Aumakua Review

8/2/2019 Aumakua Review

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Aumakua

John Marszalek



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Aumakua

A Starving Writers’/Truesource PublishingBook

Published by arrangement with the author John A. Marszalek

Copyright © 2010 by Starving Writers

Publishing and Truesource Publishing with John Marszalek. Printed through TruesourcePublishing Press. Cover design by TruesourcePublishing - All rights reserved. This book, orparts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

The story is fictional and any resemblance to

actual people, places, and certain facts ispurely coincidence.

Truesource Publishing: Dallas Texas

Starving Writers Publishing: Dallas Texas

Truesource Publishing: Dallas Texas

www.truesourcepublishing.com

ISBN : 978-1-932996-36-4

Printed in the United States of America

Published in Dallas Texas.

For more information on John Marszalek

www.theanswertolifesriddles.com



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- About the Author -

John A Marszalek is a co –founder and formerDirector of Training forNLP Learning SystemsCorporation in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1982NLP Learning SystemsCorporation is the oldest

and largest continuously operating NLP TrainingCenter in the WesternUnited States

John career spanned over thirty years;teaching classes in Effective Communication,Effective Listening, Sales Effectiveness,Management Skills and Team Building to Fortune

500 Companies throughout North America. Inaddition, John taught classes to the general publicin NeuroLinguistic Programming, EffectiveCommunication, Personal Transformation, HunaPhilosophy, Meditation, and Behavioral Change. John A.Marszalek holds a Bachelor of Arts inSociology with Minors in Psychology and Speechfrom Westminster College and a Master of Arts inCommunication from the University of Missouri.

John is a Certified Master Trainer inNeuroLinguistic Programming (having received oneof his three Master’s Certifications from RichardBandler the developer of NLP). He is Certified as anOutward Bound Ropes Course Instructor, as a TimeLine Therapist, as a Hypnotherapist, and a Certified Trainer for, The Silva Method of Mind Development,Xerox Learning Systems, Tray Tech Learning

Systems, Performax Personality Profiles John is agifted teacher and trainer who has helpedthousands of people from all walks of life to leadhappier, healthier and more effective lives.



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Other Books by John Marszalek

The AnswerTo Getting along with yourself and other



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-From the Author –

In over thirty years of being a corporatetrainer, self-improvement coach and teachingclasses to major Fortune 500 companies andthe general public, I have often told my students, “The answer to all of life’s riddles isin the movies.” I have found that to be true inmy own life, especially when an unexpectedand unplanned trip to Hawaii changed thecourse of my life.

I guess you could say that my life wasan example of thousands of very similar livesled by millions of Americans who were a partof the post WWII “Baby Boom” generation. My mom and dad were first generation Americans

born of parents who immigrated to Chicagofrom Poland. They were children of theDepression and a part of what Tom Brokawcoined “The Greatest Generation.” Like many Americans that started families during the lateForties and early Fifties, my family moved fromthe old inner-city Polish neighborhood of Chicago to the suburban utopia of Park Ridge,

Illinois.Park Ridge offered my family the

opportunity to live the American dream withgreat schools, active park districts and safe,middle class morality. Park Ridge was also theplace that forged the early attitudes of some of my more noteworthy classmates: Hillary

Rodham (later Clinton), Harrison Ford andSteve Goodman (composer of the Americanfolk classic City of New Orleans).

I guess I started to challengetraditional views of reality, spirituality andbelief systems when I was attending



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Catechism classes at the local CatholicChurch. I asked many questions, but theanswers were always somewhat lacking:“Because I say so,” or, “because the Churchsays so,” or, “because the Bible says so” wereusually the answers.

By the time I was in High School, I wassearching for an answer to the age-oldquestion of, “What the hell is this whole thing

(Life) about, anyway?” My first attempt atanswering that question was to become very involved in an excellent organization calledYoung Life, a Christian ministry for highschool students. I was never really sure if my involvement in Young Life was driven for my thirst to discover a deeper meaning toexistence or by the fact that the cutest and

most popular girls at Maine East High Schooltended to also be a part of the Young Lifeexperience.

During my Junior and Senior years inhigh school, I got very deeply involved in New Testament study and vividly rememberattending a Billy Graham Crusade in Chicagowhere I was “Reborn” long before that conceptbecame a political catchphrase. By the time Ireached college, I was beginning to questioninconsistencies that I observed between what Isaw in people’s behavior in church on Sunday morning and their actions during the week. Ithink I was also caught up in the socialupheaval that was a part of “The Sixties,”

complete with sex, drugs and rock & roll. As aresult, I began to study world religions.

I attended a small Presbyterian LiberalArts Men’s College in Missouri, smack dab inthe epicenter of Middle America. As a part of



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my requirements, I had to take two years of Religion/Philosophy studies in addition toattending chapel services weekly. My classchoices included two semesters of Comparative World Religions, one semester of The Teachings of Paul and one semester of Introduction to Philosophy. In addition to my religious study, I was aSociology/Anthropology major with a double

minor in Psychology and Public Speaking.After six years of study of Christianhistory and doctrine, plus an exploration of Judaism, Buddhism, Shinto, Muslim, Hindu,Druid, Native American Shamanism and evenWiccan, I found that I still was no closer to anunderstanding of ‘what the hell this wholething was about.’

“Son, in thirty-five years of religiousstudies….I have come up with only two hard,incontrovertible facts: There is a God….andI’m not him!”

~ Father Cavanaugh from the movie Rudy

I received my degree during theconfusion, rebellions and questioning of theestablishment that was a major part of the lateSixties. After listening to the poet lyricists of that era such as John Lennon, Bob Dylan andPaul Simon, I, like millions of others, wassearching for a way to make sense of reality. I

first studied Transactional Analysis, then Transcendental Meditation. I dabbled withmarijuana, hash, LSD and mushrooms, tryingto go inside myself and find answers to themeaning of life, all to no avail. I threw myself



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into the anti-war movement, marching at theDemocratic National Convention in ‘68 inChicago and getting clubbed during the PoliceRiots at Grant Park. Later, I marched onCollege Campuses while attending GraduateSchool at The University of Missouri. Ichallenged the U.S. Government, especially Johnson and Nixon and the entire absurdity that was tearing America apart. I was a part of

the Civil Rights Movement and challenged thebigotry that was a part of my father’sworldview. I questioned the traditionalreligious value of “my way is the only right way to believe” that ultimately lead to theCrusades, the Middle–East conflict, theNorthern Ireland Conflict and the split of theColony of India into the separate states of

India and Pakistan.Finally, after years of studying, reading

and searching, I surrendered and adjusted tomiddle class life, first starting a career thensearching for a suitable woman with whom tobuild a life. I was working for Bekins VanLines when I was transferred to Boston toassume the role of Operations Manager for thelocal office in Framingham, a suburb of Boston. I met my future wife there in Boston. Then and there, my life made a radical andtransformational correction.

My future wife had been previously married, and she had a two-year-old son. Herformer father-in-law was a self-made

millionaire and one of the kindest and mostsuccessful men that I ever had the pleasure of knowing. He had just completed a class insomething called Silva Mind Control and hetold my future wife, “If you are going to raise



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my grandson then I think that you really needto take this class. The class will teach youmany of the things I have used over the yearsto create my success.” Since he was soinsistent, and since he paid her tuition, my future wife agreed and started the class. Theclass was given over a series of evenings andafter she had completed the first two evenings,she came to me and said, “If you are going to

be with me you have to take this class!” The last thing I wanted at that point inmy life was to take any more classes about themind or self-improvement. I agreed to go to a“free introductory lecture,” kicking andscreaming all the way to the event where I satin the back row with my arms folded acrossmy chest. “What a bunch of crap!” I thought to

myself. The instructor explained that by takingthe class we would learn to use the“subconscious” portion of our mind. We wouldbecome more effective, happier and healthier.He said we would remember more of what weread and heard, would be able to go to sleepwithout drugs or wake up without an alarmclock, control headaches and other pain, andultimately be able to function with intuition(ESP). This sounded like a load to me, so Ipretty much made up my mind that no matterwhat she said I wasn’t going to take this class.

There were about fifty people attendingthis introductory class and the instructor saidthat there would be a door prize of Maxwell

Maltz’s book Psycho-Cybernetics. I set a testfor myself. I thought, “Okay, if this thing is forme, I’m going to win the stupid book.” Damnit, I won the book! The next evening I startedthe class which, despite my resistance, I found



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to be interesting. On the last day of the classthere was to be an exercise which would proveto be transformational. We would be given thename, age, and location of a person. Then wewould enter into a meditative state similar tothe state that the famed psychic Edgar Casey achieved when he did his psychic readings.After reaching “Level,” as described by theinstructor, we would do a psychic reading or

medical diagnosis of that person. The studentwith whom we were partnered had a card intheir hand which contained the name, age,location, and physical ailments of that person. The first time I did this exercise and realizedthat I wasn’t guessing but could accurately diagnose the physical problem of a completestranger - not once or twice, but ten times out

of ten - was transformational. The results of the class opened a door

within my mind to a new world of possibilities.I knew without doubt that the human mindwas more capable than I ever imagined andthat I could do what Edgar Casey affirmed thatanyone could do if they just took the time tolearn. After taking the class I immersed myself into the study of psychic research. I readarticles in such journals as ScientificAmerican and The Journal of the IEEE, asociety of electronic engineers. I also readbooks about psychic research done during thefifties by both the United States and Russiansas a part of the “Arms Race” in the Cold War. I

studied the “distant viewing” experiments andtook classes at the Monroe Institute outsideWashington, D.C. where CIA operatives werealso trained to be “Psychic Spies.” I wentthrough the Silva Instructor Certification



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Training in Laredo, Texas and became a SilvaInstructor. I studiedMayan, Apache and Hopi Shamanism. I alsostudied Gnostics Christianity and Kabala, anancient Hebrew Mystery School.

After getting married, having a baby and being battered by New England winters forseven years, my wife and I decided to relocateto Dallas, Texas where I returned to a more

normal lifestyle. I first became a salesman,then a sales manager and finally an “expert“ insales, selling trainings on the art of selling toFortune 500 companies. I went to work forXerox Learning Systems selling thegranddaddy of all sales trainings, “ProfessionalSelling Skills,” to small and large corporationsthroughout Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and

Arkansas. I was the stereotypical example of an upwardly mobile American CorporateExecutive, complete with all the trappingsincluding a four-bedroom house, two kids andthe obligatory BMW in the driveway.

Somewhere along the way, I stumbledupon some information that was calledNeuroLinguistic Programming. NLP wasdeveloped as a model to first understand andthen duplicate states of excellence in humanbehavior. A part of NeuroLinguisticProgramming had to do with being better ableto communicate effectively, something a goodsalesman needs to do! NLP also taught mehow to quickly and effectively establish and

maintain rapport with anyone, another thing asalesman needs to do. In addition, NLP taughta questioning methodology that was designedto uncover the most amount of information inthe least amount of time with style and



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elegance, something critical to success insales.

By learning NLP and applying it to my job as a salesman for Xerox, I was able to takean undeveloped territory and increase territory revenues four hundred percent during my first year. I achieved recognition in Xerox’sprestigious Presidents Club as well as theOverachievers Club. During my second year

with Xerox, I grew my territory revenues andstarted a NLP Training Company in my livingroom with my wife. She was also a student of NLP and focused her attention on thebehavioral change techniques that make upthe other fifty percent of the science of NeuroLinguistic Programming. We started by sharing information with four friends in our

living room. People who knew our original fourstudents witnessed changes and wanted toknow what they were doing, so the next monththere were eight people in our living room.

Before we knew what had happened,people kept telling other people about ourclasses which quickly grew so large that weneeded to present them at a local hotel. Thenwe were invited to give a class for a group inNew York. We were presenting classessimultaneously in New York and Dallas andworking three weekends a month and threeevenings every week. Eventually the NLPclasses became so successful that I resignedfrom Xerox to join my wife in doing the NLP

classes as our full-time business and totalmeans of support. We did classes in Dallas,Boston, New York, Chicago and Houston. Aswe taught classes, our students integrated thetechnology into their own lives creating



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changes and achieving their desired outcomes.As a result, our students constantly requestedmore and more information which forced my wife and me to travel to take classes from thebest and brightest minds in the field of NLPand ‘Brain/Mind” sciences. I went to Harvardto take a class, and I went to San Diego tostudy with Richard Bandler who was one of the original developers of NLP. We studied with

Robert Diltz, Tony Robbins, Wyatt Woodsmall,Chris Hall, and ultimately Steve and ConieRaeAndreas for a weeklong seminar in Austin, Texas. It was there in Austin that my wife andI met Nikki. Little did I know at the time howthis chance meeting would lead to the mostbizarre and transformational adventure of my life.

The events that follow are based uponreal life people, places and experiencesoccurring over the course of a one-week trip tolive in the rain forests on the Hawaiian islandof Kauai with a mysterious, full-bloodedHawaiian Kahuna.



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“Life has a way of making the foreseeablethat which never happens, and theunforeseeable that which your life becomes”

~ Marshall Everett Cole from the movie Appaloosa.



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Prologue

“What the hell happened to you?” Iasked as soon as Nikki walked into the

training room. I had met Nikki several monthsbefore when we were both taking certificationtraining in the science of NeuroLinguisticProgramming. The class was designed to teachcutting edge therapeutic change techniquesbased upon something called “Submodalities.”At that time, Nikki was a certified professionaltherapist and staff member with one of the

leading residential treatment facilities foradolescents in central Texas. My wife and I rana consulting and training business in Dallas.We were all there to learn about this new way



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to assist people in changing unwantedbehaviors and limiting beliefs.

I was immediately drawn to Nikki; shewas a very pretty and petite brunette, andmore importantly, she radiated a positiveenergy. She was very adept at assisting peoplein changing unwanted behaviors, so it was aneasy decision to invite her to join the trainingstaff of our Training Center in Dallas. Our

curriculum included an advanced trainingprogram which ran one full weekend eachmonth for a period of seven months, and weinvited several assistant trainers to help withthis particular program.

Nikki had always been sexy andcaptivating, but something had changeddramatically since I had last seen her the

month before. The minute she entered, youcould feel her presence; she filled the roomwith her energy. I was standing at the front of the training room talking with a group of students when I could feel the energy of theroom shift. As I turned, I saw Nikki enter. Shehad a look in her eyes that I couldn’t quiteidentify, but I was immediately drawn to it.She was bigger than life. She had a radiancein her energy field (aura) that was almostvisible to the eye. Something had obviously happened to her and changed her in awonderful way, and I wanted to know what itwas.

I knew that Nikki had been in Hawaii

attending a conference for clinicalprofessionals on the island of Maui for theprevious two weeks, and I wondered if thatwas the reason for the changes in her. “Whatthe hell happened to you?” I exploded.



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“I met the reincarnation of MiltonErickson, and I’m moving to Hawaii to study with him,” was Nikki’s simple reply.

“You’re moving to Hawaii? What about your job? What about Daniel?” I stammered.

“I’m tendering my resignation at theschool, and I don’t know what Daniel is goingto do. He is going to Hawaii in a couple of weeks to meet Ted for himself. Then he’ll

decide. Either way, I’m going,” she replied.“Ted? Who is Ted?” I asked.“He’s the one I was telling you about.

Ted is a native Hawaiian and a Kahuna . He isa mystic and healer who was a guest speakerat the seminar that I attended. He refers towhat he does as “Ghost Busting,” which is apure form of therapy similar to Erickson’s,”

Nikki explained.Milton Erickson was one of the

foremost hypnotherapists ever to live. Dr.Erickson had the unique ability to create rapidand long lasting changes in a person’sbehavior through the use of intricatemetaphors and stories which he deliveredwhile inducing trance states through hypnoticinduction. Much of the information that I hadstudied over the past ten years and integratedinto some of my own trance inductions wasbased upon the language patterns of Dr.Erickson.

“Wait a minute, slow down. Whatexactly are you telling me?” I asked.

“Just what I said. I’m going to move toHawaii to live with Ted to learn whatever I canfrom him. He has land on Maui near Hanna,but he also spends a great deal of time onKauai. I’m not sure where I’ll be or what will



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be involved. I just know that this is somethingI have to do. I’ve never met anyone like him. The experience was surreal andtransformational and I want more. I’m movingin two weeks when my notice is up and I haveorganized my affairs here,” Nikki responded.

Class was about to start for the day and it was my turn to teach so I quickly changed the focus of my attention to the class.

In the back of my mind, though, I kept mullingover and replaying in my mind what Nikkisaid. As the day progressed, I watched Nikkiout of the corner of my eye. She was totally alive and mesmerizing. The students in theclass were drawn to her like moths to a flame.She was absolutely glowing with energy andvitality. Whatever had happened to her, I knew

I needed to know more. I made up my mindright then and there that I was going to go toHawaii to meet this Ted guy and experience formyself whatever the hell Nikki was talkingabout.

I stared blankly through the window of the plane looking out into the darkness. I hadalways been a spontaneous person but thisverged on the very edge of reality. This was notthe best time for me to drop everything and fly off to Hawaii for a week. Luckily, owning ourown business allowed me to leave things in thecapable hands of my business partner andwife. Besides, she wanted me to go checkthings out in advance so she could also go and

meet Ted. She also had seen the changes inNikki.

It had been almost four weeks since Ilast saw Nikki. As she had told me, Nikki hadgiven her two-week notice and told Daniel, her



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boyfriend, that she was moving to Hawaii.Now, as I listened to the rumble of the jetengines, I wondered what the hell I was doing.I was in route to the island of Kauai to meet Ted. Nikki was there and so was Daniel whohad been visiting Kauai for the previous week.He would be there with us for a few more days.At least the presence of Nikki and Daniel madethis entire idea seem to be a little more

normal. Somehow, the thought of living in the jungle with them being there, made this tripseem more normal than flying off alone to livewith some holy man that I had never even met.

By the time I got off the plane in Kauai,I was totally wired. It was like being on somesort of upper. The nervous energy andexcitement had my entire body buzzing. As I

walked down the plane’s runway, I saw Nikkiand Daniel waiting for me. They both lookedawesome, tanned, smiling and radiating anincredible glow from deep inside. My excitement grew as soon as I laid eyes onthem.

“How was your flight?” Nikki beamedas she reached up and put a lei around my neck. Before I could answer, she gave me avery wonderful kiss. The kiss wasn’t like any other kiss I had ever gotten; it wasn’t sexual orsisterly, but it was somehow very powerful.“Great. No problems, but God it feels good tobe off the plane. How are you guys doing?Where is Ted?” I finally replied.

“Ted is back at camp. He wanted to getready. He said that because tonight is the fullmoon your arrival is very significant and hewants to do a “Full Moon Ceremony”. He hasbeen really looking forward to your getting



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here. He even made a place for you to sleep,and he keeps saying, ‘John is coming.’ Hereally wants to meet you,” Nikki replied.

“Well, he’s not half as excited as I am.Let’s get out of here,” I said.

Daniel had rented a car when hearrived the week before so we picked up my bag and started off down the highway into theunknown. I settled back the back seat of the

car and told Nikki and Daniel that I was goingto meditate for a little while to center myself before meeting Ted. As we drove, Nikki andDaniel remained quiet but one of them put ontape on Hawaiian music. The lyrics spoke of the islands and some of their history. Othersongs were of birds, water, and rainbows. Themusic was very calming yet at the same time

very uplifting. I looked out the car windowsbut since the moon had not yet risen, it wasvery dark and I really couldn’t see anything. The drive took on a transformative nature; itwas like shedding the cloak of modern day bigcity America and moving backwards in time toa much slower and more peaceful reality of island life.

Time lost all meaning as did direction.At one point, I knew we were going over abridge and I also knew that we were makingsome turns, but other than that, it was truly like being transported into another time/spacecontinuum. Before I knew it Daniel said,“We’re here!”

As I got out of the car, all I could really see was a sky filled with an incredible array of more stars than I had ever seen in my life. Iwas also aware of a mountain to my left, but Ihad no idea which direction that was.



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“It’s this way,” Nikki said, “Follow me,but watch your step. The footing can betricky.”

As I followed Nikki down a very uncertain path, my eyes became accustomedto the darkness. I began to see where I wasgoing with the mere help of starlight. As wecontinued to wend our way downhill, underand around trees and bushes, I saw the

glimmer of a campfire. We entered into anopen area, and I saw a long figure standingnext to the fire.

“Hi, Harvey,” said Nikki. “I would like you to meet John.”

“Glad to meet you, John. My name isHarvey Johnson,” he said as he steppedforward extending his hand. “I’ve heard a lot

about you. I’m glad you could join us.”“Harvey has been working here with

Ted for several months,” Nikki explained as Itook his hand.

I have always been able to readpeople’s energy, or essence, by feeling theirbody. I guess that ability to feel people’senergy started when I was a kid growing up inone of the more violent areas of Chicago wherethe ability to quickly read people’s intentionsoften spelled the difference between getting my ass kicked and getting away. The skill wasfurther advanced through years of studyingvarious forms of bodywork and the study of nonverbal communication. As soon as I took

Harvey’s hand to shake it, I could feel a gentleand centered energy radiating from him. Iliked him immediately.

“Glad to be here,” was my simple reply.“Where’s Ted?” Nikki asked.



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“Don’t know,” Harvey replied. “He’saround here somewhere. Maybe he’s over inthe heiau.”

“What’s a heiau?” I asked.“Heiau is the Hawaiian word for temple

or sacred place. The island has hundreds of them. Some were simple in nature to be usedby a single family while others are thousandsof years old and predate recorded history.

There is a very sacred heiau across the road atthe base of Anahola Mountain,” Harvey explained. “Sit down and make yourself comfortable. I’m sure Ted will be here shortly.”

As I sat on the ground next to the fire, Icould hear Daniel approaching. “I brought your bag. I’ll put it here next to your bed,” hesaid as he entered into the ring of firelight.

Daniel moved across the clearing and put my bag down next to an air mattress lying underthe branches of a nearby tree. “That’s theplace Ted made for you,” Daniel added.

“That was very nice of him. All thecomforts of home,” I smiled back.

I had done my share of camping when Iwas younger, but most of the time I had a tentand sleeping bag. Sleeping out in the open,even in Hawaii, might prove to be interestingsince Kauai is widely acknowledged as thewettest place on earth. As I settled down, Iscanned the surrounding campsite. There wasone tent, a hammock suspended between twotrees, a makeshift table of sorts made from a

couple of boards supported by two crates.From the looks of this camp, it seemed to havebeen set up for long term use. There were potsand pans as well as assorted cooking utensils,



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a battery operated boom box, lanterns andassorted clothing hanging in the limbs of trees.

All at once, I could feel this awesomepresence. I turned to look and saw Ted. Hewas about 5’10” and heavily muscled. He hadlong black hair streaked with silver flowingdown over his shoulders and across his back.He had a lightning bolt tattooed across hisface streaking across a glass eye. I later

learned Ted had lost his eye and a good chunkof his skull fighting at Hamburger Hill in VietNam. In addition to the lightning bolt, Ted hadwhat appeared to be several other nativetattoos across his chest, forearms and legs. Hewas both terrifying and awe inspiring at thesame time He looked at me with all theincredible fire and energy of his being through

his one good eye.“Come, we go now!” Ted’s voice

rumbled in very low baritone pitch.As he turned to go, Nikki, Daniel and

Harvey all sprang into action following behind Ted without a word. I brought up the rearstumbling along as my eyes tried to accustomthemselves from the brightness of the fire tothe almost total darkness of the night. Ted ledus back up towards the road along what Iassumed to be the same path we haddescended earlier. As we got up to the road my eyes again adjusted and I could see things by the incredible brilliance of starlight. When weagain reached the road, Ted began to lead us

towards the left away from the parked carsand the path to the camp.

“Sit,” Ted commanded. “The moon isabout to rise.”



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As we stopped, we noticed that Ted hadarranged several blankets at the top of a risesitting right in the middle of the road. We allsat looking up at Ted.

“This is Awa,” Ted said as he handedus each a piece of dried bark or root of somekind.

“Chew it like gum. Don’t swallow it; just chew and swallow the juice,” he

continued. “Awa is sacred to the Hawaiians. Itwill open you to the spirit world. It will open your third eye.”

As I chewed the bitter root, I could feelmy tongue go to sleep, just like the feeling Iexperienced when I got a shot of Novocain atmy dentist’s office. As I swallowed the salivacreated by the chewing, I began to feel a warm

tingling sensation throughout my body. Theredidn’t seem to be any effects mentally exceptmaybe a heightened sense of awareness. I satthere in silence chewing the Awa root, and theair was filled with the sweet sound of flutemusic. It didn’t sound like any flute I had everheard before. I looked toward the music andcould make out Ted’s silhouette against thebackdrop of the starlit sky. He held what musthave been a flute up to his face, but instead of holding it in his mouth he seemed to beblowing into it through his nose.

The music was enchanting; it was softand hypnotic in its rhythm and cadence. Iseemed to float up into the night sky being

lifted by the music. After a timeless span, Tedstopped playing, took out a conch shell andblew a long low trumpeting note which seemedto echo off of the nearby mountain andsurrounding trees. The air literally vibrated in



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harmonic resonance with the powerful note of the conch call. Just as the finial vibrations of the conch notes faded, the moon began to risebreaking the horizon to my right. The rays of the full moon began to lighten the area and Icould see that we were seated on the crest of ahill with a long valley running right to left infront of us. The mountain was to our right andslightly behind us.

“The full moon is a time when the goodspirits and Menehunes are alive and roamingthe land. The rising of the full moon opens thedoorway to the spirit world that is alwaysaround us but can only be entered at certaintimes. The Awa clears your mind and allows you to hear their voices,” Ted explained in asoft, resonant voice. “We go now into the

heiau. Enter with reverence. Enter by firstasking permission, and most importantly,enter with an intention of giving, not taking!” Ted continued almost prayerfully.

“People always come to Hawaii to takefrom the land, to take the spirit and energy and Aloha of this magical place. They eventake parts of the land back with them as asouvenir. But you cannot take any of thesethings; they must be given to you. You willearn them through your actions and yourintentions . Intention is the most importantthing! There are no secrets here; your heart isopen for all to see. You must go as a child,with innocence, and you ask permission before

acting. If you give first to the land, then youwill receive that which you seek.” As heconcluded, Ted turned and began to lead usback down the road towards the heiau at thebase of Anahola Mountain.



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As we came to small opening under thecanopy of trees, Ted motioned for us to enter.Nikki, Daniel, and Harvey moved ahead, but Ted reached out and grabbed my arm as Istarted to pass. “Sit,” he said quietly.

“In the time before recorded history,the world was a very different place,” heintoned. There were two great continents: Muhere in what is now the Pacific, and Atlantis in

what is now the Atlantic. Are you familiar withthis?”“Yes, I have heard a great deal about

Atlantis and read much of what Edgar Caycehad to write on the subject, but I don’t knowmuch about Mu,” I replied.

“The planet then was very much like itis today. People had lost their way. They had

lost their spirit. Greed and corruption wereeverywhere and no matter how much peoplehad, they wanted more. Atlantis wanted whatMu had, and Mu wanted what Atlantis had.Negotiations ground to a halt and the worldwas on the brink of total destruction becauseboth powers had an awesome array of weapons that could destroy the world andevery living thing on it. The kahunas knewthat something was going to happen becauseMother Earth would not let herself and herchildren be destroyed by these crazy humansgone wild with their greed. Those who werestill in tune with her energy, those who couldstill hear her voice amidst the crazy voice of

the human wailing were told to travel to thetop of the highest mountain and wait. Timepast and the anger rose until finally one day ithappened without warning. The tectonic platesthat cover the earth shifted rapidly, and the



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Pacific and Atlantic plates that made up theContinents of Mu and Atlantis slid under theplates that rested below the oceans. What wasland became water and what was waterbecame land all in the twinkling of an eye. That is why today you can find fossils of ancient sea life on top of the Rocky Mountains,” Ted went on to explain.

“The Kahunas and their families heard

the voice of Mother Earth and went to the topof the mountain. They survived the great floodthat engulfed and destroyed most of thehuman and animal life on the planet. Whenthe tsunamis and earthquakes finally stopped,what was left was this island. The Island of Kauai is the remnant of the once great nationof Mu. The Menehunes are the descendants of

those ancient Kahunas. They still live deepwithin the rain forests to this day where they avoid all contact with humans. Most humans,that is,” he said with a twinkle.

“When you go into the heiau, listen forthem. They are out and about tonight. Soften your vision and watch for movement out of thecorner of your eyes. Do not try to focus onthem and capture them under your gaze forthey will surely escape you. Relax your sensesand let them come to you. Remember,intention is the key. Enter as a child full of love. Offer gifts instead of taking them,” heconcluded. As I got up to leave, Ted handedme a rock wrapped in leaves and told me to

take it with me into the heiau as an offering.Upon entering into the clearing that

served as the entrance to the heiau, I wasimmediately filled with a knowing that I shouldtake a few minutes to calm myself and center



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my energy before going much further. I kneltdown and assumed a yoga posture that I oftenused while meditating. As I cleared my thoughts, I realized that I had been runningfull blast and nonstop for almost fifteenstraight hours. I did need a minute or two inorder to slow down and match my vibrationalenergy with that of the still forest surroundingme. As I slowed my body and mind down, I

began to get an overwhelming feeling of beinghome again. The feeling was one of safety andsecurity, but more importantly, there was asense of familiarity as though I had been therehundreds of times before. Tears of joy began toflow down my cheeks, and I gave thanks forthe time and this place. I mentally asked thespirits of the land and the generations of

mothers and fathers who had gone before meto allow me to enter into this sacred space. Ilaid my rock on the ground in front of me andoffered it as a gift to the land. As I made my offering, I could hear a very soft yet powerfulwoman’s voice welcoming me. I know therewas no one there, but the voice was very real.Mother Earth herself was welcoming me intoone of her favored places.

The tree canopy of the rain forest thatcovered the entire area surrounding AnaholaMountain closed out every ray of the moon’slight so I was in virtual total darkness, yet Ieasily moved throughout the area without fearor trepidation. My feet just intuitively knew

where to go and how exactly to avoid any possible stumbles or trips that might awaitme. As I moved silently and easily deeper anddeeper into the darkness of the heiau, I beganto sense and hear movement around me. I



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began to catch slight flashes of shimmeringlight through my peripheral vision. Iremembered what Ted told me, and I did my best not to turn my head or try to focus my vision on the fleeting images that seemed todance around me. Once again, I was overcomewith the awareness that it was time to stopand wait. As I slowly settled down into asitting position, I became aware of just how

much movement there was in the trees andbushes around me. The air was alive withwhat sounded like a mixture of music andlaughter. I closed my eyes and listened to thesounds around me. As I became more in tunewith the music of the spirits that surroundedme, I became aware of what felt like fine silkcloth being very slowly drawn over my skin.

The feelings would start at the ground andslowly move up my body until they would exitat my crown chakra at the very top of my head. Each time the feelings of the silk wouldstart, they somehow intensified as if the finematerial was entering into deeper layers of my body.

As the cloth-like feeling continued tomove over my body I could feel knots of muscular tension release and let go. I alsoimagined different colors of light, similar innature to glowing Christmas tree ornaments of various colors; some were deep red, somepurple, others dark green and some lightershades of yellows and oranges. As the feelings

rolled up and out of my body these balls of glowing light were removed and also exited outthe top of my head. With each glowing ball of energy leaving my body, I began to feel lighterand more energized. Somehow, my



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unconscious mind knew that these balls of light were unresolved negative emotions thathad been trapped in my body over the years. The feeling of releasing and letting go of thesenegative emotions was totally exhilarating andfreeing, and I became euphoric. Tears of joy began to flow down my face and I felt like Iwas being reborn. I sat there on the ground foran undetermined period of time. After a while

the cleansing stopped, but the movement andmusic around me continued. The music slowly began to fade as the motion around me beganto stop and I knew that whatever hadhappened to me was now complete. I couldnow leave the heiau and return to Ted and theothers.

As I exited the heiau, I found Ted and

Nikki waiting for me. We sat down on theblanket and I did my best to explain what hadoccurred while I was in the heiau. Ted listenedintently but didn’t comment. Nikki simply smiled a knowing kind of smile. Just then, Icould feel a very light shower. As the raindropslanded on my skin I looked up to see acompletely cloudless sky. The moon shonebrightly overhead and there was a light, wispy halo of clouds that surrounded the moon likean ethereal crown. There were no other cloudsof any kind in the night sky yet it was raining.

“Moon shower,” Ted said as though itwere an everyday occurrence. “It’s been aheavy night.”

It was now about 3:00 in the morningHawaii Time which meant I had been up for just about twenty-four hours. As the softgentle rain caressed my skin, I suddenly realized how tired I was. Ted suggested that we



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turn in because tomorrow was going to be abig day. We wended our way back down to thecamp; I collapsed into my bed and instantly fell asleep.

I didn’t sleep very well, and my eyesopened as soon as it became light. The campwas totally quiet. I could see Harvey nestled inthe hammock and Daniel sleeping under a treetowards the back of the camp, but I couldn’t

see Nikki. I guess she was in the tent with Ted.While the camp was still asleep, it gave metime to write down some memories from theprevious night while they were still fresh in my head. I was glad I decided to bring a journalwith me to chronicle the week’s events. If therest of the week turned out to be anything likelast night this was going to be one hell of a

ride.I couldn’t quite get a handle on Ted. He

said all the right things and said them socongruently but would then say something sofar off the wall that my logical, conservativemind would shut down. I told myself that Iwould keep watching and listening then lettime pass before I made any judgments abouthim. I felt incredibly restless, the way I used toget back in high school when I participated intrack. Before every race, I would feel that exactway, like a spring coiled to the verge of explosion. I was anxious but had no idea why.I needed to slow my mind and energy down inorder to be in better synchronicity with the

rhythm of the islands. I decided to meditate fora while as I waited for the others to get up.

After about twenty minutes, Daniel gotup and moved over to start the morningcampfire. As I got up to join him he said, “The



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latrine’s down that way.” He pointed to anopening under some trees towards theopposite end of the camp. I sensed my bladderand thought it might be a good idea to check itout. As I walked down the trail, I wonderedwhat I had gotten myself into. The latrineturned out to be a couple of boards restingacross two tree stumps that were suspendedover an open pit. There was also a shovel

stuck into a pile of dirt. I concluded that the“flush” consisted of throwing a shovel full of dirt on top of your deposit. Very quaint! Now Ireally did wonder what I had gotten myself into.

As I returned to camp, I saw that Tedand Harvey had joined Daniel and that a pot of coffee was simmering on the fire. All the

comforts of home, I thought sarcastically tomyself. Just as I had the sarcastic thought, amosquito swarmed in and stung me in theneck. Man, did it itch! This experience is whatI later found out was called “a gentle lickin’.”Feedback on Kauai, when one is on a spiritual journey, tends to often be instantaneous innature; some lessons are gentle reminders likethe mosquito sting, and other “lickin’s” canhurt like hell or even be very dangerous. Theisland was alive, and it could read your mind. Just as a parent, the island would teach itslessons and adjust behaviors as it saw fit; thesmart student was the one who paid attentionat all times and learned the lessons offered the

first time.“Get ready. We go soon,” Ted

announced.Daniel moved over and said, “Let me

show you what to take. When Ted says, “We



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go,” you need to be ready to leave. You neverknow if you will be back in an hour or severaldays, so your backpack needs to be ready. Iusually have my wallet, journal, flashlight,knife, towel, change of clothes and a light rain jacket in my backpack. That way, no matterhow long we are gone, or what the weather islike, I can usually be flexible enough to cope.”

I took Daniel’s advice and readied

myself for today’s adventure. After putting theaforementioned items in my backpack I settleddown for a cup of coffee and waited for Tedand Nikki to emerge from the tent. Back inAustin, Daniel and Nikki were a couple andhad lived together for several years. Here itwas obvious that Nikki was with Ted.

Daniel was a really cool guy. Back in

Texas, he was a bass player with one of themore popular bands on the Austin musicscene. He seemed to be OK with the newarrangement and it was really none of my business, so I suspended judgments and justobserved. Daniel and Harvey readiedthemselves. After about ten minutes, Ted andNikki joined us and we moved in unison upthe trail toward the cars.



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