Dancing in the Sea of Life — Halau i Ka Pono

“ʻO Pele la koʻu akua
Miha ka lani, miha ka honua”
[NBE:93]

Pele is indeed my goddess
The heavens, my head, are silent of thought
The earth, my feet, abstains from any movement.

”Mind chatter and continuous movement hinder intimacy with natural environs.”
~Taupouri Tangaro
Lele Kawa - Fire Rituals of Pele

”I am not devaluing thoughts. Just do not mix up what we think with what actually is.”
~Taizan Maezumi
Appreciate Your Life”

Itʻs Valentineʻs Day, and Iʻm thinking of one of my heartʻs favorite, Hawaii Island. Especially since I was just there, and itʻs cold here in Oak Park/Chicago with small snow banks piled knee high on all the sidewalks.

I was happy to be there to co-lead Sacred Fire: A Zen Meditation and Hula Retreat with my friend Jaune Evans. It was an opportunity to practice my two spiritual paths: Hula and Zen Meditation with 15 others.

We began first in Wood Valley, Pahala at the beautiful Nechung Dorje Drayang Ling Tibetan Buddhist Temple. It was rainy and cool with a high humidity. One of the first things I noticed was how in touch with Nature I felt there. The dining room and kitchen were screened off so you got a good view of the lush green surroundings: banana trees, ti leaf plants, ferns, Eucalyptus trees.

When it rained you could hear raindrops on the tin roof and see the rainwater gushing down - oblivious of gutters. My body seemed to be soaking up the moisture after having been dried out by heat radiators in Chicago.

For the first day and a half we practiced Noble Silence which meant, in addition to the quiet contemplation of meditation, that there was no unnecessary talking. This time was specifically to focus internally and to notice what was going on in our minds and bodies and always returning to our breath or other physical sensations in the body. This was a way to sink into your body and become grounded in Honua(the earth).

Our minds are often very busy when transitioning from regular life to retreat. So it can be a challenge to just sit and do nothing. Itʻs like a gateless gate that we must pass through in order to know and see our inseparability from our environment. It is the very practice of patience that nurtures more patience, clarity and fearlessness in our lives.

Our bodies can also be tight and tense when our minds are constantly busy. It was wonderful that my sister taught Iyengar yoga to help stretch and relax our bodies. My body felt light and open after her restorative asanas.

Hula practice then allowed my bodyʻs muscles and joints to exercise in a gentle way. The melodic Hawaiian music filled my heart and inspired me to dance. I felt all of us moving as one, inseparable from each other and the beauty of place. We danced for Liliuokalani, the last reigning monarch of Hawaii, and for all that she represented: compassion, courage and dignity.

On the last morning, we visited Kilauea (spewing or much spreading), an active shield volcano in Volcano National Park, which is estimated to be 300,000 - 600,000 years old. We walked quietly at sunrise along Halemaʻumaʻu (House of the Amaʻu Fern) Crater and saw the red, gold glow of molten lava in the darkness of early morning.   Inspired, we paid our deep respects to Pele and to the magnificent ʻaina (land) of her home.

Molten Pele (lava) both destroys and creates rich new land.   All of Hawaii Island was formed by Pele. In a way, our practice of meditation itself is a path of destruction and creation.   In a paradoxical way, we are burning down our walls - our fixed views/ideas about life, our habitual ways of looking at the world and our relationships.

Itʻs a paradox because meditation itself is a path of non-doing that most of us are not used to practicing. And yet this practice is extremely valuable by wearing away habits or outdated ideas about our lives that no longer serve us.

Sitting still for at least 10 minutes a day, watching what you do, focusing on your breath and trying not to indulge in mental drama, is very nourishing to your brain and body. With regularity this strengthens parts of your brain that creates emotional balance, fear modulation, impulse control, and response flexibility.

Over time youʻll notice that you can slow down, focus better and open your heart to yourself and others. Thereʻs a clarity that develops that helps you not mix up what you think with what is.

Happy Chinese New Year of the Earth Dog and Ban Assault Rifles!!!

P.S. Enjoy Steve Bowerʻs photos of the Sacred Fire Retreat.

“Puʻolo waimaka a ke aloha.
Tears are bundles of love.
Love brings tears to the eyes.

~ʻOlelo Noʻeau - Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings #2750
Mary Kawena Pukui

There is a crack in everything, thatʻs how the light gets in.
~Leonard Jikan Cohen”

Our Lady of Guadalupe Feast Day, Iglesia de San Juan Puerto Morelos, Mexico

In early December, my husband and I traveled to sunny Quintana Roo, Mexico for two weeks of warmth. This was our first trip to Mexico. The plane ride was surprisingly short - just 3 hours from Chicago. I found the warm sunny climate to be very similar to Hawaii.

Renting a car was easy and economical. Most people speak English and I tried out my high school Spanish (mahalo Mrs. Montgomery!) whenever possible. We drove a half hour past Cancun to a smaller fishing community called Puerto Morelos. We checked into to a basic hotel right on the beach. Then we walked outside to swaying coconut trees, the cry of seagulls and the sandy beach. Inhaling the salt drenched air was the first thing that really made my heart soar as did seeing the blueness of the sea and sky.

The wind was brisk and the ocean choppy. Black Iwa (frigate) birds glide about in the air currents. There were mounds of sargasso seaweed on the shore emitting that special aroma that comes from being in the ocean. Every morning, Mexican men came to pick it up using machines and rakes. By afternoon the seaweed was back.

By the time we left there 10 days later, the ocean was calm and the seaweed had stopped piling up on the beach leaving clear shores with gently lapping water. We saw many different kinds of sea birds: sandpipers, pelicans, herons, cormorants. There were gorgeous bright bougainvillea trees, delicate naupaka blossoms, and lovely plumeria trees. We saw magnificent sunrises and sunsets.

Our hotel was a block from the central square of Puerto Morelos. There was an abundance of restaurants, shops and one small bookstore laid out around the square. There was also one Catholic church - Iglesia de San Jose. We were there for the Feast Day of our Lady of Guadalupe so I decided to go to mass that day.

I got to the small airy church early. There were only a few people so I sat up front near the altar. Pretty soon the deacon, an American from Indianapolis, came up to me and asked if I would be willing to do a reading during the mass. I said sure, though I felt a little funny since Iʻm a Buddhist. But I did go to St. Joseph High School in Hilo so I was familiar with mass. He told me to read a passage from Revelations that was on his ipad. It was entitled, "The Woman and the Dragon." He pointed to the podium where I was to read with a microphone.

My Buddhist name is Ryushin which means Dragon Heart. My husband, who is also my Buddhist teacher, named me that because of the way I performed Hawaiian chants so of course I loved the title of the passage.

The mass began. I was the first one to do a reading.   I walked slowly up to the podium which was near the altar. The deacon gave me the microphone and his ipad.
I faced the congregation which had filled up with quite a few Mexicans families by then.

I began to read, " A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head..." Suddenly, tears sprung to my eyes, and I choked up. The image was so beautiful! I managed to get through reading about the dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads and how itʻs great tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth and its encounter with the Woman.

After the mass, I thought about the line that caused my tears to spontaneously arise. What were those tears about? They definitely had to do with the heart and beauty. I finally realized the deep abiding love that Our Lady of Guadalupe represents is in each one of us, whether we see it or not.

For me Hula and Zen are the practice of this love. Hula and Zen practice include lifeʻs joy, anger and sorrow. It requires patience and forgiveness, generosity and wisdom. The practice nurtures and opens the sore and tender parts in our hearts to ourselves and to others. Thatʻs how we heal.

We who dance together are like a family because dancing is a very intimate thing. Itʻs hard to dance when we hold mistakes, grudges, anger and insecurity in our hearts and thus close off to life. These qualities freeze us into a certain mindset and keep us from finding our true purpose in this life.

Finding our purpose and meaning is a deep spiritual practice and requires an intentional cultivation of patience, forgiveness and wisdom. The foundation of all these blessings is aloha (love). Honor the cracks in life, for they let the light in.

Best wishes for the New Year!

Malama pono (take good care of your body, mind, heart),

June Kaililani Ryushin Tanoue
Kumu Hula and Sensei

P.S. Warm up with our slideshow of photos from our trip to Mexico and the beautiful Carribean ocean! Hauʻoli Makahiki Hou (Happy New Year) to you and your ʻOhana (family)!