Flowing With Focus #2: Pineapples
It seems like a lot of people these days are looking for direction in life. But I’m lucky. After growing up in New York, going to college in Michigan, moving to Colorado after graduation, and then hopping to California, the flow of my life has apparently found its direction to be West.
So naturally, when the winds blew me an opportunity to fly to Hawaii, I put up no resistance. On March 14th, I flew from Mexico City to OGG Airport in Maui. At the time, the only plan was to help facilitate ceremonies at a plant medicine retreat center. What’s ensued since has become the most ecstatic 7 weeks of my life.
Although my travels in Mexico were fun and tasty, my time there lacked the spiritual density I’ve been seeking. Maui was my formal invitation to belong to the journey I set out for, and the diversity of experiences has been incredible.
Many moments have been slow, meditative and deliberate, like watching the gentle flow of my breath by candle light, listening to the peaceful symphony of the dolphins under the water, and watching the sunrise emerge through the clouds in a glorious eruption of light and color atop the dormant Haleakala volcano.
Others moments have captured me in the wild: crawling through mud in the East Maui rainforest to rappel down into secret caves, gawking at the island’s beauty from a helicopter 2,000 feet in the air, and leaping off stunning cliffs into the magnificent saltiness of the Pacific Ocean.
I’ve been learning to laugh at life, and sometimes life has laughed right back. On one such occasion, I went for a ceremonial naked swim at midnight, miles away from society, only to realize that the waves had pushed me far away from where I’d set down my clothes and flashlight. What ensued was 30 minutes of blindly flailing for my stuff through lava rocks in the pitch black; cold, naked, and bursting with desperate laughter. That night, I started praying for help to gods that I didn’t even know existed…
Not a day later, after placing my hand against the mountain at the sacred Waimoku waterfall, I opened my eyes to find myself standing at the epicenter of a perfect rainbow circle. Under the ecstatic rush of freshwater falls hitting my head from 100 feet above, just thinking about the moment still gives me chills of delight.
Many experiences have left enriching imprints, like learning how to pick and open a coconut (you think Whole Foods coconut water is good?), studying the ancient martial art of Qi Gong (an amazing practice for balance of body and mind), and even picking up some Hawaiian language (did you know ‘Aloha’ literally means ‘the presence of breath’?). Learning how to guide a plant medicine ceremony has also been an incredible step in my evolution as a mindfulness teacher and facilitator.
And while traveling is hardly all rainbows and unicorns, new friends and old connections have been abundant throughout the journey. Both my brothers visited me in Mexico City in February
Two of my closest friends from Michigan, Kolin and Ramzy, visited me in Maui in April
And I just departed from a visit with my mom and brother on the islands of Kauai and Oahu
Straight out of the script of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I also met a lovely hotel concierge in Maui who’s become a dear friend and guide through the islands. I’ve vibed with a lot of cool people in my life while traveling, but I’m totally convinced that Hawaiians take triple gold in being the most fun, chill, and hilarious people on the planet. With happy ukulele players, oceanic vistas and rainbows everywhere you look, it turns out paradise is exactly what they show on TV.
So why did it take me 2 months to write another blog post about all these awesome experiences? To balance all the fun, I also accepted a remote contract job with a startup called Wave Meditation in February. They’re creating a state of the art music-guided meditation system, for which I’m writing the guided meditation scripts (if you’re interested in a discount when it’s released in July, shoot me a message). This has resulted in the unforeseen advantage of actually having a net-positive bank account while traveling.
On Monday I fly to Hanoi, Vietnam, to begin the Southeast Asia journey I’ve dreamed of for years. If all goes according to plan, the adventure is only just beginning…
To see the rest of my travel writing, click here.
Honorable mentions gallery:
Aloha!! ☀️
Nate
