Eating Up The Light-- The Sun Also Rises on Mt. Haleakala
The Cruising Godfather: Declassified Files
Mt. Haleakala:
Space Cadet Nirvana
A cosmic field report from the House of the Sun, where enlightenment, absurdity, psychic spray bottles, and Maui's spiritual underground shared the same altitude.
I had been repatriated to the Valley Island, applying for citizenship in the comfort zone and state of mind of Aloha, taking courses toward a Bachelor of Enlightenment.
File CG-015
The House of the Sun
Greetings from the global power spot and vortex of Mt. Haleakala's lava dome, the House of the Sun, where lunar astronauts trained and future space cadets blast off into nirvana.
At the summit I met Paulette, a Euro-Asian-British-Afro-Caribbean beauty. Everyone else looked like karaoke copies. She became my guide into Maui's eccentric spiritual underground.
Declassified Encounters
The Dream Team
Makawao: Off the Grid
After the descent, Paulette led me through upcountry Makawao and into a shared hallucination of Aquarian proportions at Dragon Den's Herb Store.
Bipolar Phil
Phil was a Sensitive New Age Guy living behind the store, accompanied by Nefertiti, an imaginary animal born during a vision quest and a total eclipse.
Psychic Substance
His pro bono divination placed me in Manhattan and in the wrong religion. Then came the cedar spray from a Windex bottle and a chant containing Buddha, Krishna, Yahweh, Tutankhamun, and Henry VIII.
Scarlett the Sand-wich
Scarlett practiced Tai Chi, drank chai tea, and softened the strange theatre around her. Maui had become TV land's Twilight Zone.
Shane's Ohana Rate
At Twin Falls, fresh cane juice, Maui Gold pineapple, ripe guavas, and bananas briefly made a ten-dollar drink feel like part of the lesson.
Operational Meaning
You Cannot Stop the Waves
You cannot stop the waves, but you can learn how to surf the enlightened moments. Wherever I go, there I am. Whatever I am thinking now, that is what is on my mind. The important question is: now what?
In a world moving too fast, personal power comes from learning to slow down. The world we want will not emerge from pedal-to-the-metal speed, but from a stillness that takes root deeply enough to change how we move.
The fool on the hill persists in his folly and becomes otherwise. Haleakala delivered its subtle, silent grace: everything I was seeking was already there.
Evidence Locker
Haleakala Archive
From the Book Shelf
How This Story Maps to the Larger Work
Who Wants to Be a Time Millionaire?
Chapter: Hawaii Lessons and CEO of Consciousness.
Lesson: Attention turns altitude and stillness into lived time.
Equation: Attention x Intention = Meaning.
MAHA: Make America Happy Again
Chapter connection: Mind, Curiosity, Purpose, Enoughness.
Lesson: Rush less. Notice more. Let stillness become a source of power.
Living an Asymmetrical Life
Chapter: Hawaii Years.
Hero's Journey stage: Answer the Call.
Equation: Experience + Reflection = Wisdom.