2003 – 2005 Hawaii … (04/04/08)
Upon arriving in Honolulu, I soon realized that the passenger ferries that I was certain carried folks between the various islands did not exist! So, I had to either come up with a plane ticket to the Big Island or remain indefinitely on Oahu. Still, after my successful stint selling hand-made hemp & glass jewelry in Mexico only a few months prior, I was confident that it would only be a matter of days before the necessary funds would be acquired. Of course, “make plans and God laughs” — and I soon found out that the demand for such wares was quite different amongst Honolulu’s much-more-opulent visitors/residents. In short, while a few folks bought a few bracelets and while a few more heard my story and donated to the cause, I never did get enough money together to buy that one-way plane ticket. So, with only a few days to go before the Big island ceremony to which I had been invited, I used my last change (8 quarters) to make four phone calls; having decided beforehand that if those calls didn’t somehow get me to the Big Island, that I would head up Mount Tantalus and “make camp” in the jungles there …
Not surprising in retrospect, it wasn’t until the very last two quarters had been inserted that I contacted Kel at Anderson Aviation, a small company that specialized in training pilots — not in taking passengers anywhere. Still, after hearing my story, Kel noted that he happened to be flying to Kailua-Kona that evening and that he would take me there in exchange for all the money I had saved up from my Honolulu jewelry sales (which wasn’t that much!). In short, I made it back to the airport and was flown in the back-seat of a three-seat Cessna to Kona! It was a magical ride and remains one of the most stunningly beautiful panoramas I have ever witnessed — as we climbed smoothly through and around huge thunderheads, turned deep shades of orange and red and pink by the rays of the setting sun … Amazing!
Without going into too much detail about the next two years (entries for other days), suffice it to say that I made it to the Harmonic Concordance Ceremony, only to receive absolutely no enlightenment whatsoever upon arriving there (I had expected some “booming voice” to tell me exactly what I should do!) … Afterwards, despondent and confused and disoriented, I decided to take a pure pilgrimage up the coast to the famous “seven valleys” of the Big Island. It was here that I planned to fast fro forty days and “force God’s hand” into showing me via Vision exactly what I was to do for Humanity. On foot the whole way, using no money whatsoever, and always walking alone, it took 10 serendipitous days for me to walk the 150+ circuitous miles up the island’s coast and arrive at the mouth of Pololu Valley. Having heard that water and food were plentiful in these parts, and wanting to continue “walking on faith”, I dumped all the food that I had leftover from the generosity of previous strangers, and entered the valleys. Many a Hawaiian had warned me not to attempt to make it alone all the way to Waipio Valley — that even Hawaiians died every year in this wilderness, and yet my arrogance was not to be daunted.
Fortunately, I was almost immediately humbled, and stumbled about for the better part of the day hungry, dehydrated (at one point I prayed for water and drank from the ensuing rainstorm!), dirty and bloodied. While I did encounter a few wild boars, no other human being was to be seen. I was alone and I was lost. After spending the night trying to sleep propped against a tree to keep from sliding over the cliff I had stumbled upon (and almost over) at dusk the preceding day, I awoke and simply humbled myself before the Universe — professing an apology for my previous arrogance and reaffirming my intention to do the Highest Good possible with my life if I were to ever get out of my sticky situation. No sooner did I do so than I turned and spotted a blue ribbon tied to a distant tree. It seems that Hawaiian boar-hunters tie these ribbons while hunting in order to avoid getting lost. So, I simply flowed from ribbon to ribbon through the jungle — and made it back to my original path!
At this point another Epiphany came t me: that I had known all along what I was to do next — and that was to dedicate my life to “fleshing out” the outline that I had received while in Tacoma several months prior. And so that is what I did. I hitch-hiked in a few hours back to Kailua-Kona (with what had taken me days & days of strenuous walking passing effortlessly by from the car window as I did so), found a part-time job as a bell-ringer for the Salvation Army, and spent the next several weeks searching for and finding the place where I would reside for the next two+/- years — the tennis courts and park pavilions just north of Kailua-Kona. During that time, I threw my whole being into my “experiment with Truth” — working a few hours each morning for food-money (after the Salvation Army, I worked as a prep-cook in 2004 and a teacher’s aid in 2005) and spending the rest of my days mostly at Borders Books, where I researched and wrote the first drafts of “Salvation’s Way” (the book I felt called to write at the time). After a few months, folks in that small community had heard about the “happy homeless guy” living at Border Books, and hundreds of them began visiting me there regularly — some every day, some every few days, some once or twice a month, and some only once or twice. Every encounter centered on the “Meaning of Life”, and every one of those brilliantly beauty-full people taught me so much. I would take noted while we talked, and ponder new ways that I could myself test many of the concepts that we discussed. And test them I did …
After about 18 months of this experimentation, several Truths were becoming evident, and what incredible Truths they were! I learned that being kind to those who harm or use or manipulate you is the most effective (and maybe the only effective) method of resolving those conflicts. I learned that it truly was better to give than to receive. I learned that those who dedicate their lives to the service of others are literally provided for by the Universe (albeit by means that are still mysterious to me). In essence, I was experiencing the Truth firsthand that unconditional Love was a concept that was real and realizable for every human being, regardless of social status or “intelligence” or material wealth. And it became clear to me that it was my Calling to share these Truths with as many people as possible before I died, though I didn’t know how I was to best do so …
Then, once day in the late summer of 2005, I came across a book that told of the Peace Pilgrim (www.peacepilgrim.org), and I knew right away that my prayers had been answered — that her lifestyle (or something similar to it) was the way to most effectively share with others what I had re-discovered. And so, ever since leaving “the Rock” in November of 2005, that is what I started doing; flowing from community to community & engaging whatever tasks others asked me to engage — always for free.
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