Huna |
The Polynesian peoples carried with them to their Pacific Islands an understanding of the nature of the world and of human beings that is echoed in most spiritual teachings. However, their understanding is more complete and more helpful in personal development and transformation than any other I have found. The clearest information regarding this psycho-spiritual knowledge has been found in Hawaii, embedded in the old Hawaiian language. (Their wisdom was almost lost after the missionaries came to Hawaii and began teaching them Christianity. The practice of their spiritual pattern was outlawed and those who still knew it hid and thus the young were not taught. It was due to the work of Max Freedom Long that their spiritual understandings were recovered and are available for us today.)
Huna means hidden or concealed in the Hawaiian language and Huna deals with that which is hidden or concealed within us. The subtle energy substance (Personal Energy Management) they called Aka (etheric or Akashic substance) and they teach that we each have three levels of consciousness on which we operate. These three levels of consciousness come from three souls or levels of awareness that are part of each of our energy structures. Each of these three souls has its own separate aka body and each has its own level of energy. The relationship between these three souls or states of consciousness, as described in Huna, lays out the processes of personal emotional and spiritual development with great clarity. It shows where each of us is operating and what we need to do to move to a greater level of awareness and facility.
The most basic level is what we usually refer to as the subconscious. This is the subconscious and unconscious awareness that runs the body. It never sleeps because if it did we would be dead. It draws in our basic energy. It contains our emotions and our memories. It operates deductively based on past experience. Its beliefs, attitudes and patterns come from our experiences in this life, in the womb and from past live patterns that we have not cleared up. Its patterns are sustained by intense reservoirs of emotional energy. If a person had a troubled childhood, then there may be deep reservoirs of fear, anger, grief, guilt and shame that are sustaining disfunctional behaviors. The Hawaiians called this awareness the Unihipili. Books on Huna refer to it as the Low Self, the Basic Self or the Body Self. This awareness operates like a combination of the awareness of a young child of up to six years old, a very intelligent pet animal, and a computer program. As a short-cut reference, I will call it the "Child". Be aware that this awareness is a fully functional and equal partner within you and the first task of each of us is to learn how to communicate with this level within us.
The human awareness within each of us is the conscious level that we use to talk with each other. I will call this level the "Adult". This is the awareness that enables us to do inductive reasoning where we evaluate our actions and act in new ways that are not based on our past experiences. Many of us have this conscious awareness acting as a vehicle for the "Child" without realizing that we are spending our lives reacting rather than acting in the here and now. The "Adult" can get very thoroughly submerged in the "Child"'s reactions. Personal growth involves separating the "Child" from the "Adult" and establishing communication between them. You are often not aware of the pain and fear in the "Child" that is driving your actions because the "Child" is not allowing the "Adult" to remember the past issues due to an assessment that the conscious self could not handle the information. Personal development enables you to develop the strength and the communication with your "Child" that will let you reclaim your past and heal the pain within you, freeing you to be able to act on an "Adult" level. The Hawaiians call this awareness the Uhane. Books on Huna refer to it as the Middle Self, the Logical Self or the Mind Self.
The spiritual awareness within each of us is a divine self connected to each of us. This is a soul working on the spiritual levels that is particularly concerned with that individual being. This awareness has sometimes been referred to as a Guardian Angel, or Teacher or Guide. This is an aspect of the divine that is connected to that particular individual and it is the divine parents that can always be trusted to do what is best for that particular person. All spiritual experiences and connections to the divine flow through this personal divine link or portal whether we are aware of its existence or not. When we pray or we meditate this is the personal focus for the divine that we are connecting in with. This is how the divine can be both personal and impersonal at the same time. This spiritual awareness connected to the individual has tremendous powers and capabilities and can shape the reality of a person as they wish it to be but it will only act when it is asked to act. It will not violate the free will choices of the conscious and unconscious selves. This is very significant because if the "Child" believes, for example, that it is a failure, then the spiritual self will be guided by that and will shape a reality for that person where he or she experiences failure. Learning to release these limiting beliefs and attitudes is essential to any of us connecting in with the true, beautiful spiritual being that each of us is. (See the discussions on Personal Energy Development and Energetic Transformation). The spiritual awareness connected into an individual person's structure is called the Aumakua by the Hawaiians. Books on Huna refer to it as the High Self, the Guardian Angel, or the Spirit Self.
The aim of personal development is to have a cooperative loving relationship between these three awarenesses within the individual. This enables a person to truly move into connection with and expression of his or her true potential.