NEWSLETTER SELECTION/COLLECTION:
Hold onto your hats!
Hi & aloha on this blue sky day from our radiant island of dancing trees, battered sea turtles with ancient eyes, 5 foot viper moray eels (!), and a flaring volcano (yup, we’ve had some close encounters recently!)
A new year, a new president...all kinds of possibilities taking shape...
Are you celebrating?
Even if life's a roller coaster, there is cause for celebration, so we've been breaking out the board games & brownies while continuing our learnings about co-creating bliss and an enjoyable home-base.
Our latest revelation is: One can only live life full steam ahead, juggling unexpected gifts and challenges some of the time. Then, it is important to return to a savoring of contentment and calm, where one good day just follows the next...without so much “excitement,” and so many huge-seeming life-or-death-or-past-life rebirths.
Learning to go with the flow--and even learning to let go as necessary--is valuable...but so is feeling centered and just plain happy for good stretches of time.
So, this year those of us currently at Kulana have decided to focus on...nurturing. On valuing and expressing Tender Loving Care, not only outwards, but also inwards, towards ourselves.
We invite the Universe to rain tenderness on everyone, soaking the parched skin of all human beings, while we each plant seeds we hope rays of inspiration will warm into bearing yummy fruit.
Current visitors & residents have been making headway on food gardens (the beets are in!), photography projects, movie scripts, fiction and non-fiction books, and of course, tending our ever-progressing emotional/spiritual health while continuing to breathe life into the microcosm that is our version of on-going "community..."
And we are celebrating, long distance, with past Kulana-ites for all their recent creative and literal “births”! Wow!
(Photos of recent Kulana folk and an extended version of this hello can be found on the newsletter page of our website.)
We’ve also been trying something new here, allowing visitors to self-assign weekly Care Projects from an on-going list of priorities...and so far, it's going really well--thanks Angela from Germany, first to test our new policy this past month! You are a plant-tender and house-TLCer extraordinaire, we love your enthusiasm, and we’re excited you’ve started drawing again for the first time in 20 years! :)
More news: We've created a larger room with three beds which can also be converted into small group space for art/writing/filmmaking activities! (See info on website re: "day-use" at Kulana!)...which has brought about delightful mulling of ideas like hosting a sacred cinema night, a writers group, abundance circles, publishing salons, etc. So that’s probably what we’ll be doing in the near future!
As always, we’re delighted to welcome any good folk interested in savoring the fashioning of nontraditional, sacred, “best selves” lives on this special, blue planet of ours...and there’s good news for those planning a visit: airfares have just gone down!
Let’s make all our dreams come true as we head towards the pivotal 2012. Let’s make each day count!
Would love to hear your hopes for this next bright, beautiful year!May you receive all that rejuvenates & exhilarates you.
Lots of Love from Kulana Artist Sanctuary
"I had five weeks at Kulana and I discovered lots of hidden places, sacred to myself....There were unbelievable moments of peace and freedom...and glimpses of what life might be to me. Above the clouds, in clear air and under a sleepy falling sun, I realized that there's no more wealth to achieve than to believe in your own godgiven identity. It's the best you can get--yourself....I am what I am: someone that touched the volcano. With a beard full of memories, a ring of tasted life, and a flurry feathering nest full of hope. Thanks to all!" Angela of Friedrichshafen
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CALL FOR (especially) FEMALE ARTISTS!!!
KULANA ARTIST SANCTUARY offers community-based live/work retreat space for artists of all kinds! Located on Hawaii’s Big Island, our rainforest sanctuary is the ideal setting to pursue artistic endeavors at an affordable cost. Yup--our regular rates are so reasonable, it’s like getting a hefty partial scholarship towards focusing on creative goals...without needing to apply for one! ☺
If you feel the need to have time to let imagination and dreams fly free...and space to overcome pesky artistic/writing blocks, this is the perfect place for you! KULANA is a safe and welcoming space meant especially for under-represented ethnic, racial, sexual orientation, and age minorities to concentrate on bringing to life their creative visions.
Imagine: Our cozy, ever-evolving, short or long-term home for writers, painters, weavers, sculptors, singers, filmmakers, garden artists, silversmiths, and spiritual seekers to do their thing, all sharing the use and care of a beautiful cedar home with fully-equipped kitchen, library, and bathrooms...in an intimate, smoke-alcohol-drugs-&-drama-FREE, work-in-progress environment, surrounded by fern and ohi'a meditation trails, lava tubes, a golden grass meadow--and all within easy driving distance of the Big Island's sea-turtle and snorkeling beaches, farmers' markets, sacred sites, Volcanoes National Park hiking, creative-cultural workshops, the University, health food stores, art galleries and events, and so much more!!!!
Complete Guidelines printable from the last page of our website.
“I was able to relax and recover here. I also tapped into a long lost part of me when I painted – boy was that fun!” -Linda Bender
“Mahalo for the wonderful, peaceful, fun, amazing retreat.” - Morrocco Mercurio, Jemma Crae, Dana MacDonald, and Deb Scobie
“A grounding transformational time… I’ve enjoyed songwriting, singing, poet-ing in this green, lush place with its wild verdant dreams.” - Anna Johnson
“Kulana gave me a sense of timelessness and with that a precious glimpse into the person I forgot I was and have always been.” - Corrine Rollolozo
Why shouldn’t all your dreams come true?
Come relax, start a creative project or finish one, see the island, deepen a spiritual practice, participate in the creation of someplace special, experience the magic...have time to just BE! :)
discover Kulana...discover yourself!
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"Traditions are a splendid thing; but we should create traditions, not live by them."
(from the book Person To Person: The Problem of Being Human)
Wow, when I started sending out this aloha I was saying "happy summer!" and now here we are & it's already Fall!
Well, anyway, hi everybody! :)
Have you noticed the past several years influencing your energy and what you find yourself willing to spend precious energy/money/time on? We sure have!
As a tiny community who has shared a plethora of experiences with a plethora of people (!), we want to thank the special friends with whom we enjoy genuine connection of various kinds & durations (you know who you are!) Here's to us for -- even in these most interesting of times -- putting in the love & energy to gift each other with real moments of who we are. :)
Being with nature in respectful & spiritual/non-toxic ways feels extra critical, and has become one of our main areas of meditation & solace.
On one recent recharge-in-silence-by-trees-&-sea getaway, Kulana's founder came up with a multi-tiered game plan of how to move forward on the next stages of feature film projects, exploring other dimensional versions of truth/time & diving into fresh, new possibilities for life.
Never aim small, right?! ;)
If you'd like to see how the "fledglings" are taking shape, check out the newest artsy incarnation-in-progress where our theme is: "See in new ways on the screens of your Mind."
(Have you ever seen such a beautiful shark?!
Makes you want to become a film angel and "swim" with us, doesn't it?! ;) If so, BFF's will be gifted private behind-the-scenes DVD once we reach that stage; and Film Angels are invited to select cast & crew events! Indie-level paid & unpaid positions available as each project enters production, with preference given to appropriate past & present Shark Productions' bootcampers...and donations of skills, props, equipment, locations most welcome!)
We've come a long way...but there's still plenty further to enjoy on this creative front.
Exciting times! :)
Lastly, for those of you who have been writing clients/students, CD's chock-full-of-insider-info seminars & publishing salons (including those about the N.Y. industry, crafting & selling an effective children's book, living the creative/self-employed life, etc.) are currently available on summer sale for less than the cost of a one-hour consultation.
Huge hugs & congratulations to all of you who have finished projects, are having them published/produced, and those who are in the process of completely transforming your lives!
Though it can sometimes feel easier to believe there aren't any choices beyond running ourselves ragged on a chaotic planet, luckily, we know better...and are proving it, step by miraculous step. :)
Just FYI, we may upgrade to different email at some point soon, and if so, will put the new address on auto-response here, so we won't lose touch...! :)
"Art is neither a profession nor a hobby. Art is a Way of Being."
(from the book Vein of Gold)
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"No paradigm is ever able to imagine the next one. It's almost impossible to imagine that there will even be a next one...! If ten people walk beyond civilization and build a new sort of life, then those ten are already living in the next paradigm from the first day."
(From the book Beyond Civilization)
WHAT'S NEW?!
LOTS!!!
Since the purpose of Life is to live and each being's happiness (& possible ascension!) is an "inside job," in honor of these one-of-a-kind times, we've spent the last couple of years leaving one reality & completely transforming into another...WHEW!
We had found over the years that we were way too busy being a unique "business," when what we really wanted to enjoy being was a unique home.
So, we asked ourselves (& now we're asking you!): are we doing what we want to be doing? Are we really living our destiny...& completely enjoying the journey?
With that in mind, after being closed for quite a bit (long story!), our reality has transformed away from being the semi-public Kulana Artist Sanctuary towards being a more private, intimate, sacred space for old & new creative/spiritual friends...and we continue to shapeshift as intuition guides. :)
Though we are smaller & more personal now, we're still open to new connections that feel right, and accept (reasonable-to-generous) donations/gifts/expressions of appreciation rather than any kind of fees or rents, both from those who stay with us, and those who just wish to support the fact that we exist! :)
What we're looking for:
Beyond compatibility and being willing/able to keep things running smoothly in our home environment both when the Founder of this intimate sense of community is here and when she is away, it is helpful for folks spending time or co-creating "home" in the country-quirky semi-tropical wilds of Hawaii to possess a "can-do" attitude, along with being willing to learn/think outside the box.
It's also helpful to have an understanding of -- and interest in -- both the joys and the healthy boundaries necessary for community living. :)
Having some useful handy-person skills can be a plus too, though not required as long as someone is willing & able to learn...(See Welcome, Visitor, and Resident pages of our website for more !)
Recently, while overlooking an aqua sea munching a mango given by a friendly stranger the hit came: "with all of its twists & turns, this is the life we have chosen..."
Been noticing how some connections turn out to be for reasons, some for seasons, some for lifetimes...and how those initial sparks grow.
By this point, we've shared a plethora of interesting experiences with a plethora of interesting people(!), and want to thank the special individuals with whom we enjoy genuine connection of various kinds & durations.
Here's to us all for -- even in these most busy of times -- putting in the time, love & energy to gift each other with real moments of who we are. :)
And congratulations to those who have finished projects, are having them published/produced...and to those in the process of completely changing/improving your lives!!! :)
We always love hearing how things are going! :)
These days, we find ourselves particularly interested in where people are finding their spiritual/emotional nurturance during these tumultuous times as we all move more towards occupying our own lives?!
With some sources indicating 97% vegetables that existed at the start of the last century are now extinct, breaking free to be with cultivated & wild nature in a respectful & spiritual/non-toxic way is turning out to be one of our main areas of meditation & solace.
(Can you believe there were once 5000 varieties of potatoes, and now there are 4 main ones left?!)
Personally, we're in the big jungley process of transforming what used to be extensive lawn into meadows of wild flowers & never-again-needs-weedwhacking groundcover, yahoooo! :)
Instead of hosting creative "bootcamps" as we've done in years previous, we decided all the creative people and light workers we know (including us!) are much more in need of some laidback R&R, Big Island-style!
So we're starting a new tradition, and sharing 7-day relaxing, nurturing R&R "FUN PODS" with folks...
As one friend said, "these sound like they'll draw people who know how to take good care of themselves..." which is exactly our intent. :)
"Art is neither a profession nor a hobby. Art is a Way of Being."
(from the book Vein of Gold)
"The music is all around...all you have to do is...listen!"
(from the movie August Rush)
The Fun Pods will not be workshops (nor immersions into creative projects, though people are welcome to bring & work on their own projects if they choose...)
Instead, the focus will be for a small circle of artistic/spiritual folk to immerse in TLC enjoying time/space around like-minded others with facilitated & spontaneous support.
For further information, see BELOW and contact us at: discoverkulana@yahoo.com letting us know where you're "at" in desiring some fun and R&R. :)
On other fronts, though our 'Talk Story' discussion groups are on hiatus for the time being, a sampling from conversations held under ohia trees & hapu'u ferns where we mulled everything from the state of this rapidly changing world to how to move forward with backburnered dreams (when one has been busy living so many other lives first!) are available. A portion of proceeds goes directly to supporting spiritual/environmental/good work organizations. As you click through to Purchase links, descriptions & free sample audio will appear.
(And for those who prefer their information the old-fashioned way, there is a supply of talk stories, publishing Q & A salons & writing seminars on CD -- currently on summer sale! -- as well. Inquire.)
If you find yourself inspired after hearing what's been shared, why not gather folks together in your neck of the woods & start talking...?
At this pivotal time, the world needs to hear ALL our voices! :)
Wherever your joy & sense of evolvement is to be found, wishing you ALL THE BEST as you continue diving in...
As each of us continues moving forward, the next stages of Life on this planet we so want to be living will appear.
Remember: The purpose of life is to LIVE! (Occupy your life!) :)
"We don't think much about Napoleon these days...or about the international conflict between Spain and England...but Beethoven is still played...and Shakespeare is performed somewhere in the world every night of the week."
(from the book Two Different Histories)
Thanks to everyone who shared happy times with us over the years of this adventure! As always, we are ever grateful for gifts sent to our "invisible calabash bowl" (donations link below) or via regular mail by check made payable to the Founder.
And we are always happy to receive tangible item donations as well; see Wish List at the end of this newsletter! :)
Our destiny appears to have been to help a rigid, calcifying society break free by adding to humanity's melting pot some much needed flow of fresh Reality, Information, Energy, & Light...and that is a destiny we are happy to continue via our newest shape & form!
Looking forward to the next opportunity of spending time with YOU!
Wishing you warm people, good dreams, and win-win doors blowing open wide...and looking forward to sharing a happier future on this planet for All...which we know will include getting to enjoy more sacred time & space with YOU!
With hugs & aloha for now.
Take good care of your Spirit & Self.
May all of Earth's inhabitants evolve...and may each of us receive all that best rejuvenates & exhilarates us, right in this most precious moment of NOW!
P.S. We continue to archive art folks have gifted Kulana with over the years. Friends we've shared time & space with are welcome to submit 1 - 5 photos of creative work for inclusion in our website's Gallery! And we love receiving three-dimensional pieces for our community space as well! :)
P.P.S. We have always appreciated being linked to websites of other kindred souls/groups/creative endeavors/locations. If you know of a site or organization we should hook up with, please let us know. :)
P.P.P.S. Since we like to do our part to conserve trees & $, we only send this newsletter out via email these days, so keep us informed of your current email address & you'll get one as they are born (generally 1-3x a year). :)
P.P.P.P.S. THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who has ever contributed to our existence & growth! WE REALLY APPRECIATE ALL YOUR LOVE & SUPPORT!!! :)
P.P.P.P.P. S. After wayyyy too many years of picture-taking, we've now moved a chunk of our Magic Tree scrapbook of images to a Photo Gallery on the current website.
"We found a lot of clarity here! It felt great to work the land and to wake up to the warm sun. The peacefulness and balance of the rainforest ecosystems all around us made our own communication skills and ability to work together even stronger!"
Kate & Elana writers, filmmakers, world explorers
On-going Offerings:
Want to share some time with us while focusing on your bliss? We enjoy sharing sacred time & space with short & longer-term friends, as able! Our intimate home is one of THE sacred places on Pele's island to do one's thang!"
PLEASE NOTE: scheduling time to be with us is required. Unlike many other paradigms, we never welcome "drop-in" visitors or friends. Please thoroughly study our Guidelines throughout this site so you'll understand how hanging with us works. Thanks!
SUMMER R&R FUN PODS!
The focus of the Fun Pods is for a small circle of artistic/spiritual folk to immerse in TLC, enjoying time/space around like-minded others with facilitated & spontaneous support, some of which may include:
* Day trips to receive a regular or hot lava rock massage from licensed on-island professional;
* Low-key jaunts through quaint island towns ;
* Soaking up new dreams under the soothing shade of swaying palms at local black sand sea turtle beaches ;
* Strolling tropical rainforest trails ;
* Participating in 1 meditative giving-back-to-the-host-site Care Project ;
* Authentic-living support circles to enhance & share our journey;
* Gentle shared stretching & yoga;
* Nightly home (or not home) -cooked dinners (with vegetarian & meat option each meal);
* Plus plenty of free time to rest, read, journal, be in silence, connect with others, have revelations, sleep! :)
Contact us for details! discoverkulana@yahoo.com letting us know a bit about where you're "at" in desiring some fun and R&R! :)
INDEPENDENT FILMMAKERS BOOTCAMPS
Offered as schedule allows.
Bootcamp immersion includes: collaborating on scripts, acting, directing, being creative with lighting & sound, shooting a variety of projects from dramas to docs, creating original music & sets, editing, producing & promoting...learning...sharing skills & tools...birthing finished "products" into the world...and building a portfolio of produced work, all while enjoying the magic that Pele's home island (or wherever filmmaker bootcamps are currently being held) has to offer!
When on the Big Island, shoot locations often feature: tropical black, white & green-sand beaches, molten lava beds & smoking craters, Planet-of-The-Ape-type jungles, and snow-covered mountain peaks.
Emerging and established filmmakers welcome!
Experience a plus, but not as important as enthusiastic stick-to-it-iveness.
Long-term bootcampers in good standing eligible for paid film positions as they arise.
Shared living space sometimes available for Bootcamp crew, inquire.
We have thus far created, in California, Europe, & in Hawaii, a variety of "shorts" from script through to film festival, internet, and theater submission as well as preparing scripts for Hollywood productions, and are beginning to undertake the birth of independent feature films as well.
In order to minimize scheduling conflicts, bootcampers welcome to jump on board whenever their calendars allow by reserving 4 week-long chunks of bootcamp experience (not necessarily at the beginning of a month) whenever they are being offered. Bootcamps enjoy an ever-evolving rotation of filmmakers; at any given time there may be a merry band of two to twelve of us working on various projects!
To see clips of current work, plus latest updates on bootcamps, go to current Shark Productions website.
CURRENT WISH LIST!
ARTISTICALLY: art supplies, music recording & video/filmmaking equipment (old-fashioned is fine...even VHS!), blank CD's & DVD's & cases, etc!
SPIRITUALLY: positive prayers/metaphysically holding the Truth for our vision, ritual supplies (candles, crystals, Buddahs, etc.), gift certificates.
OUTDOORS: pond & gardening supplies, stepping stones, construction materials, solar-powered things, plants!
INDOORS: coin-operated commercial washing machine(s) & dryer(s), furniture, book shelves, file cabinets
EXPANSION: small truck/camper van.
MISC: Perhaps you have something you'd like to donate that we don't even know we need? Feel free to ask us!
And, as long as the world continues to use $, MONETARY GIFTS always appreciated! Thanks so much for your love & support!
LOOKING FORWARD TO SHARING THE NEXT ERA OF OUR BEAUTIFUL LIVES!
"Excellent health, joy, bliss, genius & love are not conditions that scientists tend to put under scrutiny...(they) tend to work from agony upward to a gray region generally known as normality. But there are those of us who are capable of much more than that, in every aspect of life. What are the series of steps that lead to ecstasy? An excellent life is (not) an accident." (from the book Halfway Through The Door)
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Aloha Everybody!
Happy Gratitude MONTH! :)
What a year it's been at the continually-transforming Kulana Goddess Sanctuary here on the Big Island of Hawaii!
We've enjoyed private creative retreats on the home site, plus Goddess Gal Gatherings around the island at large. And we have a new website! http://kulanagoddesssanctuary.blogspot.com
Also, we're in the process (finally) of gathering our community-in-Hawaii adventures into a book! COMMUNITY: THE MISSING MANUAL, which will take a look at how to form and sustain a creative community retreat center while maintaining Life, Love & The Pursuit of Happiness!
Ever wonder how artist retreats, spiritual healing centers, and intentional communities get born?
Why they fail?
How some survive & thrive?
Can you imagine that spending pivotal holidays & learning how to build something from the ground up with total strangers might wind up transforming your life?!
Some eras have been (mostly) blissful while others were (somewhat) torturous. Founder & Friends far & wide are aiming for a lively, funny, thought-provoking, perhaps even transformational read! :D
Whether or not you've ever been to this (or any) artist/goddess retreat, or shared time in intentional community, as one resident once said: "Community is just another word for people..."
...and all of us are sharing this world -- in greater & lesser degrees of harmony! -- with some of those! ;) Current & past participants, please share your stories! The more interest there is, the sooner this project can & will be born. Thank you so much for your good company & support over all these years!
So what else is new on the Kulana home front, you ask?
Well, these days our environment has kind of a mystery school flair to it, and we're more open to sweet one-on-one interactions with time & space for genuine depth, rather than juggling frequent group activities.
We continue to operate via the alternate economy of reasonable-to-generous, prepaid "expressions of appreciation" (which, at this moment in time, you get to set yourself, though we do have minimums which change with the seasons & other factors)...with different minimums for two people or more visiting together, inquire!
Want to come relax and recharge in Big Island nature for a spell?
We remain delighted to make new friends when what we have to offer and what you are looking for & would like to bring to this unconventional environment feels like a mutually-beneficial match. :)
We continue to NOT do last minute drop-ins; all time/space shared is prescheduled in advance...so if you'd like to visit, please email us a bit about yourself, where you're "at" these days in terms of your life & goals, and what time-frame you'd like to share...and we'll see what's meant to be! :)
As always, monetary support is non-refundable/non-transferable...but one new thing is: weekly energetic support helping tend structures & land is now encouraged -- but not assigned -- for short-termers (though still expected of anyone who lives here a month or more).
Our reasoning: Over the years, what we used to call "Care Projects" did catalyze many beneficial revelations & transformations & fun interactions as people provided TLC to the environment -- and we & the land/structures certainly did appreciate the help -- but we've also needed to simplify regulating things like the assignment of projects and the purchase of shared household items ...
...and, really, cooperative projects felt best with all the folks who genuinely wanted to help out in this way; and kind of tiresome with those we had to keep up after, making sure theirs got done.
So these days a list of priorities & what kinds of contributions are valuable here remains on the fridge...and we sincerely appreciate when/if people voluntarily choose to contribute energetically in this way...but for short-term people, it's no longer a requirement. (And there's the gift of a difference in monetary support for those who genuinely feel like helping out.)
As it says on our new site:
"Unplug from the matrix and share intimate sacred time/space in a quiet atmosphere that has always been more of an Experience than anything else like a "retreat" or "accommodations" or a "commune," while re-patterning your own energy surrounded by tropical rainforest that is now kept intentionally mostly free-flowing rather than conquered & manicured.
Do your own thing...and enjoy, as mutually desired, occasional guided meditation & mystery-school interaction if you like, on topics ranging from Atlantis to creativity to spiritual health to befriending wild land (which can include learning about/tending a variety of wild-crafted flowers, teas, & Hawaiian la'au lapa'au medicinals)."
As always, we remain womyn-centric (85-100% goddess gals at any given time), substance-use free, with a focus on welcoming folks diverse by race, age, spirituality, affectional preference, and life's purpose.
"Such a special, homey, comfy, creative spot! It is so great to feel that there are people like you just opening their doors to help there be more connection, creating, spirit and love put out into the world. Thank you for welcoming us on our love journey so kindly." Rachel & Nati, teachers
Want to hear more from others who have rested & transformed here?
Check out the Quotes page at our new site! http://kulanagoddesssanctuary.blogspot.com/2015/09/quotes.html
On other world fronts, we're delighted by how much PROGRESS has been unfolding some places, such as brave Bree Newsome scaling a South Carolina state building pole to remove the Confederate flag...which helped real movement towards finally officially putting that symbol of this nation's slave era to rest! Yay!
And then there was this summer's national Supreme Court acknowledgment that gay folk are people too, and should finally get to legally skip down the aisle, jump broomsticks, or crunch chuppah glasses underfoot...just like everybody else. :)
Which is why we're saying Happy Gratitude MONTH (or YEAR, instead of just being thankful for one upcoming holiday!)
Would love to hear what's new & unfolding with YOU?!
Sending Big Love & Aloha your way!
DISCOVER KULANA ... Discover your Best Self & Life!
