Though gatherings such as the Burning Man arts festival or the Occupy protest encampments host a chaotic array of performances, there is a method to the madness. The two seemingly unrelated spaces are part of a growing trend of event-based projects that work to support an unhindered range of expressions self-organized by participants, not institutions or hierarchies. Important for innovation and artistry, this re-arranging of the built environment around such expression invites such active exploration of cultural elements. Such a freeing arrangement of space moves the body and mind into states like play, awe, and flow, which have potential to transform both the participant and even the spectator. Burning Man, Occupy, and other groups with similar workings are inspiring a growing enjoyment of the arts as well as a spirit of solidarity for their fellow human beings. These process-oriented environments, "free forms", also catalyze the development of shared practices, important for developing this kind of counter culture ethos. Inspiring alternative thought and helping to grow the repository of the tools of art making and world making, the free form is a choreography of social resistance. After leaving these spaces, people become excited to engage with the world in a playful way. Fostering spontaneous coming together of people and ideas and enlightening people to their inner resources, they bring people to a place where they realize their own power to impact the world.
