The River of Love; A Public Ritual

Hi! My name is Lui Gervais and I’m fundraising to produce public ritual called The River of Love. My teaching work invites groups of people into connection through creative, physical and spiritual experiences. The River of Love is a walking meditation that I’ve taught for decades and it never fails to create a deeply moving, heart opening experience for everyone that flows in its channel. I’m raising funds to bring this offering out of the workshops space and into the setting sun on the top of Mt. Tabor park in the city of Portland, OR. The event will be free to the public.

The River of Love is important to me because of the powerful gift that it gives and the open hearted connections it creates. As a meditation, it is simple. Pairs of participants begin at a starting point, looking into each others eyes. They take a deep breath together and then slowly, they walk together down an undulating path.

The secret of the ritual is maintaining eye contact the entire time. At the end of the path, the partners step in closer together. Eye gazing with each other from a foot away, they slowly float their way back to start.

Over time, the ritual dissolves our perceived separateness. Committing to the brief journey with as partners as we wish, our centers of intelligence shift. The River of Love washes away our judgements and allows us to see one another with our hearts. In my experience, every face I look into becomes beautiful before my eyes.

The funds will be used to pay for the application fees for the park event $174, the permit $200, mandatory insurance for the event $200, artwork $300. Money will also be used to cover musician expenses and transportation. An arch of flowers will also be built to create a visual starting point for the ritual path. $1500 not a huge amount of money but it would feel wonderful to feel the support of community and to begin the awareness and anticipation for The River of Love to flow. The prospective date is June 15th, 2024 on Mt. Tabor from 5-8:30 pm.