Join us in January for

Dances of Universal Peace 

Kirtan and Sufi Zikr (singing)  

Breath and Walking Meditations
 
Ecstatic Dance and Yoga
   
 Group music making

 Rumi Cafe talent sharing
 
Healing Ritual 

Spiritual Discussions
 
 Intentional Community Land Tour

Visit a sacred volcanic warm pool and steam vents

"Come, come, whoever you are, 

this caravan has no despair, 

Even though you have broken your vows 10,000 times 

Come, come again." 

-Rumi

Samples from the program:

We have many wonderful offerings to delight you, presented by our very skilled leaders and other guest teachers including:

Kirtan

(with Gayan)

Chanting in the Hindu tradition, being lost in the sweetness of invoking the Divine archetypes, from this devotional path with deep roots in India.

Dances of Universal Peace

(with various leaders) 

Dances of Universal Peace are easily learned, with gentle movements that even "non-dancers" can greatly enjoy.  Singing sacred, ancient phrases from many spiritual traditions creates a full body healing vibration, and when conscious movement is added, these become powerful spiritual practices. If you are a trained Dance leader or musician, you will have opportunities to share.

Ecstatic Dance

(with Amara and others)

Ecstatic Dance is a time to drop into your body and move with the music freely, in your own time, in your own creative rhythm.

Dance alone or with others, stretch, recline, watch or participate.

All levels welcome, no previous dance experience necessary.

Connection Games

(with Amara) 

Create new and authentic connections by getting to know people in fun and playful ways.  

These Games create a safe atmosphere for people to show up, exactly as they are, and connect from this place.  

The games are aimed at keeping what is present in the moment very alive and exploring it together with child like curiosity.

Rumi Cafe and Creativity Sharing

Come and share your songs, poems, dance, stories or skits! Let's entertain and inspire each other!

Tour a working permaculture farm!

Get a tour of the land and systems of working with the plants and animals here, and understand how your hosts live together in a happy healthy community!

Visit nearby warm pools!

We will take an afternoon to travel 20 minutes to the ocean volcanic warm pools and see the recent lava flow! 


Also one block away from the venue is now a natural steam vent, where we can do ceremony and feel the breath of Pele on our skin.

Pre-event safety agreements

We will be taking many steps to insure all of our safety, including: 
*requiring a period of you moving in a relatively tight bubble at least 5 days beforehand: 

*refraining from risky practices such as going to large events with people you are not familiar with, 

 *avoiding anyone who is sick, 

*We will most likely do a rapid testing of everyone the day the event starts at the site, regardless of vaccination status. 

*If you have any symptoms of illness, please do not come to the event.

If you need to cancel in the 7 days before the event because of becoming ill, we will refund you all of your money if we can fill your spot, or half the money if we can't. 

No vaccination required.  You may wear a mask if you wish. 
Most activities will be in a covered outdoor space. 

We all want to feel safe to explore and connect with each other! We know people have different beliefs around COVID and being safe with it, and we ask you to please abide by these guidelines to protect the organizers and other attendees.

Travel, Weather, etc

Airport Pickups: We can provide pick ups from the Hilo airport, which is 1 hour away from the site, for $50 per trip for one person, or $30 per person if more than one. This provides a benefit to those who can arrive on the afternoon of the beginning of camp. If you arrive at an odd time, expect to get an Uber or Taxi.


We cannot provide rides from the Kona Airport, which is a 3 hour drive, one way. If you must come in to Kona, please plan to rent a car or have a friend pick you up.


Weather: Typically changeable. Expect hot to cold and wet to dry. Mostly wet.


Personal Foods: There will be limited room for personal food in one refrigerator and some coolers. You will have access to a Personal Foods Kitchen (PFK) during camp. Our menu is omnivore with focus on organic and humanely raised. We provide a rich variety of dishes to cover the various dietary needs of today's health issues, but we are not able to cater to all special diets.


Please list special requirements on the registration form and our kitchen coordinator will reach out to you as needed. There will be several town trips for special needs grocery shopping. Bring extra cash to cover your requests.


Leave at Home: Alcohol or recreational drugs, valuables of any sort, pets of any make or size.


Participatory Music: All music-making is encouraged & greatly appreciated. Bring your instruments, voices, and talents. Be the live music & let's celebrate you! There will be a quiet time curfew of around 9 pm, because of our neighbors. This just means no really loud stuff after that, singing and playing guitar is fine.


Safe Container: It is essential that everyone attend Orientation which begins the first. evening. This puts us all on the same page with our group agreements.


No Drop In Attendance: everyone who attends camp will be there for the entire camp, (unless they need to leave early), with the exception of workshop leaders in some cases.


Early Departure: If you can't stay for the entire time, Hawaii Camp can still be a powerfully transformational experience. We understand if you need to leave early, and appreciate the time that you shared with us.  There is no discount for leaving early.

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Join us in co-creating nurturing, inspiring community!

Deepen into the Dances of Universal Peace, meditation, kirtan and other spiritual practices.  
Each practice will be fully taught, no experience is necessary. 
If you cannot dance, sit and sing! 

Sharing hearts: Enjoy the company of those inclined to a spiritual path, with deep discussion and connection

Relax: and really enjoy a renewing vacation in paradise, with time for meditation, song and interfaith prayer. 

Explore: the lush natural wonders of the actively volcanic Big Island of Hawaii.  

Enjoy a journey to a nearby warm pool one afternoon. 

Experience: Land based intentional community life on an established permaculture farm! 

The Facilitators

Sheikh Gayan Gregory Long

Gayan is an acclaimed drummer, composer, leader of the Dances of Universal Peace, spiritual mentor, retreat leader, and storyteller. He has dedicated his life to awakening human potential through music, devotional practices, pithy teachings, and community celebration. 

Gayan is a direct disciple of Pir Shabda Kahn, the lead teacher of the Sufi Ruhaniat International’s school of western Sufism.

He has shared the Dances world wide and and led retreats with some of the foremost spiritual leaders of our time.

Sheikha Amara Karuna

Amara has been leading the Dances of Universal Peace since 1985 and is a Senior Dance Leader, and has been involved in mentoring new Dance leaders.  


She has been on teaching staff for five Sufi Camps has led many weekend retreats, zikrs and rituals which included the Dances.


She served as Secretary, and then President, on the Core of the International Council for the Dances of Universal Peace, working as a volunteer to oversee the organization for  several years.  


  She specializes in Dances from the Goddess and Earth traditions, and leads with lively humor and devotion.  She is a Sheikha in the SRI lineage of Sufism. 


The Site

We will be staying at a Permaculture Community near Leilani, south of Pahoa on the Hilo side of the Big Island.  


We have 25 acres of lush rainforest land, including a small crater, and are located close to hot steam vents, a lovely black sand beach, and the wonderful natural warm ponds.


 We will be providing wonderful organic meals, and everyone helps a little with cooking and clean up.  We have a great indoor dance space, and also a large outdoor covered space.  It is a rustic site, and very lovely. 


We are a 15 year old group that operates by consensus and shares leadership equally, and emphasizes communication skills.  You will have a great introduction our community lifestyle.

Logistics and details

Retreat Cost

We ask that people give an amount that is both generous and joyful. 


If you are unable to contribute at bottom of the sliding scale, please contact us – we may be able to work something out!  We have a few openings for part time work trade.


Those of you who are able to pay at the higher end of the sliding scale enable us to hold this retreat in a spirit of generosity and inclusiveness.


Early Discount deadline: 

Pay in full by December 1st

and save $50! on Full tickets


*Full Retreat Residential ticket: $700- 900 sliding scale, includes 3 great organic meals a day, and dorm or camping space, and all programming.  


Rides from the airport are $40 extra.


Do you live in Pahoa area or want to rent a place off site?  See below


Kamaaina Prices 

(Off Site locals only)


*Offsite full event with meals: 

$500 (you stay somewhere else, but have meals with us.)


*Offsite full event no meals: 

$400 (you stay somewhere else, and bring your meals.)


Weekend Options 

for Local Residents Only


*Offsite Weekend with meals:

Fri evening- Sunday before dinner,

$280 non-residential tickets including 6 meals


*Offsite Weekend No Meals

Fri evening- Sunday before dinner, $200 non-residential tickets


(We are not set up for you to make your own food. No kitchen or food storage space. You can bring a cooler if you like.)


There are no weekend residential tickets because of limited space.


No one day drop in tickets. 

We want to build a container of love and trust.


Housing

You have several choices of housing at various costs.  Your full retreat ticket includes either a dorm space in one of our indoor or outdoor dorms, or bring your own tent and tarp.


You may also choose:


*Rent a space in a cabin, we have several available at extra cost, between $200 and $350 extra for the entire event. 


 Please inquire to Amara for the list of available places.


*Rent one of our private tents, bed, bedding and tarp for an extra $100.


*Rent a private quonset hut large tent (couples only) $200 extra


TO APPLY:

Apply here: https://forms.gle/eHwUyppTVRVX37i98


After we send a confirmation, send in a $250 deposit as soon as possible,

or pay in full by Dec 1st for an early bird $50 off full retreat residential tickets.


Final payment is due by January 1st 2023.


You can use Venmo, Credit cards or Checks.  We prefer checks. 


More payment info will be sent when you register.


Extra nights

You can choose to spend an extra night before the retreat for additional charge. 


Or 3 extra nights after the retreat (only if you are staying for the Network for New Culture Winter Camp that starts January 30), 


at the cost of $55 per night for camping or $85 per night for indoors. Arrange this with the venue by contacting Amara.

Refunds

Deposit is refundable up to one month before the event until December 19th, less a $25 admin fee. 
After that we will refund all your payment less $25 if we can fill your spot, or half of it if we cannot.
Accommodations 
include tarp covered camping (bring your own gear) or a dorm bed upstairs in our Main House (bring your bedding, unless you wish to rent some from us), or a bed in our outdoor quonset hut tent large dorm.

If you would like a more roomy and private option, you can rent a Quanset hut, which is a large walk in rounded tent cabin, which houses 2 to 4 people on single and double beds, for an additional cost.

An offsite option of a private room in a nearby vacation rental is also a possibility.

Community Service: Everyone contributes some hours of Karma Yoga service to help camp run smoothly. This can include helping with the cooking or cleaning in the kitchen, tidying shared spaces, etc. Performing Karma Yoga service offers the opportunity to bond more deeply with each other as we share in the joy of co-creating community and making camp happen.