When people ask me what I love about living in Hawaii, I usually say: the tropical weather, the ocean, and the connection to the land.

Hawaiian culture, as a whole, regards the relationship between land, creatures, humans as sacred and interconnected, and this fact is as palpable and all-encompassing here as the salty island air.

So when Mother Earth sends up lava from deep within, rest assured *something* is happening.
Especially for those who feel this interconnection with the land, or ‘Aina.
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The last time a volcano erupted in Hawaii (Kilauea) something deep simultaneously erupted inside of me. For 7 days, I grieved the loss of my marriage; I fully thought I had to leave my husband. It was one of the most emotionally devastating periods I’ve ever experienced.

I didn’t actually want to leave him (and I didn’t).

It turned out, my childhood conditioning was erupting from the deeps; the message “there is no room for a ME in WE,” erupted in tune with Kilauea and possessed my perception entirely. I never thought something like this could happen to me. Ever. Not me, being of such a strong and sound mind. After all, I’ve survived so many difficult things with my sanity intact. But boy, I was wrong! The conditioning was stronger. It was like being blindfolded to the Truth, then having the blindfold removed, and the lie revealed.

….Because I woke up. I finally saw the dark message for what it was: an old relic I’d been carrying around with me for far too long. Like an unwanted family heirloom, it didn’t belong to me, yet needed release through me. The tension of holding that false idea had been creating pressure inside. It had to come up and out.

Fast forward to today. Mauna Loa has just erupted on the island of Hawaii. While I live in Oahu, and cannot see it, I felt it coming. The papers kept saying ‘it could happen at any moment’. Yes. This timing felt right. The pressure had been building but for me, I’m happy to say, this time release happened on my own terms, without having my perception scarily hi jacked.

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None of us are islands. The land we live on affects us. The people we come from, what they told us about our self, it affects us. We are connected to it all …and even if it’s possible to live an entire life believing a lie, and recreating an old story…none of it defines who we truly are. Hopefully, we break free.

Enter: Pele.

Pele, goddess of volcanos, had notoriously hot relationships to her own family. She was temperamental. She is known to dramatically test certain people who visit Hawaii but forget to bring their respect, reverence, awe.

In a sentence, FEARLESS PELE REALLY GETS THINGS MOVING…

(She is the face of the Divine Feminine that demands TRUTH above all.)

….Especially, if you are ready to shift old stuff out of your energetic field.

Come to Hawaii for the Mai tais, they said.

Come to Hawaii to sit on the beach, they said.

LOL.

Of course, you can do that, too. But if you are in the right space, if you are of the inclination and persuasion, it offers so much more.

The way I am tied to this land, after only living here less than five years, inspires my awe and respect. Hawaii continues to protect and shelter me (Honolulu translates as sheltering cove) while asking that I live in my most Authentic Self. This means releasing all that is untrue within me, all that keeps me small and blindly following patterns that are not mine to follow.

Pele is helping me with this. Clearly.

Eruptions need to happen from time to time— to clear the space.

Fortunately, me and Madame Pele, we are in agreement on this.

Maximum freedom is what I most want for myself, too.