Amrita and I just went hiking in the Haleakala crater on Maui. We started near 10,000 feet and over the course of two days (with a day of rest in between) hiked down to our car at 1,000 feet.  Around 17 miles total.

Near the top, it's a barren landscape, mostly rock and gravel with a few hardy plants. Here's a relatively lush area, populated by silverswords.  (Notice the clouds in the distance, mostly at a lower altitude than me.)  The terrain reminds me of Mars rover pictures.

( Pictures and more! )
Aloha!

I'd heard this place was a bit of a ghost town. Comment on this post if you see it! I'm curious who's still active.

(I'll probably keep writing here even if no one's reading - I have a self-imposed homework assignment of practicing my writing skills. But readers are fun too.)

Just read the new Steve Jobs biography recently. (Amazing read.) One of the most powerful choices he and many other successful entrepreners make is the choice to say "no, we're not going to do that". I've been thinking about this in my own life lately. This is an exciting world! There's so much I want to participate in.

In my 20's I really tried to make a difference in politics. Wish I'd said no sooner to that one. It was not my gift to give the world, I'm clear about that. But I am proud of what I did, and the minds I influenced through my campaigns.

As a teenager, I was really motivated about math and science, and worked with another student on building a robot and a hovercraft. Never got either to work, exactly, but we had a lot of fun zooming around on a lopsided hovercraft on the school fields, and we were excited when the robot moved around a little bit before frying yet another transistor. Poof, there's the smoke again... These days there's a whole "maker culture", based on people making things in their garages, and it's in the process of getting a massive upgrade in the form of 3D printing. The range of what we can create is expanding rapidly, and the realm of the possible is being rapidly expanded - and I find myself outside of the culture, no longer a maker. A coder, to be sure, but not a builder.

Right now in my life, I'm feeling very focused on my mission, which has to do with my growing career in healing wounds and shame associated with sexuality, and leading workshops in helping people develop the skills to allow greater love and pleasure in their lives. It's amazing! I'm feeling devoted to realizing this life path.

And yet... What about being a maker? What about the places where my words could influence political culture? What about shamanic astrology? What about writing science fiction? Some of these paths have more draw than others, but what it comes down to is how can I live just one life??? So much is going on right now.

I was on a plane flight recently, and watched a movie that I probably wouldn't otherwise have seen, "Larry Crowne". It stars Tom Hanks as a divorcee who loses his job and goes to community college to become more employable. Julia Roberts also stars as his speech teacher, and there's a sweet romance that develops between them. But there's a much more compelling story here, and it's the message of hope and optimism.

From the "biker gang" of moped enthusiasts, to the permanent neighborhood garage sale, to the diner where Larry gets a kitchen job to tide him over, the world of "Larry Crowne" is a friendly one, populated largely by people who want not only to succeed in their own lives, but to see others succeed in theirs. Even the quirkier, more questionable characters, like the narcissistic economics professor (portrayed with perfect timing and presence by George Takei) ultimately have something substantial to offer, and appreciate seeing Larry succeed.

There are certainly significant differences to my experience of the "real world". The biggest one is the presence of a catalyst in the form of fellow student Talia. Talia is a character who goes beyond our normally accepted social boundaries to change Larry's life, giving him new clothes, a new haircut, and bringing in a crew to clean his house, all for no reward other than seeing this one man come into his own. I've seen this device used in television and movies repeatedly over the years, and at times I've longed to have such a catalyst in my own life. Perhaps this is something I can aspire to, instead - to be a catalyst for others, not by arranging unexpected haircuts, or by trying to fix anyone; but by daring to be a little more forward, a little less reserved, with my appreciation and support for others. Feels risky, and the risk feels good.

The richest takeaway from this film, for me, and why I find it so significant politically, is that it creates a message of hope in difficult economic times. Through applying himself, through seeking out and diligently pursuing the three classes of speech, writing, and basic economics, Larry is able to turn his circumstances around. The choice he makes around his underwater mortgage is an empowered one, where he clearly understands the ramifications and is ready to stand firm in the face of pressure from others. Through both the classes and the style support he accepts from friends, he recreates his self-image and rebuilds his own confidence. Over the course of the movie, he transitions from one who suffers at the winds of fortune to one who is master of his own destiny. The love story with Julia Roberts' character is almost an afterthought, though it's also well executed and heartwarming.

This is an important message, and a great film. Thank you to the writers - Tom Hanks and Nia Vardalos.

Dear Reader,

Some of my favorite time-travel literature has to do with being "Unstuck in time". "The Time Traveler's Wife", Journeyman (tv), some bits of Babylon 5, and of course the pioneering "Slaughterhouse Five" all have to do with people who just sort of disappear from one time and appear in another.

That's not my situation - I remain in 2010, and I still haven't mastered the art of disapparating, but I've become "unstuck in space", or you might say "geographically unstable". I also like "person of no fixed abode".

( details of travel, past and near future )

I love being itinerant! I can just drop into a place and live there, pretty much anywhere.

A quote from a reading:

"The older you get, the crazier you're going to get. The older you get, the zanier you're going to become. The more eccentric you're going to become. And that's good, you know, that's good. I can see you at 40 being an amazing person, in the sense that you just don’t live in a box. You don't live in anybody's box. You’re a very free being." - Anyaa McAndrew, August 2006

"You see, my kind of loyalty was loyalty to one's country, not to its institutions or office-holders. The country is the real thing, the substantial thing, the eternal thing, the thing to watch over, and care for, and be loyal to; institutions are extraneous, they are its mere clothing, and clothing can wear out, become ragged, cease to be comfortable, cease to protect the body from winter, disease, and death. To be loyal to rags, to shout for rags, to worship rags, to die for rags -- that is a loyalty of unreason, it is pure animal; it belongs to monarchy, was invented by monarchy; let monarchy keep it." - Mark Twain

This was my Osho Tarot reading on Saturday, January 30th.

I've been on a trend recently of bringing lots of positive things into my life, but not wanting to let anything go. This is what I see in the Miser card. The breakthrough card represents my realization that what I'm doing in life is not working for me, and also not being very satisfying for my life partners. This has prompted a huge shift in my life, one which has been very sad but also represents the truth of the way things have been changing. The shift also moves me further along towards a being beyond all convention, the Rebel.

The Rebel is a good image for me; the sun on his shoulder links to my Apollo archetype. They say about this card: "His very way of being is rebellious - not because he is fighting against anyone or anything, but because he has discovered his own true inner nature and is determined to live in accordance with it."

It's amazing that no matter where I'm going or why, my freshly-packed full suitcase always weighs 52-53 lbs. If they'd just made the limit 55 lbs, I'd never have to repack anything.

Off to the Big Island tomorrow. Hail Pele!