1/15/2010 – Cultural Spirit of Aloha

Kona is awash with flowers. The Winter here is extremely subtle and the land is constantly producing new growth, flowers and an abundance of fruit. As the pink and red flowers float in the breeze it evokes a sense of laughter in me as the full showiness of the island occurs all around me.

I’m reminded of one of the tradition that exists here between families. When you come over to someone’s house you bring some flowers or fruit from your yard. The land around my house while I lived here produced lemons, limes, oranges, tangerines, persimmons and avocados. Bananas grew in the neighbor’s yard and he’d decorate his banana trees with Christmas lights when that time of year came around.

We always had an abundance of fruit on the table outside our classroom which was brought by various students from their own houses when the land produced more than they could possibly eat themselves.

The land produces a huge abundance and people share fruit and vegetables with every opportunity. The generosity of the culture here reflects the generosity of the land. People will do anything for you when asked because everyone looks after everybody else. Many people rely on other drivers to hitchhike to other places for nothing more than a smile and friendly conversation. Passion fruit fall and litter the roads from town to town and many a hitchhiker can score a meal off the side of the road without any trouble. People exchange favors, open their homes, their fridges and their hearts to anyone in need.

When I first stayed on island a year ago I stayed at a bed and breakfast which was surrounded by fruit trees. The sickly smell of rotting fruit and avocados lingered in the air on the property. The owner insisted on my eating as much as I could as bushels of avocados sat uneaten by the laundry room. She could never give all the fruit away and her insistence felt pushy and evoked a sense of fullness simply by looking at the amount of food available.

As the island is sympathetic to its residents’ needs, the residents’ are sympathetic to one another. There is a sense of deep concern that people have for one another. There is a lilting, melodic, and rhythmically punctuated tone to the Hawaiian language and the opulence and sensuality of hula are indicative of the fullness of expression present in the culture. Everyone is an auntie and uncle to the children regardless of blood relation. Warmth, hugs and mutual concern predominate all exchanges. There is great gratitude that predominates the islands and this energy wakes everybody up to be present to the blessings of life, to forgo the future, and forgo the past, living fully in the present.

This Earth energy, nourished by the Fires that create, purity and warm the land create the most abundant and full Earth spirit. This is the fulfillment of the Spirit of Aloha:

You have probably heard about Hawaii’s “Aloha Spirit,” but what is it exactly? In the Hawaiian language, “aloha“ may mean love, affection, compassion, mercy, sympathy, pity, kindness or grace. These sentiments make it a lovely common greeting and expression of farewell. The idea of aloha is so important in Hawaii that the “Aloha Spirit” is even part of State law. The statute reads in part:

“Aloha Spirit” is the coordination of mind and heart within each person. It brings each person to the self. Each person must think and emote good feelings to others. In the contemplation and presence of the life force, “Aloha,” the following unuhi laula loa may be used:

Akahai, kindness to be expressed with tenderness;
Lokahi, unity, to be expressed with harmony;
Oluolu, agreeableness, to be expressed with pleasantness;
Haahaa, humility, to be expressed with modesty;
Ahonui, patience, to be expressed with perseverance.

These are traits of character that express the charm, warmth and sincerity of Hawaii’s people. It was the working philosophy of native Hawaiians and was presented as a gift to the people of Hawaii.

“Aloha” is more than a word of greeting or farewell or a salutation. “Aloha” means mutual regard and affection and extends warmth in caring with no obligation in return.

“Aloha” is the essence of relationships in which each person is important to every other person for collective existence.

“Aloha” means to hear what is not said, to see what cannot be seen and to know the unknowable.

In exercising their power on behalf of the people and in fulfillment of their responsibilities, obligations and service to the people, the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government may contemplate and reside with the life force and give consideration to the “Aloha Spirit.”

We hope you will embrace the spirit of aloha in your everyday lives; for it is not a gift only for those who visit our beautiful island, it is a gift which can be shared throughout the world.

When we are full, nourished, and have more than we need, our giving becomes abundant and filled with joy and gratitude. There is nowhere to go, nowhere to be, we are content, full, and present with each other and for each other, in the now. This Earth energy is abundant in cultures that live closer to the tropics and the equator – the geographic and homeostatic center associated with the Earth Element.

1/12/10 – Motion of the Ocean

The wave gathers strength and through its will it picks itself up and crests in a white plume as the full strength of its force uproots its potential and pummels the surface with a groaning roar. It communicates two types of energy. The white frenetic crest of the wave is the nervous and overflowing recklessness of bladder energy, while its body and massive potential that fuels its curled expression is the kidney energy of deep strength of willful reserves.

The water recedes back and knows when to retreat and amass its strength before advancing with unstoppable force towards its inevitable destination of flowing at, against and around whatever obstacle lies before it. As the waves crash against the shore, I’m reminded of how all planned motion in any particular direction must have proper timing, proper conservation and gathering of resources, and non-hesitant forward motion to complete any change cycle.

Any task I undertake I must know when to retreat and gather in my resources so that when the time is right to exercise my will, I know that I have what it takes to do it. If the waves gather too early, they crash and fizzle their energy against the water and disperse in every direction, but if they wait until they are closer to shore, they can conquer all.

I know a woman who is unrelenting in her pursuits. If she needs money, she will go and ask for a contribution from everyone she meets. If she gets a no in response, it doesn’t matter. Unfazed, she retreats, and then confronts the next person, and the next, and the next, until she’s completed her task. Unrelenting as the sea, she’s ruthless in her pursuit, but does not make it personally when someone says no. She just simply moves on to the next person. She does this will all the pursuits in her life. Flowing around obstacles… she persists… on… and on…

1/10/10 – Clarifying Powers of Water

I was talking with a visitor here about why I moved from Hawaii to Colorado and how I found I prefer the mountains to the sea. The conclusion was that I find that the mountains offer a future-oriented contemplation towards higher aspirations and possibilities as embodied through the virtue of inspiration. The sea, on the other hands focuses one to perform deep past-oriented introspection into the depths of one’s being by examining what lurks beneath and what is most important to survival.

Perhaps what I find so compelling about the mountains is that they do not force me to still my mind and look deeply at the places that scare me, but give me an opportunity to look up and towards the future I’m committed to, unencumbered by the heaviness and significance of past decisions. The dynamic between my future being an empty canvas onto which to paint a created life, versus a sea of prior completed works which indicate one’s former patterns representing the sea of the past.

The two years of experimentation with sex, drugs, and rock’n roll when I lived in California in my early 20s taught me what I did not want out of life. I moved back to Maryland with that new knowledge and fell into a life with the absence of those things – but with presence of little else. After 8 years of finding myself in a career that was not satisfying I moved to Hawaii to pursue a degree in Chinese Medicine. It took 10 years of floundering around in my life in a miserable and non-contemplative state for me to break free from the stagnation my life had become in Maryland. While in Hawaii, the island turned me inside out and had me stare intently at the places that scared me. In that year, for the first time in my life, the contemplative power of the sea taught me what I did want out of life. That gift of self-knowledge give me a new vision of what I needed to create for myself so that I can be best supported in my quest to be of service to others.

The year in Hawaii was the loneliest and most isolated I felt since early childhood. When I moved to Hawaii I had left my family, my friends, my career, source of income and let go into the waters of the unknown life with only a hope that I was doing the right thing. I was alone on a rock in the middle of nowhere studying a style of medicine that did not speak to my spirit and a group of people that didn’t really bond. Uninspired, I encountered very few people that shared my love for the divine in this medicine. Grieving for a loss of my former life and unable to let go fully I developed terrible fatigue and depression accompanied by shortness of breath and bad reactions to volcanic smog pollution from Hawaii’s volcano. I attempted to piece a new life together by getting involved with a local classical music group and give myself a practice for adding inspiration back into my life while struggling with the decision whether I should remain on the island and continue studying this uninspiring medicine or leave.

The sea clarified for me what I did need out of life. I needed to pursue Five Element medicine, because it was in this medicine that I found inspiration and spirit. I also needed a community of support as most of my former friendships and relationships stopped being relevant to the person I was becoming. I needed a cooler climate, expansive vistas, clear streams, and a clearly delineated autumn season. The school in the mile high state of Colorado held a deep presence of the metal element in its most grand expression of the Mountain scape. Newly inspired – my life on the Island became enjoyable again. I loved each day. The familiar beaches, forests, and vistas which had been my prison for 8 months became instead a wonderland of restful and joyful abundance. I once again could enjoy Hawaii for its primitive and untarnished beauty. With the promise of a new possibility, the knowledge of what I needed, and a new found wisdom in what was necessary to attain it, I was renewed and capable and made the move.

Since that time my life has turned more vital, awake, filled with newness and motivation. Since moving to Colorado I’ve been hiking, going to the gym, studying, making new friends and contacts, and thoroughly enjoying the mountains with the freshly awed eyes of a newborn each time I lay eyes on them. I have found my home and the community I need to support me in the years to come. Renewed, the Metal element lets go of the past, enables a symbolic death and the rebirth through the infinite sea of potential found in the water element to a new, inspired and joyful life.

I have found a place that supports my deficient Metal element and brings me back towards a more centered space. Now that I’m back in Kona sitting under a kukui nut tree on the beach looking at the roiling waves before me, I’m curious what new knowledge and wisdom my time here will offer…

1/11/10 – Breezes in Kona

To look at environmental conditions of wind, heat, humidity, dryness, and dampness is a key to understanding the motivational imperatives of each of the elements. I’m not sure I’m fully present to all the implications, but wind become more clear today in observation of its effects on trees and water.

Wind is the energy of change, of movement and of motivation (a condition of being moved). Wind is the energy that animates and gives birth to all ideas in terms of the journey from A to B. It creates the game of life embodied in the notion of “its better over there than it is over here”.

Without wind, the surface of the ocean would have no motion and would be clear, calm, and non-erosive, having no directionality.

I see that there are two distinct realms of existence for water. The deep Yin existence and represented by the depths of currents and pressures deep below the surface. The churning of waves, of surf and foam exemplifying water’s chaotic nature, represents the shallow Yang existence.

I see the split nature of Yang Water (Bladder) and Yin Water (Kidneys) as being personified in the movement of Waves (Yang), and Currents (Yin). Currents are controlled by their own willful purpose and are unaffected by much other than their own weight and gravity. Waves, however, are very much affected Wind and the energy of change.

In the same way as change has us be vigilant and responsive to threats and changes taking place in real time which is most akin to the Bladder meridian which represents the nervous system – a system designed to process and respond to changes, and potential dangers by responding directly and immediately to any contact with change. The deep waters, however, are not as concerned with responding to change as they are willful to their own directionality and are not affected by external conditions.

In terms of relationship to Wood and creation of new ideas, wind gives us directionality. Without a particular course to take in life the potential of our willpower is never directed in any specific direction and all our energies are contained. No wind, no movement, no direction. Without wind, Fire would never spread. In the same way our warmth would never spread and our passions would never be ignited from our embers to move out to others. The Earth would never be cleaned as the Fires would never rage across it, and seeds would never be pollinated and no fragrance of what is nourishing would ever drift before us to entice our appetites to life. In the same way our minds would never have any new food to integrate, nothing fresh, and nothing nourishing. No wind and our air would never be refreshed, the trees would not be cleaned of old growth and no room would be made for the new. The Winds of change remind us that nothing is permanent and that all passes on and nothing stays the same. Without this energy Birth and Change, nothing would have motion.

Stagnation is the worst thing that can happen to us. Without wind to create change, we would be inert, lifeless, directionless, overly contained, barren, uninspiring, and completely untapped. Trapped in a rut we’d be repeating the same patterns, or we’d be inert in our inaction.

The greater the wind, the greater the change. Trees snap, fires rage, and the earth is stripped of its nourishment, all that is valued is blow away and scattered. Wind is also the energy of stress and if we are not supply, we can snap against it easily.

I watched the breeze come into Kona today and clear the air and gently stroke the trees. In animating the trees they revealed their flexibility and beauty in their dance with change.

1/08/10 – Kailua-Kona

I’m in Kona for 35 days and the trade winds have started clearing the volcanic smog away from the slopes of Hualalai to reveal the shape of the land. The Hawaiian islands are as enchanting as nature gets. The Big Island of Hawaii exhibits 18 of the world’s 21 climates and includes deserts, rain forests and glacial tundras.

The climate overall is a vivid example of the meeting place of Fire and Water as the volcanic lands of boiled metal rise through the sea to give place for plants to take root and begin the cycle of new birth. The islands are ancient but are being terraformed at an exceptionally fast rate. I wish I had the time to document all I can learn from this place. Each day will bring new insights as I travel through the 18 climates of this strange and wonderful land.

There is an ancient respect that the native Hawaiians have for the islands and the recognition of the value the land provides for its people. As the most remote island chain from a major land mass in the world, the miracle of its existence is deeply respected here. The sea is recognized as a huge resource and much of the economy is centered around fishing and water sports. Hawaiians always test their fears of water through surfing 20-40ft waves and swimming with the sharks. The sea is feared, respected, honored and nurtured.

My first impression is how Fire predominates the island chain as a whole. The people are warm, friendly, open, intimate and joyful. The importance of family to the native Hawaiians is not to be underestimated. Most are content with waking up in the morning and heading to the beach with a cooler to spend the day surfing and playing the ukulele till the evening bonfires bring people together in song and drumming into the night. The Earth element is also richly present. There is a constant air of celebration to this place and of thankfulness for the friends and family you have around you. Everyone looks after everybody else and reciprocity, fairness and mutual support is a reflection of the complete balance of a closed and self-maintaining ecosystem.

Despite the rich rain forests of the windward facing side of each of the islands, Wood energy doesn’t manifest itself as explicitly in the island’s people. People are not future oriented, are not as concerned with creating plans, but are content to simply be in eachother’s nurturing presence. The Metal element is also very strong here. There is a deep respect for the value of the land, of each other and of each rock, grain of sand and leaf of every tree. The volcanic metals give essence to the many plants that thrive here and the Hawaiian people permit and encourage all forms of self-expression and freedom, so long as the land is respected. Many artists, healers, musicians and entertainers live here and the clothing is vibrant, colorful, and bordering on gaudy. Warmth, sexuality and juiciness pervade the culture. It is very educational to watch the sun-deprived, dazed and confused tourists come in and out of this strange land caught like deer in headlights unable to fully take anything as they avoid showing more skin than they think appropriate, and take cover in the shade for fear of their white flesh being smitten by an unfamiliar rosy glow.

Two types of climates tend to predominate. The Western side of the island is dry, arid, and desert like, while the East is steamy, wet, moist, richly green, and opulent in plant life where the Water element tends to predominate. The Fire element predominates on the Western side with is where the beaches team with celebration and togetherness. The Eastern people are more oriented towards hard work and labor. People are more secluded and rely on more reclusive and quiet familial togetherness. There is a secretiveness to the Eastern side and its people. Industry of all kinds tends to predominate from fishing to construction services. The Kahuna sorcerers tend to live on the wet side of the island where the mysteries of the Metal and Water, death, and rebirth from a sea of potential predominates their pursuit of medicinal plants from the rainforests.

The plantlife on the Western side is shorter, stubby, compact, barky, thick-leaved, and oriented towards the conservation of water. The leaves and branches are fewer, but the plants are sturdier and more resistant to the sun that’s beating down on them with no restraint and no promise of rain. The plants are resilient, conserve their resources, and more brittle, and attuned to the fewest possible plans necessary to get the job done. This type of growth reminds me of more rigid, stronger personalities oriented towards more conservative use of resources, and surviving through the competition for resources. Their plans are firm, strong, unbreakable, and stand the test of time and will persevere despite harsh conditions.

In contrast the plantlife on the Eastern side is lush, large, expansive, varied in color, more fragile, and opulent. The plants here tend to express more creativity in their flowers, leaf organizations, fruit qualities, and patterns. The Water element is so available here that there is little fear for starvation and growth can expand in all directions unabated. The plant life is so thick that it almost tends to choke itself. Unlike the Western side of the island, there is less competition for resources here. When we have ample resources we do tend to be more carefree in our self-expression and our planning is no longer conservative. If we have time, money and contacts we can spread our wings wide in any direction we choose, unencumbered by the constraint imposed by scarcity.

12/22/09 – Lessons from the River

I went on a hike to my favorite river in Maryland which is located 20 minutes drive from my parents’ house. I noticed how all the trees reach to the source (Water). All their roots grounded in what resources are available, while their branches reach down for the source of potential.

The river is flooded from all the snow melt. With is roiling waters it is murky and unclear. When our flow isn’t restrained but we must above all costs reach our destination with speed, we can be murky and unclear in explaining our intentions to others for fear of possibly being derailed from our path.

There is no wind today. The trees are yin and the waters are yang. The trees are in quiet contemplation over the roiling waters, unconcerned over what goes on below and only concerned over their own plans. Wood can be quite single minded its own ideas and can fail to consider what is going on around it.

Water goes down to total yin, away from Heaven, towards depth. It is pulled up by the Yang of Wood to manifest as life. The energy of water finds the path of least resistance, whereas wood grows up through resistance. There seems to be an urgency to water until it reaches its depth. Whatever amount of gravity is allowed to it, it will take it. You give a water constitution person a foot, and they will take a mile. This is not so with wood. Wood will grow in its own time and in proportion to its season and chosen plan. It will push through obstacles that stand in its way, whereas water will simply move around the next obstacle without any direct confrontation until it has found its resting place.

As the snow melts the ground is waterlogged and even the earth cannot exert its controlling power over it. When our minds are flooded we often have difficulty feeling grounded and contained. Our boundaries become meaningless as we overcome everyone with the force of our will. The melt takes all the nutrients away and washes them out. Having no time to seep deep into the soil, our reserves are never contained, are squandered and are washed away by whatever latest flood or catastrophe has taken over our lives.

The river was like an unleashed torrent – raging, roaring, and forcing its way against the rocks that say in the middle of the river. Once the obstacle was overcome, the river once again become peaceful and unencumbered from its low. The water roils in possibilities of different directions, trying to find the path of least resistance. Yet it is still determined in its path. The boundaries created by the rocks are still, watchful and seemingly unassaulted by the danger rolling around them. They quietly guide the raging river down towards their destiny. Anything less solid than the self-assured rock would be in grave danger if you got in the way of the water. Still, water has a way of wearing you down over time.

If we’re overflowing like a raging river, everything is pummeled and beaten. Our judgement and discrimination is murky, unruly, unfocused, and unclear. We will go where we want regardless of what or who is in our way. Our thoughts flow, and flow, and flow into every corner of our mind as we’re unable to contain ourselves and take rash actions in the face of dangers or obstacles. Fantasy and reality intermingle as our nervous system keeps us on constant alert.

The waves and ripples on the surface of the river illustrate the changing state between activity and inactivity, of advance and withdrawl, gathering in and rushing forth. The wisdom of the timing and knowing of when it is appropriate to withdraw and when it is appropriate to move forward is innate in the water element. Only when we cultivate this wisdom in ourselves will we not be squandering our resources when it's inappropriate to move forward, or when we do not have enough strength.

The qualities of movement of a stream and of a river are quite different. The smaller the body of water, the lighter the sound, the gentler the flow. Less effort on the part of plants and animals needs to be risked to tap into its flow. There is less to risk, and less to lose. When our resources are low our ability to sustain life is weak. When our rivers are wide and full, all of nature thrives at our riverbanks. People are attracted to those who have power, money, and skill.

Life gathers to the river much like people gather to the resources of others for security and ‘ability’. Ability and money are the highest prized possessions. He who has spiritual, mental, and financial resources becomes the focus of everyone’s attention. And he who has access to resources ‘wins’. Wars are fought over resources. This is the unstoppable and primal will and instinct of nature towards self-preservation. All skills are born out of this element. They are currencies of exchange. Nature competes constantly for the best pool of resources. Trees strangle other trees, one pack of lions will drive out another pack of lions from the watering hole, and if the lions are hungry all they need to do is hang out around the watering holes until their prey is thirsty. He’s who’s strongest, fastest, most clever, and conniving wins.

As a culture we do not know what it takes to bring all the food and abundance into our grocery stores and all the services and products we take for granted. We’ve lost the ability to truly know how to struggle for our own survival when everything has been catered for us. As a result, we squander the resources we have because we never appreciate what it took to acquire them. Someone’s blood, sweat, and tears toiled the land, irrigated the plants, and picked their fruit to bring the food to the table. The huge expenditure of resources to bring food from farm to fork is hidden in the spread-out cost of a few bucks it took to buy the ingredients at the store.

We go to work to expend our water (resources: time, energy), to turn it into water (resources: money), so we can secure our existence (resources: food, sleep, vacation time). Majority of our life is in transacting our internal water for the internal water of others and of the waters of the land.

In our culture of getting and acquisition we see how the same story line of nature is repeated in the reality TV shows all focused at the acquisition of money, beauty, power, notoriety, material possessions, cars, iPods, houses. Everything is acquired and everything is transacted. The same game of getting hasn’t fundamentally changed since the dawn of time.

Our bladder is the manifestation of the frenetic energy which we direct towards the acquisition of external resources as we interact with the world. The meridian runs from the eyes which see the object of our desire and flows down to the feet which giving us the ability to stand erect and move forward towards what we’ve seen as the goal of our pursuit. It is our longest meridian, irrigating our whole being with the energy necessary to go and get our potential.

Likewise the kidney is the manifestation of our deep reserves what are most precious and worth protecting in us. This might be symbolized by the kidney meridian which runs down the front of our chest and abdomen and down the inside of our legs, as allowing us to curl in and protect ourselves against all potential danger should our deepest reserves be threatened.

Irony and Re-incarnation...

The subtitle to "The zen you find on top of mountains is the zen you bring up there", and my subtext "... but choosing a good mountain helps" is ultimately ironic. I had chosen the volcanic mountain of Hawaii, but it turned out the mountain I was really seeking was that of Colorado. Perhaps my life will consist of traveling between mountains - if for no other reason than to change my point of view.

My family mentioned that they felt disappointed that I had stopped blogging since I had moved to Colorado. I realized that I had no answer for why this was. A friend stated "The moment you stopped blogging was the moment I knew that you were happy". In that startling and incisive insight she revealed the reality of what this blog had largely consisted of: a venue for online therapy and the communication of the angst associated with the pursuit of a destiny for myself which began when I set foot on the islands of Hawaii.

When I moved to Colorado the quest had ended and with it my reason for writing. To my family and friends: I am happy. I love where I live. I love what I'm doing. Thank you for concerns, your best wishes, and support. I am so grateful to all you've given to support me on my journey through my dark time of confusion and uncertainty.

As the old intention passes into the void, my new intention for this blog is for it to reincarnate as a journal of my insights into the nature of the Five Elements, as part of the fulfillment of my studies.

Namaste