"A beautifully simple way of life" This is a very short and simple version of Huna history. According to Hawaiian legend and the oral history from the pre Cook invasion time, Huna was hidden in the Hawaiian language. This was not to keep it hidden from use so much as to keep it safe and alive. When Cook invaded the Islands, the Kahunas of the time were driven into hiding because the invading forces were threatened by their power and abilities. For centuries, Huna lay hidden in the language and the secret teachings of the Kahuna. In the late 1800s and earlier 1900 many people started to explore what Huna was. One of the most famous of these being Max Freedom Long who was, among other things, a linguistic expert. A bit more recently, Serge King was adopted by a lineage Kahuna and taught Huna from the heart of the mountain, so to speak. Huna, in its essence, is a very simple philosophy of life. As with all philosophies and subsequent religions, man makes them complicated and this can be found in many of the different studies of Huna also. If you look at the bare bones of Huna, and then Buddhism, or Christianity, etc, there are basically a few simple principles of life. Max Freedom Long spent his life researching and finding the "Huna Principles" is the seeds of all the major religions causing him to claim that the Mu people, believed to be the originators of Huna, had in fact spread the philosophy world wide centuries before Buddha or Jesus. He suggested that Huna was the actual foundation of most of today's religions. Realistically, what philosophy or religion doesn’t claim to be the “original?” (Grin) Additionally, no one has yet proved beyond a shadow of a doubt the Mu people even existed. Personally, I don’t really care. The reasons I like Huna have little to do with where it came from or who started it as much as because to me it is a strong and unshakable foundation to build “my” path (religion, philosophy, etc.) Again, like any other philosophy (or religion), there are different models and different "sects". Huna is no different. I personally found Serge Kahili King's tradition/model to be the clearest and most loving. Simply the one that works for me. Huna promotes us into seeking our OWN spiritual connection. I also find Huna to be able to "shake hands" with most religions very nicely. Huna is about living a hurtless and helpful life. As a Kahuna (sort of the spiritual equivalent of a pastor, priest or medicine man) we are not theologians as much as we are counselors or maybe even technicians. We are more pragmatic. To quote Serge King “Healing is the goal and effectiveness is the criteria, not the proving of a particular system or method.” In other words, we will use whatever tool works to help someone in their healing. This might include changing the system. As a Kahuna we will be able to pull tools out that might be Christian based, might be Native American, or maybe even be Voo Doo to work within the belief system of the individual to help them find a way to help themselves. With this philosophy comes an incredible amount of tolerance for other beliefs. I don’t think tolerance is the word so much as a respect of “If it works for you it is your truth.” WOW… A belief system that actually encourages people to explore as many different beliefs as possible to be effective in healing! That is why I like Huna. There is SO much more to Huna. It can be as simple or as complicated as you want or need it to be. Please feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions or want to share a thought. Thank you for allowing me to share. All good things, Sky |