Happy Maui-versary to Me!

Where to begin? At the end, of course. A circle is constant in this way...
An entire eternity has come and gone in the last 365 days. Today marks one year that I landed on Maui. Today is my Maui Anniversary! :)
I arrived here on 1/11/11 (an auspicious date, indeed.) I arrived after having spent five months in the sweet (yet very wet and cold) surf-side city of Santa Cruz. It was a true blessing to be nurtured by the rooted redwoods before tossing myself into the chaotic realms of the Maui and her mysteries. So, 2011 began for me with a BANG! Aloha, Maui :) I was welcomed with love and grace, having support from friends who I connected with mainland who were now living on Maui. Noah picked me up from the airport, and Heidi hooked me up with a sweet landing pad in her spot in Haiku. It was so amazing to wake up to her making smoothies topped with local bee pollen (it was purple!) and an amazing sunrise outside the window. Within three days I found an E350 Ford Van that I converted into my home on wheels. I found it for $1000 on craigslist. God loves me! The adventure had begun.
My beautiful friend Forest came to visit me in Maui from Santa Cruz. We had formed a very special friendship based on love and sharing, so we shared just that...friendly love and space in my little van for exactly 22 days. We cruised all over the island. We went to Mystic Island Party where I had the pleasure of performing with live electronic/loop artist David Starfire! Mystic Island is such a beautiful gathering. Totally tribal. It occurs in a beautiful setting right on the ocean where you could look out at almost any time and see turtles, dolphins or whales. EPIC music, yoga classes, emotional freedom technique classes, non-violent communication courses, SO many other classes and organic delicious food, all in one place! I met so many amazing souls and felt like I really grounded into the roots community that is Maui. I am so excited about Mystic Island Festival 2012 happening Jan. 26th-30th! I am performing with DJ Starfire again, as well as Jaya Lakshmi & Ananda (who are my favorite Kirtan couple :) I love the way my creative life is continually coming full circle...
Forest and I continued on our journey, floating from the hippie hotspots of Paia, and Makawao, to the waterfalls, sacred pools, jungles and bamboo forests of Hana, all the way to the sunny side for Sunday Drum Circles on Little Beach.
A side-stroy on Little Beach: I'll never forget when I was fire-hooping somewhere in Florida when a stranger said in passing "Little Beach would love you!" "Where is Little Beach?" I wondered. I found out. MAUI. That was one of the main 'omens' that ended up guiding me directly two this other-worldly-wonder. The first time I fire-hooped on Little I received the loudest applause from the most loving, cheering, screaming, enthusiastic audience I had ever witnessed! I cried. I haven't missed a Sunday since (other than when I was on the mainland). I love Little Beach. It has been such an accepting and opportunity offering space in my creative world. I am grateful for this rare gem! Where else is there a beautiful, clothing optional beach with a panoramic view of paradise, complete with whales jumping and hippie's jamming? <3
Only on Maui...
So, back to the timeline. Forest and I had a blast doing acro-yoga and hooping (he wanted to learn and now-a-days he better than ME!:) All through the sunny days and starry nights, we played and laughed. I really appreciated Forest's company and I am grateful for all of the lessons and joy we shared in. I feel like Forest actually carries the redwoods in his soul. It was such a blessing to spend that special time with one of my most special friends!
My entry to Maui was so beautiful, easy and graceful. It paved the way for much love and abundance to occur in my life, and the lives of those around me. I have developed massage clientele on the island, and also sold about fifty hoops that I made and flew over from California when I arrived last year. I felt so good, so at ease, and very much on purpose. Since then, I have purchased some hoop materials and will have hoops available for sale this month at Mystic Island. My massage clientele keeps growing and I have some folks who are learning from me. My life is blessed :)
I am excited to be able to live my dreams of creative sustainably!
After Forest left I enjoyed some time solo on the island activating the hoop scene. I performed as often as I could everywhere I could. Art openings, farmers markets, parties, festivals, etc. I went to this one amazing festival based solely on raw, live, vegan food called Bliss Camp (also known as Raw Spirit Festival) put on by an amazing sprite named Happy Oasis. This was a very intimate gathering of lovely folks who were all on the same page with healthy food and healthy vibes. All of the food was created by hand from freshly foraged fruits, coconuts, avocados, flowers and Maui grown veggies. It was so inspiring! I was stoked to be work trading for a portion of my ticket. I helped in the kitchen every day and was feeling blessed to work beside such awesome raw food chefs. I formed a super-sister bond with one of Kitchen Goddess named Noa. We were creating something delicious that required lots of pineapple coring, so her and I became intertwined over binging on pineapple core until our mouths went numb. Good times :)
I performed and taught hoop classes every day at Raw Spirit! It was a climactic moment for me this past Winter Season. At that same festival, I met a man named Matisha who is known in the aquatic realms Dolphinanda. He takes tourists out to swim with sea creatures. What fun! He blows bubble rings while laying on the bottom of the ocean for dolphins to swim through and play with. We met and he saw me hoop dancing, and decided it would be cool to film me underwater hooping with bubble rings! We made the effort and when the festival was done, swam out quite a ways on Little Beach. He dove down deep and would blow the bubble rings and I would do my best to swim through them. It was fun and I felt very mermaid-ish and dolphin like. The most amazing part of this whole experience was hearing a pod of 60 or so humpback whales that were close by but not visible. Hearing the whales was one of the most epic experiences I've ever had. I could tell the difference between male, female and child. Their voices were enchanting, haunting, and omniscient. It was like listening to everything that this universe has ever known and will ever know. The record of all things is sung within the song of the whales. It is The Akashic Record (God’s Big Book) as a song for our auditory enjoyment and enlightenment. It was profound to say the least. The whale song changed my life. I feel blessed….so grateful and blessed! Thank you, Maui, Matisha and whales :)
After Bliss Camp I enjoyed time to myself hooping on the beach and being a social butterfly around the island. Hoop jams, coffee shops, parties, potlucks and new friends occupied my days and nights. February was upon us, and it was time for SOURCE.
Source is the regional Burning Man on the island of Maui. I knew about SOURCE before hand from my dear sister, Susanna SeaFire. We met years ago in West Virginia, actually. I was stoked she was from Maui, as that was my destination. So, when I finally got to Maui and had time to play with Susanna, we decided to choreograph a fire duet together to perform at SOURCE. It was such a wonderfully fun experience, full of learning, love, depth, and pure passion. I really enjoyed preparing our piece. When it was time to perform at SOURCE, I was in bliss seeing so many beautiful faces around me, and couldn't wait to show my festival family what we had worked on. Susanna and I connected really well and the show went perfectly as planned. I felt very accomplished creatively after this performance, and even more deeply connected to the Art of Performance. I met so many amazing fire-performers and prop builders. There is an AMAZING fire troupe here known as Merkaba Fire. I am looking forward to performing with these amazing people sometime in the near future.
The performance was one beautiful aspect of SOURCE. But not the one that stood out the most. The real experience for me at SOURCE was one that would shape the rest of my festival, my stay on Maui, the rest of my 2011, as well as the rest of my life as I have known it thus far. On February 18, a Full Moon I met a man who's name, at the time, was Wolf...
I would never be the same.

This story is about to get really, really good/intense/passionate/scary/tear-jerking/entertaining/jaw-dropping and informational! Stay tuned...

To be continued....

ALOHA NUI LOA & MAHALO for being the amazing human beings that you are. I honor you and respect you. Thank you for reading about my life! May this story plant seeds of inspiration deep within your soul and may the waters of life nourish all of these dream seeds with love and grace :)