Hawaii Rejuvenation and Cleansing Retreat in Paradise

The Angel Farms Rejuvenating and Cleansing Retreat Center on the Big Island of Hawaii had been introduced to me by my friends, Paula Baker-Laporte and her husband Robert, who had been there several times. Each time they returned home, they raved about how well they felt after their stay. Each time, they urged me to join them. Realizing how much I needed a vacation after the last two very intense years, this time I agreed to go with them—without fully understanding what I would be experiencing.

On February 5th, we arrived on the Big Island of Hawaii. The photo, taken through the window of the light plane that flew us from Maui to the Big Island, shows the clouds merging with the ocean and a strip of land.

We rented a car at the airport and drove to Kona on the west side of the island to spend a few days there before our retreat began.

 

We snorkeled in the ocean and watched the manta rays playing with each other.

 

What a feast for the eyes to go to the outdoor food markets. There were lots of exotic fruits that I had never seen before.

On February 9th, we drove back to the east side of the island to go to the retreat center, called Angel Farms, located a half hour north of Hilo. This was Paula’s 3rd visit to Angel Farms and Robert’s 5th visit—and my first. Above is the road to Angel Farms.

Our little cottage, a few steps from the river.

Every morning during the our 10-day stay, the six participants received colon hydrotherapy that lasted 90 minutes. With each consecutive session, the ozonated water reached further up the colon, eventually flushing out the contents around the ileocecal valve and the beginning to the ascending colon. What came out in many people during those daily colon cleanses was pretty shocking. I could go into great detail describing what people showed me in their tanks, but I’ll skip the details for now. My son, Barrett, has reminded me from time to time that most people aren’t interested in these kinds of subjects that I find so fascinating. Suffice it to say that what I saw in people’s tanks confirmed the conviction I have that people will not feel completely well as long as the gut is unhealthy.

 

Paula, Robert, and I stayed in a little cottage located at the upper end of the property, right next to a rushing stream with several waterfalls. Someone had damned the river to make a little swimming pool.

In the afternoons there was a variety of modalities offered, including acupuncture, chiropractic bodywork, and massage. Most of the people on the staff had experienced what would be called miraculous healing of conditions such as cancer and autoimmune disease that had been unresponsive to conventional medicine.
The food was all organic and delicious, with tons of vegetables. The cook came to Angel Farms years ago in dire need of help. Her entire body was covered in painful and oozing sores of psoriasis that did not respond to any form of mainstream treatment. Within a few days of her cleanse, she began noticing improvement. Within weeks, her psoriasis disappeared, leaving her skin clear throughout her body.

We could hear from inside our cottage the crashing sounds of the waterfalls. Nighttime was like listening to Nature’s version of an orchestra with a cacophony of sounds, including rushing water, night birds, and a very loud chorus of frogs and crickets. The first night was hard to sleep. But afterwards the sounds seemed actually soothing to the soul and helped shut off the mind.

Little waterfalls cascade all along the river that ends in the ocean below the property.

Cindy Sellers, the founder of Angel Farms, told us her inspiring story of how she turned a medical nightmare into a search for healing and the eventual discovery of her true purpose in life. When she was a young mother, pregnant with her second child, she was in a deadly car crash. Her back was shattered and she was in terrible pain for several years. When the pain and immobility became unbearable, she called out to God to give her a vision of what she needed to do. The vision included learning about the many natural methods of healing in order to heal herself. The next step involved finding a way to use what she had learned in order to be of service to others who are suffering. And that’s exactly what she did.

 

When the owners of Angel Farms bought their property years ago, they found an ancient Japanese cemetery and the bottom of their land, overlooking the ocean below.

 

Cindy dove deeply into everything she could find related to healing. Being a spiritually-oriented person, Cindy included in her studies ancient religious writings, including the 2,000-year-old Dead Sea Scrolls that archeologists discovered over 60 years ago in caves near the Dead Sea in Israel. She told us about the part she read that changed her life.

“Think not that it is sufficient that the angel of water embrace you outwards only.  I tell you truly, the uncleanness within is greater by much than the uncleanness without. And he who cleanses himself without, but within remains unclean, is like to tombs that outwards are painted fair, but are within full of all manner of horrible uncleannesses and abominations.  So I tell you truly, suffer the angel of water to baptize you also within, that you may become free from all your past fears, and that within likewise you may become as pure as the river’s foam sporting in the sunlight.

Seek, therefore, a large trailing gourd, having a stalk the length of a man; take out its inwards and fill it with water from the river which the sun has warmed. Hang it upon the branch of a tree and kneel upon the ground before the angel of water, and suffer the end of the stalk of the trailing gourd to enter your hinder parts, that the water may flow through all your bowels. This will free your body from every uncleanness and disease. As the water runs out of your body, it will carry away from within it all the unclean smelling things of fear. And you shall see with your eyes and smell with your nose the abominations, and uncleannesses which defiled the temple of your body; even all the fears which abode in your body, tormenting you with all manner of pains. I tell you truly, baptism with water frees you from all of these. Renew your baptizing with water on every day of your fast, till the day when you see that the water which flows out of you is as pure as the river’s foam.  Then betake your body to the coursing river, and there in the arms of the angel of water render thanks to the living God you are free from your fear. And this holy baptizing by the angel of water is: Rebirth unto the new life. For your eyes shall henceforth see, and your ears shall hear. Fear no more, therefore, after your baptism, and the angels of air and of water may eternally abide in you and serve you evermore.” 

 

Old Polynesian statues are seen now and then in the jungle-like brush.

Paula, looking exceptionally happy and rejuvenated. Over the years, Paula has become a highly sought-after architect by people looking for exquisitely beautiful and healthy homes made of natural materials. She was one of the founders of The Commons, now among the oldest co-housing communities in the US. Paula convinced me to join the community thirty years ago when the first homes were being built. She designed much of the layout of The Commons, as well as designing many of the homes here, including mine. We co-authored a book together called, “Prescriptions for a Healthy House.” Her husband, Robert, is a builder who uses all natural materials, including straw clay for the walls of the buildings—the same material used in some of the old buildings in Europe that are still standing after 600 years of use.

Paula and Robert walking together on the grounds of Angel Farms. They are a great team. The large expanses of grass are free of herbicides. It felt so good walking barefoot and lying on the ground

A  “Right-Before-the-Retreat” photo to have for comparison.

 

Everywhere we looked we saw fruit hanging from trees. This is a heavily laden tangerine tree.

 

We took a little trip one afternoon to Kilauea to watch the lava flowing in the caldera at dusk. It was a magnificent sight.

 

On another afternoon, we walked through the lush botanical garden down to the ocean.

 

 

We walked in a veritable jungle, a true paradise.

T

The plants looked primeval. I felt like I was in the Age of the Dinosaurs.

 

We are in Heaven.

 

 

Ginger plants grow everywhere.

 

Let me introduce you to this young man, Max Martin, one of the participants in our group. He’s Barrett’s age. We bonded immediately—like a soul connection. Obviously there was some kind of mother-son type of energy going on. Max’s father is French and his mother is from Argentina. He is multi-lingual, extremely intelligent, musically gifted, and has lived all over the world because of his father’s work as a Disney set designer.
Max had struggled with various kinds of substance abuse since the age of 14. He had tried many times to stop using but wasn’t successful—until he tried one more time, not long before coming to Angel Farms. This time he used a psychedelic drug, derived from the bark of an African shrub, called Ibogaine. In one session he was able to stop his tenacious addiction without any unbearable withdrawal symptoms.
When he arrived, he looked unwell, unhappy, and unhealthy. By the end if the two weeks, the transformation was astounding. See for yourself in the photo.
An “After-the-Retreat” photo for comparison. Do I looked relaxed? It has been a very long time since I unwound so completely and could experience such deep relaxation. Since coming home, I’ve made a commitment to eat my meals ever so slowly, chewing the food until it is liquid, and remembering how grateful I am for life. I want to return to the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh that I had so thoroughly embraced in Plum Village in 1997.
Here is a link to Angel Farms if you would like to read about this unusual place.  https://www.angelfarms.com/
I hope this little post gave you some vicarious pleasure.
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Note to Readers: On a different note, many have asked for an update on my memoir writing. I have finished the manuscript for memoir #2, called “From Mountains to Medicine: My Search for Purpose.” Bear & Company/Inner Traditions, the publishing company that re-published my self-published book, “Medicine and Miracles in the High Desert: My Life Among the Navajo People,” said that they would publish memoir #2 on condition that the re-published version of memoir #1 does well. They said they would give me an answer sometime in May.
I am reaching out to those readers who have read and enjoyed my book to ask if you would be willing to write a review on Amazon. I don’t normally impose on people in this way, but now I’m making an exception. Thank you in advance for considering this request.
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This is the book that I co-authored with Paula Baker-Laporte

Comments

Hawaii Rejuvenation and Cleansing Retreat in Paradise — 92 Comments

  1. I just returned from a trip East and had time to read about your experience with Paula and Robert in Hawaii. I loved all the photos and am thinking I would love to follow in your footsteps. You are my mentor after all. Thanks dear heart for sharing this with us. XOX

  2. Glorious photos! Thanks for sharing it with us. You do look invigorated and refreshed at the end there.

    We eagerly await your second book. Say, you do not need a publisher for it, if you wanted to go ahead and share it. You have fans here on your site and newsletter list. You could even bypass amazon/audible. I don’t think your readership is inclined to upload your book for pirated downloads, nor search for such.

    Speaking of books, a friend of mine, Dr. Elizabeth Economy, released her newest book via a big name publisher. The book cover, life or death of book sales, is terrible. I could have done better on canva. And I’m not an artist. They also did no promotion. I see this situation every time a friend publishes with a major publisher.

    Your narration of the first book was amazing. I did leave a review, so I hope all your fans do the same.

    • Thank you so much for those encouraging words. They mean a lot to me!! And an especially thank you for the book review. With much appreciation, Erica

  3. Dear Erica, Thank you for sharing all this with us. I am really looking forward to read the second part of your memoirs. Deine Weisheit zu lesen, tut immer gut 💚 a big hug from Germany my dear!!

  4. Aloha, Erica! What a wonderful sharing of your deep cleansing and exotic environment. Christine and I are in Maui at the moment so relate completely to the extraordinary array of vegetation and flowers. We look forward to seeing you when we are back in Santa Fe. Much love! Kenn Holsten

    • Mahalo, Kenn. So glad that you and Christine are enjoy yourselves in Maui!! How wonderful. I hope you soak in every last drop of paradise. With much love, Erica

  5. Dear Erica,

    I am delighted to be a new reader of your blogs. I listened twice —through Audible — to your powerful memoir, Medicine and Miracles in the High Desert. Loved hearing your voice tell the story. I felt like I was right there with you. It would be a pleasure to write a review for your memoir on Amazon. I was planning on writing one even before you mentioned it. Thank you for sharing your experiences at Angel Farm. Sounds like a heavenly place for renewal — physically, mentally, spiritually.Not to mention savoring nature’s beauty. (Liked your plant photo comment, “I felt like I was in the Age of the Dinosaurs.”

    • What a lovely surprise to read your comment. I’m so happy you enjoyed listening to the Audible version of my book!! Thank you so much for being willing to write a review of the book. Sending many blessings, Erica

  6. Erica, as usual, I enjoy the way you write about your experiences, and tell such beautiful and real stories. Easy to live vicariously into your lived journeys. Gorgeous photos that contribute to healing the mind’s eye! I am touched that this rejuvenation and after the passing of TNH, has renewed your own Erica-specific vows for living. Breathing joyfully. Thank you.

      • Hi Erica! Thank you for this blog post! No coincidences that one week after I read this blog, I was told my kidneys were failing. About 2 1/2 years ago, I was told by intuitive healer, Mona Delfino, that I would have a strong healing connection to Hawaii. She also warned me to take care of my adrenals!! So, I knew immediately I was meant to go to Angel Farms. Also, in my first conference call with Cindy, your friend Robert LaPlante was on the call as well! I’m leaving for Hawaii tomorrow for my 10 day stay!!! We are all divinely connected and “the Universe” conspires for our good, wellness and wholeness! Much Love and Gratitude, Tyler

        • That’s truly amazing, Tyler! I got goose bumps as I read your comment. I am so happy you will be getting this help in Hawaii at Angel Farms. Wow!!! You will love the experience. Please give my love to everyone there. Many blessings to you on your journey to wellness. Love, Erica

  7. This is just amazing what you did! Such a deep cleansing in such a beautiful place! I loved to look at your pictures and showed it to my husband, who is suddenly also interesting in going there! In the Peruvian jungle, I also did a cleansing and had a wonderful effect on body and mind – the joy and equanimity was exceptional. Thanks for sharing your experiences. You always do exceptional things. Lots of love, Traude

    • Hi Traude!!! I followed some of your experience in Peru. It sounded amazing!! I think you and your husband would love the experience at Angel Farms. The cleansing went very deep. Sending you much love, Erica

  8. Glad you got to visit this beautiful place. You look relaxed and rejuvenated. Thanks for posting. I enjoyed reading your story and seeing the beautiful pictures.

  9. Thank you Erica for your wonderful pictures and stories about your time in paradise. Your picture after the retreat says it all ….you look so happy, relaxed, clear, and rejuvenated. I’m so happy that it all worked out for you to go. Love, Linda

  10. Thank you for sharing that fascinating story. It does look like a paradise and sounds like a land where all sorts of miracles are possible.
    My son and family are headed to HI tomorrow. I wonder what wonders they will have.

    • I’m glad you enjoyed the story. I didn’t know you had a son. I hope they have a wondrous time in Hawaii.

  11. Dear Erica,
    You looked so relaxed and rejuvenated. I would like to
    experience the healing from within.
    Is 10 days the minimum stay?
    Much love to you. Chérie
    PS I’ll write to Amazon how much I enjoyed reading your book

    • Dear Chérie, I think you would love the experience. The program is 10 days, but many people stay an extra two days or so——until the intestines are entirely cleaned out!! Thank you so much for being willing to write a review for me. With love and appreciation, Erica

  12. Your Uncle Ernst was way ahead of his times!
    Thanks for taking us all along on your beautiful and successful Hawaiian trip,
    Many blessings,
    Di and Erik

    • Yes, that’s so true, Di. Uncle Ernst was about 50 years ahead!! I’m glad you enjoyed the post. I wish you could have been there!! Love, Erica

  13. WOW WOW WOW ERICA…..
    Maggie MacRaven on March 6, 2022 at 3:17PM
    How wonderful of a place to go…and you looked lovely!!!! WOW~~~~!!!!!!!!
    I love seeing those beautiful pictures
    XOXOXOXOXOXOXO!!!!!!

  14. Dr. Erica, you’ve never looked better! Congratulations. Hawaii looks like a dream.
    I tried to leave a review for your book on Amazon, but I couldn’t find where to leave it. Can you give me a directive on where how to leave a review?
    Wishing you all the best and can’t wait to read your new book! XXOO Kelly

  15. Thanks for sharing your experiences on the Big Island and all the beautiful healing plants.
    I’m a long friend of your sister Jackie

    • Yes, I remember Jackie talking about you quite a bit. In fact, I think I met you at Alan’s funeral service. I’m so glad you enjoyed the post. Many good wishes, Erica

  16. I’m so happy for you that you took this healing trip filled with beauty, deep rest, cleansing, soul connections, and awe-inspiring nature. Mahalo!

    WELCOME HOME!

    mary

  17. Hawaii was demanding vaccine passports for entry into the state. Have they stopped doing that? Did you have any problems with any of that? I’m looking for someplace to go soon and think I would like to check this out.

    • They let the unvaccinated into the country with a negative PCR test within 72 hours of the plane departing for Hawaii. The government has certain designated sites for approved PCR testing. If you’re really thinking about going to Angel Farms, I could talk to you a bit about it and what to expect. Love, Erica

  18. So wonderful to hear about this healing center on Big Island and of your deep relaxation and healing. And fun to see Paula and Robert. Thank you for sharing this. Lorien

  19. Yá’át’ééh shideezhí, You do awesome adventure! Love reading your experiences in seeking “Hózhǫ́”. Would love to read your next book. Still like to connect with you in the near future. Thinking you are still living in Santa Fe, NM. Hágoónee’ Lorene

    • Yá’át’ééh adóó ahée’hé shadi. Ha’at’ish banaaná’? I’m still living in Santa Fe. Hágoónee’ Erica

  20. Dear Erica,
    Thank you for sharing your time on the Big Island. Hawaii is truly a magical place, especially when you leave the tourist areas and go where the locals really live. I have been able to visit the Big Island several times and always enjoy the magnificent beauty of the tropical jungle and big blue sea. I am so happy you were able to relax and unwind. So glad you could snorkel in the warm, healing waters and see the Manta Rays. You look wonderful! Love, Patty
    p.s. Did you say that a new edition of the book, “Prescriptions for a Health House” you wrote with Paula and John Banta would be released soon? I have both the first and second editions and would love to see a new revised edition.

    • Paula is self-publishing a new edition of the book. I don’t know when it will be available. You could contact her online and ask that question. How wonderful that you have been able to visit the Big Island several times. How special!! Love, Erica

  21. You look so relaxed–almost drunk. I am assuming ‘drunk on life”. That is so needed right now.
    Continue your wellness and relaxation, for we need that in the world right now. And….we need you!

    Leah

  22. Reading your stories always makes me smile. I love your sense of curiosity and adventure! Angel Farms looks and sounds like paradise. I’ve just returned from 2.5 years “lockdown” in Australia due to pandemic. I was incredibly lucky to be able to stay with a friend in a small village of 300 people within the Grampians National Park; kangaroos, emues and parrots just outside my door. Thank you for your inspiration.

    • OMG! What an experience you had. How did you end up in Australia? Were you not able to leave the country and go home or did you voluntarily stay there? The place you stayed sounds enchanting. Welcome home! Love, Erica

      • I had traveled to Australia in 2017 to visit a friend, stayed for 6 months and returned to USA. I returned to Australia in 2018 , stayed with my friend 3 months and came home. In 2019 I returned to Australia with the intention of staying 6 months, however, a week before I was to leave, the federal government locked down the Country. With very few exceptions, no one allowed in or out! Finally in early February 2022, international flights in and out of Melbourne opened and I was able to use my return/voucher ticket. Living so close with all the amazing wildlife/nature over this 2.5 years has changed my life. Santa Fe feels very big to me now!

          • Thank you Erica for your response. Others have suggested I write about my adventure, however, you’ve really done it!! Any suggestions about where to begin to research writing an adventure non fiction tale would be much appreciated!

          • What I suggest you do is to just start writing your story down with all the relevant details, and then get an editor to work with you to help you tune it up. I never took a writing course, but I did go to writing retreats, and I observed the style of well-known authors that I liked. Good luck!!

  23. Thanks for sharing a lovely, rejuvenating experience. Your words and pictures remind me of my own trip to Hawaii many moons ago. I can still get a thrill from the flora and your other descriptions. Many happy returns for you!

    • Thanks, Linda. I always love hearing from you. I think I already told you how much I admired you in high school. In my mind, you were the smartest student in the whole school. Love, Rickie

  24. You have such a gift for story telling. It’s like we saved the $ and were right there with you on your marvelous trip. Hawaii truly is heaven on earth and those pictures! Especially the one of you in that beautiful setting just smiling. Never seen you happier, you so deserve that. Thanks so much for sharing..,,

    • You would have loved it, Michael. I’m glad my storytelling is good enough that you don’t have to literally go there!! Haha. Much love always, Erica

  25. Dearest Erica,

    So glad you had a restful and rejuvenating retreat/vacation!
    I will look into Angel Farms.
    So happy for you re:writing and new publishing opportunities.
    I will be in touch.

    Ox Satya

    • Thanks for your comments, Satya. I actually think you would love the Angel Farms experience!! I’d love to hear about what’s happening these days in your life. Love, Erica

  26. What a beautiful place and experience! Thank you for sharing and always look forward to your writings. Will be more than happy to leave a review on your book, I have read it twice now! What drew me to your writings was the Navajos themselves, for over 20 yrs I have been a Sponsor to 5 Dine’ Grandmothers through an organization in Salt Lake City/Linda Meyers, Adopt a Native Elder. It has been one of the highlights in my life. And when I read you have Swiss connections I thought Ah ha! (Both my Grandparents came from Switzerland) and I am a big fan of Swiss remedies for health, my Grandfather lived to be over 100.

    • Thank you, Virginia!! I love your comments. What an enriching experience you have had with the Adopt a Native Elder program. I have heard other people praise that program as well and felt like their work with the Navajo elders was deeply meaningful and rewarding. We are Swiss compatriots! Have you read my blog post about my time with my uncle, a Swiss medical doctor who treated patients until he was 91? The blog series is called “Uncle Ernst.” You might enjoy it. And thank you so much for being willing to write a review on Amazon of my book. Love, Erica/

      • Thank you for responding Erica, and in reply about your Uncle, I was hoping you had maybe written something possibly in that area or perhaps were thinking about it. Will have to look this up and how impressive at the age of 91 to still be working! The Swiss are a hardy lot…and tidy, we used to joke that my grandmother’s dirt was even “clean”.

          • Just read all three of your Uncle Ernst stories….what an experience and gift!!!! that was a gift of a lifetime, and what an extraordinary man. I have always been intrigued with Dr Bircher-Benner and Dr A. Vogel so to read your Uncles thoughts and Methods on health was a nice surprise. And to overcome a terrible childhood (Ernstli, “little Ernst” how very touching) and to turn it to good speaks volumnes of the person he was. He grew up not far from where Grandpa Bridler grew up, Eschenz Thurgau and his wife came from Fischingen not far from Sirnach. This may sound weird but sometimes I just get so “Homesick” for a place I have never set foot in (yet) that I get tears. This is not something that popped up in adulthood either, it goes back to early childhood, wrote as a 8 yr old on school assignment of what i want to be when I grow up lol. The teacher must of thought me bonkers, said I wanted a House/chalet on an Alp, maybe 2 kids and run a gift shop and nice neighbors. Sigh** Some day maybe, but at 62 I’ll bring my Grand daughters with me. Blessings and Best Regards, Gini

          • My mother studied with Dr. Bircher-Benner at his Institute in Zurich. How amazing that your grandfather came from a town not far from my grandfather and my uncle. I hope you go there soon with your granddaughters!! Many blessings, Erica

  27. Thank you for all the wonderful photographs as they gave me a touch of being there. Fabulous that you took this time and with such good friends.
    Carol

  28. My oh my. Agua es Vita brought to new light. From the clouds and ocean you viewed from above to the dank dark depths within
    cleansing comes. What a treasure Cindy unearthed by pursuing hidden wisdom in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Hurray for every microbe within and without and for the lushness that you now carry.

    You bet I will write to Amazon. With love, Bob

    • As always, I appreciate your comments. And thanks a million for being willing to write a review of my memoir on Amazon. With love, Erica

  29. Oh Erica thank you for sharing your experience at Angel Farm. It sounds like just the right place to “decompress.” And I love your radiant picture at the end! Such a good reminder of what is important! All the pictures were truly wonderful! Just the right blog to read before the first Artist Residency starts here.

  30. Hi Erica,
    It looks like you and Paula and Robert had a beautiful trip. I so enjoyed your pics and travel lg- its almost like being there myself! Ihope you can continue the kind of deep relaxation you experienced there in your daily lives too!
    Patrice K

    • Thank you, Patrice. I wish that for all of us, that sense of deep peace and relaxation. I had forgotten what it feels like. Now I have a frame of reference to remind me when I start heading in the wrong direction. Much love, Erica

  31. Fun to see you especially in the “after ” photo. And also fun to see Paula and her husband. Brings back memories.
    Just last evening at sunset, Carolyn remarked on how our back yard looks so primeval.
    And then I read this post!
    Glad you got away and “decompressed”. I bet the humidity felt great.
    XOXO

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