothing & Protection
• Costumes (bring the wild)
• Warm layers for nights
• Breathable layers for days
• Extra underwear & socks
• Hat for sun
• Sunglasses
• Sunscreen & lip balm
• Dust mask or bandana
• Goggles (clear & tinted)
• Rain gear & footwear
• Sturdy boots
• Earplugs
Hygiene & Health
• Washcloth & soap
• Towel
• Hand sanitizer
• Toilet paper
• First aid kit
• 5-gallon bucket + liners (emergency toilet)
• Baby wipes
• Personal medications
Bike & Transportation
• Bike (serviced)
• Lights (front & rear)
• Lock
• Repair kit & pump
• Extra tubes
• Decorations (EL wire, glow sticks)
• Waterproof bags for electronics
Tools & Miscellaneous
• Phone straps
• Spare car keys
• Offering for the Temple
• MOOP bags (attach to belt/bike)
• Flashlights & headlamps
• Dry ice setup for cooler
Burning Man (T-14 Days)
There’s a place where the dust strips you bare,
where the sun burns off your masks,
and the night swallows you whole.
They call it Burning Man.
And in two weeks, Jennie and I are finally going.
We’ve talked about it.
Dreamed about it.
But never committed.
We’ve done other epic things — EDC, Bass Canyon, our campout, and plenty of big events.
We’ve run programs like Shades of Intimacy, Modern Day Warrior, and Elemental Feminine.
But never the Burning Man.
The dusty one. The sacred, burning one.
It’s always been there… out on the horizon.
An intention. Waiting to manifest.
And, as usual, it manifested in a surprising and delightful way.
Friends of ours — the kind who’ve been telling us to go for years — made the invitation again.
We’ve always been busy. Or had a conflict.
Not this year.
This year, the tickets are there.
The path is laid.
And our friends — facilitators of epic journeys themselves — are guiding us every step of the way.
(As a facilitator myself, I so appreciate having them hold the container for once.)
We got the red carpet treatment.
And we said YES.
Kind of last minute… but in two weeks, we roll out to the playa.
There’s a lot to prepare. Plenty to get anxious about.
But we’ve got tools:
Two friends who’ve been dozens of times…
And our own tools — Masculine Structure. Focus. Direction. Presence.
We know how to do this.
(Translation: I have no idea!)
But we’ve got this.
Connecting to yesterday: we are committed.
The desire is real. It’s authentic. It’s clear.
We are aligned.
We’re allowing it.
And now… we’re committed.
Focus. Direction. Presence.
Those create commitment. And commitment fuels motivation.
It won’t be easy, but I can already feel the alignment — and I know it will be worth it.
This is what we’re supposed to do.
And talk about lighting a sacred fire…
Let’s go.
— Jason
P.S. After our Bass Canyon Campout, one of my “leafs” for growth was to prepare for my next event in a more relaxed way instead of in anxiety mode.
Well… here’s my chance to practice that leaf.
So, over the next two weeks, I’ll share the preparation process with you — the good, the bad, the ugly… and the relaxed.