Let’s talk about success…

In the dictionary success literally means: “the thing that comes next” as in succession…

That makes sense… so when did ‘success’ change from ‘the thing that happens next’ to ‘more money, power and achievement than others’?

In terms of this new definition of success, competition is ingrained… and life has become a race. The winners end up losing their humanity, health and friends along the way…

Somehow we have agreed as a culture that money, power and achievement are far more valuable than health, humor, friendship and the quality of our internal life, in fact, generally it is not held in high esteem to be at peace with yourself, to have something to share with others, to care enough to help our families and friends, to have the time and inclination to want to make a difference where it is unseen… at the heart of the matter…

Recently, I asked the Universal Mother through prayer, if she would please arrange a few big Plumeria trees for the garden I am creating in her service….in Australia we call them Frangipani and in Indonesia they are called Kamboja — a universal tropical/desert plant, that survive against the odds…

This plant really engages my imagination and inspires me… the way it conducts itself as a member of the plant kingdom… large branches, when removed and laying beside the road can be resurrected… they can live without earth or water for over a year if they have access to moisture through the air. Their flowers are sweet smelling and delicate… often used in the hair or to make the famous Hawaiian Lei.

When you break them they bleed sticky white blood and if you plant them before they are properly healed, they rot from the inside… and eventually die a long slow death.

In my heart they represent myself and everyone who is asked to ‘live on thin air… survive abandonment, heal ourselves… all the while, looking and smelling beautiful while we’re in the process!

As I said, I asked for a few trees, branches discarded by an enthusiastic tree lopper perhaps…

A friend called me, said she was closing down a furniture factory in Kona and asked if I wanted the broken  pieces they were discarding for my art project, of course I said yes!

On our way to pick it up along a road I rarely travel, there they were — the Plumeria branches laying beside the road, waiting for me to discover them and bring them home to sacred space so they could start their new mission.

At first glance I saw a small pile of branches and felt wonder at the spontaneous answer to my prayers, then I stopped and examined the situation more closely.

There is amazing abundance all around us, we simply have to change the way we think.

In the end it took two days and four trucks to pick up all the Plumeria branches waiting for me on the side of the road and down in the ditch behind the highway…

That was three weeks ago. The locals thought I was insane when I stood them all up with rocks, a plantation of sticks standing for all to see on the cross roads of Orchid and Seabreeze.

Yesterday, they began to flower! By next year it will be a landmark.
All from a small prayer for a few branches.

Right place, right time, right action, then everything falls into place.

Someone else’s problem can become your solution…
That’s the new ‘success!’… the thing that comes next.
True success, is in loving the earth and her people in all the different ways we have at our disposal.

Bringing in the light to the darkest place, can be achieved by a small candle, even a small idea… with enough love and imagination it can lead to a new experience of bliss on earth.
Come and see my trees some time…they will amaze you with their tenacity and forgiving spirit.

Blazing tales of wonder
Remembering all we have ever been and are about to become
Your sister through chaos and comfort …
Shankari the Alchemist… ever learning, always growing…
Hokulani
Hawaii

The energy has been swirling around lately…
I feel it in every pocket of my experience.  I have never felt so completely joyful before… yet everyday I am indeed confronted with the actual collapse of the world as I have known it.

In the midst of all the chaos there are pockets of Divine Mystery…

On Monday of this week the most beautiful couple came down to the end of the universe and were married on the White Owl Grid of The Mystery School.

They brought three generations of their family … made vows of love and devotion before the assembled energies both seen and unseen,  the light surrounding them was palpable…

I used the sacred blue chalice with the crystal stem covered with amethysts and lotus in the silver work to share sparkling organic raspberry wine filled with the energy of the event… and the wisdom wand of the Mystery School to  allow the couple to heal the past and recreate the future in a positive, powerful way, in service to the children and their friends and family of the greater world community.

As I called out the ‘invocation for perfection’ in Sanskrit, the wind carried the sound through the gullies down the hillside to the sea.  The Hawaiian Kahuna (masters) seemed to come out of the mists of time and were standing witness to this most sacred event.

Andre and Kiva from West Texas were bound together through love and clear intention… to share the challenges of what is to come…  As a partnership …. In love and in lightness…

It was my privilege and my pleasure to be of service to Andre and Kiva… and their whole family. They chose rings I designed and made in advance, they were gracious and caring of everyone in their group…. this beautiful celebration showed me once more the joy available in times of change and challenge.

The angels are with them every step of the way, providing the support they need to fulfill their personal missions within the context of profoundly moving romantic love…. And rambunctious family gatherings loaded with kids and chaos as part of the geography of a full and happy life.

The perfection mantra goes like this…

(English translation)
Everything in life is perfect… in time and space
Everything in life is perfect… when seen as God’s Grace
Everything is perfect whether sunshine or rain
Because…
When you take the perfect from the perfect…
Only the perfect remains…
Peace, peace, peace…

To chant these words in Sanskrit, is to open the portal for all possibilities
… this was my gift to them… the invocation of perfection!

Blazing tales of wonder
Remembering all we have ever been and are about to become
Your sister through chaos and comfort …
Shankari the Alchemist… ever learning, always growing…
Hokulani
Hawaii

Have you heard of Findhorn?

…an alternative community living in Scotland in the 70’s who activated the earth spirits to help them in their gardening pursuits in the snow…. Ultimately surprising everyone by growing 70 pound cabbages in the freezing fields…
A very similar thing is happening here in Hawaii….

There is little rain, strong winds and not much earth… despite this my garden has taken on a new and amazing personality… growing everything in rapid time with ‘amazing grace’ …

The Fig tree is one of the most touching… a gift from a friend a few months ago it stands only about 8” or 20cms tall. This little tree has been through the wars… so small it has often been trodden upon by ignorant bystanders and even sometimes by well meaning friends who simply didn’t notice it…. No matter what I said or did it seemed to always be ‘in the way’…. So I moved it to the place I felt it would be safe from ‘helpful’ feet… not far from the Mermaid sculpture, in the front by the entrance to the meditation space… I asked the fairies and earth spirits to take good care of it and then I ‘let it be’… for the past 2 weeks I have not thought of it….

Until yesterday, when I had some friends over from the mainland and I was showing them our progress… all the amazing miracles in the garden… and then there it was…. The fig tree standing proud and strong, with one leaf and one fig the size of a large grape… and growing!
It gave me hope for all of us… it showed me once again that miracles happen and we are designed to survive and succeed… with enough rest and recovery time anything is possible….

It’s a miracle… true evidence of Divine Intent…
I believe it is indeed a symbol of our power to re-grow and change our ‘m.o.’ in service to the earth and her people…. When all else fails remember the fig tree… we all have the power to bear fruit and be of service to each other… now it is time to exercise that power in service to our world

I had a wonderful teacher once who would often say…’when the mind chatters, make the body work” for this reason I am focusing my energy on building a temple for ‘The Divine Mother of all Creation’ and an associated food garden and soup kitchen for the poor of the district of Ka’u on the southern tip of the Big Island of Hawaii.
I know from personal experience …. When all else fails, if you have the opportunity to wash your body, meditate in a clean, dry, safe place, eat a warm meal and have the experience of someone caring…. You can survive and ultimately succeed against the odds. I want to provide that for my local community here in Hawaii… just as I did for that Fig Tree!

Through the ‘bush telegraph’ we are hearing horror stories everyday… eye witness accounts on the mainland where there are tribes of homeless people living in their vehicles… ‘moved along’ by the local community everywhere they go… armed and becoming more frantic and desperate every day… when you have lost everything that ever mattered to you… anarchy is the next evolution. Civil war soon after…

I do not want that to happen in my district here… so I am preparing for the future, with food gardens and meditation rooms…this is what I can do…. what can you do?

I am a ‘holic… when I was a child, my father was an alcoholic,
Later on my brother chose to become a junkie… My uncles and aunts… cousins and grandparents all influenced by alcohol… for generations back.
Obviously, I come from a long line of people with addictive personalities…. What to do?

I thought about this for a long time as a child and decided that if I had to be a ‘holic’, I would be a workaholic…  productive and of value in my world.
I feel blessed that I had the foresight to make that choice when I was so young and impressionable.

To be any kind of holic is not recommended because it is indeed unconscious behavior with addiction at the core… so what am I really addicted to?

I am addicted to working… because it makes me feel good.

I like to test myself by overcoming the impossible or by making “the sows ear into the silk purse!”   I have recently decided to devote a lot more of my time to creating interesting employment for others…

Because…
I love to work! I believe others do too… because it makes everyone feel good to achieve their goals.

I create places of harmony and beauty upon the earth.
I find ways to create work for myself that I love….
So my life is a two way street of satisfaction.

If I stop working I get bored and become a little self destructive… so I prefer to have a number of projects at once.  Leonardo was like this…
I am often judged for not finishing this before I start that, but then that’s what a genius does… we all have to stay involved in a creative way if we are to bring our best to any given moment or task or employment…

Just check out the work history of Leonardo and Michelangelo… and all their peers…
With lots of different interests and projects we never get bored…

We can wake up each morning and do what we feel like… swap around and stay interested in the next challenge… the trick is to stay disciplined and on course… which is easy to do if you are really getting the juice you should from the achievements in your life…

Much to the chagrin of my detractors, I have a dramatic ability to bring most projects to a successful conclusion… faster than anyone thought possible.

But then, since I am a genuine eccentric, I was never inside the circle of acceptance to start with… Therefore, my self-definition, self worth and personal approval does not depend upon the opinions of others.

Why not?

Because my spirit is constantly fed to bursting with the amazing beauty and wonder of all I have been supported in creating around me and through me.
Talismans of Power… Shankari’s Bali Retreat, Shankari Jewelry, all the food and flower gardens I have manifested, in Hawaii, Bali and many different countries; my wonderful, talented, inspiring kids; their kids, my expanding musical evolution… I’m currently learning how to play Hawaiian slide guitar and master Logic Pro in the process!,

… the sculpture garden of Archangels from trash and recycled materials in the future here in Hawaii and my current writing… to name the obvious, are some of the ways I express my creativity in service to the earth…

I am a productive human, intent upon making a positive difference with every breath, because it makes me feel good, alive, happy and full of joy… if this is an addiction… I will stay the course rather than take the cure…

What is the cure?

To stare at my navel and contemplate the Vedic Sutras? Do nothing in the name of self healing…
I don’t think so… I know myself well, I’ll become bored, then I’m bound to make trouble…

Truth is, I am the happy custodian of a deep inner peace, because I practice daily self forgiveness, which flows on to others in the world around me… non judgment makes space for a happy life.

I am an addict, a workaholic… I accept the criticism gladly and warmly invite anyone interested in a truly wonderful adventure, with a completely magical experience… to come and join me…

let’s change the world together…
…one addict at a time… starting with ourselves!

Let go of destructive behavior, embrace your need for ‘holic-ness’ to feel alive and then become PRODUCTIVE!
Give it all you’ve got…
The world needs all us ‘holics’, to make a difference…
…Right now!

Blazing tales of wonder
Remembering all we have ever been and are about to become
Your sister through chaos and comfort …
Shankari the Alchemist… ever learning, always growing…
Hokulani
Hawaii

Sometimes people see me running around with such excitement they ask me how can I be sure… How can I be so positive about the existence of my Angels and Guides?

My answer is simple.

I have had a number of experiences in this life where I would be dead if it were not for their intervention.

I will tell you of one such occasion so you can judge for yourself.

It was a full moon, we had just moved into a new house in Bungan Beach on Sydney’s North Shore.  A beautiful old building in the style of a Spanish ‘hacienda’, with a big stone fireplace and wide ocean views through big glass windows.

A hot summer evening after midnight,  I was naked as I passed through the moonlight streaming through the living room windows, on my way to the bathroom.

I entered the dark room… half asleep,  it was pitch black, with a damp, earthy smell, being built almost underground.

I reached out for my toothbrush…
I hadn’t put the light on yet…
I knew just where my toothbrush was and I was enjoying the darkness, when out of nowhere… as if someone were shouting inside my head I heard, “put the light on!”…

Quite surprised by this strange instruction…
I stopped for a moment, reconsidered… then thought to myself, ‘I don’t need the light, I know exactly where my toothbrush is and began to reach out again…

“PUT THE LIGHT ON“…the voice screamed at me again, this time with such force that I felt compelled to obey, switching the light on, wondering what was the big deal…

I looked straight at my toothbrush and discovered to my horror… a large, lethal, black, hairy legged Funnel Web Spider was sitting right on top of the bristles!
One bite from one of these babies and you are dead in five minutes!

The recent rain must have forced it out of it’s funnel home in the ground…
Australia has a few of these deadly sorts… we live with them on a regular basis… without incident.

This is quite amazing since the really scary thing about Funnel Web Spiders is… they actually get up on their hind legs and attack when you disturb them rather than scurry away like most reasonable spiders.

When I realized my situation… naked, with a deadly spider within a few inches of my outstretched hand…

I could understand their agitation and the tone of their instruction.

A cold shiver ran through my whole body as I contemplated how close I had come to certain death…

If I didn’t have friends in “the unseen Real”, I wouldn’t be here today to tell this story,  I would have died long ago!

I absolutely know I am protected in order to live out my contract and fulfill my mission… that’s what gives me such confidence in my every day life.

I am unusual…  I don’t have faith… I don’t hope… I have the certain knowledge of my constant support from the unseen real… call them any name you like… they are there all the time…

My ‘other dimensional team’ and we work together to get things done…

There are a number of these strange stories I will share with you in the near future… in the mean time… remember you are never alone, because you are the leader of a team!

So what goes wrong?
Why do I still do stupid things some time and fail on occasion?
The reason for this is simple… the unseen real cannot protect us from ourselves!
For instance, if I was not in a receptive state and didn’t hear them as they yelled at me to ‘put the light on’…  they could not have helped me any further… we are still ultimately responsible in the third dimension for ourselves… they can only turn up and wait for instruction…. or in this case, give instruction!

Breathe, let go and balance yourself… this is a good beginning to any day and the only way to solve a problem or make a positive difference in your life… when you relax and find the stillness inside yourself, you are far more likely to hear your ‘cheer squad’ and your ‘advisory committee’… because your inside chatter has calmed down.

Open your heart and your mind… learn to stop ‘thinking, thinking, thinking… and agree to ‘be in the moment’, open to all possibilities… relaxed and sure you are loved by God and all those from all dimensions who are part of your purpose and working with you… not as a great service to you… but in service to their own evolution… because you see…

The Angels, Guides and others who work with us, evolve and grow through service in our dimension… to our evolution… without us, they wouldn’t have a job!

So you see, it’s a two way street, where everyone can win… because after all, we know the God Force is not wasteful and does things with surprising economy and swiftness.

We are all sparks from The Divine Flame… playing out our time on earth for the purpose of discovering joy, learning to love our fellow man and give up judgment on ourselves and each other….

Because the greater truth is… if you are in judgment on anything… you have become part of the problem!

Be free.

Give up judgment and fear of abandonment…

Breathe with focused intent and find your inner balance… when you are in a balance, whatever your problem… the answer is within 50ft…  to be sure… the light switch was a lot closer than that!

Blazing tales of wonder, remembering all we have ever been and are about to become…

Your sister through chaos and comfort,
Shankari the Alchemist