The Hawaii Island Meditation Ohana Newspaper

January to June 2010

Kona Meditation Group

It had been years of sitting, sitting, sitting before and then starting to sit with Gavin and the meditation group in Kona 10 years ago. What has it meant to me, why have I done it, what have I learned? Hard to answer those questions; except to say I feel compelled to do it. There has been a deep urge to sit and hear the same words from Gavin to start again and again. What I have gotten is a greater understanding of attachment. Each time the Sanga had to move was difficult. I loved the old place even if it was not adequate to

our needs. Each member of the Sanga that came or left distressed me. I wanted it to be always just the way it had been. I couldn't stand losing a friend. I hated every time Gavin moved. And gradually, ever so gradually, I have been taking my hands off the steering wheel. And to my surprise I feel less apprehensive and less scared. It feels as if the world is gradually lifting off of me. Sometimes I just am -and for now this feels enough.

 I know very deeply that I could not have done it alone. More than anything the Sanga and our dearest teacher have been my touchstone. So many people have passed through. We

sit together and the presence of each and every one supports me. (And of Gavin, I can't begin--You have my heart, dear friend-thank you for all the years we touched!) So many of you. I know I can't sit alone. The sense of safety and trust of being with you has been so great. What happens is invisible, untouchable, unknowable; and yet moveable. And I am so grateful.

-Lorraine Highkin

  Four of us from the Kona Ohana participated in a Walk to benefit local charities. We entered as the Shirpa Misu (Letters from our names) Walking Meditation Team. It wasn't like our usual meditations because we could talk, yet it had the same spirit. As Gavin often suggests, I took some steps as if they were my very first and other steps as if they were my last. I felt the connection that's already there between my feet and the earth. We shared a beautiful and mindful day with our meditation ohana.

—Patty Louys

Waimea Meditation Group

I always look forward to the monthly "mini-retreats" Gavin leads in

Waimea. It can be challenging - between my role as mother and wife, my

work and my involvement in the Waimea community - to make time to

dedicate to my practice. I look forward to those peaceful Sunday

afternoon sittings with Gavin and the others present. The deep

sense of connection I feel meditating and sharing with this group re-

grounds me and if needed, jump starts my home practice again. And I

realize that my being there helps to offer the same support to others. I

always take away the reminder that making the time to practice in fact

is the very thing that has the most positive effect on my other roles

and activities. I am grateful for the group and for Gavin's loving

guidance.

--Katie Callendar

I have been attending the monthly meditation gathering in Waimea regularly

for one year. I had been practicing daily at home for a year prior, but I

have found that the embrace of the community and the feelings that I

receive when I meditate with others have assisted my practice

immeasurably. Gavin's offerings of poetry, guidance and compassionate

support are of tremendous value to me as I endeavor to walk a spiritual

path. This is very much a new experience for me, and, as a career

educator, I am truly enjoying being a student again, a beginner again.

—Kiyoshi Najita

 February 2010 silent retreat

 We were recently given the gift of being with Gavin during his week-long silent retreat in February of 2010. The gift issued from multiple sources; we were given a scholarship by a student of Gavin’s to attend, and received a bounty of wisdom and inspiration from Gavin and the Ohana community. Being from Washington State, the opportunity to rest in the lush beauty of Kohala was wonderful, and we felt very held by the land during our time there. The rigor with which the community kept to our silence and practice was ennobling, and Gavin's teaching and presence was a wonderful boon to the journey. His learned and impassioned approach, weaving together the ecstasy of Sufic longing with the austere mindfulness techniques of Theravadan Buddhism, has reverberated through our systems in a profound way. It was an absolutely beautiful and transformative experience, one that we hope to relive soon.

---J. Joshua Phillips & Lina McLean, Olympia, WA

“One Love, One Song "

Gavin’s June 2010 Poetry Reading in North Kohala

 Thanks to the New Moon Foundation and 'Iole, Saturday evening, June 5, 2010, was

another magical night in North Kohala. This was the fourth evening of "Sacred Poetry, Music and Stories of Awakening" on the Big Island this year. Accompanied by Nelson Denman on

the cello, Gavin offered his own poetry and poems by Rumi, Hafiz and others. All

thoughts of past and future endeavors were left outside, while Gavin's

heartfelt readings allowed us to witness and share in his moments of

struggle, joy and awakening. Gavin’s rendition of the great poets’

words of truth took us on a journey of the heart. The room was filled with light and

love, supported by close-knit friends and members of Gavin's North Kohala community. We are so

fortunate to have such a beautiful and eloquent man to help bring us

closer to our true selves, while embracing the joys and laughter of

life.

---Rachel Allen

 A Poem Written during the Five-Day Silent Residential Meditation Retreat in North Kohala over Memorial Day Weekend 2010

The Heart's Remembrance

Emotion wells

and my heart bursts open

with the sheer beauty

of our shared humanness -

the focused attention

to all the small details

of shared existence.

All this trying, all this effort,

the silence, the walking,

the focused and unfocused mind,

the breath entering and leaving,

the body digging deeper into itself,

deeper into the ground

of our being

of eternal Oneness.

All of this

breaks my heart

and opens it even more

so I may see

so we may all see

and deeply know

our perfection

beyond all the words

beyond thought

beyond condemnation

and right or wrong.

We are love in essence.

May we remember this.

May we remember.

---Melissa Cardwell

  Please send submissions for inclusion in the next newsletter to our editor, Richard Diedrichs:

richard@richarddiedrichs.net