Of Pele, Kava, and Naked Hand Stands

I learned a lot from Chris today. I met him through an email exchange and decided to go out and meet a new friend. He's 28. He had moved from Iowa to Oahu in 2002 and spent a brief time in California before returning to Oahu again. He moved to the Big Island just over a month ago, and decided to buy a plot of land around Pahoa. He's been clearing the plot in the rain forest to build a house. He owns several pieces of real estate around the US including in Colorado, Texas, and now several plots of land in Hawaii. He paid only 25K for his 14,000 sq ft plot (roughly 120 ft by 120 ft) less than a mile from downtown Pahoa, and also went in on a deal for a 7,500 sq ft plot with a friend of his. All purchases were on terms. I'm tempted to make the same investment and buy land here.

He made some money in finance and accounting and decided to start a new life. I don't know what he does for a living now. We never got around to it. "What do you do" is almost the first question that people ask when they meet you back on the East Coast. One's identity is often linked to one's occupation. Here, people really couldn't care less.

Right now, he's clearing his land and writing a book - a comedy - about his many life experiences. He thinks he not only has a good shot at getting it published, but that it will bring him quite a bit of revenue.

He's made makeshift living quarters on his newly cleared land from several large tents, and is slowly expanding his life in Pahoa, along with his cat.

He took me to a 100 x 100 ft hot water pool warmed by the lava to near hot-tub temperature along the shores of the ocean. About 30 locals and tourists were lounging around in the mildly sulfurous brackish water. Mixed from sea water and warmed fresh water aquifer percolated through Pele's maze of corridors and passages - the water ia very soft, warm and soothing.

After reclining in the bath and getting thoroughly relaxed we got out, showered off in the outside showers and got in the car as the sun was setting. We drove down towards Kahena black sand beach. Hidden and off-the-road, we walked down by the light of the moon and the light from our cell phones (finally a good use for my crackberry) down the cliff onto the most gorgeous beach I've been. A serene setting by the light of the moon and wide expanse of stars - the waves crashing, on the sides of the circular cove.

After him recounting many stories, one of encountering a chubby naked man doing hand stands in the middle of the night, the odd drum circle and chanting, and once losing his white cat on the beach for 11 hours, we proceeded back to the top of the cliff and into my car.

We drove to the western end of highway 137 to see Pele's fires by night. Though not near the flow, you can see the glow of the fires of Mordor at the lava's entry point into the ocean and the fires originating from the current caldera high up the mountain. On a clear night he said that you can see the fingers of lava running down the mountain in dramatic streams. Today, however, the middle of the mountain was hidden by a storm system.

We walked across a moon-lit lava field onto another black sand beach where we sat down and stared at the stars and told stories about abandoning society's games and impositions to pursue life's wonders. The game of life - created for the survival of our species - the perpetuation of life - raising of a family - and working most of your life to enjoy brief respite of weekends and perhaps a week or two off a year to go and enjoy lands like this at great expense for a couple of days or so, before turning to 'normal life'. Both gay, both not planning on raising a family, both not willing to be confined to others' rues - what an affront to the agreement-reality of society.

I told him about what I had learned about the caste system of India and how it was fashioned after the knowledge imparted to its constituents that the made up societal structure is a game - and not reality - a game that each member gets to play for the survival of the community, and which they get to exit at a certain age in order to also exit the entire game of life, forget what they've learned and invent their own rules - at which point they are regarded as superior to the caste system.

We talked about the power of agreement - the group-think which uses the power of 'we' over the individual to keep the 'nail that sticks out hammered down'. Truth is invented with agreement and not objectivity. The assertion being that 'we' is smarter than 'me'.

It is, of course sadly ironic that through our discourse against the 'we' agreement of society - the two of us were in effect creating agreement for each other's rejection of conformity. The trap forever ensnares people. People will always seek agreement with their opinions in order to abate fear of the unknown nature of what it is to be alive. As long as someone else agrees with you, there's more chance you got it right. To no longer desire agreement must be the truest of freedoms. The key is to not desire to no longer desire agreement, as that traps you in the same trap of desire.

I suppose the nail always seeks a plank to be nailed down in. The universe abhors a vacuum.

Kava...

After many further musings, he told me what Iowa stands for - "Idiots Out Wandering About". We shared a good laugh and then proceeded to a local Kava bar - or Awa as the Hawaiian's call it. This was his second time sampling Kava, and my first.

Kava root taste like dirt - a similar taste to Acorus root which I've tasted from my Chinese herb collection - and which has a related effect. It is a legal and mild psychoactive substance with analgesic effects which are mainly localized to the tongue and mouth - but which provide relaxation and simplification to thought processes.

"Kava (Piper methysticum) is an age-old herbal drink that was the beverage of choice for the royal families of the South Pacific. Believed to originate from Melanesia, kava grows abundantly in the sun-drenched islands of Polynesia. Although drank for centuries by the islanders, it was only during Captain Cook’s voyage to the Pacific in 1768-1771 when white man first encountered the plant and its consumption in sacred ceremonies. According to Cook’s account, natives chewed or pounded the root and mixed it with water to produce a brownish, often bitter brew which they then consumed for its psychoactive properties. A soothing drink with proven medicinal effects, kava is now available to anyone seeking to calm nerves or ease stress as well as anxiety while combating fatigue the natural way. Its special anti-depressant components fight the "blues" and bring on a happy, tranquil state. Kava is amazing for treating ailments like migraine headaches and cramps but best of all, it keeps the mind alert as the body relaxes. This traditional drink still plays a key role in Fijian, Samoan, and Tongan societies where it is drank in ceremonies meant to honor visitors, unite participants and validate their social identities. A member of the black pepper family, kava’s active properties stems from the kavalactones found in its roots."

Traditional Purposes of kava ceremony:

• Kava can be found in recreational and social gatherings. It has been used as a social drink for high-ranking chiefs and elders, drank as a form of welcome for honored guests, consumed for preparation and completion of an event or of work, to validate status, observe births, marriages and deaths, to relieve stress, remedy illnesses etc.
• In Hawaii, kava is drank during divination ceremonies, naming of children aged one years old, the consecrating of a male child, or initiating of young girls into traditional hula and chanting. In Tikopia, it affirms sacred symbols and can be used as a religious libation and poured onto the ground instead of drunk.
• It is drank in kinship and chiefship rituals, for public atonement of misdeeds. Many people were pardoned for their crimes after a kava ceremony.
• Sharing a kava bowl allows for socialization and friendship to occur. Fears are allayed and friendships cemented.
• On Wallis Island, official decisions are made during the kava ceremony, and enemies are reconciled and goodwill is restored. Those who committed crime are often allowed to go free, thanks to the kava ceremony.
• Kava has a key role in social ceremonies. It is usually the only way to welcome honored visitors. Former First Lady Mrs. Johnson drank it as well Pope John Paul II upon their visit to the Pacific.
• But drinking kava is not the only way for relationships to be cemented. Sometimes, presenting others with a kava root is a sign of welcome and peace.

Source: Kava Kauai - The Drink of Peace - http://kavaroot.com/aboutkava.htm

"Your head is affected most pleasantly. Thoughts come cleanly.
You feel friendly...never cross...You cannot hate with kava in you."
- Tom Harrison, Savage Civilization, 1937

After being offered weed and alcohol we declined, stayed a while to watch and listen to the bizarre conversations across both sides of this outdoor small tiki-bar, one side filled with native Hawaiians waxing poetic about the spirit of Aloha, and seeking to translate many English phrases into Hawaiian - the other side - a bunch of high-seeking tourists ruminating on their numerous run-ins with the Police.

Puna is a place where rules are suggestions - and those are few at best. If you're naked, or on fire, people barely notice you. The laws here are ones you make up and destroy at a moment's notice. Puna is like Pele herself - creator and destroyer - a child's playground for anything and everything.

We left, and drove back to where we had left his car in Pahoa, said our thanks and goodbyes and parted ways. We may see eachother again to maybe go on a hike in Volcano National Forest some time this week or the next.

I'm so happy to have met someone so willing to just hang out, have some fun, and introduce me to some amazing sights with no expectations other than to spend time with another human being and enjoy this land together. Thanks Chris.