Mystical Land, Powerful Journey

Imagine meditating on an active volcano. Mauna Loa, on the Big Island of Hawaii, is the most massive mountain on Earth; measured from its base on the seafloor it rises 56,000 (27,000 higher than Everest from the base) and lies over 13,700 above sea level. It was snowing on the peak even as we basked in the sun on the black sandy beaches of Puna, approximately 30 miles south of Hilo. All of Hawaii is beautiful, but I have never been to such an incredible place and wanted to share with you what a SAI retreat was like so you can join us next time.

Each morning we were led by Maura Hoffman in an absolutely wonderful yoga workout and then led into a powerful Shaktipat meditation, so by breakfast we were already naturally high as a kite. Late morning and afternoon we would typically go on excursions and meet up again in the late afternoon for Dhyana, getting even higher on the Divine. By the end of the week everyone went to an even deeper level in their meditations and several people had life changing breakthroughs as the Shakti just sets your spirit free.

One day we went hiking to beautiful Akaka Falls and then went swimming with sea turtles, another day we went into a lava tube ---the womb of the Volcano--- and sat sauna style as steam vented up into the darkened chamber. Another day we went trance dancing with another retreat group and later danced on the beach to the sounds of a dozen drums beating and the crashing of waves on the beach. We also went to the geo-thermal natural hot tubs, snorkeled about with beautiful fish, ate incredible natural meals, got massages, and had fun activities each night, such as, Kaya Kalpa Anti-Aging Secrets, Tantra, Love Tap's, Kriya Yoga, Kundalini Yoga and Bliss Sessions. We also just hung out on the beach and got to know each other better.

But the height of the trip was walking out to the lava flow. Kilauea extends out the side of Mauna Loa and is still active. We could see the steam from the lava flowing miles away from our totally decked out retreat center Rama Shala. Friday evening we hiked out of Volcano National Park and went within feet of flowing magma (molten rock) as it dropped right into the sea expanding Hawaii's shore line. Maura and I stripped down in the pitch of darkness and swam right out to the middle of the lava flow, within 100 feet of the cascading lava sputtering like a pressure cooker as it met the crashing waves below. The whole ocean reflected the bright orange glow as we bounded in the bubbling waters heated by the lava. For a hundred yards to our left and to our right was red-hot lava flowing into the ocean. Absolutely amazing. I had to tell someone (hope Mom isn't reading this). Go to http://www.selfawareness.com/VideoPhotoGallery.html to see the photos.

From the Heart,
Steven S. Sadleir