I believe that it is up to you to define your own “meaning of life”, it is a personal understanding, that you must come to on your own. I feel that when people search for an external “meaning of life” they are giving their life over to outside forces, instead of empowering themselves by taking control of their own life.

That said, the Umiian Glyphs are an alternate alphabet that act as a tool to contemplate your life and your own potential. The image below gives you an idea of how to use them and I have used the word “life” , to show you how to use the glyphs to find a word’s deeper meaning.

The 26 Umiian Glyphs

The Dial below shows all 26 Umiian Glyphs on the outside ring. The inside ring consists of the six Umiian Elements that make up the different aspects of a life stage we go through.

The Kickstarter Campaign  

We are running a kickstarter campaign to grow this Umiian Glyph project. You can check it out and support the Umiian Glyphs by clicking here or the image below. Thank you so much for getting this far!

-Gabe

The Story behind the Umiian Coins.

2012 was my first year at Burning Man. Like many virgin’s, expectations were building, I had heard over and over again, “Burning Man is a life changing experience” but really I had no idea what I was getting myself into. People had been telling me, that if you participate with a project, you get more out of the Burning Man experience. Since I had been developing a set of symbols for The Umiian Project for about 9 months and they were in a semi-finished state, Burning Man seemed like a good place to show them off. So, I lazer cut 1,500 coins the week before and showed up at the playa with a sack full of coins and no real clue how to make a working shade structure.

Two of my campmates and I showed up for early arrival and after battling dust storms, securing shade structures and holding off space for the rest of our camp, Sunday night couldn’t have come sooner. But once it did, and my camp settled in, the exploring could begin. The sites were amazing, the experiences were all unique to Burning Man and it certainly was life changing, in that I went back home with experience and outlook on the possibilities in life. that I couldn’t have gained  elsewhere.

At the start of the week, I had a lot of coins to give out. So, I started to walk up to camps and gather around whomever was home and give each person a coin. In the beginning, I really didn’t have the symbol’s meanings totally figured out, so when someone asked me to go deeper into a telling, I had to really dive into the heart of what that symbol represented, and my own knowledge of that aspect. It was a process, and the meaning behind the glyphs grew with each telling. Eventually, I felt a strong pull towards the temple. I jumped on my bike and rode out to the temple to give out glyphs.

I would spent a few hours each day at the temple and the response was extremely overwhelming. Just being in such an emotional place(the temple) for so long, takes a lot out of you. Add that, to meeting so many wonderful people, who felt touched by the process of receiving a glyph, and shared their gratefulness and emotion with me, effected me deeply. I felt a sense of verification, that there actually was something to this process I had been going through, but more importantly I realized that these glyphs were the heart of my project. I got to give these glyphs out to wedding parties (congrats), burners from around the world, an entrepreneur coach, Miami Jeweler, even someone who had created her own tarot deck, and so many others. (Contact me guys!)

I went to burning man with a bag full of symbols but thanks to the interactions I had with over a 1,000 people they morphed into something so much more. The Glyphs represent our full potential, we hold so much opportunity inside of ourselves and don’t call upon it. So the glyphs can act as reminders, or representations that can encourage us to build ourselves up and become, strong, well rounded human beings.

Thank you to Burning Man, and thank you to all the wonderful burners I met during that week, I owe you so much.

Gabriel Patin

P.S. If you did find your way back here, don’t be shy! Like the Umiian Glyphs Facebook page and say hi, I would love to hear from you and if you took any pictures of the Stone, or me (I some how avoided all pictures at Burning Man) would love to see those as well. Good Journeys.

And more importantly, welcome to the Umiian Blog. This is the first post, and will just outline what kind of things I hope to post on here and what you might find in the weeks and months ahead.

The three types of posts that I can think to include in this blog are:

1. Developmental posts: These will outline the development of the Umiian Project. They will talk about certain experiences I have had through creating the Umiian Project and dive into certain aspects or mini-projects I am working on related to the project. Posts will talk about the creative process, advice on certain skills, products, glyphs, all kinds of Umiian stuff.

2. News: The news posts on this sight would follow interesting stories about Adventure and Inspiring People. It could be advice on adventures to take, or even overview of someones Adventure. This category will probably jump all over the place and be a result of what interesting things are happening at the moment.

3. Random Posts that I feel are related. This could be me contemplating life, Thank yous, web development and announcements. This category is for all those things i was not expecting to do as I right this right now.

Stage of Cycle: The First

Description: Air is the first step of any journey. Just as air is all around us, opportunity always surrounds us. Air represents all the possibilities available to you in your future. It represents the process of realizing, analyzing and being aware of all those opportunities and possibilities so that you can choose the best possible option for your life. Knowledge is power, so knowledge of your options empowers you. Search out all avenues and keep your blinders off.

The element of Air is followed by Light in the cycle.

Represents: Action

Stage of Cycle: The Second

Description: After you recognize the opportunity surrounding you, you must make a decision and choose a path to take. Light represents action and taking that first step. It encourages you to stop putting things off and to make your desires reality. It is the first commitment of a project, experience and opportunity to be fulfilled. Stop wasting time and start walking!

Light is then followed by Earth in the cycle.

Represents: Determination, Persevere

Stage of Cycle: The Fifth

Description:

The element earth represents the challenges and obstacles you may run into when you choose to take action. We will always run into challenges when we live life fully, but we can’t be discouraged by them. Sometimes you enter a tunnel and can’t see the light at the end, don’t give up but continue forward. Once you get past the curve, you will see the light of your action shinning.

The element Earth is followed by Life in the Umiian Cycle.

Represents: Personal Growth

Stage of Cycle: The Fourth

Description:

The Fourth Stage in the cycle reminds you to let yourself grow as a person. We are always growing as people and it should be a positive process. We can not be afraid to let ourselves change because our environment is always changing and so we must adapt. Know who you are, and take it forward as you grow and become a better and stronger person.

Life is followed by Water in the Umiian Cycle.

Represents: Reflection

Stage of Cycle: The Fifth

Description:

Water represents the importance of reflecting on your past. It is the acknowledgement that you have grown as a person. It encourages you to recognize the lessons you have learned from past challenges and make them a part of yourself, so that you do not have to learn them all over again. Let’s try and not repeat past mistakes.

Represents: Planning and preparation

Stage of Cycle: The Sixth and Last.

Description: The Spirit is the last stage in the cycle. It represents preparing and planning for the next cycle. It represents building yourself up for future actions, learning from past challenges and moving forward in the present unhindered from the past.

After Spirit, the Cycle begins again with Air.

The Magnet 

Represents: Attraction

Letter: A

Day of the Month: 1st, 27th