Sunday, July 1, 2012

The New Disney (Magical Kingdom 2.0)


I'm not big into paranormal activity. I am a staunch supporter of math and science. I don't believe in voodoo or ghosts or telekinesis or the like. I just feel like occurrences shouldn't be tagged as magic simply because we don't understand them currently. We don't understand them because either our equipment and/or perceptions are insufficient to understand the occurences at this time. 

To say it another way, I believe everything can be explained. It is highly likely that our human senses or our understanding of our surroundings isn't currently sophisticated enough to grasp what is occurring during a certain wonderful phenomenon, but inherently it is knowable. 

The place I am currently at makes me question my stance.

This place is the Marshall Islands (specifically Kwajalein and Roi Namur).

In 2009 my band, The Ugli Stick, was honored to be allowed to do a USO tour for the troops. This tour included stops at military bases throughout the Pacific. Two of those stops were Kwajalein and Roi Namur. 

The instant I got there I knew I was some place special. The shows were special because we were able to play for the men and women of our military, the location was special because these islands happen to be some of the most beautiful places on Earth, but there was something more. 

I felt a connection to the place. I felt calm and comforted there. 

It is so ridiculous to relate it to this, but I felt like I was on the TV show "LOST". I had a real sense that "I wasn't supposed to leave the island." Of course I had to leave the island, but it just felt unright when I did. 

That was 3 years ago and nothing really bad has happened, as a matter of fact life has been great since then, but I always had a gnawing to get back out to Kwaj and Roi.

Thanks to the work of an incredible person and friend, Kim Yarnes, I am currently on Roi Namur. Kim worked very diligently for a very long time to get the government to allocate the funds to bring us back out here. I'd like to thank her and the government for the opportunity.

Being here, I am convinced that I was "supposed to come back to the island". 

Over the last few years I have developed a pretty severe discomfort in my upper back. I'm sure I need surgery and also could benefit from chiropractoryship but till now I've had to just deal with it. Well the 30+ hours of flying and the 3 hours of sleeping on the floor it took to get out here made my back very very unhappy. When it gets that way it is hard to concentrate on anything. The pressure gets so intense that I will find myself getting anxious. It makes me feel like I'm almost suffocating (because I can't fully inhale because my rib cage is too tense to allow itself to expand).

That's how I was when we landed on Kwaj yesterday. And guess what……..almost instantly 80% percent of my tension and back pain went away. I felt good, relaxed and whole. Again I am not negating that being in paradise and getting to see an old dear friend wouldn't be relieving anyway. But there was something greater going on.

It was (and still is ) a glorious feeling.

The mathematician in me says it's probably an actual connection I have with this island (in a higher dimension than the 3 I'm living in and able to observe). Or it's the extremely strong radar (the strongest radar in the world is here in Roi) that is giving me "That tingly feeling". Or maybe because of where these islands are the magnetism of the Earth lines up just right to make me feel better.

But I'm gonna believe maybe, just maybe .....this time....there's some magic mixed in. 







3 comments:

  1. Wow, reading this gave me a sense of peace. Its amazing what your surroundings can do to you. Good luck with your travels and career, you guys rock. -Larisa

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  2. Thank you very much, Larisa. I have a much more in depth idea as to why we feel "drawn" to a place but It'd take me a month to write it and it would probably be the size of a book. I'm sure I'll write it one day.

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  3. Cheesy as the source is, this quote has always held a special place for me. "You think that it's not magic that keeps you alive? Just 'cause you understand the mechanics of how something works, doesn't make it any less of a miracle, which is just another word for magic. We're all kept alive by magic" Said by Bill Compton on True Blood. There is always some sort of magic mixed in :)

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