After Santiago de Compostela, we headed further down south to Portugal. The center of our journey was the amazingly beautiful Boom Festival, every second year in the month of August near Lisbon.

We spent over a week on the Boomland, and met with so many old and new friends. Marco, Anna, Alexander (who made the lead photo of this article), Michael and Ann, Julia, Robin, Shari, Marijke, Mark, Dave, our neighborly Dutch co-campers, so many others and of course all the ones whose name I never got to know… I am so grateful to have met you.

Boom is a psychedelic festival, meaning most people there will have some experience or another with consciousness expansion, opening up their minds to the unimaginable, the unspeakable.

What often happens then, is you become aware of a connecting, infinite ‘force’ or source that unites everything and all of us. In my work with Ayahuasca and also speaking to many people from Boom, these experiences and the insights they bring, prove to have the potential to change lives.

They inspire people to consume less and connect more to nature, to the silence within and to other people. To create artwork and make music. To let go of judgments or prejudice. And that is really just the beginning.

(Artwork exhibited at Boom Festival 2016: “Pyroclastic Blow” by Keerych Luminokaya)

Boom is meant to be a tribal gathering of kindred spirits who wish to make a change for the better on this Earth. And truly, this spirit is felt throughout the festival, in (almost) every pair of eyes you meet.

I left Boom again with a ton of inspiration, spiritual as well as super practical. New energy for work and health and loads of energy to get it all done.

What struck me most this year, was the many spontaneous music jams. Just bring your guitar and people will come up and ask to play together. So many people, so many voices. It was always simply beautiful, and often amazing what happened when we just allowed the moment to create its own sound. It really helped me to open up with my own playing and singing as well.

Thank you, wonderful brothers and sisters of Boom <3.