Maui: The Trickster!

Up early on a Sunday morning to catch an early flight to Maui. Luckily the airport in Kauai is small and quiet.

View down from the windy road

Laura and I began our journey by doing some random driving around the island. We couldn’t check into our condo until 3 pm so we had about 5 hours to kill. The good thing about Maui is that is it small. It doesn’t take long to get anywhere. So we decided, on spontaneity and headed for the longest drive we would make: up the mountain to Haleakala--House of the Sun!

The road goes up....and up...and winds around and around....but the views were amazing!

I have never in my life have seen a volcano and this was a wondrous sight to behold. Not only were we up above the clouds, we were up at cruising altitude for airplanes! Well, maybe not airplanes in Hawaii, but still...it was high.

Afterwards, Laura took us down the mountain and into Kehei, where we would be staying for the next few days. We are looking forward to a few days of sun, surf and relaxation.....but Maui is a trickster......he may have something up his sleeve for us!

on top!

walking on air!

Pono: Be Effective

Our last day of the retreat was short and sweet. We arrived back at the B&B at 10:45 am to shower and get ready for closing ceremony. Now it was time to reflect on the week, on what we have learned as a group and individually, and then to use it in our lives so that we can be more effective.

However, first things first. I needed a massage....badly. So luckily our group massage therapist was ready for me. Unfortunately, I was so sore and so sensitive that she couldn’t do any deep tissue rubbing. I had to settle for relaxing--which was fine. I needed that just as much. 

Then I sat to reflect on my lessons. 

• Number 1: I am much more patient with children than I am adults. Everyone is learning something--let them learn it.
• Number 2: when you are in Hawaii, you are on island time. Schedules must be thrown out of the window. 
• Number 3: even when I am tired and cranky, I need to be careful of word vomit. The way my words affect some people may not be as effective as I may want.

I will miss my new friends that I have made on this journey, but tomorrow I start a new one. Laura and I will leave Kauai and head to Maui to spend a few days exploring that island. I have a feeling that I am going to make up for some missed beach time. Stay tuned for more pics!

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.....