Mana: Be strong (all power is within!)

Today was quite possibly the best day yet--mainly because we did some things that I absolutely love!

First on our list was Kamokila, a reconstructed ancient Hawaiian Village. We had a cute little woman take us around the village with her ukelele and tell us stories of the village and the structures built. The tour takes about an hour and if you are ever there, I highly recommend it.

Running man rock. Our guide is to the far left.

Then the real adventure began. We rented kayaks and a canoe and paddled up the Wailua River to a trail. This trail led us through the woods for about a mile and a half to to Secret Falls---which is not really a secret seeing as how there were lots of people there. Here we jumped in the pool for a swim and oh-my--- it was cold! Tim and Mishi then performed a “third-eye” ceremony/activation for each of us where we held each other in the pool and toned. Then, if you chose, you could go back behind the waterfall and swim through it. I did it twice! It was exhilarating and a bit scary. When you walk back behind that waterfall, there is so much water in the air that it is hard to breathe. But totally worth it! The pool itself is only about 6 feet at its deepest point but you should certainly wear shoes in this water.  

Secret Falls

This is usually something I do as often as possible and the hike and all was relatively simple for me. But we did have a member of our team with a broken ankle. He could have easily decided not to go with us. I mean, a mile and a half on rocky, rooty, terrain is tough but worse on crutches. However, Scott would not be left behind! He used his strength to get across the river, to climb up the rocks, to climb down the rocks to the pool, and to swim with the rest of us through the magical waterfall. That took guts and will power. We all thought he was nuts, but I think we also learned that all power does come from within. Thanks for the “lesson” Scott!

We ended our day with a ceremony out at Tiffany’s Gaia Temple. We sat out under a blanket of stars and communed with the Mother Goddess. Actually, while others were meditating and journeying, I fell asleep. But spending a night outside in Kauai was a memorable experience for us all.

Mishi, Lisa and me in the pool!

Aloha: be love (Learning the spirit of the island)

Another beautiful day in Kauai! I must be in paradise!

I have learned so much on this trip so far. As you have probably read, this is not your average trip to Hawaii. I would bet that most tourists here come for the beaches. I have not spent very much time on the beaches at all. I would love some salt water time, but there is so much more to learn!

This morning we got a treat from Uncle Nelson! He brought his "toys" to share with us all that he knows of Hawaii. He played drums and flutes, shucked 2 coconuts for us so that we could drink the water and milk and eat the meat. It was amazing!!!

Shucking the coconut

milking

He also performed the hula for us and taught us a dance too. From what I understand, he performs at the marriott in Kapa'a so if you are ever in Kauai, please go see him! Click here to see his performance for us!

Making a bowl

coconut bra!

After the talk, we decided we needed some town time--lunch, shopping and maybe the beach. We headed into Kapa'a and had lunch at Mermaids, a wonderful little shack that served healthy food. We sat out and watched the people go by. We then visited a gem shop that had a great deal to choose from. I wasn't feeling the vibe of the shopping so I headed down to the beach on my own to catch some afternoon rays and possibly go for a swim. I only had an hour before the van headed back to the B&B so I just found a place to lay down and enjoy the beach.

Tonight, I attended my first real Luau ever at Smith's Family Luau. We watched performances of the hula,  ate great food, and watched a performance celebrating the heritage of the Hawaiian Islands.

dinner entertainment

removing the pig

After the luau, we went back down to Lydgate beach for a night meditation. Tonight we visited Sirius and heard a different rendition of the story of Hawaii.










Hawaiians originally came from the stars in celestial canoes made of light Kanaloa and his wife were the first to arrive and then sent canoes back to get the rest of his people. "It is told that the souls migrated from the cosmos and took up residence in primitive beigns that were on Eart at the time and had a soul agreementn to allow us to embody them. The guardians tht lead us here have stayed. These are the cetaceans....the dolphins and the whales." So tonight, under the starlit sky, we communed with the dolphins and whales from Sirius.

Tahitian Dancers

Manawa: Be Here (or be square)

I awoke in Kauai to a beautiful day! This morning we had an easy morning with coffee and breakfast out on the lanai. Then we begin our day with lei making. It is not as easy as you would think. Most of the leis you buy in Hawaii have been strung. A real lei is wrapped. You collect some ferns, flowers and something that ties it together. We used some sort of dried grass (rattan I think).

our supplies

The you loop and tie everything in. You must be focused and in the moment to complete it. Mishi tried to take the time to recap some of the things we had leared this week but we had to be in the moment in order for our leis to turn out well. It took us a little longer than we thought so most of us ended up with just  head leis.

working hard

After we made our leis, Auntie Karen (our wonderful chef) took us for a short walk around the grounds and showed us several plants that were native to Hawaii and the medicial purposes of all of them. What I found most interesting is the "plantain" plant which actually grows in my back yard!

My finished lei!

After a quick lunch (because we are, of course, running behind) we piled into the van and headed to Weimea Canyon. Our quest was to ride out to to Kalalau Lookout and perform a heart ceremony on top of the mountain. It was cold up there, but totally worth the time. One of our members, Cori, had taken a quick hiatus from us to go up to the canyon and camp for the night. As it turns out, she was right down below us as we performed our ceremony, so in essence, we were all together.

We then took a ride back down the mountain and stopped at a few lookouts to really see the canyon. I have never been to the Grand Canyon (but it's on my list) and this was incredible! We were able to see the sunset and get a few photos before it was too dark.

Beautiful!

Saying Aloha! to the canyon!

Weimea Canyon!

Makia: Be Focused (or no dinner)

So today's lesson was supposed to be makia: be focused. The huna principle here is that "energy flows where attention goes." As part of this learning experience, we are headed up to the Limahuli Gardens with Jeannie Ruman to commune with the elementals and the plant spirits. Jeanne has studied with several shaman including Serge King and is an expert in guiding "

people through Nature, while the Spirits of the forest open their kingdom to us reestablishing the ancient connection between man and Nature Beings once more." 

Now the ironic thing here is that sometimes in order to see the spirits and commune with them, you have to use your "shaman eyes"--which means to defocus. Have you ever tried to look at one of those 3D drawings where you sort of have to let your eyes cross in order to see the picture. It's a lot like that.

So back up to the North Shore we drive. At this point I am begining to wonder if there are other parts of the island that are worth seeing, but Mishi assures me that there are; we will do those later. 

We spent the first part of our hike learning about the native plants to the area and how the Hawaiians grew them and used them. Limahuki Gardens had reconstructed an area to show how they used irrigation/canal techniques to bring the water from the nearby stream into their gardens.

We then hiked on through the gardens and in the valley and looked for spirits in nature. I captured a few picutres and if you look closely, you can see faces in the landscape. We took our time on this walk because Jeanne assured us that if we were to hurry too much, we would scare the spirits off.

check out the face in the "triangle"

At the "top" of the trail, there was a stone that you could sit inside, and if you angled yourself correctly, you could tone and it would vibrate through your body. We all took turns and sat in the rock and then gathered in a small circle and had a short but sweet ceremony honoring the spirits of nature and their gifts to us. 

King Kong!

After the botanical gardens, we went and grabbed some to-go lunches at the local grocery store and headed to a beach. We had planned to go back to the lodge and have some time but Uncle Nelson needed some help with the Hukilau set up so Tim dropped us off at a beach to rest. For those of you who don't know, a hukilau is a fish fry on the beach. The idea is that you set out nets and when you pull them in, you hopefully have caught dinner. We were unlucky. But we also had a back-up plan: bought ahi!

Uncle Nelson and his grandson setting up the nets.

The ladies sliced up the ahi and put it in a frier right on the beach. We also had some fresh caught crabs and delicious salads prepared by Karen. The beer wasn't bad either. All in all, it was a great way to finish a beautiful day.

setting the net

crab!

slicing up the fish

lining it up...

dinner!

Well, as the principle says "energy flows where focus goes" and since we had focused our energy on hiking, beaching and eating, we were done for the night. As a matter of fact, were were supposed to have a bon fire after dinner and possibly a fire ceremony, but we were all so exhausted that we helped clean up and then piled into the van. Tim was a little disappointed that we didn't stick around for the fire, but truthfully there was no fire left in us. 

Kala part 2: The only limits you have are high tide.

After our short swim in the wonderful waters of Ka'a Beach, we piled back up in the van and headed to Princeville. We were hoping that we could end our day with a dip in the Queen's Bath before sunset. We were going to have to run to make it though!

The trail head is in the middle of a really swanky neighborhood, sort of tucked back in the very back of the area. The signs out front warn us of steep slopes and rip tides, but we set off into the woods to check out the next adventure. The trail goes straight down for about 15 yards, evens out a little, goes straight down, evens out and then straight down again. There is a beautiful water fall about half way to the end of the trail part. Once you get to the edge of the earth, you see signs that make you second guess what you are about to do....

And then you say "BE FREE" and head down the lava rocks around the bend.

You jump from rock to rock, trying to stay as close to the cliff part of the trail as possible because it is high tide and the waves are coming up over the rocks. There is one narrow ledge, but the rest is easily navigable for most people. This one guy in flip flops actually passed us.

But the hike out is worth it as Queen's Bath is magnificent. Unfortunately for us, it was high tide and the waves were coming up over the walls into the bath. We did not feel that swimming in the hole was a good idea, especially if there was a chance that you could be swept out to sea....and that water was rough!!

Not the bath but a powerful spot!

waterfall on the trail

view before the lava rocks

We turned and headed home just before sunset so that we did not have to make the trail back in the dark. Next time, I WILL be swimming here....

Click here to see a short video of the area.

We ended this night with a traditional Kava ceremony. Hawaiians (and other Polynesian heritages) use Kava for sacred ceremonies especially before going to war. This drink relaxes the muscles and your mind enough that you cannot go into a discussion all hot and heated and the idea is to resolve the differences before bloodshed is involved.  I think that there are some countries out there that need to do this today!

Mishi brought out the kava or 'awa in a large wooden bowl and mixed it herself (so it was full of love and good vibrations). Then on a ti leaf, we served ourselves offerings to the gods: Kalo (taro root), Ulu (breadfruit), uala (purple yam), and ahi (raw).  Once we ate (which was actually about 1 bite of each one of these) we were served the kava from a wooden bowl. I think I had about 4 cups. I know I had three. I also know that I slept very well that night!

(note: There are no pictures becasue it is difficult to get in the mindframe of a ceremony when the flashes are going off.)

Coming up next: A day with the elementals at the Botanical Gardens.....

Kala: Be free (and break a rule or two)

Up early for coffee this morning. Seems I can't sleep past 7 am but that is ok. More time to enjoy the view. Yesterday was another exciting experience! After a wonderful breakfast prepared by our fantastic chef, Karen, we piled in the van and headed back up to the north shore. This time we did a river plunge in the creek!

But first things first. One of our group members, Scott, had lost his step-dad the day he arrived in Kauai. Being so far away from home and his family during this time was difficult for him so we decided that first we would do a short but sweet ceremony of love in the river to help him. We gathered around in a circle and put Scott in the middle, chanted a love prayer in Hawaiian and let him release a palm frond down the creek. It was quite lovely.

Ceremony for Scott

Up the trail about 100 yards, there was a hole in the creek bed that was suposed to be about 5 feet deep that the natives would use to cleanse themselves (not bathe, this is a sacred spot). However when we arrived at the hole, it was only about knee deep. Seems a few weeks ago there were some big storms that came through and filled up the hole. That was not going to stop us, however! Each one of us took a turn in the hole dunking ourselves and feeling the cold water rush over us. The weather was quite warm and there were no sea breezes to cool us off so it was quite nice. The mosquitos were another story though!

We next headed to Ke'e Beach right next to the Na'Pali Coast State Park. There is a beauful beach there with reefs to snorkle and hiking trails all around. There is an 11 mile trail that takes you around the cliffs of the coast and you can camp and hike the trail. We were not going to do that today. Today, we were to visit Ka Ulu o Laka Heiau (the first Hula school on Kauai) and see where the first Hula dance was (supposedly) performed.

We headed down to the beach for an afternoon picnic. We had stopped at a local grocery store on the way and I picked up a small container of California roll poke. Now this is not the same sort of "poke" we have back in North Carolina. It was a wonderful "salad" of fresh ahi, onions, avacado, roe --almost like having a California roll with tuna mixed all together. It was amazing! Unforntunately, there is a shortage of ahi in the islands and the prices on poke have doubled. We enjoyed our picnic under the trees right next to the beach. It was heavenly!

View from picnic area

We then headed toward the hiking trails and and just before we reached them, we took a turn up a trail that was clearly marked "KEEP OUT!" I was a little apprehensive at first--mainly because I thought Mishi was going the wrong way, but she wasn't. The area we visited is not advertised for tourists and visitors and we were the only ones headed up that way. Around the corner, we found a small, abandoned shack that was the first Hula school. Apparently there are A LOT of rules you have to follow to practice Huna--no drugs, no alcohol, no sex, and you must take it seriously. Those rules still apply today.

Picnicin'

We lost the trail on the way up, but Mishi could see the top so we sort of made our own trail to get back on the trail. At the top was a sacred alter of rocks. We left and offering and silently explored the area. It is Kapu to take pictures of the area, but you can take pictures of the view and that is what I did. There was an alter in the rocks on the mountain and a rock facing the sea that you could sit on and meditate or just enjoy the view. Mishi told us the story of Laka and Pele and how Hula began. (That story is too long to put here, but if you want to know more about Hawaiian spirtuality, either google it or check out Hawaiian Magic and Spirituality by Scott Cunningham.)

view from the Heiau

I was anxious to get in the water, so I was one of the first down the mountain. I quickly gathered my stuff and headed toward the water. It was late afternoon and it was cold! But so very worth it. There was a strong current but luckily the water was only about waist high. We wanted to get to Queen's Bath before sunset, so we quickly got out of the water and loaded up the van and headed to Princeville.

Ike: Be Aware (that swimming in caves is not for the weak)

So day one in Hawaii is turning out to be pretty jam packed full of fun!

After our drum circle and ceremony in the cave, we were starving, so we drove back down the highway to Hanalei for lunch. We stopped off at the Ching Young Village where we could shop and eat all at the same time. I had a kalua pork sandwich which was awesome and that's coming from a girl that lives in a BBQ state.

We were running short on time, so we changed plans a little and headed back to another cave in Haena called the "Blue Room Cave." This cave is a short walk uphill and then a short walk straight downhill. Once you get to the bottom, there is fresh water pool down there. You would think the water is stagnant, but it's not. As a matter of fact, the pool is so deep that Jacques Cousteau brought his crew there to explore the caves and could never find the bottom. The cave is separated into three small rooms. There is a room that branches off to the left that is wide and dark, and then there is a room that branches to the right that is smaller, but you can also swim underneath a small wall and enter another dark room in the cave. When you are sitting at the bottom of the hill looking into the cave, you cannot see how far it goes. But you can swim to find out.

Looking down from the top. The black part is water.

Mishi and Tim had planned for us to meet a new friend, Tiffany Tatum, and do a sound healing meditation. She and her friend Preston were waiting for us at the bottom--the entrance to the cave, when we arrived. I was ill prepared for this hike because I was in flip flops, and the incline was super steep and wet--so it was slick. But I was NOT going to miss out on this experince. There were a few in our group who decided not to make the climb down. They stayed at the top of the hill to observe and listen and their perspective on the afternoon was interesting too.

When Tiffany began her meditation, I was blown away. I have never heard a person use their voice in such a way. I thought at one point that the sound that came out of her mouth could not come from a human. She was very kind and gentle and took the time to talk to each one of us. She then led us into a meditation through drums, sound bowls, rattles, and toning with her voice. It was simply transcendental.

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perspective) there were some people in the cave with us that did not feel comfortable with what we were doing. Through out the mediation they mocked and yelled out at Tiffany as she did her thing. But it did not phase her a bit. She did not stop, she did not falter and it gave us the courage and confidence to keep on going too. Afterwards, the smell of pot smoke lingered in the air as our "friends" made their way up the trail. Our real friends that we left at the top of the hill also commented that they were stoned on mushrooms and quite possibly had been drinking. Ahh the party life in Kauai.

One of the topics that had come up during our talk was fear. There were several people that had come to the caves to swim and the thought of getting into freezing cold water and not being able to see where I was scared the crap out of me. But after the meditaiton, 6 of us decided we were going to be brave and swim in the cave. As it turns out, we were so brave we were going to do it without clothes! As it turned out, our loud and obnoxious visitors had left by the time we were finishing up and no one else was coming in, so we stripped naked and jumped in.

I can tell you from personal experience that the water was so cold it literally took my breath away! I think I came up screaming! Tiffany led us through the right side of the cave first and I felt totally safe with her. Even though we were further back in the cave, there was still enough light to see and I then realized that it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. We did not swim back into the smaller room under the wall because the water was way up and it was getting late. We then swam over to the darker part of the cave and toned in  there. It too was not as dark back in there. When you are standing at the edge looking in, you cannot see at all, But when you are in the cave looking out, it is much brighter.

At the bottom looking up.

Our friends waiting patiently at the top stood by and "held the space" for us as we took our journey into the waters....although some of them took picutres. Please note the one at the bottom of the page. If you look closely enough, you may be able to pick out my white butt. If the rest of the week was going to be this exciting, I'm not sure I am going to be able to handle it.

See if you can pick out my white butt :-0

You can see the water in this one