Tag Archives: Hawaii

Nov 10 2025

Aloha Santa: A Festive Children’s Book Adventure

There’s trouble at the North Pole! After five hundred years of snow, ice and polar bears, Mrs. Claus is ready for a change. But dear old Santa is pretty set in his ways. She may have to take drastic measures. Aloha Santa gives a merry new spin on the beloved Christmas characters with a fun verse and bright, charming illustrations.

Ho! Ho! Ho! and Mele Kalikimaka! It’s the time of year to share one of my favorite books, ALOHA SANTA. The book reminds me of the years I sang with the Na Leo Lani Chorus of Sweet Adelines in Honolulu. What a wonderful time we had spreading the Spirit of Aloha across Oahu. Aloha Santa began as a performance verse I created for a Christmas show. After hearing it, chorus members encouraged me to turn it into a children’s book.

Thanks to the wonderful artist, Jaana Baker, the story came alive through her illustrations. Aloha Santa is a read-aloud family tradition for many families. Perhaps you can make it one of yours!

ALOHA SANTA is available at Amazon in both paperback and eBook. Order HERE today to spread the Aloha Spirit with your family and friends!

Apr 11 2021

Guardian Whale Meditation at Makapu’u Beach

by Dana Taylor

A few weeks ago I awakened around 5am. I’m a get-up-with-the-sun sort of gal and the sun wasn’t expected to rise on the horizon for another 90 minutes. I look forward to such early waking mornings because I can find an engaging meditation on YouTube and float in a mental Neverland before facing mundane daily tasks. On that particular morning, I chose a hypnosis session from Peter McLaughlin of BlueSky Hypnosis. Getting in Touch with Your Higher Self sounded intriguing, so I clicked the arrow and followed the mental instructions as they unfolded. Peter guided me down a staircase into my subconscious. Fingers snapped and his soothing, well…hypnotic, voice led me into a forest, giving me the out of saying “fully awake” any ole time.

At some point Peter’s voice faded and the blurry forest morphed into a bright, vivid beach setting. I recognized it–Makapu’u Beach on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. I’d slipped into a lucid dream state, very much aware I was still in bed, but the images and sensations of the beach seemed utterly real.

Makapu’u Beach Heiau

My first trip to Makapu’u beach, circa 2016, was via a Meetup tour offered by a Kahu (Spiritual Guide) who’d taken on a Hawaiian name, but had been born perhaps some 65 years earlier in Minnesota. Though wheelchair bound, she was pushed through the uneven grassy area by a sturdy twenty-something long-hair surfer dude. She repeatedly referred to the area as “Mermaid Beach.” Being new to Oahu, I assumed “Makapu’u” means “mermaid.” It does not. Nor have I ever heard anyone else call it “Mermaid Beach.”

Makapu’u is a volcanic cove and home to several circular sacred sites called heiaus, filled with carefully arranged lava stones. The stones represent ancient gods and goddesses of the Hawaiian culture. The small group was allowed to walk inside the perimeter of the heiaus and leave gifts of leis or fresh water. The Kahu explained the relationships between the stones. I don’t recall the details of the stories. What I do remember is the energy emanating from the stones. Variations of frequencies pulsed from them, as if they indeed had “personalities.” Perhaps I’ll share all the details of that experience in another post. I mainly want to set the scene for the dream/meditation here.

Beyond the heiaus is a path down to the narrow sandy beach. Volcanic shelves and fingers of stone pounded by the crashing waves give way to the expanse of turquoise ocean. My dream took me right the water’s edge and then into the warm sea. In real life I would have been in serious trouble floundering around, but in dream life, I took to the water like a fish, literally. I transformed into a mermaid. Not a Disney Ariel glamour girl, but more like Flipper. The power of my whale tail propelled me into the open ocean. A dolphin-like skin covered my body. My arms turned more fin-like, but something like hands remained. Water seemed my natural habitat. Gills pulled in sea water, which powered me on. My eyes felt rounder and larger, able to see in the fluid expanse.

I swam towards a looming figure, a huge female blue whale and celebrated a watery reunion with my dear old Mother Guardian Whale. I embraced her, a guppy compared to her enormity. Gripping her fin, she took me on a rollicking ride through the depths. Emotions of joy and love roiled through me.

After the exhilarating frolic, we propelled at a sedate pace. I placed one hand on her head. Our minds joined telepathically. She shared pictures and messages outside of human language, yet highly intelligent. The cascade of information embedded somewhere in my subconscious, only vaguely accessible in my waking state. Planetary history and cosmic connection swirled in my mind.

At a certain point my sleeping self wanted to end the session. But breaking the connection and rising to consciousness proved difficult. Part of me was diving into the deep blue sea while the other was repeating “fully awake, fully awake!”

Groggy and bleary eyed, I finally came to full consciousness thinking, “Wow, that was interesting!”

Inspired by the dream, I’ve created a new guided meditation on my YouTube channel. Before pressing the record button, I center and open myself to creative energy. The sessions are unscripted and take on a life of their own. So, enjoy this trip to Makapu’u Beach and swimming with the Mother Guardian Blue Whale.

Bright Blessings,

Dana Taylor

Dec 3 2020

Santa Discovers the Aloha Spirit

ALOHA SANTA is on sale for $1.99 in the Kindle Store through December 16!

Amazon US Amazon UK

Website special! $10.00 Author autographed copies available while supplies last. Send me an email at SupernalFriends@yahoo.com to request your copy.

ALOHA SANTA began as a performance piece for the Na Leo Lani Chorus Christmas show in Honolulu a couple of years ago. Encouraged by chorus members to turn it into a children’s book, I enlisted the wonderful artist, Jaana Baker, to do the illustrations. Jaana’s bright pictures really bring the ALOHA SANTA story to life.

Enjoy the new book trailer:

Available in print and ebook at Amazon.com

A lovely Christmas tale told in sweet sing song rhyme, with gorgeous illustrations that bring the story of Mrs. Claus forging the way for Santa and crew to relocate to Hawaii. A great Christmas gift for the kids on your list, that adults will also delight in. Amazon Customer

Nov 21 2019

Santa Goes Hawaiian

Mrs. Claus is so over cold weather ~~~

Twas a chilly night at the North Pole,
Santa snoozed by a fire in a warm, woolen stole.
A bang of the door ruined his sleep.
Mrs. Claus stomped in with soggy, wet feet.

“That’s it,” she said. “I’m sick of this cold place,
the ice, wind, and snow always stinging my face.
What’s worse, I get chased by a big polar bear,
and Santa, I think that you don’t even care!”

It’s my great pleasure to announce the publication of ALOHA SANTA. Two years ago I wrote the verse to perform in my Sweet Adeline chorus Christmas show. My singing sisters encouraged me to turn the fanciful rhyme of Santa and Mrs. Claus moving Hawaii into a children’s book. Illustrator Jaana Baker brings the story to life with her clever and charming pictures.

ALOHA SANTA is now available in paperback at Amazon. Delight the youngsters in your life with this bright, fun holiday tale. Makes a delightful gift.

                    

20% of all royalties from November 25 thru December 25 will be donated to the Na Leo Lani Chorus of Sweet Adelines International.

 

Order at Amazon today!  ALOHA SANTA

Nov 19 2019

Magical Maui Weekend

by Dana Taylor

Magical Maui beckoned last weekend with an invitation to visit a new AirBnB cottage set up by a friend (Christine) of a friend (Patti). Before dawn on Saturday morning Patti and I took the 40 minute jet ride from Honolulu to Maui, rented a car, and set off for adventure.
 We began the day at the Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm where we toured their garden, filled with unique tropical plants and flowers. With lookouts over the valleys and across the ocean, it is truly an enchanting experience. I sat on a bench and meditated while mild breezes ruffled my clothes.
On the recommendation from the friendly gals in the gift shop, we enjoyed a quality sandwich at Grandma’s Cafe for lunch.  Afterwards we visited the Maui Winery and purchased a bottle of their unique pineapple wine.

Kula Cottontail Cottage

It was only a few minutes from there to the main event– Kula Cottontail Cottage. The cottage is tucked into the hills on property owned by Christine and Sam Heidema, who live in another house on the grounds. This energetic young couple have turned a tired rental property into a cozy cottage on their small upcountry natural fiber farm. With a career in constructural engineering, Sam designed and remodeled the cottage with comfort and practicality in mind. Christine’s creative artistry added the touches of welcoming charm. A living room, a bedroom with a comfy kingsize bed, one bath, washer and dryer, make a it an affordable two-person getaway.

Christine Heidema

                          
While the view between the trees from the porch across the sea is lovely, it’s the unique critters in the backyard that provide the “wow” moment. Christine creates natural yarn from the animals on her property. Pictured here are her two pregnant alpacas, Faith and Hope. Their serene gazes are food for the soul. Each spring the animals are shorn. Christine uses age old techniques to wash, comb,  and spin yarn from their fleece. She also keeps an assortment of angora rabbits and laboriously combs and spins together strands of their fur into skeins of yarn. Each Saturday she sells her yarns at the local Farmer’s Market. Most weekends her stock is gone by the end of the morning.
The elegant outdoor seating area provides a fireplace to warm the surprisingly chilly Maui nights. Faith and Hope are just on the other side of the fence, providing a storybook ambiance. As the sun set, Patti and I sipped our pineapple wine (delicious) at the outdoor table, surrounded by alpacas, bunnies, and the occasional free roaming chicken.
After a good meal at the Kula Bistro, we slept under comforters to ward off cold night air. After living in the perpetual summer of Honolulu, cool air was a real treat. The next morning I roused before Patti and performed my daily yoga and meditations as the sun rose and the neighboring roosters provided a crowing symphony to greet the day. After a simple breakfast and a short visit with Christine and Sam, we packed up our belongings and bid the Cottontail Cottage goodbye to continue our adventure.
Cottontail Cottage is the perfect jumping off spot to visit the majestic Haleakala, the East Maui Volcano. Designated as a National Park, the dormant volcano rises 28,000 feet from the sea floor, making it the third highest mountain on the planet. The drive is a twisty, well paved road, up, up, up through amazing changing habitats. Areas of brush, eucalyptus, and pines ultimately give way to a moonscape of reddish lava boulders. Clouds dance across ridges and peaks. Artists strive to capture all the hues of earthen tones created by Mother Nature. Endangered and unique birds live in various areas. We spotted a few with great enthusiasm.
Volcano gazing can really build an appetite, so we wove down the mountain and cruised over to the Grand Wailea Waldorf Astoria for an elegant lunch. Tourists enjoyed their waterpark pools while the ocean rippled close by. The well appointed grounds display a dolphin fountain and a collection of world famous pudgy statues crafted by Fernando Botero. We finished out the afternoon in high style before we caught a plane home.
Would I recommend a stay at Kula Cottontail Cottage? Absolutely. Experience magical Maui away from the usual tourist meccas. You will love meeting Faith and Hope.

Find Kula Cottontail Cottage listed as “Upcountry Alpaca and Rabbit Working Fiber Farm” on Airbnb

For more information contact Christine Heidema at KulaCottontailCottage@gmail.com

 

Bright blessings,
Dana Taylor
 
Aug 14 2019

My Rock Friends

by Dana Taylor

My romance with rocks began as a small child visiting my parents’ friends, Jon and Lois. As my mom and Lois chatted in the kitchen, Jon took 6-year-old me to check out his workshop in the garage. I remember it as a wonderland of rocks and stones. Jon was a rock hound. On weekends he dragged Lois up into the dry California hills searching for treasures of geodes and dusty stones. Jon showed me his rock polisher, a drum that turned rocks into shiny gems. Rocks lined window shelves and covered the tables in all their mineral glory. I was smitten.

After I became a Reiki practitioner in 2005, rocks began to “call” to me. I went from admiring them, to feeling and hearing them. They buzzed, thumped, and hummed. My ears didn’t actually hear them, yet they seemed to send their own tunes into my mind. It was all a little weird, but Reiki had opened a whole weird world and rocks were the least of it. I began collecting, taking home the ones that felt companionable.

I made an attempt at studying stone and crystal characteristics listed in volumes of rock encyclopedias. Amethyst is a healing stone, jasper is a grounding stone, etc. I soon got lost in all the definitions. Turning into a crystal healing expert wasn’t happening. Instead, individual rocks became my quiet friends. They became part of my ever-growing awareness of intelligence in the non-human universe. (Plants, bugs, and animals talk to me also, but that’s another blog.)

Let me share some of my favorite things about my rock friends.

  • Power – Stones are not inert. They radiate energy. Some of it is palpable to almost everyone. Magnets hold up favorite photos on the fridge. Crystals are integral to our communication technology. Uranium is the basis of complete nuclear annihilation. In this ever-increasing era of radiation and microwaves (5G is happening!!), people will incorporate stones like black tourmaline and orgone crystal energy devices to mitigate harmful effects of high tech.

  • Beauty – Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, right? The De Beers family and blood diamonds aside, humans have adorned themselves with stones with from pre-historic times. I suspect Eve had Adam searching out gems to string around her pretty neck in Eden.

  • Information storage and communication—One of my favorite books is The Standing Stones Speak by Natasha Hoffman and Hamilton Hill, published in 2001. The authors visited many standing stone sites in the UK and Europe and shared the information they psychically received from them. The book began to shift my paradigms of “reality.”

Storage space won’t allow me to bring home every rock that catches my eye. Nowadays, they have to really call to me in some fashion. Here are a few of my special companions.

  Lava heart – Hawaii legend warns people about taking lava rocks out of their natural locations. Remember the infamous episode of the Brady Bunch? One morning I went to take a swim at Magic Island at Ala Moana State Beach. Magic Island is a calm lagoon created by a man-made barrier. There isn’t a lot ocean debris washed up. Lava isn’t a floating stone. The beach is not littered with it. Yet, a lone human-heart shaped lava stone lay near the spot I chose to place my towel. It caught my eye. I received the impression, Take me home. Therein ensued an internal conversation questioning my over-active imagination and Brady-Bunch inspired trepidation. Take me home, it seemed to whisper. Fine, I gave in. Lava Heart has been with me several years now with no ill effect. I took him (feels male to me) to Angela, The Stone Whisperer. She had the impression he had once taken part in Hawaiian ceremonies. I sometimes feel impressed to hold him during prayer and meditation.

Blue kyanite –I purchased this guy at a wonderful rock store in Virginia City, NV. The frequency buzz in my palm holding him is high and clear. Blue kyanite aids in chakra alignment and is associated with the throat chakra. It helps you speak your truth. My blue kyanite rests on a living room ledge, constantly energizing the room.

Amethyst – This lovely found me at the Meramac Cave gift shop in Missouri. The energy she exudes tickles the fine hairs on my arm. For sheer beauty, amethyst is a knock out. Amethyst has calming vibes and aids in clear thinking. My amethysts help create a peaceful energy in my home.

Stone gods

 

My move to Hawaii elevated my sense of personhood in stones. A visit to the sacred heiaus at Makapu’u Beach led by a kahuna allowed me to touch lava stones gathered from around the islands for their sacred properties. They are linked with ancient gods, goddesses and their families. The energy and “personalities” are palpable. The experience fairly blew my mind and took a while to assimilate. The kahuna also guided us to sit in a tidal pool of our choice for prayer and meditation. We spent half an hour by ourselves, warm water swirling around our bodies, waves crashing onto the shelf of lava. I experienced some sort of encounter that day with an Ancient One. For days afterwards, I felt dramatically attached to Hawaii in a new way. The air seemed bluer, the rainbows more exquisite, the vitality stronger. I sent a message to the kahuna to ask if my imagination was simply running wild. She replied she “saw” a female Hawaiian spirit around me while I sat in the pool. Hawaii became “home” after that experience.

I’ll end with the story of Kaneikokala, the shark god. Kaneikokala is a resident of the Bishop Museum. He is free standing outside some display cases on the first floor. He grabs your attention, like suddenly meeting E.T. The plaque near him says:

 

“Kaneikokala, a stone image of Ki’i pohaku made of vesicular basalt, was uncovered by Wahinenui, a kama’aina (native born) of Kawaihae, Hawai’i. Wahinenui was guided to the buried location by his dreams, claiming the ki’i had pleaded constantly to be taken from the cold in which it lay. Kaneikokala was brought to Bishop Museum in 1906, and not long afterward set permanently into cement in the floor of Hawaiian Hall. In spite of well intentioned efforts to relocate Kane to a suitable site outside the Hall, the image has steadfastly held its ground and refused to be moved.”

My Rock Cave

Since I moved to my current apartment last year, I don’t feel the need to surround myself with more and more rocks, much to my daughters’ relief, no doubt. I suspect the main reason is because my home walls are now encased by lava rock. I live on the side of an extinct volcano. A space was blasted out to make room for this cozy dwelling. I have front windows that over look the ocean. On a clear day I can see Molokai, Lanai, and Maui. (Wow!) The rest of the apartment is tucked into the mountain. The sheet rock walls of the bedroom, bath, and closet cover pure lava. When I return after a trip to the mainland, I feel the very walls welcome me home. The energy of the stones, the sea air and the power of Hawaii revitalizes me.

Jon & Lois

Speaking of revitalizing, Jon and Lois are still going strong, hovering around 90 years old. I visited them a few years ago. Their house is filled with majestic stones. Valuable, tall crystals stand as sentinels throughout their home. Exquisite polished globes of stones like tiger eyes, citrine, and agate decorate their tables. It struck me that they had created a “powerhouse” with their rock collection. IMO, that’s one of the keys to their amazing longevity.

I encourage you to find your own stone friends. They can enhance your life in ways you simply don’t understand…yet.

Bright Blessings,

Dana Taylor

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