Enchanting Rainforest Hideaway

05/09/2024

Volcanoes National Park

05/04/2024

Lei Day in Hilo

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02/14/2024

I’m not a big fan of Valentine’s Day. I’m not jaded or have anything against love, I actually really love love! I give and receive love freely. What I don’t like about this holiday is that it is exclusive. It can create sadness and disappointment, embarrassment and dread. Everyone is loved and everyone should celebrate regardless of their relationship status. The focus on romantic love, for me, misses the point. My modern self has connections to my ancient Greek past and my ancestors had this one right! The ancient Greeks believed in 8 forms of love. These 8 forms still exist, and I share them here:
💖 1. “Eros” or Erotic Love
Eros, is named after the Greek god of love and fertility. Eros represents the idea of sexual passion and desire. The ancient Greeks considered Eros to be dangerous and frightening as it involves a “loss of control” through the primal impulse to procreate. Eros is a passionate and intense form of love that arouses romantic and sexual feelings. Eros is a primal and powerful fire that burns out quickly. It needs its flame to be fanned through one of the deeper forms of love below as it is centered around the selfish aspects of love, that is, personal infatuation and physical pleasure.
💖 2. “Philia” or Affectionate Love
The second type of love is philia, or friendship. The ancient Greeks valued philia far above Eros because it was considered a love between equals. Plato felt that physical attraction was not a necessary part of love, hence the use of the word platonic to mean, “without physical attraction.” Philia is a type of love that is felt among friends who’ve endured hard times together.
💖 3. “Storge” or Familiar Love
Although storge closely resembles philia in that it is a love without physical attraction, storge is primarily to do with kinship and familiarity. Storge is a natural form of affection that often flows between parents and their children, and children for their parents.
💖 4. “Ludus” or Playful Love
Although ludus has a bit of the erotic eros in it, it is much more than that. The Greeks thought of ludus as a playful form of love, for example, the affection between new lovers. Ludus is that feeling we have when we go through the early stages of falling in love with someone, e.g. the fluttering heart, flirting, teasing, and feelings of euphoria.
💖 5. “Mania” or Obsessive Love
Mania love is a type of love that leads a partner into a type of madness and obsessiveness. It occurs when there is an imbalance between eros and ludus.If the other partner fails to reciprocate with the same kind of mania love, many issues prevail. This is why mania can often lead to issues such as codependency.
💖 6. “Pragma” or Enduring Love
Pragma is a love that has aged, matured and developed over time. It is beyond the physical, it has transcended the casual, and it is a unique harmony that has formed over time. You can find pragma in married couples who’ve been together for a long time, or in friendships that have endured for decades. Pragma is a type of love that is not easily found. Pragma is the result of effort on both sides. It’s the love between people who’ve learned to make compromises, have demonstrated patience and tolerance to make the relationship work.
💖 7. “Philautia” or Self Love
The Greeks understood that in order to care for others, we must first learn to care for ourselves. This form of self-love is not the unhealthy vanity and self-obsession that is focused on personal fame, gain and fortune as is the case with Narcissism. Instead, philautia is self-love in its healthiest form. It shares the Buddhist philosophy of “self-compassion” which is the deep understanding that only once you have the strength to love yourself and feel comfortable in your own skin, will you be able to provide love to others. You cannot share what you do not have. If you do not love yourself, you cannot love anyone else either. The only way to truly be happy is to find that unconditional love for yourself. Share the love to give freely to others with yourself.
💖 8. “Agape” or Selfless Love
The highest and most radical type of love according to the Greeks is agape, or selfless unconditional love. Agape is spiritual love. It is an unconditional love, bigger than ourselves, a boundless compassion, an infinite empathy. It is what the Buddhists describe as “universal loving kindness.” It is the purest form of love that is free from desires and expectations and loves regardless of the flaws and shortcomings of others. Agape is the love that is felt for that which we intuitively know as the divine truth: the love that accepts, forgives and believes for our greater good.

I wish you all a very happy Valentine’s day, however you choose to celebrate; with your lover, yourself, or your selfless self. Celebrate can be anything: big and fancy or something as simple as going to bed early or putting rose petals in your bath or tea.
💖 All is love. 💖 Love All.

01/04/2024

Happy New Year from the Enchanting Rainforest Hideaway on the big island of Hawaii.
Wishing everyone the best for 2024 and always 🍾🌺🌴🍍🐠🥭

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12/25/2023

Mele Kalikimaka! Sending warm holiday greeting from the middle of the Pacific 🤙🏼🎄

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12/05/2023

First snow of the season. Winter, and the whales 🐳, have arrived

No worries, this is at the summit at 14,000 ft. Big island , Hawaii, is one of the few places on the planet where you can visit the snowy summit in the morning and snorkel on your favorite tropical in the afternoon.

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11/28/2023

Good morning from Big Island

Photo:Jay Takaaze

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10/06/2023

We did it again!
Super hosts 31 times consecutively! 😍

11/28/2022

She’s back!
Mauna Loa started erupting last night as the island slept.
There are no evacuations as of yet and we are safe in Puna. But we do get to experience natures beautiful display. 🌋🌋

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#808

11/27/2022

High surf Sunday.
Hilo Bayfront 11/27

Photo: Mike Reilly

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11/24/2022

Ho’omakakika’i = gratitude in Hawaiian.
Happy Thanksgiving. We have so much appreciation for the continued support and encouragement from all of our guests and friends. Thank you from the team at Enchanting Rainforest Hideaway 🌺🙏🏼🌺

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04/10/2022

12/27/2021

Happy holidays from the Summit of Mauna Kea after the storm (elevation 13,803 ft)
Hawai’i winter Magic

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#808

10/16/2021

Rainbow Falls after some rain

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#808

06/07/2021

A visit from a resident turtle ( Honu) is a typical sight at Haena Beach. This is the reward for the 2 mile rainforest hike it takes to get here. 🐢🐠🐬🌴🌺

Photo: Photography

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04/05/2021

Pleae be aware of our reefs. Using reef safe sunblock is also important for reef protection. Please be mindful when visiting our beautiful, yet fragile, island. 👙🐬🐠🌴🌊☀️

With spring vacations on the horizon, we thought it would be good to share this valueable advice when visiting coral reefs: If you have to stand, stand on sand! Corals are living animals and standing on or touching them could lead to death and disease. So on your next reef adventure, please remember to look but don't touch.

03/28/2021

I have been a host on airbnb for 10 years and awarded super host status 23 consecutive times.
Thank you to everyone who came, enjoyed and supported our Enchanting Rainforest Hideaway vacation rental. It's been great sharing our home with, meeting and connecting with friends, family and guests from all over the world. There have been engagements, honeymoons, conception, weddings, baby moon, self discovery and other landmark events in peoples lives that took place at the house and we are so honored to be a part of these joyous memories.
Much gratitude and aloha to everyone who has supported us and our success.
Direct link to house:
https://airbnb.com/h/hawaii-pahoa-honeymoon-big-island-rental-home-private-vacation-yoga-rainforest-getaway-paradise

Find out what makes Connie And Andrew so special as an Airbnb Host.

01/31/2021

Winter on Big Island. Snow at the summit of Mauna Kea (1,400 ft elevation) Sun, surf and whales breaching. ☀️❄️🌊🐳
Hawaii no ka oi!

Photo:

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#808