OUR 2023 MAUI RETREAT GIVEAWAY IS PAUSED DUE TO THE CURRENT WILDFIRES CRISIS.

READ A STATEMENT BELOW FROM ONE OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS WITH REGARDS TO THE CRISIS.

Alu ka pula i Maui.
Concentrate your prayers on Maui.‘Ōlelo No’eau 115

For a moment when concentration and united effort are required (adapted to Maui from Hakalau).
From ‘Ōlelo No’eau, Hawaiian Proverbs and Political Sayings, by Mary Kawena Pukui.

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It rained early in the morning yesterday, a brief miracle amidst the devastating fires on Haleakalā and in Lāhainā, just around the corner from Napili Bay, our beloved refuge and retreat.

We are heartbroken. Our raw hearts burn, turned towards the astonishing loss of life, home, and heritage. As fire raged across the island, we found each other — some forced to evacuate, others providing shelter and refuge, all reaching out in the connecting heart mantras of crisis - Are you safe? Where are you now? What do you need? How can we help?

All are now focused on getting resources to community — cooking meals and gathering essential supplies to pass from warm hand to warm hand, ferrying resources to our brothers and sisters in Lāhainā, and boats from one shore to the other. Supporting people who have lost all, to protect their land and rebuild. We are connected as satsang and ‘ohana (family) — united in aloha (love), kāko’o (support) and (kokūa) help.

Ram Dass received blessing by Auntie Mahilani Poepoe, a revered Elder and gifted healer, to shine his light here on Maui. His dear friends Lei’ohu Ryder and Maydeen ‘Īao continue her lineage, as Kumu Aloha, Founders of Aloha in Action, and Kahu of Kukuipuka Heiau. They are our satsang’s cherished aunties, blessing us with connection to Maui’s ‘āina (land) — a lineage now woven inextricably into the fabric of Maharajji’s blanket.

‘A ‘ohe hana nui ke alu ‘ia.
No task is too big when done together by all.‘Ōlelo No’eau 142

One night, in the quiet around the table that often followed a dinner on the lanai as the hush after sunset set in, Ram Dass asked, In this world, today…What would Hanuman do now? Hanuman, breath of Ram, son of the Wind. We ask this question, in this moment of heartbreak on ground sacred to Ram Dass, now transformed by a fire born of great winds. In Hawaiian, mauli ola is the breath of life or power of healing. Na honua mauli ola describes interbeing, where the health of our body, mind and spirit depends on the health of the body of community, and land.

Our prayer at this moment is to unite these two life-giving, healing breaths in support of the community and land that nourished Ram Dass’ life for so long. As Ram Dass’ community on Maui, we bow in deep respect to these lands of the Kānaka Maoli, the Akua (divine), and Kūpuna (ancestors), we acknowledge the great forces of the wind — Ka Makani and the rain - Ka Ua. In moments like this, we look to the source — Nānā i ke kumu. We stand with Ke kukui pio ʻole i ke Kauaʻula — the light not extinguished by Kauaʻula, the red wind.

Kaua’ula is a rain associated with Lāhainā. It is also the name of a wind. Kaua‘ula is the red rain [Ka-ua-ʻula]. It is a strong mountain wind, often destructive, in Lahaina, Maui. Adapted from Hānau Ka Ua, by Colette Leimomi Akana.

Mahalo nui loa, gratitude for your prayers, love, and offerings to Aloha in Action. We all move together as the hearts and hands of Maharajji, Ram Dass, and the Akua.

Aloha and Ram Ram,
Ananda (Danielle Krettek Cobb)
Board Member, Love Serve Remember Foundation

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