A Crystal Skull that Amplifies the Energy of Cooperation

I’m sure everyone has had an experience of sharing an idea with someone and suddenly finding the idea has taken off and found a life of its own. Just a kernel of an idea can become a full-grown story, project or business endeavor with the synergistic energy of two people sharing and brainstorming together.

As Sherry Whitfield, the caretaker of the ancient crystal skull, Synergy, explains it: Synergy is the cooperative action of two or more independent entities, to bring about a total effect or change which is greater than what either can accomplish alone. In other words 1+1 = 3 or even more. “Synergy is the name of this skull — or maybe, more precisely – Synergy is the quality that this skull is said to represent.”

The story of what is known of Synergy’s history is a fascinating tale, indeed. It is the only crystal skull to come forward so far that is believed to have spent a considerable amount of time on several Pacific Islands, including the Hawaiian Islands. From the oral history that has surfaced, it appears Synergy has lived up to its name journeying around the world working with both ancient and modern cultures.

Several interesting synchronicities exist between Synergy’s story and the screenplay for Secret of the Crystal Skulls. Written well before I became aware of Synergy, scenes in the movie seem to pop right out of the story of Synergy’s history.

Synergy was carved out of clear quartz crystal and is human size, weighing 15.5 pounds. Mesmerizing in person, it is clearly modeled after a real adult human skull.

Once in the care of a nun in Peru in the 1700’s, she gave the skull to a native Peruvian before she died. She asked him to care for the skull until the ‘right person’ came to get it, so it could continue on its journey. “Your heart will know the person”, she said. She also told him it was “an inheritance from a lost civilization and a symbol of the transcendence of Soul over death.”

To read more about this amazing crystal skull, visit the website

Please visit the main website for Secret of the Crystal Skulls.

Many people have heard the story of the Dalai Lama fleeing from the Chinese invasion of Tibet and his resulting exile in India. Most have seen a photo of the Dalai Lama and either heard or read his words of love and compassion.

Now there is a story of a Tibetan crystal skull called Amar, which took a similar flight to escape the Chinese invasion. A High Lama hand carried the large, 22 lb. skull over the Himalayas into Nepal, risking imprisonment, torture and even death by the Communist Chinese, the plight of thousands of Tibetan monks and nuns.

It has been reported that the Chinese regime continues to eradicate Tibetan civilization and heritage, including the destruction of over 99% of its temples, monasteries and convents. Some say over 6,000 are now in ruins.

Amar is presently cared for in a peaceful spiritual sanctuary in North America by an intuitive and spiritual healer. This crystal skull spent most of it’s existence in monastic isolation away, as Amar was used for healing and divination by monks of the Nyingma sect. This sect was established around the 8th Century and is the oldest sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Amar and its present day caretaker prefer to work in private, sending energy to people all over the world.

Believed to have ancient origins, Amar is one the largest known old crystal skulls and is made of clear quartz with a slight smoky tint. It is said to emanate the same qualities as the Dalai Lama- love and compassion.

Please visit our main website for Secret of the Crystal Skulls.

Well, it’s finally done. The promotional trailer for my film project Secret of the Crystal Skulls has been completed. It took about three times longer to edit than my wildest guestimate.

The editing process was a strange, circuitous journey over a period of six months, with four different editors, before it’s completion a few days before Christmas. Very strange things happened that caused me to start almost from the beginning each time: editors with failing video cards, editors with health problems, editors with houses burning down.

Some people began to wonder if I was jinxed, cursed or hexed. Was it the CRYSTAL SKULLS??? Even I began to wonder what in the world was happening. In hindsight, I am able to see some purpose and logic in that experience.

I liken it to something I was once told by a caretaker of an ancient crystal skull. She described to me some of the people who worked with the crystal skulls in ancient times. They were called ‘smoothers’. They would spend months and probably years smoothing a crystal skull, using only silicon-crystal sand and their hands. However, they were not only shaping or smoothing the skull, they were also uploading sacred and often secret information into the crystal, while they were smoothing. Perhaps they were in a trance state, praying or chanting as they worked day after day, week after week, year after year.

Looking back at the editing process, I realize that I, too, refined and refined the trailer, working with it over and over and over again, over a long period of time. Each editor added a little something to the final creation, however, I was constantly required to come back to my original vision and work it and work it, watching it slowly take shape until it was ready to be complete.

Please have a look at the trailer. See any tool marks?

Photo credit: Kicka Witte

By Pam Woolway
The Garden Island Newspaper

Last month, Wailua resident and film maker Nadya Wynd spent four days with an all-volunteer cast and crew filming the trailer for what she hopes becomes a block-buster family feature film, “Secret of the Crystal Skulls,” the premise of which is fictional adventure against the backdrop of Hawaiian culture and natural beauty.

“This is not a Kaua‘i documentary,” said the six-year Kaua‘i resident. “It’s a film that I hope portrays an authentic and respectful spirit along with my imagination to create a feature film with commercial and family elements.”

The “Secret of the Crystal Skulls” is a story built around the magic of a life-size crystal skull care-taken by menehunes for Hawaiian kahunas who consult the skull as an oracle. The movie is set in 12th century and present day Kaua‘i in the throes of a hurricane where the life of an ambitious archeologist on the hunt for the crystal skull intersects with two teenagers and the menehunes seeking to protect it. The “Secret of the Crystal Skulls” is a story that weaves mythology, teenage rights of passage and magic into an adventure story.

Dozens of Kaua‘i residents were involved — from KPAC participants in the high schools on spring break, to Hawaiian cultural practitioner, Puna Dawson, Pu‘u Wai Canoe Club, as well as theatre veterans, Poppy Shell and Fredan Alonso.

A far cry from Shell’s 16 years of work on the Kaua‘i stage, for the filming of this trailer she volunteered as wardrobe manager dressing and fitting costumes. “An incredible moment for me was while we were shooting the village scene,” she said. “You got a glimpse of the joyfulness of what Kaua‘i village life might have been like.”

Over the four full days weather was brisk while filming in Haena, Kapa‘a, Wailua and Anahola. “What was really fun though was re-creating the hurricane,” Shell said. “It took 10 of us to throw leaves and mud and shake trees. The kids had a blast.”

The story line came to Wynd in 1992 the first time she lived on Kaua‘i. “After Hurricane Iniki I read about hikers stuck on the Napali,” she said. “In 1993 I wrote a film treatment inspired by that.”

Two films and over a decade later Wynd had an experience that made her return to her original Iniki inspired plot line. On a trip to Glastonbury, England she had a chance meeting with the keeper of a genuine crystal skull. “I thought, this would be a great sub-plot with a crystal skull as part of the story,” she said.

She expanded the first concept to include the skull set in the 12th century with menehunes. Wanting to include attributes only found on Kaua‘i she developed a spiritual side to the story and set it against the backdrop of the Napali.

“There’s been movies made here but not about Kaua‘i,” she said. “Either movies are set here like Indiana Jones or Tropic Thunder as other places or Kaua‘i is shown as a tourist destination. I want to show the culture, the people and the landscape where Kaua‘i becomes a character. In “Secret of the Crystal Skulls” she’s a major star.”

The opportunity to bring a big budget film to be shot on Kaua‘i means money for the local economy and jobs for Kaua‘i residents. Wynd is seeking investors and a producer, but hopes to retain some leverage since her intent is to preserve Kaua‘i’s authenticity. Wynd received invaluable insight form the many parents on the set. “Hawaiian mothers were often my cultural consultants,” she said. “They’d correct me when a prop was misused or a scene staged incorrectly.”

Aulia Ventura, mother of two menehunes in the film, said there was a palpable feeling of unity and aloha on the set. Daughters Kehela, 7 and Makala, 5, never sighed a word of complaint on their long days of shooting. “The menehunes are very serious,” Ventura said. “They had to work on keeping a serious face.”

Seasoned actor, Kaua‘i High School senior, Toby Riggle was in awe of the whole film making experience. “This is what I want to do with the rest of my life,” said the Lihu‘e resident. “Now I watch movies differently — wondering what’s going on behind a scene.”

To learn more about the movie visit, secretofthecrystalskullsmovie.com

• Pam Woolway, lifestyle writer, can be reached at 245-3681, ext. 257 or pwoolway@kauaipubco.com

Recently, there have been several articles in entertainment magazines about the fact that movie box office returns go up when the economy goes down. These articles ascribe this interesting fact to people’s need for escapism.

Whenever indigenous tribes and cultures confronted times such as these, they looked to their storytellers to tell the archetypal stories that helped them face their fears. They would take heart knowing that others had faced similar hardships and life endured.

Movies are our modern day storytellers. People turn to movies during times of great change and distress, not only to escape, but also to find meaning, understanding, inspiration, hope and courage to face challenges.

In his book, The World Behind the World, Michael Meade says, “Stories are the oldest school for humankind. Genuine stories offer a living school where the only entry requirements are an active imagination, some capacity to feel one’s own feelings and a willingness to approach the world as a place of mystery and revelation. Genuine stories don’t prove anything. Rather they reveal things about the world that were already there, but were not being seen. … A real story is an installment of eternity.”

At a critical time like this, when our world is faced not only with many challenges, but also a deep sense of meaninglessness, we need more archetypal, mythical stories like: The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, Star Wars, Casablanca and The Grapes of Wrath to help us recover a sense of the eternal.

I am a screenwriter who is moved to write stories that bring meaning to the present and hope for the future. Such is the story of Secret of the Crystal Skulls. If anybody out there is interested in joining me in making these kinds of movies, please contact me.

Please visit our main website for Secret of the Crystal Skulls.

Max Radiating Energy

Photo credit: Dr. Chet Snow 

Mystery of the Crystal Skulls- The truth behind Indiana Jones’s latest quest  is the cover story for the 60th anniversary issue of Archaeology Magazine. The author of the article is an anthropologist at the Smithsonian Museum. She tells us the TRUTH about first through fifth generation crystal skull fakes, claiming that all crystal skulls are fakes.

As my friend and Egyptian Scholar John Anthony West pointed out when we discussed this article: in order for a fake to exist, surely there must exist an authentic original to model the fake upon. How do you have a fake diamond if all diamonds are fakes, a fake Van Gogh without an authentic Van Gogh….? What exactly were all these crystal skull fakers, faking?

John West is no stranger to the experience of challenging accepted scientific beliefs. He and geologist Robert Schoch, in the 1993 documentary The Mystery of the Sphinx, broadcast on NBC television and narrated by Charleton Heston, challenged the currently accepted archaeological belief concerning the age of the Sphinx. The documentary also offered evidence that the ancient Egyptians likely possessed scientific knowledge unknown to us and continued a wisdom tradition from an earlier lost civilization.

Na Pali Coastline of Kauai

Photo credit: Wings Over Kauai

The Na Pali Coast takes center stage this month in an article in National Geographic Magazine. The writer, Joel K. Bourne, Jr., chronicles his hike on the 11 mile trail to the Kalalau Valley. Along the way he describes some of the history of the area as well as the mystical ambiance of the environment. As so many writers before him, he evokes heavenly adjectives to describe the setting: magical, spiritual, Shambala, Shangri-La, paradise…

The Na Pali is not only the primary location for the movie, Secret of the Crystal Skulls, but in many ways plays one of the starring roles. The archaeological ruins at Nu’alolo Kai provide the backdrop for some of the most dramatic scenes of the movie. This spectacular site, which is now only accessible by boat, is significantly featured in the article.

On his climb out of the Kalalau Valley, Bourne meets a “young outlaw” who is headed to a cave in the back of the valley for a two month stay. He tells Bourne that he will be “…meditating and getting centered with the universe. You go back up that valley and there are rock platforms, taro fields, sacred altars all the way up. It was a metropolis in there! It’s the land of the menehune, the ancient ones. It’s primal!”

I couldn’t have described it better myself.

Photo credit: Diane Cook and Len Jenshel

Singer/songwriter Shawna Carol composed a beautiful song for Secret of the Crystal Skulls called Magic of Na Pali. The character of Jill, also a singer/songwriter and poet, composes it as she is hiking the Na Pali Coast trail.  Listen to her song on the main website for the movie: 

 Kalalau Beach

Photo credit: Diane Cook and Len Jenshel

See an amazing archival photo of Nu’alolo Kai taken in the 1920′s.

Read the National Geographic Magazine article.

Please visit our main website for Secret of the Crystal Skulls

                                                Ancient Skull Found in Palauan Cave 

Another discovery of 3 to 4-foot tall human skeletons was made on the island nation of Palau. This discovery has added more fuel to the ongoing debate on whether these little people can be classified as a new species of human beings.

Scientists whom seem bent on proving that these little people were diseased rather than a newly discovered, unique species remind me of the reluctance of many scientists to accept the possibility of the existence of other intelligent life in the universe.

Is it fear? Is it narcissism? Why is it so hard for us to accept the possibility of the existence of other species different from us? I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, human beings are still embroiled in the struggle to understand and accept other races and religions. We are egocentric and ethnocentric, no surprise that we are also speciescentric. 

I believe this is the most essential need on our planet at this time – the need to release our belief in separation and embrace the connection between everything in existence.

The ancient Hawaiians, like most indigenous people, understood the web of life.  Huna, the spiritual wisdom of the ancient Hawaiians, describes everything as being made from the same life force energy or mana.  It also acknowledges the interdependence between people, animals, plants, air, water, the sun, moon, stars, planets and even other galaxies.

Let’s hope modern humans can soon learn to open their hearts and minds to what connects and unites us to the all that is.

                                   Palauan Island Cave Where Skeletons Were Discovered

Read More About This Discovery

A Pro New Species Argument

An Anti New Species Argument

Please visit our main website for Secret of the Crystal Skulls

Max in France 

Photo credit: Dr. Chet Snow 

“I want out of this closet.” No, not what you’re thinking. This is not a declaration from someone with a same-sex orientation. This was a telepathic message from an ancient crystal skull imprisoned in the back of a bedroom closet in Texas for seven years.

The constant messages were causing Jo Ann Parks, a fairly ordinary wife and mother, to feel she was going crazy. She found herself on the floor of the closet telling the skull to leave her alone and get out of her life.

As she slammed shut the cosmetic case the skull was stored in and ran down the stairs, she heard: “The world is going to know about me. I am important to mankind. And by the way, my name isn’t skull, it’s Max!”

Jo Ann had come to be Max’s caretaker when Norbu Chen, a Red Hat Lama of the Tibetan tradition, had given her the skull before he died in 1980. He told her that one day she would understand what to do with Max.

She had become a secretary to the healer after he worked miracles with her daughter. Diana had been diagnosed with cancer and given three months to live. In those days Max sat on a red altar illuminated by candlelight in a room with red carpet, red walls and a red ceiling. Norbu used the energy of the crystal skull in his healing practice.

Max did finally manage to escape from the closet. He continually sent telepathic text messages to Jo Ann: “contact the man”. She had no idea who ‘the man’ was, but one day when she was watching a show on TV about UFO’s, she saw a photograph of a crystal skull. When she called the television station, they put her in touch with Nick Nocerino.

Indeed, ‘the man’ was perhaps the foremost expert on crystal skulls at the time. When Jo Ann called, Nick told her he had been looking for Max since 1949, the year he had first received a communication from Max.

When Jo Ann and Nick met, he reassured her she wasn’t crazy and encouraged her to allow other people to have their own experiences with Max. She took his advice and opened her home to interested people and later traveled with Max. To this day it brings her joy to observe people from all over the world have extraordinary experiences with Max, the crystal skull.

                                                           Jo Ann Parks and Max

    Please visit our main website for Secret of the Crystal Skulls

In my previous post I talked about a new species of three-foot tall humans discovered in a cave on Flores Island in Indonesia. Scientific tests conducted on several skeletons ruled out that these individuals were children, pygmies, dwarfs or were suffering from microcephaly.

Indeed, scientists have found them to be a unique species related to Homo Erectus, hominids who lived 2 million years ago and died out some 25,000 years ago. One of the most fascinating discoveries about this new species named Homo Floresiensis and nicknamed ‘Hobbits’, involved conclusions derived from CAT scans of the inside of their skulls.                                 

                                                Homo Floresiensis Brain

                                               Photo Source: Daily Times

Hobbit brains were unlike those of Homo Erectus or even modern humans. Their brains had ‘fat’ temporal lobes, even proportionally larger than those of humans. Temporal lobes are where vision, speech, perceptual organization, emotional processing and memory functions take place.

These tiny people were undoubtedly very intelligent, not unlike the Menehune in Secret of the Crystal Skulls.

Read more about this discovery

Please visit our main website for the movie Secret of the Crystal Skulls