Spirituality and Volcano Tours on the Big Island
For me, spirituality is all about connection, meaning, and communion with nature. In Hawaii, and more specifically when I took tours of the Big Island volcano, I felt more in touch with my own spirituality.
Whether it’s walking through a field of black lava, listening to the rumble of the planet, or smelling the fumes emanating from the center of the earth, it’s only when I’m somewhere on top of an active volcano that I can come to believe that there is a greater power. that I. Or that there is a divine order in the universe. Or that really my life and my problems are inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, in the shadow of creation and destruction, on the flank of an erupting volcano.
Some pray to a Higher Power, some to the Universe, some to God. But when you’re walking through a crater in the middle of the world’s longest and most active erupting volcano, you pray to Pele, the Hawaiian deity who rules these islands and is said to dwell deep in the heart of Kilauea. You don’t want him to be mad at you.
In ancient Hawaiian spirituality there was and still is a deep connection and respect for the elements and nature. There is a reverence for the ancestors and the belief that their spirits still guide subsequent generations. There is a mix of mythology, legend and modern culture that is unique to these islands.
Visiting the rainforests, waterfalls, lava tubes, and lava flows in Big Island Volcanoes National Park, I felt the connection to all the elements (kumu) that Hawaiians chant and hula dancers tell their stories. stories. I have felt the ancient connections with air (ha), fire (ahi), water (wai) and earth (honua).
Most of all, in Hawaii, you feel the aloha. Aloha means love and also means “with encouragement”. If the elements of nature are the spirituality of Hawaii, then aloha is the religion of Hawaii. Aloha, when sheds all of its tourism and consumerism, is about connecting with each other and connecting with nature. It is forgiveness and compassion. It is about shared experience and shared meaning.
Some find this meaning in church or on the beach, but I find this shared meaning on top of Kilauea, Mauna Kea, and Mauna Loa. I find him deep in a lava tube cave. I find it at the edge of a mighty river of hot molten lava. I find it in humid tropical jungles and in the barren desolation of a primordial lava bed. I find it in the ancient spirits that still roam the island of Hawaii. I breathe it in the flower-scented air and see it etched into the sheer cliffs of this volcanic landmass.
I discover the spirituality of the islands; I discover my own spirituality, with every breath I take in Hawaii. With each and every aloha I breathe.