Musings: Conscious Politics

Awoke in the dead of night to complete and utter silence — punctuated by an occasional far-off rooster crowing — and marveled at the contrast when Koko and I much later went walking in a world filled with sound, all of it made by birds, chirping, cooing, trilling, tweetering.

White clouds rode atop gray ones and then turned to pink, burying all the interior mountains in fluff as we, too, moved through air scented by citrus blossoms and the faint smell of wet pavement from a light rain that fell in the night.

Chatted briefly with farmer Jerry, smiling as always, on his way to work, and was struck by how many people I don’t know wave to me from their cars as they drive by. There’s something wonderful about living in a place where people acknowledge one another, instead of making like you don’t even exist.

Ran into my neighbor Andy, walking one of his daughter’s dogs, as well as his own, and we talked about collecting. It seems the excitement is not in the having, but the acquiring. I don’t collect stuff, but I suppose I do collect experiences. They’re easier to maintain, and priceless, at least to me.

I had a rather remarkable one last night when I attended a session of Deeksha, the Oneness Blessing, in Kalaheo. A woman who had read an article I wrote in Spirit of Aloha called me out of the blue and invited me, thinking — based on what I’d written — that it was something I would enjoy. Such openings don’t happen often, so when they do, I heed them.

It turned out to be a meditation, followed by a hands-on blessing, and I definitely felt the spiritual energy. But what struck me most was sitting with a dozen total strangers and feeling such a deep sense of love and acceptance.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the failings of social movements and political systems, and discussing the issue with a few close friends. In abstract, so many of the concepts behind such efforts are laudable, but in practice they fall apart, largely due to greed, ego-tripping, the desire for power and other manifestations of unconscious behavior.

More and more I’m convinced that the answer lies in transforming ourselves, and from that process will come the profound shift needed to achieve a world that’s just, peaceful and pono.

Which is not to say that one should ignore what is going on or not speak out about wrong doings and injustices. Andy said he’d rather read about politics than spirituality in my blog, which got me thinking that a lot of our political problems stem from the absence of “spirituality.” And by that I do not mean religion or even any sort of spiritual practice, but consciousness, an awareness of the deep consequences of our actions.

That’s what I see is at the root of the debate over genetic engineering, especially when it comes to taro — an issue the County Council took up again yesterday. The Garden Island article on the hearing included this quote:

”Don’t fool around with the taro,” said John A‘ana, a Westside farmer for the past 30 years, who held up a taro plant as he addressed council. “The bottom line is you need to show respect for the Hawaiian culture.”

Although it’s good to see the Council debating a resolution to support a 10-year moratorium on GMO taro research, the real decision lies with the Lege, which is already backing away from the proposal. The House Agriculture Committee deferred action on Senate Bill 958, which calls for the moratorium, after a seven-hour hearing in which testimony favored the resolution. The action doesn’t bode well for the bill’s passage.

In other news, KITV reported last night that the Superferry — which it termed a “troubled vessel” — has moved out of drydock and is now awaiting Coast Guard inspection. The action contradicts those who predicted the damage it suffered in drydock would permanently sideline the big boat, a prediction I thought at the time was based on wishful thinking. Still, no passenger service is planned until April 23.

I got an email from a reader about the post In Defense of Wildness, in which I spoke against plans to extend the concrete bike path from Donkey Beach to Anahola. She said she had attended a meeting in Anahola about three years ago in which “the majority of the people
in the room ( Hawaiians) did NOT want it.” Once again, however, we’re faced with an agency, this time Department of Hawaiian Homelands, that is pushing ahead with the proposal regardless.

She wrote: “I would like to help stop the Path from invading Anahola...”

I agree. Enough concrete along the coast already. Councilman Mel Rapozo, who has an interesting new blog, shares this view. Who else can we get on board to stop this concrete snake from slithering deeper into the wilderness?