It’s an unusual and beautiful book  -it manages to convey some of the magic, beliefs and secrets the islands hold as well being part travelogue and part biography.   It’s great when I see this book widely displayed in the shops in Honolulu and other parts of Hawaii when I visit and to know that others are able to enjoy the magic it holds in situ.

I re read this book some years ago before I took my first trip to the islands and it was a perfect way to get focussed for the journey ahead.  The first chapter ‘vacation: the new dimension’ is a poignant introduction to the shifting mindset that can help you get the most out of a trip.  Pila’s writing comes genuinely from deep within – indeed for Pila and many others there is a ‘call to the soul’ to experience the lessons from Hawaii.  I have got to know Pila since I bought my first copy of this book and his is a really fascinating story about how he came to Hawaii his past as a Vietnam veteran and what he has experienced on his journey.  He is a great advocate for the magic of Hawaii.

The book which is often referred to as’ The Red Book’ covers a range of topics including ancient beliefs, huna, power spots and sacred geometry.  The book also suggests a fascinating link between the seven main chakras and the islands of Hawaii which I believe has been of further interest to groups such as the Theosophical Society.   A lot of the book focuses on the Big Island which Pila terms ‘the island that has awakened’ where I have experienced many magical events.

It’s quite a challenge* to read this book and not want to either jump on a plane for Hawaii or to go deep and explore the inner Hawaii within your soul.  Indeed as I have written before, it is possible to experience this magic  from within regardless of location and this red book is also aimed at those ’searching for greater insights into your own spirit’ so it’s not necessary to physically travel to get lots from this book.  This quote from Pila sums it up perfectly:

It’s not about Hawaii. It’s about reconnecting with your Soul and discovering your heart’s true desire …therefore, in a very real sense, it’s ALL about Hawaii!

I was recently inspired to mention the red book on Urban Huna as it has recently premiered its 18^th anniversary edition cover to booksellers and I was fortunate to catch up with Pila and record an interview with him for Urban Huna which I will put on the site shortly.

Mahalo

Pete

*Of course, I use the word challenge loosely in this context as I have done both with no regrets and much success!

However when I first came across huna, I was aware of the Hawaiian context in which it was situated and came across examples and learnings in that context.  I began to wonder how this ‘magic’ could be transferable to my own mundane life thousands of miles away from Hawaii.  Thankfully, I soon realised just how transferable and powerful huna was in any context.

These days on occasion I get asked similar questions to those I asked myself years ago such as  ‘surely this won’t  work in my life and circumstances?’, ‘what if I can’t get to Hawaii?’, ‘I lead a busy life how much time to I have to take out to make benefit?’ and so on.  Shamanistic practice developed as a response to dealing with day to day circumstances, it was, and is, extremely practical and wherever we need to be practical and make changes it has a place regardless of our location and circumstance.   

Certain examples may indeed seem far removed from ones own experience, but if looked at through the lens of the seven principles of huna it is possible to discover the essential elements and tailor them to your own life.  In this respect I am particularly grateful for the teachings of Serge King who has sought to explain huna in a clear way that reinforces its value in any walk of life.

The article I wrote presents just one very specific example of the use of huna in my day to day life.  Be warned it’s pretty mundane but for me perfectly practical……..

The article Huna in Mundane Places can be found at http://www.huna.org/html/mundanehuna.html

This made me think what Hawaii means to me and what being there means.  Visiting Hawaii is for me an undeniably pleasurable experience.  For example I enjoy reconnecting with friends, visiting the stunning natural landscape, connecting with power spots, enjoying the aloha spirit and having new adventures – just to name a few things.

However while I find physically going to Hawai’i  wonderful it’s important to remember that there is a sense in which we all have a part of Hawaii inside us and we can access this without the need to leave the house and take a journey.  If you look at some interpretations of the deeper meaning of the word Hawai’i you find some clues to this.  For example loosely interpreted, ha means breath – the sacred breath that creates life, wai means water – water that sustains life and is a symbol of abundance  and ‘i can refer to a supreme force or be a word used to reinforce previous concepts.  So the clue to joyous being is to tap into the abundant life force through the breath of life.  This can be your simple connection to the beautiful Hawai’i inside.

Of course, in addition, if we recall the huna principle of kala – there are no limits,  then we see that ultimately we are connected and part of everything beyond the limits of time and space.   Paradise is within.  So it’s always worth taking time out to just stop what you are doing wherever you are and breathe deeply and give yourself permission to relax and reconnect with the Hawai’i within.

A few years ago I invited Serge over to the UK to deliver some huna workshops.  For many years I have meditated regularly drawing on a number of styles and traditions. As a result, one of the workshops I asked Serge to deliver was on shamanic creative meditation. I felt that it would be good for a UK audience to find out more about huna meditation.  This workshop focussed on nalu and hua forms of meditation which loosely can be considered as passive and active forms.  Serge’s article reinforces what I consider to be some fundamentally important points about meditation, namely:

• there is confusion about what meditation is.  In practice however the common thread is reducing your scope of focus.  With this in mind it is useful to remember the huna principle ‘pono’ and use a technique that you personally find effective.
• meditation should be used to change something.  Even if it is as simple as changing your state through achieving relaxation
• although there are many different forms of meditation a common characteristic of a ‘good’ meditation is that you feel better for doing it

Meditating is one of the most consistently effective and beneficial things I have done in my life and I believe that over time I have experienced most if not all of the possible benefits that meditation can bring.  I would strongly encourage anyone reading this who is not in the habit of meditating to give it a go to realise the benefits it can bring.  I think that sometimes there can be a misconception that to be effective you must be able to meditate at the same time each day for example or for prolonged periods of time.  In practice this is not the case – even shifting your focus in meditation for a minute at a time can bring discernable benefits. 

The bottom line is not to get too hung up on tradition and technique.  When starting out it is worth trying a number of techniques to discover what suits you personally.  One could of course do worse than starting with the Hawaiian approach….

To read the article Learning from the Nature of Waves  visit http://www.huna.org/html/wavenature.html

Aloha

Pete

I would like to wish everyone a wonderful Hau’oli Makahiki Hou! 

Whilst it makes sense to use the seven huna principles at all times, symbolic dates such as the start of a new year are commonly times when people make resolutions and take time to focus on the year ahead.   

The seven huna principles are a great framework to use to for such an activity.  For example makia is about focus, so are you clear about what you want to to focus on achieving in the coming year?   Aloha is about blessing and connection, so what have you been grateful for over the previous year and what qualities or features would you most admire in your environment and others in 2012? What connections would you like to make?  Ike is about awareness, so what do you believe your life can be like this year?  

The principles can help you focus and develop a course through 2012.  If you are stuck for resolutions, one I could recommend is to take some time daily to reflect on the seven huna principles and establish the habit of using them throughout the year.

I wish you all the best for 2012.

Pete

It’s been a long time since there has been much activity on the site.   In fact there is an apt Hawaiian phrase at this point  Aia i ka mole o Lehua referring to someone who has not been heard of for some time!  However there will be more going on in 2012 for sure so stay in touch and if you have not already done so sign up for the newsletter and blog posts sent directly to your email.  

At this stage I want to wish you all a wonderful festive period and as they say in  Hawaii:

 Mele Kalikimaka (Merry Christmas)

And to share with you a festive image from Serge:

Aloha from  Pete