Merrie Monarch Festival

The Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo, Hawaii, April 2007

Ancient Hula Night

Put on my Buddha boots and continue on my journey…

These are Brent's boots from the free box, so they must have positive traveling energy that will float with me on my path. I donated the boots to the Landscaping Department at Kalani when I left so other members of our crew may be wearing them now. These boots get around. We like to share at Kalani. That is the spirit of community.

As for myself, let's see where I end up in my Buddha boots walking tour of the world.

Join me on the adventure?

Friends

Shooting Kalani Love

The Surf Is Rising In Maui!

Maui: The Hana Highway and the Drift Wood of Nine Days in the Sun

I have just returned to the big island from a nine day sunrise-filled vacation on the island of Maui. Do I have visuals to dazzle your consciousness? Yes. Tales to tan your skin? Double positive.

Tune in for the rest of the story: Coming soon to a blog spot near you.

Letting Go: from my vacation in the sand

Clinging Imprisons Us

Although I am on vacation in the sand in paradise, Aloha!, I read Tricycle's Daily Dharma today. I am always working on letting go, but this thought was especially comforting to me.

"It is important to understand that anything that can be lost was never truly ours, anything that we deeply cling to only imprisons us."

--Christina Feldman and Jack Kornfield, Stories of the Spirit, Stories of the Heart

I hope that you all have a vacation in paradise too.

The Art of Hedonism

To all of my friends out there finishing their Ph.D. degrees:

From: "The Hedonism Handbook: Mastering the Lost Arts of Leisure and Pleasure," by Michael Flocker

At some point, "the good life" became some distantly imagined finish line that could only be reached through psychotic effort and willful determination. Like over-caffeinated hamsters on a wheel, we began running, sweating, sacrificing and panicking. Could there possibly be something wrong with this master plan? Is there something out there, some lost key to the kingdom of happiness that is being overlooked? You bet your ass there is.

Eat the cake, drink the wine, lie in a hammock and stare at the stars with the hottie you picked up on the beach, but don't try to jam it all into a tightly-scheduled, six-day "vacation."

If you give in to beauty, pleasure and self-indulgence on a daily basis, not only will you be happier day-to-day, you will be less likely to go off the deep end when it all gets too much and you finally cave in. One must practice the art of hedonism regularly to get really good at it.

Balance and Grace and Coconuts

Go Roy!

It was exciting shooting as coconuts were falling all around me. Heads!

Coconut Delight

The Juice of Life

Work is never the same in the landscaping department at Kalani.

Today, for example, we transplanted three large banana trees to a new location so that their leaves would provide privacy for the general manager's outdoor shower.

In this photo, and the photo above, I at last had the opportunity to grab my Nikon when Roy was taking down coconuts from one of the trees near my worksite at the new campgrounds.

If a coconut were to fall on a human's head, this would be an unfortunate experience for that particular human.

Thanks Roy, we love you!

Shakti At The Nut Factory

Nutty Trivia

I bet that you did not know that macadamia nuts have legs just like you and me. We see packs of wild nuts running around in the jungle frequently, but I have never been able to catch one of them myself.

In the photo above, Shakti has managed to tame a rather large fellow. More power to her!

Feral nuts are a part of life on the big island that I enjoy.

Lava Lamp in the Land of Lava

Plug the lamp into the outlet and let it flow...

One of the treasures from the farmer's market in Pahoa that didn't work when tried in an outlet.

Juices Away...

Breakfast of Champions

Fresh carrot and pineapple juice from the farmer's market in Pahoa was part of my Sunday breakfast on March 18.

Come and join me for a glass.

The Van

The Kalani Landscaping Van: Hold on for the ride.

Oh lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz ?
My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends,
So lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz ?

Arcus Barcus

Propagation Station News

Nathan found Arcus Barcus on a ultra sunny day when Brent was cutting down a tree and Nathan and I were assigned the task of hauling it off to rot in the jungle. Arcus is now the mascot of the Propagation Station here at Kalani.

Our wooden mascot stands proudly and does the boogie woogie when nobody is around.

Go Arcus Barcus. We love you!

Joy with Fruit: Oh the Papaya

Papayas resemble sexual bits of human beings when they dangle off the tree if you ask me, and they taste delicious.

Yoshiko and I were walking back to our room from yoga practice last week when two papayas called to us to pluck them tenderly from the tree, split them open with our hands, scoop out the seeds, and suck and chew the tender fruit merrily and with gusto. The juice ran down our faces and our hands were sticky in the afterglow.

Pure joy with fruit!

Lava, Lava: Sweet and Hot

Lava, Lava: Sparks Flying

Last night's three hour trek across the lava field into the direct path of the oozing orange flow was exhausting, exhilarating and dangerous. Yoshiko; Jonathon; Jim and I went on the trek, and today Yoshiko and I were overwhelmed by the memory of the lava's progress down the sharp and black glassy slope into the ocean.

I am still somewhat stunned that I could look down through several cracks in the rock and see hot lava glowing below me. Unrest was emerging from the core of the earth. The heat coming through the rock above was extreme, and I saw sparks flying from the back of Yoshiko's old sneakers.

We heard the crackling of the lava slowly making its journey across the old flow and saw clouds of steam sizzle and rise when Pele the Goddess made contact with her sister the ocean.

The sound and feel of the wind changed dramatically from a hot slap in the face to a cool breeze as we closed the distance, moving toward the hungry waves.

Earth and water united…

Hawaii

Roaring Fire, Wine, and the Moonlit Ocean

Living the Life Fantastic

There is nothing better on a Thursday night than decompressing after work with friends around a fire started by the adorable Maxwell, watching the moon rise over the waves, drinking directly from a bottle of red wine passed from hand to hand, and listening to the laughter of people I love.

Such is my life at Kalani. Such is the reason I want to extend eternally, although I know this is an unreasonable thought. Life should always be this sweet. When I leave Kalani, I will make it so.

This photo is a self-portrait taken while I was walking the property and photographing our landscaping projects- before and after shots of the work here at Kalani. The grounds are beautiful. If anyone is interested, I have talked to my supervisor about starting an internship program for ISU students to get their hands dirty in the jungle.

Reach for the Sky

FREEDOM

This photo of Darren reaching for the sky represents the freedom and the room to grow that we as a human community give to each member: brother, sister and friend.

Darren's strength as a yoga instructor, and his warm and caring heart, beat at the center of our interactions with one another.

I enjoy the days when Darren wears his shirt with the message "FREE HUGS" splashed across his chest.

From me to you, a free hug and respect to all your potential as a living being on the planet. Let compassion reign.

Vincenzo's Valentine

This is one of my favorite shots from my time at Kalani. Valentine wishes are often commercial and replicated in factories of consumerism. Sometimes, they can be hand drawn with lines and inks of intimacy and shared experience.

Vincenzo's Valentine was the intimate and vulnerable sort.

Shot on Feb. 24, 2007 by yours truly in the loft

BEACH BABY: BLANKET BINGO

Today was pure fun, and I got some GREAT shots of friends. I was in the moment, and it felt divine. Squashing six people into a Mustang convertible, ricardO (capitalized correctly) being well, well over six feet tall, was pure mayhem and adrenaline.

Side Note:

I love my starlet sunglasses because I feel so glam-girl when I smile for the camera. Shot by Vincenzo, February 24, 2007

"It's not about the earth suit and the costumes that adorn it. It's about the soul that twirls and dances in the interior temple."

ricardO (yes, his first name is capitalized correctly) verbally juggling concepts of identity on February 24, 2007. I enjoy meeting people who transcend their earth suits (outer shells) and the fit/price/designer of their costumes.

Tricycle's Daily Dharma Sat. 24 Feb 2007

I like the dharma for today. I want to remember it.
Remember that your thoughts are transformed into speech and action in order to bring the expected result. Thought translated into action is capable of producing a tangible result. You should always speak and do things with mindfulness of loving kindness.... For all practical purposes, if all of your enemies are well, happy and peaceful, they would not be your enemies. If they are free from problems, pain, suffering, affliction, neurosis, psychosis, paranoia, fear, tension, anxiety, etc., they would not be your enemies. Your practical solution toward your enemies is to help them to overcome their problems, so you can live in peace and happiness. In fact, if you can, you should fill the minds of all your enemies with loving kindness and make all of them realize the true meaning of peace, so you can live in peace and happiness. The more they are in neurosis, psychosis, fear, tension, anxiety, etc., the more trouble, pain, and suffering they can bring to the world. If you could convert a vicious and wicked person into a holy and saintly individual you would perform a miracle. Let us cultivate adequate wisdom and loving kindness within ourselves to convert evil minds to saintly minds.

-Henepola Gunaratana, Mindfulness in Plain English

ps from Lori: I continue to work on self [converting my own mind into a mind that embraces loving kindness most of the time.] It would be arrogant of me to take on a role of "the missionary of loving kindness" because I am still learning myself; however, I appreciated the overall direction of the dharma for today. The message opened my eyes to our interdependence with our brothers and sisters in the world around us.