Ah Bob, now you've got me going....;-) I am not New Age-y either, but what you have described so well about the visceral magic in Hawaii is true and IS indescribable until one experiences it for themselves. Many times before I went there I heard such stories from others, including many who would be the last people one would think to be talkin' about the spirits. I thought maybe it was a quaint local custom. Everyone I knew from Hawaii, people who ranged from the fundamentally religious to the total non-religious to hard-boiled war veterans and other cynics not only believed in the spirits there, it was a fact of life to them. After my own experience, (and no, I was not on any "mood enhancers" ;-) I mentioned it quietly to a few close Hawaii friends and they treated it very matter of factly and had Hawaiian words for my particular experience which I have long forgotten. But one doesn't have to have a specific experience to feel the phenomena surrounding you everywhere there. There IS something there beyond the stunning physical beauty and it is unlike any other place I've ever visited or known about.
Kakki NP: Michael Chapdelaine - As Tears Go By
