TRAVELOGUE
I'd also like to update you on my travels and reflections after almost three
months in Hawaii, mainly on the Big Island, and a couple weeks on Maui.
Since last June, informally, and last November, formally, I have been on the
path of the Nomadic Gypsy Wizard. This path has helped me integrate many of my
personal prayers.
Excerpts of my adventures and reflections follow.
DhamiBoo
EVERY THOUGHT TIES US TO A REALITY
The vibration of Hawaii, especially The Big Island being an active volcano, has
an uncanny way of helping people manifest their realities very quickly. Put
less succinctly, Pele identifies your shit and throws it right up in your face.
So it is important to choose your realities well.
I have been learning over the last few years the power of our thoughts...every
thought... as I have been integrating my prayer to shift realities quickly so
that I can help myself and others heal.
In January, I was hiking and camping with some folks in Waipio and Waimanu
Valleys....sacred valleys on the north side of the Big Island... and had a
couple of Celestine Prophecy-esque experiences.
There were four of us and we hiked the steep switchbacks out of Waipio Valley
towards the west. We were tired and set up camp and got prepared to cook
supper. "Gretchen" liked to build the campfire around a flat stone, then push
back the coals, and place the cookpot on the stone. It's a great method. But
there were no stones. "Andy" said just put the pot on the logs. Aghast,
Gretchen said that surely our pot would fall and spill our food. I felt the
reality shift, and thought to myself, "Why did she invoke that reality?" I
figured we had two choices: either put the pot on coals or on the logs. And
pray/intend that it work. If the pot had had a wire bail, we could have hung it
over the fire, but we didn't. "George" took the pot and put it on the logs. The
water came to a boil. George removed it and put the noodles in, and went to put
it back. I noticed that the upper logs were squarely set, but they rested on a
lone log that could act as a fulcrum. I prayed it would balance OK, figuring
George would set the pot gingerly. This moment unfolded in slow motion and the
logs tipped and the pot spilled and George got burned. George and Gretchen gave
Andy a hard time for suggesting such a way. They meant to be joking. I felt a
bit bad for witnessing their shift of reality and not piping in when I noticed
the bottom log lending it's unstability. The whole experience felt surreal to
me as I felt each word and the subsequent reality.
Andy parted ways with us the next morning. The day before while we were hungry
and tired waiting for the spilled supper, he'd asked if anyone wanted to play a
game. Being tired and hungry, none of us jumped at the opportunity. He said we
were too boring. George and Gretchen processed his leaving for an hour. I said
I felt it was clear that his spirit called him to be someplace else. The rest
was just a story. People sometimes create drama because they feel like they
need a reason to do what they do. I find often it is better for me to
think...Spirit called us together and now Spirit calls us apart... I trust my
Spirit to create perfection in my life, though I may or may not understand it
now. That's an easier story than rejection or blame.
The remaining three of us hiked on into Waimanu Valley, a deep valley of
waterfalls, with an ocean/beach campsite. George had been there before. He said
out the nine campsites, the furthest one was best. For some reason we set our
packs down before crossing the river and evaluating the campsites. We walked to
the far end, and agreed the 9th campsite looked nice. As we hiked back along
the beach to retrieve our packs, we saw some sea kayakers coming in the bay.
George said, "We'd better hurry and get our campsite before someone else does!"
And he rushed off ahead. As I walked along, I thought to myself, "No, I don't
like turning campsite selection into a competition. I really like the
empowerment paradigm where everyone gets their perfect site. I pray that
everyone is happy with what site they get. I pray that the kayakers are not
looking specifically for "our" campsite. I trust whatever site we get will be
perfect."
I got my pack and went back down the beach. George was way ahead of me. I was
surprised to see the kayakers landed on the beach already... at the far end...
near campsite #9. I hadn't expected them to land so quick. As I came near them
I said "Hi". It was a man and woman and the woman smiled back. I found George
at the campsite awaiting me and Gretchen. I sat down with my pack to rest a
moment and the male kayaker walked into our site. I cheerily said "Hi, where'd
you come from?" He ignored my question and said,"Hmmph... guess we were a bit
late... what are the other campsites like?" And he roamed off to check them
out. George, Gretchen, and I chatted a bit about the "competition" for the
campsite. I was open to hearing the kayaker's request, if they made one.
Gretchen was clear that it was just a non-issue. We'd gotten there first
without our packs, and still first with our packs. I said I didn't like to see
it as a competition. We went ahead and set up our tents. About 15 minutes
later, the kayakers stormed in bringing a vibration of anger I could tangibly
feel. They ignored Gretchen and I, and went straight to George. The woman
blurted out, "We just want you to know that we KNOW what you did and it wasn't
nice. You ran in here to get this campsite before we could, fully knowing that
that was the only place we could land our kayak safely in this bay, and knowing
that we have a lot of heavy things to carry across the beach now, and you
aren't even going to help. WE just want you to KNOW that that was a crappy
thing to do!" And they stormed off.
George looked to us to process this event. I suggested that perhaps he had
invoked a competitive reality when he said he'd better hurry. He felt good that
he had been a "warrior" and helped us claim the "best" campsite. I explained
that I would have been open to a discussion. If the kayakers had asked to trade
sites, I'd have considered it. If they had asked for help carrying their stuff,
I would have helped them. But they chose to try to inflict guilt on top of
competition. Further, they made some assumptions... we knew nothing of where a
kayak could safely land on the beach... nor did we know they had a heavy load.
They were taking our actions very personally. Interesting incident. Again, I
felt more like a witness than a participant. Later, after doing some Reiki, I
had a vision of one of the kayaker's having the shits and being glad to be
nearer the outhouse. We never saw them again until they kayaked out the
following day. Interestingly enough they kayaked out of the opposite side of
the bay from where they came in. I wondered if one side of the bay was safe for
coming in.. and the other for going out... or were they just making that up?
Over the next few days as we saw more of the other campsites, we saw that there
were many nice campsites...not just #9.
I found the experiences very interesting and very valuable in feeling and
seeing in slow motion how realities shift with each thought and word. And I saw
that at times, I might have some gifts to offer to shift realities to happier
ones.
Our plan was to hike out together Sunday. Saturday came and I felt it time for
me to go. I had realized I don't like sleeping by the crashing ocean. I'm an
upland kind of girl. And I was ready to be alone. George did lots of
processing. Kewl enought stuff... metaphysical and all... but I was out for the
outdoors of it. I made a list of what I wanted to do in Waimanu: hike back to
the third waterfall; paint a couple of sketches. By 4pm, I'd done all that. And
I just felt so ready to go. I said I was leaving. It felt like my time to go.
George asked if I'd had a good time... I said I had, but as much as I try to
find a reason... I just felt the glow of going. Off I went. No drama. A month
later, I ran into George and asked how Andy was after his parting of our group.
"Oh, " George laughed, "Andy said he just wasn't feeling 'the vibe' with us." I
chuckled and was glad he had let go of the drama.
LEARNING TO TRUST
Much of my gypsy path has been for me to learn to trust in unconditional
abundance, joy, love, and a supportive universe. Funny, lovers, clients, money,
rides, directions have magically appeared as I have stepped along my journey.
And I have been learning to trust this earth in a very solid way...facing my
fears of a dangerous universe and nature.
One night I lay on the floor of a yurt and felt a sting and venom creep up from
my leg. This is in centipede and spider country. I began to freak, but soon
sent myself Reiki and prayed the critter, whatever it was find a better place
to be than in my sleeping space. About 20 minutes later, I felt another sting
and venom on my navel. I made the prayers and did Reiki again and fell asleep.
I wasn't bothered again. I couldn't find trace of the bites come morning either.
A few weeks later I was in Kealakekua Bay and saw sea kayakers on the gentle
bay. I felt I wanted to do that. Rent a kayak and row the bay. Perhaps see some
dolphins. I was to see my friend Willy the next day. He said he had a 1 person
kayak he'd bring out. I said I'd hoped to kayak with someone. He said it's
easy. All you do is row. We checked out a couple bays... he swims with
dolphins... but we saw none that morning. I was vascillating on kayaking. I
clearly felt my spirit wanted to do it. But I had fears. I'm not much of a
swimmer. I don't go in water over my head. My first night sleeping on a beach,
I was awake half the night until I prayed and prayed my fears and tsunami's
away. Water is not easy for me yet. Finally, I said to Willy I wanted to give
it a try. We went to the jetty and lowered the kayak in. The water was a bit
rougher than usual. I precariously got into the skinny little plastic sea
kayak. Willy threw out the tie rope and I was adrift. I got about 10 feet away
from the jetty. The swells were 3-5 ft... big enough to fall over in. I wasn't
sure I liked it and was about to turn back. I looked up at Willy and he said
"Looking Good!!!" I took his word for it and frantically started to paddle to
get beyond the jetty that the waves threatened to dash me against.
I started to pray. I'm gonna live till I'm 90, healthy all the way through, and
die during an orgasm with someone that's cool with that (death is the one thing
we can be sure of in this life, so I've been clear in my intention for death
the last few years). I intend to remain upright in this kayak. If I capsize,
someone will help, the ocean will wash me ashore, or the dolpins will save me.
I've got a lifevest on. I paddled furiously. About half way across the bay, I
decided I'd gone far enough and turned around. Willy was watching me closely. I
finally remembered to breath. I relaxed as best I could. I began to row and
enjoy it a bit. I watched how the other kayaker's rowed. I let myself enjoy it.
I let my self trust. I turned around again, considering going across the bay.
But decided not to press my luck and stamina. I headed towards the jetty. I
didn't have any idea how I would actually get next to the jetty and get myself
up the three feet onto the jetty without falling... but I set the intention for
it to happen OK. And it did. I gasped in exhilaration and said, "That was an
amazing lesson in trust! I have a lot of water fears." Willy said, "I sensed
that. I could feel that really strong when you took off. But I knew that was
your lesson and what you had decided to work through. You did good. I thought
afterwards, I should have explained how to get back in the kayak if you
capsized." I shuddered, "Capsized? If I'd have capsized, I'd been screaming for
help!"
A few weeks later I was on Mauna Loa having climbed to the summit of 13677 ft.
The week before I'd gotten within three miles of the summit and turned back,
not knowing I was so close. I'd had mountain fever the next 3 days...all I
talked of was the mountain. I regretted not having made it. So I prayed for
decent weather and made my second successful attempt. The summit holds a giant
volcano caldera with several vents. The cabin/shelter lays on one side of the
caldera opposite the summit on a high cliff above the crater floor. Naturally,
I wanted to touch the summit. The main trail goes around the crater making a
4-5 mile hike. But I read in a trail guide of a shortcut across the caldera; a
landslide forms a trail down the near cliff, and on the summit side one can
scale the cliff by climbing the 1949 cinder cone adjacent to the cliff. The
shortcut called to me, but I ruled out climbing down the landslide trail
because it was nearly vertical and icy in the morning. So I hiked the long
trail around the caldera and touched the summit. From that side, the shortcut
looked more appealing. So I decided to investigate and I hiked to the 1949 cone
and deliberated. It was steep cinders and some snow. I could see the landslide
trail a mile away on the far side of the caldera. It would be about 1.5 miles
back to the cabin via the shortcut; 5.5 miles back around the mail trail. I
really wanted to do the shortcut. It called and glowed to me. I got about half
way down the cinder cone and saw that behind the snow ridge was a fissure out
of which lava had spewed. No telling what was under the snow. I hesitated. Fear
crept in. But then I thought of John Muir who believed nature was
supportive...not a dangerous enemy. I checked in with my intuition. It said
trust. Go. Follow my glowing spirit. So down I went. I saw the backside of the
1940 cone. Green with sandstone red fissures. Across the caldera I hiked. And
soon I got to the landslide trail. Well, there was a stone cairn marker. The
trail I couldn't see. The landslide of years back had left steep ridges of
boulders parallel to each other with deep crevasses between. Nothing that
looked like a trail. I debated walking around the caldera, but again checked my
intuition. I decided to go up. I checked each boulder for stability before I
climbed on it. Gingerly, I made my way up the boulders until I reached the snow
slope I had seen from above. I could see the cliff top 40 feet above. "Easy", I
thought... "almost there." That was an understatement. the gradual slope grew
steeper. I had picked up a rock to use as an ice axe. I cut hand and foot holds
as I worked up slope... 30 degrees, 45 degrees, 70 degrees... the slope got
steeper. I realized the snow pack had softened in the sun. Did I trust it to
hold me? I looked down. Going up seemed about as dangerous as going back...
especially considering the long exposed hike out of the caldera. I laughed
remembering how several years ago in my healing sessions and classes I had
started using the rock climbing analogy to illustrate intention. When you get
stuck on a rock wall, you focus on where you want to go; not where you don't
want to go. If you keep intending and looking for a way out, then you likely
will find it. If you keep saying your stuck and are going to fall, you likely
will fall. Here I was finally living my analogy. Sure enough, I found the snow
harder towards the cliff face. That gained me a few feet. Then a few outcrops
from the cliff, gained me a few more feet. The snow was nearly vertical now. I
punched a hole through the 15 inches of snow that I could put my arm in...
trusting that would hold me. I made it to where two rocks stuck out of the snow
face. One rock was loose. The other, solid. I pulled myself up to the rock. I
excavated a few feet of snow to the rock cliff and gained a few more feet. By
now, my hands and feet were wet. I didn't have alot of time before the cold
would endanger me. There was a boulder about 2 feet in diameter near me now. I
cut a couple of footholds in the snow and tested the boulder. It seemed stable.
I managed to heave my belly onto the boulder and hugged it, legs dangling off
the edge. I felt stuck. Another boulder lay a few feet in front of me, but I'd
need to test it's stability. Reaching out my arms would mean that I'd have to
keep my balance since there was nothing for a foothold. Gee, I wished someone
would show up. But I knew there was no one. And I was cold now. I had to trust
and make a move. I swung my thigh up on the rock and pushed ahead to the next
boulder. Within an instant I was on solid level ground. The vortex of the
eternity of climbing the cliff suddenly vanished with a laugh and smile. I'd
kept to my intentions. Spirit had taken care of me. Crazy life!
JUST ASK YOUR BODY
Funny, I help people with so many things that I forget to help myself with.
During my climb of Mauna Loa I ran into a woman who was having trouble with the
altitude at 10,000 feet. I did some Reiki for her and it helped her. Two days
later, I made my approach to the summit and found myself low on energy, feeling
a bit oozy... signs of altitude sickness... or perhaps signs of lack of clarity
about which reality to be in. I was thinking altitude sickness. Then I
remembered how Reiki had helped the woman climber the day before. So I asked my
body to adapt to the thin air. Within a few minutes, I was strongly stepping
towards the summit, and my energy sustained me steadily as I made my shortcut
and climbed the landside "trail" described above.
A few days ago, I was hiking in Haleakala at 10,000 feet. I made my camp after
a rainy day at 7000 feet. I lay down to sleep. My feet and hands were cold. I'd
found on Mauna Loa that after 45 minutes or so in my sleeping bag, they would
warm up. So I waited. Three hours later they were still cold. I put on extra
layers...trusting that at this point if I was still cold, I wouldn't be
sweating any time soon. Still I felt cold. Finally, thinking of one of the
later books in the Celestine Prophecy series, I decided to ask my body to be
warm. Finally my body felt warm enough and I fell asleep. The next day I
learned that it had dropped to 10 deg F on the summit at 10,000 feet...so my
camp at 7,000 feet was likely below 20 deg F. The ground was frozed well after
the sun came up.
And so I am learning to remember the power of asking our bodies to do things
like acclimatize to elevation and be warm.
BELIEVING IN YOURSELF
A month ago, a co-worker on a farm that one of my lovers worked on hurt his
knee. He couldn't put any weight on it. I offered him some Reiki. He made his
way to his power spot on crutches. I worked on him for about 30 minutes. He
felt better. I carried his crutches as he walked up the hill. He was amazed at
how quickly he could heal himself. He still had some tinges of pain. The next
day I ased how he was doing and he replied that it felt better since my Reiki,
but there was still pain. He thought something was "messed up inside" and that
he ought to see a doctor. I said nothing. I'm no doctor. I gave him a quick
Reiki blast some of his pain moved out. A few hours later, I checked in with
him again. He said that he felt some "tension" or pain below the knee cap. I'd
had a little drink and lost my one inhibition, and I just blew a sharp breath
aiming from his knee and down to the ground (I've been moving energy with my
breath alot during energy work sessions lately). I asked him if that had
helped. And he said, "Yes, the pain is gone again!" The next day, however, he
still thought he might have to get it checked out. Part of him was tied to the
Western Medicine story and part of him wanted an excuse not to work. A few days
later he was boogie boarding. I was pleased in his ability to heal himself.
Another time, as I was hitchiking back from Volcano Park with a friend. A
nanny/Reiki master picked us up. She was all smiles. She told of how she
travelled a year or two with an Eskimo Shaman. He managed some amazing
healings. Once they visited a lady in a hospital who'd just been diagnosed with
terminal cancer and given a few weeks to live. She wouldn't make it til
Christmas claimed her doctors. The shaman visited and asked her if she wanted
to be with her family for Christmas. Flabberghasted, she asked him if he'd not
heard of her diagnoses. He said, "That's the doctor's story. You don't have to
live his story. Again, I ask you if you want to be with your family for
Christmas?" Her cancer disappeared. The doctors didn't understand.
ARMAGEDDON
Last week, I enjoyed a chanting ceremony in which a group of us chanted and
sang all night for Shiva. Towards daybreak, as the open fire was stoked with
wood, it began to pop and crackle, sending embers flying. This went on for
about 15 minutes. A few people said it represented the bombs and terrible
destruction of our government's war. And the discussion turned towards the
natural catastrophes of late: the tsunami, floods, fires. Someone said Mother
Earth was pissed and going to shake us up a bit. And embers flew out of the
fire at us. The firekeeper finally pulled some of the culprit logs off. I
prayed. I prayed that the Earth heal peacefully. That humankind heal
peacefully. And I strongly told the fire that that was enough; the flying
embers must stop and that was the reality I intended to choose. The chant
leader picked up the culprit logs and put them back in the fire, saying that it
felt more complete to do so. Everyone was a bit amazed, that the explosions and
flying embers did not start again. The lesson here is to alway remember the
power of your prayer and intention. I don't doubt that the Earth is reacting to
our wars and our anger and internal explosions. It wouldn't necessarily
surprise me if there were some Armeggedon. But I know that if I hold onto the
thought that such catastrophe Will BE, then that is as good as praying for it.
Gregg Braden claims in his book on prayer (The Isaiah Effect) that most texts
on Armeggedon type predictions have a fine line at the end... and that is the
power of prayer to shift things. It's no different then witnessing a near
accident, and through your intention and/or action yelling out and shifting the
situation.
These are interesting dynamic times in the world: politically, geologically,
and climate wise. The power of our consciousness in manifesting gets stronger
and stronger. But it need not be scary. Trust your selves. Remember your
intentions. Remember you power in prayer, intention, and action. Things will
get better and better.
GOOD READ'S AND VIEWS
I just laughed my face off reading Up Shit Creek in the outdoor/camping section
of a local bookstore. It tells funny tales of rafting tours and shithouse
mishaps. Then a friend shared with me a video called 1 Giant Leap which is
along the lines of Baraka except it is a composite of music artists from around
the world. On the serious side, showing the power of intention and the strength
of human spirit, I enjoyed Between a Rock and a Hard Place; the story of a
young man's self-rescue after 5 days in a canyon with his arm pinched by a huge
boulder.
Books on healing: The Reconnection by Eric Pearl. The Wandering Taoist. And
Deepak Chopra's The Way of the Wizard.
I look forward to seeing you somewhere soon. Please let me know if I can be of
service in San Francisco, via distance, or somewhere on a volcano or mountain
near you!
Blessings,
DhamiBoo
reikiem@onebox.com - email
(415) 235-4269 - cell/vm
http://www.dhamiboo.com/
"One should never never doubt
what nobody is sure about!"
--Willy Wonka
