I find the following very interesting because there is some controversy over its origin, the culture it seems to want to emulate, and the fact that the teachings it espouses are not so much hawaiian as they are a combination of hinduism/buddhism/shaktism/janism. very intriguing because without the superfluous attempt to make it a ‘hawaiian’ thing, it’s actually pretty deep and, in my personal experience, very, very potent as a system of operation.
according to its practitioners, it’s a hawaiian system. according to history, it is a 1930’s invention that co-opts hawaiian terms (and most of them, incorrectly) to define its own system.
regardless the labels, the underlying ideas are familiar to me. i think you will find them familiar to you, too.
ignore the attempt to “make it hawaiian” and just consider the thoughts.
EKE’
The world is what you think it is.
this life of ours is a dream. our dream. a dream we share with other people. with the earth. a dream we also share with ourselves, alone. this dream of our experiences, this reality as we call it, comes from inside, comes from our thoughts, our ideas, our beliefs, our fears, our desires, our angers, and our pleasures. all the ways we think produce this experience of ours. from night comes day. from thought comes reality. if we would change this reality, says this knowledge, then we must change ourselves. it is wasted time, wasted energy to change the outer world alone. to truly change the outer world, we must first go within and find that place which is creating the outer world, and change that. change that fear to hope, anger to love, change that belief in a lack to a belief in abundance. this is eke’…working within to create the without (outside). this is the most important idea. all the following ideas come from this first one.
KALA
there are no boundaries.
we are all connected.
the idea of separation is the illusion.
each one of us is connected. mind and body. spirit and man. earth and man. plants and animals , clouds and sky and ocean. we are all connected together. kala says that separation is an illusion. but that because we create our own reality with our thoughts, we sometimes create a sense, a belief, in our own separateness. as we believe we are separate, we create sickness. when we create a sense of separateness, in our thoughts and our feelings, to that degree their is sickness in our relationships. kala says that there is really underneath this sense of separation, a real oneness, a connection. if we can get rid of those thoughts, feelings, and acts of separation then that oneness comes together. and as this connection is made, we become healthy again, with ourselves, with others around us , with the earth. this is kala. it is a way of creating that connection, of freeing up. kala is not saying that you must accept things the way they are. it says that when you relax with them you can change them easier.
MAKEA
energy flows where attention goes.
wherever there is a flow of energy and attention, events are created. wherever you direct your attention and keep it directed in that way, to an object or to an idea then the flow of energy continues. and according to the nature of your thoughts that is the return flow you receive. so if you are putting out, thinking out positive thoughts about the world around you, positive energy flows back. that when you are putting out and thinking out negative thoughts about the world around you, then , negative energy flows back. and negative results come into your life. if you are thinking out thoughts of abundance and keeping that consistently, not just once in a while, but thinking that way, then abundance flows into your life. if you are thinking thoughts of happiness and joy, consistently, then to that degree happiness and joy come into your life. when you focus on fear and anger, then you have fear and anger in your life. you have the ability , the wonderful skill, says this knowledge, to decide how you are going to focus your thoughts, your energy, your attention and thereby change what is flowing back into your life. so all of these ideas, starting from that first one, are telling you how to make these changes from within that will create the changes outside.
MANOUA
NOW IS THE TIME OF POWER
this moment, right here. there is no power in the past. there is no power in the future. that the past has no power over you. that you are the one who has power right in this moment to change what you think, and the effects of the past fail to hold you. you don’t walk forward in life with any burden of he past. you walk forward in life with thoughts and ideas about yourself , and about the past. it is those ideas in every given moment that determine your reality. if you have beauty in your life, the way we have beauty in these islands, then you are creating this beauty now. says this idea that you are increasing this beauty by appreciating it now. if you stop appreciating this beauty, if you start loosing your sense of beauty, then so will the world around you loose it’s beauty. as we have seen happens some places on this earth of ours. the more you appreciate, take pleasure in the moment, the more you strengthen that, the more you increase that. so it is not what you have been but what you are that makes what you have in any given moment. the future as well.. does not lie waiting in front of you to move forward and bump into it. it is created in every present moment by the the seeds of thought you plant now. sometimes we have weeds from the past, but we can pull those up and plant new seeds, and create a new future. so says this knowledge. as we go along, new seeds are planted, and if we do not like what these seeds have produced then at any time we can pull them up and plant new seeds. so it is every moment that we have our power. and there is power in everything else too.
ALOHA
means love pure and simple
deeper in the word is the meaning of love, which is ‘to be happy with’, to be happy with something or some one. this is the great discovery, this most marvelous secret of this knowledge which was discovered by these people. that to love is to be happy with. to the degree that you are happy with yourself, with people, with the world around you, you are in love. and love is being expressed. but to the degree that you are criticizing, to the degree that you are angered , not pleased with, unhappy with things and people around you, you diminish love. so love has nothing to do with pain. love has nothing to do with hurting people or being hurt. love is the happiness, the joy, the pleasure in any relationship. because to love is to be happy.
MANA
means power.
creative power.
the concept of mana is that there is one source of power, and that source flows through each one of us. not only us as human beings but through the earth, through every stone, through every tree, through every cloud. mana is the inner power that gives each thing it’s own creativity. mana is the power of the waves of the sea to come up and kiss the shore. mana is the power of the wind to carry the clouds, and blow across the lands and the oceans. mana is the power of a stone to be strong. and stable. mana is the power of human beings to be creative, in their own unique way. mana is that source of power within each person within each thing in this universe. and most important comes the idea, the further idea, that true power comes from within. that there is no power outside of you that has any power over you. that all the power for your existence comes from that source through you. that whenever we think anything has power over us, whether it is nature, another person, whatever we believe has more power over our lives than we do then all we are doing, according to this knowledge, is diminishing our own power. holding it back, holding it down. and in a very strange way pretending not to have the power we really have. mana, it is a power to do something, not a power over. it is this power within each one of us, each thing, to be itself to it’s utmost potential. now, the more we allow ourselves to experience this power , to feel it, to use it , to claim it, then we have that power to make ourselves reach our highest potential.
PONO
effectiveness is the measure of truth
there is always another way to do anything. that we are never really stuck in one way. no one truth. there is no one method, technique, one kind of medicine, one way to be happy, one person you can be happy with. there are many ways to achieve your goals, to enjoy life…to fulfill it. this is pono. there is always another way.
the idea continues. plans are not sacred. your purpose might be sacred, but the way you achieve that purpose is not. if you want to achieve a given purpose, however, you must use the means suitable to that purpose. if you want to create peace , then you must use peaceful means , or you will never get peace. from violence you will only get more violence. until people tire of violence, and get together and use peaceful means to create peace. if you start out with peace with a love of peace in your heart, says this knowledge, you will move toward peace in your life. a very, very practical truth this one is. a practical way of living with yourself and with other people.