Write The Book. Then The Next One
Life at Sea
Sarah & Ed — Charting Love Across the Seven Seas
The open ocean, a Hawaiian awakening, a world cruise, and the long passage from cruise ships to cruise missiles.
We Teach English or People Die
From Cruise Ships to Cruise Missiles
From the open ocean to an active war zone inside an operational squadron, these are the experiences that shaped my life, my teaching, and my understanding of the human condition.
View the Book on AmazonAloha Time
Hawaii was the experience that answered all my questions about time—it did not exist.
Everything is NOW on a ship, and the only easy day is YESterday. On the Pacific Ocean, I may not have been Mr. Right, but I felt okay being Mr. Right Now.
“Aloha Time lets things happen when they are ready to happen, and I was ready to happen.”
Aloha Time is Divine Time. It is an energetic force that has your best interest at heart, and you can tap into it anytime you want. Things show up when you want them. It is more than liquid; it is a fluid life. The first thing I did was start teaching.
Four chapters of arrival
01Chapter 1: Jump Ship and Say Aloha
A Merchant Marine turned adventurer, Ed traded a structured life at sea for the spiritual call of the Hawaiian Islands. Armed with nothing but a duffel bag and a sense of destiny, he landed on Maui. The “Aloha Vibe” hit him like a warm wave—slow, sacred, and full of synchronicity.
02Chapter 2: Banyan Trees and Promises
One morning in Waikiki, Ed found himself face to face with a sprawling banyan tree. He wrapped his arms around it and made a promise: "Go for it. Even if you fail." The banyan became a guidepost, a symbol of resilience and new beginnings.
03Chapter 3: From Car Seat to Call Sheet
Living out of his car on Oahu, Ed sent a headshot to Hawaii Film Studios. They couldn't give him a part since he looked too much like the lead actor, but they offered him a gig as a stunt double on Lost instead. The island was giving back.
04Chapter 4: Fire, Water, and Huna
Before Hawaii, Ed studied at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training. But Hawaii taught him different skills—energy, harmony, and mana. He discovered Huna, the sacred knowledge of spiritual alignment.
Paradise as recognition
Hawaii was never only a destination. It became a shift in perception: oceanic consciousness, original love, and the recognition that experience changes when the observer changes.
01Seeing Things As We Are
During his time in Hawaii, Ed Reif experienced a profound shift in perception—a living embodiment of the idea that we don't see things as they are; we see them as we are.
"I don't see things as they are; I see them as I am." — Anaïs Nin
02I Am The Waves
The breakthrough begins with oceanic consciousness — the dissolution of subject and object.
"Right now, I don't see the waves, I am the waves. I don't touch the sandy beach, I am the sandy beach."
03I Am The Sunshine
The expansion continues beyond oceanic to solar awareness — becoming the very light that illuminates existence.
"I don't feel the sunshine, I am the sunshine."
04The Ocean Mystics Know
The ultimate recognition arrives — existence has only one taste, one flavor, one essence pervading all apparent diversity.
"To live in this vastness is to bathe in the ocean that mystics call one taste. I can drink the Pacific in a single big gulp, with one single big mind."
05Happy Because Free
True freedom comes not from accumulating experiences but from transcending the need for them entirely.
"I can be happy in the world only because I am free of it. I am not addicted to experiences and memories."
06I Myself Am Beauty
The deepest intimacy is discovered — love of self as the universe loving itself through this particular expression.
"I myself am beauty. I myself am joy. I myself am happiness. Knowing myself as myself is the ultimate intimacy. It is original Love."
07All Things Love-Worthy
The ultimate realization — when you know the depth of self-love, you discover that everything and everyone is included in that same love.
"When I realize the depth and fullness of my love of myself, I know that every body and everybody and the entire universe are included in my affection."
08Paradise Realized
Hawaii was never just a place — it was always a state of consciousness, a return to the original self, a remembering of what was never lost.
"Paradise isn't a destination - it's a recognition. We don't see things as they are; we see them as we are. And when we are love itself, everything becomes paradise."
Listen to the passage
Huna, Hollywood, and the Open Ocean
Charting Love — Audiobook Snippet
Trip Reports Navigation
The voyage of a lifetime: twenty-three ports, crossings, islands, and field notes from Sarah and Ed's world cruise.
Across the seven seas
Every port tells a story
Ready to deploy the full story?
From the discipline of the open seas to the front lines of teaching English for survival, this book tells the story of language, risk, and the human condition.
View on Amazon“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”