In traditional voyaging, it is said a navigator has ‘pulled an island from the sea’ when he or she guides the canoe to land beyond the horizon. Navigators of the traditional, ancient ways are able to see further and in ways that others cannot – thus inspiring their crew to find courage and venture into the unknown.
What does this have to do with our journey in life, I hear you ask.
Most will be aware of many spiritual philosophies, with the same messages such as: You create what you focus on, energy flows where attention goes, if you build it they will come (Field of Dreams moment there 😀 ), visualise and affirm what you want to manifest etc etc.
In this modern, quick, ʻI want it nowʻ, ʻdownload an APPʻ world, there can be a focus so heavily on the destination, that the signs on the journey are missed. We can get so focused on the outcome, that we lose the joy of what is the present moment. There can also be a tendency to forget that Spirit’s wise timing is often very different for ours, and for good reason which is often very obvious in hindsight.
Many of you know I have had a strong desire to move to Hawaii. This has been a desire since about 2003. At that time I had Murphy the Wonder Dog, so did all my due diligence regarding the process of him being able to also make that journey and applied for the Green Card Lottery each year for a few years. I wasn’t ‘successful’, however also understood that I had a purpose and unfinished business here. My kiakahi (purpose) was to keep bringing more and more of authentic Hawaii and the Aloha Spirit here. And I did, in canoe loads! Lomilomi and Ho’oponopono classes, Talk Story days, sponsoring and hosting a number of Hawaiian Kumu to come to do classes here, taking retreat groups to Hawaii and happily continuing seeing clients in my Lomilomi, Hoʻoponopono and Kua Lua practice.
Fast forward a few years – I met Kaleo at a class I was teaching at the CAE, (another reason I needed to be in Melbourne😉 ) and over the last few years we have been energising our desired experience to live in Hawaii. It is a ‘soul calling’ and desire so strong, yet with all the focus of not only ourselves but numerous Hawaiian friends and Kumu, visualisation, taking many actions : Green Card Lottery three times, receiving daily houses for sale listings, having 2 appointments with a lovely immigration attorney in Honolulu, nothing was tangibly happening in 3D land. We explored every possibility to navigate through the waters, however kept coming up against big waves that kept washing us back on to the shores of Australia. Whilst my human-ness was experiencing some frustration and disappointment, I live as always in I Ka Pono Mea. Everything is in perfection, in excellence, right place, right time, right Being!
So, I began to focus on and truly appreciate what is around us and what we have created here. Our lovely hale, assorted ʻohana of the 2-legged and 4-legged variety, community, my wonderful clients.
A couple of weeks ago I chuckled when I was looking at my compost pots and noticed a little plant growing. I thought it was another avocado, which often shoot up. However, when I scooped it out to plant in the ground, lo and behold it was a mango tree, along with a second one under it. Those of you who have been in Anakeʻ Mahealaniʻs classes will perhaps understand why I chuckled at the hoʻailona and symbology. At that moment I received a very clear insight and message. I have Ti and pineapple plants, plumeria( frangipani), hibiscus, avocado and mango trees, giant bird of paradise palms that hang over our fence from the neighbours, live near the beach, a home thatʻs filled with Hawaiian decorations, furniture and items, our joyful Aloha UkeStars practices, finding authentic Hula classes with Nuholani along with the Aloha way I naturally dress every day 😎
I HAVE pulled the island from the sea and am living it here in Melbourne!
Whilst the desire and vision is at some point to live on the ʻaina that is Hawaii and I continue to ʻseeʻ that island, I have the 
deepest APONO (acceptance) and ALOHA for the Island that has manifested right here.
I currently happily sing and dance around the house to the song
“We Know the Way” from Moana,
We set a course to find
A brand new island everywhere we roam
Aue, aue
We keep our island in our mind
And when it’s time to find home
We know the way
In the book ‘HAWAIKI RISING’ by Sam Low, master navigator Mau Piailug, asks Nainoa Thompson “Can you see the island?” The question puzzled Nainoa. “I could not literally see the island,” he recalls. “it was twenty-four hundred miles away. But it was a serious question. I had to consider it carefully. Finally, I said “I cannot see the island but I can see an image of the island in my mind,”
“Good,” said Mau. “Don’t ever lose that image or you will be lost.”
Mau also shares “When I ask him where is Tahiti, he know where it is inside of him. A navigator knows where the land is inside of him, even when he canʻt see it”
Nainoa recalls “Mau was telling me that I had to trust myself. I had to have a vision of where Tahiti was and that if I held on to it, I would get there. When he said ‘If you lose the image you are lostʻ. He was saying I had to see through my own eyes, feel my own feelings and understand the ocean in my own way…”
There are many literal, metaphoric and spiritual layers of depth in this exchange between Mau and Nainoa that can be applied to any manifestation of any desired experience. Hold your focus, follow your guidance with the shifting tides, look for the signs, still the mind chatter, hear the whispers of messages, be present in the NOW. Release the desire to control or micromanage how that journey will be or how that ʻislandʻ will exactly look. Trust Na Kūpuna (the ancestors) and Spirit. Be paʻa within yourself, having done the hana on all levels to Hoʻopono pono ke ala- make right, more right the path, live pono- be in the excellence, Hele Ka ʻOlelo ( walk the talk), and bring the literal or metaphoric Island out of the sea to you.
E Hoe Waʻa Me Ka Akahele : Paddle your canoe carefully
Hiki Ke Hoʻea Palekana : one can arrive safely
I Ka Pono Mea! All Is In Perfection, All Is In Excellence, Right Time, Right Place, Right Being!
🐳 Mahalo nui to the very gracious and aloha Kai Markell for the use of his extraordinary photograhs 🐬
