Great read! People say this movement was a failure, but the fact that I tuned in to it in the last decade and it completely changed my life and perspective shows it was just a seed being planted and the movement continues to grow as more minds interact with these idea and are influenced by them.
Thank you! I love the image of the movement as a seed rather than a success or failure in any simple sense. The fact that you encountered it decades later and felt genuinely transformed feels like a truer measure of impact than any short-term outcome. Really appreciate your reflection!
What synchronicity I was just saying to Mangrove Valley that I became friends with Harry Monroe he was a co-editor of the Oracle newspaper in the Haight and one of things I asked him about was about “free love” back in that day and he was like it wasn’t necessarily as promiscuous as people imagine really it was all about “Kindness”.
I love that reading of the movement. Kindness really does feel like such a core throughline. That’s epic you got to hear it directly from Harry. The Oracle is one of the coolest cultural artifacts from that time
This is such a potent reminder that the Be-In wasn’t just a party or a protest, but a lived experiment in what a different social order might feel like. What strikes me is how much faith there was in presence itself- that simply gathering, being, and embodying values could be transformative. The heartbreak, maybe, is that culture turned into aesthetics faster than it turned into structures. The question you’re asking feels urgent again: how do we carry the spirit without repeating the naïveté?
Beautifully said. That trust in presence really was inspiring. Just be-ing can feel like a trivial thing, but clearly it carries real transformative power. And agreed, that tension between the ecstasy of the moment and the challenge of building lasting structures is exactly what keeps pulling me back to this point in history. Really appreciate this reflection 🙏
Really appreciate this. Agreed, dropping in after dropping out still feels like the unresolved work of the movement. Thanks for bringing your own experience into it!
We had be-in/love ins every Sunday in Griffith Park in LA during this time frame. It wasn't exclusive to SF.
Great read! People say this movement was a failure, but the fact that I tuned in to it in the last decade and it completely changed my life and perspective shows it was just a seed being planted and the movement continues to grow as more minds interact with these idea and are influenced by them.
Thank you! I love the image of the movement as a seed rather than a success or failure in any simple sense. The fact that you encountered it decades later and felt genuinely transformed feels like a truer measure of impact than any short-term outcome. Really appreciate your reflection!
What synchronicity I was just saying to Mangrove Valley that I became friends with Harry Monroe he was a co-editor of the Oracle newspaper in the Haight and one of things I asked him about was about “free love” back in that day and he was like it wasn’t necessarily as promiscuous as people imagine really it was all about “Kindness”.
I love that reading of the movement. Kindness really does feel like such a core throughline. That’s epic you got to hear it directly from Harry. The Oracle is one of the coolest cultural artifacts from that time
This sounds an awful like the annual Rainbow Gathering prayer for peace held on July 4 since 1972 in a National Forest.
A blueprint for keeping it going?
It is still governed by council
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrBqHqhx2Pg&t=147s
That's an awesome connection! It’s cool to see how these impulses continue to show up in different forms. A great blueprint for keeping it going!
It is still going. Will be out east this year either Pennsylvania or NY, spring council will decide precise location.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YYWu_nAoZs&t=187s
Sweet I'll check it out! Thanks for spreading the word 🙏
This is such a potent reminder that the Be-In wasn’t just a party or a protest, but a lived experiment in what a different social order might feel like. What strikes me is how much faith there was in presence itself- that simply gathering, being, and embodying values could be transformative. The heartbreak, maybe, is that culture turned into aesthetics faster than it turned into structures. The question you’re asking feels urgent again: how do we carry the spirit without repeating the naïveté?
Beautifully said. That trust in presence really was inspiring. Just be-ing can feel like a trivial thing, but clearly it carries real transformative power. And agreed, that tension between the ecstasy of the moment and the challenge of building lasting structures is exactly what keeps pulling me back to this point in history. Really appreciate this reflection 🙏
We need more Be-Ins!
100%
Dizzy Gillespie, there with music critic, Ralph J Gleason, listening to the Dead, asked Gleason - Who are these guys? They swing.
Bless him. The mark of a GREAT Rock 'n Roll band is that they swing.
The Dead, Stones and Little Feat all swung like billy-o. Good spot, Dizzy
There’s a modernism gonzo revival.
https://open.substack.com/pub/matthewnmurphy/p/500-channels?r=6hcumw&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay
Really appreciate this. Agreed, dropping in after dropping out still feels like the unresolved work of the movement. Thanks for bringing your own experience into it!