“You have to do the hard things. The things that no one else is doing. The things that scare you. The things that make you wonder how much longer you can hold on. Those are the things that define you. Those are the things that make the difference between living a life of mediocrity or outrageous success.”
~ Dan Waldschmidt
“This has been a central approach to most of my daily practice.. to challenge myself, often beyond my known skill level… destroying my own comfort zones in the process.. Like I’ve always said, if my first thought is “this will never work”, it often yields some kind of magic if I decide to go all in anyway… killing expectations is a prerequisite. Same concept with traveling to new locations, or considering various international contracts/live performances. If a prospect scares the hell out of me, then it usually demands a higher position on my potential ‘to do’ list. Another good bit of advice along this line of thinking is to start before you’re ready. If all you do is wait until you’re ready, then there’s a good chance that A) you’ll never be READY, and/or B) you will have missed the immediate window of opportunity..
I can attribute a substantial proportion of my past successes to pursuing my curiosity into the unknown. Doing things that scared me shitless. Facing the tasks my logical mind says no to… or “this is impossible”. Each one of these instances has both enriched my skill, overall work, portfolio, heart, mind, and character in some way.” – Michael Grab
Please meet Michael Grab, alias Gravity Glue! We are honored to host him at Camino Art House in December and invite you to his Balance Camp. These days are going to be extraordinary! Not just because of his magical presence, but also because we will study and practice the unknown, we will master the universe, the law of everything and more, and we will learn about ourselves. Experimenting and challenging the „impossible”, observing the most important energy of the planet: gravity, will be our main focus in these days. We will use different techniques, methods and different environments. The only thing that will remain the same: the balance that we are all looking for.
12-17 December, 2023
Camino Art House
What is balance?
Definitions from Oxford Dictionary
balance /ˈbaləns/
noun
1.
an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady. “she lost her balance and fell”
Similar: stability, equilibrium, steadiness, footing
Opposite: instability
2.
a situation in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions. “the obligations of political balance in broadcasting”
Similar: Fairness, justice, impartiality, egalitarianism, equal opportunity, parity, equity, equilibrium, evenness, symmetry, equipoise, correspondence, uniformity, equality, equivalence, similarity, levelness, parallelism, comparability
Opposite: imbalance
verb
1.
put (something) in a steady position so that it does not fall. “a mug that she balanced on her knee”
Similar: Steady, stabilize, poise, level, prop, position
2.
offset or compare the value of (one thing) with another. “the cost of obtaining such information needs to be balanced against its benefits”
Similar: weigh
Our facilitator: Michael Grab
My name is Michael Grab, and I began balancing rocks via “happy accident” in the Summer of 2008 while exploring Boulder Creek (Boulder, CO, USA). Since then, curious spark has spiraled into creative passion, way of life, and prolific international phenomenon/movement.
I quickly noticed the therapeutic/transformative effects that balancing and working with nature had on myself and others; in an artistic sense, but also nurturing something uniquely human, inspiring a sense of magic and peace, luring awareness out of the mind and into the moment — ultimately cultivating a meditative presence.
“Gravity Glue” is the alias I created to describe and share my experience in the realm of Stone Balance Art/Yoga
Gravity is the only “Glue” that holds these structures in equilibrium.
Gravity Glue on the surface was initially created for sharing my balance art; However, through time and experience, the cultivated ethos of GG appears to demonstrate a process of learning to “flow” as an integral function of Nature. It is an archetype for creation, whose key to the universe is creative active meditation and alignment with nature, through which, one touches/experiences infinity on a regular basis.
What is Rock Balancing? The process boils down to contemplative vertical stone arrangement; involving patience, problem-solving, critical thinking, adaptation, slow-breathing, steady hands, and a lot of other practiced skills…
Rock Balancing is:
Worldwide Phenomenon, Contemplative Yoga Practice, Ephemeral Nature Art/Therapy, Psychological Alchemy, Magic.
Physical Ingredients:
Rocks + Gravity
Metaphysical Ingredients:
Patience + Open/Empty Mind
What we will do in the Gravity Glue Camp? (program)
Tuesday (dec 12)
Arriving from 4pm…
Introduction, cooking together, camp fire
Wednesday (camino) (dec 13)
Yoga, pranayama, meditation
10-13.00 theory of balance, introduction
13.00-13.30 meditation
Lunch
15-17.00 balance class
17-18.00 acro yoga
Thursday (agaete or aldea) (dec 14)
Yoga, pranayama
10-12.30 theory of balance… practice
12.30-13.00 meditation
Lunch / transport
15-17.00 balance class
17-18.00
Dinner
Friday (tejeda, roque nublo) (dec 15)
Yoga, pranayama, meditation (transport to tejeda)
10-12.30 theory of balance… practice
12.30-13.00 meditation
Lunch / transport to roque nublo
15-17.00 balance class
17-18.00
Sunset at roque nublo
Dinner in camino
Saturday (santa lucia caves) (dec 16)
Yoga, pranayama
10-12.30 theory of balance… practice / transport
12.30-13.00 meditation (on the way for break)
Lunch at jose
15-17.00 balance class
17-18.00
Dinner sleep over in Santa Lucia
Sunday (dec 17)
Yoga, pranayama, meditation
10-12.30 theory of balance… practice
Transport to the dunes
12.30-13.00 meditation
Lunch / transport to puerto de mogan
15-17.00 balance class
17-18.00
Dinner
Where we are going to be? (Accommodation, Food and different locations)
Our base camp will be Camino Art House. We are going to sleep one night in Santa Lucia at Jose’s caves. Both places are based in nature, sleeping facilites will be mostly in caves (on beds, with blanket and beddings) with shared bathrooms or/and dry toilets in the land. We will have three main meals during the day, and heatlhy snack will be available any time. We will organize drinking water all the time (in Camino Art House the water is drinkable from the tap, although we also have a volcanic rock water filter in use). All meals and snack will be vegan. Please let as know your special diet if you have allergy or food intollerance.
During the camp we are planning to visit different locations to practice balancing in a different environment, with different types of rocks (or objects). These locations you can find in the program description.
What you will need to contribute? (fees and costs)
The fee of the camp is 570€ that includes: 5 nights accommodation, 5 days meals and snacks, transportation to different locations, tutorial and organizing fees. The camp fee doesn’t include your individual transportation to arrive/leave to/from Camino Art House, neither include travel insurance or any kind of visa.
If you wish to participate, or you have questions please contact Bea (caminoart at caminoart.org). When you apply we request 200€ as a deposit payment to book your place. We can refund this money until 10 days before the first day of the event. (but we hope this will be not needed at all).
Hope to see you at the camp. This is going to be a unique, extraordinary and meaningful experience!
Have a look at Michael’s work: