also known as the big island...

so, i didn't go to vermont. i went to hawaii. and so for two and a half months now, here i've been.

the punaverse. also known as puna district, but the punaverse is so much more apropos. entering the punaverse with my backpack and friend was like entering a permanent rainbow gathering. puna is an enclave of forward thinkers, visionaries, artists, outlaws, fugitives, travelers, healers, and well, lunatics. it's fantastic. each is living in his or her own definition of paradise, from a bedroll in the jungle to nomadically living in a tent on various beaches; from creating home under a collection of tarps, corrugated metal shelters, simple cabins, yurts, and cottages, to community living on shared land with private self-sufficient spaces centered around a common shared space. fruit grows on trees, as you might imagine, and is there for the eatin. some unnamed pirates of the meditation are known to harvest the seemingly ornamental coconuts from the perfectly landscaped estates of vacation-home owners and redistributing them throughout the day from the back of the pickup..."wanna coconut?"

and each is on her own journey...some are here for the first time, some return year after year, some came and never left. many were here for a visit and have been here decades since, finding no reason to leave. a central focus of puna is sundays. it begins with ecstatic dance, which is an intentionally-created sacred dance space where each can go within, access his own challenges, and release them. in short, it's a silent space, a safe space, to get your freak on. some are dancing in solo space, some flit around and engage with others in a moment of shared dance space, some meditate, practice yoga, contact improv, etc. it's a space without judgement, expectation, or much in the way of rules except all are respecting the silence of the space~if you want to talk, you go outside. no talking in the dance. folks range from babes in arms to young children running amidst the freaks, to mamas carrying those babes in arms to grandmamas smiling and expressing themselves in complete freedom. for many, the dance is their church. it's a time to connect with the source by whatever definition, a place to come and experience yourself and others loved just as you are, and celebrated for trying on different personas as each explores who it is they feel to be inside. the dance closes with a circle for sharing..sharing your experiences in the dance, sharing your heartsong, sharing your expressions of self or needs to your community..looking for a place to stay, looking for work, looking for a ride, seeking and finding.

after the dance, community time spills out onto the red road, where russ is giving divine light transmissions at the point, stephanie and david are vending raw food decadence, and adrian is hacking open coconuts. and from there, if you're up for a bit of high energy, go down to kahena beach for the drum circle and splash in the (scary) waves, or if you feel for a chill out go to seaview park for potluck picnic and lounging together in the grass, where kirtans are sung, guitars are strummed, bodywork is rampant, and conversation is inspiring and creative.

ah...sundays in puna. love it.

here, a car isn't necessary. thank god, because man, do i love the hitch. it's common, it's easy, and it's fun. so many different kinds of people pick you up, you make connections, make friends, and experience other people's adventures. and, you can get from a to b without adding fossil fuels to the mix, as the cars are going that way anyway.

and now, i'm in hawi. it's a small place on the north kohala coast, on the northwestern tip of the big eye. i'm on a piece of land named artesia, where creative expression, self sufficiency, expressing visions, and living in harmony is celebrated, is what makes it special. each on this land has unique gifts, talents, and colors to shine, and it is here that i'm making my home.

i live under the christmas berry trees, protected from rain and wind, looking out over the pasture land of the neighboring cows, calves, and horses who come to visit me, in a giant tent (i call it the condo), under a cathedral of twisting, moss-covered branches, tucked away behind the lush vegetation, with little nooks in every corner calling out for a bit of love and companionship..."come sit here for a spell and enjoy my natural beauty!" ...here i celebrate my creativity with encouragement to share my talents in sewing, creating, painting, writing, healing, and being. we live in the company of fruit trees, vegetable beds, flowers blooming, and visionscapes of ocean view, pastureland, and intentional gardenscapes, a natural ampitheater for performance, and countless nooks of artistic expression and natural beauty from which to feed your own inspiration.

i'm newly attuned to karuna ki reiki, compassionate reiki, and slowly integrating this into my practice, experiencing such profound compassion through empathetically experiencing the pain and challenges of others...i'm sharing reiki with others~offering classes at health care and rehabilitation centers, offering treatments in the moment, making my own clothes and wares for sale at market, preparing to display my clothes and other crafts at an exhibition at the hawi artist's collective, and making manifest jim's creative vision of adding artistic expression to his remarkable land...("see the view from here, it's very nice, but this spot could use a bit of something...i'm envisioning some fabric with a few different colors blowing in the wind...play with it...see what you come up with..." jim shares...).

today i'm planting around my space, clearing out the nooks and preparing them for sharing my company as i write or read or create. probably see a couple of rainbows. you know, just another day in paradise.

:)

k~