Namaste! Greetings from the Flowing Earth Retreat in Hawaii.
We have seen turtles swimming in the ocean, picked flowers for puja from the lush gardens, some have swum in the warm springs that flow into the sea and had daily walks along the ocean front watching the sun rise. There are lots of options for body work and restorative therapies available at the resort, as well as rocking home-made ice cream!
The Earth here is so alive, the Shakti is effortlessly present. The only other place I have felt this is in India. The energy in India is different, because it has an ancient quality, having been lifted up by the Gurus, rishis, sages and saints for millennia. Here on the Big Island of Hawaii it is raw. It will be whatever you make of it. There are a wide variety of experiences of the energy. For some people it is challenging, confronting and too wild. However if approached with reverence and care, it morphs into the sweetest, gentlest and astonishing, empowering expression of Divine energy. Happily, this is what we have experienced individually and collectively. Our pujas have been turbo charged, with Narayani present with us every day. It has been joyful, uplifting, easy, flowing and fun.
We visited the volcano twice, each time interacting with the spirit of the land and connecting with the transformative power of the place. Janani Ma, Venkateshwara and Boaz, wonderful musicians who live here have been joining us for many of our sessions and the music with Vidya, Veena Vani, Jyotishakti, and Parvati has been amazing.
In the Hawaiian pantheon, the various gods are seen as the children of the Sky who is the infinite absolute Father God and the Earth who is the infinite Mother God.
The main spiritual energy here on the Big Island is a Devi called Madame Pele. She is associated with the volcano and is depicted as emerging in giant form from the top of the erupting volcano. The lava flows from Her. She has a fearsome aspect somewhat like Kali and also a generative aspect. She is revered as the creator energy as well. Acres of new land are forming, and the way that people dance with the forces of nature here is really remarkable. Pele is front and centre for the people of Hawaii, no doubt because she is so continuous in her eruptions.
Connecting with the Divine as nature, we have been privileged to experience many portals transporting us from the inner to the cosmic, the energetic to the physical, the personal to the transpersonal. There is a new clarity about the nature of consciousness and the opportunities we all have to embody so much more than we ever thought we could.
Mother Pele and the spirit of Hawaii are certainly calling us back and we feel that just as we go regularly to India, the big island will be a regular retreat and pilgrimage place for people in Shanti Mission. Here it is easy to see how we can create paradise and move in!
We leave tomorrow. Many will be flying home and I am sure they will be full of stories about our adventures. Ganga, Vidya, Joytishakti and I are flying to Los Angeles, and Ganga heads up to Canada while the rest of us head over to Connecticut for the next part of our journey.
Namaste and Aloha
Shakti Durga
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