Moloka'i

When I look at my photos of Moloka’i, I realize I missed a great opportunity.  These photos are a reflection of some amazingly wonderful places with beautiful energy but they don’t reflect the true wonder of the island of Moloka'i.

Moloka'i hasn't been completely tainted by modernization and the people of the island portray what I think of as the true spirit of "aloha."

I’m asking myself, “Why didn’t I take a photo of the “snack shop attendant” at the Moloka’i airport who wanted to take me where I needed to go when she got off duty.  She thought I might be stranded after she found me sitting on the baggage rack five hours after I arrived. I arrived at 6:30 am.  Cathy didn't arrive until 12:30 pm. Instead I amused myself with taking really bad pictures of myself after talking with my friend, Dee, for an hour or so.

Or why didn't I take a photo of Charity, the Alamo reservationist, who laughed the whole time she tried to sell us every extra package saying, “Gotta feed my kids.”   When she put us in a car with a license plate of PYG324, I said that I couldn’t possibly drive a car with a license plate that says “pig,” and she assured me PYG stands for “Pretty Young Girls.”  

Or the waiter at Auntie Ruby’s Diner, Bill Umi,  in Kaunakakai who proudly announced that Aunty Ruby’s has just been open for a month and he didn't really work there... just helping out family (he owned the deli next door).  Or the same waiter who invited us to a graduation luau on the weekend.  

Or the two darling waitresses who served us dinner each evening at the hotel and our Moloka'i Mudslide in celebration of Cathy's birthday.  All we had to do was navigate around the pool and climb 12 steps to our room afterward.

Or the young man in the local store who said he left Moloka'i for six years to live in Portland, Oregon but couldn’t stay away.  Then he assured me there is a very special energy on Moloka’i.

Or the owner of the Cookhouse who sent us to see the Kauluapapa overlook.  Kauluapapa is where Father Damien's leper colony was located.  We wanted to take the mule ride down to visit it but the bridge was out.

I did take a photo of the young couple who came from Mau'i to sit on phallic rock.  They told me that if you sit on this rock and pray, you would get pregnant.  They were praying. I did not sit on the rock. Neither did Cathy.

Why didn't I take a picture of Hawai'ian Prime Time band or the wife of the drummer who sat down with us here on our last evening and talked story about the island.  She looked to be thirty but was actually sixty.  She told us the band never practices together.  They all play with different people at different times.  The Hotel Moloka'i provides different local entertainment nightly.  We saw several members of Hawai'ian Prime Time performing with one or two other people on different nights of the week.  On our first night people from the audience spontaneously gave hula performances.

And on Friday afternoons from 4-6 pm the kapuna (elders) of the island gather together here to play and sing.  

It was at dinner one night when the young man about 30 of a tourist couple from Idaho told us that he was blown away by a local fisherman who took him out for a fishing excursion that morning.  The fishing wasn’t very good so the fisherman took him back to his house and made breakfast for him and then said they would go fishing again the next day.  When the young man replied that he couldn’t pay for a second fishing trip, the fisherman said “Oh, there’s no charge.  The fishing wasn’t good today.”  

Or the woman in the bookshop who filled us in on hikes to special places that many people don't know about.   

And there is no way to describe the wonderful energy that exists on an island inhabited by only 8,100 people.  Where no one drives much faster than 40 mph and where there is absolutely not one stop light on the entire island.

And then there are the people determined to save La'au Point from being exploited by the "big energy guys" who want to develop sacred land with two million dollar homes under the guise of promoting wind energy.  When the "big guys" found out the local people were not going along, they pulled out of a thriving cattle ranching business and made a ghost town of Maunaloa Village.  Still the locals refuse to give in.  They seem to understand that their wealth lies in the sacredness of their land not in dollar bills.

And there is the spirit of the family who decided when the pineapple giants pulled out of Hawai'i to plant coffee trees in that space and now they have a thriving Moloka'i coffee business that supports many of the island's residents.  When you visit Coffees of Hawai'i, you will meet many teenagers who are all cousins and family of some sort.  They run back and forth between the gift shop and the coffee/food shop. If you take the time to talk with them for awhile, you will receive a special respect and honor for the person that you are - an aunty, an elder.  They will actually say things like, "we love you guys."  They will tell you about their own aunties who help them "be better people."  It is quite an uplifting and amazing experience.  

Yes, I missed the boat on this one by only taking pictures of scenery.

Did I say that Hotel Moloka'i is the only hotel on the island?  It's located in Kaunakakai Town in the middle of the island on the eastern shore directly across from the island of Lana'i.   The water is brown about a quarter of the way across the channel because there is a large barrier reef surrounding the island.  At first it felt like sitting by the Ohio River but very soon that feeling went away.  And when we saw a man silhouetted against the evening sky fishing with his nets and a flashlight just as the full-moon was rising, the color of the water no longer mattered.

There are only three sets of condos on island I believe. No tour buses.  Some private van tours.  Never saw more than three or four cars driving on the road at a time.  People actually drove 20mph through school zones.  Absolutely nothing commercial to do but some water activities like fishing, snorkeling, and hiking to waterfalls.  Most activities/tours are only open Tuesday through Friday.  Stores close at 2pm on Saturday and all day Sunday.  Quite a concept!

Certification in?

A question presented to me by the mention of the mastery class I took in Mau’i and my attempt to speak it from my heart.

The certification of mastery from “Walking the Earth as a Living Master” has a twofold meaning for me:  First, and most important, it is my own personal acknowledgement, as well as a collective recognition of, the progress I‘ve made in my own ability to integrate the principles of sacredness - of both Spirit and the Earth - into the way I live my life every day.  And secondly, it allows me to teach others the practices that assist me in this ongoing process of integration should anyone desire to learn them. 

Mastery is a way of life that moves one beyond the dualistic mind that is today’s reality for most people into the mind and heart of unity consciousness that is our true nature.  It intertwines spirit with passion and rewards the heart and the soul of the individual as well as contributes love and compassion to the heart and soul of the collective.  It also provides a tremendous opportunity to be a consciousness pioneer in the co-creation of a world of beauty and harmony with primal force on the physical plane.

Mastery is also a way of life that knows deep inside that the solution is never found at the same level of consciousness as the problem.  A daily practice that allows one to rise above the current state of being in the world and contribute to the overall higher consciousness of the Earth instead of dragging her down further with our thoughts and emotions.  It doesn't matter that our mind doesn't understand exactly how it works. We just know deep inside that it does. And our own individual life feels the harmony, the balance, the beauty regardless of what takes place in our private world or the collective world.  It's a great place to be and live in the world.

Lush Wet and Green

Copious, thriving leaves fight each other for space as they plunge cascades of emerald, jade, and olive luxury that weigh tree limbs to the ground.  Profuse blossoms of mustard grass sway like a dancer’s hips to the tune of the mellow breeze.  Plush, sumptuous velvet mountain valleys ripple, burble and babble as water tumbles from their throats.  And this is Boulder! What happened while I was away? Lotsa rain I'm guessin'.

I arrived home to lush greenery and the cutest condo ever.  Not sure why I want to leave this place?  

 

Internet on Moloka'i cost $10 per day.  I opted to fuggetaboutit and just enjoy the most relaxed, loving lifestyle one can ever imagine.   Will post some memories and photos later after I've had some sleep. 

Off to Molokai

The sun sets on the Maui portion of my Hawai'i adventure.  I can't believe how fast ten days can pass.   Saturday at "0 dark thirty am," I board the

six-seater Pacific Wings flight to Moloka'i.

Finished up my Mastery Certifica-  tion today.  An incredible experience!This is the deadwood I'm leaving behind.  Mau'i agreed to take care of it for me.

Now I'm doing laundry and getting ready for phase two of the 2010 Hawai'ian journey - a week in Moloka'i with my dear friend, Cathy, from Cincinnati.  We're going to celebrate her sixtieth birthday together.  I'm not sure she wanted me to tell her age but when number sixty-six is coming up, sixty is just a baby.  Get over it already!  Here we are about six years ago in Mau'i together. 

I'm also remembering fondly the lovely 60th birthday party Marc had for me on the fourth floor deck of Kona Plaza, the Big Island.  It was magical to turn sixty in Hawai'i. And last year it was magical to turn 65 in Costa Rica.  And this year it will be magical turning over the keys to my condo in Boulder and heading off to Kentucky on my birthday.

There's really nothing else to say about my time in Mau'i.  It was everything and more than I needed right now and yet it was not what I expected it to be.  Isn't that the way it always is? 

The morning on Haleakala Mountain was magical, mystical, and mysterious.

The side trips a pure delight!

  

The trees magnificent and wise whether still sporting their leaves or not.

The water the carrier of new life.

And every night a honu (turtle) to kiss me goodnight. 

I wrote this poem in January 2007, one of my first.  It bears repeating because I recognize that now that I've found my voice, it's time for me to move beyond my story.  Go figure!

Ordinary Ascension

I am ascending mass consciousness. This I know to be true.

I am an ordinary person like you and you and you.

There are no great masters that I am channeling.

I waited for it and hoped, but it isn’t happening.

No great voices through me are heard

I am as ordinary as a bird.

For on myself I must rely

to discern information that others supply.

Yet within my heart I know it is true.

I am ascending to a space that is brand new.

I know because worldly things no longer matter

the way they once did. The past now does scatter.

Even more than letting go of the past,

there isn’t a future goal I can make last.

All that exists for me is only today.

This minute, right now, and even that goes away.

On what and on whom can I now rely?

As I sit in my world out on my lanai.

I feel alone and desire to let others in.

They come, they go. We talk and we grin.

Yet, something is missing. It’s different; it feels dark.

My connection with others is missing its spark.

I awaken and wonder, “How will I pass this new day?”

I read many books in hopes of connecting in that way.

And all the while, my very own Spirit cries out:

I’m here right inside you. Stop looking without.

It’s perfectly okay to sit quietly on the lanai

gaze at green trees, blue ocean and a most beautiful sky.

Sit quietly. Do nothing and let me fully come in.

Throw comparisons of new life with old into the dust bin.

It is right and appropriate to sit and stare

at dozens of butterflies gracing the air.

This is who you truly are. Only your mind doesn’t like it.

“How can you enjoy a beautiful day when you do nothing but sit.”

Everyone else is out and about earning their living.

They take time to enjoy only when they are no longer giving.”

Then they’re so tired only the sitting feels good.

Never noticing the breeze and the sky - only the ‘shoulds’

Believe it or not, this is what you think you are missing.

Time spent with people - even though they are dissing.

Alone time is a rare gift. Receive it. Enjoy it with a bow.

Recite daily, “I AM doing what I AM, right here, and right now”

Each moment you fully enjoy this gift of pleasure

Your heart ascends to accept its new treasure.

You are not lazy, nor selfish, nor spoiled.

These thoughts are old and will keep you soiled.

You are ascending along with many others.

All ordinary people - ALL your sisters and brothers.

This time alone is needed for you to become secure

in following your guidance and know that it’s pure.

Follow your heart each day and each night.

Surrender to the Higher Mind.  Feel ITS great light.

Ordinary ascension is the feat that you chose -

to discover if this lifetime your vibration actually arose.

You believed you had it in you to ascend.

You promised to hear the whispers of your soul as they lend

you the tools and support from the Guides and the Masters

keeping you on track and away from disasters.

Your willingness to ascend in the ordinary way

creates a clear path for others so that they will stay

and rise above the temptation to give up and fall.

They’ll see other ordinary people were tempted and stood tall.

And they will start on the road to ascension,

raising their vibration along the way we should mention.

Your pioneering spirit will have left clear and visible signs

to show others the way to receive the Fruit of the Vine.

So today sit quietly and revel without glory.

The time will come for you to tell your own story.

And tell it you will both day and into the night

for through the darkness does shine the bright light.

Analahoe 1-30-07

A Hui Hou, Mau'i!

Winds of Kihei

My spirit rises on the powerful, robust winds of Kihei, and reconciles the paradox of the known and the unknown. Two wholes coming together to create a birthing portal of unified correlations (co-relations) the likes of which we’ve never experienced before.

All things of the Earth – her soil, her rocks, her water, her trees, her plants, her animals, her children – direct the dynamic forces she evokes within a boundaried playing field . The Earth now lifts herself up on the wings of transformation into the natal gateway of primordial relationship.

All things of heaven – the unseen, the formless, the idea, the concept, the unknown, the vague, the force of the cosmos itself - descend into this co-created portal of nativity.

 

Together, heaven and earth emit an embrace of love and freedom that courses through our blood-

streams like the wild, whitewater gorging its way through solid lava rock.

 
Are we ready to meet universal force in the birthing portal? Are we clear enough for it to flow through our veins and arteries with conscious awareness?

Can we persevere until we receive within our  physical bodies the divine feminine – a force  not honored in the modern world – and bring her back to Life?

Are we ready to draw strength from grace and equanimity, to remain as receptive and spacious as the ocean when our minds call for action? After all, action receives the reward in this world.

Are we clear enough to enable the waters of changing developments to flow through us as we strive for a natural, organic responsiveness. Responses based in intuitive guidance from higher wisdom rather than a reacton to the drama of what we see and hear in the world?

It’s an overwhelming challenge we are being asked to take. Are we ready to walk through the open doorway that beckons us into a different realm, with fresh interconnections, and pristine insights before it closes again?

This is a photo of Maui Angels who are living the Divine Feminine on a daily basis and are willing to share what they know about it with all of us. For the last year and a half, I’ve been taking an online course called Walking the Earth as a Living Master. I was fortunate enough to attend a session in person last week with all of these beautiful women and one courageous man.  If you want to know more about how to master yourself and receive the Divine Feminine into your lifestream, visit http://www.walktheearthasalivingmaster.com/

Haleakala Calls

I was headed to Hana this morning when I noticed Haleakala standing proudly before me in all her glory.  The 10,000 foot mountain named "House of the Sun" usually dwells in the clouds and isn't noticeable at sea level.

For all my Colorado friends, I know 10,000 feet doesn't seem like much with all the 14ers we have but we're starting at sea level here.  These Hawaiian volcanic mountain craters are pure magic.  There's an indescribable essence of sacredness that permeates my soul.  Maybe it's where heaven and earth come together.

Living in Colorado, I'm  used to bikers on mountain roads but the bikers I'm used to are lean, fit, wear spandex, and know what they're doing.  Imagine for a moment groups of out-of-shape, out-of-control tourists maniacally careening down this road.  Now, that was scary. 

Have you ever seen a Jacaranda Tree in full bloom?  The lower portion of Haleakala Road is loaded with them and the sweet spicy scent is heavenly.  But the best part about this particular tree is that it's right across the street from a tiny shop called 'Pink Protea' housed in this building with Sunrise Country Market.

The owner of Pink Protea is a most amazing young woman whose name is Ruthie.   We talked lifetimes in the short time I was with her and when I left we were hugging and kissing cheeks as if we were long, lost best friends.   It's always interesting to me where I find soul family.  This time it was on Haleakala Highway at the 3700 feet elevation marker.     http://www.mauipinkprotea.com/

The Road Between

Yes, today I made it all the way to Makawao, but what I discovered (once again) is that for me it's never really about the destination.  It's all about the journey.  The drive to Makawao was a lot of traffic.  Makawao is a one street cowboy town turned artist mecca and boutique.  I take a stroll up and down, look at things I'm not really interested in.  Enjoy the art but recently I've been so into Michaelangelo and Carrara marble  because of the upcoming trip to Italy that the paintings don't jump out.  They're really great.  Just not me right now. 

I remember seeing a town named Haiku on the map that looks to be connected by roads to Makawao.  I'm just curious to see what a town named Haiku looks like.  "Excuse me. How do I get to Haiku from here?" I ask a local in Makawao. "Go makai at the intersection of Baldwin and Pi'iholo Road" is the reply.  (Only in Hawai'i can there be an intersection with those two names.)  I know that makai means 'toward the ocean.'  And still I get lost. 

There's something about narrow, winding roads that magnetize me down them even when I know it's probably not the road I want. Luckily for me, being lost is one of my favorite things to do when traveling.  And it's much more fun than following the trail of cars on the highways. 

And since I was trying to get to Haiku, here's my attempt at Haiku.

"Driving to Haiku

Lost and alone on the road

Beauty softly speaks"

Lahaina Town

Yes, I finally left the tree.

Today I drove for 40 minutes heading to an artist town called Makawao on the side of Haleakala Mountain.  At the stoplight after passing a church called "Jesus is Alive," I grabbed for my notebook to write down the name of the church.  Mostly because it made me smile. I was thinking, "If you only knew how much Jesus is alive inside of me."  My notebook wasn't there, nor was my purse, my wallet, my drivers license, my credit cards or my money.  I had left the condo without anything but water and a banana.  That's what stillness will do to ya.  But I kept it, the stillness, while I turned around, drove 40 minutes back to the condo, retrieved my necessities, and went instead to visit Lahaina Town which is much closer to where I'm staying.

Some photos of Lahaina Town.

Boy, does it remind me of Kailua Kona.  Feeling a twinge of homesickness.

This is me having a great time yakking at the lovely person taking my photo.  That's what happens when you go a few days without talking.

And I sat under a banyan tree for a wonder- ful hour listening to the magical guitar and authentic Hawaiian songs (as opposed to the hotel kind) played and sung by (oh how I wish I could say, "Akiko or Keala") but his name was Richard.  His music brought Hawaii home to my heart again. 

And I ended the day back on my lanai with a most delightful dinner partner.