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05/17/2002 Archived Entry: "4/24/02 Father Bray"

Late in 1967, the extended Digger community, also known as "the free families" began to have a series of meetings, which ultimately led to the establishment of some of the early intentional communities of that era.

At one meeting of around 200 people, someone came forward and said that there was a community in Maui, which was extending an invitation to all of us to move there.

Some people said, "let’s go now." And it could have been quite interesting had we all done that, or, it could have been quite unfortunate. However, I said that it does not seem real to me, and that I would go check it out and report back to everyone.

I had been an atheist for many years prior to psychedelics, but had recently begun to relate to the Divine, for a variety of complex reasons, in the form of the god of the sea. I used the Greek name, Poseidon. I conceived of this trip to Hawaii to check out the community as a sacred venture. Accordingly, I went down to the ocean before I left, made an offering, and prayed for guidance.

There were many sub-adventures on this trip. It was a very rich time. The few hippies then living in Hawaii received me as an ambassador from the mother community in the Haight Ashbury, which, in fact, I was. A group of us went to Maui, and found after a while, that the people who had invited us to join them consisted of a couple of guys stoned on "Romilar" (a cough syrup), living on perhaps an acre. It was not exactly suitable for 200 people and our families.

What to do? We went back to Honolulu. After some discussion, I said that I would like to ask a representative of the elder people living on this land for guidance. Someone said they know of a Kahuna living on the Big Island. I decided to go meet him. It was in October. The harvest moon was full, and it was close to my birthday.

I flew to Kona. There was no Father Bray there. Upon inquiry, I was told that he was thought to live on the Hilo coast, clear across the island. I decided that I would rent a car, drive to the ocean in Hilo, and ask the first Hawaiian I met to direct me to Father Bray’s home. When I reached the ocean, I saw a young Hawaiian woman, and asked for directions, which she gave me, only she called him "Daddy Bray" rather than "Father Bray." I drove to his home, and he was not there.

I had also spoken via phone to man who was running a Peace Corps camp on another part of the Island. He said that there was a slight possibility that we could use a portion of the land his camp was based on, but that he was only going to be there that day. Again, what to do? Drive for another couple of hours, or wait to see the Kahuna?

I went down to the Ocean to pray for guidance. I made an offering and closed my eyes in meditation and prayer. When I opened my eyes there was a very large man, with a full beard and a raised tattoo of a lion head on his back. He was wearing one of those skirt things, carrying a trident and a throw net. I asked him if he knew Daddy Bray. He asked me why did I want to see him, and I told him, in detail. He said that Daddy Bray had gone to town to buy some food for his dogs and would be home soon, and that I should wait there with him for a while. We did not talk much. I watched him fish, mostly using the throw net.

After a while, he said that Daddy Bray was on his way home, and that it was time for me to go. I arrived at the driveway at the exact same moment as Daddy Bray. We talked with one another for six hours straight, right through the night. At some point, I asked him what I should do with my life.

He said: "Be a light."
I said: "What do you mean?"
He said: "Be a radiant example of how to live on the planet."

Words I have never forgotten. Later, just before going to bed, I asked him about the man on the beach. Daddy Bray asked me to describe him, which I did. He said that he has been living here as a Kahuna for many years, that he knew every Hawaiian, and that there was no one who fit the description.

"Then who was it," I asked.
"Obviously," he said, ‘"it was the God of the Sea, directing you to me."