Have you ever been surrounded by strangers and found that you felt most at home?

I am always amazed by the many transformations I get to witness with each tide of Lomi Lomi retreats. With every group of students comes a swell of experiences, perspectives and intentions, linked together by a common cord of calling. The gift of talking story has been granted to me, and as we form a circle at the start of each day in the retreat room of Ho’omana Spa, I get to talk story with people from all over the world. As the days of retreat go by, the connections between each person grow, and the transformations are inspiring. If you’ve ever been surrounded by new faces from all over the globe and felt a kind of warmth from these faces, you may recognize the feeling that one student describes here, illustrating her journey in Lomi Lomi Fundamentals and her experience on our Sacred Sites tour:

Have you ever felt the warmth of a cold stream?

There is no better way to describe my experience than this. Three days of listening, learning, and practicing the Hawaiian art form Lomi Lomi led me to this moment of simultaneous tranquility and exhilaration– the warmth of cold water. Into the clear, flowing stream of Iao Valley, I stepped down quickly from the rocks, summoning up the courage to face the chicken skin; it was an overcast morning, and ice cold water wasn’t exactly calling my name.

But something else was calling me, and I was eager to answer. The part of the stream I faced then was shallow, so there would be no inching my way in. I stood still for a moment, water hugging me from my toes to just below my knees; then in one fluid motion, like the water itself, I sunk forward into the cold, welcoming the thrill as I turned onto my back, the crown of my head facing the flow of the stream. As I got hold of my muscles, I managed to relax them one by one, and I slowed my breath, one exhale at a time. I thought of the ancestors, who pour their light into us with their teachings. I heard Jeana calling, “soothe with Lomi”, her voice echoing through the Ho’omana retreat space; I felt the tears that ran down my face two days prior, when practicing Lomi woke a spirit inside me; I thought of the healing that we all need, and the people physically around me who had dedicated themselves that weekend to healing, to love.

I listened to the chants echoing softly in my core. And right there, as the water rushed over and around me, from head to toe, the mana–the energy, the life-force–swept through me and out of me, and I felt warm.

What still amazes me about this moment is the depth and lightness of pure energy. I lay in the water for less than a minute that morning, while the water clung to me and then left my body infinitely many times. And during this time, I felt warmth and love run through me– I physically felt it! I spiritually felt it. The mana charged through me, never holding back, or hanging on.

Lomi Lomi is teaching me the same lesson, day by day: Share your love, your aloha, your mana and your light. Let the warmth run through you to the people and the earth around you. And then, let go… so that the mana and love continue to flow with a sort of lightness that reaches the depths of our bones.

Fall 2014 has been a time of transformation and empowerment. September brought us a motivated group of Immersion students; people from across the island joined our ventures with Kumu Mike Lee during the Equinox and solar eclipse; our Lomi Fundamentals students came to Ho’omana with energy and love to share; and we welcomed our Lomi ‘ohana for the Advanced retreat. I invite you to take a look at our Fall Highlights below, and to share your experiences of transformation.

Have you ever been amongst people who inspired such transformation, or in a space that empowered you like this?