Tribe Member Alex's Synopsis of Bus
Bus came into our lives by the grace of the universe, and we welcomed him with open arms.
In December 2015, the tribe, then living in Jacksonville, Florida, began discussing plans for the future. Adventure was heavy on the collective mind. We knew we needed transportation, but the idea of a caravan seemed cumbersome and ineffective. Quickly, someone mentioned a conversion van, but, given the size of the tribe (5 individuals at the time), we needed something larger… And that’s when -SCHOOL BUS- emerged from the collective unconscious, presenting itself at the forefront of our awareness like a black stallion rearing its head atop a ridge in silhouette by the setting sun. There was no mistaking the crystal clear, resounding truth in this moment.
Sure, a van would be fine as a transport, but not as a house for four people. A school bus, however, would give us room not only for beds, but also a kitchen, living room/work space, AND an area to set up our equipment and play/write music.
Preliminary internet searches led us to budget between $3,000 – $5,000 for the right bus. However, the universe, as usual, had a magical surprise up its infinite sleeve: The tribe went home to Charlotte, NC for the holidays. It was here the portal emerged – A relative of one of the tribesmen, upon discussing our plans for traveling, indicated that his church was thinking of selling their old bus. After some general inquiry, pictures were exchanged. Initially, we were guarded in our excitement, not wanting to be disappointed, but, we knew. We could all feel the awakening deep inside our minds. It was as if seeing those initial pictures created an energy bridge between the bus and ourselves, and, in casting our gaze upon them, we could hear the bus whispering from inside our minds, its voice merging with our own in perfect, melodic symbiosis.
A member of the tribe was dispatched as soon as possible to ground-truth this prophetic vision – He later reported that setting his eyes upon the bus, in person, for the first time, was euphoric beyond imagination, and that, in running his hand along its exterior, he received a flood of prescient visions from the future, and saw in his mind’s eye a multitude of ever-branching paths, all of which, he knew, the tribe would traverse within this very bus… It was at this moment the tribe offered $1,500 for the bus, and the offer was immediately accepted. (Not only was this the bus of our dreams, it also came at a price so unbelievably low that no one could have predicted it. I should mention that this is a 1985 International Diesel. The odometer reads 140,000 mi. We had a master mechanic examine every component – engine, drivetrain, brakes, tires, etc. – all were found to be in great condition. So, not only did we come in at less than half of our original budget, we didn’t have to sacrifice mechanical integrity to do so.)
It is at this point that I am reminded of words spoken by Terrence Mckenna:
“Nature loves courage. You make the commitment and nature will respond to that commitment by removing impossible obstacles. Dream the impossible dream and the world will not grind you under, it will lift you up. This is the trick. This is what all these teachers and philosophers who really counted, who really touched the alchemical gold, this is what they understood. This is the shamanic dance in the waterfall. This is how magic is done. By hurling yourself into the abyss and discovering it’s a feather bed.”
We do not consider ourselves to be an anomaly, a fluke, or part of some rare phenomenon. We are but four individuals, fueled by our own collective imagination. It’s just that, one day, we woke up, and the truth was obvious. Of course, in actuality, the awakening happened incrementally. But the summation is best represented as an out-of-body experience. We saw ourselves from above. We saw that we were wrapped in a tangled tapestry, which had been weaving itself around us since birth. Suddenly the tapestry began to unravel at the sound of our eyes opening. And in that moment, our bodies began to glow like the sun tearing its way through a storm cloud. And while the light grew brighter, a droning chorus of vibration swelled until finally the vision exploded into blinding white light, leaving nothing but a high frequency ringing in our ears. When we awoke from this experience, everything was different. It was as if someone removed the lenses in our eyes and upgraded them. Not only sight, but our other senses as well seemed as if they had been calibrated, and trying to go on about our everyday routines seemed forced, glitchy. It felt like the scene in the Matrix where Neo begins to see everything as it actually is – a streaming series of binary information encoded to produce reality. This is all a hyperbolic narrative of course, but, the point is, we couldn’t go on living the way we were with our newly-heightened state of awareness. And so we simply set our intentions upon finding an alternative. Lo and behold, we began to see a response from the universe.
We do not claim to understand anything. But since that night in December 2015, when we decided to turn a school bus into an RV, we have been reminded over and over that thoughts and intentions have physical manifestations. This has become the foundation of the tribe: Faith in a loving universe of abundance. Unfortunately, we live in a society that urges us away from our “childlike” imagination and dreams into a world of unreasonable expectations where the most impressive resume wins, and the status quo lords over and under all things.
It is our mission, then, as a technomadic tribe of humans, to live for experience alone. We do not reject civilization, or condemn those who live according to its code of normalcy. Quite the opposite – We understand the basis of civilization lies in our prehistoric roots as social animals. We survived the last 300,000 years by relying on each other. We embark on this bus journey not to flee from the world, but to truly experience it, without filter. And, with each new experience, we will grow as individuals, and as a tribe. All the while improving ourselves so that we may contribute to society after all. The only catch? We will contribute on our own terms. We will not sacrifice ourselves for the invisible gods that reign high in their corporate towers. Nor will we submit to the expectations of a sleepwalking suburban populace. We will live as the fullest versions of ourselves, and nothing more.
We are the radium dial, and we hope that you come along with us on this journey, and never hesitate to reach out, even just to say hello.
Examine the fractions and you will see the lowest common denominator is always love.
the radium dial
