Good Night Moon ... the stories we heard, the stories we have told

Life is nothing if it is not an adventure. 

-Helen Keller

We have started a wonderful story here.  Nearly a month of moons has passed and we have told stories, stories about the moon, stories that have very little to do with the moon, but somehow they too ... those tendril stories have wanted to be here.  The traditional culture of the Hawaiian people, the Kanaka is based on story.  Stories that were once only spoken and remembered lay the foundation for a culture that has adjusted and adapted over time.  We have loved this month of storytelling.  Through the vessel of the Internet, we gathered, researched, and pieced together history and present.  You, the readers come to the cyberpage and read and from your dear selves some thing vibrates or not and new stories begin.  We're not in charge of when or how the new stories will grow, or to whom they will be told.  But, they are probably germinating now.

The lovely little song born from the children's book GOOD NIGHT MOON is just such a germination.  Did you hear that book?  Who was it that read you that book the first time?  If you've not read it, now that you've heard the song, maybe you'll want to read it, too. 

KAloa Pau, KAne, Lono ... the next three days/moons, plant and prayers

COUNT ON THE MOON is now in its final moons.  As I write, it is KAloa Pau.  I have caught up with the moons, after learning during the 'Ole Cycle, that I had been using a mixed clock for telling the time.  My dear Pete said, "Refining.  That's what happens when you keep learning."  I loved that we can talk about happenings and one of us will feed the other with something as telling and affirming as that.  Yes, even as I pen the posts and tell the best story possible, there will be refinements. 

KAloa Pau is a good time for planting.  I have Blue Lake Beans soaked and ready to go into the ground today.  I hear the rain splatter on the Quonset, and think of Pete out at the food bank garden.  Spring is barely here, though the temperatures are warm the blowing makani (wind) cools things. 

Tomorrow and Friday are the moons of KAne and Lono, these are moons considered kapu (sacred) and reserved for prayers to the god KAne (giver of life) and Lono (among other kuleana ... food).  So Thursday and Friday are times when prayers for health and food will be especially well-received.  We have dear ones on O'ahu who are having a time of health challenge.  We malama them with our aloha, keep in touch, keep them in our prayers, and ask akua KAne an Lono to be with them as they make their way.  We pray also for our own well-being, and give thanks for the blessings of one more moon, one more sunrise.  We also mahalo all of you for your presence, your involvement and your readership.  Mahalo for taking the poll over there on the sidebar, giving us an idea of what these stories have done for you, and how we can refine and continue to be of service to your curiosity and your journey.

We will continue this venture with a Part 2 of COUNT ON THE MOON focused this time of 'Malama I Ka `Aina'  Care for the Land.  Here is a link to PREVIEW the new workshop that starts with MUKU (Hawaiian New Moon), Sunday, MAY 1st.  We'd love to have you continue with us, and welcome your feedback in the comments or through email.  If you have friends or 'ohana who might be interested in this storytelling, please pass the word along.

What's growing in your gardens?  We'd love to hear about it, or see pictures of your plantings.

Are there prayers that we can send during the nights of KAne and Lono?



'OLE MAHALO (Moons of Rest, Review and Repair) Begin Tomorrow, Saturday, April 23rd through Monday, April 25th

The final anahulu (week) of the month begun with Hilo Moon in the sign of Aries starts tomorrow, Saturday, April 23rd.  New ventures, new beginnings have been the talisman of this time.  COUNT ON THE MOON, a new venture has been a wa'a kaulua filled with new seed.  Each of us is living a life in process, and if we attended to the opportunity of setting our intentions for April, the 'OLE MAHALO (the blessings of the moons of emptiness) starting tomorrow offer three day and nights to get our bearings.

One of the communities that fuels and supports me over time is the Astrology Blog ElsaElsa.  Elsa Panizzon authors and operates the original astrology blog.  Ten years as cyberhostess, she has built upon her hard and diligent work and now partners with several talented astrologers and a reader of Tarot.  Dixie is the Tarot Goddess at ElsaElsa.  This post "KEEP GOING!" is timely grist for the mill.  Dixie began her post with these thoughts:

" Every personal achievement I can think of, I started off utterly clueless about the demands. All of ‘em! I wonder sometimes, how much I would have opted out on, if I’d been better informed or more realistic. Looking at it that way, I guess it’s just as well!

She sums up her Tarot Reading with this line "One foot in front of the other. Attend, adapt, advance. Attend, adapt, advance."

ATTEND, ADAPT, ADVANCE

I love this new version of an old practice I learned while in the rooms of 12-Stepping.  In those rooms we call that process the 3-A's ... Awareness, Acceptance, Action.  Wisdom works in whatever words string together, and as we consider the traditions based on the Native Hawaiian Moon Calendar, either or both 3-A's are useful tools.  This month has been a malama (month) of new beliefs and behavior.  "Believing before I see it" is a seed belief that is finding new ground.  I began COUNT ON THE MOON with exactly that same attitude, and put it out there as a preview to this workshop.  Uncertain of the outcome, I expressed the feelings swhirling around inside me; let go and let Akua fill in the blanks; and used the 'OLE MOONS just prior to launching this workshop to review, and release resistence.  Beautiful fruit-bearing outcomes are visible now.  Adjustments and adaptations may be necessary; I'll attend to those possibilities during the next three days and nights. 

The 'OLE MOONS COMING up begin in the sign of Capricorn, and moves in the sign of Aquarius Sunday evening. Natally, my moon is in Capricorn so to some extent the energy of this 'Ole time may be familiar.  Something to consider about Capricorn and Aquarius and the Moon in these signs over the 3 'Ole Moons:

from Elizabeth Rose Campbell, Intuitive Astrology: 
"Capricorn:  To Teach ... Capricorn exels at discipline and therefore, completion...Capricorn completions can be tested by time, credibility earned, standards of mastery made real.  Capriorn builds traditions that support those standards.  Capricorn creates teachers who choose a tradition to embody, as impeccably as possible."

About the Moon:  "The Moon within your inner family is the mother...The Moon's placement in your chart by house, and by sign, will reflect your optimal path of self-nourishment..."

"The Catching of Pearls"

Moon in Capricorn:  "How can I produce a pearl--beautiful and solid--from my solitude that others will recognize as my emotional autonomy, my completeness within myself?"

Aquarius:  "To liberate.  Aquarius is the undeniable truth.  Aquarius has no interest in protecting reputation, or any tradition, unless the tradition liberates one into a larger truth...Aquarius gives everyone permission to reinvent him-or herself."

Moon in Aquarius:  "How am I guided toward nourishing relationships with authentic people with whom I can be free as well?"

A hui hou, see you after the 'Ole.

The entire post by Dixie is worth reading I think, and can be read by clicking here.

HOW HAS 'COUNT ON THE MOON' CONTRIBUTED TO YOUR LIFE?

We have posted a POLL on the sidebar TO THE RIGHT, asking for your feedback about this workshop COUNT ON THE MOON focused on 'Ole Mahalo.  The three LA'AU MOONS are in progress, time for planting strong trees and gathering powerfull herbs.  In that spirit we plant that POLL for you to let us know how we have done with our first on-line venture of sharing our practice with Kaulana Mahina.

The poll will be up until April 27th ... We appreciate your feedback as we evaluate our process during the coming 'Ole Moons beginning this Saturday, April 23rd.  You can check multiple answers. 

Mahalo for your participation and mana'o.  We look forward to the remaining moons of this journey! Now, enjoy the nahenahe (oh so sweet) voice of dear Dennis Pavao.

Aloha,
Mokihana and Pete

NEW CONTENT: EARTH DAY 2011

Aloha.  If you are just joining us you may want to link HERE to begin with the OPENING CEREMONY, and move through the posts-sessions already on the blog.  Or, just  jump in here.

Mahina moves into the first of four full moons according to Kaulana Mahina.  Today is MOHALU a verdant moon, and a kapu (sacred) moon where we are reminded to give thanks to KANE Giver of Life.  I have written a post about looking to the moon while caring for the earth and all that is the planet.  Please link here to read an accounting of things happening on this MOHALU Moon ... proceeding into the Anahulu (the week)  of Ho'onui (getting rounder-bigger). This weekend many places on Earth will celebrate with EARTH DAY Celebrations.  I have created a new EARTH DAY BLOG in time for a local Whidbey Island Earth Day Event.


NOTE:  Going between this private month-long workshop COUNT ON THE MOON and our long-time public blog MAKUA O'O connects the two spaces reminding you there are more than one place to nana i ke kumu.

What is happening for you during these four full moons?

NEW CONTENT: 'OLE MOON STORIES ... a place to share your experiences with the do-nothing moons

If you are just joining us, you might want to start here with the OPENING CEREMONY and follow the links through the workshop that way. Read at a pace that is comfortable for you ... ho'omanawanui (easy does it).

The first 4 Moons of 'Ole are pau (over).  There was plenty of information and mana'o to consider in the sessions leading up to 'Ole Kukahi. 

What were the 'Ole Moons like for you?

Are there questions you'd like to ask/impressions/feelings bubbling up? 

OPENING CEREMONY ... 'Oli 'E Ho Mai

Please start by clicking on the Arrow above and join Kumu John Keola Lake as he chants
'E HO MAI

 Mahalo, Kumu John Keola Lake 

" ... IN CONTEMPORARY native villages, one might posit today that all people actively engaged in the land—hunting, fishing, gathering, traveling, camping—are naturalists, and say that some are better than others according to their gifts of observation. Native peoples differ here, however, from the Gilbert Whites, the Darwins, the Leopolds, and the Rachel Carsons in that accumulating and maintaining this sort of information is neither avocation nor profession. It is more comparable to religious activity, behavior steeped in tradition and considered essential for the maintenance of good living. It is a moral and an inculcated stance, a way of being. While White and others, by contrast, were searching for a way back in to nature, native peoples (down to the present in some instances), for what-ever reason, have been at pains not to leave. The distinction is important because “looking for a way back in” is a striking characteristic of the modern naturalist’s frame of mind..."  - Barry Lopez, excerpted from the article "The Naturalist" Orion Magazine, 2001

Sam Ka'ai Kanaka

Talkingstory about Kuleana (Responsibility)

This 29 minute video interview with Sam Ka'ai is a vital voice of the kanaka, the Hawaiian.  It is important for it is the voice that reminds me to be humble; and he reminds me to know what I am responsible for. He speaks about 'Kuleana' in its essential meaning ... who are you?

What I share is what I have learned through experience, and through "collection" while on the journey.  This workshop evolved from our personal spiritual experiences with Kaulana Mahina The Hawaiian Moon Calendar.  Pete and I have been challenged with losses that left us with nothing as we'd known it:  no home, no identity, no health.  When we had nothing to count on, we slowly remembered how to count on the moon.  With nothing, we found our way back to our true nature, that of spiritually evolving being ... or, Makua O'o. 

Our journey reminds me of the value of the darkness, where some of the richest growth takes place.  Mahina is lit only in the darkness yet is present even while the sun is bright.  I am a Native Hawaiian woman seeded with traditions invisible and deep needing only the right timing to remember which tool, which combination of tools will serve not just myself, but the whole of creation.  Physically, we find ourselves on an island again and perhaps that releases the newest timings, the newest opportunity.  We share from the heart our lives as makua o'o, using the tools given us and invite all here to see the blessings of the emptiness, the 'ole.  





Voyaging canoe Hokule'a's historic crossing; Arrives in Tahiti 1976

Legacy of Navigation and Wayfinding

This voyage of sharing "COUNT ON THE MOON ... The blessings of emptiness", continues the legacy of my great navigator ancestors who used the sky, the wind, the ocean, planets, moon, sun and themselves as measurement of pono (harmony and balance).  I remember a snippet of story I first heard as Nainoa Thompson, Master Hawaiian Navigator and Teacher described his early re-awakenings to his seed as navigator.  Then a young man, he would launch the first of many voyaging canoes using the traditional navigational ways and affirm internal knowing.  He said, that in the process of remembering to sail and navigate it was his genitals, that offered him a sense of wave movement that directed his course.  Before their was a sextile and made-tools there was 'us.'

This link opens the reader to Nainoa Thompson's story. A vital connection to Wayfinding and another contemporary foundation for the work Pete and I share here. 

The chant 'E HO MAI beckons to the gods to share their secrets with us.  The sound of the words beat like a heart within us and we make space for the unknown.  Prayer is always the way to begin.  Our journey is one of wayfinding, integrating ancient wisdom that sustains with time with the Earth and her people now.  We start with time and the Native Hawaiians' calendar.

Kaulana Mahina 

...is the way Hawaiians track time, observing the effects of moon, stars, planets and sun on plants, fish/sea, and themselves; and count the thirty phases of the moon, the passing of day and night.

'Ole Mahalo

This workshop focuses on the phases called 'ole (empty), and  is called 'Ole Mahalo' which literally means thank-you for the nothing.  There is a kaona or irony to the meaning for the value of nothing is so foreign in our thing-valued society.  The value of the nothingness, is the spiritual call, the opportunity to see and feel the regular and persisting release and rest time -- seven phases, seven nights and days, found within the thirty phases of a moon cycle.  These are called the 'Ole Moons or 'Ole Cycles. 

There are 12 workshop sessions-posts presented in the first phase of new content.  Work with these at a a pace comfortable to you.  All of us will be new to the way this format of sharing on a blog operates.  Patience and good humor will be really important to the venture.

Why begin on the NEW MOON?
Pete and I welcome you to this cyber-ark workshop, and invite you to breathe deeply and relax for a time during this NEW MOON of April, 2011.  NEW MOON is a time when Mahina is furthest away from Earth, and her light is diminished though never unfelt.  A new cycle of approximately 30 days begins now.  We chose this time, this day and night to COUNT ON THE MOON in a group, gathering collective energy to remember who we are, to count the source of blessings and to count on them with consciousness.

STORYTelling through posting
This workshop began with the blessings of the Divine, Ke Akua, The Source, asking for the blessings,making space for the unseeable present as we have called in the opening 'oli.  Each Post will be a story, an invitation to you who read and attend to its message.  We make space for the wisdom.  Though we are counting on the internet and words on a cyber screen, the invitation to hear the story and tell your own remains as if we were sitting together on a comfortable, warm grassy lawn, or in chairs around a round table with a favorite food or drink.

We have chosen this venue because at this stage of my life, I live with an illness (Multiple Chemical Sensitivities or MCS). I become very ill being with common chemicals and products so often found on laundered garmets, in hair and body products or in a public place.  We are on a healing journey, and feel the positive changes happening with each decision we make to think and co-create with our Source.  That source the Hawaiians call "Ke Kumu." Where once I gathered with people face to face, oddly, the cyber ark seems to serve the mission now.  So with the blessings of the 'oli, onward we go.

We encourage you to listen to E Ho Mai (the chant) often during the month of April, and in particular listen and breathe with the message each morning.  Feel the heartbeat of the message, and the blessings. Make room for the wisdom and notice ...

Please, feel free to comment, or leave questions on this and any other post. 

***  To continue with the workshop CLICK HERE go to POI BOWL ... tradition practice of introductions

Navigating this Workshop ... OVERVIEW

Aloha and Welcome,

We're so glad you've come to be with us.  This beautiful oil painting of Waikiki on the island of O'ahu in the early 1900's, sets the scene as we begin our journey. 

The wa'a kaulua (the canoe) or ark is what I envision as I created the feel for this workshop.  Geting from kela (there) to ke'ia(here) via this cyber wa'a and Internet is new territory for us.  Sharing, connecting and offering a translation of the ancient traditions of tracking time and observing the moon's effects as my ancestors did even before the wa'a  kaulua and Waikiki were as depicted in this painting, is an exciting prospect.  We love creating!  None of that Waikiki is visible to eyes today and yet the tradition of Kaulana Mahina the Hawaiian Moon Calendar remains a vital tool for navigating life on the planet Earth.  I pray for guidance and humility as this workshop takes form, molding it with intention and care.  I trust the lessons Pete and I learned while adrift without an anchoring place a season of long sowing. We found our way from that unanchored place to a new and better today using the stars, the wind, water and Mahina the Moon... it was (and continues to be) a journey. Sharing the lessons, remembering the connections that matter and passing them along bridges time and integrates what was with what is.

OVERVIEW
The content, comments and links to resources on CountOnTheMoon are open to all registered readers starting 11 AM Pacific Time (US) April 3, 2011, and will be open during the whole month of April, 2011.  The workshop begins with this post, and moves to the "OPENING CEREMONY " post.  

There are two ways to navigate and interact during the workshop:

1. Look for the Workshop Sessions listed in the side-bar, a column to the right.  Start at the top of the list and work down the list.  The side-bar will get you back to any session you wish to re-visit once you've gone through all the sessions in the workshop.
2. Or, start reading this post "Navigating this Workshop ... OVERVIEW", there is a link to the next post/session.  Your COMMENTS can be written after each post.  Comments are open, and unmoderated for this workshop, allowing free discourse and exchange of ideas. 

There is also a link to the next post/session at the end of article-post.  Your COMMENTS can be written after each post.  Comments are open, and unmoderated for this workshop, allowing free discourse and exchange of ideas. 

CONTACT AND QUESTIONS

Pete and I will be on-line throughout the day and evening of April 3rd, taking breaks when there is no activity, and checking back regularly.  We are also available to answer questions either by posting questions after any post/session or through email at
ssvardoATgmailDOTcom.

We hope you find something to add to your life in a meaningful, fun, or unexpected way.  We have loved creating this workshop for us and look forward to your comments.  You have the month to explore the mana'o included here, take time with it and absorb, consider and attune to the moon coming to, or re-affirming the belief that you can COUNT ON THE MOON.

Much aloha,
Mokihana and Pete

This PREVIEW is open to all for reading through Saturday, April 2.  At 11 AM Sunday, April 3rd  this blog will be a private one, open to registered readers only.  Please leave a comment or question on this post if you wish, we welcome you.


To go to the next workshop session click here.