By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate

No matter what your relationship with the person who brought you into this world—be it good, bad, or indifferent—it is always complicated. My mother’s passing left me with my energies low, immune system weakened, and spirits sagging. The Hawaiian Islands have always been a source of solace and sustenance for me. Memories of crescent white sand beaches wrapping azure seas would not let me go.

I went back to the Islands in search of a healing kumu (teacher) who could help me through this difficult time. I found Kumu Dane Silva who practices traditional Hawaiian healing and is the founder of the Earth Medicine Institute on the Big Island near Volcanoes National Park. He generously shared his time and knowledge with me asking nothing in return.

The Big Island of Hawai’i is known to be a power place, a vortex where energy funnels up from the core of the earth. The Hawaiian Islands are still being born. Witness the recent violent eruption on the Big Island that sent molten lava down the flank of Kilauea to the churning sea.

The flow meant devastation for the people in Puna, destroying homes in its path making it plain the efforts of mankind are child’s play to Mother Nature.

Since the 70s there has been a resurgence of traditional Hawaiian healing techniques that went underground 200 hundred years ago when the missionaries arrived in the Islands to spread the “good news.”

Today, the Big Island is the nexus of the plexus where new age and traditional Hawaiian healing and Eastern and Western methods converge. The Volcano National Park is home to Pele, the goddess of fire, and is considered a powerful energy vortex by the spiritually inclined.

Ho’oponopono, the Hawaiian way of talking things out is about accepting what you can’t change and forgiving those who may have done you harm.  Auntie Mahealani Henry, a powerful matriarch, leads sessions and holds retreats on the Big Island.

You must come to the meeting with a clear heart; actively throw stones of anger, disappointment, jealousy, and revenge from your bowl so that they do not block the pure energy that the Hawaiians call mana. You must also bring an attitude of forgiveness with you and a desire to achieve harmony with yourself and others.

I learned from Dane Silva that dealing with the death of a parent requires forgiveness. You must forgive yourself and them for not being perfect. Maybe they sent you in a wrong direction that took you many years to turn around. Perhaps they were not demonstrative, and you felt unloved.

Forgiveness for their failings is required, but you must forgive yourself for not having been the perfect child that was always well-behaved. Ultimately, what you must achieve is acceptance for the frailties of the human condition.

NOTES:

• The Volcanoes National Park re-opened on Sept. 22, 2018 after being closed to the public for four tumultuous months.
• The Halema’uma’u crater, where Pele resides, collapsed. The park has been reconfigured, but the Visitors Center is open.
• There are numerous pricey tours available, but a trip to the Visitors Center will provide you with maps and information that will allow you to explore on your own.

For More Information:

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park – http://bit.ly/2OvLT74

Kumu Dane Silva Earth Medicine Institute – https://earthmedicineinstitute.com/teachers/kumu-dane-kaohelani-silva/

Aunt Mahealani Henry Aloha Spirituality – http://www.alohaspiritaunty.com/

Linda Ballou Freelance Writer

Linda's mission is to experience as many beautiful places on our planet as she can before they are no more. Travel tales relating her experiences while kayaking, horseback riding, sailing, birding and hiking about the globe have appeared in numerous national magazines. She had great fun collecting travel stories, and profiles of people she met in “naturally high places” for her book, Lost Angel Walkabout-One Traveler’s Tales. Her latest book Lost Angel Unleashed is the third book in her Lost Angel Trilogy

Go to LostAngelAdventures.com for more adventures.

For more about Linda’s novels and media offerings go to. www.LindaBallouAuthor.com