For some considerable time, Catherine and I had thought how lovely it would
be for just the two of us to take time out from our regular lives to
experience a Dance camp purely as participants, rather than leading and
doing all the organizational work, as we had done for some years now with
dance pilgrimages to Uluru, Hawaii and Bali. We had heard about the Fall
Sufi Camp each year on Maui, and having both been on the island in 1998,
thought this just had to be the heart gathering for us, especially since it
would fall when New Zealand was still in the grip of winter.
Added to this was the opportunity to spend some time with Leila and Andy Be,
who had been to Mana a few years ago to lead one of our annual retreats, to
receive some direct guidance from Leilah, who had initiated us into the
Ruhaniat stream of the Sufi family, to re-connect with Shabda Kahn, Pir of
the Ruhaniat whom we had met in the Netherlands in 2002, and to meet for the
first time Murshid Samuel Lewis disciple and secretary, Murshid Wali Ali.
Ironically, from a financial point of view, we thought that our accumulated
air points would get us there for free, but it turned out that we had to pay
full price for our flights because there were no air point seats available
when we needed to travel. But we were going anyway! And then a wonderful
thing happened. We found out that the Camp needed a breakfast chef plus a
work exchange person to support her, so Catherine was awarded a free place,
and I got there at a much reduced rate. It wasn’t going to be the sort of
camp where we could just participate, but at least it would be possible for
us to get there!
One of the most wonderful aspects of going to this camp had to be the
welcoming and loving presence of the camp director, Jason Groode. If ever
there was an embodiment of a loving heart, it had to be Jason. From our
initial dealings with him in cyberspace, we thought that he was a bit of a
young dude, but he turned out to be a man in his sixties who had clearly
grown into wisdom. Nothing was too much trouble for him: inevitably, our
emails were answered within 12 hours of sending them, often less than that,
and he made it clear that they were determined to get a couple of Kiwis up
there to the camp, especially as Jason had travelled throughout New Zealand
a couple of times before, and he had grown fond of the people from these
shaky isles. We will always remember his opening remarks in our opening
circle for all the volunteer staff who arrived the day before the camp got
under way: “It’s really simple, we just want to love you all up!”
Re-uniting with Andy and Leilah was a wonderful experience for us. Picking
us up from the airport after dusk, Andy transported us to a funky whole food
restaurant in nearby Paia for a delicious vegetarian meal, before heading
out to their home. This is an old town from the sugar cane days of Maui now
turned into a bustling, happening place with many people living in the
district sharing widely-ranging alternative values on life, supporting a
vibrant crafts industry, amazing organic food shops, and a spiritual
supermarket offering anything from Atma consciousness to Zoroastrianism. We
drove out into the dark night, embraced by its velvety warmth and tropical
scents, making our way on the Hana Highway towards the jungle encampment
that is the home of Andy and Leilah. Imagine if you will coming to the end
of a rough track off the main highway, turning off the engine, and listening
to the sounds of the night. Birds calling, insects chirping in the long
grass, and above it all we hear a familiar pure voice, distant at first then
strengthening as we approach a group of rounded shelters just visible
against the night sky, the moon still to rise. Leila is in her temple
chanting a zikhr that she has just brought through, accompanied by the soft
tones of her electronic keyboard. We will hear that zikhr several times
during the camp, and bring it home to NZ to be given voice during other
gatherings and dance circles.
These two amazing beings live in a collection of canvas and pole structures
in a jungle clearing lined by a banana plantation, huge old mango trees and
other tropical giants forming a canopy above the rain-forest floor. A gentle
stream flows past their encampment, where solar power and inverters drive
everything from water pumps and lighting to a washing machine and drier. Out
in the middle of nowhere, they communicate with the rest of the world
through a wireless high-speed internet connection and mobile phone system.
An organic garden puts fresh vegetables on their table, gas cooks their
food, and they bring in a wide range of organic fruits and vegetables from
all over the island to sell at their famous fruit stand at the gate. No TV
or radio breaks into their place of peace, and guests are accommodated in
tents by the stream or a tree-top bedroom. Within close proximity is a
series of waterfalls that visitors walk in to visit. A few days R and R in
this beautiful setting, and we were ready to travel the very twisty road out
to the Keanae Peninsula and the YMCA venue which would be our home for the
next 8 days, overlooking spectacular sea views, or inland to the massive
volcanic shape of Haleakala.
Thanks to a highly organized and experienced core camp committee, the camp
quickly took shape, like a coiled snake emerging from its winter lair:
kitchen cooking gear, cutlery and crockery emerged from packing cases, food
rolled up in neatly organized chilly bins and bulk containers, shelves got
filled, fridges stacked, and in the hall the most gorgeous altars took
shape, created from beautiful cloths, luxuriant plants and flowers, the
images of teachers and deities from all major spiritual paths taking their
place against this kaleidoscope of colour. The next day, camp participants
rolled in to a vision of calm and organization, with the kitchen up and
running and final tuning of sound systems and accommodation arrangements.
The camp quickly took on its daily rhythm, with early morning practices –
raga with Shabda, yoga, etc — followed by breakfast. The first session of
dance and teachings started about 9.30 am, a short mid-morning water break
around 11, then seated teachings from Shabda and Wali Ali. Lunch was at 1 pm
approximately, then a welcome break for swims in the nearby ocean or
freshwater pools, to about 4.30, when Leilah offered her amazing zikr
practice, with many new melodies we had not experienced before. Dinner was
at 6 pm, Bhajan chanting with Neeraja/Heather at 7, and the evening session
got under way at about 7.45.
But our day as kitchen staff was a little different. We rose at 5am in the
dark, a beautiful, still time of day, and made our way to the kitchen for a
5.30 start. You had to be there to experience the food! Breakfast consisted
of a galaxy of tropical fruits, hot and cold cereals, cooked vege frittata
type dishes, fluffy scrambled eggs (we learned how to make these without
milk, so that all the people on special diets could be accommodated), toast
of many varieties, accompanied by more teas than you could poke a stick at,
plus, of course, real, perked coffee. Everything, just everything, was
organic, and every conceivable diet choice had to be accommodated, a cook’s
nightmare at times, but a participant’s delight! In order to prepare all
this, Catherine and I had to put in also about an hour during the evening,
which meant leaving the session early, but fortunately there was a speaker
system connecting us with the hall, so we could hear every dance and chant.
Imagine us hearing an old favourite or something new from time to time,
dashing back to the hall with our hand-held tape-recorder, joining the
dance, scribbling down the directions, then scuttling back to the kitchen to
break another 120 eggs! We had a great kitchen crew who quickly became our
friends, and within a short time we were in the groove, meeting the
scheduled grace start-time with ease. For us, doing the breakfast not only
made it possible for us to be there: it also enabled us to meet everyone at
the camp in a very positive way (everyone loved the food!), and to
participate fully in the activities of the rest of the day.
What really stands out at the Fall Camp is the quality of the leadership and
teachings. By now, Kiwis have experienced Shabdas style: laid back but
peppered with insights and gentle encouragement, amazing musicianship and a
dance leading flavour that places attunement over form. Leilah, now a
Murshida, was exquisite, her leading of dances and practices reflecting
great inner clarity and gentleness, embracing all in the circle, quite
amazing to observe and feel. And in Wali Ali, we got to feel that special
quality derived, as with Shabda, from years of deep contact and teaching
directly from Murshid Sam himself. Much recovered in health, and with his
wife and toddler son with him, he led dances and gave teachings that were
insightful and distinctive. In person he is quite shy, but we loved being
around him.
These teachers, above all, do not place themselves on pedestals, but share
their own sense of insecurities and trials on the path of
consciousness-raising, bringing the teachings through rather than being
ego-driven or seeking personal followers. And in the centre of the circle,
they were joined by a brace of top-quality musicians on drums, violins, wind
and Middle-Eastern stringed instruments, enveloping us in a diaphanous
atmosphere of sound that gave wings to the feet and heart. The quality of
these experiences that everyone shared made for a very harmonious camp,
which is remarkable given that the accommodation was very basic (giant bunk
rooms or tents), and the heat all-pervasive at times, averaging 28 degrees
Celsius and approaching 90%+ humidity every day.
Above all, we took away from this camp a real sense of being part of a very
loving and caring heart family. We were treated so well, embraced into this
community who had come together before so many times. They celebrated our
different vibration, taking delight in mimicking in a gentle way our
respective Kiwi and Scottish/Kiwi accents (I didn’t know I had an accent, it
was they who had the accents!). We felt so honored to represent the Kiwi
dance community back home when we were asked to lead Te Aroha, and to our
great surprise, the leaders kept requesting us to do it again, even in the
final session on the last day. We know that everywhere we go in this world,
we have heart family just waiting to embrace us into their local
communities, and to share the special heritage that is the Dances of
Universal Peace, the inspiration of Samuel Lewis, and the various streams of
the Sufi family. Ya Fattah!
Nasir Grace
