Huna:
Simplicity and Wisdom for a Busy Life
by: Louise LeBrun
In our seemingly endless search for a spiritual connection, and having
been relentlessly conditioned to always look for answers outside of ourselves,
we have developed the habit of seeking out the more esoteric practices and
traditions of what we hold as the legacy of an ancient people. In our journey
of discovery, we believe that somehow, these ‘others’ knew something
we don’t – or at best, something that we’ve long forgotten – and
that to rekindle our connection to our god of choice, we must rediscover
this ancient knowing. And when we find it, we will find our Selves and finally
have come home!
In this relentless and often frantic search to reclaim the treasure
that is our own connection to ‘Self’ and/or ‘God’,
our paths guide us through myriad spiritual practices that include
effort of body, mind and soul. In those moments of what we hold as
having found something, we are filled with joy! In those subsequent
moments of discovering even more of our rituals and guides, we end
up disappointed and back in the search…again…
What if we were to discover that in order to find what we’re
looking for, we have to surrender the search? What if we were to discover
that in the surrender – in the moment of our being still and
willing to stop…and wait… - what we have long been seeking
can finally find us? What if we were to discover that there is nothing
for us to ‘do’ – and so much for us to just ‘be’ – and
the prize will be ours?
After copious amounts of time, effort, dollars and distance, I’ve
come to conclude that the farthest, deepest journey is the one that
I’ve learned to take inside myself. Moving into this internal
Universe has allowed me not only to discover more of who I Am but has
allowed me to be seen and heard and touched by others. What is outside
now matches what’s inside….and there is always more!
This journey took me to the Hawaiian Islands and an extensive exploration
not only of the practices of the ancient Hawaiians but also of the
context – then and now – within which they are expressed.
The ways of the ancient Hawaiians have long been kept sacred in the
Crucible that is Huna. As a body of knowledge that includes ritual,
chant, dance and energy work, Huna encompasses all that was real and
true and – yes – mundane about living life every single
day. Their philosophy, psychology, religion, social expectations and
healing practices were all held in the secret that was Huna. And yet,
it was not passed on from one generation to the next through study – it
was modeled through living; through ‘being’ the living
expressions of what Huna represented. Huna was living through those
who found it alive within themselves.
Let me preface the following by saying that in my journey of discovery,
what I’ve found is that Huna is as unique as the person experiencing
it. In a quantum Universe, we know without question that the observer
affects the observed…that what’s being taught does not
stand as an absolute but is a reflection or by-product of the awareness
of the teacher. There are many who teach Huna and are certain that
the rituals and the practices represent the ‘rules’ or ‘frameworks’ for
this approach to spirituality. In my quantum Universe, I know that
these things are no more than reminders… invitations… for
me to call up from within myself that which I already know. The freedom
from dogma and its ‘formula’ application is as huge as
you’re willing to allow it to be! The more you release yourself
from the ‘shoulds/mustn’t/musts, the more profound the
impact of this greatest of invitations to Self.
In my quantum experience, there is a warmth and an ease to Huna that
leaves one feeling cherished. No punitive gods here! A gentle yet powerful
invitation to step into the full flow of the god that you already are;
a process and practices that allow for integration of the Three Selves – Body,
Mind and Spirit – to increase flow of vital force to and through
the body, Huna offers ritual and practice without requiring that you
be taken hostage by it.
Simplicity… ease… comfort… acceptance… these
are the framework within which I believe the magic that is Huna opens
its arms to you. Trusting you to trust yourself, and guiding you to
find the Self that is at the very source of who you are as you move
through the world, the ways of the ancients call up from deep inside
your being – from the very cells within the flesh of this world – that
which you already know and always will. Consider for a moment that
in thousands of years, when the residue of our own culture is explored,
we will have become ‘the ancients’ that we seek. Perhaps
we can begin now to claim from inside ourselves that which our progeny
will covet!
We are reminded that the purpose of ritual and practice is not the
thing itself, but as a metaphor to remind us to search inside – where
we live – to find what waits for us. The power of any ritual
or practice resides in its capacity to awaken us from our deepest of
slumbers; to cause us to flow into movement and gently wipe the sleep
from our eyes, and to rise up to our full measure as we move through
the world. To be seduced into thinking that the ritual or practice
is that which has value is to continue to hold ourselves separate from
the Life Force that moves inside us. Ritual serves as a reminder in
a physical world of that which is available in the non-physical world.
We would do well to remember which comes first.
As much as Huna holds the potential for a Spear response, it is by
its very essence a massive Crucible for awareness, evolution and transformation.
How, when and to what degree we choose to allow ourselves to flow into
this Crucible determines our ability to manifest, in a physical world,
that which we know to be the essence of who we are.
There is much that you can read about Huna, by a variety of authors
that include Serge Kahili King, Laura Yardley and Max Freedom Long.
There are simple and yet powerful basic notions of Huna, like that
of the Three Selves – all of which are aspects of your own expression;
and the distinctions made between the Path to Personal Power and the
Path to Personal Mastery – and these are not the same. What is
considered Personal Mastery occurs when the flow of Vital Force moves
from the Higher Self (i.e Source, God, Great Spirit, etc.) to the Lower
Self (the physical body) and into expression through the Middle Self
(the intellect, reason, logic…..and choice). In this moment,
we are shown to demonstrate that ‘god’ does not exist outside
of us or above us, with the requirement that we leave ourselves to
go to another place to find; but that every single thought and expression
and movement through our daily lives in a physical world has become
an expression of the flow of that ‘Source’ through the
physical body and into manifestation.
How many of us could tell the stories of those we’ve encountered
who hold themselves as ‘spiritual’ and yet, to spend 40
minutes with them in conversation or the simple act of sharing a meal,
is more than we can take! Such ‘spirituality’ is entombed
in the concrete of dogma and the righteous arrogance of ‘knowing’ the
answer for us all. The expression of Huna in a quantum age encourages
no such delusions.
Consider what your life might become if you were to discover that
the strength of your connection to Source – to that which feeds
you and calls Life into and through you – does not lie in work
and struggle and effort, but in relaxing into the body and allowing
that which is already present to move through you, engage your world
of body and mind at higher levels of expression, and become in the
world – right now! – evidence for the genius that you already
are.
Wouldn't life be a joy!
A seeker in Huna for more than 18 years, Louise LeBrun facilitates
Huna retreats for personal discovery and exploration. A provocative
and compelling thinker, writer, speaker and educator, Louise is the
Founder of the WEL-Systems Institute (www.WEL-Systems.com)
and author of several books and audio programs that will take you to
the edge of your own awareness - and beyond! Creator of the WEL-Systems® approach
to change, Quantum TLC™ and The CODE Model™, she is also a Reiki Master
and Full Huna Initiator with a passion for living and great compassion for
those who desire to awaken to a more meaningful life.
This article was originally published in the 76th
ISSUE of the ByRegion
Healers newsletter Oct.
7, 2004.
It may be reproduced, provided it is reproduced in its entirety with
appropriate acknowledgement of the author, the source, and a weblink
to www.WEL-Systems.com
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