QUESTION: How can Hawaiian tradition talk about "aloha" when they actually bake pigs, chickens and other animals for eating when they are our brothers or sisters in different bodies?
ANSWER: In Hawaiian tradition the Aloha Spirit is applied to everyone and everything. This means that everything is alive, aware, and responsive, and nothing is more alive than anything else. This tradition includes respect for all things, including rocks, plants, animals, humans, and stars. The Creator in deep wisdom made everything interdependent. Rocks (minerals) consume plants, animals, and humans; animals consume plants and other animals and rocks; humans of different kinds and beliefs consume plants, animals, and rocks. It is good to respect the rights of different people to consume what they believe is good for them, and even better to encourage them to have respect and appreciation for what they consume, whether it is plants, animals, or rocks.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Being A Shaman
QUESTION: How do you know if you are a shaman?
ANSWER: That's like asking "How do you know if you are an athlete?" If you think the way an athlete thinks and do what an athlete does, you can be called an athlete. The same is true of a shaman. It is a vocation, not a state of being. If you think the way a shaman thinks and do what a shaman does, you can be called a shaman. In a particular culture, there might be an initiation to recognize your status in the community, but it is your demonstrated ability that makes you a shaman, not the initiation. And, since "shaman" is only a borrowed word to describe someone who engages in certain kinds of activities and views the world in a certain way, the precise definition of a shaman can vary from culture to culture and place to place. Of course, if you don't know how a shaman thinks or what a shaman does, then the question itself is irrelevant.
ANSWER: That's like asking "How do you know if you are an athlete?" If you think the way an athlete thinks and do what an athlete does, you can be called an athlete. The same is true of a shaman. It is a vocation, not a state of being. If you think the way a shaman thinks and do what a shaman does, you can be called a shaman. In a particular culture, there might be an initiation to recognize your status in the community, but it is your demonstrated ability that makes you a shaman, not the initiation. And, since "shaman" is only a borrowed word to describe someone who engages in certain kinds of activities and views the world in a certain way, the precise definition of a shaman can vary from culture to culture and place to place. Of course, if you don't know how a shaman thinks or what a shaman does, then the question itself is irrelevant.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
How To Change Yourself
QUESTION: You have said that in order to change something, you have to change something. So in personal terms, how do you change something?
ANSWER: In order to change something about yourself with conscious intent, you have to want the pleasure of something you don't have more than the pleasure of something you do have. For instance if you want to lose weight, you have to want the pleasure of having a lighter body more than the pleasure of eating more than you can burn. If you want a lot of friends, you have to want the pleasure of friendship more than the pleasure of criticizing and complaining. If you want to stop smoking, there has to be something about being a non-smoker that you want more than the pleasure of smoking. The concept is simple. It's the application that's difficult for most people.
ANSWER: In order to change something about yourself with conscious intent, you have to want the pleasure of something you don't have more than the pleasure of something you do have. For instance if you want to lose weight, you have to want the pleasure of having a lighter body more than the pleasure of eating more than you can burn. If you want a lot of friends, you have to want the pleasure of friendship more than the pleasure of criticizing and complaining. If you want to stop smoking, there has to be something about being a non-smoker that you want more than the pleasure of smoking. The concept is simple. It's the application that's difficult for most people.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Hawaiian Boat Blessing
QUESTION: How would one do a Hawaiian christening/blessing of a new boat?
ANSWER: No one knows exactly how the ancient Hawaiians blessed their boats, but a typical modern Hawaiian-style blessing could be as follows:
1. Fill a small bowl with fresh water (salt water is used for cleansing).
2. Obtain a long leaf (ti leaf if possible, fern leaf is next best, but any leaf will do).
3. Hang some kind of lei over the gangway or entrance to the boat (flowers or leaves, real or symbolic. In Hawaii maile vine would be used if possible).
4. Announce to all present the purpose of the blessing.
5. Cut or undo the lei (this is like cutting the navel cord).
6. Dip the leaf in the bowl and sprinkle all areas of the boat while giving some sort of blessing ("May this boat be blessed with love, power, and success" (in Hawaiian: E ho'omaika'i i keia wa'a me ke aloha, me ka mana, me ka pono).
7. Have everyone present hold hands on or near the boat and give a personal blessing for the boat and the owners/operators.
8. End the blessing with a song, a chant, or a simple "Thank you" and a hug.
9. Finish with a luau, a "pupu" (snack) party, or some kind of refreshments.
ANSWER: No one knows exactly how the ancient Hawaiians blessed their boats, but a typical modern Hawaiian-style blessing could be as follows:
1. Fill a small bowl with fresh water (salt water is used for cleansing).
2. Obtain a long leaf (ti leaf if possible, fern leaf is next best, but any leaf will do).
3. Hang some kind of lei over the gangway or entrance to the boat (flowers or leaves, real or symbolic. In Hawaii maile vine would be used if possible).
4. Announce to all present the purpose of the blessing.
5. Cut or undo the lei (this is like cutting the navel cord).
6. Dip the leaf in the bowl and sprinkle all areas of the boat while giving some sort of blessing ("May this boat be blessed with love, power, and success" (in Hawaiian: E ho'omaika'i i keia wa'a me ke aloha, me ka mana, me ka pono).
7. Have everyone present hold hands on or near the boat and give a personal blessing for the boat and the owners/operators.
8. End the blessing with a song, a chant, or a simple "Thank you" and a hug.
9. Finish with a luau, a "pupu" (snack) party, or some kind of refreshments.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Healing Radioactivity
QUESTION: With the ongoing recent events in Japan I was wondering what recommendations you could share about working with healing that situation from the perspective of Huna. Have been sending Reiki the past few days to specific groups of people and the earth, and have previously used your suggestions in the Shamanic Healing in the Wake of Katrina article for many things with positive results.
ANSWER: From the perspective of assuming that everything is alive, aware, and responsive, we can talk to the earth and rocks telepathically, we can dream a good dream for them, and we can grok them and gently relax. Working with radioactive materials is essentially the same, but requires fearlessness, a high degree of focus, and working as well with the humans involved, both the victims and the helpers.
ANSWER: From the perspective of assuming that everything is alive, aware, and responsive, we can talk to the earth and rocks telepathically, we can dream a good dream for them, and we can grok them and gently relax. Working with radioactive materials is essentially the same, but requires fearlessness, a high degree of focus, and working as well with the humans involved, both the victims and the helpers.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Relationship Technique
QUESTION: I'm striving to create the relationship I want, so I ask if there was one technique you could recommend (for creating this relationship) what would it be. I've tried Dynamind, as well as a number from the Urban shaman book.
ANSWER: To manifest something, we must remember that we cannot control the world, but we can influence it. The first step in manifesting a good relationship is focus on the benefits you want from it, more than requiring a particular person to provide those benefits. The second step is to turn yourself into the kind of person that someone who can provide those benefits would want as a partner.
ANSWER: To manifest something, we must remember that we cannot control the world, but we can influence it. The first step in manifesting a good relationship is focus on the benefits you want from it, more than requiring a particular person to provide those benefits. The second step is to turn yourself into the kind of person that someone who can provide those benefits would want as a partner.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Cannabis for healing
QUESTION: What is your opinion about the use of cannabis in healing. Do you think it is useful? Also if you know, please tell me the real meaning of the Hawaiian word 'pakalolo'.
ANSWER: It is possible for cannabis to aid healing because it helps relieve physical tension, the primary factor behind all illness. However, the side effects of increased sensory sensitivity, the tendency for many users to slip into dream states, and the tension-producing effects of inhaling the smoke also have to be taken into consideration.
"Pakalolo" is a modern Hawaiian word composed of "paka" - a Hawaiianized form of the word "tobacco", and "lolo" (with a macron over both letters "o") - meaning "paralyzed, numb, feeble-minded, crazy." Thus, "crazy (or numbing) tobacco."
ANSWER: It is possible for cannabis to aid healing because it helps relieve physical tension, the primary factor behind all illness. However, the side effects of increased sensory sensitivity, the tendency for many users to slip into dream states, and the tension-producing effects of inhaling the smoke also have to be taken into consideration.
"Pakalolo" is a modern Hawaiian word composed of "paka" - a Hawaiianized form of the word "tobacco", and "lolo" (with a macron over both letters "o") - meaning "paralyzed, numb, feeble-minded, crazy." Thus, "crazy (or numbing) tobacco."
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