I showed up In Hawaii and magical things began to happen. It all started with the simple decision-to go.
Being T/here in Hawaii has put me in a unique space ..
... that supports personal exploration, oneness and the mystical experiences of Huna, the Shamans about manifesting and tapping into "mana" "Chi" also known as the life force.
With Terry O'Quinn
I have had a tremendous amount of good fortune, starting with this gig on the TV Show, Lost, and the teaching contracts I got, and my reverse commute from my condo in Ka-a-a-va (Yes that's how you spell it).
I am the hero of my own life.When I think of The Hero's Journey, refers to Joseph Campbell's basic pattern found in many narratives from around the world. The Bill MOyers Interview still rings in my ears....
It starts with sacrifice, from sacrifice comes bliss.My general formula for my students is"Follow your bliss." Find where it is, and don't be afraid to follow it. Joseph Campbell
Bill Moyers: Did you ever have the sense of... being helped by hidden hands?
Joseph Campbell: All the time. It is miraculous. I even have a superstition that has grown on me as a result of invisible hands coming all the time - namely, that if you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in your field of bliss, and they open doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be.
Inspector Traveler Uncovers The Truth: Peter Max: He's Here! and His Baby Is Ugly
Love bead puka shells , tie-dyed red dirt t-shirts,pineapple incense, psychedelic ,black-light posters: the fabulous '60s. Waikiki. has a retro Peter Max-vibe going on in that magical strip of land called Waikiki.
Max mass produced the decade, and Waikiki merchants and tour operators defintiely have mass produced the decadence-- in vitro; a test tube frankenstein of cosmic technicolor, hyperbolic noise; reduced to a delirium of colorful souvenirs, and bold kaleidoscopic packaged tours.
My Most Under -Rated Travel Experience: the Lahaina- Meat Grinder -Visitor Industry that took a chance on an unknown kid from Los Angeles and made an Aloha Graduate of him! No Monster Waves until Winter ..but I did see Steve and Dano in Maui, complete with 4-year varsity letters, Portuguese last names and healed acne scars, handing out speeding tickets. Bad Cops. No Donuts. Hawaii 5 OMFG!
Is There life After Luau? An OOM "out of money" experience. One of the best things to experience on your South Pacific vacation, is spending all your cash on things you don't need to impress people you don't know. It ranks as one of the Top Ten Best activities Hawaii has to offer, and Lahiana is no miraculous exception. Giving in to the urge of paying too much for things that comes with a side of Polynesian paradise is truely under rated.
Let's see who can hit this moving target. Let me display my skill--- that is no regard or knowledge for the unwritten rule of this place---take their money and run I'm just a volunteer salt of the earth rainbow lover, with a large supply of energy drinks who wants to dance the hula and be volunTOLD by mainland guilt, Pearl Harbor, Captain Cook, whatever to support the local economy.
Why is there no pine in pineapple? I don't know; but I did stay at a Holiday Inn and saved a ton on my car insurace by switching to Geico. Lahaina. Even a caveman can do it.
The usual over priced rip-off francised suspects are hawaiianized.---Hard Rock Cafe, ABC Stores(Aloha Bring Cash). Starbucks Coffee. Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Cheezy(Burger) in Paradise--- . Seeing the world through rose colored Maui Jim's, the surf and sun provide the perfect brain dump. I go into default mode of island wear. I'm " One of those tourists". a temporary colonists, like a carton of milk with an expiration date stamped right on my forehead.
As the locals , indigenous and disadvantaged engage in some parallel hemp induced struggles, they look on in disguist, chin checking me with patronizing "Howz it's", and "Sup Brah" surfer dude speak. Way. No way. I don the loud expensive aloha shirt I charged $85 bucks two days before, at Hilo Hatties--- the Hamburger Helper for Mainland haole(pronounced howlie) Scum!It's just tuition for an Aloha graduate--- an edjamacated expense in a bowl of stupid. When I get home and get the bill--it's called the after life.
What they're really thinking is pu' insai,the contemporary pidgin-english slang term for having sex. literally meaning 'put inside'; getting screwed out of my hard-earned money.
Merchants put you through the meat grinder of souvenir turn and burn shops, with wampum and beaded shells made in Chinese and Cambodian sweatshops for ~$0.12/hour. Mahalo. I feel like I am in TJ, or some Mexican netherland border town. The rage subsides. After all, there is no place on earth like Hawaii. The best things in Hawain life aren't things, they're people---and I have been meeting some fantabulous people -a creamy blend of the fantastic and the fabulous, beyond belief and my wildest expectations....Lisa, Cheryl,Lauren and Chris, Nadine and Sherry, Martin, Javier, Rick, Matt, Zac, Keith, Kyle, Paul H-Tuna, Paul L and Johanna, David S. and others...
I love the smell of fractional real estate time shares in full bloom in the morning. It screams of "tourist trap" yet this ocean FRONT Street- is THE street on the west coast of Maui.
The ambassador of Aloha Don Ho, singing his lazy golden hits with the help of karaoke monitor lyrics was M.I.A. Today, it's the post humorous Izzy's "n Dis Life" soundtrack. Kamakawiwo'ole's tricked up lyrics:. "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" The vibe is the anti elevator muzac de jour.
Sailed over to Maui. Docked in Kahului. Rented a PT Cruiser. On the road to Kihei...Then Big Beach..Aloha from:You'll GO YOUR WAY. I'll Go Maui. Didn't come all the way to Hawaii to eat great pizza--but we did---doubled back to Paia's Flatbread and Company, the accidental pizza maker.$40 Bucks---Why pay less. Almost Authentic Neapolitan New York Ray's; Almost Greenwich Village deep dish Stromboli's. Hung out with, beautiful-as-god-made-her, Cheryl--- Barefoot, 25 from Petaluma, California. Had the Beach Boys Cali Girls on my iPod. Sang the lyrics to each other...The west coast has the sunshine And the girls all get so tanned I dig a french bikini on hawaii island Dolls by a palm tree in the sand
I been all around this great big world And I seen all kinds of girls Yeah, but I couldnt wait to get back in the states Back to the cutest girls in the world
I wish they all could be california I wish they all could be california I wish they all could be california girls. Let's build a bridge from California to Hawaii... California GirlsBeach BoysPaiaFlatbread CompanyPizza
We're on the Big Island, the west side, at the local Starbucks,
for some Kona Joe, sitting with our friends cream and sugar.
American coffee is "dirty water" and
Instant coffee takes too long. Kona, however, is "Ono". Tastes good.
Shoveling Sunshine-My First Extended Stay In Paradise
A Sophie's Choice meltdown over which island or for that matter, which town on the Big Island gets to check into Hotel @nyware--- my memoirs-- I'm feeling like the Oskar Schindler of travel bloggers-Kona and Hilo , you were nice to me. You get to live in digital heaven-because we all know information on the web never dies.
Kona has coffee; and where there is coffee there is caffeine, and where there is caffeine, there is (Starbucks) and the opportunity to do stupid things faster; and that's where the teachable moments are---because time doesn't exist in Hawaii but being stupid does (has its benefits). Ignorance is bliss.
1994 Onboard The SS Constitution
As Joseph Cambell says, Follow your bliss"....The irony of Starbucks being everywhere, even in Kona, has its gravitational pull on me---exerting almost cosmic influence on my life! But I will forgo the free wi-fi, go unplugged. My phone works here too but so what...
Kona's ocean water almost always reflects a blue Hawaii that leaves me scratching my head thinking " Where is the ukulele and Elvis sightings-Ooh up ahead". What happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas, I'm sure I'll see an ABC (Always Bring Cash) soveneir store soon. The weatherman diety god Lono's breeze whispers cool, like a pat on the back and blessing from Captain Cook's spirit saying,
SS Independence in Background
"Well done, you found out about this place. Now don't get yourself killed like me for being a stupid Haole.". Kona is very inviting, leaving me curious, and with no other option but to stay a while because it's not called the tiny Island, It's called The BIG island--Volcanoes, Waterfalls and Rain Forests. Bring it on! I take in the random passion fruit and flower fragrances and the music and downtown farmer's market laughter barely audible as I tendered from the mother ship. It all gets sharper as I reach the dock to smiling locals. This is the not so Far East-Everybody speaks English.(well sort of). This is not a state of mind like California. This is entirely different, a state of grace--I know they need our Yankee dollar but wait a minute, this is not some outpost, some colony, this is just as much America, or is it? My inner monologue, that voice inside my head wants to scream out to the first local-Hawaii is a former Leaper Colony on top of an active Volcano where the only show I liked Hawaii 5 O got cancelled , Mahalo for nothing! -But I can't. This Samoan guy is part refrigerator, part Mack truck and can squish me like a bug. Besides,I think I'm just hungry. "Is it time for grilled and line caught Mahimahi already? I ask myself a question I know the answer to-"Yes"
Hello Hilo
Hilo is so cool to sail to because, overnight, with a moon lit backdrop, we steam past Kilauea,the active volcano lava rivers spark and spill into the sea, and leave its aftermath of molten rock at the waters edge. Only the view from Maui's Haleakala offers such a once in a life time view of something you probably never have seen before.
Hilo is artistically bohemian, and in terms of authenticity, is the real deal-papayas, homemade jams, roasted macadamia nuts and koa wood carvings. The Banyan trees are worthy of a hug. It's the type of tree that moved me to tears of joy (For Real). I've often biked to Rainbow Falls too. That whole area-the nature, the land, the people speak, and it's easy to listen. They seem more resigned to the way they have to live than New Yorkers like me do. In fact, I often took my bike (that I stored on the ship-You could have a surf board or a bike-cool!) I soon realized the terrain on the Big Island is a bit like the moon with all that razor-sharp geo-volcanic rock. I never asked myself "Am I there yet" on a bike, except for Kona and Maui--It only took one time to catch a sliver of black volcanic rock and flat tire or in Maui, it's these prickly seeds mixed in with the red clay sugar cane dust that get you. I upgraded to flat-resistent tires and was good to go for the season and I was back to living happily every after in King Kamehameha's Kingdom-Don't worry Be Maui...and in the tune of Happy Birth Day to you I sing ...Happy Kona to you,Happy Kona to you,Happy Kona to you,Happy Kona to you,
The Tour
The glamor of being a sailor had me concerned. "Repaint your entire house every month" Buy a Dumpster and live in it for 6 months" But this was going to be a cruise ship-It was on America Hawaii Cruises. I just wanted a different experience, and I took the first job I could get, which was a deck hand. We sailed for seven days and each day we had a port of call. Starting off with an embarkation day at Aloha Towers in Honolulu, then a sea day, and we hit Kauai, Maui(Lahina and Kahalui) Hilo and Kona. It was the best! The weather was always temperate and I had the most energizing and spirtually uplifting time, enjoying the weather, the people, the food, the culture and the OHANA-family atmosphere of Hawaii. I have been hooked ever since on these beautiful islands. The definition of ecstasy is that you are not doing your ordinary everyday ho-hum existence. Shoveling sunshine in Hawaii beats a day at the office.
These are the 7 Principles of Huna Wisdom. They are timeless, and designed for people to live joyful simple lives.
IKE – The world is what you think it is Be Aware KALA – Everything is possible Be Limitless MAKIA – Energy flows where attention goes Be Focused MANAWA – Now is the moment of power Be Here ALOHA – To love is to be happy with Be Happy MANA – All power comes from within Be Confident PONO – Effectiveness is the measure of truth Be In Tune
I'm in Nawiliwili, Kauai . Love this place. Attention Follows Energy. Everything Is Energy. Peace and Loveism.
Neurons that wire together fire together...That is to say, the more I do something, the more likely I am to do it in the future.
Neurons that fire apart wire apart---Everyday I stay in Hawaii, is a day away from my addictions and a re-organization and a re-creation and reshaping of my brain and my reality.
"Don't just stand there, do nothing"- In other words, Procrastinate Now!! Seven days can make one weak, but Someday is the busiest day of the week in Kauai. Yet with every new experience I am creating a new reality for myself. Step One: Think your way to a better life.
Loveism
I'm thinking in pictures. Right now, you don't need Power Point to explain my job description but I need it to explain when ShiFt Happens.The trick, of course, lies in knowing when to trust that instant response, and when to question it.
I find it so much easier to think in Hawaiian since I only know, like four words:Aloha (Hello-Goodbye) Mahalo(Thank You) E komo mai (Welcome) and Ono (Delicious).
Kauai is known for its spectacular cliffs, canyons and rain forests. It also has some of the most picture postcard scenery---white powdered sandy beaches surround the isle and most are off the beaten path away from the crowds.
The phrase - Eddie Would Go - is found on bumper stickers and T-shirts sold in surf shops around the world. Its meaning has never been fully explained to me until I got to Paia, Hawaii last week. It's about the extraordinary life and tragic death of Eddie Aikau, a Hawaiian waterman, lifeguard and pioneering big-wave rider.
In the 1980's, bumper stickers and T-shirts with the phrase "Eddie Would Go" spread around the Hawaiian Islands to the rest of the world.
It’s not hard to run into Eddie Aikau these days. From the famous image of Eddie cruising a big wave across the face of a Bank of America check, to the Internet tributes, clothing lines, and Quiksilver’s surfing competition in his honor, Eddie is everywhere.
According to maritime historian Mac Simpson, " Eddie Aikau was a legend on the North Shore, pulling people out of waves that no one else would dare to. That's where the saying came from -- Eddie would go, when no else would or could. Only Eddie dared.
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