Marya Mann : Blog : What Is A FUNFORMATION REVOLUTION?

What is a FUNFORMATION REVOLUTION?

KONA, Hawaii ~ Asking what might be funny and making light in a situation rather than searching for how or why we’ve been victimized, impeded or thwarted, may be a powerful step toward healing ourselves and others in a crisis-addicted, stressful, basically humor-deficit situation — modern civilization, in other words.

Even though we all have frustrating feelings now and then, I believe it’s better to worry over another happiness rather than worry over another Great Depression. Good fortune, like happiness and humor, will basically follow those who are looking for it. Even when it seems nonspiritual and un-American not to be depressed over the pervasive war, oil addiction and poverty on our planet, humor is a healing attitude, a point of view that helps us unhitch from the information and feel the perfect essence of our situation.

Because it is unpredictable, humor requires the higher mind to both feel and figure out the prize inside a line like Jane Wagner’s: “No matter how cynical I get, it’s seems like it’s never enough to keep up.” Humor often surprises the speaker as much as the listener, and we utter a guttural sound called laughter.

Victor Borge called laughter the shortest distance between two people. “At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities,” wrote Jean Houston. “Laughter is an instant vacation,” said Milton Berle. And e.e. cummings wrote, “The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.”

KE OLA MAGAZINE’S FEATURE ON KALANI OCEANSIDE ECO-VILLAGE

This occurred to me as I was developing Ke Ola’s story on Kalani Honua, the celebrated Oceanside retreat center on Hawaii Island where I interviewed Richard Koob, Wailana Simcock and other creative folks at the transformational center. One thing you notice right away when you are at the center, very close to the fiery heart of the active Kilauea Volcano, is that folks living and working here seem to have created a utopia. Tilling the land, farming fish, raising chickens and creating art, they receive what nature offers and then give back to nature through beautiful offerings — dance, painting, music, singing, healing, flower arranging, trapeze swinging, and more.

They live in harmony with their environment, and that alone can relax stress. Recycling the former conflicted energy into a kind of tickled happiness helps you understand how feeling at ease is the open secret most of us need to relearn. We were raised to push and conquer, shock and awe, and now we are becoming a species of play and balance, shamanic and awe-filled. Interwoven with Kalani’s traditional Hawaiian values of caring for family, conservation of land and alignment with creative powers is an immense appreciation for the simple pleasures of beauty, balance, meditation and mirth.

I began to see there’s much about the center that can’t be described in glossy brochures or condensed into a sound-bite. You can’t chop the “unity of heaven and earth” – the meaning of the name Kalani Honua — down to a tidbit on the evening news. It’s relational. It’s the realization that you are not an isolated, separate being, alone and cut off, and perhaps that’s because so many dedicated people are devoted to the blossoming of all sentient life.

Is this because the Volcano Goddess Pele has drawn these fortunate eco-artists to her breast, to live at the lip of new life with lava streaming into the ocean, making a new earth, right in front of our eyes?

In the 35 years of its existence, Kalani has embraced diversity by hosting workshops, performances, classes and professional training programs for thousands of people. Many who visit the center are, or have been at one time or another, gay, straight, Republican, Democrat, wounded, sad, mad, godlike, fierce, compassionate. Many are willing to grow more expanded and inclusive perspectives. You could say the Kalani creative team looks at the big picture.

The Kalani team who organize events like Halloween weekend’s Eco-Hawaii Festival Day have made a point of creating a haven of harmony among people of all color, faiths and nationalities. They have learned how to balance eco-friendly Hawaiian traditions, the teachings of yoga, and the celebration of world arts in a tropical paradise that remains steady and sustainable in a radically diverse and transforming world, all with an attitude of good humor and joy. I think that might qualify as a Funformation.

Spiritual pilgrims come to Kalani to study culinary arts, learn yoga and dance, and “ground” themselves in the subtleties of organic farming, aquaculture, and transformational performing arts. What most learn, however, is that this rich palette of living arts encourages the visitor, scholar and volunteer to become more fully their true selves.

At the Eco-Fest on Sunday, October 31st, I saw an amazing ancient modern flying dance at Kalani, choreographed by Wailana Simcock, one of the dancers interviewed for the Ke Ola story. You can see spectacular new Kalani videos of last summer’s Performing Arts Festival and more at www.kalani.com. Read more about Wailana and Kalani Eco-Village in the new Ke Ola available all over the Big Island and at www.keolamagazine.

KE OLA MAGAZINE

Another of my favorite funformations is Ke Ola Magazine. If you haven’t already fallen in love with Ke Ola, I encourage you to go to the website and check out the Big Island publication. It has become a significant platform for community exchange, development and transformation, and it’s a wonderful way to keep the Big Island close to your heart whether you live here or not, with stories about people who are making a positive difference, along with beautiful photographs. It’s for people who live here full time, part-time or dream of spending time here. The stories are about our kupuna, our history, the culture, sustaining the land, our spiritual connection and more. All are produced by resident writers.

Ke Ola also features the fine art and photographs of the island’s talented artists and highlights books written by local authors. It also has a calendar of events during each 2 month period. It is published 6 times a year. It makes a great gift for family and friends who also love the Big Island!

May you enjoy the Funformation Revolution!

Big Blessings, Marya

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