Taking the next step: kilo and kaona together ... practicing 'ole

My son and I were talking on the cellphone the other day. "Have you spotted Makali'i?"

"Yeah, we were in Manoa last night, about midnight. She was straight up."

"Okay, not yet. Maybe one more month for her to rise on the horizon at sunset."

"Then it's Makahiki?" he asked.

"Count one more new moon. The next one. That starts Makahiki."

"Oh!" He was still jet lagged. Long trip from Paris to Honolulu. But. He was back!

Between us my son and I have made trans-Pacific and then trans-world crossings between the moku of Hawaii dozens of times. My crossings have slowed to a crawl or stand-still. His continue and the miles between here and there increase. Still the magnet is no less powerful.

Since the 'Aimalama Lunar Conference during the 'supermoon full moon eclipse' at the end of September, I have been taking the next step (s) ... to share my kilo practice and my love for kaona. Kilo and kaona together seem inseparable for me. Over a lifetime the practice of noticing and noting what happens in my place (wherever that might be) has found its way into the writing and stories that want to be told. The way the stories have strung themselves together have, and continue, or maybe become even more supple yet powerful as metaphor, patterns, images all knot themselves with that hipu'u of kaona. The point of potential is both hipu'u where the small eye of a fisherman's net creates closure, while leaving room for flow.

The next step I'm taking at the moment is the writing of a grant for The Native Artist's Grant Program at Evergreen College in Olympia, Washington. It's the first time I've applied for a grant. And the experience is surprising me. I must admit that if I were doing it without mentorship and support from a long-time friend I would not have gotten as far as I have. (Thank you jt!) The project I'm proposing is a two-piece spoken word with guide book designed to advance my art as a storyteller who can no longer share the art through public (face-to-face) venues because of the increased severity of the illness MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivities).

Here's an excerpt from the grant application:

 "The project Mo'o Muliwai embeds the meaning and objectives its name. "Mo'o" means 1. Lizard, reptile of any kind, dragon, serpent; water spirit, enchanter 2. Succession, series, especially a genealogical line. "Muliwai" means River, river mouth; pool near mouth of a stream, as behind a sandbar, enlarged by ocean water left there by high tide; estuary. It's English translation "stories from the water's edge" preceded with the three dots ...  is both a Hawaiian esthetic tool and visual image. Small dots with spaces between them leave so much to the imagination and leave room for kaona the many potential meanings to feed the mo'o.

This project Mo'o Muliwai is a gift of stories, myth, everyday common journeys woven together over a lifetime. A memoir? An audio book? Na mo'olelo, these stories, will be that, but it will be more. As a makua o'o an elder still in training, the giving is the reason and it is in the telling --the oral transmission -- that story is best remembered. "If you will sit with me, I will spin for you a story told from the heart." Originally written down, the two stories for this project are the muli the tail end, the last ones or most recent babies, in a series of medicine stories that began when illness separated me from my Hawaii Islands home place..."

Makahiki begins shortly after my birthday in November. My son is on O'ahu with his cousins, near his aunty in Waimanalo, and within a bus ride to his Tutu Man and Tutu Lady's grave sites in Kaneohe. That is good news. I hope to have more good news by the end of the year, and pray for the resilience and support to feed this project Mo'o Muliwai to kanaka and venturers of kilo and kaona as a birthday gift next year. That's optimism,Saturn is in Sagittarius after all.

While I use the 'Ole Po (the 'ole phases) to consider what and why I do this, I listen to Clarissa Pinkola Estees' MOTHER NIGHT Myths, Stories & Teachings for learning to see in the Dark. It is just past noon, but, Mahina has yet to rise. Moonrise is at 1:38 PM. The pieces of my kilo practice draw on so many things. Listening and hearing the messages from MOTHER NIGHT, I re-listen to the answers on the audio learning course. Especially I wait to hear Estees' answer to the question, "What should I do when my medial nature impacts others as too big or too much?"

In essence the cantadora suggests two options:

1. May yourself smaller, that's what a star does ... did you know that. Maybe the quieter you become you are seeding people with ideas...Doing some relationship works before. Maybe less [doing] and sometimes it frightens or are not used to it.
2. Another way is to be exactly as you are and just be patient. Let me explain this another way. Estees gives us listeners the story of her experience of waiting 20 years to finally getting her seminal work Women Who Run With the Wolves.

Whidbey Island Tides and the Sun and Moon's rises and sets

Today, Monday between 'Ole Kukahi and 'Ole Kulua, I update this post and practice the kilo of applying the 'ole. The wait. The patience...suffering as immediate gratification is postponed. Another word, another way of understanding the 'ole for me is to hear and see my Cousin boarding the Hawaiian Airline's plane, following me as I prepared to leave O'ahu in 1971. She had a book of Hawaiian study to give me and a one word reminder, "Ho'omanawanui!" Patience, the long view.

I remember her today, and give thanks to her with this addition. Kilo and kaona. So many ways to get their messages. Mahalo Cousin. 

'Ai Malama comes to Whidbey Island: wakening the magnetic effects of Hina (the Moon)

This is the sound of Ke Kai (the ocean) reminding us that we are water, the ocean reflecting the sound of water within the Earth and in ourselves. Ahhhh ... look up, look down, look within.

Pete and I are headed for our favorite beach on Sunday, September 27, 2015. A Mahealani moon, and a night of the Lunar Eclipse in the sign of Aries. It's just after sunset (check the time on the dash clock).

It has been a fully infused and wakened time all weekend as our small group (of 10) gathering at South Whidbey Tilth for the live streaming event 'AIMALAMA.

We needed the quiet and stillness of Heron to feel the immensity and empowerment, the heroic examples of Pacific Peoples' involved in Kilo (mindful and attentive observation) of the things happening in their place.

Here's our Sign-in Sheet from the three-day conference (with harvest hiding email addresses). This and a summary of our mana'o will be sent to the organizers of the Honolulu-based Pacific Lunar Conference; adding our Whidbey Island Community into the fold as northern 'ohana also keen to the effects of climate changes and the need to readapt to what we experience now.

I will be writing a summary response sheet, gathering feedback from those who viewed the three-day conference here on Whidbey Island. There is more to come, and what next steps we take as a community is part of the future heroic and meaningful action we can take!

Mahalo to all our community members who came to be with us, and helped make 'Ai Malama on Whidbey a reality!

The South Whidbey Tilth ... for the physical space upon which we build community from this island to all the islands of the Pacific
Judy Bierman ... for the financial support to install internet cable, secure materials and pay for services needed
Joel Kennedy, The A-Tech ... for the speakers (awesome sounds!) and projector to set up lap top and desk top setup in the two spaces at the South Whidbey Tilth campus
Whidbey Telacom ... for the cable and the software bringing wifi to the South Whidbey Tilth world
Pete Little ... for his masterful meddling and physical can-do energy that made this event possible
Prescott ... for her cooperative, cheerful and consistent support with the concepts of growing community, learning from cultures across the globe
Jake Pitcher ... mahalo nui loa for hearing the kahea (the call) from us makua for a young one to come be with us! You heard, you came, you kokua us!


Check out some photos here from the 'Ai Malama weekend on Whidbey.

'AIMALAMA: Pacific Peoples' Lunar Conference on Climate Change ... We'll be 'livestreaming'

Our collaborative efforts over the past months have paid off in a first time experience for us: 'livestreaming.' Starting tomorrow, Friday, September 25, 2015 Pete and I are excited to host two remote HUBS (places where a computer, and internet connection download live media) where dozens of Pacific Peoples share their involvement with the Moon, and her calendar.

I have been challenged with health issues this summer, and as I've described here on the blog, there have been adjustments. But in the true definition and kaona (many meanings) of the word ho'omoku
an island grows slowly. He puko'a kani 'aina.

Here is the email we circulated to the members of our South Whidbey Tilth community.

Mokihana Calizar and Pete Little are excited to share a unique learning experience with our South Whidbey Tilth Community. The 'Aimalama Pacific People's Lunar Conference on Climate Change takes place in Honolulu, September 25-27, 2015. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of many, South Whidbey Tilth is a remote hub site allowing us to participate via the internet. 

The major panels and speakers are scheduled on Friday, September 25th, half of the day on Saturday, September 26th, and then most the day Sunday, September 27th.  We will set up internet 'livestreaming' in the pavilion of the Laughing Cat Café, beginning 12:30 P.M. Friday September 25, 2015. The schedule for the Lunar Conference runs from 12:30 P.M. until 8:00 P.M. 

The pavilion set up for this 'livestream' will be strictly FRAGRANCE FREE. To accommodate those who arrive less than Fragrance free, we will have a computer and screen set up in the classroom space (in the building behind the Laughing Cat Café).

Depending upon the number of people who attend, we will keep the pavilion and classroom set up on Saturday, but will not be setup on in the pavilion on Sunday when the Farmers' Market is happening. The classroom will probably be available for those wishing to view the last day's activities. 

This is a very casual set up. We will have beverages (hot water, coffee) in the Laughing Cat. Everyone is encouraged to bring their own brown bag lunches, snacks or pot luck. Come and go as you wish; check out the schedule* for areas of most importance to you.

A sign-in sheet and feedback from all attendees will be our way of connecting with the groups and individuals who incorporate the practices of the Hawaiian Lunar Calendar in planting, fishing, birthing, healing, sailing and other day to day living. 

It is through this exchange of first hand experiences that empowerment at a meaningful level can impact our relationship with Mother Earth. Climate changing means we must adapt the way we relate to Nature. We have a chance to learn from others across the Pacific. How fortunate we are.

*The specific schedule and list of presenters is available by clicking here. (These times are listed in Hawaiian Time Zone. We are three hours ahead of them in WA.)

Mokihana will present a short welcome and introduction to the conference at Noon September 25th. There is no charge for the conference. Donations to the "Enclose the Pavilion in Winter Project" will be welcome.

Questions? Please email Mokihana at mokihanacalizar@gmail.com 

I'll post a summary of the experience after we've had it. Let's hear it for collaborations and a healthy dose of faith and grace! 

Mahalo all for your kokua,
Mokihana and Pete

Saturn moves into Sagittarius

A new Medicine Plant introduced to me after six seasons of living where I live.
Her name is Mullein, and she is an ally of the lungs.

Summer has passed. The intensity and the generous gifts of a sun-rich season are visible; the Food Plants have given and given (a dozen quarts of applesauce), fruit and vegetables continue to feed us from our orchard and the community gardens in our neighborhood.

The forest fires that began in mid-July have had their effect, most of the burning has been calmed or stopped thanks to the rains that finally came this month. Many folk, including me, are dealing with smoke inhalation issues(lungs, sinuses,ears and ears) and how to live through it, and from it.

Integrating many sources to create effective remedy seems my best approach. Others find remedy in medication and prescription. Still others are unscathed by the fires, smoke and particulates going about their lives as they would were the forests untouched by fire. An important part of this 'integration' though is to remember to Keep it simple. Meaning it is a good practice to keep each Plant Herb separate in its use ... try one herb remedy at a time. 'Simples' in Wildcrafting or herbal medicine practices refers to making a tincture, poultice or oil with one herb rather than mixing more than one or buying mixtures.

UPDATE: (READ the bottle carefully on purchased remedies, what I thought was just mullein and garlic oil was in fact mullein, calendula, St. John's wort and garlic. If I have a sensitivity to the oil I won't know what triggered the sensitivity. I re-learned the lesson of 'simples' this afternoon).

I figured this would be a good time to summarize my experiences (Saturn is in the sky, and visible as my husband watched the planet last night) as the teacher of long-term lessons is now in Sagittarius after 2.5 years in Scorpio. For all of us, the lessons have been deeply felt. (click on that link for a long list of lessons learned). From that list I am able to affirm what Elsa wrote is true for me, too. I have learned to conserve my energy and commit deeply.

Conserve energy

Teaching classes (Ho'omoku) began with a vision for small group face-to-face teaching.
Within a week I realized this ideal would have to change. Educating people about my MCS reality takes a lot of energy, and time.
'Group' was redefined. One student, one husband, one teacher = our group
When the forest fires raged, where to teach changed from 'in person' to 'phone-to-phone'

Commit deeply

I remained committed to the process of sharing and teaching. It was flexibility that shouted for its place. As I conserved my energy, it was important that I exchange it with a student who could reciprocate. We have that in our student. She teaches us, we teach her. Once a week we had phone classes. The times changed during the process, accommodating our mutual needs. She is in the process of moving off the island, and through it we keep in touch (with short phone and meaningful conversation); the practices, chants, and 'olelo (Hawaiian words) of importance build in meaning as our relationship grows.

Saturn's transit through Scorpio aspected (affected, tweaked, 'lit-up') the 10th and 11th Houses of the astrological sky. That means, my Public Reputation (10th House) and Friendships, Hopes and Dreams (11th House) have undergone a reality check. "Oh really?" Saturn said, making sure my expectations of a style of public (10th House) interaction still worked. Consolidating, reining in my old expectations and living real life I see what I can do; what I can't do; how I relate with my Scorpio Sun; what and how I think (Mercury in the 10th) and got another experience with the 'original wound' of Chiron (also in the 10th House).

These lessons and experiences aren't easy! Physically my body has been taxed to the max, my faith bottomed out, the symptoms of MCS raged, my world become smaller and smaller; and then I found something while I re-read the pages of Braiding Sweetgrass. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a true medicine woman and story is part of her medicine magic. In the chapter "In the Footsteps of Nanabozho: Becoming Indigenous to Place" Kimmerer draws on her poetic eyes to write bridges between the Long Past and the past that we have just left a footstep ago. Creation story for Indigenous people thread us together, restoring fragmented experiences (personal and historic) and in the hands and heart of a storyteller the restoration is potent, poignant.

The chapter on Becoming Indigenous to Place rings my internal bells. Here's the conversation that is going on ...

"I am AN INDIGENOUS Woman," Bell One declares. And, she is not wrong.
"But," suggests Bell Two, "RWK is suggesting something so much larger. She is suggesting you might want to weigh the longing to be in that other place where you were born and indigenous to, with, becoming Indigenous to the place you are now."
"I know. I read that, and the bells and lights all started to flash." Admitted Bell One.
"How do we reconcile this? Is there a conflict a compromise an issue of loyalty breached?" Both Bells asked simultaneously. 

I took this photo of Plantain growing in the drought-brittle pea patch where we conducted summer sessions of Ho'omoku. 

Here is an Internet snap of the same species, in similar drought condition but the plant is greener.

Kimmerer anchors her stories woven in the chapter with the life and journey of an immigrant plant, a weed that came along with the immigrants who crossed at least one ocean and came to 'a new land.' Unlike so many other examples of colonial plants like kudzu who sets no limits to its thirst occupation and will take your house with or without permission; another plant followed in the footsteps of the white man. Where ever the white man went so went this potted herb. Its seed and its habits were so different than the colonial kudzu. This plant made itself comfortable in small spaces, "Its strategy," writes Kimmerer "was to be useful, to fit into small places, to coexist with other around the dooryard, to heal wounds. Plantain is so prevalent, so well integrated, that we think of it as native...Plantain is not indigenous but "naturalized." This is the same term we use for the foreign-born when they become citizens in our country."

Plantain grows everywhere in our orchard. The broad leaf and the narrow leaf plants have made themselves at home with Plants here. Back in Hawaii Plantain is called Lokahi. There, I thought of Lokahi as native. How amazed I was to find it here, where I live. But what is more amazing is to find Kimmerer's story and its broad implication as a real education. As Saturn the Lesson-Giver moves into the next sign of the zodiacal sky, it brings the lesson of real education. I have just started a four-week long workshop with Elsa Panizzon from ElsaElsa focused on what to expect and how to benefit from Saturn's transit through Sagittarius. It's gonna be a doosy of a workshop; all of Elsa's offerings are full and long-lasting value. This one has just begun as a private forum, there's still time to sign on.

One of the things Elsa promises (and she always comes through!) is How to recognize and reign in your own inflation. So, back to the conversation between the two Bells going on in my head. The question and answer(s) to my beliefs (Sagittarius) about being Indigenous and being Happy (hopes and dreams are Sagittarius' domain) are gonna get a tweak and new definitions. A real education will put me where an old woman can be of true worth. The teacher who remains teachable, and humble, can be of real value. Just look at the Plantain: called many names does the same thing where ever it lives.

Long winded blather, but, hope you got something to chew on. If you want more, join us in the Saturn through Sagittarius Workshop.

"Making (an) island home where you find it" ... Peach for peace

And Now, An Ode to Peach

" Although Peaches are closely related to Cherries, Apples and Roses, each of the Rosaceae species has its own very unique feel and personality. Peach has a feeling of longing and wistfulness, of hot southern nostalgia that smells like perfume and whiskey and fairies masquerading as fireflies and glow-worms on a summer night.

I often use Peach tincture when I find my fists unconsciously clenched or notice that I have built up tension manifesting as feeling overheated, parch-mouthed and overtly irritated. It makes a soothing, cooling nervine is such cases and won't aggravate dryness. There's something deeply restorative about Peach that I can't perfectly describe, something that helps to heal hurt caused by grief or loss, or anger that stems from a deep wound. It works very well with it's cousin Rose for these uses, especially if there's any depression or sexual component involved. Where Hawthorn seems to work better for the raging grief caused by rejection or acute loss, Peach is often most specific where there's some level of obsession or chronic focus on something lost or long awaited for, and that obsession manifests as ongoing irritation, tension leading to burnout and consuming sadness. That's not say that Peach doesn't make a fabulous general nervine, it certainly does. Peach leaf tea is a traditional Southern/Appalachian remedy for hysteria, anxiousness and nervousness.  It's quite safe and is particularly helpful for children, pregnant women and those of sensitive or delicate constitutions. It's cooling, slightly moistening, relaxing and deeply restorative for burned out people still in the process of burning themselves out. This includes many peri or currently menopausal women with hot flashes, irritation, emotional lability and general hot-temperedness."
- Anima Center

We get a bumper crop of peaches only every few years. Since we have been here five summers, and have enjoyed two of these abundant fruit years there is our experience. Until this year (2015) I have picked and eaten her fruit, and feel glad of that. Grateful. And, this year the abundance is being sliced and soaked awhile in lemon juice before freezing so we can enjoy the fruit in another season.

But this season, the journey of 'making island' begun when I listened to the voice that said "Ho'omoku" ... I wonder? Is that Ancestral, MY ANCESTOR, or ... perhaps it is the ancestor of beings that are not human, and instead the
Ancestor Allies of the Plant Beings.
Thanks to an email "Prevention of and Herbal Therapeutics ... " from our lovely Kaliko back on O'ahu who sent me something she thought would be helpful for the smoke inhalation happening this summer,
I have followed 'the bread crumbs' and found information about making Peach 'or Persica medicine.'

Under the heading Respiratory Relaxant, the link Kaliko emailed included this about "Peach – Prunus persica – Cool, sweet and moistening, Peach leaf is broadly applicable for all sorts of respiratory tension and heat as well as the immune hyperfunction that can occur in response to wildfire smoke. The tincture, elixir or even just the tea made with the dried leaves all serve admirably." Combining both this recommendation and snippet of  "An Ode to Peach" which begins this post, I welcome to healing Plant Herbs and Plants as well as the helpful Human People who offer love and support to me. It is truly an active act of aloha, to recognize, that I am often resistant to help; and that is not something to be proud of. But, perhaps, this kind of experience, on this Hoku Full Moon is one of the ways I can remedy that character trait. 

Peach fruit and Leaf sit on our Quonset table 

An infusion of that pot filled with Peach leaves in a half-gallon glass canning jar steeps. I let it steep for an hour for my first batch of Peach Tea. I'm sipping it now. It's bitter, but not unpleasant. I added a squeeze of fresh ginger. I'm sweating as I type. 

E Ho Mai: Peach for peace. I slow down, introduce myself to the Beings, the Plant and Fruit Beings who have been here long before me, and ask how they sustain themselves on this island making it their home. And, perhaps, I learn to apply their wisdom to my life as Human Woman. And, so I don't forget the connectivity of the technological wave, "Thanks for the keyboard, wires, an waves that get me from a thought or a need to answers otherwise untapped." Mahalo all. I have lots to learn. Grateful to have this new day to experience living. Wheww...

P.S. I'm learning it doesn't take many peach leaves to make a healing medicine. That's a good lesson for humans.

A Salmon of Love for Loretta

BROTHER SALMON'S INSPIRATION & BLESSING

'E Aloha nui loa a pau Loretta. We love you enduringly, never ending ...
Your Garden People  
Mahalo Loretta.

Making the most of an 'Ole Pau: Phone-to-phone classroom

Hina wore her 'Ole Pau Light, early in the morning Friday, August 7, 2015

One of the decisions I made during the week was to arrange for a phone-to-phone class time with our haumana. I needed to adapt to the weather conditions and my own health. This arrangement seemed to be a flexible and wise choice that kept our commitment to each other pono in harmony. She lives up the Island from us overlooking Penn Cove in Coopeville. She and I had talked about meeting at sunrise for the first August class of Ho'omoku. My request was based on wanting to welcome the sun with the 'oli E Ala E as we watched the sun rise over the Cascade Mountain Range, a view very clearly present from our haumana's Coopeville home. This was several weeks prior to the start date of July 10th. July has been our month of experimentation and course corrections. We are learning plenty!

Pete and I woke early (5:30 AM). I set up our Quonset hut preparing for ceremony and the content of our first phone-to-phone class.

 Kaulana Mahina The Hawaiian Moon Calendar is a major focus for HO'OMOKU. The Hawaiian Moon Calendar created by the folks at The Moon Phase Project is one of our teaching aides. It helps to re-orient, and shake up our Western Calendar brainwaves; to count in 10's instead of 7's and notice the shape of the Moon instead of the brightness of the Sun; while recording what we see/what is growing/birthing/fruiting/dying in our place. 

We strung our HO'OMOKU banner in our Quonset, very home-style classroom; very much in our comfort zone.

Pete was willing(but barely awake) to try this version of teaching/sharing/chanting/learning.

Early next week I'll check in with our haumana and ask how our phone-to-phone experience was for her. This is the Year of the Green Goat by my Chinese Ancestors' reckoning. The year of strength and flexibility like 'ohe the bamboo. So we make like 'ohe and flex. Good practice:)

E ALA E

We did indeed chant and welcome Ka La The Sun from our respective places on the same island; two of us from our Southern woods and the third in her hale up North overlooking Ke Kai and the mountains of the Cascades. Over the phone I spoke the words to get our student familiar with the sounds. She repeated. I continued. We chanted the verse three times, the final time chanting in unison. 

The THANKSGIVING ADDRESS or The Words Before All Else

Whenever we gather for Ho'omoku, and often as a daily practice, we recite the words of gratitude from the Onandaga Nation. Each of us read a gratitude in turn. 

NA 'AUMAKUA

The pule or prayer welcoming and addressing our Ancestors is also part of the ceremony of respect to begin each Ho'omoku gathering. I chanted, and invited Pete and our haumana to name their family, and be included as we acknowledged all the Ancestors.

KAULANA MAHINA

The Hawaiian Moon Calendar, including the phases and names of the moon (29 or 30 of them) is a focus for Ho'omoku. Daily Lunar Calendar recordings written into a personal journal is the primary learning and noticing practice. We shared what we have noticed. Questions were asked, and answered.

E HO MAI

I was asked for clarification and protocol related to the chant E HO MAI. Our haumana wanted to know:

1. Could this chant be used for various purposes?
2. Is there a certain way to chant the words/a cadence?

I answered this way:

1. Yes, this chant was written by Edith Kanaka'ole as a chant to be used in her halau hula her hula school. This chant was intended to be used to gain understanding and insight into the meaning and the mana of the words in mele/'oli to be manifested in hula. Since its origin this chant has been shared across the Earth for many reasons. The answer to this 'oli of asking will be different for every one who asks/chants it.
2. I said, "I learned to chant this 'oli by listening and imitating the style of Kumu John Keola Lake. The following YouTube was one I trained myself to 'oli." I use this cadence and style when I chant E Ho Mai.

 Slowly we ho'omoku. Mahalo ke Akua e Na 'Aumakua.

Course adjustments

Our first month of Ho'omoku is pau. We have experienced the reality of spawning new territory. It is a slow and deliberate process. Magic has its place, but, every magician knows the illusion is only as good as breath; you must be able to take the next one.

I am making changes and adjustments to how I teach from this place named Ho'omoku. Here is a bit of what goes on for me. This is a post from my (other) blog Makua O'o

"When I awoke to the journey as Navigator and Translator, it was the limitation and reality of living with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities that opened my eyes, eyes and heart to precisely what Wall describes: "We are inevitably shaped by (our stories) no matter how distant they may be from our consciousness." Again and again I have acknowledged the deep and sustaining value of living in our car, setting up our nighttime home in her small enclosure, while being at the edge of the Ocean at a place I had known since a tiny girl. The Moon, Grandmother Moon, rose from our Ocean to light our way. She was indeed showing us the way home. From those 2007 engagements my life has been timed by Mahina, the Moon..."

The changes that I make now come from recognizing teaching people in person must start with being able to teach one person at a time what it means to be fragrance free enough to be close to me, and Pete. That's the starting point. We Ho'omoku ... actively make a place, an island, with one student.

The one to one exchange of energy means we engage when it is best for us. Given the current air quality brought on by very real climate chaos (the forests are burning), we plan for earlier meeting times. Our first August gathering will be at Sunrise.  6 AM. We will meet on a beach near our student's home. We will greet the sun and I will teach the words to E ALA E. And, if I'm not able to make the drive to the beach, we'll connect via the phone waves, and chant the sun that way. Navigating, always making adjustments:)

The remaining weeks of August will be a customized gathering at a time yet to be determined. We are hoping to celebrate the arrival of WIFI to the South Whidbey Tilth. That will allow Ho'omoku to be a place where on-line Hawaiian Language classes initiate a cyber ocean of connectedness. The on-line 'Olelo Hawaii Hawaiian Language program NIUOLAHIKI will be the next step in our island making.

Niuolahiki refers to an old family of coconut ... literally I hear the niu (coconut) saying, "Yes, we can!"

Course adjustments are a life-long skill, I pray for guidance from those Ancestors, my sea-faring surviving family who made their way on MOANA NUI, planting in me the genetic memory ... navigate ho'i!

If you are interested in Ho'omoku it is best to contact me directly, either by phone or email. Start with email at mokihanacalizarATgmailDOTcom.

Mahalo.

He puko'a kani 'aina ... lesson for an 'Ole Po Friday, July 24, 2105

HE PUKO'A KANI 'AINA

A coral reef that grows into an island.

A person beginning in a small way gains steadily until he/she becomes firmly established.

We brought young coconut meat to share

with the two Calyx hens

Then Pete and I walked to the Vet's Garden 

We said Pule Ho'ulu'ulu together in the garden with the plants, introducing ourselves and giving thanks in Hawaiian

Laukahi Plantain or White Man's Footstep thrive in the dry and loamy grounds of The Prairie Front. We came to ask if they would permit the company of other plants we have in mind. We wait for their answer.

Back in the Subaru, my traveling companion, the La'i enjoyed a drink of rain the night before. We're heading to the 'classroom' space for our noon gathering.

We set the table with soup and fruit and read the Thanksgiving Address to each other and for all plant, bird, tree, sky, company who were there at The Prairie Front

"Standing around us we see all the Trees. The Earth has many families of Trees who each have their own instructions and uses. Some provide shelter and shade, others fruit and beauty and many useful gifts. The Maple is the leader of the trees, to recognize its gift of sugar when the People need it most. Many peoples of the world recognize a Tree as a symbol of peace and strength. With one mind we greet and thank the Tree life. Now our minds are one." The Words That Come Before All Else Onandaga Nation "Thanksgiving Address"

We played a game of HULO! to build our Hawaiian vocabulary. These are the words I made using the wooden alphabet tiles.