The world of Huna
For years I have been interested in the Hawai’ian shamanism of Huna, the traditional belief system of Hawai’i. Part of that has been the fact that many NLP trainers like me went on to look at Huna – largely because of its similarity to the NLP model of conscious – unconscious – superconscious minds. A more important part has been a calling to explore this tradition. I’ve been reading on the subject for a while, but also travelled to Austin, Texas, to hear Dr Joe Vitale speak about his experiences with Dr Iheakala Hew Len and the Hawai’ian practice of Ho’opono’pono – and then to spend a weekend in Cork with Dr Hew Len himself learning Ho’opono’pono first hand. And that in itself is a series of amazing stories!
So when I found out that Serge Kahili King, author of (amongst others) ‘Urban Shaman’ was in Tamworth (about 30 minutes down the road from me now!) I knew I had to go… partly because of a deep inner knowing.. and partly because if I hadn’t gone, my friend Jackie would have had something to say about it.
And it was like coming home. So much of Huna ‘made sense’ based on what I already knew – or could be integrated into my existing belief set. The idea that we are all one, the concepts surrounding energy, the importance of flow, all started to fit into place. I found I was automatically extending the concepts, building new processes and adapting others, coming to deeper understandings of my own model of life – and of power.
I discovered new models for workshops and courses appearing in front of me – new ways to teach what I had known for years but lacked a framework to explain. I found new healing pathways that made more sense, worked more effectively and were simpler than what I had been experiencing. I found gaps in what I understood being filled in. And I found myself connected to nature, to other people, to God and to the universe in a new way – without all the shamanistic trappings of other worlds, of drums, rattles, arcane belief systems and so on. (And if those things work for you, that’s great, really – it’s just that they never did work for me, somehow).
If you’re interested in Huna at all, then read ‘Urban Shaman’… but the best definition I found of shamanism was from that book:
“I define a shaman as a healer of relationships: between mind and body, between humans and nature, and between matter and spirit”. I also loved Serge’s distinction between the warrior shaman, based on development of power to deal with illness, fear and disharmony, and the adventurer shaman, including Huna, tends to deal with these things by creating love, co-operation and harmony. Those who know me well will understand exactly why Huna appeals so much as a pathway to healing.
So, expect more Huna stuff from me over the next few weeks as I integrate all this. I’m profoundly grateful to Serge and to Pete from Urban Huna who brought Serge over to the UK. For more, take a look at www.huna.org and www.urbanhuna.com.
In fact, I am already planning some events based on this stuff – it’s released a new excitement and a background on which to teach – something to say and a framework for saying it. Exciting!