What makes us feel good? What makes us forget our problems without forgetting reality?
Inner peace. Inner peace within ourselves. THAT's what makes us feel good.
We can find that inner peace in many ways. Some meditate, some exercise, some read, some watch tv, and some listen to music.
"Music's what I need to keep my sanity."- 311
For many, music is what makes the world go round and like Bob Marley said, "One good thing about music, when it
hits you you feel no pain. So brutalize me with music."
Music has been around for thousands of years. Music is everywhere...from a bird chirping to a frog croaking to a speaker booming. ANYTHING can be music when you close your eyes. You can even hear the music when there is no music playing if you let your mind relax and put yourself in the moment of when you last played your favorite song.
At Nakava, we try to bring out the music in our customers. Thursdays are known for open mic night,however, lately many have seemed to have gone askew. NOT FOR LONG!
This Saturday night, a Nakava "tribe member" will be performing at the kava bar at 10 pm with his band, VOODOO ROYALE! Everyone in the Boca Raton area should come support our local aspiring artists as well as come have a shell and share some good times with good people!
Voodo Royale's music is influenced by blues, rock and roll and clasical genres, however, they are a unique upbeat band sending out good vibrations to make your kava time fun time THAT much more fun!
Some this Saturday night, don't forget to stop by and check out, Voodoo Royale at Nakava in Boca Raton, FL! Come hang out and have a shell and get stuck on a little island in the big city.
One day, a Nakava employee stuumbled upon a comic strip with the names, Ozzie, Earl, Mooch and Jules. He could not believe this was really a comic strip in the newspaper.
Why was it such a shocking discovery?
We have three employees named Moosh, Ozzy and Jules, and a regular kava bar attendee, Earl.
Bizzare? YES. Coincidence? Maybe. We ended up posting the comic strip on the bulletin board at the kava bar, but
we couldn't help but be curious to find out more about this FASCINATING discovery.
The comic strip is called, Mutts, by Patrick McDonnell. Many people might have already heard of it but I don't think most quite understand it's underlying theme. I may not even fully understand it, but I know it's special.
The chances of a comic strip having the same names as the employees at the Kava Bar are pretty slim to none. But none the less, we try to read up on the Mutts comic strip of the day due to it's "life message insight."
How does any of this relate to the kava bar? Well, I've slowly been understanding the real purpose of kava and the kava bar. It's all very simple, but somehow we need to back track to understand it.
People have been drinking kava for thousands of years. It's Latin name, Piper methysticum, means "intoxicating pepper," thus it has "intoxicating" effects. It's purpose? To help people relax, help calm anxiety, relieve stress and bring together a group of people. Voltaire said, "The art of medicine is amusing the patient while nature cures the disease." Kava is a natural plant, and there are many many "natural medications" that exist to help us. The kava bar was opened up to offer people a different form of "healing," and many people even drink kava while in recovery.
The comic strip, Mutts, has a lot of underlying messages that can help people think logically and even opens up the mind to a different world, the "animal world." But aren't we all animals too? Just because we are not dogs or cats or fish, we are a different kind of animal. If we think back to the beginning of time, where there were only natural plants and animals and no pharmaceutical companies or technological advances, the way of life was simple. Mutts offers people an explanation of life using personification in a satirical and comical manner. It tries to explain that all of us, including animals, are the same, only our ability to speak and deduct reason, changes everything.
If we could go back to the way of life thousands of years ago, where man and animals were more in sync rather than placed in a hierarchy, who knows how different things would be. Sure we wouldn't have the technology we have today, but everything would be natural and the idea of "power" and control wouldn't be so important, thus money wouldn't be important, thus perhaps there would be less war and conflict.
Is natural better? The answer is subjective. However, it IS important to recognize what is really happeneing in todays world, to humanity and society. History repeats itself...we must learn from the past. We know that kava can help better a lot of todays world, but ultimately, everyone has to figure that our for themselves.
Visit the Mutts website today! (and don't forget to check out Nakava and Nakamal at Home either )
Natural "Medications" and Natural Disasters are Like Oil and Water.
March 14, 2011
Sleeping peacefully in our beds, dreaming, and enjoying whatever time we have left before we have to hit "snooze" on the alarm. Suddenly, we are awaken by a sleeping dragon and the Earth begins to shake. It's our worst nightmare, only to awaken and realize we are not sleeping...this is really happening!
For millions of people, an experience like this is only out of a movie. For millions more, this is what they encountered on March 11th, 2011.
Japan has experienced one of the most devastating earthquakes, ever. But even worse, the tsunami, as a result of the earthquake, destroyed a huge part of a beautiful country. Buildings are replaceable, as well as cars and other "man-made" objects. But what about the natural landscapes, the trees, the plants, and the wildlife? Something natural is not always easy to replace.
Natural and organic are hot topics in today's society. Are we going back to basics? Not when "mother nature" reminds us of her fury. Plants that take years to grow, trees that have lived for over hundreds of years- gone, and animals that once existed, could eventually disappear after just one natural disaster.
Kava comes from the root of a pepper plant grown in the South Pacific Islands. This special plant can not be grown just anywhere. Like most exotic plants, a kava plant requires proper care and factors to grow adequately. Kava requires the proper soil to even grow which is why kava plants are grown specifically in islands such as Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and even Hawaii. A plant so indigenous to the South Pacific Islands, one can assume the dangers natural disasters, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, pose to the existance of such a plant.
In 2009, a powerful earthquake shocked the island of Samoa, and later a tsunami cascaded the islands of both Samoa and Tonga. Kava plants are grown widely in these regions, so we were quite nervous to find out the damage done by this natural disaster.Especially since months earlier, an earthquake and tsunami struck the islands of Fiji, another kava rich island. Vast warnings were sent out to nearby islands, such as Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea, for evacuation. People can evacuate, but natural plants can not.
Fortunately, no major damage was done to any kava farms after these tsunamis, but we can only be thankful for these close calls! For many, kava is a natural "medication," but with natural disasters posing threats to our natural plants, where will all the kava go?
Kava, used as an alternative to alcohol, helps many people relax and reduce stress. Many people are prescribed pills and medications to help reduce stress and anxiety, but nature offers its treats in various ways. Some say kava is truly their "natural medication," however, we are no doctors! We just know that kava helps, and we can't have natural disasters wiping away our special plants! Kava plants can take more than seven years to grow. The recent catastrophic tsunami in Japan called out warnings to surrounding islands such as Vanuatu and Fiji for "aftershocks" and possibly more tsunamis. If all of our kava farms are wiped away, we'll be kava-less for atleast seven years.
Everyone looks for reasons behind certain events. One may ask, is this a sign that the world is ending? Well, no one can really prove such speculation, But we do know "natural and organic" will become extinct if natural disasters, things out of our control, keep occurring....c'est la vie!
(photo taken from http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/03/earthquake-in-japan/100022/ )
Sometimes we just need something to help us unwind and help us
relax. So for over 9 years, Nakava has brought something special to the
small town of Boca Raton, Florida; kava.
However, most people in the Boca Raton area are not even aware of what
kava is! In fact, most people in the United States still don't know
what kava is either. Mainly because kava was brought over from another
island and introduced to the United States MUCH later than alcohol.
Alcohol, being our #1 source of mind altering beverage here in the
U.S., has been consumed for thousands of years; but so has kava!
Why is it until now that kava is just being recognized? Again, kava is
a drink made from the root of a plant from the South Pacific Islands.
Islands such as Fiji, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Tonga are
all very well known for their kava, and they drink kava like we drink
alcohol or coffee! We don't realize it, but everyday we consume
beverages with properties that can be considered "mind altering," such
as alcohol and caffeine. These beverages were introduced to us before
we can remember. Some people have never even heard of kava in Boca
Raton, yet they don't realize it's about the same as wanting to take a
quick "power shot" at Starbucks, only the opposite effects:
RELAXATION.
It's all a matter of what we were introduced to, at what point in our
life, and the reasoning why we were introduced to it. Most people
eventually find out about kava by word of mouth, googling what kava is,
then those that are left REALLY curious about what kava is come venture
out to our one of a kind kava bar, Nakava. Once they do, here is the
catch- kava doesn't taste very good. AND it has a reverse tolerance.
BUT, wouldn't people want to drink something that the more you drink,
the more you feel the effects and don't build a tolerance to it?! As
opposed to alcohol, where you drink and drink and drink, and the more
you drink your body does eventually build a tolerance and then we have
an alcohol problem.Maybe it's kava's peppery-dirt watery taste that
makes it difficult for people to build a tolerance or want to drink
excessive amounts of. The relaxing effects can't be disputed though.
People have been drinking kava for thousands of years, as s social
norm. Some drink to build soicializing environments, to build
relationships, and like many modern U.S. religions today, kava is used
during ceremonies (much like wine in Catholic mass.)
Nakava, North America's first real kava bar, introduced a foreign
beverage to one of the most prestigious cities in the United States.
Wanting to deliver a safe alternative to alcohol, Nakava has brought
together a vast variety of cultures and people in one small location.
Some say it's one big island in the city, others just use it as their
everyday cafe.
Whatever the reason someone decides to drink or try kava, it's one
more person to spread the "kava word." While some people don't like
coffee, or tea, or alcohol, or any beverage for that matter, kava may
not be for everyone either. But once those that are curious enough to
try it, and like it, they'll tell you that it's definitely a good
alternative to alcohol.
If you're ever in Boca Raton, FL, make your way to Nakava! Let's have a shell and say BULA!
Get scared south Pacific-style and join us while we summon tribal spirits! It will be a scary night you will never forget. Enjoy the live music and kava specials.
BULA!!
Nakava
140 NW 20th St
Boca Raton, FL 33431
(561)395-9888
Mr. Whispers performing poetry atNakava kava bar open mic in Boca Raton. Support local music and local arts scene. This performance took place on June 12, 2008 in Boca Raton, Florida. Nakava kava bar is North America's first kava bar. Kava is traditional south Pacific drink made from the roots of a pepper plant. People, generally, drink kava because they enjoy the relaxing effect of kava. Nakava kava bar hosts an open mic every Thursday starting at 9:30pm. Nakava kava bar serves kava, tea, juices, sodas, and now smoothies. For more informtion about kava or Boca Raton's kava bar visit [ www.nakava.com ] [ http ].
Ricky and Eric performing at Nakava kava bar open mic on June 16, 2008. Nakava kava bar hosts a weekly open mic every Thursday starting at 9:30pm. red.dragon-project.com
Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars performed among a long line-up of music greats at the 5th Annual Langerado Music Festival. The festival took place at the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation in Florida. Langerado took place March 6-9, 2008. Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars performed in the early evening on the Everglades Stage on Friday, March 7. Their performance took place during G Love and Special Sauce Performance, which was followed the Roots, the Beastie Boys closed the night on the main stage. red.dragon-project.com
David performing acoustic music atNakava kava bar open mic in Boca Raton. Support local music and local arts scene. This performance took place on April 17, 2008 in Boca Raton, Florida. Nakava kava bar is North America's first kava bar. Kava is traditional south Pacific drink made from the roots of a pepper plant. People, generally, drink kava because they enjoy the relaxing effect of kava. Nakava kava bar hosts an open mic every Thursday starting at 9:30pm. Nakava kava bar serves kava, tea, juices, sodas, and now smoothies. For more informtion about kava or Boca Raton's kava bar visit [ www.nakava.com ] [ http ].
Eric performing acoustic guitar music atNakava kava bar open mic in Boca Raton. Support local music and local arts scene. This performance took place on April 10, 2008 in Boca Raton, Florida. Nakava kava bar is North America's first kava bar. Kava is traditional south Pacific drink made from the roots of a pepper plant. People, generally, drink kava because they enjoy the relaxing effect of kava. Nakava kava bar hosts an open mic every Thursday starting at 9:30pm. Nakava kava bar serves kava, tea, juices, sodas, and now smoothies. For more informtion about kava or Boca Raton's kava bar visit [ www.nakava.com ] [ http ].
Davidperforming at Nakava kava bar open mic in Boca Raton. Support local music and local arts scene. This performance took place on April 17, 2008 in Boca Raton, Florida. Nakava kava bar is North America's first kava bar. Kava is traditional south Pacific drink made from the roots of a pepper plant. People, generally, drink kava because they enjoy the relaxing effect of kava. Nakava kava bar hosts an open mic every Thursday starting at 9:30pm. Nakava kava bar serves kava, tea, juices, sodas, and now smoothies. For more informtion about kava or Boca Raton's kava bar visit [ www.nakava.com ] [ http ].
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(photo taken from http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/03/earthquake-in-japan/100022/ )
