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I Am Back...

29/1/2016

  I am back (well physically) from my solitude trip out by the ocean. No one but me and nature. No towns, no lights, or people. I got to experience going to sleep and waking up with nothing but the sound of the ocean waves. A feeling very familiar what I have been use to most of my life. The first night I was surprised to discover it was full moon. I slept the best I have in a very long time every night. I enjoyed being creative in lighting a fire each night.

   The second night as I was sitting by the fire I had a feeling to walk out by the water and open space. I walked out, and across from me was the moon peeking out from behind the hill rising. It looked MASSIVE! It took me a second to realize what it was. I had the honor of watching it come up from over the hill. Now this was SPECTACULAR! I enjoyed watching the sun set and lying out each night watching the clear sky full of stars before the moon came out.

   Before going on the trip I had one wish. To see the humpback whales which I have not seen since they have been back. The second morning as I was lying and gazing at the ocean two humpback whales appeared. The baby kept leaping out of the water and splashing over and over very playfully. I got to watch them for about 15 minutes. I got my wish :-) Lets just say it was very special.

   Later on in the day upon exploring the surrounding area I came to a heiau (a Hawaiian place of worship) and as I sat down to meditate, immediately across from me in the ocean these two adult whales jumped out completely out of the water straight up in complete synchronicity almost as if they had rehearsed it and splashed down. It was magnificent!...and just like that they disappeared.

     I enjoyed the company of these two dragonflies that remained throughout the whole trip. The last morning I discovered what was making that noise during nighttime…a huge mongoose. I completed writing my children’s stories and wrote about 12 pages of stuff and finished reading my favorite book which was gifted to me in March.

  I grew a new appreciation for Kaupo area. The biggest gift of all? Well that I will keep to myself.

It feels very strange being back.

   I am…emotional…grateful…honored, and…silent. I am back but not back…….

Malama i ke kai, a malama ke kai ia oe (care for the ocean and the ocean will care for you).

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For Those Who Love The Night

24/1/2016

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For Those Who Love The Night

Night’s sense of mystery…the stars...the moon…the mystic. My favorite time out in nature has always been nighttime. I feel the most comfortable then. It seems unnatural to remain indoors after the sun has gone to sleep. The owls appearance…the hedgehogs that come out to play. The wave’s sound seems so much more vibrant and alive. There is just something about it! It has always been my favorite time to dance out in nature. I never understood those comments “At night out alone!” “Aren’t you afraid?” I have always felt quite the opposite. I always felt the safest. The night is a friend to me. I feel completely at home, comfortable. Its essence is so clear…dynamic…more alive than ever. I don’t know. Maybe my friends are right for naming me Owl and others Moth...

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I Am Home...

24/1/2016

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A fire by my side…my bare feet touching the Earth…the full moon watching over me…the silence of the night other than the ocean’s waves announcing their presence with their pounding…and the geckos calling out...I am...home...

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Children Should Be Our Parents

24/1/2016

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Children Should Be Our Parents

"We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today."
~Stacia Tauscher

       So often you hear people talking how important it is to teach the young. Well how about allowing the children to teach us? Are they not wise, filled with love and self assurance? Do they not express all that they feel? Are they not real and fully in touch with their surroundings speaking their mind? I observe and watch people but what I see is not teaching rather enforcing one’s own personality unto the other.

“There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million.”
~Walt Streightiff

    Children without the influences of the external world are true to themselves filled with wonder for life and love for life. The older they get the more they lose contact with that. This happens because we try to teach them our way, our beliefs, what we think. We treat them as ignorant. But are they really? Or do we turn them into that by stripping them of their own personality?

    Who are we to teach them? Teach them what? Imagine how destructive we become when we take a living being and strip it of its individuality. Trying to make them into us, instead of allowing the child to be itself. Why do we feel the need to mold them into the shape we find appropriate? Teaching the child there is only one way just like certain physical characteristics we embrace and disregard all else.

    A child is naturally immune to this, to prejudice to cruelty, and fear for the most part we teach them how to behave. The child’s inner feelings and personality will always be there we just suppress it and cause problems for them later on.

“A child seldom needs a good talking to as a good listening to.”
~Robert Brault

   It is the same thing as a therapist you are there to lend them a hand, to guide, you are not taking the path for them you are not the all knowing being. You assist the other to find themselves, to discover for themselves what is right for them, to re-connect with self. You do not have all the answers for them only they do. There is respect. It is a partnership, you learn from each other.

    To enforce ones opinion of view onto the other is not honoring the other as a living soul. I am not saying they do not need guidance but that the guidance needs to come from a space of love, cooperation, respect and not from fear and control. This concept that exists everywhere in different areas the idea that we know and are going to tell you the way is but ego driven and illogical. The sense of control over a child is illogical. You need to also allow the child to be. Is not the beauty to discover each other rather than try to make the other like you?

     When we treat children like children, as ignorant unknowledgeable as if they know nothing we are stripping them of their self belief, their confidence. You always hear “you are just a child” or “you are too young” or when people ask parents questions about the child instead of asking the child who is standing right there. What message do you think you are sending there? Their self worth is being taken away. You are telling them they have nothing of value to say or contribute to this world instilling a belief they will take with them to adulthood.

     More importantly we are teaching them how not to be themselves. That they will be praised and are good by following someone else’s values and a specific system, that only then their life has meaning. Maybe that is why we live in a world controlled by specific systems. We are taught that we have to be obedient and follow certain rules whether the system is correct and benefits the world or not. A system that is geared towards specific needs and personalities and neglects all else. If they do not follow certain rules or ideals they are wrong.

     If we show love, and respect to our child, trust, they learn to believe in themselves and they do not have to rebel against you or fight you because you are be littleling them. Because that is what we are doing to them belittleling them. We miss out on the lessons and wisdom they have to offer us. The wisdom we never got to express when we were young that we lost.

     The best guidance we can give them is loving them and allowing them to be them, to express themselves and treating them as equal. Allowing them as much time as you can in nature because that is the best teacher, In nature they can be clear, themselves, uninfluenced by everyone’s personalities, values, beliefs. They learn on their own respect for other creatures.

     Ask them what they want, what makes them happy not what you want to make them happy or what you think will. This is the beginning of disconnecting from self, which we spend a lifetime trying to rediscover. To find again who we are and what makes us happy not that which we were told will make us happy and wondering why we are not.

“As a child, one has that magical capacity to move among the many eras of the earth; to see the land as an animal does; to experience the sky from the perspective of a flower or a bee; to feel the earth quiver and breathe beneath us; to know a hundred different smells of mud and listen unselfconsciously to the soughing of the trees.”
-Valerie Andrews

    Unfortunately the biggest problem lies in that we have created these systems, schools, society where the child is influenced and taken away from self, molded into the society’s form. So whether you teach them or not they will be taken away from self, you may do all the right things but they are still being treated by the rest of the world as ignorant. So what do you do? I worry about this. Their environment is vital. We cannot stop out children from being conditioned and influenced by the world around them and neither should we because this is how we learn. We learn from each other.

     However by giving them love, strength of self and belief in self, trust, instead of being molded by society they can become observers, unaffected observers immersed in the systems but still retaining their sense of self, their essence…their soul. So that they can see behind the lines what needs improvement in the system without disconnecting them. If you are strong within yourself in touch with who you are no one can take that away from you. Give them as much as time as possible out in nature so they can return to what is real what is self. I for one feel the best way to keep a child in touch with oneself is nature. Nature is the best school, everything is there, all the lessons. It connects us to our true nature.

“If you wish your children to think deep thoughts, to know the holiest emotions, take them to the woods and hills, and give them the freedom of the meadows; the hills purify those who walk upon them.”
-Richard Jefferies

     I am not saying to leave your children to run amuck but to listen to what they have to say, to put aside your own wants and desires and explore their wants and desires. Teach them to love themselves by respecting them and their personality.

“A child can ask questions that a wise man cannot answer.”
~Author Unknown

      Maybe we should stop being preachers but practice cooperation, mutual respect…love? Allow the other whether child or not to tell us who they are rather than trying to make them what they are?

    Children are one of the most beautiful gifts, treats of life because they remind us of that unspoiledness, that freedom, that individuality, that wildness, the wonder of life, the love, the expression. Maybe they have more to teach us then we have to teach them.

"While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about."
-Angela Schwindt

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Stones...Their Perspectives...Their Stories...

19/1/2016

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Photo Essay:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1713720565581253.1073741837.
1461388920814420&type=3

What do the stones have to say? Have you ever wondered? What stories they have to tell? How many creatures have passed by during their existence….how many wondrous things they have witnessed? What miraculous stories these must be!

-Gaia Giakalli

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Wild Things

17/1/2016

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Wild Things

   Sharks! (manō) The mere word strikes fear into the hearts of people. Why? We are taught from a young age to fear them which leads us to misunderstand an absolutely incredible creature of the deep. Yes they can be scary looking but mainly it is because if they want they could easily harm us. They have the capacity to do so in an environment, a terrain – the ocean which is not ours. So we fear them. The shark is an animal we do not have control over so it becomes ok to “destroy.” How often is there a shark attack though? Truly now?

     Now instead think how often we trip over and hurt ourselves, or how often a dog bites us. More importantly think how often humans harm other humans on a moment to moment basis. We are the biggest “destroyers,” the biggest “killers.” Think of everyday how many trees, plants, ecosystems we destroy, the animals we kill for sport or to eat…and yet we fear a shark??? Nature has a right to fear us but we do not have a right to fear “it.”

   We are the only ones that are afraid of ourselves but yet we hold a view of supremacy. Where did this concept come into existence? How can one believe they are superior to another? We are the ones that have no awareness, no consciousness because we are too self involved believing we are above nature. We take it for granted.

     The shark is a creature we cannot control which is really bad in the humans world. “Oh No!” so we fear it. We need to feel above, more important, more intelligent. I could never and will never understand this concept. We make up stories, beliefs, that we are special, different, and we are but so is the ant, the bee, the ocean, the shark.

    We “love” cats and dogs because we can control them, we use them to satisfy our needs, it serves a self gratifying purpose and so they are “humans best friend.” However a seal who lives far in the Antarctica or a polar bear, is not. A cute cuddly animal who could not harm us is good but a “wild” animal is dangerous and “wild” how scary! A little hypocritical is it not? And why? Because it is wild, it is real, itself, we cannot have it, own it, or relieve our fear. It is maybe a little natural to feel this way but I believe it is time to own it. We ARE hypocrites! We ARE narcissists! and maybe we should laugh about it. If something is not directly beneficial to us, we have no use for it, or respect. This is why we have created a world of systems so that we can feel safe, we can be controlled. Unless we learn not to fear ourselves and let go of controlling ourselves and who we are we will always feel the need to control others and the world and that will never bring us love or happiness for ourselves or others.

   What is the fear of the wild? The fear of wild is the fear of our true self… we destroy nature which subconsciously we are trying to destroy ourselves, that part of us. We are trying to burry ourselves because we fear it. It is unknown to us. Humans have become the most domesticated creature that exists.

   We try to feel superior while suppressing our natural wild nature, disconnecting us, and as a result we destroy everything around us but more importantly we are destroying ourselves. The joke is on us! We are guiding ourselves away from our core, our being, our happiness. We are in fear of letting go of control, and of love. Nature…”wild” animals, have a sense of self. To be wild is to be real and not live under false pretense. Humans on the other hand are becoming more and more domesticated. We have unlearned who we truly are, and we act more and more like puppets…conditioned puppets.

     Maybe it is time we return to who we truly are. Maybe this is a beautiful time that we realize freedom…true freedom, to let go of control, selfishness, and illusions and rediscover ourselves. Re-unite with nature which is not separate from us but somehow along the line we forgot this and lost our way, and that is ok! It does not have to be necessarily a burden or something difficult. Maybe losing our way is a great way that we get to experience. It is providing us with a journey which is the most miraculous part, a task, an adventure, an exciting challenge! The journey to happiness...to loving...to our real nature.

   Maybe it is a gift to get to live the beautiful experience of reconnection, re-being . We get to discover that there is nothing else to fear but ourselves. Maybe it is a task to see if we can accomplish this. Something that while we do individually at the same time we do it as a whole, together. Because the result of our individual journey back to self will affect all nature, all life.

     You can be who you are meant to be, who you want to be, you can be free. Loving yourself enough to do this, loving other people, without blaming them for they gave you this opportunity. Loving society’s messed-upness, and the wrong systems we have created, and loving the planet for giving you the opportunity and the gift of self-discovery.

     I began writing this as I was feeling bitterness, frustration, and pain after viewing a post. I went on a rampage. I was expressing how I felt, I went on and on babbling, releasing what I was feeling and from that I came to a conclusion…a profound understanding. The understanding that even though it is hurtful, painful, upsetting at the same time maybe it is something beautiful. An opportunity to experience something beautiful…an evolution.

   My point Is that if I had held in all those feelings, suppressing my pain , who I am, I would not have gotten to the point where I am right now. Where I no longer feel frustrated, bitter, sad, but instead I feel calm, “enlightened,” good, relieved, and happy. Otherwise it would have just built up and up and I would have missed the whole point. I discovered something just now, by not holding back. I did not feel good at that moment but I allowed myself to feel it and by doing that I learned something.

     Embrace your true nature. The only darkness in the world is the suppression of that. Also do not be hard on yourself or the world as it is a process that cannot be accomplished rapidly. It is a process that will take time. Piece by piece. We will discover and unravel more and more of the beauty of self and the world. Remember, it is the journey not the result that matters. Experience the sensation of every spoonful of your favorite cake instead of rushing to swallow it down, for then it is over. Enjoy every mouthful, every ingredient. Enjoy life. Each spoonful will taste differently, the more you are there within it, the better it will taste. Set yourself “wild.” That is the way of nature.

Nature is here to allow you to do just that. To teach you, remind you of who you are, so you can once again be happy. No matter how much you try to fight it, go against it, it will still be there, it will never go away, because it is within you , it is you…you are wild.

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Kohola

14/1/2016

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Kohola

The Humpback whales (kohola) are back on Maui. If I were to recap one of the most special moments in my life, it was one day back in 2002. I was at the beach and as I went under water I could hear the singing of the whales. it was so magical and special. I just kept on diving underwater so I could listen to their lullaby. I will never forget it there is just something about their sound. Even though all creatures are sacred, to me whales hold a special part in my heart.

Here is a nice little video:https://vimeo.com/126326668

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Broken Hearts

12/1/2016

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Broken Hearts

I was on a website that has different writings, poems, etc. and I noticed something under the title broken heart. All of them referred to it as a result of a breakup in a romantic relationship. I looked online out of curiosity and again same thing. Why is a broken heart associated only with this?

    Can you not be heartbroken for other reasons? Beyond romantic relationships or even more beyond the human spector? How about for the environmental destruction that is happening in the world? The loss of lives..the loss of ancient wisdom…of culture…the loss of land, the cutting down of trees, the cruelty against our fellow beings? Can you not be broken hearted as you watch the oceans being polluted? People walking in the streets unaware, disconnected and unhappy? Can your heart not be shattered while seeing everything through eyes of love?

    We are not talking about just pain. A broken heart is something very deep, it involves loss of hope where it is nowhere to be seen. The deepest level of pain when the pain has created a crack in your existence… despair. Something gradual. There is no solution to be seen, nothing can mend it in your eyes at that moment in time.

     Why is this focus though placed on a man and a woman? I have always wondered about this….my whole life. When you hear the word love every one immediately visualizes a man and a woman in a loving affair! In love floating in the clouds. Look at the movies, books and songs it is pretty much always about that. Is this the only type of love people understand or can relate to? Is this not only one tiny aspect of what love is? Does it not extend beyond just the other gender or close person in your life? Is love not so much more?

     Love for your fellow human being, for a stranger, for all of humanity, for self, the flowers, plants, trees, the oceans, for life? How can love be biast? Picky? You do not choose to love you cannot turn it on and off, you cannot love someone one minute and not the next. Love is eternal, everlasting, constant. Once you allow it in your heart it remains.

     I imagine a relationship between a man and woman is a beginning towards the understanding of love, the initiation, a good start as it is so much more. I never understood when people say for example I love dogs but I do not like cats. Or I love animals but I hate snakes or spiders. How can you make a distinction? How do we generalize and say I love cats, there will be cats that you love and cats that you do not get along with, it is individual to the personality of the cat. I always wondered should there not be more songs or movies that move beyond seeking love from another rather than loving oneself, love of life, and nature? I wonder….

     Maybe instead of being conditioned we should begin to get in touch with who we are, what gives us joy, and happiness. This way we will not have the need to be loved, creating boundaries, walls, we would be open to just be and maybe just maybe then we could just be love.

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My Version of Courage

8/1/2016

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My Version of Courage

    For me the biggest kind of courage is no matter how much you have endured in your life time, no matter how much hurt, pain, sadness, disrespect, cruelty you have faced that you keep on being who you are. You do not lose who you are. It is only natural we will get lost along the way, to be able to forgive yourself for that and get back on track, that is courage. If you never were on that path, to find that path. No matter how much you have been conditioned by the people and world around you, you still find the courage to follow your heart.

No one said it is easy. What if it were easy? Everyone’s path is different but ultimately it comes down to doing what is right for yourself not what others tell you, believing in yourself. In essence loving yourself and not getting lost in the other, courage to speak your truth and not get taken by the mass energy around you. Living your life and not having others live it for you. No matter how much resistance following one’s heart, one’s course, no matter how many obstacles, placed on your path. That is courage.

     To love yourself, be in touch with yourself, respect yourself, give and say no. Learning to say no is actually quite difficult, not being driven by fear, insecurity, or guilt. Being honest with yourself and gentle. If you do not start with yourself how will you do it with anyone else?

     The biggest love you can give to the world is loving yourself. If we all began there, there would be peace in this world. There is a need for balance. You can try and jump off parachutes, lift weights, win a basketball match, make a lot of money, manage a business, have a family, climb mount Everest but it means nothing if it is not you, if it does not fill your heart. The simplest act can be the most courageous.

The most courageous act you can do in your life is being you…being human.

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My 32nd Birthday Wish

6/1/2016

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My 32nd Birthday Wish

My birthday wish this year on January 9th is for you to pick your favorite aspect of nature may it be the forest, mountains, a particular flower or plant, stones, an insect, grass, sand, an animal, a rainbow, anything! Whichever one is special to you or draws you the most. Sit for 32 minutes and contemplate and or write what this particular part of nature brings to you. How does it make you feel? Why is it special to you? How has it changed your life or made it better? What feelings does it bring up inside you? Any particular memories associated with it? If you are a musician you can write a song or melody about it, if you are a dancer you can answer through dance. Whichever ways your answers come and want to be expressed.

You may share your answers with someone, or right here (in the comments), or keep it to yourself :-)

Take this time to turn inwards forget about the outside world, relax and enjoy.

May you be surrounded by endless Love, health and happiness.

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My name is Gaia (Γαία) and I was born on the beautiful lush island of Kos, along the Aegean sea of Greece, where Hippocrates, the "father of medicine" was born. I am a writer (favorite being children's stories and fairy tales), artist, dancer, modern day Greek Mythologist, nature dweller, photographer, traveler, dreamer, and creator. I love creativity...I love all nature, especially trees.

One of my greatest joys is connecting people with nature in which I have spent most of my life in solitude contemplating and enjoying its wisdom, and empowering people to be their authentic selves, reconnecting them to their true essence and calling in life.

At the moment I am following my passion writing my fairy tale books.

"Lighthouses don't go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining."
-Anne Lamott

You can follow me on:
https://www.facebook.com/thetreemouseionofcreativity/

On Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Gaiawse

You can also find videos and subscribe to my youtube channel here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0S2fLB4M4zdfYNem8E2slQ
(For children stories)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvgjnpdZAi0ppw5qMQdmNjw
(With all sorts)

My other blog:
https://treeadryadsdreams.wordpress.com/

Other website:
homeinatree.com

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/treea

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